Foreshadowing and Dramatic Irony in Death and the Maiden Essay

Foreshadowing is the warning or the indication that something else is going to happen later on in the story. In Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman uses this literary device to the maximum, exploring all the different ways he can make the reader predict or foresee what’s going to happen next. However, Dorfman also takes on the audience’s ideas and implements dramatic irony, giving the plot a twist of events and making the audience question themselves and their own theories as to why the character acts that way or why the author set things as they are. Dorfman takes the idea of dramatic irony when referring to the characters and their roles in the play. The greatest contrast in the play is between Paulina and Gerardo. Paulina Salas, a forty year old woman, waits for her husband late at night when she sees a car come towards her house. At first, Paulina is presented as the typical housewife, scared, insecure, loyal and loving towards her husband, who might even feel inferior, since she feels safer and secure when she has the gun. There is, however, an understatement, between the roles Paulina and her husband, Gerardo Escobar, play. First he calls her ‘Poor little love’ (Act 1, Scene 1, p. 4) and continues to see her as his little, dependant, fragile, used woman, that can only do what women at the time were supposed to do; housework. Yet, during their conversations she only gives him sharp, short responses, most of the time seeming even a bit harsh: GERARDO: I’m really not in the mood for arguing, but we had agreed that†¦ PAULINA: You were supposed to do it. I take care of the house, and you take care of- GERARDO: You don’t want help but afterward you†¦ PAULINA: -the car at least. GERARDO: †¦afterward you complain. PAULINA: I never complain. GERARDO: This is an absurd discussion. What’re we fighting about? I’ve already forgotten what we†¦ PAULINA: We’re not fighting, darling. You accused me of not fixing your spare†¦ (Death and the Maiden, Act 1, Scene 1) This conversation shapes the idea of gender roles in the play, and how later on she becomes ‘in-charge’ and Gerardo becomes the ‘wife’, she wants to be in control, wants to have authority, but in a more passive-aggressive manner. In addition, one can also argue about Paulina’s love-hate  relationship with Gerardo, as she is clearly very emotionally attached to him, yet seems as though she treats him with a sort of disrespect or harsh manner. Paulina’s strange relationship also brings the audience to question this woman’s sense of judgment, and maybe even her past. Ironically, later she refers to him as ‘my little man’, contrasting with how he called her, and making sure that Gerardo knows that he is her husband, and she’s in charge. Furthermore, Dorfman shows the dramatic irony in the gender roles once Paulina finds out about Doctor Miranda and gets the gun. At the beginning of the play, the gun was a sign of safety and security, and by the climax, she uses the gun to manipulate Roberto and Gerardo to do what she wants, and what she thinks is ‘fair’. GERARDO: Paulina, I’m asking you to please give me that gun. PAULINA: No. GERARDO: While you point it at me, there is no possible dialogue. PAULINA: On the contrary, as soon as I stop pointing it at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If it put it down, you’ll use your strength to win the argument. (Death and the Maiden, Act 1, scene 4, pgs- 24-25) Paulina knows that without the gun, she is hopeless. Her own husband won’t listen to her, and they think she’s completely crazy. All she wants is justice and to make things even between her presumable rapist, Dr. Miranda, and her. However, the ‘strength’ she’s is referring to is open to the audience’s interpretation. It might have something to do with his metaphorical strength, his job as a lawyer, is to bring out justice and put things back the way they were; the way things have always been done. A more farfetched idea is that it could be a reference to his physical strength, since men are generally stronger than women, which relates to the fact that Paulina was raped and tortured, making reference to sort of, in a way, daring him to physically win over her. In conclusion, Ariel Dorfman uses foreshadowing to help the audience shape their own ideas and theories regarding the play, yet uses dramatic irony to, in a way, twist the plot to sort of give it an interesting turn of events, like the gender roles in Death and the Maiden? and give the audience something they hadn’t thought of, hence, the irony.

Project Management and Community Members Essay

TopCoder has a very unique and different model with respect to the traditional companies. As a senior manager, I would need to build following capabilities: Firstly, build manpower to oversee a community of over 200,000 members and direct the process of competition based software development. The emphasis would be on not managing individuals but managing the process of participation, fostering community participation and community growth. Secondly, focus on building a critical mass of talent and coding capacity to run many competitions and produce solutions for clients at the same time. This would require attracting new members into the community through more challenges and contents, doing online advertising and member development days. Thirdly, build norms by maintaining the highest standards of contest integrity, transparency and quality. Strictly monitor competitions and maintain consistency of procedures. Fourthly, provide the right governance. Involve the views of the community members as well in the decision making process and treat them as driver along with establishing a fair peer review scoring system. Fifthly, do the right resource allocation. Allocate community resources and control contest participation across the number of contests. This is because unlike traditional firms, Topcoder cannot assign specific people to a task or project. Focus would be on to set the prize amount, duration and timing of contest and the number of competitors. Sixthly, work towards retaining community members and encourage future contest participation. Supply community members with consistent work stream and prize money. Dedicate significant resources to facilitate forum discussions and encourage members to engage in the community. On the demand side, as a manager, I would need to guide clients through the contest-based software development process, provide suggestions for contest prize amounts, gather feedback between contests and provide project status updates to clients. In case of technical problem, get the problem fixed through the appropriate community members. Manage client expectations and serve as a board for client concerns. Additionally, educate the clients on how to use the TopCoder platform to manage the contest-based software development process themselves.

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 2 Case Assignment Essay

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 2 Case Assignment - Essay Example The proponents of rent control cite inflation and lack of affordability of housing units, arguing that shelter is a basic need that government policy should address. High rents would discourage industries because relocation of workers would be costly, and the arbitrary or unreasonable raising of rents of landlords, exercising their market power, can force workers to move out of areas of employment, with attendant high costs to them. Therefore some kind of control is necessary. The proponents also argue that present conditions are not really that bad for the landlords because of "vacancy decontrol" allowed, when they can raise the rent to about market clearing level once a tenant moves out. Also in some areas, new construction is exempt from rent control, no doubt a compromise solution to the possible incidence of urban decay caused by lack of maintenance of rental properties subject to rent control. There are also tax deductions that landlords are allowed to make on the properties - such as those that pertain to depreciation and real estate taxes. In some jurisdictions, landlords are allowed to raise rents at a certain ratio in relation to the increase in the Consumer Price Index, say, 60 per cent. It is not as bad for landlords as it is often portrayed. Those who are against rent control are numerous and preponderant. Many studies have confirmed that rent control benefits tenants and harms landlords (Nicholson, 1997). Even in the 1950s, waiting times for new apartments in Sweden were said to have reached 3 years because of the shortage. Secondly, rent controls affect housing quality: Landlords can refuse to do maintenance and repair work on the pertinent unit thus reducing their quality and the supply of units. If tenants insist that maintenance work be done, landlords can always tell them to leave if they are unhappy. The deterioration of housing units subject to rent control is such that Vietnamese Foreign Minister

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors Research Proposal

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors - Research Proposal Example With every organization wanting to expand their reach and make an imprint in various markets, there will be enough opportunities for it, to initiate that expansion drive. So, when the organization has enough opportunities, it can set targets and formulate various strategies to achieve those targets and thereby beat off the competitors. Every organization’s survival and success in the light of stiff competition hinges on the success of its main or flagship product. It is the ‘key’ that opens the door of success or profit. So, for an organization to survive in a competitive market, and to increase its profits in an optimum manner, its products have to be marketed optimally. Toeing that line, this report will determine the current marketing strategy of General Motors. Then, the report will evaluate the strategies in view of its existing business environment, recommended improvements that would enable them to compete more effectively. General Motors Corporation (GM), a multinational corporation, was founded in 1908 as a holding company for a firm called Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant. Now, it functions as a conglomerate manufacturing and selling, cars and trucks under the brands of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Each of these brands has a number of cars and trucks under its division or arm. Even though, they are manufactured in one unit, vehicles coming under each brand are most times marketed differentially and some times in unison. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan (USA), GM manufactures automobiles in 35 countries, capturing a sizeable portion of the world market share. GM was thus acknowledged as the worlds largest automaker, based on global industry sales. GM was able to hold on to this top position for the last 77 calendar years. But, its reign as the top automaker was threatened in the last few years. Apart from the intens e competition put