How Shakespeare Portrayed Lady Macbeth Essay -- William Shakespeare

From the very beginning, Lady Macbeth is depicted as an ambitious and powerful woman, who is central to the plot of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. So far, in the play, Lady Macbeth has been shown to be a very powerful and ambitious character. After reading Macbeth's letter, she says, "Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it"(I.v 17-19), here, she is saying that he needs more evil or "illness" in him to become King, and therefore implies that she will "poison" him and give him the illness he needs to increase his ambition. Here she is also undermining her husband's authority (which is very unusual for a woman in the Elizabethan era) by saying he is unable to become a King, and is undermining his masculinity as she is thinking about things that a man would usually take charge of. To try to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan when the audience first see them meet on stage, she is very bold, "Your hand, you tongue, look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 65-66), she shows her strong female identity, whose ambitions speak for her obsession with power. When Macbeth tries to ?back out? of murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses many techniques to persuade him to carry out the deed. Firstly, she repeats the metaphor of clothes he uses, ?Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon? (I.vii 34-35) but changes the meaning, ?Was the hope drunk / wherein you dressed yourself?? (I.vii 35-36) showing she can be manipulating and that she has a thorough understanding of words, which is unusual for an Elizabethan woman. She also tries to manipulate him by saying, ?From this time / Such I account thy love? (I.vii 38-39) which could be perceiv... ...n, she becomes something completely different ? a supernatural being such as a witch or evil spirit. Although Lady Macbeth never repeats the words of the witches, her ambitions and their prophecies are very similar, ?All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter? (I.iii 50), however, if the witches had not revealed this prophecy then Lady Macbeth?s ambition would not have been ?fed? and it is probable that neither of them would have murdered Duncan. This shows how easily she is influenced by the supernatural. I believe that Shakespeare depicted Lady Macbeth as a very ambitious character who has a lot of power over her husband. However, it is only after she calls upon the supernatural that she becomes utterly ruthless and cruel. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 2009. How Shakespeare Portrayed Lady Macbeth Essay -- William Shakespeare From the very beginning, Lady Macbeth is depicted as an ambitious and powerful woman, who is central to the plot of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. So far, in the play, Lady Macbeth has been shown to be a very powerful and ambitious character. After reading Macbeth's letter, she says, "Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it"(I.v 17-19), here, she is saying that he needs more evil or "illness" in him to become King, and therefore implies that she will "poison" him and give him the illness he needs to increase his ambition. Here she is also undermining her husband's authority (which is very unusual for a woman in the Elizabethan era) by saying he is unable to become a King, and is undermining his masculinity as she is thinking about things that a man would usually take charge of. To try to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan when the audience first see them meet on stage, she is very bold, "Your hand, you tongue, look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 65-66), she shows her strong female identity, whose ambitions speak for her obsession with power. When Macbeth tries to ?back out? of murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses many techniques to persuade him to carry out the deed. Firstly, she repeats the metaphor of clothes he uses, ?Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon? (I.vii 34-35) but changes the meaning, ?Was the hope drunk / wherein you dressed yourself?? (I.vii 35-36) showing she can be manipulating and that she has a thorough understanding of words, which is unusual for an Elizabethan woman. She also tries to manipulate him by saying, ?From this time / Such I account thy love? (I.vii 38-39) which could be perceiv... ...n, she becomes something completely different ? a supernatural being such as a witch or evil spirit. Although Lady Macbeth never repeats the words of the witches, her ambitions and their prophecies are very similar, ?All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter? (I.iii 50), however, if the witches had not revealed this prophecy then Lady Macbeth?s ambition would not have been ?fed? and it is probable that neither of them would have murdered Duncan. This shows how easily she is influenced by the supernatural. I believe that Shakespeare depicted Lady Macbeth as a very ambitious character who has a lot of power over her husband. However, it is only after she calls upon the supernatural that she becomes utterly ruthless and cruel. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 2009.

My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life :: Personal Narrative

My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life When asked who their hero is, most people respond with the name of an athlete or an actress/actor. When asked who my hero is I would have to respond with a simple three letter word: mom. My mother has been the greatest inspiration in my life and is the main reason that I am where I am and who I am today. Born and raised in Richmond, Kentucky, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Vicki Grant. Currently the age of 47, Mom is the oldest of three girls. At the age of 36, mom decided to return back to college to obtain her nursing degree. This wasn’t a hard decision for her to make. The April before she enrolled in school my great grandmother passed away. This major dilemma played a major role in mom’s returning back to school. She had taken care of my great grandmother for months before she passed away, and decided that she wanted to make an impact on the lives of geriatrics. While in school, Mom didn’t have it to easy. Not only did she raise a daughter and take care of a husband, she had to deal with numerous setbacks. These included such things as my father suffering a heart attack and going on to have a triple by-pass, she herself went through an emergency surgery, which sat her a semester behind, and her father also suffered a heart attack. Mom not only dealt with these setbacks but she had the everyday task of things like cooking dinner, cleaning the house and raising a family. I don’t know how she managed it all, but somehow she did. In 1996, my mother graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a baccalaureate of Nursing. Although it took her five years, we were still proud of her and all that she had accomplished. Today my mom is still working as a RN. Although she just quit her job at Berea Hospital, where she had been for 4 years, she is beginning a new style of nursing.

Patriotism and Its Meaning Essay -- Definition Patriot National Essays

Patriotism and Its Meaning In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States we are seeing many forms of Patriotism. I was suprised to find when I researched this word that it had a negative feeling associated with it. I believe that patriotism is actively showing your support for your country, standing up for what you believe in, and fighting for our individual free will and independence. I am proud of my country and I am not ashamed to fly the American Flag. Many men and women have died to give me the freedoms that I take for granted. I applaud their patriotism, and I thank them for giving me my way of life. I will support them in protecting my country. I will try to elect officials who believe in the issues I do, and who work for the better good o...

Children in Society Essay

As children grow up, they are influenced more and more by the sphere outside their homes, and by their friends, parent’s friends, teachers, and people they meet and interact with in the outside world. Hence this essay shall be focussing onhow family influences children and young people, and the effect of parental and family influences on the personality development of children and young people. Furthermore, current social and equal opportunity issues which may influence the development of children in a multi-cultural society in Great Britain will be explored. The roles and responsibilities of Social Services, Health Care Trust, Private Sector, and Child Care Agencies as multi-disciplinary and interagency working together will be analysed. Lastly, this essay will reflect on my personal experiences in my work placement, in relation to diversity; and confidentiality will be maintained all through the learning outcomes. ‘Family’ can be defined differently as there is no typical family model across society (Lamanna et al, 2006). However, United Nations (1948) stated that ‘the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state’. As family patterns change over time, Crawford (1999) asserted thatsociety’s definition of ‘family’ is rapidly expanding and has come to include single parents, biracial couples, blended families, unrelated individuals living cooperatively, and homosexual couples, and so forth. For instance, the Nuer ‘ghost’ marriage in Sudan is different from what is considered as typical family setting in the west as described by Maybin and Woodhead, whichstated that a dead husband continued to be the father of the children born to other lovers by the widow (Maybin and Woodhead 2007). This form of family emphasizes the social connection between children and parent rather than biological ones.McDaniel et al (2005) has a different view about what a family is‘We define family as any group of people related biologically, emotionally, or legally’.From a West African cultural point of view, a family consists of the father, mother, children and extended relatives, which are referred to as the nuclear family (Widmer and Jallinoja 2008). People who live together in the village setting may not have a biological connectionor emotional links but are regarded as a family, as long as they co-exist in the same geographical location. From all these view points, children and young people’s lives are modelled, influenced and dependent upon which family structure they find themselves. Maybin and Woodhead (2007) argued that there is no such thing as a‘universal’ family, just as there is no such thing as an ideal family. According to Piaget as cited by Shaffer and Kipp (2010)children and young people learn from their parents, and they are influenced by family structure and culture, including their genetic makeup, which influences their personality. For instance,introverted, outgoing, clever, sporty, or anxiety might be a copied trait from parents (Sue, 2006). Stark and Buzawa (2009) stated that the family is a child’s first role model: not only do they set examples for children and guide them in how to make good choices, sometimes they end up sending the wrong signals to children and young people. For instance, checking the records of a child from a lone parent who was showing antisocial behaviour at work placement, suggested that the reason why the child has been violent towards other children in the Nursery was because he had witnessed a violent relationship between his parents. Conversely,Chief Judge Judith Kaye as cited by Wilson (2005) argued that â€Å"Exposing a child to domestic violence is not presumptively neglectful†. Not every child exposed to domestic violence is at risk of being violent in many instances.Yet this is an influence that may influence children and young people(Wilson (2005). However, Munger (2008) stated that a lot of researchers have suggested that parents don’t actually have much influence on their children’s behaviour. Munger (2008)further stated that some studies have suggested that mothers have an unbalanced influence on children, and that an authoritative parenting style leads to the best results. The effects of family stru cture on children may be dependent on the gender of the child as described by Hastings (2005) which stated that girls tend to be more helpful, sympathetic, and passionate, while boys are more friendly, engaged, and assertive without being aggressive. All these behaviours are natural traits found in children irrespective of their background (Hastings 2005). Nevertheless, from my work experience, children from violent homes have exhibited some form of aggression towards their peers irrespective of gender. Hence Hastings (2005) opinion on narrowing children behavioural influence to gender may be arguable, in that boys from my work placement experience display more antisocial behaviour than girls. The impact of social influences and diversity can have a huge effect on children and young people, especially those living in social housing, being in a lone parent family and those from the ethnic minority group (Shaw, 2010). For some children, the risk of poverty is a greater influence as a result of their circumstances. Maybin and Woodhead, (2007) asserted that the greatest risk of poverty is for those children and young people who live in a family where no one is in work. For instance, placement observations suggested that children from affluent background tend to attend the best schools than those that are not; hence aspirations from that parent are higher, which in turn affects school performance. Furthermore, indirect discrimination from top academic institutions such as Oxford University is a typical example of social exclusion at the entry stage (Stewart et al,2005).The impact is that choices are limited, which may well affect future job opportunities(Tomlinson, 2009). Within large families, the rate of joblessness in large families is higher than for parents in smaller families. This is largely due to a lack of affordable childcare (Lupton and Tunstall, 2008). As a result of this, children may be excluded from early education where by affecting their life choices. For instance, work records suggested that large families can often struggle to meet the costs of school uniform and equipment, and are also at particular at risk of going into debt. Work records also suggested that young people aged over 16 who do not get family support are much more likely to be poor and as adults to remain dependent on benefits or low paid work. Wilson(2011) stated thatyoung people receive less stable benefit and have a lower minimum wage than older adults, and young people, who receive less income support, are ineligible for tax credits, and are restricted to a lower level of housing benefit making them vulnerable to poverty as young adults (Lupton and Tunstall, 2008). There is a shortage of affordable housing due to high rents in the private sector and a lack of investment in maintaining a good standard of social housing (Shaw, 2004). For instance, children’s information in my work placement suggested that, children who live in bad housing are more likely to suffer from poor health and to suffer from disability or long term illness (Shaw, 2004).Additionally, Power et al, (2011) identified that Social Worker had warned the government on the re-housing of paedophiles in East London estates. The effect of this is that, parents tend not to allow their children to play outside, which could affect peer interaction and create further damage to community cohesion. Statistics in Britain show that children living in poor housing often have poor educational attainment (Hills et al, 2009). They are more likely to have been excluded from school and to leave school with no GCSEs. For instance, Placement data shows that children from poor housing estates, who visit our setting regularly, are often without GCSEs. However, my work settings has adopted a ‘mentoring’ strategy to motivate young people in this category to believe in themselves, and monitoring of this approach has helped a number of young people to resume attending school. The safety and welfare of children is the responsibility of the local authority, working in partnership with other public organisations, the voluntary sector, and service users and carers (Department of Health, 2006). All local authority ser vices have an impact on the lives of children and families, and local authorities have a particular responsibility towards those children and families most at risk of social exclusion. For instance, Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB) in collaboration with my work placement, liaise to support young unemployed young residents with voluntary work placements to help them gain practical work experience, qualification and training in a range of settings. These local authorities also have responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children who are excluded from school, or who have not obtained a school place, for example children in Pupil Referral Units or being educated by the authority’s home tutor service.As a result of (GLLaB) participation in helping young people, a lot of young people from the Greenwich Borough have been employed at the Olympic site inStrafford(Brown, 2006). However, Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB, 2011) In addition to advice, helps lone parents to access childcare, give information about benefits and tax credits and render support with job searches, CVs and interview techniques to promote opportunity in the borough. Where possible, they also organise paid work experience placements, including a range of training opportunities. Yet, some lone parents often feel isolated and lack confidence. Placement experience shows that they may also experience poor physical and mental health issues and be socially excluded. More needs to be done to help lone parents to overcome the psychological barriers that prevent them from getting back into work. According to Power et al, (2011) the school play active part in bringing families and children from different ethnic and cultural back-ground together, including helping children from disadvantaged background to learn. Power et al (2011) also mentioned that parents of children with special educational needs were positive about how their children’s need has been responded to by the schools, including autism, dyslexia and behaviour issues. For instance, my work placement wasable to support and help a young autistic child from the ethnic minority group who was going through exclusion because there was no trained Special Education Need Coordinator (SENCO) in the nursery.M embers of staff were not able to provide proper care for the child as he was stereotyped as aggressive, and was not interacting with other children. In order to help the child, the nursery had to train a staff member in the area of special need; this approach eventually supported the child andincluded the involvement of other professionals like the Speech and Language Therapist. The child now communicates better than before and is gradually coming out of language delay. Class room experience on this course has demonstrated student integration, as we have a diverse student, ranging from black, white and Asians. Class tutors have been able to peer us together during class work and assignments and different ideas from the group have increased my awareness of how diversity can harness experiences from different back grounds and culture which helps to stimulate learning. According to Halpern (2005) which stated that language difficulties from children and young people that do not have English as their first language could be frustrating from the teacher-learner point of view. I have encountered a situation in the work placement where child â€Å"B†(as he will be addressed in this analysis for data protection reason) was not able to communicate because he is from Africa, he did not play and interact with other children as everything he saw in the nursery seemed strange to him. As a result of his situation, he was losing out of daily task and activities, which in turn affected his mental, spiritual and physical development. To support the child, the nursery had to include a one-on-one teaching in to his care plan, and adopted the visual form of teaching by using pictorial reinforcement to support his learning. Child â€Å"B† is now able to communicate because teachers and care givers did not discriminate and neglect him. The child’s parents also benefited from the nursery’s’ holistic approach to supporting them to enrol for (Esol) so that they can learn and carry on speaking in English to the child at home, although they w ere not discouraged from speaking their original language. The Community Cohesion Programme is an activity my work placement organizes on annual basis to create an awareness of our diverse community, in order to encourage integration, respect and to showour diverse community. Before the event, young people were asked to make a drawing of their country flags andmake a list of food and clothing. During the programme, young people were encouraged to dress in their own native attires, and it also includedperforming cultural dances, and a display of their native foods. Consequent to this, work place records have suggested a reduction of post-code, gang related problems, as young people living in that part of south East London are nowfriendlier. This is in support of the government initiatives in building the ‘big society’ that could accommodate all, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender and creed (Cabinet office, 2010). In conclusion, this essay has addressed parental and family influences on the personality development of children and young people. Current social and equal opportunity issues, which may influence the development of children in a multi-cultural society in Great Britain has been addressed. The roles and responsibilities of Social Services, Health Care Trust, and Private Sector, Child Care Agencies as multi-disciplinary and interagency working together has been analysed. Reflection upon personal learning in work placement in terms of promoting diversity and equality has been examined. I have also disagreed with some theories that asserted that sex gender did not have an impact in influencing the attitudes of children and young people. Therefore, organisations, schools and institutions should do more in promoting equality and diversity in order to enjoy the benefit of shared ideas, experiences and foster community cohesion in our modern day Britain. As a professional, stereotyping children and young people based on their ethnicity, gender and culture will be discouraged by reinforcing and promoting equality, diversity and fairness at school among children, young people and colleagues. Reference List Ajegbo, K. Kiwan, D & Sharma, S (2007) Diversity and Curriculum Review, DfES, London. Anisman-Reiner, V.(2007)Adult Children of Divorce: Children Who Are Over 18 When Parents Separate Are Equally Affected. (Online) Available at: http://victoria-anisman-reiner.suite101.com/adult-children-of-divorce-a19930. (Accessed: 01February 2012). Brown, K (2006) Exploring the evidence base for Integrated Children’s Services.Edinburgh. Sage Publications. Buonfino, A. Thomson, L (2007) Belonging in Contemporary Britain, Commission on Integration and Cohesion, London. Cabinet Office (2010) Building the Big Society. (Online) Available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/building-big-society.pdf. (Accessed: 08 March 2012). Crawford, J.M. (1999)‘Co-parent adoptions by same-sex couples: From loophole to law. Families in Society’: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 80, 271-278. Davis,R, Vasagar J, Meltzer T. (2011) Oxford University diversity row: ‘Grades aren’t enough’. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/oxford-university-diversity-row-students. (Assessed: 24 March 2012). Department of Health (2005) Improving emergency care in England. [Online] Available at:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/AnnualReports/Browsable/DH_5342101. (Assessed: 10 February 2012). Department of Health (2006)Working Together to Safeguard Children: A Guide to Inter-agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children. London. The Stationary Office. Hastings P. (2005)Parents’ influence on kids’ behaviour: Not much. Available at:http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/05/parents_influence_on_kids_beha.php. (Accessed: 10 March 2012). Halpern, D. (2005)Social Capital. Cambridge. Policy Press. Hills, J, Sefton Stewart K. (2009) Towards a More Equal Society? Poverty, inequality. Bristol. The Policy Press. Lamanna, M, A. Riedmann, A, C. Riedmann, A. (2006)Marriages and Families. Belmont. Thomson. Levinson, W, Kao A, Kuby A, Thisted R.(2005) ‘Not All Patients Want to Participate in Decision Making’. Journal of General Internal Medicine. Volume 20, issue 6, pages 531-535. Lupton, R, Tunstall R, (2008) ‘Neighbourhood Regeneration through Mixed Communities: A Social Justice Dilemma’. Journal of Education Policy. Vol. 23, no2.pp105- 117. Maybin, J. and Woodhead, M (2007)Childhoods in Context. Milton Keynes. John Willey and Sons Ltd. McDaniel, S.H, Cambell, T. L, Hepworth, J, & Lorenz, A. (2005). Family-oriented primary care

My American culture, but not my religion

Holding the values and beliefs of a religion other than Christianity often makes one wonder if they have broken the norms of American society. A norm, as defined by Miller (2002), is â€Å"a generally agreed upon standard of how people should behave, usually unwritten and learned unconsciously.†   While many Americans practice Christian beliefs, one of the benefits of living in a free nation happens when all religious denominations can practice their faith in peace, regardless of the majority preference. The list of Christian denominations includes Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian and many others. Being an individual who reads of, and practices, many religions both old and new in the world I do not follow Christian beliefs. I would rather define myself as a mystic or perhaps even shaman since I have inclinations towards honoring the earth, nature and spirits; this is also a common practice among Native Americans. Salvation, or offering oneself up for saving by another being such as Jesus predominantly occurs in Christianity. However, I am at odds with this idea in my own spiritual practice. My beliefs stand in contrast because in my mind each person has the capability to save themselves, if they would only realize that inner strength. Of course, going to a Sunday service and honoring holidays such as Christmas and Easter are practices that I do not partake in either. However, I do honor the Solstices, which fall surprisingly close to many of the Christian holidays. Being a mystic in a predominantly Christian world can make for a lonely but very peaceful existence if you allow it. While others scurry around buying gifts during the Christmas rush, I tend to my natural wares, making blankets, canned goods and handcrafted candles along with other natural gifts for those in my family who are Christian. It saddens me at winter time to hear everyone complaining about how much the Christmas gifts they have to buy will cost them; and how they need to spend a great deal of care budgeting for their gift expenses. Everyone feels so pressured and rushed to get to the stores to find the perfect gift. While the rest of the world worries away their time, I relax on the sofa watching television and knitting another new blanket. At this point, when I am at odds with not only Christians but a capitalist nation (the dominant culture) that values material goods, I wonder if I am particularly selfish for not wanting to deal with the stress and headaches of grumpy customers standing in line at the stores. Luckily though, I am American by birth so although my religion may differ from the majority, I still blend in rather effortlessly with society. Other groups, such as new immigrants to this country struggle with many obstacles as they adapt to their new home. They must learn a new language, find employment and maybe need to attain some education to help them gain the financial means to support their families. This can present huge difficulties to immigrants since Americans predominantly speak English and the business world can show prejudice towards people who do not have adequate training in American based education systems. New immigrants must also learn the laws of our nation and the subliminal norms that we hold. One popular norm, for example, being that little boys wear blue and girls wear pink. Being part of the dominant culture I do not have to worry about figuring out such subliminal norms, I learned them as I grew up in this society. Nor do I have to worry about building socioeconomic status and attaining education and training in American schools to find and adequate job. I have already had that training, and luckily a stable financial background for building my own monetary status. Also, one of the blessings of being in the dominant culture allows me to understand how to behave in public gatherings. I know that I am not supposed to talk in class, or speak out loud during funerals. As an American I should not often show emotion either, crying in public is somewhat taboo. We tell our children to suck it up, or act like a big boy or girl when they have the urge to cry. These few examples show the norms that we learn growing up as American that other groups have to face and adapt to when living in the nation. Getting back to the issue of religion, standing outside of the cultural norm in terms of popular faiths has its benefits. When voting, I do not have to depend upon a candidate’s religious background or goals to help me decide which person I think would make a better leader. As I have mentioned before I also do not have to spend a great deal of money on gifts for various Christian celebrations either. When crisis strikes, such as the priest scandal ongoing in the Catholic Church, I do not have to worry that my children have been hurt by people we call on to save our souls or connect us to the Divine. One thing I do enjoy is that I can give to charity of my own choosing and am not obligated to give part of my funds to any one church. Overall, standing outside of the cultural norms of Christianity in the American culture has benefits, some of which have been mentioned in this essay. Being an American born citizen also gives me great advantages to help me blend into the society despite my varying religious beliefs. Other individuals such as immigrants have to struggle with things like learning a new language, discovering subliminal social norms, and attaining adequate education in the American school system that mainstream society does not have to worry about. I believe that I am very lucky to have the ability to stand both inside and outside of popular culture, because it gives me a well rounded perspective as to how both sides, the â€Å"included† and the â€Å"excluded† can feel. References Dubois, N. (Ed.). (2002). A Sociocognitive Approach to Social Norms. New York: Routledge. Miller, B. D. (2004). Cultural Anthropology (2nd Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Pettit, P. (2002). Rules, Reasons, and Norms: Selected Essays. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Red Bull Marketing Analysis

Red Bull is the leader of the energy drink market. This company created in 1984 by Dietrich Mateschitz performs an annual turnover of more than 3 billion Euros. As we will see in this report, polemics, nonconformist, genius marketing are, among others, the ingredients that made Red Bull the star product of Energy Drink Segment in the world. For more than 20 years, Red Bull has managed to establish itself brilliantly in the world, which, despite the widespread economic gloom, has always taken a growing interest for this new drink. In this report, we will analyse Red Bull and the environment in which the company evolves, its target and positioning trough marketing tools. It will enable us to understand how Red Bull managed to reach its leader position and to think about some recommendations to further improve its strategy. Why did we choose Red Bull? Most of the people have one day see or heard about the brand Red Bull. Red Bull is an energy drink that comes from the adaptation of the Thai energy drink â€Å"Krating Daeng†, which means â€Å"Red Bull†. There are several reasons that explain why we choose Red Bull Company. The first reason of our choice results in a cultural factor. In fact Red Bull is a product that is targeting young customers. It means that, students are the most concerned by Red Bull so this is a product that can affect any of us. Besides it is a â€Å"trendy product† in others words a fashionable product: nowadays everyone has already tasted a Red Bull. The second reason that pushes us to choose Red Bull Company was because of their Marketing communication, which is revolutionary. Some observers say that Red Bull uses an â€Å"anti-brand† strategy. In fact, the company avoided usual methods of marketing, relying more on what is called ‘buzz marketing' or word-of-mouth: â€Å"viral marketing†. A brand image was created and cultivated which associated the drink with youth culture and extreme and adventure-related sports, such as motor sports, mountain biking, snowboarding†¦ In addition, we also choose Red Bull because without Red Bull there would not even be a market for the other products currently crowding the shelves. Thus, sales of the drink grew quickly from the beginning and Red Bull dominates the world’s energy-drink market with a 40% market share. Finally, what influences our choice too, was because Red Bull even being the leader has to face on how to build on its incredible sales growth and about all, and has to face the health issues concerning the effects of drinking Red Bull. Executive Summary A thorough analysis of Red Bull concludes that the company was set up the Energy Drink Market thanks to its own product, Red Bull energy drink. In fact, without Red Bull there would not even be a market for the other products currently massing the shelves. Now Red Bull is energizing people around the globe, touching down in over a hundred countries worldwide. The Red Bull consumers can be divided into two segments: Students (and Clubbers) and workers. Each of them uses the Red Bull energy drinks to meet their personal needs. At the same time they can obtain physical edges, mental edges or just consumption for pleasure. The ambitions of Red Bull are: maintaining the top-brand status in the energy drink market and clearly distinguish themselves from their competitors, who are marketing almost the same product but with extremely low prices. Red Bull uses every ways of marketing to reach their target groups. Their marketing is mainly based on the â€Å"3 pillars of Red Bull: Sampling, Advertising and sponsoring†. In this way Red Bull is not just promoting their energy drink but is also selling a lifestyle, seemingly people are willing to be a part of this Red Bull extreme sports lifestyle. Due to these extensive marketing efforts Red Bull obtained, and still is maintaining, the largest market share (70%) in the energy drinks market. As initiator of the energy drinks market, Red Bull holds a truly unique product. However the competition is high. Their main objectives are: maintain the lead and expand the market to Asia and Western Europe. To achieve these objectives they can create new products â€Å"Black Red Bull† and focus on new target group such as the younger’s (13-15) and the older (35-50). Company Presentation Dietrich Mateschitz founded the company Red Bull GmbH in 1984. GmbH is the German equivalent of a limited liability company; it stands for ‘Gesellshaft mit beschrankter Haftung'. The company's origins, though, lie in the owner's time spent in Asia. He came across products known as ‘tonic drinks' and saw the chance to market functional drinks outside Asia. One of these tonics, which came from Thailand and was used by workers to stay awake during their shifts, was called Krating Daeng or ‘Red Bull'. Mateschitz approached the manufacturers of the drink and bought the foreign licensing rights in exchange for a 51% stake in his company. When Mateschitz launched the drink in his native Austria, he decided to target young professionals, rather than factory workers, as this younger segment of the population was more affluent and more appreciative of a trendy marketing campaign. The Austrian market has been the first to commercialize the blue and red can with its famous slogan â€Å"It gives you wings†. Today, Red bull company has a turnover of 3 billion euro a year which increased of 7,9% in 2008. The drink is present in 160 countries in the world and it’s the third soda drunk in Europe just behind Pepsi and Coca. Red Bull operates within the energy drinks sector of the soft drinks market. This product is an example of a ‘functional' drink. Functional foods respond to consumer interest in well being and performance. The major multinational soft drinks companies are investing in the area of functional drinks, developing their own brands and buying up existing ones. This is seen as being important, given that their traditional soft drinks markets are at the maturity stage in many countries. For these multinationals, new functional drinks offer opportunities for renewed business growth. Nevertheless, the product was forbidden in some European countries because of the taurine effects and a high rate of caffeine with the European precaution law. But for a few years, mentality evolves and countries are more open-minded and could commercialise this product. In 2010, Red bull is present in 25 European countries but not yet in Denmark for health safety as the Canada. This drink is supposed to give energy to the costumer thanks to a mixture of different ingredients (caffeine, guarana, taurine). The main target is the teenagers and young adults (16-35 years old). We can observe that, it would be pertinent to target teenagers in order to appeal more consumers of energy drink. This drink is sold four times more expensive than others drinks; today it’s  £ 1,60. We can find this product in shops but also in nightclubs. Red Bull has an aggressive international marketing campaign. The numerous sponsored activities range from extreme sports like windsurfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, kayaking, wake boarding, cliff diving, surfing, skating, freestyle motocross, rally, Formula 1 racing (World Champion 2010), and break dancing to art shows, music, and video games. In keeping with their target market of young males, Red Bull has also enlisted help from celebrities, such as Eminem that would appeal to this group (sponsoring the Red Bull â€Å"Em See Battle Rap championships†). It also hosts events like the Red Bull Flugtag and other such contests. Red Bull also sponsors soccer teams, with clubs in Austria, Germany, The United States and Brazil featuring the Red Bull trademark in their names. By associating the drink's image with these activities, the company seeks to promote a â€Å"cool† public image and raise brand power. In addition, the slender container is used to suggest a â€Å"sexier† image than some other cola counterparts. The Red Bull brand is associated with a designer image, energy-giving properties and glamorous lifestyles. These brand qualities have been developed through company sponsorship of sporting activities such as: motorsports, winter sports, base jumping, mountain biking; and cultural events such as the Red Bull Music Academy.

Indudtrialisation, Class & Culture: The Early Victorians Essay

Dorothy Thompson was born on 9 July 1893 in Lancaster, New York, to a Methodist pastor and his wife. Her mother died when she was eight years old. She was sent in 1908 to relatives in Chicago, as a result of her frequent disagreements with her stepmother. (â€Å"Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). † In 1914, Thompson graduated from Syracuse University, after which she joined the women’s suffrage movement. In 1917, she moved to New York and started a career as a journalist. (â€Å"Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). † She tried to exercise her career in Germany, beginning in 1920. After five years, she already â€Å"headed the Berlin bureau of the New York Post and the Public Ledger. † However, in 1934, she was forced to vacate Germany due to her negative writings about Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. Thereafter, she returned to America to write political editorials and commentaries. As a prominent journalist, she was considered one of the most influential women in America. She was also the â€Å"most syndicated woman journalist in the country. † She wrote many political articles, mainly relating to the Nazis, but she also wrote about women’s issues, since she wrote a monthly column for the Ladies Home Journal entitled â€Å"On the Record. † (â€Å"Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). † One of the commentaries Thompson wrote concerning women was her opinion about women in the Victorian age. According to her, women at that time were considered and treated as outsiders in society. This paper shall examine the validity of her conclusion by looking at the historical and societal events during the Victorian period, particularly those relating to the role of women in all aspects of Victorian life. Victorian Theory The starting point of this inquiry could be the perception of those who lived in the Victorian Age of matters relating to sex and sexuality. Scholars believe that theories relating to sex and sexuality were â€Å"unavoidable issues for the Victorians. † (Lee). The primary impression about men and women of the Victorian age is that they are pedantic and sexually repressed. However, this prevalent view has been constantly questioned and even challenged through historical accounts. (Lee). This matter, however, is not the most significant aspect of Victorian theory of sex and sexuality that is relevant to Thompson’s assertions. The more important question involves the determination of the treatment of men and women in Victorian society. More particularly, it is important to know the basis of such treatment. Victorian men and women were generally not regarded as equals. Men were seen as superior to women; and as a consequence of this perception, women were delegated roles of less importance in society while men took on the more important ones. Victorian Theorists Spencer and Geddes Herbert Spencer and Patrick Geddes were the leading theorists in the Victorian Age who probed the issue of sexuality and gender differentiation. They immediately took notice of the differences in physical and physiological aspects of men and women. Aside from this, they saw in men and women two different sets of attributes, which formed the basis of their stereotypical dyadic model based on the two sexes. (Lee). Led by these two, Victorian theorists divided the sphere of men and women into two, and delegated certain tasks to men and women, based on their perceived differences. It is believed that the differences in their attributes began form the earlier forms of life. (Lee). The foundation of this division of sphere was the belief that men and women had different energy levels. Men were considered as the â€Å"active agents,† while women were considered sedentary. To men were attributed the katabolic nature of temperament, which means they release energy, while to women were attributed the anabolic nature of temperament, which nurtured energy. (Lee). The Division of Spheres and its Biological Foundation The division of spheres between men and women in the Victorian Age is primarily based on biological grounds. It was believed that men’s role in the home is only fertilization, which leaves him free to do other, more energy-consuming activities, such as hunting or foraging. Moreover, it was believed that only men had the capacity for abstract reasoning, a sign of â€Å"highly-evolved life. † (Lee). On the other hand, women were constantly seen in the home beset by biological occurrences, such as pregnancy and menstruation. This led to the notion that women were passive and weak, that they can no longer pursue other activities outside the home. It should be noted that at this point in time, menstruation was believed to be a time of woman’s â€Å"illness, debilitation, and temporary insanity. † Thus, women were told to stay home to save her energy, while men were allowed to pursue other activities outside the home. Geddes’ theories were more sweeping. He claimed that not only did men possess greater intelligence and energy than women, they also had greater independence and courage. It was apparent that Geddes found this assertion unfair to women, and so he attributed certain characteristics to them. However, these attributes were still of a domestic nature; namely, â€Å"constancy of affection and sympathetic imagination. † While men were given the attribute of intelligence, women were limited to the gift of rapid intuition. In addition, women were given passive attributes such as great patience, open-mindedness, and a keen appreciation of subtle details. (Lee). The â€Å"Family Claim† Jane Addams discussed another, more degrading pattern found in the lives of women in the Victorian Age. She called it the â€Å"family claim. † (â€Å"Life for Women†). According to Addams, Victorian women were considered as mere possessions by their families. Men were initially given the same regard, but such treatment waned by the end of the 18th century. (â€Å"Life for Women†). This notion of the â€Å"family claim† was grounded on many reasons, the foremost of which is the role of Victorian women in the home. To women were delegated most, if not all, of the housework, such as cleaning, cooking and aiding ailing people. Another factor that underlies the â€Å"family claim† is the women’s role in birth and child rearing. She is the one seen as responsible for carrying a child in her womb, and the one responsible for caring for the infant after the latter was born. Women were also responsible for birth control, such that unplanned pregnancy can be blamed to tem and not to the men. (â€Å"Life for Women†). Finally, women at the time did not have money-making occupations, as their main activities were domestic. Hence, the control of the family over women, who were seen as dependents on the men for support, was considerably great. (â€Å"Life for Women†). Women’s Profession and Education As gleaned from the above discussion, women lived in a state that is only a tad better than slaves. Since only men were seen as capacitated to work for a living, most, if not all, women had no independent means of subsistence. This leaves women with no other better choice than to obey the men. Moreover, women were not allowed to follow any occupation, as such is not part of their duties, which all belong in the home. These situations are based on even more fundamental difference in treatment. Only boys were allowed access to universities; thus women received less education than boys. This aggravated the problem of women concerning employment and independent means of living. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). Marriage The institution of marriage was another factor that contributed to the unpleasant treatment of women in the Victorian Age. The concept of marriage during the period was fraught with many notions and beliefs about women and their role and society. Most of these notions were negative and demeaning, and had no other function than to emphasize the higher position occupied by the husband in the home hierarchy. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). Since women had no opportunity to earn a living independently during the Victorian Age, most had no choice but to marry someone who could provide such necessities for her. Moreover, women who expressed their desire to remain unmarried were not regarded favorably and were condemned to social disapproval. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). This primary motivation for women to marry in the Victorian age was due to their lack of sufficient education. Women were only taught domestic duties and were left uneducated in other, more important aspects of life. Moreover, women were told at such a young age that they have to marry someday, as their future roles would only be as wives. (â€Å"Women’s Issues Then and Now†). The situation gets even worse after a woman gets married. Everything that she owns, including herself, becomes property of the husband. This means that the man can do anything to the woman without her express consent. The man is also authorized by law to exercise complete control and dominion over his wife’s body. The marriage contract contains â€Å"a vow to obey her husband. † Thus, a married woman has no choice but to obey her husband and allow him access to her body if he wants the same. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). Marriage was an instrument by which women experienced great degradation. They were non-entities in all aspects of life, especially in law. â€Å"Women were, under the law, ‘legally incompetent and irresponsible. ’† Thus, they cannot act except where their husbands gave their consent thereto. In addition, they were afforded neither legal rights nor personal property. (â€Å"Women in the Victorian Age†). Marriage was also an instrument for the further strengthening of the notion that women were mere objects or chattels, owned by their husbands. Thus, under the law, â€Å"a husband and wife are one person, and the husband is that person. † Only husbands had the right to act, women were mere passive actors in Victorian society. (â€Å"Women in the Victorian Age†). The unfortunate existence of women during this period was dramatically described by Florence Fenwick Miller in 1890, thus: Under exclusively man-made laws women have been reduced to the most abject condition of legal slavery in which it is possible for human beings to be held†¦ under the arbitrary domination of another’s will, and dependent for decent treatment exclusively on the goodness of heart of the individual master. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). The Deviant View of Victorian Women Amidst the prevalent view of women as slaves or property of men or their families, there is a rather atypical notion of women during the Victorian Age. This notion placed women on a pedestal and treated them as goddesses. They were even worshipped in some accounts. This concept of women was reflected primarily in Victorian novels, movies and television shows. (â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview†). However, this notion is too much of a contradiction to the real state of affairs in the Victorian Age. The real situation consisted of the different treatment between men and women, particularly as to their rights, duties, education and occupation. Personal Viewpoint This writer agrees with the assertion of Dorothy Thompson that women were treated as â€Å"outsiders† during the Victorian Age. Having seen the disadvantaged position of women from that period, such conclusion is inescapable. Women were not allowed to participate in relevant affairs because they were seen as the â€Å"weaker sex. † Despite proof that they are able to take on great responsibilities and that they possess intelligence as much as men, Victorian society did not see them fit to acquire sufficient education to equip them with skills to earn independent living. Women had been the pillars of the Victorian home, but they were degraded by placing them under the control and supervision of their husbands or their families. Worse, women had been treated inhumanely, as they were regarded as chattels or property for the longest time. Men and women were divided into two spheres, despite the lack of basis to do so aside from mere physical makeup and biased social conclusions. Men were seen as the active actors while women were seen as the passive actors. These attributes were ascribed to men and women, despite the fortitude manifested by women in performing all the duties assigned to her by society. Given all these, it is easy to agree to the proposition that men had been considered as mere outsiders in Victorian society, next only to men who were the ones who enjoyed preferential status, with all the benefits appurtenant thereto. Works Cited â€Å"Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961). † Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. 11 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Late Victorian England. † 10 Dec. 2006 . Lee, Elizabeth. â€Å"Victorian Theories of Sex and Sexuality. † 1997. 10 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Life for Women. † 10 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Queen Victoria and Victorian England – the Young Queen. † 10 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Women in the Victorian Age. † 10 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Women’s Issues Then and Now. † 11 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Women’s Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview. † 11 Dec. 2006 .