Symbols and Symbolism Essay - Symbolism in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. And it is used through "The Great Gatsby." Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing the characters wear. There are three major symbolic elements used in the novel, they are water, colors, and religion. Water to me seems to mean "wasted, and or lost time." I believe this because of several reasons. One being that he is separated from Daisy by an island sound. Gatsby wishes that the island sound be gone so that there will be no obstacle between him and Daisy, and he also wishes for time to be gone, the island sound seems to represent the distance of "lost time." Another is that in one of Gatsby's parties people start dancing in the water, displaying how they waste their time day after day with no real purpose. Gatsby's only purpose and ambition in life was to get back with Daisy, but after he starts to realize that it will not happen and that he has been consumed by wasted time he goes for a swim inside a pool he had never before used and is murdered. Another symbolic element is color. Several colors if not all are symbolic in the great Gatsby the more noticeable being white, green, and yellow. The first time Nick meets his cousin Daisy at Tom's and Daisy's home, she was dressed totally in white. So as the house and its furnishings are also tuned in light shades. This fact might be interpreted as beauty, cleanliness, wealth, innocence, virginity and also laziness. Daisy's color is white, she wears white dresses and recalls her "white girlhood", and this use of color helps her to characterize her as the unattainable "enchanted princess" who becomes personified as Gatsby' s dream. The green light at the end of Daisy's Buchanan' s dock, becomes a key image in "The Great Gatsby." The initial appearance of the green light occurs when Carraway sees Gatsby for the first time, standing in front of his mansion and stretching out his arms to `a single green light, minute and far away that might have been the end of dock' (p.

A History of Melody Essay

The violin emerged from a primitive musical bow, usually an arched stick with a string stretched taut between the two ends (Hughes, 2008). The string is divided by a loop or a bridge (Thinkquest, 1999). The first bridge was used to add to the instruments’ resonance when the string was vibrated, and strings were attached across suitable receptacles (Hughes, 2008). These resonance enhancers took many forms-tortoise shells, coconut, calabash, wooden boxes and even pig bladders (Thinkquest, 1999), thrust tightly between the strings and the bow (Thinkquest, 1999). Also to enhance the resonance of the bow, the instrument was held before the mouth (Thinkquest, 1999). The violin probably came to Europe around the 9th century, mostly originating from Asia (Thinkquest, 1999). It took the evolutionary process of the violin about 450 years to bring the violin to its present form. This only shows the long years of experience needed by the makers of the stringed instrument (Thinkquest, 1999). The use of a bow to draw across the strings followed, probably imported into Europe from Asia by Arab travellers (Hughes, 2008). The evolution of the violin was slow. It took until the middle Ages for a version of the zither, a popular and older instrument, to evolve into the vielle, which saw the instrument being held against the shoulder. This differentiated it from the zither, as the latter was held across the knees (Hughes, 2008). As time went on, the original one string grew to four, and for a time, five strings (Hughes, 2008). Fashionable until the 16th century, the vielle was changed with the small wooden ribs used in similar wooden plucked instruments replaced by the tailpiece and bridge (Hughes, 2008). Violin 2 By the time of the Renaissance, the viol (a bowed stringed instrument chiefly of the 16th and 17th centuries made in treble, alto, tenor, and bass sizes and distinguished from members of the violin family especially in having a deep body, a flat back, sloping shoulders, usually six strings, a fretted fingerboard, and a low-arched bridge (Merriam-Webster, 2008), was being used, the first having a hole adding resonance and tone to the instrument (Hughes, 2008). It was a short time that the viol evolved into the viola da gamba (a bass member of the viol family having a range approximating the cello (Merriam-Webster, 2008), which was played between the knees of the musician, and the viola de braccio held against the shoulder. The modern shape of the violin was evolved from the second version of the instrument (Hughes, 2008). The Violin evolved form many different instruments, including the Rebob, the Rebec, Lira da Braccio and the Renaissance fiddle. The violin today, the â€Å"new violin† was not used until 1630 in Italy (Berkeley, 2008). The evolution of the modern violin appears to have been completed in Italy with the most famous violin maker Andrea Amati at Cremona, providing 24 violins, six violas and eight cellos for the French King Charles IX in 1560 (Hughes, 2008). Another famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivarius, joined the Amati school in the latter half of the 6th century (Hughes, 2008). The violins’ refinery As stated earlier in the paper, that apart from the Arab travellers’ influence had an on the violin, there is no certain fact on who invented the violin or a stringed instrument that is played with a bow (Hughes, 2008). Some of the theories place the invention of the violin at around 1520 A. D. wherein the violin is included in the Gaudenzio Ferrari painting â€Å"The Madonna of the Orange Trees (cited in Berkeley, 2008). Violin 3 But the violin emerged in Italy in the early 1500s and seems to have developed from two medieval bowed instruments-the fiddle, also called the viele or fiedel, and the rebec-and from the Renaissance lira de braccio (a violin-like instrument with off the finger drone strings (Rosenblum, 2007). Also related to the violin, but not direct ancestors, is the six-string fretted viol. The viol appeared in Europe before the violin and existed with it side by side for about 200 hundred years (Rosenblum, 2007). In the early 1600’s, however, the violin gained prestige through its use in operas such as Orfeo(1607) by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, and through the French King Louis XIII band of musicians, the 24 violons de roi (the â€Å"King’s 24 violins†, formed in 1626). This growth in stature continued throughout the Baroque period (1600-1750) in the works of many notable composer-performers. Among them were the Italians Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini and the Germany’s Heinrich Biber, Georg Philipp Teleman and Johann Sebastian Bach (Rosenblum, 2007). The Craftsmen The earliest important violin makers were from Northern Italy, Gasparo da Salo (1540-1609) and Giovanni Maggini (1579-1630) from Brescia and Andrea Amati (1525-1611) from Cremona. The craft of violin making reached its height in the 17th and 18th centuries in the workshops of the Italians Antonio Stradivarius (1644-1737) and Giuseppe Guarneri (1698-1744) from Cremona and the Austrian Jacob Stainer (1617-1638) (Rosenblum, 2007). Violin 4 Gasparo da Salo (1542-1609) The founder of the Brescian school of violin makers, Gasparo Bertlotti, or Gasparo da Salo, was a dedicated craftsman and instrument maker. He was formerly credited with the claim of having developed the violin in the shape we know today. Although his claims have been disproved, his instruments are nevertheless admired and venerated (Smithsonian, 2008). Gasparo’s violas are considered finer than his violins and probably were more numerous (Smithsonian, 2008). His viola da gambas were converted to violincellos and are much esteemed, and some of his six-stringed bass viols have been remounted as three and four stringed double basses. Twenty instruments have been recorded (Smithsonian, 2008). Giovanni Paolo Maggini (1579-1630) An apprentice of Gasparo da Salo, he acquired a thorough knowledge of the woods available to him (Smithsonian, 2008). Maggini made his own mark and as a master, his own techniques of craftsmanship. He frequently experimented to improve tone quality for his pieces and perfect his construction methods (Smithsonian, 2008). Many of the instruments made by Maggini at the twilight of his career are considered his finest work. These works are known for the quality of the woods and unusually large sound holes as well as for their unusually mellow tones (Smithsonian, 2008). Andrea Amati (1525-1611) The founder of the great Cremona school of violin making, Amati focused on violins and was making viols and rebecs. Instruments dated after 1584 are said to be the works of his sons Antonio and Hieronymus (Smithsonian, 2008). Violin 5 It is claimed that he made 24 violins, 6 violas and 8 cellos for the French king Charles IX for use at the court at Versailles (Smithsonian, 2008). A few of these instruments survive to this day (Smithsonian, 2008). Antonio Stradivarius (1644-1734) Stradivarius’ interpretation of geometry and design served as a conceptual model for violin makers for more than 200 years (Smithsonian, 2008). Stradivarius also made harps, guitars, violas and cellos- more than 1,100 instruments by current estimate (Smithsonian, 2008). About 650 of these instruments survive today (Smithsonian, 2008). Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (1698-1744) Guarneri is considered the most illustrious member of this violin making family. The fifth and last member of the family, he is known more as Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu. Guarnerius is the Latin form of the family name and Joseph the Hebrew form of Giuseppe (Smithsonian, 2008). The estimate of his total production is not more than 250 violins; no evidence suggests that he made more (Smithsonian, 2008). But at least one violoncello and some violas are attributed to him. The outline of his violins, with slight modifications, is founded on instruments of Stradivarius (Smithsonian, 2008). Stradivarius and Guarnerius are ranked as among the greatest violin makers, but fine violinists prefer Guarnerius over Stradivarius (Smithsonian, 2008). Whatever the history or whoever the maker of the violin, we all must appreciate the efforts of these individuals who in one way or another contributed to the making of the violin. All these men have given much by way of continuously honing the instrument as it is known and enjoyed today by scores of people. Violin 6 Personal Reflection The violin represents probably on of the more versatile, elegant and mysterious of the instruments that we have today. The seeming smallness of the instrument somewhat does not tell of the long and painstaking process that went into its refinement and development. The reason that I centred the paper on this instrument is just for those following reasons. The instrument for me seems to just waft its notes and sounds over the listeners’ ears at just the right moments. They are, I believe, different from the wind pieces such as the trumpet and the saxophone. These pieces produce these shrill notes that sometimes tend to be irritable if you are not an admirer for the kind of music. But the violin just seems to play its notes in a mellow and smooth sound. It sometimes will want to lull to sleep at times. I’m a fan of the violin. For me, there is just no instrument just like it in sound and depth and quality of sound. Yes, there are many pieces out there that seem to sound alike, but can’t seem to touch the position of the violin. I can’t imagine an orchestra without a violin in the strings section. It would be incomplete without it. The sound would be really different than the violins in it. And the violin can cross over to different genres of music, from classical to country to pop to jazz and to others, without a tad of difficulty. That’s another thing I like about this instrument, it’s very versatile. It can just blend in with the various styles of music that you put it with and it will perform handsomely, a trait not all instruments can boast of. What we can do now is just relax at every playing of the violin, just to enjoy the elegant sound of the instrument as the musician begins to play and begins to once again weave its magic over its listeners. Reference Berkeley. (2008). The origins and history of the violin. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Berkeley website. http://www-atdp. berkeley. edu/2030/jmoriuchi/violin-title. html Hughes, A. (2008). Where did the violin originate? Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Answer Bank database http://www. theanswerbank. co. uk/Article1910. html Merriam-Webster. (2008). Viola. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Merriam-Webster website http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/viol Rosenblum, M. (2007). Violin. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Microsoft Encarta encyclopaedia database. http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761576364/Violin. html Smithsonian Institution. (2008). Violin makers. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Encyclopaedia Smithsonian website. http://www. si. edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/violdasa. htm ThinkQuest. (1999). The violin. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Oracle Education Foundation database. http://library. thinkquest. org/27178/en/section/1/index. html

Zara Case Study - 3306 Words

June 6, 2007 Zara Case Study Summary Zara is a clothing retail store for women, men and children, concentrating sixty percent of their effort to the women clothing market. Besides retailing, Zara also designs, produces, and ships their lines of clothing to their Zara stores. Zara s corporate concept is to offer fashionable, trendy, designs at a reasonable price. The key to their corporate success is to offer the latest trends and fashions before their competitors. They believe that they are in the fashion business, not the clothing business. As part of this corporate concept, the stores try to hold very low levels of inventory, often having their entire inventory out on display, in order to sell out and make room for the†¦show more content†¦In short, the portal solution will make Zara leaner, quicker, and more capable of meeting customers demand and continue to maintain their competitive advantage during time of expansion. The Portal Solution Zara employees seem to have a very good ability predicting the next big trend in fashion. The product market specialist and store manager spend a great deal of time communicating this tacit knowledge of what the next big seller item is going to be. Even some of the store employees are wearing Zara products indicating that too are aware of what will be the next fashion trend. It is through this tacit knowledge that Zara is capable to getting a jump on their competitors. This feeling or sense of what products will be in demand, and results from sales at a test store, Zara store managers and market specialist are able to spread the word to other stores. This is the type of knowledge that should be captured through the use of a portal. An employee blog could be established that would allow managers to report hot items that are selling quickly. Additionally, it could be used to communicate speculations that store mangers and employees regarding the fashion trends. This communication forum would spread the word more quickly than the method of sharing information they are currently using. In addition to the blog, the portal could contain an e-mailShow MoreRelatedZara case study Essay2280 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿Coursework Header Sheet 209896-18 Course OPER1027: Operations Mngt: Proc/Value Ch Course School/Level BU/UG Coursework Case Study 1 Assessment Weight 25.00% Tutor J Whiteley Submission Deadline 25/11/2013 Coursework is receipted on the understanding that it is the students own work and that it has not, in whole or part, been presented elsewhere for assessment. Where material has been used from other sources it has been properly acknowledged in accordance with the UniversitysRead MoreZara Case Study : Zara Case2492 Words   |  10 Pages Zara Case Study Name Academic Institution Zara Case Study Executive Summary This case study (Ghemawat, Nueno, Dailey, 2003) of the Spanish retail apparel company Zara, one of the six retail brands owned by Spanish company Inditex, focused on a number of issues confronting the retailer. These issues arose mainly from the consideration that Zara defied many of the dynamics of the retail apparel market. Zara, unlike its competitors, owned most of its production as well as itsRead MoreZara Case Study2762 Words   |  12 PagesQ1. With which of the international competitors listed in the case is it most interesting to compare Inditex’s financial results? Why? What do comparisons indicate about Inditex’s relative operating economics? Ans. The four companies shown given in the case have very different business models. Inditex owned much of the production and most of its stores. Inditex is thus a vertically integrated company. This gave Inditex a competitive advantage, which is quick response to the market requirementsRead MoreZara Case Study1833 Words   |  8 PagesZARA CASE STUDY [pic] Introduction The history of Zara started in 1975, when the first store has been opened in Spain. It has been followed by several other stores all over the world. The company’s owner, Amancio Ortega, accumulated 340 million Euros (according to 2001 datas), which is a remarkable growth if compared with other companies. Zara’s brand has become popular because of its quality and efficiency. The secret of Zara is to understand the customer’s need and demands and respondRead MoreZara Case Study3553 Words   |  15 Pages[pic] CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3 2. Zara as Company 4-5 3. Zara’s Model of Operation 6 4. Company’s Structure Read MoreCase Study - Zara International694 Words   |  3 PagesJay Case Study: Zara International Fashion at the Speed of Light Question 1: In what ways are elements of the classical and behavioral management approaches evident in how things are done at Zara International? How can systems concepts and contingency thinking explain the success of some of Zara’s distinctive practices? Answer 1: Elements of the classical management approach are very evident at Zara International. The classical management approach contains three branches, which are scientificRead MoreZara International Case Study1000 Words   |  4 PagesZara International was a retail shop originated in La Coruna, Spain in 1975. It was clothing and accessories shop and imitated the latest fashion trends and sold them at a lower cost. It became Zara International after entering Portugal in 1988 and then the United States and France in the 1990s. The distributor for this brand is Inditex and is considered the most successful retail chain in the world. Zara has a business strategy that is very different from the retailers nowadays. If a customer ordersRead MoreZara Case Study986 Words   |  4 PagesZara is the flagship brand of the Spanish retail group, Inditex SA, one of the super-heated performers in a soft retail market in recent years. When Indtiex offered a 23 percent stake to the public in 2 001, the issue was over-subscribed 26 times raising Euro2.1 billion for the company. Zara is unique model in business world today it has its own principles which may varies from its competitors in the same industry starting from production strategy ending with supply chain management strategy, theseRead MoreZara Case Study1656 Words   |  7 Pages3.1 HISTORY and BACKGROUND ZARA is the flagship chain store for the Spanish Inditex Group owned by Amancio Ortega, who also brands such as Massimo Dutti and Bershka. It was first open in 1975 in La Coruna, Galicia, Spain. Originally a lingerie store, then the product range expanded to incorporate women’s fashion, menswear and children’s clothes (5). The international adventure began in 1988, opened its first foreign store in Oporto, Portugal. The market growth remained mysterious and it kept growingRead MoreZara Case Study1404 Words   |  6 PagesCompany Case: Zara: The Technology Giant of the Fashion World Identification of the Problem/s or Issue/s Zara, a Spanish-based chain owned by Inditex, is a retailer who has taken a new approach in the industry. By owning its in-house production, Zara is able to be flexible in the variety, amount, and frequency of the new styles they produce. With their unique strategy, Zara has the competitive advantage to be sustainable. In order to maintain that advantage and growth they must confront certain