Death of a Salesman †Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller Essay The original title for Miller’s play was ‘The Inside of His Head’. How does Miller’s use of set, lighting and stage direction help us to understand this idea? Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1949. This date is the period after the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression and this is significant, as one of Miller’s aims in writing this play was that it would be a tragedy that American workers could relate to. The central themes and issues in the play are consumerism and exploitation; Miller wanted to write a play that was critical of capitalism and that would expose the falseness of the American Dream. The original title reflects one of the underlying themes in the play – the central character’s struggle to grasp the distinction between illusion and reality and the past and the present; often Willy Loman’s thoughts and views do not comply with those of the majority of the remaining cast. Miller uses symbolism, set, lighting and stage direction to help us to understand what is happening inside Willy’s head. One of the several symbols that give us an insight into Willy’s thoughts is the athletic trophy. It is placed on a shelf in the sitting room where it can be clearly seen; this demonstrates how important it is to the family. This importance then in turn shows that winning and competition are key ideas here and that this part of the American Dream is important to Willy and he prizes the achievements his son made as they show him as being superior to other people, which is what Willy is always striving to achieve, particularly in regards to Charly. In the same scene is the use of the melody of the flute. It reflects Willy’s father’s success as an entrepreneur (making wooden flutes), something Willy is always striving to achieve, and also the strong influence this has on his son. Also, the actual melody that is being played ‘tell(s) of grass and trees and the horizon’, and reminds us of the stark difference between the life Willy lived as a young child (with the father who he idolises) and the position he is in now; in an overcrowded area of New York, working for someone else (i.e., not working on his own terms, like his father) on commission. Another of the important symbols in the play is the lighting at the end of Act One. Just as Willy is talking about how great Biff was when he was younger, on another part of the set Biff walks into a gold pool of light, which is reflecting the praise Willy is giving him, the gold symbolising the initial power and success that he had. Also, just after this the light fades on Willy, representing the fact that his career, his influence on his children and possibly his life are drawing to a close. A further example of Miller’s symbolism in this play and his manipulation of non-naturalistic elements is in Act Two, the restaurant scene, with varied use of both lighting and music. The first of these symbols is the use of the ‘single trumpet note’ used in conjunction with ‘the light of green leaves’. This initiates the start of Willy’s mind thinking back to an event several years ago, the green of the leaves symbolising the time when the house was not surrounded by high rise flats, noise and pollution. Miller also says that the light ‘holds the air of a†¦ dream’, which is insinuating that at this point in time Willy’s dreams for himself and his children had not yet been ruined. This is upheld by the naturalistic state of his living environment. Throughout the scene the light continues to fluctuate and highlight different places and times. Another important part in this restaurant scene I when the music changes dramatically to accompany the presence of The Woman in Willy’s mind. The music is now ‘raw and sensuous’ highlighting one major part of Willy’s life, at this point in time, that does not fit into the same mould as the rest of his life; he is a family man, supportive of his children and striving to achieve new heights for his family, but now he is doing the very opposite of this by cheating on his wife, and so the music does not reflect any of the other, often light and cheerful melodies played on the flute. Up until Biff discovers his father with The Woman, no one else is aware of her part in Willy’s life, so even at this early stage, Willy will have thoughts inside his head which do not relate to those of an of the other central characters.

Immigrants and Assimilation into American Society Essay -- Immigration

Immigrants and Assimilation into American Society Several years ago, America was taught to be a 'melting pot,' a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a 'salad bowl' where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most people come to America voluntarily, but very few come unwillingly. For whatever reasons they may have for coming they all have to face exposure to American society. When exposed to this 'new' society they choose whether to assimilate or not. Assimilation in any society is complex. Since assimilation is not simple, people will have negative experiences when assimilating into American society. In American society, learning to speak English properly is a crucial factor in assimilation. People who have decided to come to America have found it rather difficult to assimilate into American society for several reasons. One reason being that learning a new language is or can be considerably difficult depending on your age. This is so because the act of learning a new language such as English, is much more difficult for an elderly person than for one who has not reached adolescence. According to Grognet, for elderly people there are several factors that affect their willingness to learn. Among those factors are, physical health, mental health, cultural expectations, attitude, motivation and finally the ability to acquire the correct diction, and to suitable articulation (Grognet 296-297). For a person who has not reached the prepubescent age, it is... ...accomplished the assimilation into one race, it consists of people sharing a similar identity. In the words of Richard Rodriguez, ?We are gathered together-but as individuals?we stand together, alone,? thus people will assimilate but as individual ?Americans?. Bibliography: 1. Grognet, Allene. ?Elderly Refugees and Language Learning.? Hillard, Piro, and Warner. 295-300. 2. Houston, Jeanne. ?Arrival at Manzanar.? Hillard, Piro, and Warner. 307-314. 3. Lopez, Cynthia. ?Cranderismo: A Healing Art.? Hillard, Piro, and Warner. 334-336. 4. Rodriguez, Richard. ?Does America Still Exist Hillard, Piro, and Warner. 183-186. 5. Tan, Amy. ?My Mother?s English.? Hillard, Piro, and Warner. 42-46. 6. Hillard, Judith, Vincent, Piro, and J. Sterling Warner, Eds. Visions Across The Americas. Orlando, Fl: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.

Nike Promotions Essay

After looking at Nike’s marketing strategy with respect to product, price, place and promotion, the outstanding success of the brand name calls for more attention to Nike’s promotional strategies. Nike’s promotions and advertisements have been deemed the best in the retail industry. The â€Å"Just Do It† slogan is supposedly one of the most famous and easily recognized slogans in advertising history. It would be safe to claim that brand management is easily one of Nike’s core capabilities. With the company’s advertising budget today reaching $2.4 billion, it is worth looking into Nike’s advertising strategies and how these strategies helped strengthen the brand image. 1980-1988: Early Advertising Before television advertisements, Nike released several successful print ads. One of its earliest print ad campaigns was the â€Å"There is no finish line† campaign by John Brown and Partners. The posters were an instant hit, since, it did not focus on the running shoe product, but instead on the person wearing the shoes. At this early stage, Nike saw the lucrative value in sports sponsorships. The company began sponsoring track and field athletes like Carl Lewis. With lucky breaks, Nike signed some bigger names in the athletic world like Wayne Gretzy and, probably the most important sponsorship signing in Nike history, Michael Jordan. 1988: The JUST DO IT Campaign This campaign was probably Nike’s most known and successful. In 1988, Nike worked with ad agency Wieden and Kennedy to create the slogan Just Do It. The company used this campaign to cash in on the jogging/fitness craze of the 80s. Top competitor Reebok was sweeping the aerobics race so Nike responded with Just Do It ads that practically shamed people into exercising, and more importantly, to exercise in Nikes. The Just Do It ads truly embodied the philosophy of grit, determination and passion to encourage consumers to embrace the culture of fitness rather than focus on the product. The Just Do It campaigns were also successful because of their celebrity features including Bo Jackson, John McEnroe, and Michael Jordan. These famous athletes reassured the quality of the Nike product and gave Nike a â€Å"hip† brand image. These ads were basically turning sweaty, pain-ridden exercise into something sexy and exciting. And lastly, the Just Do It ads were usually humorous, thus connecting to consumers on a level that made them comfortable and feeling positive about the brand. 2000-2005 Using its cooperations with various ad agencies, Nike released several popular and well-received TV commercials. In fact, the company received two Emmy awards for best commercial twice. The first was for â€Å"The Morning After,† which featured a runner on his morning jog on January 1, 2000, facing the chaos of the Y2K predictions. The commercial really connected to consumer emotions, as speculations of the new millennium were the conversation buzz around that time. The second Emmy was for a Nike commercial called â€Å"Move† that featured many famous and regular athletes performing a serious of athletic pursuits in a creative â€Å"pass it on† way. Starting in 2005, Nike released another successful ad campaign that were targeted at athletic woman. The ad focused on women’s Thunder Thighs and Big Butts, encouraging them to embrace their athletic body parts and shapes. This was yet another successful way Nike connected to the consumer on a personal level, as we all know that women tend to care about their self images. 2005 to Present Having built up an empire of a brand, Nike continued to focus on celebrity endorsements. Nike took famous athletes in a variety of sports to feature them in ads. LeBron James from basketball, Tom Brady from football, Ronaldhino from soccer, Roger Federer from tennis and Tiger Woods from golf, just to name a few. Using the A-list, top-notch names in the athletic world really helped tip Nike over into the â€Å"elite† brand division. At this point, Nike is reaching its peak in sales and in brand image. Having reached this peak, Nike is now changing up the promotion game and branching out to the digital world. With a 40% decrease in print and TV advertising, Nike is now trying to stray away from superstars. Now that Nike as perfected the art of branding, it is moving on to a world where consumers want to be told less. In 2010, Nike launched its new marketing division called Nike Digital Sport. This digital focus on sports conceived the Nike+ platform, which is a marriage of Apple and Nike technologies that allows people to track their athletic performance. It is also a platform that allows Nike to virtually have personal conversations with its consumers and, subtly study its consumer’s behavioural patterns. Overall, it seems like Nike is always in tune with consumer preferences and addresses them through strategic and well-executed advertising tactics. It is no surprise that the Nike brand is one of the most well recognized in the world.

Equation for Reaction Between Baking Soda and Vinegar

The reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (dilute acetic acid) generates carbon dioxide gas, which is used in chemical volcanoes and other projects. Here is a look at the reaction between baking soda and vinegar and the equation for the reaction. Key Takeaways: Reaction Between Baking Soda and Vinegar The overall chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (weak acetic acid) is one mole of solid sodium bicarbonate reacts with one mole of liquid acetic acid to produce one mole each of carbon dioxide gas, liquid water, sodium ions, and acetate ions.The reaction proceeds in two steps. The first reaction is a double displacement reaction, while the second reaction is a decomposition reaction.The baking soda and vinegar reaction can be used to produce sodium acetate, by boiling off or evaporating all the liquid water. How the Reaction Works The reaction between baking soda and vinegar actually occurs in two steps, but the overall process can be summarized by the following word equation: baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) plus vinegar (acetic acid) yields carbon dioxide plus water plus sodium ion plus acetate ion The chemical equation for the overall reaction is: NaHCO3(s) CH3COOH(l) → CO2(g) H2O(l) Na(aq) CH3COO-(aq) with s solid, l liquid, g gas, aq aqueous or in water solution Another common way to write this reaction is: NaHCO3 HC2H3O2 → NaC2H3O2 H2O CO2 The above reaction, while technically correct, does not account for the dissociation of the sodium acetate in water. The chemical reaction actually occurs in two steps. First, there is a double displacement reaction in which acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with sodium bicarbonate to form sodium acetate and carbonic acid: NaHCO3 HC2H3O2 → NaC2H3O2 H2CO3 Carbonic acid is unstable and undergoes a decomposition reaction to produce the carbon dioxide gas: H2CO3 → H2O CO2 The carbon dioxide escapes the solution as bubbles. The bubbles are heavier than air, so the carbon dioxide collects at the surface of the container or overflows it. In a baking soda volcano, detergent usually is added to collect the gas and form bubbles that flow somewhat like lava down the side of the volcano. A dilute sodium acetate solution remains after the reaction. If the water is boiled off of this solution, a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate forms. This hot ice will spontaneously crystallize, releasing heat and forming a solid that resembles water ice. The carbon dioxide released by the baking soda and vinegar reaction has other uses besides making a chemical volcano. It can be collected and used as a simple chemical fire extinguisher. Because carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it displaces it. This starves a fire of the oxygen needed for combustion.