American Illness in Daisy Miller A Study - Literature Essay Samples

Before the revelations of modern medicine, illness of any kind was a highly mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon that was accompanied by little hope for a solution to ease or eliminate the ailment. During this time when no one knew the origin of most diseases, let alone how to cure them or take preventative measures, sicknesses of varying severity carried a lot more significance than they do today due to their unexplainable nature, thereby making them a valuable literary tool in terms of allegorical and metaphorical contexts. Henry James was one of many authors of the 19th century who employed illness as a meaningful symbol juxtaposed to the overlying conflict in his writing, most notably in his acclaimed 1878 novella, Daisy Miller: A Study. This story tells of several American characters in a European setting, some expatriates and some vacationers, all with varying degrees of familiarity with and acceptance of European sociocultural norms. The conflict focuses on the clash between European and American social customs, instigated by the promiscuous behavior of the free-spirited and strong-willed Daisy Miller and her interactions with American expatriates such as Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker as she travels Europe with her mother and younger brother. Several of these Americans face difficulties with their health just as they face difficulties with European society. Those at odds with the restrictive and elitist setting find themselves in physical distress, and only those who have fully assimilated to the culture and its expectations escape illness. Therefore, in James’ Daisy Miller, similar to the way the body feels the adverse effects when it rejects a virus, the incursion of poor health reflects a resistance to the conservative European environment. The first and most significant example of this reflection is the sudden tragic death of Daisy Miller due to Roman fever, otherwise known as malaria. Even the name of the disease is highly appropriate – malaria translates literally as â€Å"bad air†, as it was thought to come from poisonous nighttime climate. While Daisy suffers physically from the harmful vapors, she also suffers from the â€Å"bad air† of those who know of her and make her subject of noxious gossip and distaste (Foster). The fever that kills Daisy is very much like â€Å"the overheated state that makes her frantic to join the elite (â€Å"We’re dying to be exclusive,† she says early on) while at the same time causing the disapproval of the Europeanized Americans who reside permanently in Rome at every turn† (Foster). Daisy is so quintessentially American that with no will to adapt to the customs of European society, she increasingly becomes the object of scandal because of h er coquettish ways and open affections for multiple gentlemen. In fact, she blatantly denounces the ways of European women when Mrs. Walker, a Europeanized American and friend of both Winterbourne and the Miller family, begs her in cold fury to leave the company of her Italian companion Mr. Giovanelli, with whom Daisy went to walk with alone in the evening. Mrs. Walker demands that Daisy get into the carriage with her and exclaims that Daisy is ruining her reputation through her reckless actions (James 446). Daisy later confides to Winterburne, â€Å"the young ladies of this country have a dreadfully pokey time of it, so far as I can learn; I don’t see why I should change my habits for them† (James 450), thus affirming her opposition to proper European ways. It is this sentiment that heightens considerably as Daisy becomes the talk of the town at the disproval of all those who appreciate European principles for young women and ultimately seals her fate; because Daisy n ever waivers in her rebellion against the cultural expectations and remains stolid in her own beliefs, she is the one who suffers the most due to illness and eventually succumbs to it. Though she is the most prominent example, Daisy is not the only American character to contrast with the Old World setting and experience illness. Her mother, Mrs. Miller, is neurotic about her many ailments and revels in telling of them to whoever will listen. She is said to suffer from â€Å"dyspepsia†, and, as Daisy claims she never sleeps, she often complains of fatigue, which often causes her to stay inside their hotel for extended periods of time to avoid her unnerving and unfamiliar surroundings during their vacation. These symptoms mark Mrs. Miller’s inability to cope with and behave within European standards, and she even blames the European climate outright for her discomfort – â€Å"I suffer from the liver†¦I think it’s the climate, it’s less bracing than Schenectady† (James 440). Likewise, Mrs. Miller’s son and Daisy’s young brother Randolph also declares he has dyspepsia, and shares his mother’s opinion i n blaming their location for the loss of his teeth, although a normal occurrence for a boy his age, by saying â€Å"It’s this old Europe. It’s the climate that makes them come out. In America they didn’t come out† (James 422). The members of Daisy’s family experience these minor afflictions because their very being is in opposition with what was to be expected of upper class people in Europe. Mrs. Miller is to blame for her children’s upbringing as it does not fit into the ideals of the Old World; she does not reprimand Daisy’s flirtatious and unacceptable actions and for Randolph’s impolite behaviors and remarks. She treats their courtier, Eugenio, as one of their family, and this was seen as unbecoming to the expatriate elite. In the words of Winterbourne’s aunt Mrs. Costello, â€Å"They are very common†¦ They are the sort of Americans that one does one’s duty by not – not accepting† (James 42 8). Similar to how Mrs. Miller’s illnesses keep her tucked away in her hotel, away from the judging eyes of the populace, Mrs. Costello is â€Å"too proud to associate with Americans touring the continent and yet not having been accepted by European society or the society of Europeanized Americans, has developed sick headaches and withdrawn from society altogether† (Houghton). While she belonged to a prominent social circle back in the United States, she has not been socially successful in Europe, and her headaches represent her unconscious desire to hide from a society that has not met her expectations (Houghton). Mrs. Miller, Randolph, and Mrs. Costello are Americans out of place in an environment that does not entirely accept them, and so they are plagued with discomforts that allows them to shelter themselves from their surroundings. In contrast, American expatriates Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker thrive in their European citizenship because they have absorbed the social norms and live by the standards expected at the time. Winterbourne functions well in his place of residence in Geneva, where he spends a great deal of time â€Å"studying† – that is, serving as the lover of a much older, likely married, foreign woman (James 422). This was a custom common in Europe during this time; while young unmarried women were expected to stay the perfect image of chastity and innocence, it was acceptable for married women unsatisfied with their spouses to take on a young bachelor as a lover. Daisy, with her thoroughly Americanized viewpoint, sees the hypocrisy in this situation; being rebuked by Winterbourne for her flirtatious habits, she declares â€Å"it seems to me much more proper in young unmarried women than in old married ones† (James 450). However, Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker have accepted this n orm so as to see no fault in it and practice it themselves. It is significant that James uses the euphemism of â€Å"studying† to explain Winterbourne’s position, for indeed in a way he is studying the ways of the average upper class European. Likewise, â€Å"Mrs. Walker was one of those American ladies who, while residing abroad, make a point, in their own phrase, of studying European society. . .As a result of her study, Mrs. Walker has come to know the rules, she abides by them, and she cuts from her social circle anyone who endangers her own position by not following what she calls the ‘custom here’† (Houghton). Rather than have her reputation marred by her acquaintance with Daisy Miller, Mrs. Walker ignores the girl outright and refuses to invite her to any social events. Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker are able to maintain perfect health throughout the story because they have been fully integrated into European society and view it in a positive l ight. In Henry James’ novella Daisy Miller: A Study, the illnesses experienced by several of his American characters are utilized symbolically to portray the rejection of the rigid European social precedents that contrast so sharply to their own. James’ story subtly hints at the moral sickness and hypocritical nature of the strict laws of society, to which the characters unaccustomed and unaccepting to this environment become exposed and subsequently diseased by its essence. The world that expatriates like Mrs. Walker and Winterbourne have become a part of is harmful to the others who fall prey to its attack and suffer mentally and physically from culture shock. The book is fittingly titled â€Å"a study† because it illustrates the downfall of Daisy Miller almost as a social experiment to which Winterbourne is the observer. As a pariah in an unforgiving society designed to seek out and eliminate those who do not fit in, Daisy was fated to be destroyed by the European c ulture she so vehemently rejected. Her innocence and ignorance made her sick to society’s ways and ultimately led to her tragic death. Works Cited Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading between the Lines. New York: Quill, 2003. Print. Houghton, Donald E. Attitude and Illness in James Daisy Miller. Literature and Psychology 19.1 (1969): 51-60. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Nancy G. Dziedzic. Vol. 64. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Oct. 2016. James, Henry. Daisy Miller: A Study. 1986. The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York: W. W. Norton , 2012. 421-59. Print.

The Han and Roman Empires A Test in Longevity Essay

The history of the empires of Afro-Eurasia ebb and flow like an ocean tide; its waves representing the degrees of dissension; its over bearing water levels claiming the dry shore in its path, claiming the sands as its people. Such is never permanent, soon the tides will recede and the sand will be claimed by yet, another tide; to repeat this process yet again. Two empires in Afro-Eurasia, born in the final years before the common era; defied those that came before in their ability to maintain their reign over their respective realms. The Han dynasty in China would be born out of the aristocratic and violent overthrow of the Qin empire, while at the other end of Afro-Eurasia, Rome confronted its oppressors in a similar, yet at the time†¦show more content†¦The Qin were depicted as cruel, with the Han being moral, and following in the Confucian ideals; though in reality the Qin and Han laws were similar in severity1. In the beginning of the Han empire, there was significant co mpromise with the aristocratic groups who helped to overthrow the Qin. Liu Bang handed out land grants to his military supporters as well as his relatives. The bureaucracy of the Qin was adopted as the basis for the Han empire; it was highly centralized, and all were affected. All males were required to register, pay taxes, and serve in the military. Former regional princes were removed from power and rebellions were crushed, in their places regional officials took over. A civilian official and military commandant were responsible for each commandery, which were the provinces of the new empire. They shared an enormous responsibility to collect taxes and maintain political stability of a vast region, which contained millions of people who belong to many ethic groups. Schooling was an important aspect of Han life. The government supported the education of its population, and established formal institutions for learning to ensure future bureaucrats were well trained. Han scholars were also inventors, naturalists; discovering important medical diagnostic skills, as well as how the wind and temperature affected the transmission of diseases2. Such inventions also included high quality paper, which replaced

Entrepreneurship Katie Page

Question: Discuss about the Entrepreneurship for Katie Page. Answer: Introduction The purpose of the study is to evaluate the characteristics of an entrepreneur. An Entrepreneur is the person who is responsible for starting his or her business or has helped in the development of an existing business. For this particular study, Katie Page has been selected as the entrepreneur. She is the existing CEO of Harvey Norman and has been ranked among the successful entrepreneurs of Australia (Carmody et al. 2016). Although she might not be given the credit of establishing her own business but she has been responsible for the expansion of the business of Harvey Norman. Right from the beginning of her career with Harvey Norman she has been able to identify the right platform for the expansion of the business and has been successful in doing so (Cew.org.au 2016). A detailed investigation of the entrepreneurial characteristics of her shall be discussed in this report. The study also includes the background of Katie Page and the farsightedness that has helped her to become a successful entrepreneur even in the competitive era. The later part of the study, shall also suggest some of the evident features that Page might undertake to improve her business and entrepreneurial skills. Background of the Entrepreneur: Kay Leslie Katie Page is the Australian business executive and the Chief Executive Officer of the retail company Harvey Norman. She was born in 1956 in Queensland, Australia. Graduated from the Brisbane State High School in 1973, Katie has been always a courageous and surveyor in her life (Cew.org.au 2016). When she was 21 years old, she moved to Sydney where she participated in raising funds for the autistic children. There she met Gerry Harvey, as he was one of the judges of the panel. After six years, Gerry offered her a job at a new Harvey Norman store. She was responsible the sales and marketing department and publicity of the firm. Later the couple married (Cew.org.au 2016). Katie Page has been working as an assistant at Harvey Norman since 1983 but became the Chief Executive for over 200 stores in Australia and 86 stores abroad (Kruger 2014). She has been referred as the mastermind behind the success of the retail stores in major media interviews. She might not have created her own business brand or a new venture but she is responsible for the overall business development of this brand (Powell 2016). Thus, she is an entrepreneur in her own terms. It is the ability and the farsightedness of this business woman that has given her the name and fame of an entrepreneur. Characteristics of the Entrepreneur: Katie Page has a strong attitude that has helped her to reach her the position where she belongs to. She has effective leadership capabilities that have made her capable of working with around 200 retail stores of Harvey Norman. It was under the leadership of Katie that Harvey Norman expanded into New Zealand in 1996, in Singapore in 2000 and in Malaysia and Slovenia in 2003 (Lehmann 2016). In addition to this, the Company has entered in the online retail market as well in 2014. Some of the entrepreneurial characteristics that she enjoys are versatility, creativity and persuasiveness, superb business skills, risk tolerance along with flexibility and open mindedness (Kozubkov et al. 2015). It can be said that all these entrepreneurial characteristics are present in her and this is the reason that has made her capable of dealing with the competitive situation of the market and bring her own company out for all the success (Lehmann 2016). Processes of Opportunity Recognition and Idea Development: Page has been found to come up with a new business idea. She identified that womens sport has been most undervalued in the country. In addition to this, the womens sports products have been most undervalued. Therefore, the alarming need to improve the situation was felt. In the mean time, it was found that the women sports team has been doing well in the sport. The Rugby Sevens team won gold in Rio (Lehmann 2016). The AFL also planned to launch the national womens league and the female cricketers have been found to come up with a bash (Powell 2016). However, as it was evident that no matter how well the women performed in the sports, all the sponsorship goes to the mens team of cricket or football. This was the time, Katie got the opportunity to speak for the women and show participation in the field of women sports. She insisted on pushing the barrow of gender equality as not a matter of fairness but something that the women should be given. In 2005, Katie was appointed to the board of the National Rugby League (Carmody et al. 2016). She was the first woman to be appointed to such a high post in a major sport board in Australia. She has always encouraged women for sports and their role in various activities. She has also served as the Director of Rebel Sports Limited and is currently the Director of Pertama Holdings Limited Singapore. It has to be noted that her powerful entrepreneurial skills has also lead her to become a proprietor of Magic Millions, where she eventually owned 25% but now owns 50% of the business (Carmody et al. 2016). Type of Business Developed and the Competitive Advantage(s) of the B usiness Compared to that in the market: Apart from the contribution that Katie made in the retail outlet of Harvey Norman, she has been active as a backer of several professional sports. Along with Harvey, she owns the Magic Million Thoroughbred racehorse auction house along with four breeding studs and 1000 racehorses (Carmody et al. 2016). She is also an active supporter of women sports. The credit for the retail success of the Harvey Norman can be easily given to her. Even in the competitive age, she has managed to keep pace with the other marketers. The idea of going online has fetched the company huge profit and the complete credit can be given to her (Carmody et al. 2016). She also took the advantage of the market and purchase Magic Millions. The Company has not been found to suffer any kind of loss or back lag in the recent time. The value of the Company has risen to billions. If similar businesses are compared that are present in the market, it can be said that the expansion and the idea of going online along with the presence of marketing and advertisement using the social media platforms have been the most effective steps undertaken by Page that has benefitted the Company a lot. The expansion of the business in Asian and European market at the right time has added more value to the Company. The credit for these activities can be given to Page (Carmody et al. 2016). It is her entrepreneurial skills and ability that has helped her to take the business to that point where one can see only success. Future Suggestions for the Entrepreneur As it has been evident that Katie has been quite active to support womens sports, it can be recommended that she tries her business luck in the sports industry. Katie has enough knowledge about the retail business and has been successful in her career. Therefore, it can be recommended that she starts her own sportswear brand for women. She has been well known for her participation in women sports activities (Rojas and Huergo 2016). Therefore, she might come up with a retail clothing brand of sportswear for the women. As for the sales and marketing, it is recommended that she use the online platform. She might also come up with retail outlet where sportswear and outfits would be sold along with other sports activities. The social media tools like Facebook, Twitter can be used for the purpose of marketing the product. It is also expected that since Harvey Norman has its presence in domestic and international platform, the newly formed business can also be expanded in these countries (Kozubkov et al. 2015). This shall increase the value of the brand by many folds and Page can become a more successful entrepreneur in her later stage of her life. Conclusion: With the detailed analysis of entrepreneurship has been conducted. Katie Page, the CEO of Harvey Norman has been identified as one of the successful entrepreneur in Australia in the recent time. The success of the retail store and the expansion of the business in domestic and foreign land can be easily given to her. It has also been identified that she has all the event entrepreneurial characteristics has helped her to reach the point where she or the Company is right at the moment. In addition to this, she has shown interest in women sports as well. Keeping this perspective into consideration, it has been suggested that she might undertake the approach of expanding her career in the womens sportswear and other related items. This study has provided the opportunity to know about the quality of a successful entrepreneur. References: Carmody, B., Richards, R. and Keating, E., 2016 Australias top 30 female entrepreneurs 2016 Available at: https://www.smartcompany.com.au/lists/top-female-entrepreneurs/australias-top-30-female-entrepreneurs-2016/ [Accessed on: 13-4-2017] Cew.org.au 2016 Katie Page Available at: https://cew.org.au/members/katie-page/ [Accessed on: 13-4-2017] Kozubkov, L., Bels, J., Bilan, Y. and Bartos, P., 2015. Personal characteristics of entrepreneurs in the context of perception and management of business risk in the SME segment.Economics Sociology,8(1), p.41. Kruger, C., 2014 Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/cbd/harvey-norman-ceo-katie-page-a-bargain-at-207m-20141122-11s0b6.html [Accessed on: 13-4-2017] Lehmann, M., 2016 She's CEO of a retail empire and a powerful agent for change in women's sport. Katie Page means business. Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/tight-reins/news-story/95652c6094e51c55d75c4d4ecec39774 [Accessed on: 13-4-2017] Powell, L., 2016 Australias Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs, Revealed Available at: https://www.mydomainehome.com.au/most-successful-australian-female-entrepreneurs [Accessed on: 13-4-2017] Rojas, F. and Huergo, E., 2016. Characteristics of entrepreneurs and public support for NTBFs.Small Business Economics,47(2), pp.363-382.