Discuss in detail how a landlord can protect his rent flow during the Essay - 1

Discuss in detail how a landlord can protect his rent flow during the property cycle Using UK law and Proactive Management - Essay Example As the property moves in the different stages, the quality can be retained by upgrading the portfolio. This would attract investors and consequently lead contributes to the security of the income security. Buying or developing property to let is the first step for landlords to add to the investment portfolio. This is a medium to long term investment in which the property is let out to tenants or lease holders. Investment in property is a good for someone will to tie up large sums of money, require more tangible investments than shares and are willing to take a risk. The landlord needs to therefore have effective management system of protecting the rent floe during the various stages of the property life cycle. It follows that one has to deal with the risks of not earning a profit from the investment and also the fact that property prices may increase or reduce. Once the landlord finishes the purchase process, he can start earning the income through the rental that is paid. One of the options for the landlords is to insist on the use of the onerous provisions in the commercial leases. It is however will have very negative repercussions to the landlord when the rent reviews are done. Landlords may refuse to use a flexible system because the rent may be market prices that provide the standard rents (White, 2010). The preparation of the lease agreement is crucial for the landlord to manage the rent from the business. According to the tenant Act of 1927 and the landlord and tenant Act of 1988, the lease agreement can be done by absolute prohibition, qualified restriction and absolute qualified restriction. On the other hand, the most common method of developing effective leases is the qualified restriction. In the case of Addiscombe Garden estates Ltd v Cramble (1957) in which a trustee of a tennis court took possession of the tennis courts and a club house under

Importance of Teamwork in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Importance of Teamwork in Nursing Essay Teamwork involves the merging of members of the same or different professions or domains to work towards a common goal. This group compliments the skills of each member who are consequently committed to one purpose. Teamwork is therefore challenging and at the same time rewarding. It is coupled with a lot of enthusiasm, hope and a share of its own setbacks. Teamwork is initially formed in any particular group with an aim of dividing the effort of accomplishing a particular task while at the same instance multiplying the effect. Any positive work experience usually has an aspect of teamwork in it. Nurses make up the largest care-provider in a hospital setting thus nursing is a job that requires a lot of teamwork. This involves a nurse to nurse or a nurse to physician teamwork. In most cases, the nursing workforce is neglected by the administration involved due to the anticipation of the patients’ recuperation and recovery, thus nurturing a form of autonomy among the workforce. This serves in downsizing the emphasis on teamwork and this happens at the very expense of the same patients. Service delivery is paramount in the field of nursing and teamwork is one of the core determiners of good service delivery. Teamwork among any group, on the other hand, is determined by various factors. These include openness, responsibility, honesty, accountability, reliability, dialogue and understanding. All this factors have to be put to consideration while putting together a coherent team. A slight disregard of any would see to the failure of the team to deliver as expected. Teamwork does come with its own set of challenges that inhibit the delivery of good service by the team. These mainly occur as a result of conflict among the members of the team which is in turn rooted on differences pertaining distribution of duty, sharing, priority and unnecessary competition. Poor handling of such issues often leads to the occurrence of many mistakes, mistrust among the team members, confusion, wastage of resources, lack of motivation, time wastage and lots of arguments that hold no water. More often than not, it is the patients who bear the yoke of such disagreements as the service rendered to them is henceforth substandard and this plunges their lives into jeopardy. Fallouts are common at this stage since the restructuring of these nursing teams would mean loss of time and complete loss of motivation among the team members. Precautions are therefore very necessary to avoid such grave situations as they do put the lives of others at stake. Adjustments should be made at the slightest sign of unrest among the team members. Sharing responsibility equally is usually the first major leap by any group. Matters pertaining age, seniority and level of experience should not be used to condescend against some members. On the contrary, the members should maximize on the potential that comes with these various facets of diversity and others like gender, socio-cultural and economic backgrounds. Put together, all this facets can give rise to a whole new of teamwork with a lot of diversity which would lead to the conception of new ideas. The approach of issues proactively rather than reactively is also a worthwhile measure to counter these challenges. Prevention has always worked better than cure and this is also the same convention with proactive action. The team members are charged with the task of ensuring that any prevailing or looming predicaments are brought to the light before they turn ugly and cause rifts within the team. This serves in ensuring that little or no time is lost in the process of solving problems. Letting the issues accrue and the procrastination of dealing with them ends up in the wastage of time and patients bearing the lion’s share of these problems due to the poor service delivery. Cultivating a culture of dialogue is another way of avoiding conflict in the course of teamwork. When a team embraces dialogue, prevalent issues are addressed and solved amicably. Positive criticism ensures that everyone can correct each other without any hard feelings. When criticism is directed towards a person positively, he or she is bound to make the amends wherever the error occurs. Gradual technological enhancement and restructuring the team every now and then is necessary in order to avoid monotony. This reignites the team with zeal thus ensuring a rise in quality service delivery. Clarity on the roles of each team member would also do some good. This would help in avoiding the confusion especially if the team has numerous members. Morale on the side of the administration would also improve the team’s service delivery. This could be done through the formation of some form of healthy inter-teams competitions that would see the appreciation of the team that is best at service delivery. Incentives can also be brought to the picture. This would actually ensure that the teams work hard to outdo each other and thus better their teamwork in this process. An improvement in the teamwork among the nurses would have some major effects in service to the patients. There would be definitely be an improved client-service delivery, improved relationships between team members and consequently with the administration. These healthcare institutions would also unveil a wider range of services due to the time efficient system. In conclusion, teamwork in nursing is sacrosanct since it is a profession that deals with lives of people. An improvement in service delivery therefore means that the clients are in safer hands. Reference: Institute for Innovation and Improvement, (March, 2007): Developing and sustaining effective teams. ISBN 9781904114482, Royal College of Nursing, Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from: http://www. rcn. org. uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/78735/003115. pdf,

Buying Behavior In The Mauritian Supermarkets Marketing Essay

Buying Behavior In The Mauritian Supermarkets Marketing Essay To identify the different types of sales promotion used on the Mauritian supermarkets/hypermarkets. To analyze the awareness of sales promotion among the Mauritian consumers. To evaluate the different types of buying behavior that arises due to sales promotion. To examine the impact of different types of sales promotion such as coupon, free sample, buy-one-get-one-free, bonus pack, price discount on the buying behavior of consumers in the Mauritian supermarkets. 2.0 Introduction This chapter provides a review of past literatures on sales promotion and the different types of sales promotion, such as coupons, free sample, buy-one-get-one-free, bonus pack and price discount. It also relates consumer response towards sales promotional tools in the Mauritian supermarkets. 2.1 Sales promotion defined Sales promotion is a direct inducement or incentive to the sales force, the distributor or the consumer with the primary objective of creating an immediate sale. (Schultz and Robinson, 1882). Quelch (1989) defines sales promotion as temporary incentives targeted at the trade (trade promotions), or at end consumers (consumers promotions). Sales promotion is one of the four ingredients of the promotion mix. The other three are personal selling, publicity and advertising. According to Quelch, sales promotions differ both in role and nature from advertising. Sales promotions are typically viewed as an easily executed means of boosting short-term sales whereas advertising is seen as building brand image. Shimp (2003) stated that sales promotion refers to any incentive used by a manufacturer to induce the trade (wholesalers, retailers, or other channel members) and consumers to buy a brand and to encourage the sales force to aggressively sell it. Retailers also use promotional incentives to encourage desired behaviors from consumers. Sales promotion is more short-term oriented and capable of influencing behavior. The objectives of any promotional strategy are to increase sales; maintain or improve market share; create or improve brand recognition; create a favorable climate for future sales; inform and educate the market; create a competitive advantage, relative to competitors products or market position; improve promotional efficiency. (Rowley, 1998). 2.2 Types of sales promotion According to Smith (1998), there are three main categories of sales promotion: Customer promotions (Premiums, gifts and prizes) Trade promotions (Special terms, point-of-sale materials and free pens, diaries, and competitive prizes among others) Sales force promotions (Incentive and motivation schemes) Tellis (1998) brings further that, in practice, there two types of sales promotion: Monetary and Non-monetary sales promotions. Monetary promotions are for example, shelf-price discounts, coupons and sampling. They tend to provide fairly immediate rewards to the consumer and they are transactional in character. On the other hand, non-monetary sales promotions include free gifts, contests and sweepstakes for instance. It tends to involve delayed rewards and are more relationship-based. 2.3 Supermarkets and Hypermarkets defined A supermarket is relatively large, low cost, low margin, high-volume self service operation design to serve the consumers general needs for food, laundry and household maintenance products (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001). The area covered by a supermarket can be about 400 2500 square meters. Examples of supermarkets in Mauritius are Winners, Spar, Way and Dream Price, Value Max and Lolo supermarket among others. Hypermarkets are larger than supermarkets and offer a large assortment of routinely purchased food products, non-food items and services which meet the consumers total need. Hypermarkets can have at least 50,000 square feet of selling and can handle more than 40,000 products. These outlets are usually located on the outskirt of towns or cities and are complemented with 30 to 50 shops, specialized in various product lines. The hypermarkets and combination of shops thus offer customers a one-stop shopping. For instance in Mauritius, Shoprite, Jumbo, Super U and Intermart are categorized as hypermarkets. 2.4 Supermarkets and Hypermarkets of Mauritius It is no doubt that during the past decades considerable changes have been occurring in the Mauritian retail market. Unprecedented growth in new retail formats, changes in competition, consumers, technology and takeovers are occurring throughout virtually every corner of the Mauritian retail industry and many types of retail institutions have been appearing from corner shops to hypermarkets. There have been major developments in the retail sector of Mauritius. For instance, the arrival of Dream Price, Value Max and Lolo supermarket in different location of Mauritius have intensify the level of competition. 2.5 Consumer response towards sales promotions Promotions arouse two reactions in people. Firstly, it is an increase in consumption, that is, more quantity of a product is acquired. Secondly, it is the storage of the product for the future, that is, the consumer acts in anticipating his purchases. Promotions have been shown to affect consumers directly in a variety of ways, leading to: Brand switching Brand loyalty Purchase acceleration Stockpiling Product trial 2.5.1 Brand switching According to Gupta (1993), it is possible that consumers who do not buy a brand will want to acquire it because they are attracted by the sales promotion. But, Brandweek (1994) found that some people who change brand due to a promotion, change back to their favourite brand due to a promotion change back to their favourite brand when buying that category of product later. 2.5.2 Brand loyalty Brand loyalty is an important concept in understanding consumer buying behavior. It is a deeply held commitment to re-buy or re-patronise a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same brand purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior (Oliver, 1999) 2.5.3 Purchase acceleration Two aspects of purchase acceleration should be considered: Increased quantity and Decreased interpurchase time (Neslin, Quelich, Henderson 1982). However, there is a very important question on how these two aspects will influence each other due to the stockpiling effect. Purchase acceleration is predominantly exhibited in increased purchase quantities rather than shortened interpurchase time (Gupta, 1988) 2.5.4 Stockpiling Research has found that promotions have a negative effect on brand equity (Jedidi et al., 1999), increase variability and volatility in sales and thus increase inventory management problems, increase consumer price sensitivity which leads to increased purchases made on deals, and produce stockpiling behavior (buying in all volumes that decreases long-term sales volume). 2.5.5 Product trial Peter and Olson (1996) put forward that trial ability refers to the degree to which a product can be tried on a limited basis or divided into small quantities for an inexpensive trial. Banks (2003) wrote that with sales promotion, brands have a chance to quickly affect consumer choice and behavior by adding value through an on-pack offer, by achieving incremental display or by encouraging trial via sampling and/or coupons. According to the trial and repeat model mentioned by Thomas (1993), it is generally assumed that of all potential buyers in a given time period, only those who are aware of the new product could potentially try it (trial), and only those who try it could potentially buy it again (repeat). 2.6 Sales promotional tools 2.6.1 Coupons Coupons are easily understood by the consumer and highly useful for trial purchase (Cook, 2003). According to Blackwell et al. (2001), a manufacturer might utilize coupon incentives to encourage consumers to try a new flavored product at a discounted price, instead of buying the same flavor they normally do at full price. Cheong (1993) found that supermarket coupons increase the number of items bought without increasing the total amount spent. 2.6.2 Price reduction It is well-known that price reduction produces a short-term volume gain for the brand being promoted. After studying the effects of price reduction on the sales of 25 products in four countries, Ehrenberg et al. (1994) determined that short-term peaks in sales were due primarily t purchases made by occasional users of a brand rather than by new customers. Also, after taking advantage of the price reduction, consumers mostly return to their favorite brands in their portfolio rather than buy the promoted brand at full price. 2.6.3 Free sample Free sample is another important promotional tool often used by marketers. Marketers often mail free samples of products to consumers so that they can try the products for themselves, rather than just hear about the products (Kardes, 1999). But, Gilbert and Jackaria (2002) found that a free sample as a promotional tool often had no significance on consumers reported buying behavior. 2.6.4Bonus pack and Buy-one-get-one-free Lee (1963) mentioned that factory bonus pack is used to increase consumer trial of the brand. Since more of the product is included at no extra cost, consumers can be persuaded to buy the product if they feel it represents a deal that produces the greatest value for their money. According to Gilbert and Jackaria (2002), packs with Buy-one-get-one-free may not increase brand awareness before trial purchase because the customer will only come across the product once in the store (unlike samples or coupons), however, it the promotion is noticeable, it will facilitate brand recognition and brand recall for future purchases. Since an additional amount is given for free, consumers may be persuaded to buy the product if they feel it represents a fair deal that provides value for money. 2.6.5 In-store display In-store display is the product featuring and display in-store (Pramataris, 2001). Display promotions could be an important part of an integrated marketing communication programme. Good display material leads to better attention, especially for brands driven by recognition awareness. Percy et al. (2001) advised that display must be consistent with consumer promotion and advertising, eith the same look and feel, in order to increase recognition at the point of purchase. 2.7 Summary Due to high profitability, many retail outlets have entered the retail industry in Mauritius. The arrival of supermarkets and hypermarkets seems to continue to emerge and exist, but they are however facing greater competition. Distance is no more a problem in Mauritius since many people have their own transport facility and the local transport service is as well more efficient as compared to long ago. One main analysis in the literature is that little research has been carried out on the marketing tools in Mauritius. As such, this provides room for a thorough research to be carried out on several types of sales promotional tools adopted in our supermarkets/hypermarkets; and the responded behavior of the consumers towards the tools utilized.

Benefits of Indian Gaming and its role in Global Development of Tribal

Benefits of Indian Gaming and its role in Global Development of Tribal Nations Indigenous peoples throughout the world have suffered and continue to suffer ever since white people stepped foot onto their lands. In the Americas, countless incidents of genocide and blatant violations of human rights have occurred time and time again. Those indigenous to North America, known commonly as Indians or Native Americans, have faced an immense amount of racism, hatred, and oppression on the very same land that was once their own, before it was stolen by the colonists. Native Americans have faced economic hardships that are unmatched by any other race in the United States; the statistics are absolutely staggering and horrifying to know that such impoverished communities and hardships still exist in America, the land of opportunity, a country that has surpassed all others in virtually all aspects. Fortunately, within the past decade there has been a significant rise in political participation and economic growth within Indian communities, which is largely contributed to by the rise of Indian Gaming, perhaps the most controversial subject affecting Indian country today. However, Indian Gaming, through economic development, proves to be a gateway to international and national recognition and affirmation of tribal sovereignty, encouraging self-determination among Native American tribes. The three objectives of this essay are to provide summaries of Federal Indian policy and the special federal-tribal relationship that allow Indian Gaming to take place, to describe the benefits of Indian Gaming on tribal economies and politics, and to discuss how this has contributed to participation of Native Americans on an international level and the fair... ...W. The Vanishing American. Wichita: University Press of Kansas, 1982. 5. Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1942. 6. Horsman, Reginald. Expansion and American Indian Policy: 1783-1812. Detroit: Michigan State University Press, 1967. 7. Orfield, Gary. A Study of the Termination Policy. Denver: National Congress of American Indians, 1964. 8. Wilkins, David E. American Indian Politics and the American Political System. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002. 9. Lobo, Susan, Talbot, Steve. Native American Voices, A reader. Upper Saddle river, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 2001. 10. Johnson, Troy R. Contemporary Native American Political Issues. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press, 1999.

The Norton Anthology of African American Literature New York

Booker T. Washington, during the 59 years of his life, rose up from being a slave until the age of nine, to forming a school for African Americans and the education of thousands of African Americans in the pursuit of self sufficiency. Washington has also been deemed as the most famous African American orator and civil rights leader of his time. Coupled with the possession of friendships of very rich and powerful people, sympathetic to the realists’ belief of a self sufficient African American, Booker T. Washington, in addition to his God given ability, is still known and studied to this very day.His influence within the African American community, during his lifetime, as well as even now, cannot be overestimated. In one of the first ways in which Booker T. Washington began to make a name for him was in the construction of the Tuskegee Institute. In 1881, under the recommendation of a number of influential people at the time; Louis Adams and Samuel Armstrong, â€Å"Booker T. b ought the land from what used to be a plantation and began the construction of what would become, perhaps the most famous historically African American college in the country.† The curriculum of the college was representative of the beliefs of Washington. He believed that former slaves and African Americans, who were to follow, would best serve their own interest and the advancement of the race by learning a trade and showing themselves worthy of racial equality in the eyes of the white establishment. This ideology was very different than the more firm and, in the view of most whites, abrasive attitude of W. E. B. Dubois who preached a more aggressive role in civil rights and in the advancement of the Black race.Washington believed that the African American would gain the most for their race, by focusing on learning a trade instead of becoming involved in politics and other, more prestigious careers. The construction of the Tuskegee Institute put into practice, this ideology o f self improvement. In Washington’s most famous works: his autobiography, Up From Slavery, published in 1901, Washington recalled: â€Å"From the very beginning, at Tuskegee, I was determined to have the students do not only the agricultural and domestic work, but to have them erect their own buildings.My plan was to have them, while performing this service, taught the latest and best methods of labor, so that the school would not only get the benefit of their efforts, but the students themselves would be taught to see not only utility in labor, but beauty and dignity; would be taught, in fact, how to lift labor up from mere drudgery and toil, and would learn to love work for its own sake. My plan was not to teach them to work in the old way, but to show them how to make the forces of nature – air, water, steam, electricity, horse-power – assist them in their labor.† In this, Washington was labeled, by some contemporaries as well as future generations, as a defeatist who bowed to the influence of the white establishment. In response, Washington believed that a more realist view of the situation would bring the greatest social and eventual political change. This was at a time when Jim Crow laws in the South were choking any possible ways in which African Americans would be treated as equals. Nearly full segregation in numerous aspects of daily life in the South, reminded African Americans that the country viewed them as second class citizens and inferior to white Americans.Washington, through the completion of the Tuskegee Institute, showed African Americans that self sufficiency could bring more advancement and gain for themselves and their race than anything else at this time. Such views were expressed in Booker T. Washington’s most famous speech. The Atlanta Compromise, given in 1895, spoke these ideals and the prosperity which Washington knew, was within reach for the African American who made himself self sufficient and a s independent as possible.â€Å"There is no defense or security for any of us except in the highest intelligence and development of all. If anywhere there are efforts tending to curtail the fullest growth of the Negro, let these efforts be turned into stimulating, encouraging, and making him the most useful and intelligent citizen. Effort or means so invested will pay a thousand per cent interest. These efforts will be twice blessed—blessing him that gives and him that takes.There is no escape through law of man or God from the inevitable:† Washington, the delight of white Americans and the annoyance of a number of African American leaders during this time, as well as those who would follow in the Civil Rights struggle of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Washington was not a race â€Å"agitator† as many whites would label those who spoke forcefully for social change and equality among white Americans. Not only did Washington attempt to avoid such a label, he also went out of his way to remind African Americans as well as comfort white Americans, that this was not his main objective.â€Å"The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing. No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges.The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house. † As a result, Washington was more appreciated within his own community than in generations to come when a more forward policy of racial equality was adopted within the Civil Rights movem ent. Some of the reasons for his success and the ability to afford a speaking tour as well as funding for Tuskegee, were the powerful friendships which Washington was able to form.Some of these notable names of the times were Andrew Carnegie, the $400 million tycoon of the steel industry as well as Henry Rogers and Presidents William Howard Taft and even Theodore Roosevelt who invited Washington to dine with him at the White House; making Washington the first African American to have bestowed upon him, such an honor. The invitation caused outrage within the South and an African American would not have such an honor bestowed upon them for a number of decades, the accomplishment was still achieved.In this, Washington became one of the most successful civil rights leaders of his day. One of the chief reasons why this was the case, above all others, coupled with his God given skill and talent, was the message which Washington repeated over and over in both his speeches and his actions. He was not accommodating to white racism, but was rather a realist who knew that every injustice which stemmed from racial inequality, was not going to be done away with in his lifetime or in the lifetime of his children. Washington was not one to make waves, to complain or to blame whites for his troubles.Many believed that Washington should be doing just that. However, Washington replied by saying: â€Å"There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public†¦. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who do not want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.† Washington always preached a new, self sufficient African American. Even until his death in 1915, Washington, the most influential leader of the civi l rights movement since Frederick Douglass and still remains as one of the most important in this country’s history, always advocated that African Americans become and remain self sufficient and that they earn the respect from whites which they need in order to achieve the racial, political and social equality which is their uniform goal.When Washington stated: â€Å"One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him. † He meant it. WORKS CITED Perry, John Unshakable Faith Memphis: Multnomah Publishers 2001 Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery: An Autiobiography New York: Scribners 1980 The Norton Anthology of African American Literature New York: Norton Press. 1999 Booker T. Washington New York: PBS/Thirteen Productions 2001

Free Essays on Oedipus

Everyone has a family or at least knows a family, so everyone can relate to a story about family. â€Å"Regret, by Kate Chopin, and â€Å"My Oedipus Complex,† by Frank O’Connor, are two very different stories about the same thing – family. â€Å"Regret,† a tale about an older woman, who, never having married or had children, gets her first experience with them by taking care of her neighbor’s children for a short while, and â€Å"My Oedipus Complex,† a short story about a young boy who decides he is better suited to the affections of his mother than is his father, are two very different approaches to show the need for a complete family. The similarities between the two stories are easily appreciated. First, as I stated earlier, both of the stories are about families, and how the lack of, what most people consider, a â€Å"normal† and â€Å"complete† family causes problems. In â€Å"Regret,† Mamzelle Aurà ©lie completely lacks a family; she has never married, has never had children, and has only had one marriage proposal, which was promptly rejected. Mamzelle Aurà ©lie is not even properly a woman without a family; she much more resembles a man with her determination, man’s hat, army overcoat, and boots. Additionally, owning a farm, managing and employing people, and knowing how to use a gun are all traditionally men’s occupations (at least in the 1800’s). Certainly, she knows nothing about children and how to raise them, and that is the problem, at least on the surface. When presented with her neighbor’s children, Mamzelle Aurà ©lie doesn’t know how to care for them. In â€Å"My Oedipus Complex†, we see another incomplete family. The father is away at war, and the mother and son, Larry, are alone for long periods. Thus, the son becomes overly attached to the mother, and sees himself as her spouse. Certainly, the son becomes jealous of the father when he returns, and tries to make him leave so he again can be alone with his mother. Ho... Free Essays on Oedipus Free Essays on Oedipus â€Å"Gods can be evil sometimes.† In the play â€Å"Oedipus the King†, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family. By controlling fate, the gods carry all the responsibility of Oedipus in killing his father and marrying his mother. They are the only ones who can control fate, and thus they are the only ones to blame for what happened to Oedipus. They could have made Oedipus’ life less miserable, but they decided to destroy his and his family’s life by this terrible fate without him committing a sin. â€Å"It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, who brought to fulfillment all my sufferings. But the hand that struck my eyes was mine and mine alone.† Oedipus blames Apollo for his two shameful crimes that caused his sufferings. On the other hand, he admits that the gods had nothing to do with his blindness, and that he’s responsible for that. Also, in the previous quote, Oedipus tries to diminish his shame by convincing his people that it is not his fault, but Apollo’s, for murdering his father and marrying his mother. The moral of this story is that human beings canâ €™t escape their fate, and thus it is not Oedipu... Free Essays on Oedipus Blindness is the downfall of the hero Oedipus in the play â€Å"â€Å"King Oedipus†Ã¢â‚¬  by Sophocles. Not only does the blindness appear physically, but also egotistically as he refuses to acknowledge the possibility of him actually being the murderer of Laius, the former King of Thebes. Coincidentally, he is also Oedipus’’s biological father. The use of light and dark in the play is strategically applied in order to better understand the emotion that lies within the characters. As blame is placed upon Oedipus for the murder of Laius, he blinds himself from the possible reality that he may be the killer. The people of Thebes are informed that there is an impending curse upon them as a result of the murder mystery of their previous king, Laius. In order to quicken the cure, Oedipus calls on Teiresias, the blind prophet to aide them. Excessive pride fuels his inability to believe the prophecy of Teiresias stating Oedipus is the killer, and that he has married his mother. â€Å"â€Å"Until I came –– I, ignorant Oedipus, came –– and stopped the riddler’’s mouth, guessing the truth by mother-wit, not bird-love.†Ã¢â‚¬  Because he continually boasts about how he has saved Thebes from the Sphinx, he believes that no one could know more than he, especially if he is the one to be accused of a crime he â€Å"â€Å"knows†Ã¢â‚¬  he didn’’t commit. In response Teiresias argues, â€Å"â€Å"You ar e please to mock my blindness. Have you eyes, and do not see your own damnation? Eyes and cannot see what company you keep.†Ã¢â‚¬  This is a pivotal component to the irony behind the idea of blindness throughout the play. Although Teiresias is physically blind, he is able to accept and â€Å"â€Å"see†Ã¢â‚¬  the truth, while Oedipus physically being able to see is left in the dark rejecting truth. The blindness of Oedipus leads to the darkness of Thebes also known as The City of Light. â€Å"â€Å"We cannot believe, we cannot deny; all’’s dark. We fear, but we cannot s... Free Essays on Oedipus In Sophocles,’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus introduces himself by saying â€Å"I Oedipus, whom all men call the great.† (8) Oedipus was a â€Å"great† man, but he also was cursed. He was cursed by the almighty god, Apollo, but he was too arrogant to believe the curse would be fulfilled. This story questions the everlasting mystery of â€Å"fate versus free will.† I will attempt to explain how Apollo’s curse, as well as Oedipus’ actions, ruined Oedipus’ life. Oedipus was cursed before he was born. He was cursed because Apollo thought Laius, Oedipus’ father, and his family, brought homosexuality to Greece. The curse said that Laius and his wife, Jocasta, would have a baby, and that baby would grow up and kill his father and marry his mother. When Laius and Jocasta heard this they gave Oedipus to a shepherd to leave on the top of a hill to die. The shepherd could not do this, so he gave Oedipus to another shepherd. That shepherd then gave Oedipus to the king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope. When Oedipus grew older, an oracle told him about the curse. Oedipus did not want anything to happen to Polybus and Merope; he thought they were his real parents, so he left Corinth. While he was walking, a carriage was coming towards him. He was too arrogant to move, so as the carriage cam towards him somebody swung a club at him. Oedipus killed the men in the carriage, but one man who fled. One of the men he killed was his birth father Laius. Oedipus knew he was destined to kill his father, but he did not think twice about killing the people inside of the carriage. His arrogance and pride got the best of him. He felt since he was a prince he did not have to move for a carriage. This is the first example of Oedipus thinking he could outwit Apollo. Oedipus continued traveling until he reached the city of Thebes. When he arrived, there was a blight on the city. Oedipus asked how the blight could be removed and someone told him a riddle h... Free Essays on Oedipus In the play Oedipus written by Sophocles, fate and the Gods are often to blame for Oedipus’ terrible tragedy. If examined closer, however, it seems that with careful, logical thinking Oedipus could have saved himself a significant amount of trouble. Throughout the play there are choices places before the characters. Choices that ultimately will make or break the future of Oedipus. It was not fate that caused the downfall of Oedipus. It was the decisions that were made out of haste or pride. In Oedipus’ past we see that even he is aware that he has choice and free will; upon learning from an oracle that he will be the murderer of his father and sleep with his mother, he flees. He had the choice to talk to his family about the prophecy, but he chose to take matters into his own hands and ran. Oedipus’ step-father could have told him the truth in the beginning, but he chose to keep the fact that Oedipus was adopted to himself. This is just the beginning of a whirlwind of bad choices made in the light of haste and pride. â€Å"I must bring what is dark to light,† (line 134) Oedipus boasts loudly after learning the cause of the city’s plague. This illustrates the pride, and arrogance that Oedipus portrays. This pride blinded him from making a sound decision. When approached by Creon, the holder of the news from the oracle, Oedipus has the choice to speak with him in private. Instead Oedipus says proudly, â€Å"Let them all hear it.† â€Å"It is for them I suffer more than for myself.† (line 97). In his rush to impress his crowd, Oedipus has Creon spill the news over the entire crowd. We see that unfortunately, Oedipus is not the only one affected by these bad choices. Along Oedipus’ path of flight from Corinth, he stumbles on to King Laios and his men. The argument over who must cross first heats into a violent battle leavi... Free Essays on Oedipus Oedipus is a prime example of a tragidy, according to Aristotle’s definition in the â€Å"poetics†. Aristotle’s Poetics is considered the first work of literary criticism in our tradition. The couple of pages in the book mainly describe tragedy from Aristotle’s point of view. He defines tragedy as being an imitation of an action that is a whole and complete in itself and of a certain magnitude. Aristotle also points out terms such as catharsis, which can be said that is the purification of one’s soul. He argues in his Poetics that catharsis is achieved through emotions of pity or fear, which is created in the audience as they witness the tragedy of a character who suffers unjustly, but is not entirely innocent. Then he moves on to describing the main elements of tragedy. Such elements are: plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody. Then he classifies these in three parts, the media, the manner and the objects. The language and melody constitute the â€Å"media†, in which they effect the imitation. Then there is the spectacle, which is the â€Å"manner†, and the remaining three, the plot, character and thought are the â€Å"objects† that are imitated. Aristotle considers the plot to be the most important of these elements. He describes the plot as not being a unity revolving around one man. Instead, he states that many things happen to one man, which may not always go together, to form a unity. At the same time, he says that among the actions that a character performs there are many that may be irrelevant to one another, but yet they form a unified action. Aristotle continues depicting the plot categorizing it in two manners: simple and complex. In a simple plot, a change of fortune takes place without a reversal or recognition. In contrast, in a complex plot, the change of fortune involves recognition or a reversal or both. To understand these ideas better he defines reversal and rec... Free Essays on Oedipus According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx, a creature that is part woman, part bird, and part lion, caused famine and disease in Thebes that could be ended only when someone solved her riddle. Oedipus traveled to Thebes and answered the riddle correctly. The citizens of Thebes consider him a hero because he restored harmony to their kingdom. Sophocles alludes to the riddle of the Sphinx several times in his play, Oedipus Rex. Since the riddle is a metaphor for Oedipus' life, it is ironic that he was able to answer the question. His revelation of the riddle of the Sphinx further supports the perspective of Oedipus as the archetypal tragic man. The sphinx asks, "What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?" Oedipus correctly answers "man", saving Thebes from the terrible drought and disease brought about by the horrible creature. The different times of day mentioned in the question actually represent different stages in life. In the morning, or childhood, humans crawl on their hands and knees. In the afternoon, or adulthood, humans walk on their own two feet, and at night, which represents old age, many humans rely on the aid of a walking stick, which represents a third leg. When the reader interprets the symbolism of the riddle, it becomes a metaphor for Oedipus' life. Like every human, he begins life as a baby, crawling on his hand and knees. As he grows older, he walks on two feet, becoming an independent man, and ruler of Thebes. In his old age, Oedipus must rely on a walking stick because he is blind. Like all huma... Free Essays on Oedipus Sophocles’ Oedipus, the King is a great representation of Greek tragedy and of the human experience. Within it, he explores the intricacies of human thinking and communication along with its ability to change as more information and knowledge is acquired. His primary focus as the story begins and progresses is the growth of Oedipus from an unintelligible and unenlightened mentality to its antithesis. Because the story was one familiar to most of its viewers in its time, there are certain things that they are expected to already know. Among them is the background to the legend. Most generally it was that it was prophesied that Laios and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes, would give birth to a child who would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. And, fearing the dreadful prophecy, that the parents nailed their first son's feet together (thus the name Oedipus, which means â€Å"swollen-foot†) and left him to die on a lonely moun-tainside outside the city. Moreover, that he was found by a wandering shepherd who took him to the nearby city of Corinth where he was adopted by the childless King Polybos and Queen Merope who raised him as a son and prince in the royal household. Then, when he was a young adult and first heard the prophecy, that he assumed that it applied to Polybos and Merope, the only parents he had ever known, and had fled Corinth and wandered aroun d Greece where he met a group of travelers and killed an old man who, unknown to him, was his real father, King Laios. Then, when he arrived at Thebes, he met the Sphinx, a monster who guarded the gates of the city and correctly answered its riddle and was rewarded with the title of king of Thebes and was given the hand of the re-cently widowed queen, Jocasta. The true horror in his life begins here because he has four children with her, An-tigone, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polyneices and fulfills the prophecy. The story begins after some time after Oedipus has taken ... Free Essays on Oedipus Whether or not Oedipus’ downfall should be attributed to his own free will or that of the gods can only be established by the reference point it is to be analyzed from. In the time of Dionysus and the day for which Sophocles wrote this tragedy one would have to assume Oedipus’s downfall was most likely meant to be attributed to the will of the gods. However, one must take into account the reference point of our modern thinking and knowledge of analytics and philosophy. From this vantage point it should only be reasonable that Oedipus’s downfall could be that of his own free will. There are many instances within the text of the play itself that give way to this analysis. The play starts off with King Oedipus talking with the people of his kingdom who have come to seek his help with the plague that has fallen upon them. The priest who has been chosen to speak for the group asks of Oedipus, â€Å"†¦O mighty King, we turn to you: Find us our safety, find us a remedy†¦Noblest of men restore life to your city!† (Oedipus the King Prologue 43-46). Oedipus knows it is his obligation as king to help his people so he ensures them he has already sent Creon his brother-in-law to the Oracle at Delphi to seek out the remedy of the plague. Creon returns to tell Oedipus that Apollo has commanded he take revenge on whoever killed the former King Laios. As any good king should Oedipus promises, â€Å"You shall see how I stand by you, as I should, To avenge the city and the city’s god†¦By avenging the murdered king†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Oedipus the King Prologue 138-143). With the knowledge of the back story in mind this promise is obviously full of peripity and the first of the instances where Oedipus by his own free will leads himself to his eventual downfall. After the people of the land yield no clues to the identity of the murder Oedipus sends for the blind clairvoyant Teiresias, hoping he can shed some light on th... Free Essays on Oedipus Prophecies â€Å"Who is the man denounced by the prophetic voice from Delphi’s cliffs-the man whose blood-stained hands committed a nameless crime? Now is the time for him to run, faster than storm-swift horses. In full armor Apollo son of Zeus leaps upon him, with the fire of the lightning. And in the murderer’s track follow dreadful unfailing spirits of vengeance. The word of Apollo has blazed out from snowy Parnassus for all to see. Track down the unknown murderer by every means. He roams under cover of the wild forest, among caves and rocks, like a wild bull, wretched, cut off from mankind, his feet in pain. He turns his back on the prophecies delivered at the world’s center, but they, alive forever, hover round him. The wise prophet’s words have brought me terror and confusion. I cannot agree with him, nor speak against him. I do not know what to say. I waver in hope and fear; I cannot see forward or back. What cause for quarrel was there between Oedipus and L aius? I never heard of one in time past; I know of none now.(31-32)† The chorus is asking whoever killed Laius should leave before being found and killed as it says here â€Å"Now is the time for him to run, faster than storm-swift horses. In full armor Apollo son of Zeus leaps upon him, with the fire of the lightning. And in the murderer’s track follow dreadful unfailing spirits of vengeance.†(pg.31-32 chorus: line 4-8) Here it says that Zeus and Apollo will punish the murderer , so the murderer better run away from the gods. The chorus also says the murderer is hiding somewhere and Apollo made sure we know that he wants us to find him by any means necessary , as it says here â€Å"The Apollo has blazed out from snowy Parnassus for all to see. Track down the unknown murderer by every means. He roams under cover of the wild forest, among caves and rocks, like a wild bull, wretched, cut off from mankind, his feet in pain.†(pg. 31-32 chor... Free Essays on Oedipus Everyone has a family or at least knows a family, so everyone can relate to a story about family. â€Å"Regret, by Kate Chopin, and â€Å"My Oedipus Complex,† by Frank O’Connor, are two very different stories about the same thing – family. â€Å"Regret,† a tale about an older woman, who, never having married or had children, gets her first experience with them by taking care of her neighbor’s children for a short while, and â€Å"My Oedipus Complex,† a short story about a young boy who decides he is better suited to the affections of his mother than is his father, are two very different approaches to show the need for a complete family. The similarities between the two stories are easily appreciated. First, as I stated earlier, both of the stories are about families, and how the lack of, what most people consider, a â€Å"normal† and â€Å"complete† family causes problems. In â€Å"Regret,† Mamzelle Aurà ©lie completely lacks a family; she has never married, has never had children, and has only had one marriage proposal, which was promptly rejected. Mamzelle Aurà ©lie is not even properly a woman without a family; she much more resembles a man with her determination, man’s hat, army overcoat, and boots. Additionally, owning a farm, managing and employing people, and knowing how to use a gun are all traditionally men’s occupations (at least in the 1800’s). Certainly, she knows nothing about children and how to raise them, and that is the problem, at least on the surface. When presented with her neighbor’s children, Mamzelle Aurà ©lie doesn’t know how to care for them. In â€Å"My Oedipus Complex†, we see another incomplete family. The father is away at war, and the mother and son, Larry, are alone for long periods. Thus, the son becomes overly attached to the mother, and sees himself as her spouse. Certainly, the son becomes jealous of the father when he returns, and tries to make him leave so he again can be alone with his mother. Ho... Free Essays on Oedipus Lecture #2 - Oedipus the King A. Background: Play written between 441-427 B.C.; Greek theatre as an outgrowth of religious celebrations; competition; sets of four plays performed together, a trilogy of tragedies followed by a comedy (usually); (distinction between tragedy and comedy (Aristophanes)); Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides; many others lost; only partial records of these three. B. Much of what we know about how the Greeks themselves thought of tragedy derived from Aristotle. Speech in verse (metre, rhythm, music); scenery; masks; spectacle. Read definition from poetics (1). C. Catharsis (pity and fear) - "expurgation" vs. "establishment of equilibrium." D. Achievement of catharsis through plot, not through effects or characters. Tragedy is about the fortune or misfortune which human beings achieve or suffer (through action or happening at least). Reversals and recognitions (surprising, unpredictable events) key in producing pity and fear. Yet the plot must be complex yet tight, the events, including the reversals, a necessary result of other events - not just arbitrary buffeting at the hands of fortune. Oedipus the King is Aristotle's paradigm of a tragedy which works this way. E. Examples from the text: 1) Oedipus brought to Thebes (and to kill his father, marry his mother) by his attempt to avoid these eventualities. 2) Jocasta's attempt to put his mind at rest about killing his father - "don't believe seers, e.g. they were wrong about Laius being killed by his son" - the very thing that starts Oedipus on the suspicion that he is guilty. 3) Messenger's attempt to calm him re marrying mother - "not real parents" -catapults him closer to the realisation. Notion of irony - verbal ("I know the name, I never met the man") and actional (above). Many of the audience would have known the story all along. (But not all - see Aristotle.) ... Free Essays on Oedipus Whether or not Oedipus’ downfall should be attributed to his own free will or that of the gods can only be established by the reference point it is to be analyzed from. In the time of Dionysus and the day for which Sophocles wrote this tragedy one would have to assume Oedipus’s downfall was most likely meant to be attributed to the will of the gods. However, one must take into account the reference point of our modern thinking and knowledge of analytics and philosophy. From this vantage point it should only be reasonable that Oedipus’s downfall could be that of his own free will. There are many instances within the text of the play itself that give way to this analysis. The play starts off with King Oedipus talking with the people of his kingdom who have come to seek his help with the plague that has fallen upon them. The priest who has been chosen to speak for the group asks of Oedipus, â€Å"†¦O mighty King, we turn to you: Find us our safety, find us a remedy†¦Noblest of men restore life to your city!† (Oedipus the King Prologue 43-46). Oedipus knows it is his obligation as king to help his people so he ensures them he has already sent Creon his brother-in-law to the Oracle at Delphi to seek out the remedy of the plague. Creon returns to tell Oedipus that Apollo has commanded he take revenge on whoever killed the former King Laios. As any good king should Oedipus promises, â€Å"You shall see how I stand by you, as I should, To avenge the city and the city’s god†¦By avenging the murdered king†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Oedipus the King Prologue 138-143). With the knowledge of the back story in mind this promise is obviously full of peripity and the first of the instances where Oedipus by his own free will leads himself to his eventual downfall. After the people of the land yield no clues to the identity of the murder Oedipus sends for the blind clairvoyant Teiresias, hoping he can shed some light on th... Free Essays on Oedipus Oedipus was a great man, and the devotion to his people proves this. For instance, when the city is overwhelmed by plague, Oedipus answers the call of his people and searches for the reason. â€Å"I know that you are deathly sick; and yet, Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I† (p 1257). Only to find the only way to save his city is by finding the killer of king Laios, an answer that Oedipus comes to find out he does not want to know. Teiresias, a blind man that is very wise tells Oedipus that he is the killer. â€Å"I say that you are the murderer whom you seek†(p 1264). As King, Oedipus could have paid no mind to such accusations. Instead, he upholds his honor by searching deeper for the truth. As a result of Oedipus’ search for the truth, he is faced with another problem. What if he really is the killer? Oedipus was told by Creon that the murderer of Laios would be â€Å"exiled† from the city! This meant that if it was him, this judgement would be placed upon him as well. Oedipus shows great courage in wanting to know the truth, no matter what it is. Many other leaders, past and present have been known to cover up such truths. We still do not know the true killer of John F. Kennedy because of the American government.... Free Essays on Oedipus The Guilt of Oedipus When reading Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, many controversial topics are presented throughout the entire piece. The major controversy in this play is whether or not Oedipus is responsible for his fate. After carefully examining this play, Oedipus is clearly not to blame for his tragic fate because the Gods had already predetermined his fate before the play even begins. Other reasons that he is not to blame are that his parents sent him to be killed as a young child and the shepherds did not kill him as they were ordered to. Throughout this paper, these arguments, along with excerpts from the play, will be used to defend Oedipus’ honor. The first point, and probably the most important one, is that before the play even begins, Oedipus’ fate is predetermined from the Gods. Apollo is the God that made the prophecy that eventually would come true. The prophecy made is clearly explained by Oedipus, towards the middle of the play: Apollo told me once- it is my fate- I must make love with my own mother, shed my father’s blood with my own hands. (1090-1092) This prophecy condemned Oedipus from his birth. This prophecy comes true and Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. Oedipus is not to blame because he is under the assumption that Polybus, The King of Corinth, and Merope are his real birth parents. However, Laius, King of Thebes and killed by Oedipus, and Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, are his real parents. Oedipus knows of the prophecy and he desperately tries not to let it come true and having the knowledge of who is real parents were, might have saved him from his agonistic fate. A second point showing Oedipus is not to blame is the fact that his real parents, Laius and Jocasta, sent him to be killed on the mountains of Cithaeron. Knowledgeable of Apollo’s prophecy, Laius and Jocasta desperately try to avoid it from coming true. They pin Oedipus’ ankles together and sen... Free Essays on Oedipus What Was Oedipus’s Crime? Oedipus, ruler of Thebes, murdered his father and married his mother. Such acts are almost always deemed unnatural and criminal; they are not tolerated within traditional society. A person who has committed these illegal acts of murder and incest would be considered a criminal, yet Sophocles’s character, Oedipus, is not guilty of either crime. Prior to the birth of Oedipus, a prophecy was spoken over Laius and his wife Jocasta. They were told that their son would one day be his father’s killer and would then marry his mother. In fear, King Laius and Queen Jocasta sent the baby Oedipus off with a slave to be killed. He was never killed, but rather was given to a childless king and queen which lovingly raised him. Oedipus was never factually told about his lineage. Later in his life, Oedipus was confronted by several unknown men while traveling. Upon confrontation, Oedipus killed all but one of the men in self defense. Unknowingly, Oedipus had begun to fulfill the prophecy for one of the men had been his birth father, Laius. While still traveling, Oedipus had come to the city of Thebes. There, he saved the city from the wrath of the Sphinx by solving her riddle. Seen as a savior by the citizens of Thebes, Oedipus was made king and subsequently, the husband of Jocasta. Oedipus and his wife-mother ruled together and had four children while never knowing of the true relationship between each other. As the tragedy comes to a close, the truth is revealed to Oedipus concerning his lineage and unnatural actions. Although the truth had been spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not to believe and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the same slave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby. Since Oedipus had no knowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling the prophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upo...

Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Essays

Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Essays Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Paper Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Paper we, as spectators know the answer and reason as to why Helga is acting this way towards her child. Shortly after the relationship between Eva and Helga is portrayed, a cross-cut with the parallel story of Faith and Evelyn is then revealed. During the play Samuels creates a dual time frame and flicks the story between two time periods, through the introduction of more modern, recently invented props such as televisions and the stage directions instructing that only Evelyn acknowledges Eva and Helga, yet she ignores them due to her repression of past memories, Samuels suggests the juxtaposition to the audience. She does this to show the deep similarities between the two relationships, the situation with Faith and Evelyn seems to echo the past of Eva and Helga, to give a more dramatic impact of the interaction between the characters. Furthermore, another reason as to why Samuels makes use of this technique is again linked to her method of dramatic irony and placing the audience in an all-knowing position as the happenings of Eva and the things she experiences give us insight as what Evelyn is thinking and shown her secret past and memories, a gift the rest of the characters are not granted. Evelyns character shows powerful connections with Helgas disposition, both mothers are reserved and show little emotion. Although as the play progresses Helga becomes more vulnerable to her love towards her daughter and loses her control and self restriction, a defining moment in the play is shown when Eva gets on the Kindertransport train ready to depart to England and through her dialogue and subtle description of her parents actions at the time, for instance Youre knocking too hard, your knuckles are going red. The audience is made aware that both mother and father have gone from calm, controlled personas, to hysterical, distressed and desperate at the concept of losing their daughter, perhaps forever. Simultaneously, whilst Helga does not abandon her emotional repression until the very last minute when Eva leaves, Evelyn in turn stays restricted throughout the play until towards the end of the play as she finally confronts her past and instinctively battles with her former self a nd fears. A slight amount of her emotional repression has been chipped away and the audience may have sympathy for Helga during the scene as she has been stripped away of her whitewash and endured the very thing shes always feared the most, reminiscing her painful memories. As she earlier remarked, Evelyn has now been pricked into exposing her weaknesses and the audience is left to wonder whether or not she will recover from these emotional scars at the end of the play or will she bleed forever. Both daughters within the play, Eva and Faith long for their mothers to show love and sentiment. Neither children truly wish to leave their childhood homes and leave as many possible opportunities for their mothers to abandon all responsibility and efficiency, and want their daughters to stay with them. Much of Evelyns characteristics can be revealed through Samuels use of props within stage directions. Throughout almost the entire play, Evelyn continuously polishes glasses, if not cleaning other thing s. Whenever faced with strong subjects with any relations to her past or emotions, she begins to polish a glass, for instance, as Faith becomes indecisive as to move out of the family home and clearly hints for her mother to ask her to stay, Evelyn disregards and ignores what she has to say, Evelyn concentrates on polishing and replacing glasses. This can be seen as a symbol Samuels employs to show the basic survival methods of Evelyn, that her obsession with cleaning is a way of controlling her emotions and direct her energy into something else. Evelyn appears to unconsciously often compare her own personality with connotations of a glass, such as A chipped glass is ruined forever Here Samuels is suggesting that this new, reformed, diverse identity Evelyn has created for herself is delicate, and implies that it will be destroyed to be remained with her younger self, Eva. This is a terrible thing in the eyes of Evelyn, as her re-invented identity is a form of protection, a barrier against her emotional pains.