To Kill A Mockingbird Is this novel simply a pessimistic presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society Essay Example

To Kill A Mockingbird Is this novel simply a pessimistic presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society Paper In this essay I will be looking at the different types of prejudices that are used in the novel. These include prejudice against colour, sex, class, outcasts and outsiders. I will be looking at how these prejudices affect the characters in the novel and how their attitudes change. I will also be looking closely at the characters of Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell, who have completely different attitudes towards racism. I interpret the word prejudice as literally meaning pre-judge. When someone is prejudiced against someone then it means that they are judging him or her without knowing them and this is usually down to racism. There are many examples of prejudice in the novel and this gives the idea that Maycomb is a deeply flawed and discriminatory society. The main example of prejudice in the novel revolves around the trial of Tom Robinson, who is a black man that is being tried for a rape crime that he did not commit. The pre-judgment of Tom Robinson by a 12-strong Maycomb jury shows that the community is deeply racist. White people considered blacks to be upstart and the reason for this is that the book is set at the time of depression and whites were worried that, black men could take their jobs. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill A Mockingbird Is this novel simply a pessimistic presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill A Mockingbird Is this novel simply a pessimistic presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill A Mockingbird Is this novel simply a pessimistic presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is one of the reasons that Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of murder. Ewell is deeply racist and when he finds his daughter trying to seduce Tom he automatically accuses the black man. Although this prejudice against Tom Robinson is started by one the man most of the town have no trouble in sticking by the white man and this is why the trial is one of the main areas of racism in the book. This racism against blacks though is not the only area of discrimination in Maycomb society. There is also a strong discrimination against outsiders that starts at a very early age. An example of this is when scout goes to school for the first time and her teacher says, I am from North Alabama, from Winston County. At this point the class murmured apprehensively, should she prove to harbour her share of peculiarities indigenous to that region. By doing this, the class is pre-judging their teacher only a few minutes after meeting her for the first time. The children are showing that even at their early age they consider outsiders to be peculiar. The only reason that I can see for this is that this has been drilled into them from a young age and therefore gives us the idea that the town they live in is deeply flawed and discriminatory The character of Bob Ewell can be seen as the epitome of everything that is wrong with the society of Maycomb. He is described as a little bantam cock that crowed like a rooster on a dung hill. This shows what the people of the town think about him and also how his racist opinion would usually count for nothing. Mr. Ewell is also a redneck, which is made clear when the author says, the back of his neck reddened at the sound of his name. This tells us that Ewell is a racist piece of white trash, like most other rednecks. The character of Bob Ewell rubs off on the rest of his family, whom he treats, with no degree of respect or care. The first example of this comes about when his son, Burris Ewell is at school. The teacher tries to repremand Burris but he says, you ain`t sending me home missus. I was just on the verge of leaving- I done my time for this year. This shows how Bob has not laid down any rules for his children and he doesnt set any rules for his children or care what the get up to. It also gives across the idea that the Ewell family is very dysfunctional and this is one of the many differences between the Ewells and the Fiches. An example of how Ewell has no respect for his family is the way that he drags his daughter Mayella through a rape trial for some personal attention. Ewell describes the rape as rutting and this is a word that is only usually used to describe sex between animals. By using this sort of language Ewell is portraying himself and his family as wild animals and when a wild dog appears later in the novel this can be seen as a portrayal of Ewell. Atticuss children are very different from Ewells but they, like many of the other children in the novel are also prejudiced. Scout is victimized by her brother Jem for not being girlish enough. He says, I declare to the lord you are getting more like a girl everyday! This upsets Scout because she seems to want to be a boy because men obviously have a higher status in the town. Although Scout is being victimized here she shows signs of being racist herself. When she and Jem are building a snowman that is mostly made of mud she exclaims, I aint ever heard of a nigger snowman. By using the word nigger Scout is showing that from a very young age she is using the language that she has obviously picked up from the people around her and by doing this she is giving the idea that the whole town is discriminatory in one way or another. It is clear that it is not only the white people of Maycomb that are prejudiced against anything that dont conform to their ideals, it is the black community as well. Both communities shun Mr. Dolphus Raymond because he is involved in a mixed marriage that goes against both white and black laurels. Jem explains to scout that mixed children belong nowhere and this shows how everyone in Maycomb is strongly opposed to anything that is not traditional or that doesnt occur on a wide-scale. The language that Harper Lee uses in the book is often racist and if it were used today then most people would take offense. She uses words like Nigger and Negro to show that the town is deeply racist because this language is used daily. I think that it is acceptable for Lee to use this type of language in the novel simply because it was what the language was like at the time that the novel is set and it shows what Maycomb is like. While Lee uses racist language to show racism in the novel she also uses empathy on a number of occasions to show peoples situations from other peoples points of view. An example of this is when Jem and Scout are made to spend time with Mrs. Dubose. Atticus says,I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is. With the use of empathy Lee shows the reader what Mrs. Dubose is really like. By making his children spend time with Mrs. Dubose Atticus is showing them not to judge a book by its cover. This is one of the many morals that Atticus tries to pass down to his kids throughout the novel. Another moral that he tries to pass down is the one that you have to fight for what is right. When Scout asks Atticus why he is taking on the Tom Robinson rape case he explains that if he didnt then he could not hold my head up in town. By setting this good example to his children Atticus is showing what type of person he is and this person is very different to Bob Ewell. Atticus is a respectable member of Maycombs society who, unlike Ewell is not racist and has a respectable job. Atticus is also well educated and shows us the importance of empathy. He says that you dont know a person Until you climb into its skin and walk around in it. By having the character of Atticus Lee shows us that not all of Maycomb are discriminatory and that it is only parts of the society that have something wrong with them and this can be said about all of society. Although the main plot of the novel is the trial of Tom Robinson the book also contains an interlacing sub-plot that centers on the mysterious character of Boo Radley. Boo is a man that does not conform to what is considered a normal way of life and he is therefore portrayed to the children of Maycomb as a bogeyman. This becomes apparent when Dill has the idea to make Boo Radley come out. This shows how the children wanted to torment him just because he doesnt come outside and conform to everyone elses way of life. This is a form of discrimination because they are tormenting him just because he is different and shows that even though Atticus tries to install good morals into his children they still go of and do things like this. Along with Tom Robinson, Boo Radley can be seen as the Mockingbird of novel. Atticus says that Mockingbirds dont do one thing but make music for us to enjoy and therefore its a sin to kill a Mockingbird. This can be related to both Boo and Tom because the both do nothing wrong and are both tormented and discriminated against. I think that Lee purposely had two Mockingbirds in the novel, to show that it is all of Maycombs society that is prejudiced. The children torment Boo and the adults persecute Tom. This shows that maycombs society is deeply flawed and discriminatory. So in conclusion, I would say that on the outside the novel is a presentation of a deeply flawed and discriminatory society. If you look deeper then you can see that not all of the society carries this prejudice and I think that the different fate of the two Mockingbirds is very significant. Boo shows us that you should not judge a book by its cover while the death of Tom Robinson shows how cruel humans can be to people who are effectively exactly the same as themselves.

Critical Analysis on The Lord of the Flies essays

Critical Analysis on The Lord of the Flies essays Style is a writers characteristic way of writing his or her choice of words, sentence structure, and use of imagery and figurative language. For example, one writer might coin new words, write in long rhythmic sentences and create striking images and metaphors. Another writer may use sentences that are very straight forward and very precise in diction. Still others may create episodes that are so poignant that a reader has difficulty putting them from his mind. One such scene is created by William Golding in Lord of the Flies, shows how the boys have changes from being civilized to being savages. This particular scene is near the end of the novel, where Golding is describing the condition that Ralph is in. All of Ralphs friends has been killed or has went on Jacks side, and now Ralph is fleeing for his life. After Sam and Eric told Ralph that the boys planned to hunt him down and kill him in the morning, Ralph gets in a covert and sleeps there. The next morning, Ralph is awakened by a distance noise of someone coming and was yelling. It was a violation over the seashore and now the next savage answered and the next. Ralph made a big mistake, the night before this hunt started, Ralph had told Sam and Eric where he was going to hide when the boys came looking for him. Ralph thought he could trust Sam and Eric; however, Sam and Eric had been turned into savages and they told Jack where he was hiding. However, the location in which Ralph was hiding was to thick for them to get through. Here Ralph is thing to himself, But what could they do? It would take them a week to break a path through the thicket, and anyone who wormed his way in would be helpless. The only way Jack manages to get him out is to light a brush on fire. When Ralph notices the brushes on fire he darts out of the brush and takes off across the island. Frantic of what to do, Ralph ...

Daniel Websters Seventh of March Speech

Daniel Websters Seventh of March Speech As the United States struggled with the deeply divisive issue of slavery a decade before the Civil War, public attention in early 1850 was directed to Capitol Hill. And  Daniel Webster, widely regarded as the nations greatest orator, delivered one of the most controversial Senate speeches in history. Websters speech was widely anticipated and was a major news event. Crowds flocked to the Capitol and packed the galleries, and his words traveled quickly by telegraph to all regions of the country. Websters words, in what became famous as the Seventh of March Speech, provoked instant and extreme reactions. People who had admired him for years suddenly denounced him as a traitor. And those who had been suspicious of him for years praised him. The speech led to the Compromise of 1850 and helped to hold off open warfare over slavery. But it came at a cost to Websters popularity. Background of Websters Speech In 1850, the United States seemed to be splitting apart. Things seemed to be going well in some regards: the country had concluded the Mexican War, a hero of that war, Zachary Taylor, was in the White House, and newly acquired territories meant the country reached from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The nations nagging problem, of course, was slavery. There was a strong sentiment in the North against allowing slavery to spread to new territories and new states. In the South, that concept was deeply offensive. The dispute played out in the U.S. Senate. Three legends would be the major players:  Henry Clay of Kentucky would represent the West;  John C. Calhoun of South Carolina represented the South;  and Webster of Massachusetts would speak for the North. In early March, John C. Calhoun, too frail to speak for himself, had a colleague read a speech in which he denounced the North. Webster would respond. Websters Words In the days before Websters speech, rumors circulated that he would oppose any sort of compromise with the South. A New England newspaper, the Vermont Watchman and State Journal, published a dispatch credited to the Washington correspondent of a Philadelphia newspaper. After asserting that Webster would never compromise, the news item lavishly praised the speech Webster had not yet delivered: But Mr. Webster will make a powerful Union speech, one which will be a model of eloquence, and the memory of which will be cherished long after the orators bones shall have mingled with the kindred of his native soil. It will rival Washingtons farewell address, and be an admonition to both sections of the country to fulfill, through union, the great mission of the American people. On the afternoon of March 7, 1850, crowds struggled to get into the Capitol to hear what Webster would say.  In a packed Senate chamber, Webster rose to his feet and gave one of the most dramatic speeches of his long political career. I speak today for the preservation of the Union, Webster said near the beginning of his three-hour oration. The Seventh of March Speech  is now considered a classic example of American political oratory. But at the time it deeply offended many in the North. Webster endorsed one of the most hated provisions of the compromise bills in Congress, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. And for that, he would face withering criticism. Public Reaction On the day after Websters speech a leading newspaper in the North, the New York Tribune, published a brutal editorial. The speech, it said, was unworthy of its author. The Tribune asserted what many in the North felt. It was simply immoral to compromise with slave states to the extent of requiring citizens to become involved in capturing fugitive slaves: The position that Northern States and their Citizens are morally bound to recapture fugitive Slaves may be good for a lawyer, but is  not good for a Man. The provision is on the face of the Constitution. True, but that does not make it the duty of Mr. Webster nor any other human being, when a panting fugitive presents himself at  his door begging for shelter and the means of escape, to arrest and bind him and hand him over to the pursuers who are hot upon his trail. Near the end of the editorial, the Tribune stated: We cannot be converted into Slave-catchers, nor  can Slave-catchers operate freely among us. An abolitionist newspaper in Ohio, the Anti-Slavery Bugle, blasted Webster. Quoting the noted abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, it referred to him as the Colossal Coward. Some northerners, especially business people who preferred tranquility between the regions of the nation, did welcome Websters appeal for compromise. The speech was printed in many newspapers and was even sold in pamphlet form. Weeks after the speech, the Vermont Watchman and State Journal, the newspaper which had predicted that Webster would deliver a classic speech, published what amounted to a scorecard of editorial reactions. It began: As to Mr. Websters speech: it has been better praised by his enemies and better condemned by his friends than any speech ever before made by any statesman of his standing. The Watchman and State Journal noted that some northern papers praised the speech, yet many denounced it. And in the South, the reactions were considerably more favorable. In the end, the Compromise of 1850, including the Fugitive Slave Act, became law. And the Union wouldnt split until a decade later when the slave states seceded.

Hunting and Fishing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hunting and Fishing - Essay Example Although fundamental for man’s survival, Culture is equally fragile as it keeps changing hence across generations, certain cultural aspects have been lost in all societies. Perhaps there are no other groups of people that have rich and much told culture like the Native Indian-Americans. They possess a great history of struggle and success and many of today’s life practices of the Americans like; teepee, peace pipe and moccasins, are borrowed from the Indian-Americans2. As noted above, Food is a fundamental aspect of every culture, hence a comprehensive study into the Indian American food related practices gives sufficient information of their cultural background. The research paper will therefore focus on one aspect of culture, hunting and fishing as a source of food and the role the two practices played within the indigenous culture of the Indian-Americans. ... Boys had to learn the hunting and fishing skills early in life. A story is told of a boy 8 years of age who in his first hunt he killed a goose, took it to his father who showed it to the whole community and at 10 years of age he killed his first Buffalo and the whole community rejoiced with the family, to Indians, successes in hunting were happiness to the whole family and community at large4. The hunting tribes’ important wild animal for hunt was the Buffalo which they hunted in twice yearly; during winter and summer. During the hunting periods, particular communities the whole village could go for hunting for fear of attack from hostile tribes, carrying all they needed for the journey in ponies putting women in charge while the rest of the luggage was buried and dug up upon return. They made camps at night and in the morning again break the camp and continue with the journey. They moved in single way and young boys kept watching for the Buffalo herds which they approached w ith great care done under the leader when spotted at a distance.5 The disparities and unity brought by hunting and fishing There were a number of ways that Native Americans obtained food key among them of which included, farming and domesticating animals, hunting, fishing in lakes and rivers and gathering wild fruits6. Majority of Native American tribes took part in fishing and hunting, the Eskimos who live far North depended on fish and hunted animals to survive, the Blackfoot & Sioux were the big game hunters who were on frequent migration to follow bison and the Chippewa who also took part in hunting to obtain food. Tlingit and Salish obtained their food from fishing in rivers and lakes.7In these earlier times there were no conventional equipments or tools,

Cultural Differences Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Differences - Research Paper Example American workplace however differs that individuals are expected to rely on its own merit where hiring and promotion depends on what one have done or can do. It will not be offensive to impose professionalism at work. While kinship is valued in Philippine society in general, its professional class understands the virtue of performance and results as a basis for hiring and promotion. The perspective about power has the biggest disparity between United States and the Philippines. US scored 40 on this and this is reflective of American values of equality, liberty and justice for all compared to the Philippines which is a younger society and thus still feudalistic scoring 94 manifesting its hierarchial society which is reflective of its society’s inherent inequalities. Unlike in the US workplace where both managers and employees share information frequently in a manner that is informal, direct and participative, it is quite the opposite in the Philippines where subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is the benevolent autocrat. While American workplace requires little structure and little rules, these are emphasized in the Philippine workplace. Subordinates know their places and are generally accepting of this structure. This difference in perspective of the workplace an easily be resolved as a new manager in the Philippine context by clearly stating what is expected of its employees or subordinates. It can initiate a new culture of being more â€Å"egalitarian† in the workplace making it more flat which Philippine society is generally accepting of any initiative from the management as long as it does not threaten them. Both countries scored low on long-term orientation with the Philippines scoring 19 while the US scored 29. This does not however mean that both countries share all the characteristic of short sightedness. US short

A Case Study For Vertical Integration Commerce Essay

A Case Study For Vertical Integration Commerce Essay The word  vertical integration  describes a style of  management control. The oil industry has always been fertile ground for analysis of the reasons and effects vertical integration. One reasons of this popularity is that the stages of production are easily differentiated. The general perception is that Integration is a prerequisite for success of the company as the oil industry is populated by large Integrated companies that makes excessive profits. Vertically integrated businesses in a  supply chain  are united through a common owner. Vertical integration may also be a merger of two companies that are in various stages of production, (for example, an upstream company (ONGC) and a downstream company (HPCL) . Thereby merger with a company which is at a later stage in the production process (and therefore closer to the consumer end) is known as forward integration. Vertical integration may be contrasted with horizontal integration, the merger of companies that together are at the same stage of production, for example, merging of two upstream companies or two downstream companies. Joining further back in the process (if a downstream company merged with an upstream company, for example) is known as backward integration. An example of backward integration in India is of Reliance Industries Limited that started with textiles to polyester to petrochemicals and now refinery and exploration production. The integration of two organizations that are in completely different business lines is sometimes referred to as the conglomerate integration. Companies are downstream or upstream of the other depending on whether they are closer or farther from the end consumer (the sea, so to speak, to the river flowing production). The benefits of vertical integration come from the higher capacity that gives organizations control access to inputs (and to control the cost, quality and delivery of inputs). Some of the best examples of vertical integration have been in the Oil Industry. In 1970 and 1980, many companies that were principally engaged in the exploration and extraction of crude oil refineries decided to acquire downstream distribution networks. Companies like Shell and BP came to control all the steps involved in bringing a drop of oil from North Sea or Alaska to the fuel tank of the vehicles. . Reliance- A Case Study: The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is Indias largest private enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Groups annual Revenues are in excess of U.S. $66 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India. Backward vertical integration has been the foundation of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration from polyester to fiber intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals to petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain. The Groups Activities span Exploration and Production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fiber intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail and special economic zones Infotel. Reliance enjoys its Global Leadership in Businesses, being the largest polyester yarn and fiber producer in the world and among the top five to ten Producers in the world in major petrochemical products. Key Milestones in the history of Reliance Group: 1958- Dhirubhai Ambani started Reliance Commercial Corporation in Mumbai. 1966- Reliance entered the textile industry and set up a mill at Naroda, Ahmedabad. 1975- World Bank team visits the mill and declares that it is as modern and well-managed as those in the developed countries. 1977- Reliance went public with Indias first IPO 1985- Reliance total assets: $227 million. 1986- Reliance Capital, a merchant bank was created. 1988- Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, a petroleum pipeline provider, came into line. 1988- Reliance sales exceed $404 million. 1991- Hazira petrochemical plant commissioned. 1992-Reliance became the first Indian corporation to raise capital from international markets through Global Depository Receipts offering, and sets a record with a Reliance issue that received over 1 million investor applications. 1993- Reliance Petroleum went public in Indias largest public offering to date. Sales exceeded $909million, making Reliance Petroleum Indias largest publicly traded company. Also Reliance offered the first Euro Convertible bond issue. 1994- Awarded Companion Membership of the Textile Institute (UK). Award is limited to 50 members who have substantially advanced the fiber industry. 1994- Reliance offered the second Euro issue of Global Depository Receipts. 1995- Reliance net profit exceeded $242 million. 1995- Reliance Mutual Funds, an asset management and mutual fund provider launched. 1997- Reliance became the first corporation in Asia to issue 50 to 100 year bonds in the United States. 1997- Worlds largest multifeed cracker commissioned in Hazira. 1998- Reliance revenue tops $3 billion and total assets approach $8 billion. 1999- Worlds largest petroleum refinery complex commissioned at Jamnagar. 1999- Reliance Infocomm, a mobile service provider is launched. 2000- Reliance revenues exceed $4 billion, and total assets are $11.8 billion. 2002- Reliance Industries Ltd. and Reliance Petroleum Ltd merge into Reliance Industries. The new firm is named to the Forbes Global 500 in 2003, entering at position 306. Backward integration of Reliance Industries Objectives of the Study The objectives of the proposed research are as follows: To study the various activities that can be successfully integrated in oil and gas companies. To study the effects of vertical integration on diferrent oil and gas companies. To analyze the effects of vertical integration on Reliance Industries. Research Methodology Collection of Secondary Data Secondary data will be collected from already integrated oil and gas companies and it will give an insight on the various activities which can be successfully integrated. The data would then be simulated to analyze the effect of vertical integration on Reliance Industries. Literature Review: Oil companies, both national and multinationals have often adopted a vertically integrated structure. Some of these companies are: Exxon Mobil: it was formed in 1999 by the merger of two companies- Exxon and Mobil. Before the merger, Exxon was an upstream major while Mobil was a Chemical Company and its chief products included basic olefins and aromatics, ethylene glycol and polyethylene. After the merger, the company has been operating in the following areas: Upstream ExxonMobil Exploration Company ExxonMobil Development Company ExxonMobil Production Company ExxonMobil Gas and Power Marketing Company ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company ExxonMobil Upstream Ventures Downstream ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company Sea River Maritime ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants Specialties Marketing Company ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company International Marine Transportation Chemical ExxonMobil Chemical Company ExxonMobil is an industry leader in almost every aspect of the energy and petrochemical business. Its activities range from the exploration and production of oil and gas to coal and copper mining, from the refining of petroleum products to the marketing of fuels (under the Exxon. Mobil and Esso brands). waxes. asphalt and chemicals. In addition. ExxonMobil is active in electric power generation. ExxonMobil Chemical is one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world. Its products include olefins, aromatics, synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene and oriented polypropylene packaging films. The company operates its 54 manufacturing plants in more than 20 countries and markets its products in more than 150 countries. Shell: Shell has vertically integrated its structure which has helped it develop commercial expertise in all stages of this vertical integration, from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation, refining and finally trading and marketing established the core competencies in the company was founded. Similar competencies are also developed for natural gas, which has become one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a significant proportion of the profits of the company. Royal Dutch- Petroleums subsidiary, Shell Oil, acquired Pennzoil-QuakerState, the largest producer of motor oil. The vertical acquisition, which included over 2000 Jiffy Lube oil change centers, was consistent with Shells parent companys strategy to acquire a company that complements its lubricant and oil-products businesses and Shells gas station chain. Royal Dutch-Shell was international from its earliest days. Formed in 1907 as an Anglo-Dutch alliance between Shell Transport and Trading and the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, the Royal Dutch-Shell group was, at that time, the only serious international rival to Rockefellers Standard. By the time that Anglo-Persian was formed in 1909 Rockefellers Standard and Royal Dutch-Shell had already established powerful positions in the international oil industry. But although Anglo-Persian was a latecomer, it had the unique and crucial competitive advantage that it was the first mover in developing the oil reserves of the Middle East, where its first oil field at Masjid-i-Suleiman in southern Persia (later Iran) was a giant, containing vast reserves of crude oil which could be produced in great quantities at low cost. From these different beginnings, the firms that would become international majors, acting at times as rivals, at others as allies, proceeded to establish their mastery of the international oil industry Each of them set out to produce its own crude oil for processing at its own refineries, and to sell the resultant products to the final consumer through its own market outlets. Each also sought to achieve, as far as was possible, a balance between these successive stages in its operations. By this policy of operational vertical integration, each major was able to co-ordinate the flow of oil, under its own control, from its oil fields to its markets. In practice, no major was able to achieve a perfect balance between its upstream (producing) and downstream (marketing and refining) operations. Majors with more markets than production could not find new oil fields at will, while others with more production than markets risked fierce competitive battles with their established rivals if they tried to break into new markets. To rectify the imbalances, and to mitigate the rivalries, the majors adopted a combination of measures they contracted to sell each other crude and products, sometimes in very large quantities; they joined in market-sharing agreements, most famously the 1928 Achnacarry Agreement to share out markets by a quota system; and they formed regional alliances in which majors with surplus upstream capacity joined forces with others with surplus downstream capacity, so that they could balance their joint operations without engaging in competition. By these arrangements, the international flow of oil came to be channeled, not through open, transparent markets for crude and products, but through the closed circuits of the majors vertically integrated systems. There were, both then and later, differences between those who argued that vertical integration was the economically most efficient means of organizing the international flow of oil, and those who saw vertical integration not as an economic necessity, but as a way of suppressing competition and of enabling the majors to control the industry. To a large degree, however, vertical integration was historically determined by Rockefellers early dominance. Once he had established a high degree of monopolistic control, it became a competitive necessity for later entrants such as Royal Dutch Shell, and later Anglo- Persian, to integrate vertically in order to avoid having to negotiate on uneven terms with established competitors for purchases and/ or sales of oil.

A character from a book, movie, or television program Essay

â€Å"Then I shall die as one of them!† A line said by one of the most noble of characters in my favourite movies of all time. The Lord of the Rings is a story that is epically written by J.R.R Tolkien. It is a three part book that has been adapted into film with many characters that individually play important roles in the story. Aragorn son of Arathorn had caught my attention from his very first appearance in the trilogy. Aragorn son of Arathorn is the heir of Isildur. He is also known as Elessar by the people of Gondor. By the people around the Shire, he is known as Strider, the dark rider with no name. Aragorn always looks disheveled with his beard and lone ranger clothes. Despite that, he could woo any woman he passes by as he is very handsome and macho. Whenever he cleans himself up, you could see the kingly heir of Isildur that he is. As a child, Aragorn lost his father who was killed brutally by orcs. As a result, he grew up in Rivendell amongst the fair elves as his mother wanted him protected from his dangerous lineage. Many enemies wanted him dead for he was from a line of very powerful kings that had defeated the evil Sauron. Aragorn portrays many kingly characteristics in the movie. He has the characteristics of a very good leader, just as his ancestors did. Though compared to them, he is a better man and a wiser king. In battle, Aragorn plans excellent strategies. He led a war in The Return of the King and won it proudly. Also, Aragorn has nobility that is worth noting. In the name of his people and Frodo Baggins, he would fight till his death and protect them. Aragorn always fought side by side full of pride with his people in war. Aragorn son of Arathorn or more commonly known as Strider by Samwise Gamgee, one of his respected nine companions in the Fellowship of the Ring, is a very interesting character. From the very start of the movie, he stood out from all the other characters. As a result, he had caught so much of my attention that I would eagerly await all of his appearance in every scene of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.