...Does Wealth Determine How Dignified People Are? The Talented Mr. Tom Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith is a crime novel about a young New Yorker named Tom Ripley, a con man and master manipulator with very little sense of morality. Tom Ripley lies and murders people to steal their money and even their identity. He values objects more than people and his supposed friends, yet he fears loneliness most of all. He does not understand family and still he has a longing for family to take care of him. In contrast to Tom’s twisted idea of world, Dickie Greenleaf shows generosity in friendship, he values people more than objects. Dickie is sociable and kind he lives a simple life and enjoys simple things like painting and company of his friends....
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...hurt from a violent childhood. he studied at the Engineering Trade School, where he earned a degree in engineering. Prior to his posting aboard the Nostromo, Brett served aboard the USCSS Hurd. After the crew member -Kane was killed by the alien organism, which was implanted inside him, Brett constructed several sturdy nets to help catch the alien creature, and with assistance of several catching electronic detectors the crew set about finding it. The crew members, Brett, Parker and Ripley soon detected a signal,but it was a ship cat. Brett let him go. During a following attempting to find a newborn alien creature, Brett was killed by fully growing organism.He masterfully played short, but psychologically stressful role and brilliantly performed his acting role Actor: Sigourney Weaver Actress Sigourney Weaver is known as a leading actor for her roles in films sequel Aliens ,Ghost Busters, Working Girl and super blockbuster –Avatar. Her role in the movie Alien .At the beginning of the movie Ripley with a role as a security officer does not stand out against the other team members. Her star role begins from the...
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...Ridley Scott’s Alien provides us with one of the most basic and primal super-objectives: the preservation life. Our protagonist, Ellen Ripley, faces impossible odds as a seemingly invincible alien predator wreaks havoc on the crew of the Nostromo, taking them out one by one until she is the last man (or in this case, woman) standing. In most every horror, or as Blake Snyder would call it, “Monster in the House” film, the super-objective is to preserve life. Some, however, are more successful than others in conveying that idea, and Alien is perhaps the most triumphant of the bunch. The screenwriter, Dan O’Bannon, heavily juxtaposed the frailty of man with the invincibility of the alien. Neither bullets, nor electricity, nor fire can harm the creature, while it possesses a variety of methods of attack, from corrosive blood to razor sharp teeth. Therein lies the strength of the film’s super-objective: though the alien could easily kill them all, Ripley fights to survive. Alien is one of the few films in which the inciting incident is the very first event. The crew of the Nostromo, on their way back to Earth with twenty million tons of mineral ore, receive a mysterious transmission from a nearby planetoid and are prematurely rousted from their slumber to investigate. Getting that transmission subsequently led to the crew landing on the planetoid, finding the eggs, unknowingly bringing a deadly predator back to their ship, and dooming them all to a grisly death. Well, all but one...
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...for a better future than dreamed of by their forebears. Those who sought the right to assemble and the right to own land found those changes impossible to achieve under the existing regime thus they turned to revolution. An uprising that began in April 1848 with high hopes ended fourteen months later in dejection. Insurrectionists visited the executioner or, if lucky, the prison warden; their followers headed for the docks. By 1854, a quarter-million people, adopting the label “Forty-Eighters” to identify themselves, turned to America for a new beginning. Information about cheap land and a higher standard of living in America, widely publicized in Germany beginning in the nineteenth century, served as a beacon of hope. Land and railroad companies advertised opportunities for settlers willing to try their hand in a nation that had, unlike Germany, succeeded in wresting itself from the grip of a monarchy. By the time Herr Schwab and his family reached Hamburg in the spring of 1852, the city, owing to its strategic location on the Elbe River, had been an important German seaport and key trade center for over seven hundred years. More importantly, Hamburg had become the principal debarkation point for departures to America although many sailed from LaHarve in France and Antwerp in Belgium, and still others shipped from Hamburg to England, crossed the country by train to Liverpool, and departed on yet another ship. George Michael Schwab with the aim of reducing travel stress on his family...
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...Response Paper: The Talented Mr. Ripley The Talented Mr. Ripley, a novel by Patricia Highsmith, raises questions of identity for both its characters and the novel itself. Protagonist Tom Ripley is a con man, impersonating at the beginning of the novel an income tax agent, not for profit but for amusement. He is then mistaken for a close friend of Dickie Greenleaf’s -- an identity which he is happy to assume. He eventually murders Dickie and assumes his identity as well. Ripley’s identity is amorphous, his ambiguous true self pushed aside in favor of less “boring” personas. The novel’s characters -- seemingly one-dimensional, easily summarized and described -- all find themselves in crisis, each desperately wanting something. Tom Ripley desires higher class status and to become Dickie, to assume his identity. He believes that “It was impossible ever to be lonely or bored...so long as he was Dickie Greenleaf," that somehow a complete change in identity would cure all ills. Dickie yearns for external validation and acclaim, while Marge wants Dickie’s affection and a committed relationship with him, and Freddie wants attention from others. Some actively conceal or ignore parts of themselves. For Ripley, this is his queerness. There are various cues to Ripley’s homoerotic desires: when he is young, he is called “sissy”; he lived with an older man who “preyed” on young men; he was “very friendly” with a male Princeton student last summer; he covets Dickie and describes the man...
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...205-16 Paper #2 The Corrupted Consumer The role of commodities and consumerism in The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith is paramount in the development of the protagonist, Tom Ripley. The novel begins with Ripley in New York struggling to make ends meet without a socially acceptable job but rather an illegitimate occupation in which he swindled people who had no withholding taxes (artists, writers and freelance workers). Although Ripley is undeniably skillful at social manipulation, he lacks self-confidence and an established identity as a man. As a result of his insufficient cash inflows, the offer from Herbert Greenleaf (an all-expense paid for vacation to Europe in the hope that he can persuade his former acquaintance Dickie Greenleaf to return to New York City) will provide an excellent opportunity for him to live the lavish lifestyle that seemed natural to him and establish his own masculinity through materialist possessions and behaviors. The exceedingly low self-esteem of Tom Ripley (at the beginning of the novel) stems from his Aunt Dottie who constantly berates him verbally by saying that he is a “Sissy! He’s a sissy from the ground up. Just like his father.” (p. 40) Ripley was brought up in an unpleasant environment without a supporting family and a lack of material wealth. These factors contribute significantly to the insecure and self-loathing nature Tom Ripley possesses prior to European excursion. The meetings and conversations with Dickie Greenleaf’s father...
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...Text Analysis “The Talented Mr Ripley” The Talented Mr Ripley directed by Anthony Minghella is a movie about the life of Tom Ripley, an outcast who is motivated by the need to fit in. Through the use of film techniques such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, juxtaposition and symbolism Minghella positions the audience to understand and sympathise with Ripley, without endorsing his unacceptable actions. Through the use of cinematography Minghella directs the audience to empathise with Ripley because of his role as an outsider. Ripley’s need to fit in is shown in the scene where he is working at the recital. The camera shows Ripley pulling back the curtain and peering into a world where he doesn’t belong. By lingering on a close up of Ripley face the audience clearly sees Ripley’s longing to be accepted into the upper class. The fact that Ripley won’t be accepted is presented through Minghella’s camera work which shows the audience an upper class lady looking disapprovingly at someone of Ripley class daring to look into their world. This is further emphasised in the next scene where the audience sees Ripley removed from the stage despite his clear musical talent. Minghella also uses mise-en-scene to demonstrate Ripley’s position as an outcast. When Ripley first arrives in Italy his pale white skin and his scrawny build are in stark contrast to the bronzed and muscular men that surround him. Furthermore he stands out because of his fluorescent yellow bathers which are mocked...
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...Psychopath or human? The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) written by Patricia Highsmith is known for exploring the gap between benevolence and malevolence. The novel engages its readers to question how far one can go to feel a sense of belonging and love. It investigates how narrow the line between evil and human is in real life. Is Tom really a psychopath or is he just a lonely soul looking for acceptance? To begin with, Tom's depiction of the ideal life is filled with wealth and reputation. He tries to mould himself into the man he thinks will be appreciated by society. This twisted image of society and its standards leaves the reader questioning who is to blame when a sociopath is born. His desire to be Dickie Greenleaf is brutal and unmoral, but still relatable and empathetic. Tom's train of thoughts about loneliness and being admired is heartfelt and impossible to ignore. The talented Mr. Ripley shows how deception and voracity can almost transform anyone into a hedonistic, merciless human. Haysmith manages to almost manipulate the reader to feel sympathy for the miscreant as she describes his thoughts about belonging: "He only wanted a home, a base somewhere, after years of not having any." (Andersson and Ernst, Streams in Literature, 2007, p. 52). In addition to this, Tom is often referred to as an anti-hero. Reason behind this statement can be explained by Highsmith's narrative flow. The novel provides a striking insight into the mind of a sociopath in his...
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...For this discussion post I will be using the movie Contagion. Contagion is about what happens before, during, and the aftermath associated with a deadly virus called MEV-1. Contagion has various big name actors starring it, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Bryan Cranston, to name a few. The film documents the spread of a virus through fomites. The proper definition of fomites is “any object capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as germs, bacteria and/or parasites to an individual”. The film also focuses on the attempts of medical researchers and health investigators challenge to locate and identify the virus, stop the spread of the virus and finally a vaccination for the disease, and the loss of social order during the pandemic. The start of the movie we are introduced to Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) who has a layover in Chicago, Illinois after returning from a business trip in Hong Kong. Beth is seen having an affair in Chicago with an ex-boyfriend. When she returns home to her husband and children she starts to exhibit symptoms of the common cold. As her symptoms progress she is sent to the hospital where she starts to have grand-mal seizures, her son too has symptoms which required him to be sent home from school. Her husband Mitch, played by Matt Damon looks on helplessly while Beth succumbs to the mysterious virus. Since the doctors are unaware of the newly acquired mystery virus, they blame Beth’s illness on meningoencephalitis...
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...of college. She is anticipating a large expense on books but is hoping to save some money on purchasing school supplies by looking at discount retailers instead of the college bookstore. Misty has found two companies, Company A and Company B, with some great back to school deals on school supplies. Company A is offering ten percent off each dollar spent on school supplies with no minimum purchase required. While that sounds like a great deal, Company B is offering twenty-five percent off all school supplies purchased after spending an initial one hundred dollars. While both options offer a great discount, Misty wants to determine which would save her the most money. Before moving any further, Misty must determine what her total bill for school supplies might be by identifying the items she will need to purchase and then totaling the final cost. Once that has been ascertained, she will need to calculate the possible savings on each plan to determine which one will be most cost effective. Task B In order to calculate the savings, Misty is going to let (y) represent to total cost of her school supplies after all discounts have been applied. She will use (d) to represent the discount percent she is going to receive from the company. As prices from each company are comparable, she has calculated the total cost of her school supplies to be $230.00 which will be represented as the variable (x). The following is an...
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...of college. She is anticipating a large expense on books but is hoping to save some money on purchasing school supplies by looking at discount retailers instead of the college bookstore. Misty has found two companies, Company A and Company B, with some great back to school deals on school supplies. Company A is offering ten percent off each dollar spent on school supplies with no minimum purchase required. While that sounds like a great deal, Company B is offering twenty-five percent off all school supplies purchased after spending an initial one hundred dollars. While both options offer a great discount, Misty wants to determine which would save her the most money. Before moving any further, Misty must determine what her total bill for school supplies might be by identifying the items she will need to purchase and then totaling the final cost. Once that has been ascertained, she will need to calculate the possible savings on each plan to determine which one will be most cost effective. Task B In order to calculate the savings, Misty is going to let (y) represent to total cost of her school supplies after all discounts have been applied. She will use (d) to represent the discount percent she is going to receive from the company. As prices from each company are comparable, she has calculated the total cost of her school supplies to be $230.00 which will be represented as the variable (x). The following is an algebraic...
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...determination. Southwest’s operations involves low cost methods to get customer to places while the culture focuses on promotion of its satisfaction-based culture- both internally and externally; people seem to love giving into the company more than they love the company’s returns. A big airline is most likely to be the competitor. It is very likely that the corporation can introduce a system of short-haul, cheap flights via a standardized fleet with ease. The billions in revenue generated from other divisions can provide the capital required; they can even have the option to operate at a loss for a while. The question, then, turns to one of sustaining this division by attracting customers from companies like Southwest. Besides setting low prices and attempt to maximize efficiency, the question becomes: can the division’s efficiency outstrip that of Southwest’s? As stated, Southwest’s culture inspires employees to work, thus productivity and efficiency increases. This is the key behind the company’s success: fostering culture and turning the results into profit. Can a big company replicate or build the culture? Replication is difficult because usually big wigs are reluctant to change their own culture of following rules to the letter like traditional big companies to an upbeat style of Southwest. Instead of satisfying customers, maximizing shareholder value takes priority and this choice could be detrimental to the divisions’ cause (shareholders may also not be happy at the prospect...
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...CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE How innovative companies are creating ways to build company culture while seeing tangible benefits. INTRODUCTION Creating the right culture for your company could be the best investment you ever make – and often, it doesn’t cost a dime. The world’s most innovative companies find hidden value by operating outside of established business culture. Time and time again, competitors are left asking, “How did they do that?” CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE The answer is simple: Culture. The right culture fosters innovation, finds talent in unexpected places, and empowers employees at all levels. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but the following examples from leaders of innovative company culture will help you adopt a mindset that inspires greatness. /02 CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just take care of itself. Tony Hsieh, Founder and CEO, Zappos.com /03 FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES Ideas From Everywhere (IFE) is a program for CareerBuilder employees, launched nearly 8 years ago as part of a company decision to adopt a strategy centered on innovation. In essence, employees are encouraged to submit their ideas for new businesses within the company. Their fellow employees are then asked to vote for the best idea...
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...Although the imminent success in the last few years,some issues have brought the company down. The pending issues that are troubling the company are the employees conditions abroad, the buying of reebok and it's sales drop last year 2012. In the website oxfam, which analyses the conditions of workers abroad, it is stated:" we asked Adidas to implement worker's rights in Indonesia". (Oxfam 1). The complaints relate to the the ongoing problems of not matching wages with the rising prices of food and supporting work abroad. This can become a greater issues because most manufacturing is done abrasive and foreign countries could rebel against western companies hence slowing down productions or damaging products. Source: https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/workers-rights/adidas/talking-with-adidas/ Another issue is the acquisition of Reebok, although buying another company cuts competition it also bring greater responsibilities. According to article on sportsdailybusiness.com Adidas has not gained any profit from Reebok rather loss. As it states in the article that since the acquisition in 2006, Adidas has struggled to raise to power the brad, commercial irregularities have been caught and it has suffered through the NHL lockout. Buying companies may eliminate competition but can bring great loss to the company if the other company itself is doing midly poor. Source: http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/11/09/Finance/adidas-Reebok.aspx Lastly but not least...
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...Examination Paper ESI Companies is a small company in Bartlett, Tennessee. ESI Companies is proud of their credit of providing tactical security specialist, and solutions to relieve threats to the environment. They install and build security systems in courthouse, detention facility, transportation hub, office building, and production plant. The company has partnered with private industry, law enforcement, military agencies, and correctional and detention facilities to keep their operating environments safe and secure from the threats of criminal activity and terrorism. Organizational Structure ESI Companies small business organizational structure is or can be a partnership. They are comfort of knowing their professional posses the needed skills and expertise to assist with the customers design and build techniques with courthouse, detention facility, office building, production plant, and others. They also partner with customers for facilities renovations, and maintenance of their security system regardless of any unique and challenging security needs. ESI Companies requires the customer partner in the design and implementation of their standards of operation intended to reduce the risks of security catastrophes. ESI Companies believe in working together to design, implement, build, install, and support state – of – the – art electronic surveillance and security equipment for the business run smoothly and successfully. Management and Leadership ESI Companies employs culturally...
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