Friday, January 24, 2020

The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King) Essay -- Oedipus the Kin

The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King) "Truth has made me strong." This is a quote from Tiresias, one of the characters in Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus Rex. The quote has different meaning and relevance for each of the different characters, but for the character of Creon, the quote is completely true. By the end of the play, the truth had not only prompted Oedipus to forgive Creon, clearing his name of any previous accusations, but the truth had also made Creon Oedipus's successor. However, Creon was not one to squander the power that he knew can be gained from knowing the truth. He understood its power and importance, and kept it private. For the majority of the play, right up until the very end, Oedipus sees Creon as an enemy. He thinks that Creon, in league with Tiresias, is Laius's murderer and is conspiring to overthrow the king and take the throne for himself, "You the murderer so self-proved, the self-condemned filcher of my thrown..."(29). However, when the truth comes out that Oedipus has married his mother and killed his father, all is forgiven between the king and Creon. Oedipus makes this beautifully clear when he says "God bless you, Creon, bless your path through life, encompass you with surer joys than mine"(78). Having a good and unmarred reputation is a form of power in that people will respect the person, as well as listen to what he or she has to say. If the truth had never come out and Oedipus had never made peace with Creon, Creon's reputation would have been that of a traitor and a murderer. No one would have respected him and he would not have had any practical strength. The power that Creon ended up with is best described in this quote from the Chorus: "Wait! Here comes Creon...... ...ly saw the world. For the first time, he understands his surroundings, and understands the world for what it really was. Even though the truth takes away his family, kingdom, pride and possessions, the truth gives him something he needs more than all of those: understanding. Sophocles shows his brilliance as a playwright by adding intelligent, terrible irony to the end of the play. The irony is that at the monumental change in Oedipus' life, when he can, for the first time, see the world with clarity, he can see nothing at all, for he blinds himself. Oedipus becomes like Tiresias, visually blind, but mentally clear. Perhaps Oedipus unintentionally takes an example from Tiresias, learning that it is far better to live one's life without sight and see the world clearly through the minds eye, than to be able to see, but have ones sight blinded by pride.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Boston Beer Company Essay

1. Evaluate the attractiveness of the craft beer segment relative to the market space occupied by the traditional â€Å"Big Three†. (tip: use the Five Forces framework). a. High Threat of new competition: over 600 of specialty beer companies were founded over the past five years, approximately 40% growth each years. In addition, the existence of contract brewing companies lead to low entry cost. b. High substitution: The attractiveness of craft brewing industry are majorly based on unique styles and flavors of beer. there are many different brands and styles of beer so the actual threat of substitutes is high. c. The intensity of competitive rivalry is also high: while there is a major growth of new entry, the market size shows little growth. This creates tremendous competitive pressures among the industry. d. Bargaining power of buyers: Switching cost for buyers are low, as there are many different substitution and options. companies has to consistently maintain high quality in order to retain customers. e. Bargaining power of suppliers: switching cost for suppliers are high for the traditional Big Three, as their supplies are tied to their own brewies. Craft brewing companies has the option of switch breweries in a relatively low cost, as the suppliers know they have options to supply other breweries. This allows them to charge higher prices than the big three. 2. Evaluate Boston Beer’s business model relative to Redhook and Pete’s, comparing their business models with respect to specific activities such as procurement, brewing, distribution, and marketing. BBC’s strategy of producing the highest quality of products, the company pursued four initiatives: high quality standards, contract brewing, intensive sales and marketing, and product line innovations. Unlike BBC and Pete’s, redhook relies on its own breweries. Redhook also established a strategic alliance with Anheuser-Busch whereby Redhook products were sold through the nation-wide network of 700 distributorships in exchange for a 25% equity stake in the company. Similar to BBC, Pete’s operates on a contract brewing basis and stress heavily on marketing. In retrospect, BBC intended to remain a contract brewer exclusively, capitalizing on lower overhead and transportation costs while continuing to invest heavily in its branded products. Redhook believed that its long-term growth and profitability were best served by assembling the largest company-owned production capacity of any domestic craft brewer, guaranteeing production capacity in more than one geographic region of the United States. Redhook also made a substantial investment in distribution, gaining access to Anheuser Busch’s nation-wide network of resellers. Pete’s, on the other hand, appeared to be following a combination of these two strategies by producing its products at both company-owned and third-party breweries. 3. How realistic analysts’ long-term growth forecasts (25% to 40% for the craft-brewing segment)? Based on the porter five forces analysis, the craft brewing segment has many advantages over the traditional big three, which explains the 40% growth rate. However the large number of new entries companies has already created a tremendous amount of competitions among its own, which retard the long term growth in my opinion and makes the forecasts of 25% to 40% seem unrealistic. 4. What do you recommend to Boston Beer? a. While the US market size remains somewhat stable. By exporting globally, will introduce BBC to new markets and additional sales b. Forming strategic alliance will help combat the increasing competition among industries.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Classic Christmas Carols for ESL Classes

To use these Christmas Carols in English class, first, listen to a recording (or two) which you can easily find by searching on YouTube or other video sites with the title of the song. Print out the words, and follow along with the song. As you become more familiar with the words, start singing the along with the recording. Finally, sing the song as a class to bring in some Christmas spirit into the classroom. Another Christmas tradition is the reading of by Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. Classic Christmas Songs Jingle BellsSilent NightJoy to the WorldThe First NoelWe Wish You a Merry ChristmasOh, Come All Ye FaithfulHark the Herald Angels SingWhat Child Is This?We Three KingsAuld Lang SyneAway in a MangerDeck The HallGod Rest You Merry, GentlemenHave Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasLo, How a Rose Eer BloomingO Christmas TreeRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerLullay Thou Little Tiny Child Singing Carols in Class: Suggestions for Teachers Find a good recording of the Christmas carol and play it for the class twice without any text. Just let the students listen and do their best to understand.Provided a printed version of the lyrics with gaps for keywords. Practice together as a class as a listening gap fill exercise.  As a class, brainstorm the words that are difficult to pronounce. Isolate the words and practice as minimal pairs with similar sounding words to help students understand differences in vowel sounds.  Choose a specific carol a few weeks before Christmas. Spend five or ten minutes in each class understanding, practicing and perfecting your carol. For larger classes, have students break up into smaller groups and learn different carols.If you are teaching young English learners, put on a small concert for the parents of children in your class. Choose three to five carols and perfect them as a class. After the last class before Christmas, put on a mini-concert for the parents.If your students are outgoin g, have a recital. Each student can choose a favorite carol and the class can sing for each other. Its fun, but a challenge!