Pip in the graveyard Essay Example

Pip in the graveyard Paper Compare chapter 1 of Great Expectations in which Pip first meets the convict, with chapter 39, when he meets him for the second time.  The title of the novel that I studied is, Great Expectations, written in the 19th century by Charles Dickens. Pip, an orphan often goes to the cemetery to mourn for his dead parents and brothers. While mourning one day, a convict hiding in that same cemetery scares him. All that he thinks of is to listen and obey the man. As the story evolves, we are also introduced to the sentimental part of Pips life. He is in love with a girl named Estella but unfortunately, she doesnt like him. When Pip becomes the perfect gentleman, he inherits some fortune. He mistakes the real provider thinking it is Miss Havisham, until one night he meets the convict again. The latter claims that he is the person providing him with money. Pip was unable to accept both the truth and the man. For my assignment, I am focussing on the 1st and 39th chapter of the book, where Pip first meets the convict, and when he meets him for the second time. We will write a custom essay sample on Pip in the graveyard specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pip in the graveyard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pip in the graveyard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the first chapter of the book, the circumstances that Pip is in are very pitiful. He is an orphan and although he has a big sister, he does not get the motherly affection he is supposed to in his life. He seems to be very drawn to the place where his parents are buried as stated, my fancies regarding what they were like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones, (chapter 1, pg 1, line 9-10). This shows how much he misses parental affection that his sister, Mrs Joe cannot give him although she looks after him. Furthermore, Pip appears to be naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and he is very lonely as a little boy because he doesnt have friends. In contrast to chapter thirty- nine, we are introduced to an arrogant man that doesnt care for others feelings at all. He is no longer that orphan boy for whom we had so much pity. Also in the first chapter, we see how Pip is very helpless in his state. By saying this, I mean that his sister is always beating him whenever he returns home from the church late at night. What he thinks or does do not matter to his sister and he always ends up keeping his point of view to himself. As a result, he suppresses his feelings deep inside him. I find him rather submissive for a boy of his age. When the convict keeps on being harsh to him and scares him, he decides to get him a file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning, (chapter 1, pg 4,line 10-12). On the other hand, the rude man that we meet in chapter thirty-nine is not that helpless at all. He has a home, a lot of money, as well as a lot of pride. Furthermore, he values people by social standard as he tells Magwitch that I cannot wish to renew that chance intercourse with you of long ago, under these different circumstances, (chapter 39, pg 301, line 35-36). On top of that, he has been educated and can now read regularly so many hours a day (chapter 39, pg 298, line 10-11). He becomes a gentleman in life but he is refusing Magwitch, the man who actually made him great as said in the book not to disguise that I wished him gone (chapter 39, pg 302, line 13-14). It actually happens that he forgets his origin in the middle of the story. As far as the convict is concerned, he was in great need of food in the first chapter and he acted quite harshly towards Pip. He gives an impression of starvation as he goes on and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate, (chapter 1, pg 3, line 38). Nevertheless, we know that he is an escaped prisoner and obviously he doesnt want the police to catch him again. This can be justified by the conversation he has with Pip, you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, (chapter 1, pg 3, line 34-36). We can understand that life was not that easy for him in jail as well. All through the years he was in jail, he was in the company of other harsh people. I think when he meets Pip for the first time, he does not care to socialise and to behave properly with strangers because the situation he is in does not permit him to do so. That is why he shakes Pip as if he is an animal until he is close to become sick, (chapter 1, pg 3, line 26). In addition to this, he wants to make sure that pip doesnt report their meeting. However in chapter thirty- nine, the convict is much older and has softened a big deal. Moreover, since he was expelled from the country, he started to live in society in Australia again and he behaves himself well in chapter thirty-nine, when he meets Pip for the second time as he goes on saying I wish to come in, Master, (chapter 39, pg 300, line 8). Maybe he has a grudge against himself about the way he acted when he met Pip in the graveyard. He even tries to approach Pip in a different way by kissing his hand several times and still held them, (chapter 39, pg 301, line 18). I think it is to express how grateful he is towards pip and to show that he has changed as well. There are some frightening elements in the first chapter like the graveyard background, which is associated with death. The image that we get from a graveyard is not very reassuring and we can deduce from our own reaction, as readers, how Pip is feeling as a little boy. As if that was not enough, the names of Pips family printed on graveyards as clearly mentioned the shape of the letters on my fathers. From the character and turn of the inscription, (chapter 1, pg 1, line 7 9) increase our sympathy for him. I think that the writer is trying to put us, readers in the place of his main character just to make us feel how life is when one is alone and poor. When almost all of our family members are dead and we have to visit their graveyards, instead of themselves in person. Furthermore, for a little boy like Pip, an orphan since birth, the kind of raw afternoon (chapter 1, pg 1, line 27) in the graveyard does not suit him because it gives the impression of a cold atmosphere, the kind that hurts. In addition to this, the mention of a bleak place (chapter 1, pg 1, line 28) shows us how isolated the place. Also, I think that the writer wants us to realise how courageous Pip is to be able to visit his beloved ones in such a place. Likewise, we understand the state of mind Magwitch is in when there is the mention of gibbet (chapter 1, PG 5, line 2). It is not very pleasant reminding someone of his own death. We know that he is an escaped prisoner and he is hiding in the graveyard so that the police cannot find him. Here again, we are introduced to a dilemma of a grown up person where one has to live in a haunted and isolated place and where there are only dead people around.

hogwatch essays

hogwatch essays During the last twenty years, industrial livestock farms have been replacing the traditional family size farms that once raised most of the nations swine. The number of livestock animals produced in the United States has grown modestly in the past two decades, but the number of farms raising them has slunk dramatically because large producer now dominate the market. The large increase in industry farming has led to large quantities of manure. The over abundance of manure has become a problem that leads to problem with Pollution, heated debates between the industries and societies (people of the community), ways to try and find solutions for the pollution. Today, large live stock operations look more like animal factories than animal Farms. The farms usually consist of several metal barns, each containing several hundred to several thousand animals tightly confined. The floors in the barns are slatted so manure can be flushed away. The manure is pumped into open-air lagoons, which are large, shallow pits dug into the ground, where it is stored until it can be pumped out irrigate fields. The solid manure sinks to the bottom of the lagoons and is broken down by anaerobic bacteria over several months. The liquid rises to the top and is collected and sprayed over nearby fields. Many problems come with lagoons North Carolina is one of the top hog producing states in the country. On June 21, 1995, North Carolina suffered the largest agricultural waste spill in its history: a 7.5-acre, 12-foot-deep lagoon leaked 25 million gallons of hog waste into the headwaters of the New river near Richmonds. The waste from the 10,000-head operation, owned by Ocean view Farms, contaminated the water for several miles downstream, increasing the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients. When nutrient levels increase dramatically in rivers and other bodies of water, algae grow furiously, consuming most of he dissolve...

Capital Structure Essay Example for Free

Capital Structure Essay Capital structure is how a company finances its overall operations and growth by using funds from equity or debt (Investopedia, 2012). Of course, every company must determine its preference on its debt-to-equity ratio and determine which capital structure works best for them. Some approaches to analyzing capital structure are: 1.EBIT – EPS: This analyzes the impact of debt on earnings per share (EPS). Optimizing shareholder’s wealth is the optimum goal and therefore, this approach analyzes the high EPS based on an expected range of earnings before income taxes (EBIT). 2.Valuation: Determines impact of debt use on shareholder’s value by determining the level of debt at which the benefits of increased debt no longer outweigh the increased risks and expenses associated with financing (Wenk, 2012) 3.Cash Flow: Analyzes a firm’s debt capacity by using the weighted average of cost of capital (WACC). The WACC is a calculation of a firm’s cost of capital in which each capital source (bonds, stock and other long-term debt) are proportionally weighted to determine how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances (Investopedia, 2012). Part of Competition Bikes’ (CB) main consideration in the decision to merge or acquire Canadian Biking is working capital. Lets use the EBIT – EPS approach to determine how to maximize shareholder return while minimizing the cost of capital. We currently know Canadian Biking’s moderate sales forecast of EBIT figures for the next 5 years (Year 9 – 13), therefore we can apply the EBIT – EPS approach to choose an optimal capital structure. The total of capital sources in each of the 5 years is $600,000. We will use EBIT – EPS to determine which assortment of bonds*, preferred stock, and common stock is the best option to increase Canadian Biking’s EPS. The five alternative capital structures include: Option 1: 100% Bonds (fully financed) Option 2: 50% Preferred Stock & 50% Common Stock (no bonds) Option 3: 20% Bonds & 80% Common Stock Option 4: 40% Bonds & 60% Common Stock Option 5: 60% Bonds & 40% Common Stock *Annual bond interest rate is 9% After using the EBIT – EPS approach using the forecasted EBIT amounts for Years 9 through 13, we can average the EPS for each of the 5 years to determine which capital structure produced the highest EPS. The EPS averages computed for the capital structure options are: Option 1: Average EPS = .0452 Option 2: Average EPS = .0542 Option 3: Average EPS = .0526 Option 4: Average EPS = .051 Option 5: Average EPS = .0494 Based on the EBIT – EPS approach, the recommended capital structure is option 2, â€Å"50% preferred stock & 50% common stock†. This is the best capital structure mainly because there are two things to consider: 1) long-term debt and associated interest expense and, 2) equity and # of common shares. Option 2 is the best capital structure because there are no bonds and therefore, no interest expense. For example, if we look at option 1 in Year 9, and the bond interest is 9%, then the bond interest expense is $54,000 (.09*600,00). This lowers the income before taxes by $54,000. Although companies can finance debt and use the interest expense deduction to lower their taxable income, it doesn’t make sense for Canadian Bikes to fully finance their capital, because the interest expense costs outweigh the benefit of the tax deduction, resulting in a significant decrease in total income available for common stock. Additionally, because the capital structure consists of 300,000 shares of preferred stock, the company must pay dividends of 5%, reducing the company’s total income available for common stock by $15,000 (.05 * 300,000). Although this reduces the total income available for common stock, the company will maximize its EPS by only having 50% capital in common stock. This reduces the total number of common shares outstanding, which means less shares to divide the total income among. Therefore, Option 2 is the most optimal capital structure that considers minimizing long-term  debt expenses and the optimal number of common shares in order to maximize shareholder return. Competition Bikes’ is considering building a manufacturing facility in a new Canadian location. The total investment for this project would be $600,000 USD. This consists of $400,000 to build the facility and an additional $200,000 in working capital to support operational costs. The company has projected cash flows over the next five years; therefore we can use cash flow budgeting methods such as net present value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) that consider time value of money for long-term investments (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). Net present value analyzes the profitability of a project by determining the difference between the present value of the project’s cash inflows and outflows followed by subtracting the initial investment. (Investopedia, 2012). The decision rule applied to NPV is fairly simple, if the NPV is positive, invest; if the difference is negative, do not invest. Competition Bikes applies NPV to forecasted low and moderate sales for the next 5 years. After using the forecasted sales for low demand, the total present value (after subtracting cash outflows from inflows) is $560,719. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000 from this amount, the NPV is -$39,281. This is a significant warning that the company should not proceed in building a manufacturing facility. On the other hand, if we use the forecasted sales for moderate demand, the total present value is $608,447. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000, the NPV is $8,447. Therefore a positive NPV indicates the company should proceed with building the manufacturing facility. The biggest concern is determining which NPV to lean towards based on low or moderate sales. Unfortunately, the risk of having low sales outweighs the profitability benefit of having moderate sales. It is too risky for CB to move forward with the investment based on the NPV of low sales (-$39,281). In order for the company to profit from this investment, CB would need to have a moderate sales demand at minimum! The present value in NPV is calculated using an interest rate, also known as the required rate of return. CB’s required rate of return is 10%. When this interest rate is altered or calculated to make the total present value equal to the initial investment, the NPV becomes equal to zero; this is called the internal rate of return (IRR) (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). The IRR is what a company can expect to earn from investing in the project and the higher the IRR, the more desirable the investment. The calculated IRR for low demand cash flows is 8.2% and the IRR for moderate demand cash flows is 10.4%. Based on these IRR figures, the company should not pursue the capital investment because the average IRR between both low and moderate sales is 9.3%. This is below the company’s required return on capital (hurdle rate) of 10% to pursue a capital investment. Again, the company would need to have a moderate sales demand, at minimum for this capital investment to be profitable and should therefore not pursue building a new manufacturing facility. CB must effectively obtain and manage working capital for the expansion of the operation. CB must first look at their operating cycle, cash conversion cycle and free cash flow factors in order to improve production and management of working capital. Let’s discuss the company’s current status of each of the working capital and cash flow factors and determine how the company can improve in these areas. First, the operating cycle involves CB sending the distributor a monthly invoice for all raw materials ordered with terms of net/30 days. This can be improved by renegotiating the payment terms will distributors to net/15 days. This would increase cash flows by improving payment turn around time and accounts receivable collections. Additionally, the company can improve its relations with its distributers to increase effectiveness of its collection process. Another operating cycle factor is ordering and paying for inventory. Currently, the company pays for inventory in the month following production and all inventory ordered for the month is used leaving inventory levels (at the end of each month) at consistent levels. In order  to improve working capital the company should utilize and lower its year ending inventory balance. For example, at the end of Year 8, the company had $91,573 worth of inventory left over. The company should utilize the current inventory on hand before ordering similar raw material items. This will decease cash flows and leave fewer inventories on hand at the end of the year. Currently the average time in inventory is 25 days. This is a substantial turnaround time currently, however in the future, the company can consider replacing labor workers with fixed asset items to improve production time. This will satisfy customer demand by decreasing delivery time and improve cash flows by invoicing customers more frequently than 25 days after production. CB’s cash conversion cycle factors also impact working capital. Currently, the CB’s suppliers invoice at the end of the month for orders that month with terms of net/15. CB does an excellent job of preserving its cash flows by paying the invoices on the 15th of the month following the order.. CB can improve its working capital by negotiating for longer payment terms, i.e. net/30 days, allowing for more time for the company to earn money to pay their invoices. If this is not possible, the company can improve its forecasting measurements for ordering supplies and order the majority of the supplies needed for the month at the beginning of the month. This would increase the amount of time the company has sufficient supplies on hand without having to pay more money, (because the suppliers will still invoice for the orders at the end of the month, regardless of how early in the month the supplies were ordered). This can increase working capital because it acts as a contingency plan, to reduce the likelihood of running out of supplies, avoiding delays, or ordering supplies in excess. Free cash flow factors also affect CB’s working capital. Currently, the company recognizes depreciation in both manufacturing overhead and as depreciation expenses depending on the fixed asset. The company can use their depreciation data to increase management of cash flows by predicting when the company will have to spend a significant amount of money to replace an asset when its useful life expires. This will prepare CB for those unwanted – although necessary – fixed asset costs. Currently the  corporation’s marginal tax rate is 25%. The company can consider obtaining working capital by financing debt. This will leave the company with an interest expense at the end of the year, which is deductible from gross earnings and results in paying lower taxes. After CB improves its working capital, let’s discuss how CB can use its working capital for the lease vs. buy option for a factory building in Canada. CB can use its working capital to cover the $50,000 down payment (or buy out option if they decide to lease) and $200,000 for operational costs of the new factory. According to the data provided for the lease vs. buy option, the lease option will preserve cash outflows of $12,339, (purchase cash outflows are $333,999 and lease cash outflows are $321,660). Therefore, the company should lease the manufacturing facility to preserve cash outflows. Leasing the facility will also allow CB to deduct annual interest payments (6% interest) from the gross earnings to lower their tax payments. This will increase the company’s net earnings at the end of the year, also resulting in higher retained earnings and increased shareholder value. CB should consider many factors when deciding to merge or acquire Canadian Biking. Let’s analyze the pros and cons between a merge vs. acquisition and determine what the best move would be for CB. First off, if the company were to merge with Canadian Biking, the potential EPS would increase by approximately .021. This shows potential for increased ownership earnings, but is it significant enough? At the same token, the price/earnings ratio for Canadian Bikes at the end of Year 8 was 9 and CB’s was 70. This shows that CB’s current investors are expecting greater earnings in Year 9 and are willing to pay $70 for $1 of current earnings. This is not the case with Canadian Biking’s investors. Unfortunately a low P/E ratio of 9 indicates that investors are not expecting a significant growth in company earnings. This raises a concern if the merge will result in a potential increase of .021 in EPS. On the other hand, a merge would result in lower costs because CB would not be purchasing Canadian Biking outright. Canadian Biking also has a lower cost competition bike that can decrease production costs and complement CB’s current bike model being offered. This will result in  greater net earnings and cash flows. If the company were to acquire Canadian Bikes, CB can expect a gradual increase in cash inflows over the next 5 years. However, the current offered sales price for Canadian Biking is $286,000; this is 30% more than what the company was valued at, at the end of Year 8. Although CB has enough working capital to make the purchase, it would take 5 years of gradually increasing cash inflows to recoup the price tag of $286,000. This means it could take approximately 5 years, before shareholders saw a significant increase in earnings per share. Based on the pro and cons, CB should merge with Canadian Bikes to lower their production and delivery costs, increase net income, EPS and cash flows, and preserve working capital. The price to acquire Canadian Biking is simply unreasonable based on predicted cash inflows over the next 5 years. The merger will enhance CB’s market position in Canada by having a local distributer to handle all customer orders and provide cost effective and great customer service to the growing Canadian market. References Investopedia. (2012). Capital Structure.

HR Strategic Linkages Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR Strategic Linkages - Assignment Example HR  department allows the business and the employees to be on the same page and it is the medium between them. It supports the business strategy by encouraging employees to work harder and more efficiently. HR works closely with the employees which in turn benefits the organization as a whole.   An important factor for continuous competitive success is how a company manages its human capital. Investments in human capital can result in better organizational performance and increased productivity which can further improve its financial position. Without it, an organization can lose its efficient production capabilities. Secondly, HR can also help an organization to achieve its goals associated with growth and development. It can help by recruiting employees and determining training needs. It can also help by attracting capable employees and by modifying job requirements. Internally, HR can help by analyzing those parts of a organization which need improvement and introduce ways to improve the performance feedback procedures. It can help as a strategic partner by reorganizing the management structure to make efficient use of its resources. Including HR as a strategic business partner enables better decision making. What benefits do you think the employees derive from this arrangement? As a result of this arrangement, employees receive a lot of benefits. To build human capital, HR develops strategies for finding the best talent, enhancing their knowledge and skills through training programs. Employees will begin to have a deeper understanding of how the organization works. The employees will benefit because HR will initially recruit internally so the employees will get the first opportunity to develop new skills and tasks. Task and skill analyses will further highlight the needs of employees. HR will also introduce more recruiting tools and will give all the employees opportunities for professional and personal development. Employees will also benefit as HR wil l provide compensation and bonuses in order to reward people for their hard work and contribution. Improved performance feedback process with also help the employees as managers will get specific training for it. HR will reorganize the management plan and rotate the employees which will further increase their motivation and improve their skills. It will also retain exceptional employees for the company. The HR has the skills and ability to solve employee related issues. The motivation level of all the employees will increase through these measures as they will see that their hard work and contribution is being recognized and rewarded. Employees can also easily take help from HR as they are now strategic partners to their organization. Motivation of all employees can be further increased by giving them health care coverage, daycare, vacation time, bonuses etc. All these rewards together can boost employee performance and hence create a better working environment for all the workers. What do you think are the risks involved (to HR and the organization as a whole) if HR does not make this a priority and instead remains a purely task-oriented? The organization will have to face a lot of negative consequences if HR does not make this a priority and remains task-oriented. HR will only be involved and interested in the day-to-day responsibilities and tasks. They will not be helping the organization in achieving their

Nelson Goodmanss New Riddle Of Induction Term Paper

Nelson Goodmanss New Riddle Of Induction - Term Paper Example The traditional problem of induction was popularized by David Hume and it reamined quite traditional until Nelson Goodman proposed a new problem which he called â€Å"the new riddle of induction† as expressed in the third chapter of Fact, Fiction and Forecast. By the new riddle of induction Goodman put forward a claim that not all generalizations are confirmed by their instances. In other words â€Å"confirmation of a hypothesis by an instance depends rather heavily upon the features of the hypothesis other than its syntatical form† (72). He distinguished the lawlike (that a given piece of copper conducts electricity increases the credibility of the statement asserting that other pieces of copper conducts electricity, and thus confirms the hypothesis that all copper conducts electricity) and accidental (that a given man now in this room is a third son does not increase the credibility of the statement asserting that other men now in this room are third sons and so does not confirm the hypothesis that all men now in this room are third sons) statements. Yet, both are cases in which the hypothesis is a generalization of the evident statement. Thus, Goodman argued: â€Å"only a statement that is lawlike – regardless of its trut h or falsity or its scientific importance – is capable of recieviing confirmation from an instance of it; accidental statements are not† (73). As such, there is need for a way of plainly distinguishing the lawlike from the accidental statements. However, the problem of induction goes beyond merely trying to exclude a few cases that are admitted by our definition of confirmation. Hence, Goodman proposed a new predicate, â€Å"grue.†

Compare and Contrast of Agriculture Technology Between hang Dynasty and Han Dynasty Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast of Agriculture Technology Between hang Dynasty and Han Dynasty Essay For the past five thousand years, human civilizations have existed on the earth and constantly reforming and contributing to our society. The excellences human made are unprecedented, and the experience theses civilizations cumulated can also be continuously studied by the people nowadays. This year, we learnt many great civilizations, among the civilizations in ancient China, the Shang dynasty and the Han dynasty are the most outstanding civilizations. Their cultures are distinct and their contributions are tremendous. Although now we can find their stories, cultures and inventions only on history books, their contributions and achievements are still having deep affection to us. Agriculture is a very significant part of a civilization. Without agriculture, making progress is impossible. Agriculture is the foundation of everything. Agriculture is a good reflection of science and technology in a civilization. During the comparing and contrasting of the agriculture of Shang dynasty and Han dynasty, we can get a deeper understanding of the great knowledge and intelligent of the people of the two dynasties. We can also discover the development and progress they have made. The Shang dynasty is the second dynasty in Chinese history. The Shang Dynasty last from 1600 B. C. to 1046 B. C. and experienced three big stages. The Han dynasty can be divided into two historical period which are western Han dynasty (202 B. C. to 9 A. D. ) and eastern Han dynasty (25A. D. to 220 A. D. ) Both Shang dynasty and Han dynasty are important civilization in Chinese history. Also, both dynasties made big breakthrough in agriculture. From the research of a large number of archaeological material and oracle records, archaeologists concluded that the Shang dynasty is operating mostly on agriculture. Although at that time, the handicraft industry has been developed, agriculture is still the ifeline of the economy during Shang dynasty. Basically, the main type of agriculture during Shang dynasty was glebe farming, and in the southward of Shang dynasty, which is the Yangtze River area, the popular agriculture type was paddy fields farming. A very important reason that stimulates the development of agricultural technology during the Shang dynasty is the development of bronze industry. During Shang dynasty, the bronze industry developed very quickly. Especially in the late Shang dynasty, the development of bronze industry came into its own stage. The appearance of bronze tools made the agricultural technology developed quickly. The question that most people will concern is that how did people in Shang dynasty make bronze tools? It is true that it was a very hard process for people in the Shang dynasty to make bronze tools. So, at the beginning, the amounts of bronze tools are very limited. People in the Shang dynasty usually use carpentry tools including knife, adz, and axes to make bronze tools. In the middle Shang period, craftsmen can already made variety kinds of bronze tools like shovels, Jues, adz. However, at that time, there were no enough sources of cooper metal compared with sources of stone tools; also, the process of making bronze tools is complicated. As the result, in the middle period of Shang dynasty, bronze tools were not widely used. Also, most of the bronze tools were under the control of agricultural officers. Civilians and slaves cannot have these bronze tools. They can only use the heavy farm tools like stone spade, axes. Then, at the late period of the Shang dynasty, this problem got solved because of the expansion of the production scale. At the same time, the appearance of irrigation technology and the strict management also helped to make the development of the agriculture in the Shang dynasty. As the main production department during the Shang dynasty, the developed agricultural technology provided the society with lots of food, in this way, a large number of people leave the career of agricultural production and began to work in other aspects for example business people, officers, soldiers, professional producers and so on. The government of Han dynasty put lots of effort on the restore and development of agricultural. Han dynasty began after the perish of Qin dynasty. At the beginning of the Han dynasty, because of the long period of wars occur during the late period of the Qin dynasty, the agricultural and economy paralyzed. The people died in the wars are mostly farmers, as a result, the labor decrease and there‘s not enough people to take care of the cropland. At that time, the total population went straight down from 20 million to 8 million. Emperor Gaozu of Han solved these problems and agriculture of Han dynasty restored and developed very quickly. There were lots of innovations and invention of agriculture during the Han dynasty. These achievements can be divided into three aspects. Firstly, there are huge developments towards the irrigation. Secondly, there are improvements of agricultural tools and technology. The third one is the cultivation of crops and vegetables. At the beginning of the Han dynasty, there are flood from upstream the Yellow River every year. It is a big hazard to the residents who lived in the downstream of the Yellow River. Their croplands got destroyed and some of them lost their houses. Emperor Wudi of Han lead his people solved this problem. Thirty thousand people work together to remove the siltation of the river and planted trees on the upstream of the river. After this recuperation, there was no big flood occurred in the Yellow River. There are lots of interesting and useful inventions during the Han dynasty. Above is agriculture equipment called Libi. Libi is a plow equipped with a double moldboard. People put Libi on a plough can turns up the soil on each side of the furrow. With the Libi, the efficiency of cultivation increase. The application of Libi is a big improvement in agriculture. Also, it is nearly 1000 years earlier than Europe of using the similar thing. Above is another invention which is called Lou. It is an animal- drawn seed plough. It has three feed. With Lou, people can do cultivation job three rows at a time. Lou can do three tasks: opening ditches, sowing, covering with soil at one time. Lou made farmers during the Han dynasty save much times and did more works. Lou increased the efficiency of the busy working farmers. The popularization of cultivation works with cattle would be another development on agriculture during the Han Dynasty. At that time, the most popular ways of cultivation are two people with three cattle and one people with two cattle. The ways that cultivation using cattle made people worked easily. The third achievement that we mentioned above is the cultivation crops and vegetables. Firstly, people made the cultivation of crops regionalized. In the northern area, people grew wheat, and In the Yangtze River area and Southern area, people grew rice. Also then the scales of the cultivation get larger. Another impressive improvement on agriculture is the cultivation of vegetables. During the Han dynasty, people already has variety chooses of vegetables including the vegetables we usually eat now like celeries, carrot, taro, green onion, garlic and so on. The most amazing thing is that during Han dynasty, people already learnt to grow vegetables in the greenhouse. During the eastern Han period, there were over 20 kinds of vegetables grew in the greenhouse. The use of greenhouse is one thousand years earlier than Europe. The biggest difference of agriculture between Shang Dynasty and Han Dynasty is the mode of production. Shang dynasty is a slavery society, slaves worked collectively. Also, During Shang dynasty, the croplands were all belonged to the emperor of Shang, and he put the land law of serf society into practice. As the image show above, at that time, the roads and channel crisscross and partitioned the cropland into squares. The emperor of Shang forced people work on the cropland. The outside parts are private fields and the inside part is public field. On the opposite, during the Han dynasty, people live and cultivation in the unit of a family. People have their own croplands. This kind of mode of production was usually described as small-scale farming by individual owners. Nowadays, in the remote mountain area or countryside, people are still using this kind of mode of production. A question may come out, why the first kind of production mode didn’t last long and in the contrary the second kind of production mode last till today. In my opinion, in the Shang dynasty’s example, people don’t have their own croplands. They work hard but the wheat and rice that come out of the croplands did not belongs to them, so they are not satisfy with the works they are doing. In contrast, with the second kind of mode of production, people are glad because if they put more effort, they will get more payback, so they are satisfy with their works and willing to do better. From the analyzing of the agriculture technology and development of Shang dynasty and Han dynasty, we can certainly conclude that the development in agriculture of both dynasties are significant and they both show their incredible intelligence to us. Their inventions and new ideas gave us inspirations. We can also see the huge improvement from Shang dynasty to Han dynasty in the 800 years. Their progresses are starling.

Allegory :: essays research papers, informative

Allegory ALLEGORY, pronounced AL uh gawr ee, is a story with more than one meaning. Most allegories have moral or religious meanings. Famous allegories include the fables attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek writer. Aesop's fables seem to describe the adventures of animals and human beings. But the author actually wanted to teach his readers something about human nature. One of Aesop's best-known fables is "The Fox and the Grapes." On its surface, or its literal level of meaning, the story tells of a fox who wants a bunch of grapes hanging above his head. The fox tries desperately to reach the grapes but cannot. He finally gives up, saying that the grapes are probably sour anyway. The allegorical meaning of this story is that people may pretend the things they cannot have are not worth having. Allegories had their greatest popularity during medieval and Renaissance times in Europe. The Divine Comedy, written by the Italian author Dante Alighieri in the early 1300's, literally tells of a man's journey to heaven through hell and purgatory. Allegorically, the poem describes a Christian soul rising from a state of sin to a state of blessedness. Other allegories include the parables of Jesus, and The Faerie Queene, written by the English poet Edmund Spenser in the late 1500's. Allegories lost popularity in Europe after about 1600, but some, such as Pilgrim's Progress (1678, 1684) gained recognition in later times. Allegory also exists in other ways. Many novels include allegorical suggestions of an