Blanche, Mitch, and A Streetcar Named Desire - Literature Essay Samples

In the 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the relationship between Blanche and Mitch is a key subplot in the tale of Blanche’s descent into madness and isolation. Whilst Williams initially presents Mitch as the answer to all Blanche’s problems and as a viable male suitor, it soon becomes evident that Blanche and Mitch are not meant to be together. Mitch, in the broader progression of Williams work, is merely another man who will ruin Blanche’s life. Williams first presents Mitch as Blanche’s potential saviour, and indeed that is how Blanche also wishes to see him at the start. Not only might Mitch be able to provide for Blanch financially, but emotionally too. Blanche remarks that Mitch is â€Å"sensitive†, and they share a tragic romantic past. Furthermore, Mitch seems to fit Blanche’s ideal of the Southern Beau when compared to other men, whom she regards as â€Å"apes†. Mitch is formal and respectful, calling Blanche â€Å"Miss DuBois† and Blanche admits that she appreciates his â€Å"gallantry†. IT seems that Blanche and Mitch are in a way united by their shared loss, and are brought together by mutual experience. They both need to fill a vacuum in their lives and conveniently find each other as a means for emotional (and financial) security. Mitch hits upon this, stating: â€Å"you need somebody, and I need somebody – could it be you and me Blanche?†. There is even a b rief tenderness in their relationship and Blanche to find solace in Mitch; she â€Å"huddles† into him and gives â€Å"long grateful sobs† before exclaiming â€Å"sometimes, there’s God, so quickly†. We can see the closeness of the bond between the two of them as Mitch is the only character who Blanche tells the truth about â€Å"Alan†, and it is after this outburst of emotion that they are united together. However, Blanche and Mitch’s relationship is doomed to fail by the nature of Mitch’s incomplete, pseudo-masculinity. When recounting the story of Alan, Blanche reveals that she couldn’t be with him because he wasn’t â€Å"like a man† – obviously alluding to his homosexuality which was taboo and illegal at the time. Yet throughout the play we find that Mitch too isn’t â€Å"like a man†. From the very beginning we see that Mitch works in â€Å"the spare parts department†, a possible reference to his incomplete masculinity according to Kolin; he seems never to have matured, still living with his â€Å"mother†; and when he dances with Blanche, it is â€Å"awkwardly†. Similarly, his conversation is awkward and unromantic, as he remarks on how he â€Å"sweats† and how much he â€Å"weighs†. It soon becomes apparent that Mitch is therefore not the â€Å"Rosenkavalier† or â€Å"Armand† th at Blanche paints him to be. This is the problem. Blanche, who â€Å"doesn’t want realism† but â€Å"magic†, makes Mitch fir the mould of the Southern Beau which she desires by means of her literary allusions despite the fact that he belongs to the new order of men in the post-World War II era. She demands that he â€Å"bows† and commands him to â€Å"dance†. Mitch becomes Blanche’s pet man whom she moulds into her ideal of masculinity which is, like Blanche, â€Å"incongruous† to contemporary ideals of masculinity which promoted strong men who were war veterans and the defenders against tyranny after World War II. Blanche, as with everything, clouds the relationship with Mitch in illusion, which Williams symbolises with the scene when Blanche invites Mitch to place a â€Å"lantern† over the light in her room. She says â€Å"I can’t stand a naked bulb†, a metaphor for her refusal to accept reality, and placing the lantern over the light is symbolic of Blanche’s masking the truth of her age and past from Mitch. Mitch’s masculinity is further questioned when compared with Stanley. Stanley is the ideal stereotypical man’s man of the time: he is highly sexed; he brings home â€Å"meat† for his wife, symbolic of the hunter-gatherer dynamic; and he plays sport. Furthermore, when it comes to Blanche, Stanley is assertive and successfully has his way with he in the implied rape of scene 10, thus asserting his sexual dominance. Mitch however is unable to do so, and in his attempted rape he â€Å"fumbles to embrace her†. It is therefore clear that, either due to Mitch’s incomplete masculinity, or the veneer of chivalrous romanticism Blanche lives under, eventually will fail. In the end, Mitch yells that is was â€Å"lies, lies, lies!† that tore them apart and the relationship ends. Yet Williams makes greater use of the relationship between Mitch and Blanche than as a mere subplot, doomed to fail. Thematically, Mitch, like Stella, becomes a battleground for the ideology clash between Stanley and Blanche, who represent the New and the Old World respectively. Stanley: the immigrant worker, â€Å"100% American†, war veteran. Blanche: the upper class Southern Belle of the USA’s French-colonial past. When Stanley and Blanche meet it is clear that their two ideologies cannot live side by side, and a battle ensues for dominance. Stanley wins the first battle, after convincing Stela to â€Å"come back† to him after hitting her, and the field of battle shifts to Mitch. Initially, by means of her deceptive seduction and emotional appeal, Mitch falls for Blanche, yet Stanley manages to convince Mitch to seek the truth from Blanche. Indeed, he does and Mitch adopts Stanley’s speech patterns and physical movements in scene 9, a maneuver which is s ymbolic of Stanley having successfully exerted his influence over Mitch: he speaks monosyllabically (â€Å"Me. Mitch†) and with interrogative statements (â€Å"Why?†, â€Å"Are you out of your mind?† and â€Å"Do we have to have that fan on?†). Eventually, Mitch â€Å"rips† the â€Å"lantern† off the lamp, symbolically violating Blanche and prefiguring the subsequent rape scene by shattering her illusions and pretences. After Stanley has taken Mitch from Blanche, she has lost everything and appears in clothes which are â€Å"soiled† and â€Å"crumpled†, symbolic of her stained purity and helplessness. Ultimately, Williams creates Mitch as someone who means well concerning Blanche, and who is one of the few characters to empathise with her, however he never realistically does anything to help her. His well-meaning yet powerless position is epitomised by the end stage directions as he is â€Å"sobbing† while Blanche leaves, and in his failed attempt to criticise Stanley (â€Å"You†¦brag†¦brag†¦brag†¦bull!†) This criticism may well have carried some weight and helped Blanche, yet it is castrated by Mitch’s inability to even formulate a sentence. Mitch was Blanche’s last opportunity to detach herself from the Old World of the colonial South and attach herself to the modern, post-industrialist world in the aftermath of World War II, a world in which traditional gender roles had shifted. Once this opportunity is missed, Blanche is doomed to fade away into the abyss of obscurity and her institutionalisation becomes inevitable as she is left insane, alone, unstable, and unsupported.

The Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 - 1614 Words

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted to bring back public trust in markets. Building trust requires ethics within organizations. Through codes of ethics, organizations are put in line to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public trust. Through defining a code of ethics, organizations can follow, market becomes fair for investors to have confidence in the integrity of the disclosures and financial reports given to them. The code of ethics include â€Å"the promotion of honest and ethical conduct, requiring disclosure on the codes that apply to senior financial officers, and including provisions to encourage whistle blowing† (A Business Ethics Perspective on Sarbanes Oxley and the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law from public demand for a reform. Even though there are some criticism about it, the act still stands to prevent and punish corporate fraud and malpractice. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was security law that was birthed from corporate and accounting scandals. The act’s name was drafted from Senator Paul Sarbanes and Congressman Michael G. Oxley. Oxley is a congressman who introduced his Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act to the House of Representatives. Sarbanes was a senator who proposed his Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection act to the senate in 2002. After the public kept on demanding for a reform, both of the proposed acts passed and President George W. BushShow MoreRelatedSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002985 Words   |  4 Pages Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Week # 2 Individual Assignment â€Æ' Sox Key Main Aspects for a Regulatory Environment Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002 by former president George Bush. Essentially to combat the Enron crisis. The Sox Act basically has regulatory control and creates an enviroment that is looking out for the public. Ideally this regulatory environment protects the public from fraud within corporations. Understanding, that while having this regulatoryRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 Essay1605 Words   |  7 Pageswell-known acts have been signed into laws by the presidents at the time to protect investors and consumers alike. A brief overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a discussion of some of the provisions therein, opinions of others regarding the act and also my personal and professional opinion will be discussed below. The same will be examined about the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Senators Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley were the sponsors of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002Read MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 20021563 Words   |  7 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted to bring back public trust in markets. Building trust requires ethics within organizations. 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However, those companies were actually losing money instead. Because of these companies’ actions, the call to have American businesses to be regulated under new rules served as a very important need. In 2002, Paul Sarbanes from theRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 20021525 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Cheeseman, 2013). Congress ordered the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX Act) to shield customers from the fraudulent exercises of significant partnerships. This paper will give a brief history of the SOX Act, portray how it will shield general society from fraud inside of partne rships, and give a presumption to the viability of the capacity of the demonstration to shield purchasers from future frauds. History of the SOX Act Congress established the Sarbanes-Oxley ActRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act of 20021322 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Descriptions of the main aspects of the regulatory environment which will protect the public from fraud within corporations are going to be provided in this paper. A special attention to the Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) requirement; along with an evaluation of whether Sarbanes-Oxley Act will be effective in avoiding future frauds based on their implemented rules and regulations. The main aspects of the regulatory environment are based on the different laws and regulationsRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 Essay1302 Words   |  6 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was the result of a number of large financial scandals in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s. One of the most well-known corporate accounting scandals was the Enron scandal, which was exposed in 2001. Enron, an energy company that was considered one of the most financially sound corporations in the United States before the scandal, produced false earnings reports to shareholders and kept large debts off the accounting books (Peavler, 2016). Enron executivesRead MoreThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20024779 Words   |  20 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002Introduction2001-2002 was marked by the Arthur Andersen accounting scandal and the collapse of Enron and WorldCom. Corporate reforms were demanded by the government, the investors and the American public to prevent similar fut ure occurrences. Viewed to be largely a result of failed or poor governance, insufficient disclosure practices, and a lack of satisfactory internal controls, in 2002 George W. Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that became effective on

Computer Technology And Marketing Approach - 3014 Words

INTRODUCTION The introduction of the Internet has become one of important things in our daily lives so much that most people believe that government and private institution interference to accessing the Internet is an infringement to their constitutional right. As a consumer I do all my purchasing online, as most business do transactions online but I was surprised when I came across an article from Forbes.com entitled â€Å"How Small Business Owners Are Wrecking Their Own Chances of Success†, this article was basically questioning why some business owners are still not adopting to modern technology and marketing approach. Based on the statistics from the article, about 52% of small business in the US do not have a website, I am wondering how these business can grow in the future without access to the Internet. In my discourse, our aim is to make sure that every information either for research, academia, commercial, human right, and history from around the globe is accessible to each and every one who is connected to the global Internet. Background Computer technology underwent a dramatic transformation between the 1960s to the 1980s. In the 1960s, computers were very expensive and scarce which makes it unthinkable for an average Joe on the street to even consider owning one. Those were the times that computer networks had to be carried by individuals on some physical storage medium, such as a reel of magnetic tapes or a stack of punch cards, from one computer to the other.Show MoreRelatedMarketing Plan for Apple Inc996 Words   |  4 PagesMarketing Plan for Apple Inc Introduction Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells personal computers, computer accessories and computer related software. The company also offers peripherals, networking solutions and other related services. 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The Philippines Under Spanish Rule free essay sample

As a crown colony, the Philippines was administered by the Council of the Indies. Even so, the Spanish officials in the Philippines were appointed by the King of Spain, who issued Royal orders and decrees dealing with the proper administration of the colony. In 1863, the Philippines, as a colony, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Colonies or Overseas Ministry (Ministerio de Ultramar). In order to make the administration of the Philippines efficient, the Overseas Ministry was advised and aided in its work by the Council of the Indies. The Central Government In organizing the central government of the Philippines, the Spanish authorities saw to it that they would be guided by their experience in Mexico and South America. Consequently, many features of the government established in these countries were adopted in the Philippines. Like Mexico and Spanish America, the Laws of the Indies were applied in the Philippines. Some Spanish laws were likewise adopted, like La Novisima Recopilacion, Leyes de Toro, And the Siete Partidas. Thes laws,as well as the Laws of the Indies, were humane, however, most of them were not even enforced in the Philippines. The Spanish colonizers organized a highly centralized form of government. By this, it meant that the central or national government was so powerful that almost everything had to be done with its knowledge and consent. The central government was headed by governor and captain-general, or governor-general, who was appointed by the King of Spain. As governor-general, he was the King’s official representative in the colony. He possessed vast executive, legislative, and judicial powers. There were, however, only two branches of government: the executive and the judicial. There was no legislature or congress because the laws for the Philippines were made by the Spaniards in Spain and, to a certain extent, by the governor-general himself. He issued orders with the force of law, which were called superior decrees. On the other hand, decrees or orders coming from the king of Spain were called Royal decrees or orders. The governor-general was the president or the presiding officer of the Audencia. He was also the vice-royal patron in the Philippines. As the King’s representative, he could appoint minor officials in the government, including the parish priests. He was also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Combining all these powers, the governor-general was truly a powerful official. This power was best shown in the right of cumplase bestowed upon him by the King. The cumplase was the right of the governor to suspend the operation of a Royal decree or order relative to the Philippines if in his opinion, he said order or decree would not be beneficial to the administration of the country. The usual formula in exercising the right of cumplase was â€Å"I obey but do not comply†. The Audencia The judicial powers of the government were exercised by the Audiencia and the lower courts. The Audencia was established in the Philippines in 1583 to administer justice to the aggrieved people in the colony. Governor Santiago de Vera was its first president. The Audiencia was the highest court insofar as civil and criminal cases brought before the Audiencia by the governor. In the absence of a governor or when he could not perform his duties, the Audiencia exercised political and administrative powers. It also audited the finances of the government. Some powerful persons in the colonial government were against the Audiencia because the population of the Philippines was still small to justify having an audiencia. Also, the natives were very poor. This being the case, the Audiencia was a financial burden to the king of Spain. Because of this opposition, the Audiencia was abolished in 1589. In its place, a council composed of 400 members headed by governor-general was created. This council, however, was unsatisfactory to many because of its many members. So the King ordered the re-establishment of the Audiencia in 1595. However, it actually carried out its function in 1598 when it was inaugurated. Local Government Under the central government was the provincial government. Pacified provinces, which were already recognizing the authority of Spain, were governed by civil provincial governors. Those that were not yet fully pacified and conquered were ruled by military officers. The provincial governor was called alcalde mayor . He was appointed by the governor-general. His salary was small but he could collect a part of the tribute to increase his income. What made him rich and powerful was the right given to him to engage in trade. This right was called indulto de comercio . In almost all cases, the provincial governor abused this power so that he committed graft and corruption. It was later abolished in 1844 because the alcalde mayor abused his power to the extent of scandalizing the Spaniards. Another anomalous practice was the provincial governor’s role as judge of the province. Since many abuses were committed by the governor-judge, in 1886, the King ordered that the provincial governor should remain as judge only. Another man was appointed as provincial governor whose main duty was to administer the province. Under the provincial government was the municipal government. The town or municipality, composed of several barrios, was headed by the gobernadorcillo (little governor), also called capitan municipal or simply captain. Today, he is called mayor. The gobernadorcillo was elected by thirteen electors who were prominent in the town. Six of these electors were former cabezas de barangay ; six were actual cabezas de barangay, and the thirteenth elector was outgoing capitan. The one selected as gobernadorcilo had to be approved by the Spanish friar-curate. If approved, his name to the office of the governor-general in Manila for final approval. The capitan was aided in the administration of the town by deputies called tenientes, a chief of police, and subordinate officials called aguaciles. The City and its Government During the first century of Spanish rule, there were only two cities: Cebu and Manila. As conquest and settlement continued, the Spanish officials created one city after another. By the seventeenth century, the Philippines had six cities : Cebu, Manila,Vigan, Nueva Sigovia (now Lal-lo Cagayan), Arevalo (now part of Iloilo City), and Nueva Caceres (now Naga). The city, then and now, was the center of social, commercial, religious, and cultural life. Its government was different from that of the town. It was called ayuntamiento, equivalent to today’s city hall, and consisted of two alcaldes, twelve regidores (now called councilors), a chief of police, a city secretary, and few other lesser officials. Each barrio or barangay of the town was headed by cabeza who did not receive any salary. However, he was considered a member of the taxes collected in his barrio. Also, he was considered a member principalia or the aristocracy, together with the town mayor and other municipal officials. As a former maharlika, who ruled the barangay as datu. at, or lakan, they given economic and political privileges. Residencia and the Visita Because of the abuses committed by many Spanish officials, who were sent to the Philippines, the King and ministers of Spain introduced two institutions: Residencia- was the public investigation and trial of outgoing colonial official in order to ensure whether they had committed abuses in the performance of their duties. Visita- was a secret investigation of an official’s conduct as a public servant. Its purpose is to ensure that the official will work honestly and efficiently as he was expected to do.