Rebuilt Marketing Machine Essay Example for Free

Rebuilt Marketing Machine Essay Per the article The Rebuilt Marketing Machine by Victoria L. Crittenden, the additional 4C’s of strategic marketing are customer centrality, competitive capabilities, company collaborations and cynical connections. Starting with customer centrality, studying what the customer needs and wants are. Creating solutions for all of the different customers wants instead of forcing the customer into a product. Consumers are all about the customer and the customer experience, ensuring the best service. Competitive capabilities open the door with worldwide web allowing most business to have an opportunity to portray themselves as worldwide leaders. Competition leads many businesses to strive for success and beyond. Therefore competitive capabilities allow business to think of ways to improve their businesses. The third C, company collaboration, is an advantage to companies where you can take superior business and combine business to provide customers the best of both worlds. Company collaboration allows marketing to interfere with other departments to ensure high quality of services. The last C in strategic marketing, cyclical connections are vital to the business world through its strategic planning, great marketing skills will be proved through the outcome of business. In order for a company to succeed, a strong formula must be implemented. Although the 4Ps still remain popular in marketing, the matrix needs to be rebuilt due to it no longer being successful for businesses. Business men all know the 4Ps marketing mix framework, due to its common sense there are no longer any advantages. In today’s world, marketing is the key to success and finding ways to better concepts for business success all around the world since marketing is always changing. The gist to marketing is impleme nting new ideas for business success, using the aged idea of the 4Ps is no longer comparative to the advancement of the business world today. Comparing the 4Cs to 3Cs, Porters 5 Forces, SWOT analysis, BCG Matrix is important since they all support different ideas. Starting with SWOT analysis, finding out what the strength and weaknesses for business allows better strategy for business growth. SWOT analysis defines the pros and cons of the business where as the 4Cs finds ways to improve the weaknesses. SWOT analysis bring consistency to a business, however if combined with 4Cs it would allow great marketing strategy. Porters 5 forces focus on competition and striving for the top name in leading business. This strategic plan uses the strength and weaknesses of other companies through their own annual reports, financial statements, and mysterious shoppers, etc, to find ways to better business. Whereas company collaboration in the 4Cs, focuses on marketing function in conjunction with other areas in the organization. This allows companies to make decisions on ideas as a whole and not just one team making a decision. The BCG Matrix only focuses on two items the SBU market growth rate and the SBU relative market share, this matrix is based on assumptions and is biased. Due to this the 4Cs implements greater ideas since the BCG focuses on profitability and market share and does not support other marketing ideas. The 3Cs is somewhat similar to the 4Cs however the 4Cs are more thorough in the idea of marketing. The 3Cs provides types of questions to ask yourself when opening a business which are common sense. However, the 4Cs are in depth details of important marketing strategies for building a successful business. In my opinion the marketing mix framework is consumers oriented and fits better in the movement for mass marketing to niche marketing. However, it is out dated and needs to be revised with careful consideration of what the customer wants and needs are. Adding new elements to the framework to ensure better marketing techniques, such as adding another â€Å"P† for customers (people) because without business from the customers, companies will not grow. Also, finding ways to better the customer experience so that customer will be a returning customer and not only focus on making money. The customer will be using social media to rate businesses, speak to family and friends about that customer service experience and are the key for business success.

Working hard is always rewarded

Working hard is always rewarded Persuasive Essay: Success is due to hard work not luck Success has just as many faces as any other possible theme, depending on the society in which it is measured, and the character of the person who measures it. Wrongfully, many people confuse success is only associated with wealth: they assume that a persons triumph can be concluded from the expensiveness of his or her watch, car, or house. But will they be successful just because they are rich? Albert Schweitzer famously once said Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. For its only when you find satisfaction with what youre doing and dont dread facing every new day when your task has to be embarked upon, that you are really successful. Therefore, success should be not only being measured with wealth but also with happiness. Since time immemorial everybody has been striving for success which could fulfill many dreams. It is generally accepted that success is not easy to achieve and depended on a lot of factors, such as hard work, good luck, health condition or even the once-in-a-lifetime chance. Today, people are pushing, but in vain, for a shortcut to their desired successes. Through my lens, I have faith that a grand success primarily comes from hard work, and also from good luck partially. In this train of thought, I would say that I agree that success is the main consequence of hard work. Working hard is always rewarded- earning a lot of money or gaining personal achievements, just like when Im doing this essay, after so much effort being put in, it feels extremely rewarding to know that I have finally accomplished it. I believe that the vast majority of people, who have highly-paid jobs, have worked to death in order to fulfill their goals. It is common sight to see them having to work overtime in order to achieve what they set out for. Parents, teachers and friends promote the idea of working hard- they usually say Learn harder if you want to live better. In my opinion, when people are successful, they can easily measure the quality of their work. For instance, when Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics, he has not succeeded because of his luck. All of the inventions and theories were a result of his persistence, patience and hard work. What is more, an inspirational saying by the American poetess Marianne Moore goes Victory wont come to me unless I go to it, which manifestly indicates that the key to success is the hard work we have to make. Although others may argue that hard work does not guarantee success, it can be seen that many people of all professions have worked through the ranks to become what they are right now. They had worked hard for many years and ultimately they got success in their life and are currently enjoying their fruits of labour. Thus, it can be seen that hard work paves our way to success. Unlike luck, you can create success by working hard and not wait for success to befall. What makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett the worlds premier investor? You think you know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune magazine not long ago, he was wired at birth to allocate capital. Its a one-in-a-million thing. Youve got it or you dont. Well, folks, its not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts dont exist. You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years, and not just any hard work, but work of a particular type thats demanding and painful. Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. Also, Winston Church ill, one of the 20th centurys greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, If I dont practice for a day, I know it. If I dont practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I dont practice for three days, the world knows it. That shows how much hard work and sheer determination he had to put in order to achieve his status. However, others may argue that luck is needed as you need the talent to begin with. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. A perfect example is basketball legend Michael Jordan. Had Jordan possessed some mammoth natural gift specifically for basketball, it seems unlikely hed have been cut from his high school team. He gained his legendary status via brutal discipline of his daily routines. Through hard work, you can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great. For most people, work is hard enough without pushing e ven harder. Those extra steps are so difficult and painful they almost never get done. Thats the way it must be. If success were easy, it wouldnt be rare. All of us have the potential to be successful by giving full expression to our strengths with sincere effort. You need to defined your goals and work towards it. You have to be consistent in what you do and putting in effort till you achieve your goals instead of relying on luck which will not guarantee you success, especially when it is random.

Grendel, John Gardner Analysis

Grendel, John Gardner Analysis In John Gardners Grendel, he presents Grendel as a truly unique character. Gardner portrays Grendel as a misunderstood, confused yet a complex creature. Whom he humanizes. I feel that by portraying him this way, Gardner shows how there are two sides to each story. This makes him more relatable to the reader. Grendel is monstrous, but not brutish. Grendel is a character who is capable of learning, thinking, feeling emotions and communicating. Personally what attracts me to Grendel is his curiosity. Readers can relate to Grendel in many ways. He knows that his actions are cruel, yet he wants to understand why he persists in them. Grendel has been at war with the Danes and it was twelfth year of his idiotic war (5).Grendel knows that his war with the Danes is a cycle, which involves him killing people but he still continues it. He knows what he is doing is stupid and idiotic because he describes it as idiotic (5). I feel that the reason he still goes on with the war is because he is curious to find out why he does the thing he does .I think he is hoping for an epiphany. Grendel is longing for an answer. The curiosity of Grendel, gives the reader the reasoning behind his attacks and this makes him more understandable to the reader. Like humans Grendel is able to learn quickly. He learns a lot about himself and the world while he is trapped in the tree. While he was up on the tree, Grendel realizes that the whole world is unstable. In other words, he thinks that the world is chaotic and violent. I understood that, finally and absolute, I alone exist (22), Grendel realizes that he is alone in this world. Through the entire novel it has been a learning process for him. During his first encounter he learns that humans are no dull mechanical bull (27) but they were the most dangerous thing (27) he has ever met. His first encounter with humans made him want to learn more about the humans and this is why he watched humans. He would watch them from the eaves of the forest (30), he wanted to know more about humans. He felt a connection with humans, even though they misunderstood him and attacked him. I think he found more of a connection with humans that with his own mother because they had similar traits such as thinki ng, learning and curiosity. I feel that Grendel is an intelligent creature because he is able to use what he has learned from past observations. He knew that the Danes were doomed (53), Grendel has seen people fight each other and destroy each other and he knew that the same fate awaited them. The way that Gardner portrays Grendels rationalization and his ability to learn show how much of a complex character he is. He was able to recognize humans have a similar language. Grendel like humans is also able to feel emotions. This is what separates him from the all the other creatures. When Grendel was stuck in the tree trunk, he bellowed for [his] mother (27). I feel sympathy for Grendel because he reminds me of a child .His behavior is childlike. He is in search of love just like any other child. Grendel is scared just like any child would be. By Gardner humanizing Grendel he is able to draw sympathy towards him. After sparing Unferth, each time he sees him, he roll[s] on the floor with laughter is mocking him (90). Grendel is able to feel and shows that he knows that humans have feeling too because he knows each time he mocks Unferth he knows that it kills him a little on the inside. When Grendel encounters Wealtheow, he describes her as beautiful [and] as innocent as dawn on winter hills (100).Wealtheow tore [him] apart as once the shapers song had done (100).Grendel is moved by her beauty. He had the greatest admiration (144) for her. Grendels ability to think attracts the reader because ability to think separates human from animals. He is a bit of philosopher. He seeks, like an existentialist philosopher, to understand the nature of his being and to bring his nature to completion. He understands that the world was nothing (21).He understands the world is nothing and that a person define meaning to their life. His existential views are also shown when he was tempted to whisper, all of us must sooner or later pass (145). He understands that people are only here for a short period of time. With his encounter with the dragon, he understands the dragon could lie. He was evil enough (71).I feel this shows how complex Grendels thinking ability is. He can synthesize information about the dragon, after meeting with him and uses reasoning to figure out that he couldnt trust the dragon. He doubts the dragon. I feel that this shows his ability to think because doubt is caused by thinking and analyzing information and assessi ng the validity of the information. Finally Grendel is a character who is full of pride. He thinks that he is better than other creature. He considers other creatures as low-life. He wonders why cant these creatures discover a little dignity (6). He thinks he is better than the bull because he has dignity. When he was fighting with Beowulf he thinks he is better than humans. He thinks he can escape him (169).He thinks that he is better than humans. Point of view In John Gardners Grendel, Grendel, both the main character and narrator of the story, narrates the story from a first person point of view. I feel that this adds a personal touch to the story because all the emotions he describes are raw emotions. As I go through Grendels life, I am sympathetic towards him because of his raw emotions. Because it is told from the first person perspective, the emotions described are the same exact emotions Grendel felt. I think the reason Gardner chose to tell it from Grendels point of view because there are always two sides to each story. In the epic, Grendel is portrayed as a simply monster who is plain evil and has no emotions what so ever. Gardner gives a chance for Grendel to tell his side of the story. Grendels first encounter with men, they consider him as a spirit (25).The significance of this experience is not how he encounter men for the first time but how the people reacted towards him. They misunderstood him from the get go. They didnt even try to understand him. At one point they though he was a fungus (24). Gardner uses Grendel to convey the idea that bullies are like monsters in a sense because no one tries to understand them. People jump to conclusions without knowing all the facts like how they classified Grendel as a spirit without having any concrete evidence that proves he is a spirit. Another example is when Grendels mouth moved but nothing would come out (26) and they assume th at Grendel is hungry. Then they mistaken him as an enemy, and the king hurdles an axe towards at [Grendel] (27). I feel bad for Grendel because everyone misunderstands him. Grendel telling the story makes us feel pity towards him which was lacking in the original Beowulf. In the epic Grendel was a monster who was pure evil but in Grendel, he is almost childlike which makes us feel pity towards him. When he was being attacked by humans, he bellowed for his mother (27) just like how a child would call out for his mom when the kid is being picked on. In Beowulf he is portrayed as an evil monster that was fearless and his mind set on killing but in Grendel he admits being afraid of them (79). Grendel being narrated in first person adds a personal touch to the novel. Because the main character narrates the novel, raw emotion is described. Who is better to describe how he feels than Grendel. Throughout the novel, I get to know what exactly what Grendel is feeling and what is going through his mind. For example during his first raid, he felt an unearthly joy (79).Because he describes this as a first person, it feels personal and the emotions see, strong but this would be lost if it was narrated in third person. Being narrated in first person amplifies the emotions. For example after attacking, he decided, meaningless to kill her (110). We know what is going through his head, this amplifies any emotion we have towards Grendel. We would feel differently towards Grendel if it was said through someone else. One thing that is lost through first person point of view is the truth. The facts are clouded because we have a limited perspective. We only see one side of the story, in this case Grendels side on how the events happened. Grendel narrates the story in past tense so his feelings are clouded with how he feels at the moment. For example I have eaten several priests. They sit on the stomach like duck eggs (129).He might have felt differently when he had actually eaten them but reflecting on it, he feels they were like duck eggs. Themes One of the predominate themes in Grendel is the need for community. Throughout the novel, Grendel is in search of community. Grendel desperately tries to fit in a community, but he will always be an outsider. Grendel tries to join the human community when he went to the hall and cried out friend! Friend! (52). He wanted to be part of the human community but he wasnt accepted. The way people reacted towards him was they tried to kill him. He would observe human behavior. Season after season he would watch from the high cliff wall (37) and observe humans and how they fought. Why would he observe humans if he didnt want to be part of their community. He is definitely intrigued by them. At times Grendel would feel alone and ugly (17).Grendel relates being alone to ugliness so he needs companionship to feel good about himself. I feel that Grendel has a need for community is because he doesnt want to be alone. He has no one to talk to. His own mother cant communicate with him. He is in se arch of a companion. He is jealous of the shaper because he has people to talk to (53).Even though he wants companionship with humans he knows he will never fit in. Grendel sees many benefits and flaws with humans. I think Gardner is addressing the benefits and drawbacks of human community through Grendel. One of the benefits he sees with community is teamwork. He called humans Crafty-witted killers that worked in teams (31) He admires their team work. Another benefit he sees of community is how they would listen to each other at meadhall tables (32).The problems that he sees with community is how much they waste. When he came to the hall he say cows in their pens lay burbling blood through their nostrils, with javelin holes in their neck. None had been eaten (33) .Another problem he had seen with communities was war. He observed how the wars began (34)He saw all the destruction of wars. Another predominate theme in Grendel is art. The shaper plays a huge part in this theme. Grendel is so enticed by the shaper that he wanted to part of his stories. He was so enticed that the sharper made him believe that he was part of the dark side (51).He was addicted to shapers story and kept coming back for more. The Shapers songs implant in Grendel a sense of despair and longing for emotional contact. He at first attempts to repent and embrace the ideology of the humans in exchange of acceptance, but when he is rejected he instead decides to fall in to the role which the Shaper had assigned him. His idea of the Shaper changes after his encounter with the dragon. He realizes that the shaper is just like everyone else and that it was all an illusion (62).The way they change the world through the arts in craft is by changing is history. History is told by the victor. Shaper tells people what they want to hear. In the epic Grendel is a character of pure evil with no good intention in his heart that is if he has a heart. Gardner, on the other hand uses a different approach in Grendel. In Grendel, Gardner shows some sign of goodness in him. On act of goodness is when he decides not to kill Unferth. Unferth passes out and Grendel decides to pick him up gently and carried him home (90).He feels pity towards him and decides not to kill him. Another act of goodness is when he decides not to kill. Grendel cannot see himself past the monster that he is. Every time he does something bad he feels guilty, but every time he does something good he feels like a sissy and a bad monster. Grendel is a monster because he accepts his role as a monster. When new people show up he is mad with joy (151) because he now has new people to terrorize. If he didnt accept his role as a monster why would be in his twelfth year. Grendel has different idea of good and evil. To him humans are evil because they would constantly fight each other. He would watch the fighting going on all that summer and begin again the next (36).He sees how fighting leads to destruction. Setting Grendels cave has a both a symbolic and a literal meaning. In his mothers cave large old shapes with smoldering eyes sat watching me. A continuous grumble came out of their mouths; their backs were humped. Then little by little it dawned on me that the eyes that seemed to bore into my body were in fact gazing through (16).When he awakens Grendel describes the cave as dark (23). The caves symbolize darkness and the evil within it. They are associated with each other because darkness can evoke fear and that is what both the caves and monsters do. The cave in this novel can be used in both literal and symbolic ways because a monster, Grendel, lives inside of it. The cave also represents the fact that they are not always evil because Grendel is not portrayed as a completely evil creature. The most interesting thing about Hart to Grendel is the people. He learns about what happens to them when they become angry or when they decide to work together. He is impressed by their organization. Grendel is impressed by how Hrothgar shown them the strength of his organization (37).It is a symbol of how complex the human race can be. What Hart means to them is home. They all gather their and share their lives. It symbolizes their strength to live through all of the things that happen to them. Hart is a place where they can socialize because it was a place where where they would listen to each other.(32) It also symbolizes unity because they can accomplish many things when they work together.   I dont think that Grendel fully understands the physical conditions of the human world because, while he wants to be a part of them, he doesnt know what its like to be part of a community, and just getting information through observation isnt enough when its about culture and tradition. The most striking thing that Grendel finds about the way humans live is their ability to make patterns and create faà §ades over the real world to make it appear the way they want it to. Grendel feels that the physical world is not really there. He feels that Grendel is the only living thing that is truly there and living. He feels like he is the only one that matters at all. Everything else is  just space for him to move around in because he create[s] the whole universe, blink by blink (22).He feels that the world is just one big machine with no thoughts of its own. Only he, Grendel, is truly alive and intelligent.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a Liberal Puritan Essay -- essays research pap

Nathaniel Hawthorne's best known short stories including Young Goodman Brown, The Minister's Black Veil, and The Birthmark, should be considered some of the great works of American literature because their exploration of enduring American themes of moral struggle. The short stories demonstrate a masterful command of symbolism and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Descended from a staunch Puritan family, Hawthorne?s father was a presiding judge over the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne?s father died when he was young and he spent much time alone during his childhood. He had an introspective nature and was an avid reader. He began to write while he was in college and following graduation, returned to Salem where he entered a twelve-year literary apprenticeship. His first collection of short stories, Twice-Told tales, was published in 1837. Soon afterwards, he joined for a short period an experimental utopian community outside of Boston called Brook Farm in 1841. In 1842, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody and they moved to Concord, Massachusetts. There Hawthorne wrote many pieces including his next collection of stores in 1846 called ?Mosses from an Old Manse.? From 1846 to 1849, Hawthorne worked in a Salem customhouse. Following his dismissal was a two-year period of intense p roductivity after which he wrote very little fiction, although he did keep notebooks. Hawthorne died in 1864 following several years of inability to complete any of this writings. Much of Hawthorne's work is set in colonial New England and many of his short stories have been read as moral allegories influenced by his Puritan ancestry. He believed that the misfortunes of his immediate family were the result of d... ...esides over a funeral and a wedding, providing no one with any explanation as to his unusual appearance. The only character not afraid of the veil is the minister?s fiancà © but she does ask him to remove it and how his face if only for a single time. He refuses to do so, explaining that the veil must stay on forever in recognition of the time when we will all cast aside our veils. She finally breaks off her engagement with Mr. Hooper since he refuses to remove it. When the minister dies, he is buried with the veil unlifted. Nathaniel Hawthorne?s best known short stories including Young Goodman Brown, The Minister's Black Veil, and The Birthmark, should be considered some of the great works of American literature because their exploration of enduring American themes of moral struggle. The short stories demonstrate a masterful command of symbolism and allegory.

Crime in America Essay -- essays research papers

Parole (early release from prison) is often referred to as the back door to the US corrections system. The concept of parole dates back to the establishment of the Elmira Reformatory. The goal of the Elmira Reformatory was to rehabilitate and reform the criminal instead of following the traditional method of silence, obedience, and labor. Parole was originally set up to encourage prisoners to do well, keep their noses clean, and become model prisoners. Once a prisoner had shown rehabilitation and reform they were released prior to the execution of their full sentence. Before a prisoner can be released on parole he/she must meet before a parole board. Each prison with a parole system is set up with one of two types of parole services. Service one is the independent model. Like its name says it is independent, independent from any other state agency. Meaning that it’s parole officers do not work for the corrections system. This enables them to be more bias and fair with their decisions. Service two is the consolidated model. This model is ran by the corrections system and is under the direction of the commissioner of corrections. The consolidated model does not give its members the ability to be bias. They have to bite their tongues in some instances as to not ruffle the feathers of those appointed over them. No matter which model is in place if not used correctly it is a failure. In most states the members of the parole board are appointed by the governor and serve a term of...

Analysis of ”Good People” by David Foster Wallace Essay

Analysis of †Good People† by David Foster Wallace, 2007 The short story is set at a park by a lake. â€Å"They were up on a picnic table at that park by the lake, by the edge of the lake, with part of a downed tree in the shallows half hidden by the bank.† The downed tree sets the mood to be sad and dark. We also learn that the main characters Lane A. Dean, Jr. and his girlfriend Sheri Fisher are sitting very still on the picnic table, which tells us that the atmosphere is quite intense. It does not say for how long they sit by the lake, but it says that the right sides of their faces get shaded so it can be assumed that they sit there for a while. One of the main characters is Lane A. Dean, Jr., who is 19 years old and studies accounting and business. Lane is a very reflective person because he reflects a lot on how he is and how he thinks he should be. â€Å"He knew it was wrong, knew something was required of him that was not this terrible frozen care and cauti on, but he pretended to himself he did not know what it was that was required.† This shows that he is a conscientious person and that he has high expectations for himself. Through the whole short story thoughts like the mentioned quote are seen. It seems like Lane is not satisfied with the way he is and keeps comparing himself to his girlfriend, Sheri. â€Å"He was starting to believe that he might not be serious in his faith. He was desperate to be good people, to still be able to feel he was good.†The fact that he is moving away from his faith makes him question whether he is a good person or not. It makes him confused about his identity, about who he is. Lane is also confused when it comes to his love for his girlfriend and that could be the reason why they are not happy sitting together. Lane’s girlfriend, Sheri, is 20 years old, studies to become a nurse and has a hosting job. She is very serious in her faith and values and she is a girl who knows what she wants.So Sheri seems more secure than Lane and more comfortable in her own skin. In a way Sheri is more mature. But she also sits very still: â€Å"She was blank and hidden.† It is shown that Sheri is not happy because she sits with her face in her hands. So it can be concluded that they may have a problem with each other. It is a third person narrative. The narrator has an obvious focus on Lane and this we see because the narrator only includes Lane’s thoughts and feelings a lot: â€Å"Sometimes when alone and thinking or struggling to turn matter over to Jesus Christ in prayer, he would find himself (†¦)† â€Å"He could almost  visualize himself tiptoeing past something explosive.† Therefore the narrator has an inner view of Lane. We learn his opinions, and especially when Sheri is described – you learn that it is through Lane that she is described. The effect of the inner view is that we only learn how one of the main characters is feeling and is thinking. It also makes the information about Sheri subjective because it is Lane’s opinion about her and not her exact thoughts or feelings. We only have Lane’s opinion and actions and Sheri’s actions. Furthermore the short story is written in the past tense, and there are some flashbacks: â€Å"Two days before (†¦)†Some times when they had prayed (†¦)† The flashbacks can enlighten the reader about the main characters background, but also confuse the reader. The short story consists of both short sentences and long sentences. The sentences are short when something dramatic happens and the short sentences make it more dramatic and interesting to read and it also speeds up the reading pace. For example when Lane describes the battle within himself: â€Å"Two hearted, a hypocrite to yourself either way.† There is no direct speech, which makes it harder for the reader to interpret the characters because the writer influences the readers. The writer is presenting an interpretation of the characters’ speech and not their exact words. There is a focus on actions so there is a lot of verbs and also adjectives, especially in the beginning. There are some difficult words, but all in all the vocabulary is standard level. The main conflict is the conflict between Lane and Sheri. First of all both of them sit very still and we hear a lot of Lane’s thoughts – as if they are not talking to each other. â€Å"It was of two great and terrible armies within himself, opposed and facing each other, silent. There would be battle but no victor.† The battle inside of Lane could represent the battle between Sheri and him. You might say that they have a probl em when it comes to communicating with each other. The conflict is that Lane does not love Sheri. â€Å"(†¦) at the decision together did not ever include it – the word – for had he once said it, avowed that he did love her, loved Sheri Fisher, then it all would have been transformed.†18 â€Å"But neither did he ever open up and tell her straight out he did not love her.† Lane expresses that if he had loved her or said to her that he loved her, they would not have this conflict. The conflict is that Lane is not honest with Sheri about his true feelings and this leads to the unhappy and tense atmosphere. The reason why  Sheri does not say anything could be because she is waiting for Lane to come clean and be honest. At the ending of the story Lane imagines what he wants Sheri to say when he tells her the truth – that he does not love her. Lane wants Sheri to say that it is all right and that she wants the best for him. Lane has been praying for love and at the end he comes to realize that he h as been praying for the wrong thing. He should have been praying for courage – courage to tell Sheri the truth. The title â€Å"Good People† refers to the fact that Lane wants to be a good person by being honest with Sheri. It also refers to when Lane says that he is not that serious in his faith and that he wants to be good people, to feel that he was good. Lane does not want to lie to her or to himself. To be good is something every human being aspires to be. To be good, kind and loving to your family, friends and neighbours is something preached by the Christian church, but it is also how people generally want to be in spite of their religion. Lane finds out at the very end that he is not that serious in his faith, but that he is still able to be good by finding the courage to be honest with Sheri.

Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Cerén Village in Central America

The archaeological site of Joya del Ceren, located in the broad Zapotitan Valley in the fertile region of western El Salvador, is a remarkable and important find that has been compared to the ancient ruined cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. Like Pompeii, Joya del Ceren was preserved under layers of volcanic ash in the catastrophic Loma Caldera eruption from the nearby Ilopango volcano approximately 600 AD. This eruption forced the sudden abandonment of the site by its inhabitants who were forced to leave their possessions behind.Dr Payson Sheets of the University of Colorado-Boulder has been leading the excavations of the site, and as this ancient farming village of the Maya is now being revealed, many important insights into the household and community life of the ancient Maya, as well as their economic, social, and religious activities are becoming better understood. In Dr. Sheets’ book, Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren Village in Central America, an o verview of the knowledge gained by recent excavations is provided.The book opens with a discussion of volcanology, geophysics, and paleobotany. It is clear that the presence of the nearby volcanic hills around the site presented both benefits and hazards to the ancient inhabitants. The volcano provided a source of hard stones for making manos and metates, its ancient eruptions deposited a fertile bed of ash for fruitful agriculture, but it also proved the destruction of their village.What is so amazing is the fine state of preservation that the volcanic eruption gave to the material culture of the site. The buildings, complete with their thatched roofs (mice included) and painted walls, the beautifully painted gourds and pottery vessels, whole and filled with foodstuffs, liquid residues, utensils and other personal items, the craft tools, and the clear evidence of craft production are all on hand, looking untouched despite their fourteen centuries of age. Consider this remarkable st atement:â€Å"The numerous seasonally sensitive plants preserved at the site indicate the eruption probably occurred in August. Further, the positions and conditions of artifacts indicate the eruption probably occurred in the early evening, after dinner was served but before the dishes were washed, likely between 6:00 and 7:00 P. M. † (Sheets) For all the fury and destruction that volcanoes can cause, such an outcome is nevertheless a joy to historians and archaeologists, and should be to anyone curious about the lives of prehistoric peoples.The focus of the explorations at Joya del Ceren is centered on â€Å"Household Archaeology,† with the household being defined as â€Å"the domestic coresidential social and adaptive unit intermediate between the individual and the neighborhood. † (Sheets) Part II of the book describes the four households excavated prior to publication, with eleven building having been completely excavated, and seven others partially excavate d. Professor Sheets summarizes the work to date as follows:Four buildings of Household 1 have been excavated, including a domicile (for sleeping, eating, and various daytime activities), a storehouse, a kitchen, and a ramada-style building that occasionally was used for chipped stone tool maintenance, among other functions (Structures 1, 6, 11, and 5, respectively). Two buildings of Household 2 have been excavated, the domicile and the storehouse (Structures 2 and 7). The kitchen has yet to be excavated, and we do not know if Structure 18 is a part of this household.Only a part of the kitchen of Household 3 is known (Structure 16). The storehouse of Household 4 has been excavated, and it is a storehouse and much more (Structure 4). The maguey (Agave americana) garden south of the building produced fiber for about a dozen households; the leaves were depulped to liberate the fibers using Structure 4's northeast corner pole. † (Sheets) The results of these excavations revealed a good deal about household and village life of the people of the Maya frontier circa 600 AD.We have an expanded view of what they ate (maize, beans, chiles, squash, manioc, maguey, cacao and guayaba among others), the wealth they possessed (over 70 vessels in household 1 alone), and their source of livelihood (both subsistence farming and craft specialization). Indeed it is possible to speculate that each household produced a certain type of finished craft for export trade within or beyond the village.Sheets describes how â€Å"each household overproduced at least one craft or commodity and used that for exchange within the community and to obtain long-distance traded items that generally were produced by specialists, such as obsidian tools, hematite pigments, and jade axes. † (Sheets) It is shown how household 1 produced groundstone items such as manos and metates, and a tool called a donut stone. Household 2 likely served as a painted gourd factory, as evidenced by the prese nce of cinnabar paints and the use-wear on chipped stone tools found at the site.In addition to the household structures, some other community buildings have been identified. These include Structure 9, a large sweat bath that could accommodate a dozen people , structure 10, considered to be a religious festival building of some kind, as evidenced by the presence of some sacred artifacts, such as a deer skull headdress, and an obsidian blade with traces of human blood. There is also a large community center or civic complex, perhaps used for local government functions or religious purposes or both. The religious buildings were painted white and are the only white buildings found at the site.Some of the agricultural fields have been examined, and the results are very interesting. For example, the rows for maize were ridged, and some areas show where portions of the crop have already been harvested and the ground replanted with the second crop for the year. Many species of plants are i dentified by plaster casting, including â€Å"maize, beans, chiles, squash, manioc, maguey, various trees such as cacao and guayaba, and a number of palm and deciduous trees. † (Sheets) The manioc field is known as the first evidence of the cultivation of this crop in the Americas.In a recent CU-Boulder news release article, Sheets said â€Å"we have long wondered what else the prehistoric Mayan people were growing and eating besides corn and beans, so finding this field was a jackpot of sorts for us. Manioc's extraordinary productivity may help explain how the Classic Maya at huge sites like Tikal in Guatemala and Copan in Honduras supported such dense populations. † The work at Joya del Ceren is far from over. The book explains how the archaeologists are using ground penetrating radar equipment to locate numerous other buildings for future excavations.As time goes on, the riches of Joya del Ceren will continue to emerge from the ashes. Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren Village in Central America is a rather typical archaeological report, fairly dry for reading, but full of fascinating information if you take the time to pick through it. What is important is what the Archaeology of the site can teach us of the ancient people that lived there. The site must be an outstanding place to visit, for to see such well-preserved artifacts would surely spark the imagination.I would surely recommend the book to anyone interested in the Maya, in archaeology and history in general, or to anybody that is curious about the way that ordinary people from the past may have lived their lives. Works Cited Sheets, Payson. â€Å"CU-Boulder Archaeology Team Discovers First Ancient Manioc Fields In Americas. † CU-Boulder News. August 20, 2007. http://www. colorado. edu/news/releases/2007/305. html Sheets, Payson (ed. ) Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren Village in Central America. Boulder, Colorado. 2002