Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Life in America in 1830-1850

The novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain was written in 1870. This novel unveils many important themes such as adventures and Christian values, social relations and stereotypes. The analysis of the characters and themes makes it possible to say that the novel reflects changes faced by the American society during 1830-1850. Thesis Mark Twain`s storyline along with his descriptions of his characters portrays the life of the citizens of St. Petersburg, Missouri as being very easy, simple and uncomplicated, however life for many other people in America was much of an endeavor. In the novel Mark Twain portrays the life of the citizens of St. Petersburg as being very simple and uncomplicated. â€Å"A new-comer of any age or either sex was an impressive curiosity in the poor little shabby village of St. Petersburg† (Twain 1920, 4). The simplicity of life is shown through other minor themes and symbols which help to unveil the realities of town life. During this historical epoch, poverty was what traps people in their humble abode. In contrast to these themes, Mark Twain describes people in the town as: â€Å"There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step. The locust-trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air† (Twain 1920, 12). The main female characters of the novel, Aunt Polly and Tom’s cousin Marry, are depicted as simple ordinary women. In reality, women were guided and supported by their husbands and family members. It is possible to say that all women represented in the novel do not suffer greatly, because of male oppression. Most of them including Aunt Polly and his cousin Marry was stuck to values preached by the society. The other characters, Huck and Sam, Judge Thatcher and Alfred Temple are also misrepresented. Most of the men are portrayed as ordinary citizens involved in town affairs only. In contrast to St. Petersburg town life, life for many other people in America was much of an endeavor. For instance, in The Narrative of the Life Frederick Douglass depicts another America influenced by racial inequalities and slavery.   In his autobiography, Douglass describes the hardship that he was through and quite self-obsessed with the cruel realities. The slave owners exploited slaves per 12-14 hours a day. The spread of slavery was also connected with industrialization and urbanization processes, proposing unlimited opportunities for newly emerged industries and factories to obtain cheap labor (Douglass 1995). Even the life of a free black man differed greatly from his white neighbors. In contrast to Twain’s idealized image of minorities and their life, Douglass addresses a problem of racial inequality in the society and its impact on the life of an ordinary person. He unveils that racism caused grievances to all citizens in spite of their color of skin or persuasions. According to Douglass interpretation, the direct victims of racism were black men and women. On the other hand, Mark Twain describes town people as moral persons free from social and racial prejudices. For instance, Mark Twain portrays the widow Douglass as: â€Å"the justice of the peace; the widow Douglass, fair, smart †¦ her hill mansion the only palace in the town, and the most hospitable and much the most lavish in the matter of festivities that St. Petersburg could boast† (Twain 1920, 43). In general, Mark Twain describes moral health of people and their imperfection through the lens of morality and traditions rather than historical facts. All citizens of St. Petersburg become victims of their own prejudices and false values. Taking into account The Narrative of the Life by Douglass and Cherokee Trail of Tears by Fitzgerald, it is evident that life of ‘blacks’ and Indians was marked by fight and rebellion. In big and small towns the problem was that American citizens, Indians and â€Å"blacks†, were not equal in their rights and â€Å"blacks† were not equally treated by majority of white population. While â€Å"whites† members of the society were universally proud of their background, African-Americans and Indians were the target of discrimination and outright racism. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain hides these problems portraying the happy life of all citizens. In the book Cherokee Trail of Tears, Fitzgerald describes events which took place in 1838 when Federal troops imprisoned 13,000 Cherokees in order to occupy their native lands. This was one of the most tragic events in American history unveiling policy of imperialism and segregation. Fitzgerald writes: â€Å"By 1835, nearly three dozens additional land cessions had been concluded, reducing the once vast Cherokee territory to nothing† (Fitzgerald 2006, 15). That created a demand for a substitute reality, which could only be found in the fictitious world. Mark Twain does not give a detailed analysis of the epoch, but the spirit of the age runs through the novel. For instance, Mark Twain uses the theme of crime to create a story conflict and impress readers: â€Å"A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man, and it had been recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff Potter† (Twain 1920, 99). In contrast, conflicts between Cherokees and the government depict the new social imperative of the society. These events unveil real history of American society and its attitude towards racial minorities. Fitzgerald describes that the Trail resulted in 5,000 deaths and ruined lives of 22 000 Indians. Fitzgerald critiques the era and uncovers discrepancy between different historical interpretations of this period. Taking into account the life of the pioneers going West and their fight with Indians, it is evident that the storyline of Mark Twain lacks the accuracy of narration and objective appraisal. For instance, many pioneers had to struggle with nature and native population. Struggle with nature probably was the only difficult battle in life. For the pioneers, rebellion meant absence of restrictions and compulsions, and in correlation with the idea of will, it is the opportunity to act as would be desirable. â€Å"To those who may be obliged to exchange a cultivated region for a howling wilderness,† declared its resolution [the Third Annual Convention 1833], â€Å"we recommend, to retire into the western wilds, and fell the native forest of America, where the ploughshares of prejudice have as yet been unable to penetrate the soil† (Taylor 1998, 33). Rebellion was necessary because it opened freedom to all who were genuinely interested and met the criteria of a rioter. That was main principle on which rebellions were based in the United States. â€Å"White western settlers rapidly constructed familiar racially based political and economic restrictions† (Taylor 1998, 33). The events which took place in Texas and their fight for Independence with Mexico show that live of people in small towns was not easy, simple and uncomplicated as depicted by Mark Twain. Texas War of Independence took place in 1835-1836. It was a war between American settlers and the Mexican government. This Revolution was considered as a rational choice which included its aims, alternatives, consequences and choice. If American nation had taken such an action, it was based on the purposes to overcome oppression and created a set of new values and tasks. In general, the aim of rebellion was to fight for land, freedom and equal rights. On the one hand, it helped to attract attention of masses to social problems such as injustice and oppression. Rebellion was necessary because it drove the national idea and the knowledge not only of the monumental significance of the actions to be undertaken, but also the impact of a free democracy. The main events were the Battle of Gonzales, La Bahia, San Antonio and the Battle of the Alamo. Texas War of Independence was necessary because it showed a struggle for individual freedom which means much more than the absence of physical coercion. Every rebellion had a short term and long term goals which helped mutineers to reach their target. Desire of a nation to struggle as such did nothing, because only active operations led to rebellion. It was people who made claims or felt marginalized, and people who often disagreed, some ­times quite fundamentally, about how their identity should be interpreted or understood. â€Å"One reason for this was the desire of Mexican Revolutionaries to secure material aid from the United States. As a result there were several composite Mexican-American expenditures into the vast territory during   the Revolutionary era† (Nofi 2001, 10).   In many cases, fight for freedom and equal rights made use of racial differences. In this case, a necessity to rebel served as a causal explanation of it. Rebellion was a relational choice which allowed to start fighting and attract masses of people to rebel. It served like a signal for those who wanted to be free. In sum, Mark Twain gives only general ideas of the historical epoch and morals of people, but does not include real historical facts and events into the novel. Mark Twain idealizes town life paying no attention to racial differences and inequalities which led to social rebellion and struggle.   He does not describe that non-white population obtained a secondary role in the society and was deprived human rights and freedom. Due to industrialization and urbanization, the period under analysis (1830-1850) was a time of chaos and great change which left people with a sense of disillusionment. The historical facts mentioned above show that Mark Twain idealizes a town life and social relations. His specific world view and interpretation of the American history has a great impact on his literary works where he ridicules St. Petersburg citizens, their way of thinking and style of life, their believes and prejudices, because for most of them nothing is sacred: neither love nor human relations. Historical events suggest that racial differences and oppression undoubtedly motivated people to acts of extreme violence against those whom they classify as â€Å"others.† Racial confrontations acting as an original cause of rebellion forced Americans to struggle. References 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Douglass, F. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Dover Publications, 1995 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nofi, A.A. The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836: Heroes, Myths, and History. 2001. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fitzgerald, D.G. Cherokee Trail of Tears. Graphic Arts Books, 2006. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Taylor, Q. In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528-1990. W. W. Norton, 1998. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Twain, M. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. P.F. Collier & Sons, 1920.            

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Hurricanes Importance essays

The Hurricane's Importance essays 4. Evaluate this movie. What qualities does it have that make if effective or ineffective for you as a viewer? Give specific examples from the movie to support your reasons for your evaluation. The Hurricane has proved itself as an effective movie for all people including me as a viewer through its simple portrayal of lifes balance of good and evil. The choice of actors as characters, an internal battle and ability to relate show the on going war between the two extremes embodied in a movie. The Hurricanes story begins as three white patrons in a predominately white section of New Jersey are murdered in a bar during the tumultuous growing pains of the 60s. Rueben Hurricane Carter was in the prime of his boxing career. He was in simple words a bad, bad man in the ring. He had fought his way back from an uncertain childhood and an abusive period in the State of New Jerseys penal institutions for young men. Beset upon by a racist police officer intent on hanging him out to dry, Rueben had overcome these obstacles and many more to become an internationally known boxer. And in a moment, all his success and all of his achievements would be stolen by a system bent on prejudice and fueled by hatred. The witnesses to the murders said two black men in a white car committed the crime. It just so happened that Rueben and his driver for the evening John Artis, were returning home after an evening of relaxation and celebration at a local nightclub in a white sedan. Detained by the police, Rueben and John were taken to the hospital where one of the victims was being treated. When asked if Rueben and John were the men who did the shooting, the victim clearly said "no", however, racist officers intent on blaming anyone black for the murder pressed the man until they got the answers they wanted. Incredibly, the two, Rueben and Artis, are charged with murder, tried by an all-White bigoted jury and...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Improving a Job Seekers Online Reputation

Improving a Job Seekers Online Reputation Managing your online reputation can help you get a job because it allows you to present your accomplishments and assets to companies wanting to hire. However, if your online reputation is less than good, it can have the opposite effect and keep you from finding your dream job. A few tips on managing your online reputation can make all the difference. According to a survey conducted on social media, 52 percent of recruiters use social media sites to help assess potential job candidates. 1. Fight the Negative With the PositiveIndividuals who Google themselves are sometimes surprised to see something negative pop up that happened years ago. For example, an ugly argument with someone or a photograph that doesn’t represent someone in a positive light can appear. The only real way to counteract negativity is to use positive posts to force the negative ones down in the ratings. Individuals who Google an individual, topic or other items generally don’t go past the first two or three page.2. Use LinkedIn to Your AdvantageLinkedIn is a great place to list your previous jobs, tenure and what you accomplished that benefitted those employers. You might even want to include links to some of your work so that recruiters can see what you have accomplished. Show a little of your personality by including why you picked a particular field and what you use for motivation. Don’t overlook the Recommendations feature. Use it to invite co-workers, bosses and clients to share what an asset you are as an employee.3. Pay Attention to Grammar and SpellingEven if the cover letter and resume you sent to apply for a job was perfect, pay attention to your spelling and grammar when you post on social media. Poor spelling or grammar is a turnoff for recruiters and can end up costing you a potential interview. Saying that you were in a hurry is no excuse. Recruiters may look upon more than the occasional error as a lack of attention to detail and that could reflect negativel y on your chances.4. Skip Controversial SubjectsWhile you may be keenly interested in politics, it might be a better idea to keep this type of post off social media. Recruiters at some companies may not be as appreciative of your opinion of the current slate of candidates, especially if it becomes heated. However, recruiters will look at what your interests are and whether you engage in discussions with others. This is an opportunity for you to present a positive side to a recruiter.5. Offensive or Thoughtless Posts on Social MediaIn a word – don’t. Getting into a discussion on social media is one thing and can leave a positive impression on a recruiter. Getting into an argument that turns nasty is another. Talking negatively about religion, politics, other people’s customs or sexual orientation can be found on Google without too much effort and reflects badly on the job candidate, according to recruiters. In addition, talking about and posting photos of the gre at beer bash from the previous weekend and other things of this nature is not a good idea.6. Use Social Media ProfessionallyStart with your personal website and check through it. Remove posts that may not show you in a favorable light, such as the weekend party with unflattering photos. Instead, use your personal website to share positive work experiences. You can even use it to show off your work history and include a link that can be downloaded. Do the same thing with your LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and Instagram. This is a good opportunity to be creative and show off what you know and what you can do.Using social media is one way a recruiter scouts out a candidate for a job. If there are other candidates for the same job, what you have posted on your social media accounts can make the difference in whether you will be considered for an interview. Having a good reputation online can help get your foot in that door.Just as social media can be used in a positive way to help l and you an interview for a job, using the right job site can help in the same way. TheJobNetwork does exactly that. When you sign up for job match alert, TheJobNetwork seeks job listings for you around the clock and alerts you as soon as new jobs open. In addition, you can use this job site to conduct your own job search.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Business Models Strategy and Innovation

The concept of the business model is basically a structure that supports business viability that includes its goals, purpose and other ongoing plans to achieve them. In simple words, it specifies the description to fulfill an organization's purpose. The business plan is all about elements that are required for demonstrating a prospective business's feasibility, whereas a business model is about demonstrating elements for making the existing business to work successfully. The definition of the business model is described differently by various authors but its common meaning can be defined by two elements – a business system, that can be defined as work systems in form of delivery or production system that are designed by a firm, within its boundaries and beyond for product delivery to target customers. And the next element is profit model, which is a pattern to describe firm’s intention of making profits in existing business. It can include plans to sales increase or/and reducing costs.   It also helps the business to distinguish from other competitors by means of product or price (Verstraete, & Jouison-Laffitte, 2011). Out of the two elements of the business model, the business system is less visible and profit model is more visible. The profit model is observed by outsiders and due to direct linkage to the bottom line of any firm, it is much more glamorous than the business system. However, a business system can be considered as the most significant element in a business model, since it plays two roles – as a system that realizes a firm's differentiation strategic intent which is the real work, and secondly, it accelerates towards future learning processes. During business system design the following things are determined by the firm –the labor division amongst the firm and its partners for trading, internally organizing firm’s in-house system of working and controlling trading activities of partners externally (Weill, Malone, D’Urso, Herman, & Woerner, 2005). The business model as a system works to satisfy needs of customers and tries to do a better job than other competitors. It also enables people working in an organization to explore more about technologies and observe customer's reaction. The business model as a system functions in accordance with learning system while doing the work that involves learning first. It also leaves footprints of the doers while working on any system. It determines two important factors that include maintaining the workflow of in-house and outsourced operations and controlling final delivery options to customers. These factors help the firm to determine ways to learn about market and technology and search for possible partners that are aligned with the firm's goals (Lindgren, 2012). When actual work is done, the flow of various kinds of information takes place and it creates an overall exchange of information from firms to its business partners. As humans are blessed with high thinking and observational po wers, it can directly stimulate by work or action that can be done. This action further provides triggering events and enhances the capacity to form proper strategies for the business system. Also, the business system helps with accumulating information. It is not just dealing with mundane operations to determine operations cost and various products to act as a learning system. It also enables these firms to keep close watch over outside parties like partners and customers and then gains business system's byproducts activity that can quite quickly accommodate and provides growth for improving long-term benefits. Thus, eliminating static problems of any kind. The profit models, on the other hand, has multiple attractions that enable the firming contract to offer lower cost operations that can reduce its operating costs and no longer needs to invest in such work sector (Osterwalder, & Pigneur, 2009). It overall leads to the reduction in capital costs in the firm. If the business model is considered as a system, the doers are accumulators of work related information and approach contract firm that is still learning. The costs can be controlled unless external work can become extra burdens to the firm's business. It integrates together the unbundled and bundled work for carrying out overall operation smoothly, then delivers its final product to customers. This will not become a serious problem if both these bundled, as well as unbundled works, are integrated without creating the transaction costs too expensive. It also means that less learning about work never erodes future growth that has the potential of unbundling firm. The profit model c an override risks that are imposed on the business system due to dynamic problems in firm. There are unexpected environmental conditions that exist in the supplier firms that can change in dramatic ways, and hence threatens the supply lines for destabilizing integration in smooth ways. This significant learning process can produce certain in-house components in a business model that creates a huge innovation towards progressing future market, where a central role is occupied by components to produce new products successfully (Kim, & Min, 2015).   As per the article on the design of business model with a perspective of an activity system, by Raphael Amit and Christoph Zott, it gives a whole new idea about the business model and its various parameters to design its activity systems. The design elements include structure, content, and governance. The element structure describes activities that are linked or in other words have sequences between them that capture their actual importance for a business model. If IBM is considered, during the 90's when a huge financial crisis occurred, the firm was triggered and it forced to switch its peripheral and core activities. Thus shifting the firm's focus from hardware supplier and to become new software service provider. It enabled the firm to rebuild its structure from old known body or core and it helped in becoming one of the greatest service providers in the world. It took those decades but it enhanced its reach and helped them to launch a new range of activities related to IT, consulting, networking and many other services (Dermine, 2013). By the end of the year 2006, almost over half of the revenues generated by IBM amount to ninety billion dollars and it was possible due to investing new technologies or activities that are totally new. The element content is referred to activities selection by the firm that is actually ready to be performed. If an example of retail bank named as Bancolombia is considered, it adopted activities that were designed for offering microcredit to above sixty percent of Colombian citizens who didn't have banking service accesses. The bank adopted training methodologies for top management people to hire new staff and train them. Thus creating and developing new ways to link and expand the existing banking system that includes channels, applications, and platforms (Honohan, 2002). The element governance is referred to people those performing activities. If any franchise is considered, it is relevant to one approach that can work as a key element in value determination in any firm. It's about an adaptation of new business ideas through exploring professional management for creating values that can be added to performance in any business model. The NICE themes for business model design deal with novelty, lock-in activities, complementarities services and efficiency in a model. Novelties are new ways of governance activities, lock-in refers to retaining power by the activity system, and complementarities are the inclusion of value adding services that lead to innovation in a firm and create demand in an actual market (Teece, 2010). The efficiency refers to use of activity system to achieve more output and reducing transaction costs. The essay covers the overall idea regarding the adaptation of business models to run and operate any business firm successfully. Its idea is to understand the concept of business model and its work functioning as an activity system. The elements of business models are discussed in brief along with its focus on handling problems that can arise during business model implementation. The essay also enlightens on partnership and innovation processes along with significant design elements that are necessary for future growths of existing business models. Dermine, J. (2013). Bank Regulations after the Global Financial Crisis: Good Intentions and Unintended Evil.  European Financial Management,  19(4), 658-674. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-036x.2013.12017.x Honohan, P. (2002). Comment on â€Å"Costs of banking system instability: Some empirical evidence†.  Journal Of Banking & Finance,  26(5), 857-860. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4266(01)00271-0 Kim, S., & Min, S. (2015). Business Model Innovation Performance: When does Adding a New Business Model Benefit an Incumbent?.  Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal,  9(1), 34-57. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sej.1193 Lindgren, P. (2012). Business Model Innovation Leadership: How Do SME’s Strategically Lead Business Model Innovation?.  International Journal Of Business And Management,  7(14). https://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n14p53 Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2009). Business Model Generation. Retrieved from https://www.businessmodelsinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Business-Model-Generation-preview-of-the-book.pdf Teece, D. (2010). Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation.  Long Range Planning,  43. Retrieved from https://www.businessmodelcommunity.com/fs/root/8jig8-businessmodelsbusinessstrategy.pdf Verstraete, T., & Jouison-Laffitte, E. (2011).  A business model for entrepreneurship  (1st ed.). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Weill, P., Malone, T., D’Urso, V., Herman, G., & Woerner, S. (2005). Do Some Business Models Perform Better than Others?.  Sloan School Of Management Massachusetts Institute Of Technology. Retrieved from https://ccs.mit.edu/papers/pdf/wp226.pdf

Friday, October 18, 2019

UK Government Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

UK Government Policies - Essay Example The reasons for the banking crisis were many including low real interest rates, too much liquidity and a misjudged faith in the financial system. These three factors created an entourage that was extremely optimistic and full of opposite opinions. By not understanding the sensitive situation, some banks have only themselves to blame (Singh, 2007). The tradition within the banking sector in the UK has been one of the risks taking type that lead to its ultimate failure. Bankers made a mess of the financial reading and hence the financial situation (Singh, 2007). However, this failure was not just restricted to individual banks but also the system constructed to defend the public from risk. Banks got concerned about the value of their mortgage and also about the mortgages they had purchased from other institutes. For this reason they refused to lend to other banks in the money markets (Singh, 2007) The measures that the governments stuck during the financial crisis were public investments like debt and equity which further resulted in acquiring banks and other institutions. Government investments eased the situation of banks that went bankrupt and failed to meet its obligations. It increased the amount of money or capital they had and able to make them go on with their daily business routine. The banks that did not keep up to their reputations were legally intervened by the government as it is a part of legal procedure. This intervention means taking away the license from the banks if they were under performing to the level that they had huge debts. This practice however is very common in the USA and some examples include the closing of Washington the sale to JPMorgan (Giudice, 2012). In some cases a few banks could not be sold and so the government decided to take over them by nationalization. For example in the UK the government nationalized many banks and took over some by b uying through common stock. Common stock gave them the right to owner ship of some of the largest banks in the UK like Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds (Giudice, 2012). To recover from this financial crisis, the government of the United Kingdom came out with different schemes. One of the schemes was known as the recapitalization program. Under this scheme the government agreed to finance the largest banks in the UK by injecting ?50 billion worth of investment. A company called the UK Financials Investment Limited (UFIL) was created to manage investments in these large banks and to check if they were providing lending with reasonable rates of interest to the general public (Lybeck, 2011). The recapitalization program required an approval from Her Majesty’s treasury for banks to attain it. Eight banks and building societies subscribed to the program including RBS and Lloyds who were granted funds worth ?20 billion and ?17 billion respectively. The government also put some dema nds forward. It said that the banks, after receiving funds should try to help people with their mortgage payments so that they could stay in their homes. The government also kept the right to appoint new non-executive directors. The government recapitalized RBS and Lloyds and taking over 70% and 65% respectively. It took complete control over Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. The reason

Starbucks the experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Starbucks the experience - Essay Example Basically, employees who are also committed to the organizational goals improve the overall quality of the workforce. Several research studies prove that a high level of customer’s satisfaction could eventually lead to a high customer loyalty. (Entel et al., 2007; Jones & Sasser, 1995) In line with this matter, the constantly increasing Starbucks revenue is a positive sign that shows how well the company is serving its customers. The market share of the company can be very much affected when a customer fails to receive a prompt service from the company. Starbucks HRM approach in providing at a total of five classes workshop training prior to serving the customers is essential in ensuring the delivery of a good quality customer service. (UW Business School, 2003) Considering that not all customers are after low price coffee, the company needs to strive hard in order to retain the loyal of its prospective customers. price they have to pay. (Jiang, 2004) To achieve a good ‘after-delivery satisfaction’, it is a challenge for the company to maintain its reliability at all times. ‘Reliability’ is often linked with aspects such as delivery time – whether each cup of coffee will be delivered as promised, and the consistency of customer service including the order tracking, on-time delivery, customer support and quality of product and services that meets the customer’s expectation. (Smith et al., 2000) The company also extend employee benefits such as medical, dental, vision and short-term disability insurance, paid vacation and holidays, mental health or chemical dependency benefits, employee assistance program, career counselling, product discounts, 401(k) savings plan, and a stock option plan. (UW Business School, 2003) According to Schultz, it is difficult for employees to feel financially and spiritually attached with their jobs without these employement benefits. (Wyss, 2006; MSNBC, 2005) He added that the stock option plan could

Comparative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative - Essay Example This paper exemplifies various similarities and differences between â€Å"Drunken Master† and â€Å"Fist of Fury†. Firstly, both films are nationalistic and portray the Chinese masculinity. Nationalism and Chinese cinema have always been intertwined. â€Å"Fist of Fury† is situated at the period when China was recovering from degradations and humiliations in the hands of Japanese and other colonial powers. Lee acts as a strong Chinese man who confronts all humiliations and challenges and triumphs over them thus portraying his nationalism. Lee defeats Japanese clearly indicating the triumph of Chinese martial arts over external forms and illustrates how customary martial arts were deeply ingrained in Lee. Additionally, Lee’s triumph and devotion to defending the society is depicted when he uses his Chinese martial arts skills to defend and protect his community against external interference, a factor that further indicates the role that men were supposed to play in the traditional Chinese community. While many analysts document Lee’s nationalism as hugely controversial and th e entire process of defining who a Chinese is as multifaceted and dubious, Lee’s character embodies a Chinese who is anti-Japanese and the avenge against the slaying of his master portray the antagonism that existed between Chinese Nationalists and the ‘others’, typically represented by Japanese villains (Louie, 92). Similarly, in the â€Å"Drunken Master†, the nationalistic spirit and Chinese masculinity are featured through the character of Jackie Chan. Chan, despite being dreadful of Chinese martial arts, is forced to train in it which later enables him to defend his father against being butchered by Yan Ti San who was hired by a business opponent to kill Chan’s father. Chan was to be trained by Beggar who is legendary for crippling students when training. When Chan finds it hard to survive in Beggar’s school, he leaves for Drunken Master’s school and learns