My Antonia Essay: Psychoanalytic Criticism -- My Antonia Essays

Psychoanalytic Criticism of My Antonia  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract: This essay uses psychoanalysis as the strategy of interpretation to read Willa Cather's My Antonia.   Freud's well-known theory--the Oedipus complex--and Lacan's theory of the Mirror Stage are used as the modes of approaching the novel.    I use psychoanalytic criticism as a means of interpreting Willa Cather's My Antonia because I find some similarities between My Antonia and Peter Pan, between that and The Awakening when reading Keith Green's Critical Theory and Practice: A Coursebook.    In the light of Freud's Oedipus complex, like Peter Pan who sees Windy as a lover and mother, and who develops his sexual identity through this complex, Jim Burden also has a mother-like lover, Antonia, and finally comes to take his sexualized and gendered identity in this world. In the view of Lacan's Mirror Stage, like Edna Pontellier who wishes to return to her childhood memory, to return to the world of the Imaginary, in which "sometimes I feel this summer as if I were walking through the green meadow again; idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided" (Chopin 520), Jim Burden recollects his boyhood living in the great midland plain of North America where he feels he and Nature are one, but, unlike Edna who goes back and does not come back, Jim goes into the realm of the Imaginary and comes back to the Symbolic, experiencing the process of the Mirror Stage. These are the reasons why I try to apply psychoanalysis in the interpretation of the novel. General ideas will be given after t he summery of the novel.    Willa Cather's My Antonia begins with Jim Burden's "an interminable journey across the great prairie of North America" (Cather 5), a journey back ... ...one sometimes finds one's self behaving in bad dream" (Cather 158). After then, he feels he never want to see Antonia again; and he hates her as much as he hates Cutter. This accident pushes Jim to leave Antonia and to go to Lincoln for study.    The relationship between psychoanalysis and Willa Cather's My Antonia has not been defined. I hope that this essay is the first step towards seeing this wonderful novel from a new perspective.    Works Cited Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Boston: Hougton Mifflin, 1988. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 1989. 508-598. Green, Keith, and Jill Lebihan. Critical Theory & Practice: A Coursebook. New York: Routledge, 1996. Wright, Elizabeth. Psychoanalytic Criticism: Theory in Practice. New York: Methuen,1984.      

Case Study: Ocean Carriers Essay

Executive summary Ocean Carriers is contemplating the opportunity of stipulating a 3-year leasing contract that would require commissioning the construction of a new vessel. In the short term applied hire rates are decreasing, just as they should be on the recovery side starting 2003. While signing a new client and therefore expanding the business, the aforementioned investment should be undertaken in Hong Kong. Furthermore, a 15year project is preferable, thus scrapping the vessel at an estimated price of $5M in order to reinvest that amount and avoid facing heavier upcoming costs. Although the longer lasting project (25 years) guarantees a higher net present value and forecasted rates seem to be increasing, less agility on future market occasions, increasing hire rates volatility and risks to bear for the corporation must be considered. Moreover, the alleged strong correlation between number of shipments and hire rates is being questioned. Summary of facts Provided that Ocean carrier’s fleet doesn’t present a ship which meets the new customer’s requirements and that a fairly long time is needed to build a new one, the management has to decide in 2001 whether to commission a vessel for a 3-year time charter beginning in 2003 at an initial daily hire rate of $20,000 growing at a pace of $200  per year of contract. Statement of the problem Many factors are to be considered such as the daily hire rate and operating cost trends, the supply and demand of iron ore and steel which form the 85% of capesize dry bulk carriers’ shipments. The headquarter location, on which the tax regime depends, is too a  critical decision: while in Hong Kong the operations would be exempt from tax, they would account for 35% on profit in New York. Analysis For a better comprehension of the problem, we first focused on some possible outcomes depending on supply and demand tendency. In the short term, an excess of supply (63 new vessels) and no major forces influencing the demand will cause the hire rates to drop. Also, if the consulting group is to be fully trusted, a sharp decrease in iron ore vessel shipments will drive down prices as well. Looking at a longer horizon, supply and demand drivers are mainly, for the latter, the world economy as a whole and trade patterns i.e. the longer distance the more demand, and for the former the efficiency and size of vessels (negative correlation), the demand for shipping capacity and the age of the ships. These factors reveal positive long-term effects. Due to Australian ad Indian demand rocketing, exports will expand along with higher trading volume. Moreover, Ocean carriers presents an advantage with regards to their ships: they are bigger and newer thus deserving a plus 15% factor over standard prices. Nevertheless, adverse aspects should be taken into account as well, such as the inefficiency in building a new vessel (2 years) which could lead to a growing demand for net working capital in order to strengthen the company’s financial position and make it able to face sudden cash outflows. In addition, given their better growth pattern, Ocean Carriers should favour the spot and not the time daily hire rates instead of locking themselves up in long term, less flexible contracts. Our view for the long run is definitely positive though not outstanding, with future growth resembling the inflation level. Considering the mentioned facts as well as all the assumptions, the choice that has to be made will be primarily influenced by the daily hire rates. These factors are the most  volatile and difficult to predict and influence income, profit and finally cash-flows. Ms  Linn’s decision should evaluate different and unpleasant outcomes before taking a decision based only on cash-flows’ NPV.   Firstly, when comparing Hong Kong’s and new York’s NPV, the no tax zone is clearly the better choice (see table 3 and 4 for calculations), with the 35% straight-line american taxation killing most of the profits from the investment’s first years. Even if we consider an accelerated depreciation system (MACRS) and compare equivalent profits, annuity figures are still worse for taxed areas (graph 3). From this calculation we begin to see how actual cash-flow equivalent annuities are not markedly different between the 15 and 25-year no-tax projects. If accurately analysed, inter-period NPVs show an unexpected picture (table and graph 1). If the reinvestment of the scrap value could guarantee a real rate of return similar to the discount used (discount rate=9%,inflation rate=3%,real discount=5,83%), the two NPVs move closer. This partially explains why, of the two, the shorter investment is the best : a substantial chunk of the 25-year project’s NPV (74%) is created in the latter period of the investment (2017-2027) when prices are hardly predictable, more volatile and easily influenced by present expectations. $610.159,93 supplementary cash income are not worth 10 more years of holding period: operating and survey costs become too heavy to sustain the additional period of investment. We carried on our analysis by looking at the hire rates and their expected value. The strong correlation between charter rates and shipments reported by the consulting firm is now being took into consideration (table and graph 2). The outsourced analysis states that when shipment numbers rise so should the same charter rates. Unfortunately this is wrong under a statistical point of view: whilst shipments and 3-year hire rates seem actually slightly related, the number of shipments and the spot rates go surprisingly in  the opposite direction (Pearson correlation index=(0.3783)). Hence, long term NPV needs to be managed carefully being based on assumptions not  entirely true. Recommendations The 15-year, no-tax investment is the right choice.  The NPV of this project turns out to be positive, leading us to recommend the signature of the contract. Turning down this operation would mean wasting future earnings. Furthermore, the 25-year project is unsafe : it could dry out the company’s cash and equivalents and prevent the reinvestment of the scrap value ($5M) in more profitable projects. The extra return doesn’t justify a 10 year longer investment based on many unreliable assumptions, not supported by statistical data and which does not grant the flexibility that a shorter one would.

Ancestry of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia to a long line of preachers. His father, Martin Luther King, Sr. was a pastor for the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. His maternal grandfather, the Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, was famous for his fiery sermons. His great-grandfather, Willis Williams, was a slave-era preacher. Family Tree of Martin Luther King Jr. This family tree uses the Ahnentafel Genealogical Numbering System. First Generation: 1. Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael L. King on 15 January 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and was assassinated on 4 April 1968 during a visit to Memphis, Tennessee. In 1934, his father -- perhaps inspired by a visit to the birthplace of Protestantism in Germany -- is said to have changed his name and that of his son to Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Jr. married Coretta Scott King (27 April 1927 - 1 January 2006) on 18 June 1953 on the lawn of her parents home in Marion, Alabama. The couple had four children: Yolanda Denise King (b. 17 November 1955), Martin Luther King III (b. 23 October 1957), Dexter Scott King (b. 30 January 1961) and Bernice Albertine King (b. 28 March 1963). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was laid to rest in the historically black South-View Cemetery in Atlanta, but his remains were later moved to a tomb located on the grounds of the King Center, adjacent to Ebenezer Baptist Church. Second Generation (Parents): 2. Michael KING, often called Daddy King was born on 19 Dec 1899 in Stockbridge, Henry County, Georgia and died of a heart attack on 11 November 1984 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is buried with his wife at South-View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. 3. Alberta Christine WILLIAMS was born on 13 September 1903 in Atlanta, Georgia. She was shot to death on 30 June 1974 while she played the organ at Sunday service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and is buried with her husband in South-View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther KING Sr. and Alberta Christine WILLIAMS were married on 25 November 1926 in Atlanta, Georgia, and had the following children: i. Willie Christine KING was born 11 September 1927 and married Isaac FARRIS, Sr.1 ii. Martin Luther KING, Jr.iii. Alfred Daniel Williams KING was born 30 July 1930, married Naomi BARBER, and died 21 July 1969. The Rev. A. D. King is buried in South-View Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia. Third Generation (Grandparents): 4. James Albert KING was born about December 1864 in Ohio. He died on 17 November 1933 in Atlanta, Georgia, four years after the birth of his grandson, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 5. Delia LINSEY was born about July 1875 in Henry County, Georgia, and died 27 May 1924. James Albert KING and Delia LINSEY were married 20 August 1895 in Stockbridge, Henry County, Georgia and had the following children: i. Woodie KING born abt. April 18962. ii. Michael KINGiii. Lucius KING was born abt. Sept. 1899 and died before 1910.iv. Lenora KING was born abt. 1902v.Cleo KING was born abt. 1905vi. Lucila KING was born abt. 1906vii. James KING Jr was born abt. 1908viii. Rubie KING was born abt. 1909 6. Rev. Adam Daniel WILLIAMS was born on the 2 January 1863 in Penfield, Greene County, Georgia to slaves Willis and Lucretia Williams. and died 21 March 1931. 7. Jenny Celeste PARKS was born about April 1873 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia and died of a heart attack on 18 May 1941 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Adam Daniel WILLIAMS and Jenny Celeste PARKS were married on 29 October 1899 in Fulton County, Georgia, and had the following children: 3. i. Alberta Christine WILLIAMS