The Cask of Amontillado ( 1846)page 1 of 2 Essays - Fiction

The Cask of Amontillado" ( 1846)page 1 of 2 "For the love of God, Montresor!" (See Important Quotations Explained) Summary The narrator, Montresor, opens the story by stating that he has been irreparably insulted by his acquaintance, Fortunato, and that he seeks revenge. He wants to exact this revenge, however, in a measured way, without placing himself at risk. He decides to use Fortunato's fondness for wine against him. During the carnival season, Montresor, wearing a mask of black silk, approaches Fortunato. He tells Fortunato that he has acquired something that could pass for Amontillado, a light Spanish sherry. Fortunato (Italian for "fortunate") wears the multicolored costume of the jester, including a cone cap with bells. Montresor tells Fortunato that if he is too busy, he will ask a man named Luchesi to taste it. Fortunato apparently considers Luchesi a competitor and claims that this man could not tell Amontillado from other types of sherry. Fortunato is anxious to taste the wine and to determine for Montresor whether or not it is truly Amontillado. Fortunato insists that they go to Montresor's vaults. Montresor has strategically planned for this meeting by sending his servants away to the carnival. The two men descend into the damp vaults, which are covered with nitre , or saltpeter, a whitish mineral. Apparently aggravated by the nitre , Fortunato begins to cough. The narrator keeps offering to bring Fortunato back home, but Fortunato refuses. Instead, he accepts wine as the antidote to his cough. The men continue to explore the deep vaults, which are full of the dead bodies of the Montresor family. In response to the crypts, Fortunato claims to have forgotten Montresor's family coat of arms and motto. Montresor responds that his family shield portrays "a huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." The motto, in Latin, is "nemo me impune lacessit ," that is, "no one attacks me with impunity." Later in their journey, Fortunato makes a hand movement that is a secret sign of the Masons, an exclusive fraternal organization. Montresor does not recognize this hand signal, though he claims that he is a Mason. When Fortunato asks for proof, Montresor shows him his trowel, the implication being that Montresor is an actual stonemason. Fortunato says that he must be jesting, and the two men continue onward. The men walk into a crypt, where human bones decorate three of the four walls. The bones from the fourth wall have been thrown down on the ground. On the exposed wall is a small recess, where Montresor tells Fortunato that the Amontillado is being stored. Fortunato, now heavily intoxicated, goes to the back of the recess. Montresor then suddenly chains the slow-footed Fortunato to a stone. Taunting Fortunato with an offer to leave, Montresor begins to wall up the entrance to this small crypt, thereby trapping Fortunato inside. Fortunato screams confusedly as Montresor builds the first layer of the wall. The alcohol soon wears off and Fortunato moans, terrified and helpless. As the layers continue to rise, though, Fortunato falls silent. Just as Montresor is about to finish, Fortunato laughs as if Montresor is playing a joke on him, but Montresor is not joking. At last, after a final plea, "For the love of God, Montresor!" Fortunato stops answering Montresor, who then twice calls out his enemy's name. After no response, Montresor claims that his heart feels sick because of the dampness of the catacombs. He fits the last stone into place and plasters the wall closed, his actions accompanied only by the jingling of Fortunato's bells. He finally repositions the bones on the fourth wall. For fifty years, he writes, no one has disturbed them. He concludes with a Latin p hrase meaning "May he rest in peace." Analysis The terror of "The Cask of Amontillado," as in many of Poe's tales, resides in the lack of evidence that accompanies Montresor's claims to Fortunato's "thousand injuries" and "insult." The story features revenge and secret murder as a way to avoid using legal channels for retribution. Law is nowhere on Montresor'sor Poe'sradar screen, and the enduring horror of the story is the

How to Structure Sample Essay Questions

How to Structure Sample Essay QuestionsThe most common question in the history of sample essay questions has been: how do I write an essay for college? It's a legitimate question, and if you're not certain of what you should write or how you should write it, you're not alone. Sample essay topics vary widely, and it can be confusing and frustrating to come up with your own. Writing samples can help, but only if you understand how they are meant to work.The first step to getting a good idea of how to structure your samples is to read sample essays. This way, you'll get a feel for the format of an essay, and what the main rules are. After that, you can create a structure for your sample essay topics.There are many sources for sample essay topics, and it's a good idea to begin there. For example, look at work by experts in the field to get a feel for how to approach the topic. This can give you ideas as to what questions to ask and how to approach them.The best way to structure a sample essay is to start with a few questions, and then branch out from there. For example, take a look at how you structure a test.First, you ask a few questions and then go on to the main objective of the paper. You don't just throw the entire test out. Your structure is the same for samples, with the focus moving away from the questions you asked, and towards the main idea.Another way to structure a sample essay questions is to use this basic guideline: the question(s) should be logically contained within the paragraph. The main idea of the question will explain why you're asking the question, and the answer should tell you the specific reason you should know it. All in all, your question should contain three parts: what the question is asking, what you're going to do about it, and what the conclusion will be.Keep in mind that the whole point of writing an essay is to use words to express your ideas, and get your point across. Unless you know psychology or know how to express your thoug hts with the written word, you will be losing this process.If you follow these three rules, you'll have the best opportunity to write a great sample essay questions. As your knowledge of psychology increases, so will your ability to come up with great questions. The key is to keep looking, and keep changing your samples.

The History of Chinese New Year

The History of Chinese New Year The most important holiday in Chinese culture around the world is undoubtedly Chinese New Year, and it all started out of fear. The centuries-old legend of the origins of the Chinese New Year celebration varies from teller to teller, but every telling includes a story of a terrible mythical monster preying on villagers. The lion-like monster’s name was Nian (Ã¥ ¹ ´), which is also the Chinese word for â€Å"year. The stories include a wise old man who counsels the villagers to ward off the evil Nian by making loud noises with drums and firecrackers and by hanging red paper cutouts and scrolls on their doors, because Nian is scared of the color red. The villagers took the old man’s advice and Nian was conquered. On the anniversary of the date, the Chinese recognize the â€Å"passing of the Nian,† known in Chinese as guo nian (è ¿â€¡Ã¥ ¹ ´), which is synonymous with celebrating the new year. Lunar Calendar The date of Chinese New Year changes each year because its based on the lunar calendar. While the western Gregorian calendar is based on the Earth’s orbit around the sun, the date of Chinese New Year is determined according to the moon’s orbit around the Earth. Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam also celebrate the new year using the lunar calendar. While Buddhism and Daoism have unique customs during the New Year, Chinese New Year is far older than both religions. As with many agrarian societies, Chinese New Year is rooted in a celebration of spring, like Easter or Passover. Depending on where its grown, the rice season in China lasts roughly from May to September (north China), April to October (Yangtze River Valley), or March to November (Southeast China). The New Year was likely the start of preparations for a new growing season. Spring cleaning is a common theme during this time. Many Chinese families clean out their homes during the holiday. The New Year celebration could also have been a way to break up the boredom of the long winter months. Traditional Customs On Chinese New Year, families travel long distances to meet and make merry. Known as the Spring movement or Chunyun (æ˜ ¥Ã¨ ¿ ), a great migration takes place in China during this period as many travelers brave crowds to get to their hometowns. Though the holiday is actually just a week long, traditionally its celebrated as a 15-day holiday when firecrackers are lit, drums are heard on the streets, red lanterns glow at night, and red paper cutouts and calligraphy hang on doors. Children are also given  red envelopes  containing money. Many cities around the world hold New Year parades complete with dragon and lion dances. Celebrations conclude on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival. Food is an important component of New Year. Traditional foods to eat include nian gao  (sweet sticky rice cake) and savory dumplings.   Chinese New Year vs. Spring Festival In China, New Year celebrations are synonymous with Spring Festival (æ˜ ¥Ã¨Å â€š or chÃ… «n jià ©), which is typically a week-long celebration. The origins of this renaming from Chinese New Year to â€Å"Spring Festival† are fascinating and not widely known. In 1912 the newly formed Chinese Republic, governed by the Nationalist Party, renamed the traditional holiday Spring Festival to get the Chinese people to transition into celebrating the Western New Year. During this period, many Chinese intellectuals felt that modernization meant doing all things as the West did. When the Communists took over power in 1949, the celebration of New Year was viewed as feudalistic and steeped in religion, not proper for an atheist China. Under the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese New Year wasnt celebrated some years. By the late 1980s, however, as China began liberalizing its economy, Spring Festival celebrations became big business. Since 1982, China Central Television has held an annual New Year’s Gala which is televised across the country and via satellite to the world. Over the years, the government has made several changes to its holiday system. The May Day holiday was increased and then shortened to one day, and the National Day holiday was made three days instead of two. More traditional holidays, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, are emphasized. The only week-long holiday that was maintained is Spring Festival.

Product Sales Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Product Sales Issue - Essay Example For instance, Atkinson (2005) suggests utilizing inter-office communication tools such as e-mail to distribute the basic agenda of the business meeting. CEOs and other management officials are under increasing pressure to multi-task and exceed performance expectations, making the pre-meeting communication an important method of illustrating respect for management time schedules and to allow the group to pre-determine any questions they may wish to ask. Such an electronic agenda communication could show a brief outline highlighting a potential sales issue so that the leadership team is aware that this topic will be included as part of the meeting. The purpose of this pre-meeting communication is to avoid CEO perceptions of wasted time and link strategy with customer-related issues. The communication does not necessarily have to outline the details of the problem. During the meeting, at the point where widget issues are at the top of the agenda, no blame should be placed on specific individuals in the business but only highlighting that it has come to the CSD manager’s attention that the business faces a sales and short-term strategic problem. Placing blame in communications such as these only make attendees resistant to further communications and they may reject any suggested plans if the attendees feel they are being singled out without appropriate evidence (Landy & Conte, 2006). The purpose of the meeting is to identify business issues, not determine who is responsible at the current time. One specific course of action recommended would include a risk assessment of the areas of business involved in widget sales (production, quality control, sales/marketing and shipping). As the CSD manager, I would bring highlighted portions of company policy which illustrates procedural activities and suggest areas of potential risk where oversight or quality control procedures might be absent. How can

Property law case of study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Property law case of study - Assignment Example It must be understood however that the ownership over the property or object is not conveyed to the tenant but merely the right of possession which is separate and distinct from ownership. The leasehold contract whether a written or oral agreement, gives rise to demandable rights such as but not limited to delivery of the property or object in good tenantable condition for the purpose it is intended, quiet (Jenkins v. Jackson) and peaceful possession and abatement of any disturbance or intrusion to the enjoyment (Kenny v. Preen) of the property or object and payment and review of rental. Thus, any material violation shall be construed as a breach of contract which ripens to a right to rescind the contract, demand specific performance or restitution by way of damages. In this jurisdiction, lease contracts may be written or oral agreements however it is more legally feasible and expedient to reduce the terms and conditions into writing as it is difficult to prove and substantiate oral agreements. This is appropriate for contracts affecting land, residential or commercial tenancy. It cannot be denied that some of the most contentious issues concerning tenancy relations are payment delays or worse, non-payment, negotiation whether to reduce or increase rental fees pursuant to an acceleration or deceleration clause, extent of repairs or maintenance liability, discriminatory conduct committed by the landlord, fixing of the period and renewal of lease. As a result thereof, it is imperative that the responsibilities and other stipulations binding to the landlord and tenant are specified and delineated in a contract to safeguard their respective rights and avoid any protracted or tedious litigation. Disputes shall nonetheless be resolved and dispensed with by the courts in accordance with the facts and evidence adduced as the arbiter on how the law should be interpreted and applied. II. Factual Antecedents Before any suit is lodged in the courts, it may be prudent for t he parties to discuss and resolve the matter amicably. It may be gleaned that it is in this context that Tomes Limited, a bookshop entity, has sought opinion whether its position against the claims of the landlord is justifiable and equitable. According to the landlord, Tomes is liable to repair and reinforce the structural damage to the joist caused by the weight of the books stacked on the bookshelves and to submit to a rent review. Tomes strongly disagrees and in support of its opposition asserts that the reinforcement work is not cosmetic in nature thus not within the purview of the repairing covenant. The structural engineer commissioned by the landlord even affirmed that the joists may not have been permanently damaged and for this, Tomes insists that any repair or reinforcement must be done for the sole account of the landlord. On the other hand, the rent review is no longer possible as the period has elapsed which should have been exercised on the fifth, tenth and fifteenth years of the twenty-five year contract which commenced on 1 April 1997. It is likewise stipulated that the break clause may be carried out by the tenant only on the sixteenth year by giving notice on the first six months of the fifteenth year of the term. Tomes likewise invoked the Landlord and Tenancy Act of 1954 to govern its leasehold

Barclays Bank Retail Banking Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barclays Bank Retail Banking Strategy - Essay Example Some of these are helpful for every firm in the industry and are called opportunities, while others bring bad news for everyone and are regarded as threats. Besides these forces in the external environment, a particular firm may have internal strengths such as the skill and experience of its staff, or weaknesses such as frequent labor disputes because of lack of clearly defined polices for staff and workers. In sum the fortunes of the firm are dependent on how well its management deals with business opportunities and threats, while using the strengths of the firm to take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the effect of the threats through clever planning and strategic implementation of its vision for the company. This is what is called strategic management- or the planning and implementation to achieve its desired plans in the marketplace in the face of these internal and external forces. The legal, political, sociological, economic and other environments may pose a number o f challenges that must be overcome by the business if it is to survive and prosper in the marketplace. Barclays Bank PLC is one of the key players in the worldwide banking industry as well as in India and this paper will discuss how successfully it has managed to meet the challenges faced by the banking sector in India. II. Overview of the Banking Sector in India The major Indian banks can be classified under three categories in terms of ownership:(1) Public sector banks such as State Bank of India, the Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank; (2) Private sector banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank; and (3) Foreign Banks such as Citibank, Barclays Bank of India and Standard Chartered Bank. By December 2008, there were 28 public sector banks, 29 private sector banks and 30 foreign banks, in addition to other regional and cooperative entities. The banking sector in India is one that is full of intense competition. Lately the banking sector, which had been hit by the worldwide 2007-2008 economic recession, has been in recovery mode and efforts are still being made to put the sector back on track. The recessionary trend saw a decrease in the percentage of consumer lending from 29.9 percent in 2007 to just 17.1 percent in 2008. The major contractions were seen in the autos, housing, personal loans and consumer durables sectors. III. Supervision and Control As in most nations of the world, the outlook on monetary policy and regulation of the financial system lies with the Central Bank. In India, this is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In keeping with the special functions of a central banking institution, it is also the issuer of local currency as well as the manager of foreign currency reserves and regulations in India. In the same fashion, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulatory body that monitors stock market transactions and compliance with the rules. India also has an Insurance Regulatory & Development Authori ty like the FDIC in the USA that is responsible for protecting the interests of the policyholders. Â   IV. The State of the Retail Banking Sector in India Retail banking has been the major hub of activity in recent years. The banks have classified their customers into three major groups- consumer, small business and corporate. It has been acknowledged that the progress of retail banking would most likely rest of four pillars: innovative offerings, distribution optimization, quality of management and shared system/back-office. Barclays has adopted an innovative strategy upon its entry into India in 2008. Banking today can be characterized by the different products that are being dealt with, such as investment banking, asset management or debt management, or by the type of customer dealing, such as Wealth Management

Hypatia of Alexandria :: essays research papers

Hypatia of Alexandria Hypatia was born in 370 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt. From that day on her life was one enriched with a passion for knowledge. Theon, Hypatia’s father whom himself was a mathematician, raised Hypatia in an environment of thought. Both of them formed a strong bond as he taught her his own knowledge and shared his passion in the search of answers to the unknown. Under her fathers discipline he developed a physical routine for her to ensure a healthy body as well as a highly functional mind. Her father instructed her on the different religions of the world and how to influence people with the power of words. Also taught her the fundamentals of teaching so she could be a profound orator. From the teachings of her father, she to became a mathematician and philosopher which she was recognized the head of the Neo-Platonist school of philosophy at Alexandria. Due to her eloquence, modesty, and beauty, combined with her remarkable intellectual gifts, she attracted a large number of pupils . Her students were aristocratic young men, both Pagan and Christian, who rose to occupy influential civil and eccelestrastical positions. They considered Hypatia as their â€Å"divine guide† into the realm of philosophical and cosmic mysteries, which included mathematics. She combined the principles of free thinking and the ideal of pure living. She was known for her prudence, moderation, and self control, and for her ease of manner and her beauty. She was recognized as an eloquent teacher and by 390 A.D. her circle of influence was well-established. She also symbolized learning and science which in time of Western history were largely identified by early Christians with Paganism. As such, she was the focal point in the tension and riots between Christians and non-Christians that racked more than once in Alexandria. In this time Cyril roused negative sentiment toward Orestes and Orestes was attacked by 500 Nitrian monks. Due to Cyril and his negativity and what he caused to happen to Orestes, Hypatia fell victim to the political hostilities due to being a close associate of Orestes and was undoubtedly defamed by Cyril. Admiration for her became resentment and she was perceived as an obstacle to the conciliation of Orestes and Cyril. Being as that, Cyril began planning Hypatia’s most crucial death. In 415 A.D., during Lent, while riding in her chariot through the streets of Alexandria, she was attacked upon by a fanatical mob of antipagan Christians.