The Red Convertible Essay Example for Free

The Red Convertible Essay In The Red Convertible, Louise Erdrich combines a coming of age story of two Native American brothers with an allegory of the struggle of Native Americans to adapt to and live in the world controlled by White Americans. The title The Red Convertible is a play on words describing the attempts of Native Americans or Redskins as they are called in bad movies from the 1950s to convert to the lifestyle of the white people. In the first part of the story Lyman recounts his ability to make money easily in the white world. He is the only Native American boy allowed to shine shoes in the local American Legion, he sells spiritual bouquets for the nuns from the mission, and he takes a job at the Joliet Cafà © at the age of fifteen and becomes its owner. He seems destined to be a success in the white world. When Lyman and his older brother Henry combine their money on a trip to Winnipeg, they are able to buy a red Oldsmobile convertible. Using this car for transportation, the Lamartine brothers set out on a trip along the United States-Canadian border and on to Alaska. He remembers nothing that he has seen of the white world. Instead Lyman remembers the time spent in a place with willows (Erdrich page number no comma). Here he feels comfortable and at peace. Lyman also remembers with pleasure the time spent in Alaska where he felt like an animal in nature (Erdrich page number no comma). When Lyman and Henry return to the reservation, Henry is drafted into the Marines and sent to Vietnam. Soon after arrival he is captured and remains a prisoner of war for three years. When he returns home, Henry has changed for the worse. An important part of him has been lost in the war. In the spring after his return, he and Lyman drive the red convertible to the Red River to see the high water. While watching the water, Henry reaches a decision about his life, â€Å"I know it. I can’t help it. It’s no use (Erdrich page number no comma). Briefly, Lyman finds himself hoping that the old Henry as finally returned, but his hopes are frustrated when Henry suddenly stands, dives in the river and allows himself to drown. Lyman realizes Henry has killed himself because he no longer is able to exist in either the white world or with his people. After Henry disappears beneath the water, Lyman allows the car to roll into the river. This action symbolizes his rejection of the white way that destroyed his older brother. He destroys his car and now walks every where he goes. He is no longer content to be a Red Convertible. Works Cited Erdrich, Louise. The Red Convertible. Name of book story is located in italics. Ed. Editors name or names for more than one editor. Place of Publication such as Toronto: Publisher, year of publication, pages of story.

Analysis of Rochesters A Satyr Against Mankind Essay -- Satyr Against

Analysis of Rochester's A Satyr Against Mankind Although John Wilmot, better known as the Earl of Rochester, wrote "A Satyr Against Mankind" in 1679, his ideas are still relevant over three centuries later. His foresight in satirizing humankind's use of reason reinforces the intrinsic role of rationality in the human condition. But implicit in his condemnation of rationality is an intentional fallacy—the speaker of the poem uses reason in the same manner as those that he claims to abhor. In doing this, Rochester widens the perimeter of his criticism to encompass the speaker as well as those he admonishes, a movement that magnifies the satire. Considering this, the anti-reason cadences of the poem become exaggerated so greatly that the speaker's words must be taken lightly. Accordingly, Rochester's intent in "A Satyr Against Mankind" is to persuade readers to use their gift of reason humbly, a sentiment expressed by making the poem's narrator one of the "unreasonably reasonable" people of whom he speaks. In the first line of the poem, the narrator immediately interjects a handicap that accounts for his potential poetic ineptness: he is a man. He establishes the poem's prevailing attitude that man is a "strange, prodigious creature" (Wilmot 2), monstrous because of his vainglorious rationality. Rochester is careful not to detach the narrator from the humans he criticizes, but let him glow with a misleading aura of objectivity, as if by acknowledging that he is a man with unjust pride of reason he is partially exempt from the criticisms he bestows upon his .. ... rational observations and conclusions. A great thread of irony lashes together the speaker's arguments in "A Satyr Against Mankind"—his use of reason undermines his disapproval of it. As he deplores rational thinking as kindling for interpersonal discord and fuel for useless pursuits of truthful resolve, he places himself in the same position of those he criticizes. Rochester manipulates the narrator with this paradox to heighten the satire, which ultimately exaggerates the human tendency of proudly flouting rational aptitudes to praise those who use reason with sensible restraint. Work Cited Wilmot, John. "A Satyr Against Mankind." Eighteenth-Century English Literature. Ed. Geoffrey Tillotson. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1969. 33–36.

General Mills Financial Analysis Essay

From ready-to-eat cereal to convenient meals to wholesome snacks, General Mills is one of the biggest food products manufacturers and competes in growing food categories that are on-trend with consumer tastes around the world. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Haagen Daazs, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Totinos, and Cheerios, among others. Main rivals include Kellogg, Kraft, Conagra Foods, and Sara Lee. General Mills sells its products in three segments: U.S. retail (63% of net sales), International (25% of net sales), and Bakeries and Foodservices (12% of net sales). In addition, General Mills sells cereals and ice cream through its Cereal Partners Worldwide and Haagen Daazs Japan joint ventures. General Mills continues building its presence in developed markets and increasing presence in emerging markets worldwide by investing in established brands while also developing new products. The company’s goal is to generate balanced, long term growth. Profitable perform ance through the past years General Mills has shown a strong profitable performance during the past years. The company has achieved during the last 3 years an average RoE of 28% supported by strong efficiency, financial leverage, and a moderate profitability ratio given the nature of the business. This has resulted in a positive trend of the share price that delivered 3 year returns of 44% from 2009. The upward trend in RoE that peaked in 2011 reaching 30.6% reversed in 2012 that closed with a RoE of 24.5%. The RoE drop of c. 600 bps in 2012 compared to 2011 is explained by a reduction in profitability that was affected by high input-cost inflation primarily in food ingredients and energy that was not fully transferred to customers (370 bps Gross Profit Margin drop). Performance was also affected by restructuring actions (60 bps impact on profitability) taken to improve organizational effectiveness to drive future growth. General Mills managed to continue improving efficiency as the increase in sales (3 Years CAGR of 6.7%) outpaced the average assets growth (3 Years CAGR of 5.8%), reachin g in 2012 the highest efficiency ratio (83.8%) of the past 3 years. Efficiency improvement was primarily supported by inventory reduction efforts that, coupled with increase in accounts payable derived from shifts in timing of payments, reduced the cash conversion cycle to 43 days. It is worth noting that during fiscal 2012 the balance sheet had an important growth as a result of the acquisition of the international Yoplait business, including goodwill and other intangible assets of $2.3 bn USD. Sales growth also benefited from the acquisition and will be discussed in the next section. General Mills runs a leveraged operation where, in average, the total assets are 3 times shareholders equity. Leverage ratio has decreased since 2010 as retained earnings have increased at a faster pace than assets driven by strong business performance. A slight revamp in the leverage ratio during fiscal 2012 was mainly driven by an increase in other comprehensive losses related to pensions and postemployment activity, and foreign currency translation that offset retained earnings for the same period. Sustainable growth while generating strong levels of cash flows General Mills has shown a strong, sustainable growth throughout the last years. Net sales increase has been driven by a moderate average growth in the US Retail segment (3.8%), coupled with the expansion in the International business (13.4%). The big year on year increase of 12% in fiscal 2012 is driven by the acquisition of the international Yoplait yogurt business that contributed 7 points of sales growth, while underlying business grew 5%. It is important to note that sales growth has been mainly driven by volume growth with a slight component of net price increase and a favorable mix. Segment Operating Profit has also maintained a sustainable growth. The slowdown during fiscal 2012 and drop of Gross Profit Margin is driven by high input-cost inflation as previously mentioned. Despite high costs, the company managed to increase segment operating profit to exceed $3bn for the first time in the company’s history. General Mills has managed to generate strong levels of cash flowacross the years. Over the most recent 5 years, the company operations have generated almost $10bn USD in cash. A significant portion of this cash has been returned to stockholders through dividends and shares repurchase. In addition, this cash is used to fund Capital expenditure. In the most recent year, the company operations generated $2.4bn of cash compared to $1.5bn in the prior year. The major increase is driven by a favorable change in working capital supported by inventory reduction efforts, prepaid expenses, and other current assets. Cash used by investing activities had a significant increase in fiscal 2012 that is mainly explained by the acquisition of international Yoplait ($1bn USD). General Mills invested in fiscal 2012 c. $700m USD in land, buildings and equipment, similar to previous years. Cash used by financing activities includes a constant payment of dividends and purchase of treasury stock in the last years. In addition, General Mills has been actively managing their cost of funds by issuing / pre-paying long term debt and commercial paper as convenient. General Mills performance has outpaced main competitors in the recent years General Mills strong performance is accentuated when benchmarked against Kellog Co, another of the key food producers. Both companies present similar profitability with General Mills having a lower gross profit margin compensated by lower marketing investment and general expenses. Nevertheless, General Mills has managed to grow sales and has delivered higher returns at a faster pace than Kellog. In addition, General Mills produces higher levels of free cash flow and has grown dividends per share faster. Finally, Kellog has a heavy debt load while General Mills has lower leverage ratio. Solid position to face a challenging, uncertain future In a nutshell, General Mills has shown a strong performance in the recent years and has outperformed his competitors mainly in compound growth rates and value creation. A challenging future lies ahead with uncertain economic environment and increase in commodity costs. Pricing strategy to maintain margin while not impacting market share will play a key variable in the company’s performance. Strong brands, innovations, expansion in diversified markets, and solid cash position and moderate leverage should support General Mills to face these challenges and continue creating value in the following years.

Essay on The Social Standing Treatment - 704 Words

The Social Standing Treatment Although success in life is measured in several different ways, many people are comparatively judging themselves against their neighbors and colleagues. While the basic structure of classes and the power they each possess are quite noticeable, the invisible divisions between them and personal responses to unequal treatment are not as easily seen. Consequently, it is the purpose of this report to address these issues and more within the ensuing lines of text. Unfortunately, several problems exist between people of various social classes. The most prominent of these issues appears to be the assumption of inequality. Referring to the example given in (Macionis, 2010), Max believes that the professors would†¦show more content†¦The reason is that I have acquired the innate ability or gift to interchangeably mix and blend within various classes of people, including the upper enchalant. While using this skill, like a chameleon, I have been able to get an inside track into the thoughts and feelings of these individuals, who generally convey the attitude that others are beneath them. In learning these things, I am particularly unimpressed. In final analysis, the aforementioned example, as provided by Marcionis (2010), begins to show signs of the inequality between classes of people. It is unfortunate that a number of individuals, who enjoy higher social status in the world, look unfavorably upon those of lesser means or status. In particular, several of these people are only inclined to befriend others that share the same desirable position as they have acquired, e.g. financial wealth and level of education. When this occurs, personal feelings of insufficiency and unease are often experienced by the oppressed, and sometimes situations manifest to a point where thoughts of disparity take place. In such cases, the lower class of society appears to be discarded as useless, for what appears to be reasons that are without reasonability or true merit.Show MoreRelatedOppression, Culture, And Diversity757 Words   |  4 Pagesdiversity are three areas that a social worker needs to be mindful of in this case. Although thes e three areas do not adversely change the course of the treatment for the client, they are areas that need to be taken into consideration when adjustments to the treatment plan and approach to resolving any of the presenting issues is changed. The client is a African American female that was brought into the agency by her adoptive parents that are of a low socioeconomic standing. Research shows children ofRead MoreConduct Disorder And Its Effects On Children And Adolescents1178 Words   |  5 Pagesbiological parents with severe alcohol use disorder, biological parents with schizophrenia, and/or biological parents with a history of CD themselves (DSM-V). 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