Social commentary Essay Example for Free

Social commentary Essay Dickens is Famous for his dramatic presentation of character and using them as a device for social commentary. Dickens is famous for his ability to craft complex plots and striking characters that capture the paranoia of English Society. In the novels such as A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, Dickens uses characters such as Scrooge and Bill Sykes, as a device for social commentary; Scrooge shows the audience that no amount of money can buy happiness or true friends. Whilst Bill Sykes character enforces the moral message that crime does not pay and no one can escape their punishment, no matter who they are. Great Expectations, one of Dickenss most renowned novels, features the unforgettable character Miss Havisham and uses her as a window into the Victorian era, and stiff class system. In this essay I am going to be analysing how Dickenss uses Miss Havisham for the above purpose, and why he is so successful in doing so. Dickens grew up in Victorian England, taking his inspiration from the people and places he lived side by side with. The Victorian era was characterised by rapid change and developments in nearly every sphere, but it was also known as a time of suffering, and of conflict amongst the social classes. Dickens grew up in a world dictated by which class you belonged. Victorian Society boiled down to three major classes, the working class, the middle class and the all powerful upper class to which Great Expectations Miss Havisham belonged. If like Miss Havisham, a Victorian woman belonged to the upper class, her life was control: marry early to a gentleman, of whom her family approved; have as many children as they could afford and devote themselves to the up keeping of their home whilst still keeping themselves perfectly presentable and well mannered. These were the things an upper class Victorian woman lived to accomplish, but as Great Expectation tells us Miss Havisham never got the chance to fulfil hers or societys Great Expectations. As a direct result of not meeting those expectations, were told how Miss Havisham choose to stop her life, and live if you can call it living in the past, constantly replaying the terrible pain she suffered the day her heart was broken and dreams destroyed. The first time Miss Havisham is mentioned in the novel, Dickens displays great skill, as he shadows everything were told about her in mystery and doubt; making the reader very curious and more closely examine, the details revealed about her character. Pip narrates from his own memory everything he has heard about Miss Havisham, were told that she is an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers, and who led a life of seclucusion. The house can be seen as a metaphor for Miss Havisham herself, supporting the rumours about her character. The short phrase barricaded against robbers, metaphorically describes Miss Havisham decision to lock herself, her love and memories in Satis house. Along with Dickens later description of the house being barred, he creates the image that Miss Havishams home is like a prison built to keep her in, and intervention out, an image Dickens enforces throughout the novel. Its walls, protecting her against thieves who dont necessarily want to steal her belongings, but her heart, and only light, Estella. Whilst Pip is journeying up to Satis house with Estella the atmosphere is created by Dickens use of Pip senses and the effect of the weather upon them. Cold wind seemed to grow colder there, than outside the gate, and it made a shrill noise in howling in and out at the open sides of the brewery, like the noise of wind in the rigging of a ship at sea. The fact Dickens describes this as Pip passes through a gate, gives the impression that he has stepped through an invisible barrier/doorway into another world, Miss Havishams world; a place where things are all the more terrible, bitter and dangerous. This sentence uses a young boys hearing, sensitivity and imagination to begin to describe how things are in a land controlled by Miss Havisham. Dickens idea of decreasing the temperature when Pip steps through the barrier gives the impression of Miss Havishams world being frozen, as her heart is, stuck in winters grasp. Dickens later uses the word winter and the connotations with death it carries to symbolically show how Miss Havisham is near to death; an example of this is The old wintry branches, a quota in which Dickens uses a metaphor to show how Miss Havisham is aging, becoming more cold, bare and therefore closer to death. The brewerys history is also questioned by Pip, and what we learn can be linked to Miss Havisham and the man who broke her heart, Compeyson. Estella tells us Better not try to brew beer there now, or it would turn out sour, Not that anybody means to try , for thats all done with, and it will stand as idle as it is, till it falls. The beer describes Miss Havishams and Compeyson relationship, the fact it is now sour- can be related to the bitterness Miss Havisham feels towards not only Compeyson, but all men. It was Compeyson after all who persuaded Miss Havisham to buy it from her brother, and wished to hold and manage it all. So the fact Miss Havisham leaves it alone to fall, could show how she wants nothing to do with him or any of his plans; but it could also be taken as a sign that she is still waiting for him to return, keeping herself and the brewery untouched by anyone, but all the time growing more and more sour. Miss Havisham is a living ghost, and her grotesque appearance and habits make her both fascinating and repulsive. In the first few lines of Pips first face to face encounter with Miss Havisham, Dickens uses a variety of linguistic devices to really capture the readers imagination. He repeatedly uses the word white to describe Miss Havisham, her bridal gown and trinkets around her; Dickens uses white as a symbolic reference to her age. She was dressed in rich materials satins, and lace, and silks all of white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Our narrator also notices how Miss Havisham is in an unready state, She had not quite finished dressing, for she had, but one shoe on the other was on the table near her hand her veil was but half arranged. This is an insight into Miss Havishams state of mind; she has kept herself in a condition of un-readiness, entombing her being in her own personal limbo. Half living and existing and her other side scattered around her.

The True Tragedy of AIDS :: AIDS

The True Tragedy of AIDS Â   When I was in South Africa, I spent some time in a township called Crossroads, which essentially began as a squatter camp for immigrants looking for work near Cape Town. In the late 80s and early 90s, to make room for an alleged development project, the apartheid government tried to relocate the settlers. Whatever the reasons, entire sections of the settlement were razed. Many people did not want to move and, consequently, their resistance was met with arson and both random and targeted violence; many of the victims were women and young children. The settlers' sense of security, albeit loosely bound with wood and corrugated iron, was destroyed. In 1994, as democracy came to South Africa, the settlers who remained began to rebuild their community out of the wreckage of apartheid, only to be confronted by a powerful new enemy: AIDS. Â   For me, Crossroads became an example of the conflicting reality in South Africa today - destruction and resilience, hope and continual struggle. Â   Crossroads is now home to Beautiful Gate, a home for dozens of children living with HIV/AIDS whose parents are either unable to take care of them or have already died. Converted from what was once a place for troubled youth, Beautiful Gate is surrounded by an imposing fence; I thought this was unusual to have around a place for sick children. On the windows are metal bars, which I originally thought were there to protect the children from violence caused by the stigma surrounding AIDS. I was wrong. In fact, the bars are there because people had tried to steal food...because in Crossroads only half of the people can find work and they are desperate to support themselves. Some of us were able to visit Beautiful Gate a couple times, and I remember talking to Francis Herbert, the social worker there. I asked her why she continued to work there. How could she continue to work when essentially no one was listening, when the government was faced with so many problems it couldn't pay attention, when she knew that for every child that stays at Beautiful Gate, dozens, actually thousands, more have no place to go. Why? Francis looked at me with a puzzled face. She does what she does because it has to be done. I see now how obvious that answer was. And I realize now that Francis and others working in similar conditions will keep hitting a brick wall unless people like myself use our knowledge of the severity of AIDS to mobilize international support.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Case Study

Critically assess how the organisation has employed e-business technologies to perform its key business processes and improve service levels for its customers To begin with, the online e-business model of Virgin Atlantic Airways is a business to consumer as the Virgin Atlantic Airways sells plane tickets directly to customers without passing intermediaries. Virgin Atlantic Airways implements the e business technologies to perform its key business processes and improve service levels for its customers by improving reservation online, provide all convenient services, flight data , route, cost saving ,more flight and news update and promotion. Reservation Online System First of all, Virgin Atlantic Airways (2012) stated that the reservation online enhance booking system and increase sales. This is because it is convenient for passengers to check dates and flight. No matters where passenger live, they can reserve online and make a payment directly to Virgin Atlantic Airways through credit cards. Secondly reservation online provide all level of services. So passengers can select the service to suit their need. Virgin Atlantic Airways provide services such as economy class, premium economy class as well as upper class. Convenient. B2C or Business direct to customer is quite convenient and efficient with airline business (Kotler, 2008) . This reduces the need of sell agents as intermediary. As a result of this, Virgin Atlantic Airways can sell plane ticket at a lower price. Furthermore, e-business technology can increase foreign passengers through Virgin Atlantic Airways booking system. This is because foreign passengers can check the route , flight data and prices to compare with other airline. However, if they find Virgin Atlantic Airways suit their need more , they will book directly with Virgin Atlantic Airways. Flight Data E-business technologies make a flight data more accurate and fast due to, the system is operated by computer. To demonstrate this, if one passenger book the plane ticket the system will show the seats availability left and if one change his or her mind by cancellation the system will responds very quick. Route E-business technologies could perform its key business processes and improve service levels for passengers by showing the flight route and provide alternative route for passengers to select. Therefore, passengers have varies option to pick the most convenient route and economical route. For a long flight, sometime passengers can pick an economical flight by choosing the flight that transfer at other airport or require couples stop. This enhance customers base and flight booking system. More Flight Virgin Atlantic Airways (2012) mentioned that online system can enhance more flight. This is due to if any flight or route is popular due to high demand or season factors. The system will suggests to possibility to increase more flight . Therefore, Virgin Atlantic Airways revenue and profit will rise as Virgin Atlantic can serve more demand. Cost Saving Cost saving is one of major key success of Virgin Atlantic Airways (Kotler, 2008) . The e business online system can save the cost effectively as there is less need for sell agents and intermediary . Also, the e-business system can manage ticket price effectively as well. This is because if the fuel price and tax price change , the system will adjust the selling price of plane ticket instantly. E –business system which is a computer system require less staffs working. Therefore, the system can save hiring cost. News update and Promotion. Virgin Atlantic website shows all news and promotion update. This is a fast way to communicate directly to passengers and it is quick because the company can just update instantly. This benefits both passengers and the Virgin Atlantic company due to passengers can compare the airways promotion with other airways or decide to purchase the promotion that suit their need instantly.

Memorandum Company Law - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2397 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? In the past a Memorandum of Association was seen as vital in providing information relating to the external affairs of a company. The importance of this document diminished over time with legal developments. Its worth will be limited further in consequence of the Companies Act 2006 content. Discuss the accuracy of the above statement and analyse why the importance of the Memorandum of Association has diminished. The most comprehensive review of British company law ever to have been made began in March 1998 when the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) set up an independent Steering Group which carried out what was formally known as the Company Law Review (CLR). The task of the CLR was to develop a simple, modern, efficient and cost effective framework for carrying out business activity in Britain for the twenty-first century. (Palmer, 2006: 48) One of the most interesting aspects of British company law that the Steering Group had to deal with was the f act that most of the law came from the middle of the nineteenth century and had developed very specifically to meet the demands of companies and business at that time. The law had failed to keep pace with changes in the economy and in society in the intervening years. Even in the past forty years, since 1962 when the Jenkins Committee carried out the last thorough review of company law, the business world had changed beyond recognition. With globalisation, the UK had to remain competitive in all fields and the complexity and overregulation of company law was a significant disadvantage to British Companies. The Government also recognised that the UK competed with other legal jurisdictions to attract companies and incorporations, especially large public corporations. An efficient company law would make the UK a more attractive jurisdiction in which new companies could incorporate. The CLR therefore vowed to bring forward proposals of a modern law for the modern world. (HMSO, 1998: cl. 2.1) This is the context in which the Memorandum of Association will be explored in this paper. The very fact that the Memorandum exists implies that at one point it must have been important. Under section 2 of the Companies Act 1985 the Memorandum was required to contain a statement of the companys name, the location of its registered office, a description of the companys objects, and details relating to the capital of the company including whether it was limited by shares or by guarantee, who the guarantors were if any and the amount they were liable for, or details of the various classes of share, their value, and who the subscribers were. There is little doubt that such details are still important and require to be disclosed. However, the Companies Act 2006 significantly curtails what is to be disclosed in a companys Memorandum of Association. Under section 8 of the 2006 Act the Memorandum must disclose that the subscribers wish to form a company, become its members, and if t here is a share capital, that they will be shareholders. There will be a prescribed form which the Memorandum will take, which will be determined by the Government. In effect, the Memorandum of Association is being reduced to a standard form that details the type of company that has been created. It will not contain any of the specific provisions relating to the company in particular (HMSO, 1998). All the information mentioned above that was required by section 2 of the 1985 Act has been dispensed with, at least on an initial reading of section 8. Before looking at where and how such information will be disclosed in future, it is necessary to look in more detail at the pre-2006 Act Memorandum and the information it contained. The information traditionally contained in the Memorandum has been described as the fundamental provisions of the companys constitution (Pennington, 2001: 3). As mentioned above, there were certain items that were required by statute to be mentioned in th e Memorandum. However, companies were also free to add other provisions of the companys constitution to the Memorandum. Anything that might be dealt with in the Articles of Association could just as validly be placed in the Memorandum. Because of the public nature of the Memorandum, adding such extra clauses would have served to announce more publicly that certain provisions of the constitution were vital or central to the company and its identity more strongly than if they had simply been left to the Articles. Tables B, C, D, E and F of the Companies Act 1985 set out standard form Memoranda which companies should strive to use insofar as it is possible or practical to do so. However, if the members felt that the prescribed Memoranda did not achieve what they desired for their company they were free to alter them as necessary. The case of Gaiman v National Association for Mental Health [1971] Ch 317is authority for the fact that where the contents of a companys constitutional doc uments differ radically from the prescribed forms set out in the Act, or even where they conflict with the prescribed forms, they are still valid. This usually applies in relation to the Articles of Association because of the requirement to list certain particulars in the Memorandum. However, it also applies to the objects clause and any additional clauses that may be added to the Memorandum. Section 2(1) of the 1985 Act required the Memorandum to disclose the name of the company. The name identified whether the company was a public limited company or a private limited company. The choice of name is restricted by certain statutes but apart from these limited restrictions the promoters of the company are free to choose any name. Choice of name is also restricted by the common law tort of passing off, which prevents companies from benefiting from the name or goodwill of another company. Under the 2006 Act, much of the basic information formerly included in the Memorandum will in stead be set out in a simple registration document. Section 9(1) of the Act states the requirement that the Memorandum of Association be accompanied with the registration document when the company is being founded and this document, under section 9(2)(a) will include the proposed name of the company. Under section 9(2)(c) the registration document will also state whether the liability of the members of the company is to be limited and if so, whether it is to be limited by shares or by guarantee and under section 9(2)(d) it will also disclose whether the company is to be a private or a public company. Traditionally these were also clauses that were set out in the Memorandum of Association. As has been mentioned above, clarity and simplicity were two of the most important objectives of the CLR and it was felt that by stating this information clearly in registration documents was more logical and straightforward than having the information permanently embedded in the constitution of the company. The Memorandum was a document that retained importance throughout the life of the company and anyone who had an interest in the company had to examine carefully its contents. However, much of the information contained in the Memorandum would not have had any relevance or meaning during the course of the companys life and is in fact only relevant at the moment of its creation. With the introduction of the registration documents the information that is predominantly relevant only at the creation of the company is therefore removed from the constitution of the company. The same is true of the information relating to the registered office of the company. Under section 9(2)(b) this is now to be included in the registration document rather than in the Memorandum. A similar approach has been adopted with the capital arrangements for the company, which were also traditionally contained within the Memorandum. Section 9(4) sets out that the registration documents must state i f the company is going to have a share capital, how much that capital is going to be and who the shareholders are going to be. If the company is going to be limited by guarantee then a statement of the guarantee must be included, and the companys initial officers are also disclosed. Since the capital arrangements of the company are likely to change over the course of its lifetime it is again unnecessary in most cases to know what the capital arrangements were at the moment of incorporation. The movement of such important details from the Memorandum also reflects the ease with which such information as the name of the company, its type, and its capital arrangements can now be obtained from Companies House. Obtaining such information from Companies House has become standard practice and no one would rely on the Memorandum to give an accurate or up to date view of such information. It is also more reliable to obtain such documents from Companies House (HMSO, 1998). Traditionally, one of the most important and most interesting elements of the Memorandum of Association was the companys objects clause. This was required under section 3(1) of the Companies Act 1985. The objects clause sets out the scope of activity that the company can engage in and the purposes that the company was set up to achieve. A company and its directors are only authorised to engage in activities that are set out in the objects clause. Any activity that the directors engage in that is outside the scope of the objects clause is ultra vires. In the past this was seen as an important means for members to keep control of the directors. If directors acted ultra vires then the members could seek an injunction in court that would prevent them from doing so. Transactions entered into which were ultra vires could even be voided by the court even if the third party was unaware of fact. This position was modified by sections 35, 35A and 35B of the Companies Act 1985 which provided that third part ies could not be prejudiced by the fact that the directors acted ultra vires. Another important consequence of acting ultra vires is that it makes directors personally liable to the company for any transactions that are entered into which are ultra vires. While it is important that directors remain within the limits of what they have been employed to do, it was also the case that the directors of most companies are diligent and honest and would not wittingly act ultra vires. However, because of the danger of becoming personally liable for ultra vires acts, the principle created difficult compliance costs as directors sought to have objects clauses drafted so wide as to be completely meaningless and also had to seek legal advice before entering certain transactions to ensure that such transactions would not attach personal liability to the directors (Pennington, 2001: 14). In fact, an entire legal industry had developed that concentrated solely in avoiding the implications of t he ultra vires rule and narrow objects clauses. Many company objects clauses included a power to do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects or any of them. While it was hoped that this would protect the directrors from personal liability, the court in Evans v Brunner, Mond Co [1921] 1 Ch 359 at 364 found that it did not widen the objects of the company beyond the specific objects that were set out in the objects clause and was therefore ineffectual. Another paragraph that received attention from the courts is the objects set out in any paragraph of this clause shall not be in any way limited by reference to or inference from the terms of any other paragraph or by the name of the company. The intention of this paragraph was to make each part of the objects clause a separate stand alone power that would act as if it were the dominant or main aim of the company. In the case of Cotman v Brougham [1918] AC 514 the House of Lords fou nd that this could be effective in preventing objects clauses from being read in light of the main aims of the company, however, in Re Introductions Ltd, v National Provincial Bank [1968] 2 All ER 1221 it was found that if the clause itself implied that it was ancillary or dependent on other clauses than it would be read restrictively. The fact that such cases are held as so important shows how vital the question was to companies and how much of an issue the law had become. For this reason, it was decided that the law should be changed. Firstly, the objects of the company are now regarded as a purely internal matter of interest only to the companys members and directors and will not affect the companys relations with third parties. Also, under section 31(1) of the 2006 Act the objects clause is deemed to be unrestricted unless a companys articles specifically restrict the objects of the company. This saves the formality and effort that usually goes into drafting a limitless objec ts clause that only serves to lengthen the companys constitution and make relevant provisions less clear. It also allows for the flexibility of restricting objects clauses in the less common situations when this is necessary. In conclusion therefore, it can be seen that much of the information that was traditionally contained in the Memorandum is in fact relevant only at the moment of incorporation and the new law therefore rightly requires that it be disclosed in a registration document rather than in a Constitutional document. The law has also removed the need for an objects clause in most cases and if one is necessary, it can be contained in the Articles. Because the ultra vires rule will not void transactions with bona fide third parties the objects clause is no longer relevant to the general public and therefore has rightly been moved to the Articles. The Memorandum has become redundant for almost all purposes and therefore now exists in its abridged form which serves the ne eds of todays companies without adding meaningless and unnecessary details to the constitution of the company. Bibliography Palmers Company Law Annotated Guide to the Companies Act 2006, Thompson, Sweet and Maxwell, London, 2007, page 48 Modern Company Law for a Competitive Economy, HMSO, 1998, cl.2.1 available online at https://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file23283.pdf, accessed 1.11.07 Pennington, Penningtons Company Law, 8th ed., Butterworths, London, 2001, page 3 Cases Evans v Brunner, Mond Co [1921] 1 Ch 359 at 364 Gaiman v National Association for Mental Health [1971] Ch 317, [1970] 2 All ER 362 Cotman v Brougham [1918] AC 514 Re Introductions Ltd, v National Provincial Bank [1968] 2 All ER 1221 Legislation Companies Act 1985 Companies Act 2006 Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Memorandum Company Law" essay for you Create order