Family Travel and Tours Company Analysis

Family Travel and Tours Company Analysis SECTION ONE Family Travel and Tours has specialised in affordable, inclusive summer and winter sun travel packages for nearly forty years. The two base of our travel offerings have been price and predictability. Our prices were highly competitive, although they are less so now, and our customers want to know ahead of time exactly what they can expect from their travel experience. However, changes in the tourism market have caused our sales to stagnate, and we currently have zero growth in our customer numbers and fewer repeat customers. Although according to the National Travel Survey, the number of tourists taking inclusive packages have increased significantly in the past twenty years, so has the number of outlets through which customers can purchase their holiday travel (Shaw and Williams 2004). The primary reason for our lack of growth is this increased competition. In price, we have been adversely affected by a sharp increase in the number of discount travel companies available to price-conscious consumers, particularly over the internet. Whereas we once had only competition from a limited number of local agencies, some of those who would have been our customer base are beginning to experiment with online bookings. This opens our market up not only to other UK competitors, but also to agencies from other countries. For example, the American company Cheap Tickets offers international flights, tours and cruises at highly competitive rates. One has only to run a simple search under â€Å"discount travel packages† to reveal literally hundreds of competitors where our customers could take their holiday spend. Many of these competitors also do not maintain brick-and-mortar branches, allowing them to offer even more competitive prices as they have lower overhead costs. Additionally, each year as a greater percentage of the population becomes comfortable purchasing over the computer and more and more people try out online spending, FTTs competitiveness on the basis of price is reduced. Customers are also finding they can create their own packages, as they can now research hotels, transport and activities online and make their own reservations for all of them. More family-oriented travel destinations are also now providing inclusive packages on their own, and are able to offer these through online marketing. Whereas once our contacts with local travel companies allowed us to provide all-inclusive packages available to the consumer only through a travel agency, now there are a number of places the typical traveler can book their desired holiday. For example, Disneyland Paris has its own hotels, restaurants and transportation. As such it can market directly to the customer without need of a middle-man travel agency. Many other popular family tourist destinations have similar offerings. Cruises are another all-inclusive alternative that can now be booked directly without use of a travel agency. We have not reacted quickly or substantially enough changes in the market and in customers themselves, leaving us in a vulnerable position. FTT therefore needs to make changes to its products and marketing strategies quickly to retain its market position in the future. SECTION TWO FTT has benefited from catering to two distinct customer groups, although both on the basis of predictability and price. During the winter period, FTTs customer base tends to be older people escaping the winter cold. The repeat business in this niche is substantial and breaks down further into two groups. The first wants to return to the same location each year, often even requesting the same room. The second group prefers packaged tours, typically taking a tour of a different location each year. Both highly value predictability; that is, they want to eat the foods they are used to and stay inside their comfort zone even when traveling, rather than experience any kind of local culture. They also want to know when booking the details of their holiday, such as daily schedules, and want to spend their winter holiday in warm, sunny locations. This customer group has shown less stagnation, as the increase in competitors from online travel brokers has not penetrated this market group subst antially as of yet. It is likely that it will in the near future, however, particularly as the computer-friendly segment of the population expands and ages. Summer customers are typically middle-class families looking for a convenient and affordable holiday experience. They also want to know ahead of time the details of their holiday, but more to ensure activities and proper accommodations are available for their children than for any deep-seeded need for sameness. Destinations with child-friendly attractions such as beaches and theme parks are foundational in sales to this group. This segment of our customer base has suffered the most from increased competition. Where we or agencies like FTT were once the only place families could go to have their entire travel needs satisfied, online travel agencies and the attractions themselves are now providing equally planned holidays at prices at or below ours. As we examine what changes need to be made, it is helpful to consider tourist motivation from both reductionist and structuralist perspectives regarding our stagnant customer base. Reductionism views tourist motivation as â€Å"a tension between the search for the new or novel experience and the requirement for some degree of familiarity† (Shaw and Williams 2004, 140). This is true of both winter and summer customers. They wish to experience a holiday outside their current existence whilst maintaining a predictability that will allow them, whether older people or children, to be sure of a certain level of comfortability. It is unlikely that we will be able to compete strictly on price, as was the case many times in the past. Therefore expanding the balance of novelty and predictability in our current products is likely to be our strongest marketing asset for future growth. The question then becomes how to address these customer motivations in the changing and more competitive market. SECTION THREE Todays postmodern society is now consumer led, with the consumer dictating the location and activities they expect rather than simply choosing from a limited assortment of package options (Sharpley 2003). Customers can now choose not only travel options we have available, but also those provided by remote travel operators and attractions themselves. Further, customers are more and more likely to create their own travel packages, as they now have access to information on local attractions, lodging and transport for a given area. Their expectations are higher as far as flexibility and options are concerned, making it more difficult for FTT to plan or provide all-inclusive packages, particularly at any significant reduction in price. In addition, as the divide between work and leisure has been reduced, and recreational avenues are more available throughout the year, the novelty of taking the family to the beach or theme park has diminished. Consumers are more likely to seek a holiday experience that allows them to escape from their day-to-day reality rather than simply play instead of work (Sharpley 2003). Todays mass tourist â€Å"desires to be in a place which is both real and yet fantastic at the same time, and to encounter people who are both authentically other yet also fun and fictional† (Coleman and Crang 2002, 157). As such, our customers are beginning to demand travel packages that go beyond simply being at the beach or a certain location, but also offer some type of fantasy or adventurous opportunity. The immediate gratification and visually-based information preferences of the postmodern society also lend themselves strongly to the convenience of internet booking provided by our competitors (Sharpley 2003). Now customers can actually see the room where they will stay, satisfying their predictability needs, yet independently reserve it in an instant, with the simple click of a mouse. The entire transaction is charged effortlessly to their credit card, almost making it seem as though the holiday was free. This signals a change in our customer, especially those in the summer/family group. Whilst they still have a need for predictability so they can plan for their children and the children feel comfortable, there is an increased desire for new experiences, visually-based marketing, and easy, quick booking. SECTION FOUR One difficulty we are currently experiencing is the change in customers perceptions of our services and their attributes, an event common over time in service-based sectors (Palmer 1994). Whilst they are still strongly motivated by predictability, they seek at the same time authenticity in their holiday experience. Authenticity can be viewed from the perspective of the place visited, or from the perspective of the tourist doing the visiting. According to Handler and Saxton, the meaning of the term authenticity â€Å"refers to experiences through which tourists feel themselves to be in touch with both the real world and their real selves† (Shaw and Williams 2004). There are three kinds of authenticity in the tourist experience. Two, objective and constructive authenticity, are object-related. The third, activity-related authenticity, â€Å"refers to a state of being that is to be activated by tourist activities† (Shaw and Williams 2004). It is that place where â€Å"one is true to oneself† (Shaw and Williams 2004). For example, beach holidays may be seen as providing a relaxed, playful environment where people can be their true selves like they were as children, without the sometimes-false pretenses maintained at work or in the community. As our world becomes increasingly more connected, a certain homogeneity is affecting the authenticity of place. McDonalds restaurants provide an example. Although there is some regional adaptation (one can order wine in France or get kosher sandwiches in Israel), the chains product mix of a hamburger, fries, and a coke is constant throughout its restaurants in over 100 countries (Vignali 2001). Every time a Tesco moves into a town, a number of the areas local merchants are likely to go out of business, reducing the regional differences of that area as opposed to the rest of the country. Shaw and Williams (2004) report â€Å"Boorstin saw mass tourism producing a homogenization and standardization of the tourist experience through the commodification of culture† (135). The â€Å"developing global culture of tourism accepts anything or any place being produced and reproduced, moved and recontextualised in any place whatsoever this process marks the proliferation and increased co nsumption of experiences† that are depthless simulations, separated from tradition and history (Coleman and Crang 2002, 156). This makes it harder for FTT to provide unique travel packages. SECTION FIVE FTT needs to meet these changes in society and in the level of competition head on, addressing issues related to both our products and our target markets. First, we need to stop viewing the internet as our completion and begin to view it as a means of increasing our customer base. Although we have a website, it is not as user friendly as it could be, and does not offer a wide range of holidays. We could expand our travel product available online. Instead of simply listing our set packages with prices, as our current website offers, we could experiment with creating an a la carte method of creating packages. With the correct software, this would be possible to do completely online, and agents wanting to make a booking could even use the same online system when dealing with customers. In this scenario, a customer could access our website and choose the components of their holiday, appealing simultaneously to the postmodern desire for novelty and our established customer need for predic tability. For example, one family may want to have a less expensive lodging but hire a larger car. They would be able to do this on the website, and after all their bookings would have created their own package, as inclusive as they desire. This would also provide a price incentive as customers could pay for only the level of or types of provision they really desire. In addition to increasing the number of customers purchasing holidays from us, such flexibility and convenience in booking is also likely to increase the spend of our existing customer base. Whereas once one of our established customers might use us only for holiday travel, a convenient website might also lead to other bookings by the same customer, such as business travel, expanding our product base. We would also be able to attract more customers from outside the UK, or from areas inside the country where we do not have strong branch presence. We also need to change the product mix of our fixed-package offerings to include more novelty and fantasy. For example, we might add adventure activities to a beach holiday in such a way that they meet the safety needs of parents. Including water-skiing lessons as part of a beach holiday provides some adventure, but because it includes instruction and a supervised environment it retains the safety and predictability our customers value. The entire family can together enter into an activity outside their normal circumstances. For our winter/older customer group, changing the type of tour or travel available would probably not be popular, but adding additional and more adventuresome locations where a level of comfort and predictability could be guaranteed would be advantageous. For example, as Turkey seeks entrance into the European Union, it has become a country more open to tourism, providing a wealth of new places for tours, and usually at competitive prices. Increased availability and reduced price of air travel also now allow us to offer tours farther abroad, and we need to look into areas of the world such as India and Mexico, which were typically too far and too costly to be considered by our customers for a holiday. We would need to work closely with local lodging, transport and other providers to ensure the level of comfort our customers require, but these locations provide an opportunity to introduce adventure and fantasy in an appealing way to our older customer group. FTT should also expand our marketing via the internet, particularly to repeat customers and potential customers who have already initiated contact with us, such as those who stop by a branch to discuss travel options, but do not purchase right away. Email is a simple and extremely inexpensive way to contact customers with various offerings. This would also allow us to increase our target markets. For example, the UK Tourism Survey shows that an increasing number of young working-class families are taking holiday abroad. As younger people are more likely to have computer access and be knowledgeable in computer operation, it figures that this is a potential market where FTT may increase market share. Working class families without computers could still be included in the target market, but through other means of penetration. Over forty million loyalty cards were in circulation in the UK in 1999, and that number has undoubtedly increased substantially since (Evans 1999). Most cost-conscious Brits now have several such cards, and those motivated by price are particularly keen on using them. Partnering with several major cards could not only increase our visibility and presence, but attract customers that might not consider holiday travel. For example, we could offer a discounted package as a reward for points earned by a major loyalty card scheme, such as Tesco. Alternatively, we could join the scheme itself and offer points for a customers spend with us. In any case, being included in a scheme with extensive emails, newspaper inserts, and other advertising would reach cost-conscious consumers, a characteristic of our traditional customer base, who might not have considered package holidays before. We may also attract those who had purchased their packages elsewhere, at least to the point that they might inquire about our offerings, either in person or online. Some in this market will be surprised at the affordability of many packages. It is also likely that since customers attracted from this target market have never had a holiday abroad before, they would be nervous about both planning and going. As such they would find our servcies as a travel agency both convenient and comforting. Once they went once on a holiday package from us, we could make them part of our database, and provide various marketing endeavors to encourage their repeat patronage. The marketing changes discussed above give FTT the opportunity to once again dominate the travel package sector of our industry, to attract and retain customers from a wider customer base, and to ensure future growth and profitability. Our society is changing, but if we change with it we can continue for another forty years of travel excellence. REFERENCES Coleman, S. and Crang, M. (ed) (2002) Tourism: Between Place and Performance. Oxford: Berghahn. Evans, M. (1999) Loyalty schemes and the Orwellian Millennium. British Food Journal, 101(2): 132-147. Palmer, A. (1994) Principles of Service Marketing. London: McGraw-Hill. Sharpley, R. (2003) Tourism, Tourists and Society. Elm Publishing. Shaw, G. and Williams, A.M. (2004) Tourism, Tourists and Tourist Spaces. London: Sage. Vignali, C. (2001) McDonald’s: â€Å"think global, act local† the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2): 97. WEBSITES www.cheaptickets.com www.cooptravelshop.co.uk www.expedia.co.uk www.gate1travel.com www.travelbag.co.uk

Essay --

The Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) The definition of tourism and the tourists ----------------------------------------- (1) The reasons that make the tourists come to the UAE-----------------------------(1,2) The advantages of tourism -----------------------------------------------------------(2) The negative impact of tourism -----------------------------------------------------(2,3) The Comparison between Dubai and other countries according to GDP Growth : --------------------------------------------(3) The Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------(4) The references list ---------------------------------------------------------------------(4) Among ages the life in the UAE has been changed from all the aspects , It becomes sophisticated in a huge way . In the construction field the UAE become a competitor to the advanced countries, it also make great achievements in the entertainment field .All of that make tourism more active in the UAE . Tourism become in the UAE as a big business , it considered as the one of the largest industries in the UAE , it rises the economic income with a high percentages . In this report I will write about the definition of tourism and the tourists , the reasons that make the tourists from each corner of the globe come to the UAE , the effect of tourism in the UAE and finally Comparison between Dubai and other countries according to GDP* Growth . The definition of tourism and the tourists : Tourism is to travel from one place to another mainly for recreational or leisure purposes and the companies in the receiver country will provide all the s... ...rica Region . Arabia 2000 .(P-1) . Dubai has strong and dynamic tourism sector .(2010).Arabia 2000.(P-1). IMF World Economic Outlook ,Econstates, Ministry of Economy .Retrieved December4 , 2011, from : http://www.google.ae/search?q=dubai-economy_clip_image004 Mourtoiza . (2008) .Positive impact of tourism in Dubai . Retrieved December 2,2011, from : http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Impact-Tourism-Dubai/158196 The disadvantages of the tourism .(2010) . Retrieved December2 , 2011, from : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/what arethe disadvantages of tourism Tourism . (2008) . Retrieved December2 , 2011 , from : http://sidestore.com UAE travel and tourism sector emerges as one of key contributes to GDP. (2011). Arabia 2000 .(P-1). United Arab Emirates Archeologicalsites . (2005) . Retrieved December 2 , 2011, from: http://www.uaeinteract.com/culture/default.asp Essay -- The Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) The definition of tourism and the tourists ----------------------------------------- (1) The reasons that make the tourists come to the UAE-----------------------------(1,2) The advantages of tourism -----------------------------------------------------------(2) The negative impact of tourism -----------------------------------------------------(2,3) The Comparison between Dubai and other countries according to GDP Growth : --------------------------------------------(3) The Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------(4) The references list ---------------------------------------------------------------------(4) Among ages the life in the UAE has been changed from all the aspects , It becomes sophisticated in a huge way . In the construction field the UAE become a competitor to the advanced countries, it also make great achievements in the entertainment field .All of that make tourism more active in the UAE . Tourism become in the UAE as a big business , it considered as the one of the largest industries in the UAE , it rises the economic income with a high percentages . In this report I will write about the definition of tourism and the tourists , the reasons that make the tourists from each corner of the globe come to the UAE , the effect of tourism in the UAE and finally Comparison between Dubai and other countries according to GDP* Growth . The definition of tourism and the tourists : Tourism is to travel from one place to another mainly for recreational or leisure purposes and the companies in the receiver country will provide all the s... ...rica Region . Arabia 2000 .(P-1) . Dubai has strong and dynamic tourism sector .(2010).Arabia 2000.(P-1). IMF World Economic Outlook ,Econstates, Ministry of Economy .Retrieved December4 , 2011, from : http://www.google.ae/search?q=dubai-economy_clip_image004 Mourtoiza . (2008) .Positive impact of tourism in Dubai . Retrieved December 2,2011, from : http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Impact-Tourism-Dubai/158196 The disadvantages of the tourism .(2010) . Retrieved December2 , 2011, from : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/what arethe disadvantages of tourism Tourism . (2008) . Retrieved December2 , 2011 , from : http://sidestore.com UAE travel and tourism sector emerges as one of key contributes to GDP. (2011). Arabia 2000 .(P-1). United Arab Emirates Archeologicalsites . (2005) . Retrieved December 2 , 2011, from: http://www.uaeinteract.com/culture/default.asp

Fire And Ice - Compared To 4 Other Poems Essay -- essays research pape

Five Great Pieces of Thought I think Robert Frost is a understandable, but yet an unconventional poet. Frost wrote in his own style, and as a result, he took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his period. Frost has an elegant style of writing descriptive and understandable poems. I am going to tell you about the five best pieces he has ever written. First off, "A Considerable Speck" is a unusual poem about Frost noticing a tiny speck on his paper. Upon further observation, Frost notices that the speck is actually a extremely tiny mite, struggling to avoid being crushed by Frost’s pen. Frost appreciates the insect’s battle to stay alive and leaves it on his paper. Frost allows the mite to sleep on his paper because he values any intelligence, even one that is small as a bug’s. This poem is told directly from Robert Frost’s mouth. It shows how much the poet appreciates the little things in life. Regardless of size Frost understands that a life is a life, and all lives are important. The imagery in this poem is very clear to me. I can picture an old man trying to blow a piece of dirt off the paper. Then the piece of dirt starts moving, as he sees what he believes to be a dot on the paper but really to be a mite. The old man then starts to think about the value of life. The theme of the poem is that there is no such thing as an insignificant speck. Everything and everyone has a purpose for being here. This poem is filled with alliteration. Some examples I found are: cunning crept, tenderer-than-thou, and breathing blown (Silberner 98). Mind is repeated three times in the final stanza. Also there were two instances in which Frost used assonance room for and living mite. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza of "A Considerable Speck" is AABBCCDADEEFGFGHH, but there is no pattern throughout the poem (Silberner 99). Next I would like to tell you about is "Ghost House". It is an remarkably descriptive poem illustrating an aged, haunted house. The imagery in this poem is marvelous. This poem allows the reader to see the house as if he were standing on the front porch. You can picture an old decrepit house, covered with vines and wild raspberries. There is a dying tree in the front yard, with only one vital branch on it. Beneath the tree there are two gravestones so covered in moss that the names cannot be... ...uching poem to me because I was always taught to be my own person and I thank my parents for that. Robert Frost’s life started out quite different than most people. He never had any formal schooling until he was the age of twelve years old. This wasn’t the way you would think a famous writer would start off his life. The even awkward part of this story is that he graduated Lawrence High School as co-valedictorian of his graduating class. When I saw that I was very struck. I realized that changing is all up to one person and that one person is you. Robert Frost’s life took drastic changes and as a result of this his poetry varies quite a bit (Silberner 192). At the time he was writing his more depressing poems, he was having trouble getting his poems published, and he was doing oddball jobs to make ends meet (Gioia and Kennedy 522). His more upbeat poems were not created until after magazines began printing his work. Robert Frost is a simple, yet powerful poet. He uses small, understandable words, which show very powerful meanings. The main reason why I appreci ate Frost’s work is because I can understand it, which is more than I can say for the majority of poetry that I have read.

A few factors Essay

Investigation A few factors (the gradient/height of ramp, the mass of the object, friction, gravity, the energy act on the object or the length of object) can affect the final speed of an object at the end of the ramp. Planning I am going to do my investigation on ‘ mass of the object’ which I think it is one of the factors that will affect the final speed of an object at the end of the ramp because when gravitational potential energy equals to mass times gravity times height, so if mass is increased, the gravitational potential energy will increase in proportionally. I will do the experiment by adding weights on top of a wooden cart to increase the mass, and then I will time how long it takes to fall down from the ramp and calculate the final speed by: Diagram Weight add to the cart (grams) 0 100 200 300 400 Time (sec) 6’78 6’07 7’21 6’86 6’93 Weight add to the cart (grams) 500 600 700 800 900 Time (sec) 7’19 7’03 6’61 6’77 6’57 My experiment results are: According to the results, mass does not affect the final speed of an object at the end of the ramp. I think this is because when something is dropped, it will transfer from gravitational potential energy to kenetic energy So I am going to change my investigation on the height of the ramp. I think height of the ramp will affect the final speed of an object when height of the ramp is increased, the gravitational potential energy will increase proportionally due to: G. P. E. = mass x gravity x height Method of doing the experiment I am going to do it by using a ramp that I can increase the height. Then I will release the cart at the top of the ramp and time how long it will take for the cart to come down. I will increase the height by 5cm each time (5cm, 10cm, 15cm, 20cm, 25cm and 30cm). I will take down the time thrice to get the average time of it because it is more reliable. Then I will work out the average speed. I will divide the length of the ramp by the time taken and work out the final speed by doubling the average speed. The length of the ramp is one metre and the weight of the cart is 900 grams. I can make this a fair test by not pushing the cart, doing average on the time, and keeping the mass the same. Apparatus I will need. A clamp to hold the ramp, A ramp, A wooden cart as the object and A stopwatch for timing for the experiment. Safety features I will make sure it is safe by putting books at the end to stop the cart from bumping into others’ feet and I will make sure no one is standing near it. I will do the whole experiment on the ground because this can stop things from falling down the table and hit people’s feet. Diagram Evidence/results I have my experiment results after all of this and they are: Height(cm) 5 10 15 20 25 30 Average Time(sec) 4’09 2’31. 1’80 1’54 1’37 1’10 According to the results, there seems to be a trend. So, I think I will calculate the final speed. Height(cm) 5 10 15 20 25 30 Final speed(cm/s) 0. 489 0. 865 1. 111 1. 299 1. 46 1. 818 The trend is obvious now. It shows that whenever the height is increased, the time taken will decrease and the final speed of the cart will increase. From we calculate gravitational energy (mass x gravity/acceleration x height), height seems to be one of the main factors that can affect the G. P. E. because as height increases, the G. P. E.will be affected by it. Example: if an object with constant gravity (x), constant mass (y) but falls from changing heights (5 and 10), the outcome will be 5xy and 10xy and this also proved that when the height is increased, the G. P. E. will increase. The forces of gravity pulls down on all objects have on Earth. If objects are allowed to fall, they accelerate downwards. Therefore, if an object is allowed to fall from a higher place, the gravity will pulls down the object with a greater force and the object will accelerate faster as it comes down. If the object falls from a higher place, there will be more time for the object to accelerate, so the final speed of the object will be faster, and as the gravitational force is greater, the object is being pulled harder and quicker. Therefore, this explains why an object will have a faster final speed at the end of the ramp whenever the height of the ramp is increased. At first, I did an experiment on ‘mass of the object’ that the experiment doesn’t work. I have found out that mass doesn’t affect the final speed of an object. When an object is held at a certain point, gravitational potential energy is stored; when it is dropped, it will transfer gravitational potential energy to kenetic energy. So that means: Gravitational potential energy = kenetic energy Mass x gravity x height = 0. 5 x mass x velocity This shows that ‘mass’ exists on both sides of the equation, that means it can be cancel out to simplified the equation. So the equation will become: Gravity x height = 0. 5 x velocity That means ‘mass’ does not affect the ‘velocity’ on the right side of the equation. Graph I have also plotted a graph of height against final speed, and after that, I have drawn a line of best fit. The graph shows a straight line of best fit. The graph shows a straight line of best fit and this shows height and final speed are in direct proportion. This proves when the height of the ramp is increased, the final speed is increased and this means the object accelerates faster. Evaluations My results are quite accurate because on the graph, all of the results go very near the best-fit line. My results are quite reliable, as I do every height for three times and take the average of it. I can make the results more accurate by using a light sensor with the computer. This will be more accurate then using a stop watch because human need a time to react before their brain do what it is told to do which is the reaction time. I think my method of doing the experiment is quite good because I can get accurate results from it. I can improve it by putting the ramp more stable and firmer because the ramp keeps on sliding down the slide. I think the method of doing the experiment is quite good because it gives me a quite accurate result and it takes less than half an hour to finish the experiment. At first, I did an experiment on ‘mass of the object’ that takes about 45 minutes but I got results that are not appropriate for my experiment. So I quickly change the investigation on another topic. Although it wastes lots of time, I learn that mass of an object will not affect the final speed of a falling object.

Ichabod Crane and Abraham Van Brunt Essay

In the short story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow you will find two very different men, Ichabod Crane and Abraham Van Brunt, competing against each other for but one woman’s hand in marriage, Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina Van Tassel was a ravishing young lady of only eighteen and the only child of a very wealthy farmer named Baltus Van Tassel. Her father paid little attention to her other than to be proud of her good doings when they were praised by others. Because of her beauty, along with the wealth of her father, Katrina had the interest of many men. Although these men were driven away in defeat by a man named Abraham Van Brunt, whom also had a strong interest in Katrina. Abraham Van Brunt, also known as Brom Brunt, was tall and extremely hansom with dark curly hair. He was described as muscular and strong, thus he was given the nick name Brom Bones by the townspeople. Brom was known for his rambunctious personality, his love for pranks, and his admirable great skills on horseback. He was known as the â€Å"village hero.† He wanted Katrina’s hand in marriage, not because he loved her, but because he was determined to inherit the wealth of her father Baltus. Brom managed to scare off all the other suitors of Katrina with violence and physical confrontation. He had no competition! That is until Ichabod Crane came along. Ichabod Crane was a shy school teacher who had traveled from his home state of Connecticut to Sleepy Hollow, New York. He came to teach the children about the area. He was known to be a strict teacher, but not cruel. Ichabod was described as a lanky man; tall and thin with big hands and feet and also a rather large nose. He was said to be an awkward n clumsy man. Although he was a rather thin man, he was capable of eating plenty and was often looking forward to do so. He was an extremely superstitious man, so much that he believed in every myth, legend, and tall tale to be truth. This resulted in him easily being scared of anything that reminded him of ghost, goblins, witches, demons, etc. Despite his awkwardness, Crane was a very sociable man. I guess he had to be considering the fact that he would live at the homes of the townspeople, a different one every week. He was said to be a kind man. He would sometimes walk his students home from school, he would play with some of the bigger kids, and he would even help farmers with all of their farming duties. Many women took a liking to Ichabod because he was known to be kind and gentlemanlike. Also, he loved to sing and he had a beautiful voice and the ladies loved it! In fact, his voice was so beautiful that he also taught the townspeople to sing and also led the choir at the village’s church. Katrina was a student of Ichabod. When he had first met her, like many others, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Although it wasn’t until he had met her father and seen her farmhouse that he felt he was in love with her. To me it seemed as if he had just fallen in love with the idea of inheriting her father’s wealth, but the story says he was in love with her and wanted her heart, not just her wealth. Of course, this didn’t sit well with Brom Brunt at all, and he would try to chase Ichabod off. But Brom couldn’t do it in his usual way of violence, because Ichabod had a way of avoiding physical confrontation with him. So instead, Brom would use his second best skill, pranks! Knowing that Crane was a superstitious man who was easily scared, Brom would begin to taunt and tease him with scary stories, including the town’s most famous one, the legend of the headless horseman. This would eventually mark the end of Ichabod Crane. The story tells that one night after attending a party held at the Van Tassel home, when Ichabod was walking home, he had an encounter with what seemed to be the headless horseman. He was never to be seen again. Some believed that it was actually the headless horseman himself who had taken the life of Ichabod, but others believed that is was just Brom Bones in costume out to get what he wanted, Crane gone! As you can see, in comparison, these two men were very different from each other. Quite the opposite I’d say. The only thing that they shared a common ground with each other would be their desire for the Katrina Van Tassel and her inheritance. Even then, they would attempt to woo her in very different ways, Crane with his songs and his stories of superstitions, and Brom with his violence and strength. Besides the way these men look, their personalities and even their interests and talents were very different. I’d say Brom Bones was a man of good looks and brawn but rather rowdy, rude, and perhaps cruel. While Ichabod was a sensitive man with a kind heart and although he was lanky and awkward looking he was a gentleman with good social skills.

Where Have You Been and Where Are You Going

When comparing the two characters in the short stories made me think of a quote, I heard growing up as a kid. â€Å"Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath. † Now reading these two stories the truth of that quote rings true. As teenagers we were invisible to life and the consequences of those decisions. I made many mistakes, as teenagers that, I now realize were foolish and not intelligent. Life lessons are tough as Sammy and Collie both discovered. In the short story of â€Å"A&P† Sammy is a hormone driven young teenager who is attracted to three young girls that walk into his store on a slow day in nothing more than a suggestive swim suit. In a hormone obsessed stupor Sammy wants to impress these rebellious teenage girls. As you read the story you see how Sammy becomes enamored with the three young girls in what can be only describe as erotic and stimulating instantly. Sammy describe one of the girls swim suit as the straps â€Å"were off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of arms, and I guess as a result the suit had slipped a little on her. (Kennedy 17) This is definition of hormones because any young man is hoping to catch a peek at a naked woman. As a teenager that is what you pray for at night. Sammy became even more turned on when her eyes moved â€Å"across the racks, and stopped, and turned so slow it made my stomach rub the inside of my apron. † (Kennedy 17) This could be considered Sammy’s first lustful affair from afar. Sammy wants to be noticed by these girls but the moment hasn’t presented itself. Mr. Lengel gives him the perfect opportunity to become their champion. When Mr. Lengel express to the girls how inappropriate their appearance are for a grocery store. Sammy went into a fit of anger to be dramatic from his future suitors. In Sammy’s mind these young beautiful teenagers were making a declaration of loveliness that existed only on a higher level and it was free of the codes of the average grocery shopper. Sammy resigns in an attempt to defend their honor, but recognizes his foolishness when the girls leave without giving him as much as a glance. In the short story of â€Å"Where are you going. Where have you been† was a very hard trying piece to read. Connie is a young girl and knows it all. Connie was a typical teenager female who only concerns were her looks, popular music, and boys. Connie was preoccupied with her appearance that she would crane â€Å"her neck into the mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right. † (Oates 381) Connie’s mother would reprimand about being so vain and belittled her by placing her older sister on a pedal stool to live up too. Connie’s mother urged her to be more responsible which is something we all heard as teenagers. Connie wished her mother and sister was dead because she wanted to be her own individual. Connie like a typical teenager felt invisible and she ignored her mother’s warnings. Connie is able to hang out with her friends because June had set a good precedent. Connie’s best friend’s father would drive them to the shopping plaza and pick them up with no questions. Connie and her friends would use the shopping plaza as the meeting place but only to run to the dine-in to meet boys. Sunday afternoon the family goes to a barbecue at the Aunt’s house. When asked by her mother if she wanted to go, Connie rolled her eyes and said no because she wanted to feel independent plus she was to good to hang out with little kids and play. Connie was a grown woman until Arnold arrived and brought back to reality. This story is sad responsibility and paying attention to her surrounds is important. Connie cried out for her sister and mother when Arnold was abducting her with no success. The same people she wanted dead for independence she wanted to save her from this monster. The similarity between the short stories by John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates shows how as teenagers we act impulsively, we are invisible, and no care for consequences. Not until later after time realize our mistake but it is to late to correct. Those mistakes are called life lessons and that is what both these characters have in common. Sammy and Connie’s lessons is simple as a teenager you are not untouchable but vulnerable to life’s painful lessons.

Faminism in Anna Karenina

In the closing chapters of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (Penguin Books, 2003), Dolly, Anna’s sister-in-law, reveals that â€Å"Whatever way one lives, there’s a penalty. † This is the central message in Tolstoy’s work, a tragedy whose themes include aristocracy, faith, hypocrisy, love, marriage, family, infidelity, greed, and every other issue prevalent among human beings. Anna Karenina is a tragic figure, but she can also be considered a feminist one. Her experiences resonate with female readers because she does the unexpected: she moves against the grain.And with any woman—at least in literature—who accomplishes the unexpected, the inappropriate, she pays the price for it. A Princess, an aristocrat married to Count Alexei Karenin, an important man twenty years her senior, Anna Karenina is a socialite, a respected woman, a wife, and a mother. It seems as if she has it all, until she meets the handsome and charming young Count Alexei Vr onsky. He stirs things in her—physical and emotional—that she has never experienced. This lack of experience in the spaces of love and desire is common—historically—for women.They married who they were told to marry—for money, for titles, and for security. Not for love. Anna Karenina is not in love with her husband. She tolerates him, but secretly she feels repulsed by this rigid, domineering, and paternal man twice her age. Vronsky’s wooing of her endanger s her place in society, her marriage, and even her role as mother. When she succumbs to an affair with him, she does so with open eyes, aware of all that she is sacrificing for the sake of love.And this isn’t the tragedy of the novel, of the situation. The tragedy is that she is a woman in a man’s world: â€Å"It was fate; she was doomed† from the start. And she was doomed because she was a woman acting out on her desires. Paralleled to her brother, Stiva, and his ins uppressible and known womanizing, the novel demonstrates the evident attitudes society had at this time toward men and women acting in similar fashion. Men, the public faces of society, had the power, the voice, and the volition to act in any way they wished.Stiva’s womanizing is something his wife, Dolly, has to suffer silently. She has no power to stop it. She is merely the wife. She goes about her business taking care of the home and her children, knowing that gossip and shame shadow her footsteps. Although infidelity is looked upon as an act of dishonor, society looks the other way when men succumb to its powers. Men continue to keep their marriages, the power in the home—over their wives and children, their jobs, and their place in society goes unvarnished.Even Vronsky, who openly seeks the affections of Anna, a married woman, a mother, and has an affair with her, has eyes rolled at him, but his career is never placed in danger. He does not lose his place in socie ty, his options, his money, or his power. He loves, he takes what he wants, and then when he is done—when Anna becomes too obsessive, too cumbersome an affair—he simply walks away. In the end, he’s lost nothing. He gave up nothing. With women, following their hearts is not so acceptable. It’s a tragedy, as we come to see with Anna.In following her heart, her passions, Anna loses her marriage, which is controlled by Karenin, who kicks her out of their home, but refuses to give her a divorce. In this way, she cannot marry Vronsky. She is forced to become his mistress and live with him in disgrace. When she takes her love out into the public, she is shunned by the same people who once loved her, while everyone shakes Vronsky’s hands. And the most valuable asset that she loses is access to her son, who is told that she is dead. Having lost everything and everyone, the only thing that remains is Vronsky.And she grabs on to him with great force, with des peration, pushing him farther and farther away from her with every aching need she can muster. But he grows tired of her love and confesses to her that â€Å"A man needs his career,† for he still has that fall back on. She has nothing. In losing him, she loses everything, and it is no wonder that she commits suicide. A woman in her day, having lost her place in society, her role as mother and wife, she cannot sustain herself. She gave everything up for love, for passion, for herself, to feed her own desires, but no one gave anything up for her.She dies tragically, while everyone around her continues to move on without her. Today, we can look at a character like Anna Karenina and come face-to-face with a feminist: she is strong, determined, bold, and she fights the patriarchal powers that tell her she cannot have what men are allowed, no matter their place in society. And even though her attempts come crashing around her in the end, resulting in her violent suicide, she had th e courage to act against the norm. This is empowerment. This is a feminist.