The Theme of Identity in Sonnys Blues Essay example -- Literary Analy

James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues" highlights the struggle because community involvement and individual identity. Baldwin's "leading theme - the discovery of identity - is nowhere presented more successfully than in the short story 'Sonny's Blues" (Reilly 56). Individuals breeds isolation and even persecution by the collective, dominant community. This conflict is illustrated in three ways. First, the story presents the alienation of Sonny from his brother, the unnamed narrator. Second, Sonny's legal problems suggest that independence can cause the individual to break society's legal conventions. Finally, the text draws heavily from biblical influences. Sonny returns to his family just like the prodigal son, after facing substantial trials and being humiliated. The story's allusion to the parable of the prodigal son reflects Baldwin's profound personal interest in Christianity and the bible. First of all, the identity of Sonny is contrasted sharply with his brother, the narrator. The most obvious difference between the two is their names. Sonny's name is prominent and part of the story's theme. Sonny's brother, on the other hand, is never given a name. Despite being the voice and the perspective of the story, the narrator does not have a distinct identity. He is known solely by his relationship with others, his status as a brother, a son, a husband and a father. The omission of the brother's name by the author is clearly intended. By having no defined identity, the brother stands in as the representative of the black community. The narrator is a responsible family man. His job as a high school math teacher illustrates his interest in helping others through education. His decision to marry suggests that he is respons... ...ny does suffer isolation, persecution and imprisonment. However, he finds redemption in the eyes of his brother without sacrificing his individualism. Sonny manages to use music to bridge the gap, taking a greater responsibility for his reintegration into family and community than the prodigal son. Works Cited Albert, Richard. "The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues," College Literature Vol. 11, No. 2 (Spring, 1984): 178-185. Booth, Alison, Hunter, J. Paul and Mays, Kelly (eds.). The Norton Introduction to Literature, Ninth Edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. Reilly, John M. "Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin's Image of black community," Negro American Literature Forum Vol. 4, No. 2 (July, 1970): 55-60. Tackach, James. "The biblical foundation of James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues,'" Renascence Vol. 59, No. 2 (2007): 109-117.

Delta Airlines Essay

Delta Air Lines is one of the top five domestic airlines in the United States, and amongst the top 20 in the world today. The key to Delta being so successful today is their focus on human relations (Anthony, Kacmar, & Parrewà ©, 2010). An agricultural extension agent by the name of C.E. Woolman founded Delta. Mr. Woolman was not a financier, so Delta has not historically relied on financial strategies to create competitive advantage (Anthony, Kacmar, & Parrewà ©, 2010). Delta has had the fewest number of customer complaints of any major carrier for 20 years straight. This excellent customer service could be partial due to the fact that Delta was strongly committed to its employees. With loyal employees and excellent customer service Delta was able to be very competitive in the airline industry and still is today. One of Delta greatest challenge today is differentiating itself from its competitors while cutting cost, but through their continual strong focus on human relations and s uperior customer service Delta will continue to be amongst the top in the airline industry. External Environment General. Economic factors: Inflation has increased and the world economy has dealt  with financial issues. There is a lot of potential growth in the emerging economies. Airlines merging not only affect those involved in the merger, but also the other airlines that stand to lose market share. Socio-culture: Factor varies among societies. The airline industry serves all kinds of customers. There have been issues with obesity and airlines because of having to purchase an additional seat for being larger. Political-Regulatory factors: Airlines have to consider are security issues because of terrorist attacks and deregulation of airlines. Also, there are fuel regulations to consider (Anthony, Kacmar & Perrewe, 2010). Technological factors: Technology has changed the industry drastically. Travel agencies are completely obsolete because of websites like hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline. Airlines have mobile applications for phones and ipads that allow you to check-in and get flight updates. You do no t even need a paper-boarding pass; there are electronic boarding passes. Demographic factors: The airline industry serves customers all over the world. Typically serving adults, even though children fly. Shares of the market are customers traveling for business purposes. Industry Airline Industry. The airline industry is a major economic and social force. The impact air travel has had on related industries, manufacturing, and tourism is on a global scale. Few industries have created the amount of technological advancement or gained such attention from federal governments. The industry has high and low cycles largely dependent on time of year and socioeconomic factors. The industry is fairly concentrated with only a small handful of majors competitors in North America, but each competitor has attached themselves to joint ventures with numerous global corporations, such as Sky Team, which contains Delta Air Lines. Airlines compete on a global scale, offering flights from Washington D.C to South Africa to Tokyo, Japan. Companies that limit themselves to a certain region struggle maintain a large portion of the market share. The airline industry is somewhat difficult to break into due to a high learning curve and the number of major competitors already establishe d in the field. The industry is in a mature phase, which means it is a well-established commodity that has seen little growth into untapped markets. Technology is rapidly growing to make planes larger, more efficient, quieter, and easier to manage. Technology has  allowed air travel to become safer and more cost effective than driving. The use of the internet has enabled consumers to purchase seats easier than ever. The capital requirements of an airline are very large. Planes, hangars, hubs, and a massive support staff are always needed to maintain even a small operation of flights. The industry can be very profitable as long as competition is maintained and people have a need for more rapid transportation. 5 – Force Analysis New Entrants. The significant start-up costs and capital requirements make entering the airline industry difficult. Government regulations also make a new or unknown company struggle internationally, as many governments strictly control who has authority to land within the country. Foreign competitors are more of a threat than new competitors. Foreign competitors are always looking to increase their market share in the U.S. and North America. Suppliers. Suppliers have a large amount of power within the industry. Boeing and Airbus dominate the manufacturing industry related to the airlines, which limits competition and rivalry. There is a lack of intensity within the industry due to this lack of competition. The other high priced commodity for airlines is fuel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is very strong and can easily influence the price of fuel. These suppliers can demand the prices they want because the airline industry has limited options otherwise. Buyers. Buyers have relatively low bargaining power within the airline industry. This is in part due to the high costs of switching airlines and the fact that airlines have the ability to set their own prices without fear of taking losses. Buyer power has recently grown with the use of travel/booking websites such as Travelocity, Kayak, and Hotwire. These sites enable buyers to instantaneously peruse numerous airline ticketing costs. The consumer then has the option to select the airline with the lowest offered price. Delta has introduced a way to lower ticket costs and maintain a loyal customer base. They offer lowered prices to consumers who buy directly from the Delta website. Substitutes. The increased efficiency of other travel modes do offer some threats of substitutes and also forces the airline industry to remain vigilant about having constant technological upgrades of their own. The threats offered from other services, such as motor vehicle, train, and boat,  have been dec lining since the rise of air travel, but they remain as a constant within the tourism and travel industries. Increased costs of fuel/oil prices have decreased the number of consumers who travel for pleasure, which has increased the percentage of those who travel for business needs. Airlines remain the favorite for international or transoceanic traveling due to the speed of transportation. Existing Rivalry. Rivals have created increased intensity within the market and the need for joint ventures and new business contracts on a regular basis. The most profitable hubs are ones setup within major traffic cities with a high demand for air travel. This means that the major airlines have to compete with one another to seize the larger markets. The larger markets typically cost more to get into, but yield a higher return on investments, so it is beneficial to become involved. Companies need to offer more flights and more time flexibility through these larger markets to keep up with the demand of their rival companies. Fixed costs from suppliers, low differentiation of services, and price wars contribute to rivalry as well. Net profits are lower overall due to this competition, but it ensures that one company is unable to seize a monopoly of the market share. Offering â€Å"frequent flyer miles† is one way to differentiate from the competition and increase a loyal customer base.

A Poison Tree By William Blake - 1398 Words

William Blake was a painter, engraver and poet of the Romantic era, who lived and worked in London. Many of Blake’s famous poems reside in his published collection of poems titled Songs of Innocence and of Experience. This collection portrays the two different states of the human soul, good and evil. Many poems in the Songs of Innocence have a counterpart poem in the Songs of Experience. The poem â€Å"A Poison Tree† is found in the Songs of Experience and it delves into the mind of man tainted with sin and corruption that comes with experience. In a simple and creative style, the religious theology of the Fall of Man is brought to life. The poem tells the story of how man fell from a state of innocence to impurity, focusing on the harmful repercussions of suppressed anger. Blake utilities many literary devices to successfully characterizes anger as an antagonist with taunting power. A popular characteristic in many of Blake’s poems is the inclusion of biblical allusions to convey meaning. In his poem â€Å"A Poison Tree†, Blake uses anaphora, diction, and symbol to allow biblical allusions that depicts the evil that man is capable to come into being. Anaphora is the usage of the same word or phrase at the beginning of every consecutive line. In stanza one, the word ‘I’ begins every line, and later on the word ‘and’ is used seven times to signify the start of some of the lines. The poem is organized in a way that immediately starts off using anaphora and since anaphora is mainlyShow MoreRelatedFigurative Language In The Poison Tree By William Blake809 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"In the morning, glad, I see, My foe outstretched beneath the tree.† In the poem, Poison Tree, William Blake uses different types of figurative language like imagery, allegories, personification, and metaphors to show us, the reads, about ho w grudges can weigh you down, or if your grudge towards your enemy is strong enough, it can lead you to murder. It can lead you into a dark path if you don’t let it go. People don’t seem to notice, but when you’re angry with someone, and you tell them, it getsRead MoreWilliam Blake s Poem A Poison Tree 934 Words   |  4 Pagesalways easy. People tend to lean towards anger because they don’t want to show vulnerability towards others people. We can reflect on William Blake’s artistic work that approaches human nature by uncovering humanity fixation with wrath. Blake’s poem â€Å"A Poison Tree† is a prime example of poetry that forces readers to realize how one’s wrath can be dangerous. Blake uses metaphors and allusions throughout each stanza to expose the cons of hiding one’s wrath. Blake’s message of human fixation with wrathRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allen Poe And A Poison Tree By William Blake860 Words   |à ‚  4 PagesEdgar Allen Poe and â€Å"A Poison Tree† by William Blake, They plotted their murders carefully and made sure nobody would find out it was them. Edgar Allen Poe and William Blake show that revenge can come as a shock because sometimes appearance hides reality. There are two literary devices in these passages that strongly represent the texts, they are conflict and setting because they are actively expressed throughout both the texts a various amount of times. In the texts Poe and Blake use conflict and settingRead MoreEssay on The Message Behind A Poison Tree1077 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake was a first generation Romantic poet. He lived a long life in which he wrote a copious amount of poetry (Eaves). Blake was also a painter. This aided Blake’s advancing symbolism; he could paint a lovely picture with his words (Eaves). The poem that I have analyzed is A Poison Tree. Blake strategically placed imagery and personification to hide his underlying truth ; do not store up anger because horrible situations will arise. At first glance the poem seems hate filled and that he justRead MoreA Poison Tree Analysis Essay977 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: Analysis of William Blake’s A Poison Tree (1794) Analysis of William Blake’s A Poison Tree (1794) Jayne Courtney Kendall Brandman University Abstract This analysis is going to explore each segment to better understand the meaning the author was trying to express and the lessons that we in these words that transcends through all ages. The exploration and analysis will look further in to what we can take away from this writing and lesson we can learn in order for our soul’sRead More Bad Apples Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesBad Apples A Poison Tree by William Blake is a short poem about life in general. The poem teaches its readers a valuable lesson about anger. Anger has power over ones’ mind and actions. If a person holds in their feelings, especially anger, it can pull that person down emotionally as evident in the poem A Poison Tree. This poem written by William Blake describes the darker emotions such as anger, hatred and Schadenfreude. The poem refers to apple bright in the garden which may lead readersRead MoreAnalysis of A Poison Tree Essay1370 Words   |  6 PagesSoul, William Blake uses the aforementioned contrasting states of being to illustrate his unique view of the world around him. Through this work, Blake lays bare his soulful views of religion and ethics, daring the reader to continue on in their narcissistic attitudes and self-serving politics. While Blakes work had countless themes, some of the most prevalent were religious reform, social change, and morality. Philosophically, one would think that William Blake was a Deist; however Blake rejectedRead More Analysis of William Blakes A Poison Tree Essay530 Words   |  3 PagesIn â€Å"A Poison Tree,† by W illiam Blake is a central metaphor explains a truth of human nature. The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with the â€Å"friend,† to the continuing anger with the â€Å"foe.† Blake startles the reader with the clarity of the poem, and with metaphors that can apply to many instances of life. Blake also uses several forms of figurative language. He works with a simple AABB rhyme scheme to keep his poem flowing. These ideals allow himRead MoreThe Poison Tree by Andres Medina719 Words   |  3 PagesThe Poison Tree by Andres Medina The poison tree the author speaks about the containment of emotion.The author is angry at his friend but forgives him so his anger ends.†I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.†(Blake).I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.(Blake)The author gets angry with his enemy but doesnt tell him so it doesnt end , and grows into a tree.The tree then produces a fruit, â€Å"Till it bore an apple bright.†(Blake)The enemy stealsRead MoreAnger Portrayed By Poetry Essay836 Words   |  4 Pageswill regret, or as a result of that. In the poems â€Å"A Poison Tree† by William Blake and â€Å"A total stranger one black day† by e. e. cummings both display the idea that anger can be the cause of something a person can regret or the result. In â€Å"A Poison Tree† William Blake shows that built up anger can be deadly to others. Repetition is used to express the theme of growing anger because it shows the emphasis and the forcefulness behind the word. As Blake states, â€Å"I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath