Summary of The Great Gatsby

Published in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is frequently studied in American literature classrooms (college and high school). Fitzgerald used many of the events from his early life in this semi-autobiographical novel. Hed already become financially successful with the publication of This Side of Paradise in 1920. The book is listed on the Modern Librarys list of 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. Publisher Arthur Misener wrote: I think it (The Great Gatsby) is incomparably the best piece of work you have done. Of course, he also said that the novel was somewhat trivial, that it reduces itself, in the end, to a son of anecdote. Some of the very elements that brought the book acclaim were also the source of criticism. But, it was (and still is) considered by many to be one of the great masterworks of the time period, and one of the great American novels. Description Title: The Great GatsbyAuthor: F. Scott FitzgeraldType of Work Genre: Modernist Novel; FictionTime Place (Setting): Long Island and New York City; Summer 1922Publisher: Charles Scribners SonsPublication Date: April 10, 1925Narrator: Nick CarrawayPoint of View: First and Third Person Basics Great American literary classicOne of F. Scott Fitzgeralds most famous worksChronicled 1920s America, the Jazz AgeChallenged at the Baptist College in Charleston, SC (1987): language and sexual referencesThe first novel that Scribners had published that contained foul language. How It Fits In The Great Gatsby is usually the novel for which F. Scott Fitzgerald is best remembered. With this and other works, Fitzgerald forged his place in American literature as the chronicler of the Jazz Age of the 1920s. Written in 1925, the novel is a snapshot of the time period. We experience the glittery-splendiferous world of the wealthy—with the accompanying emptiness of morally decayed hypocrisy. Gatsby represents so much that is seductive, but his pursuit of passion—at the expense of all else—leads him to his own ultimate destruction. Fitzgerald writes: I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through the soft twilight, but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back, as if with ropes, into my chair. Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets... I saw him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without. Do you ever feel within and without? What do you think it means? Characters Nick Carraway: A Midwesterner, who sells bonds. Narrator. He observes and describes the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby.Daisy Buchanan: Wealthy. Cousin of Nick Carraway. Tom Buchanans wife.Tom Buchanan: Wealthy. Philanderer. Daisy Buchanans husband. Powerful personality.Jay Gatsby: A self-made man. The epitome of American Dream. A fascinatingly unforgettable figure in American literature. His parents were poor farmers. After getting a taste for wealth, he went into the Army, attended Oxford and quickly accumulated wealth via nefarious means. With his stupendous rise to great fortune, he was fated to fall.Jordan Baker: Daisys friend.George Wilson: Myrtle Wilsons husband.Myrtle Wilson: Tom Buchanans mistress. George Wilsons wife.Meyer Wolfsheim: An underworldly, criminal figure. Jay Gatsbys acquaintance.

Handmaids Tale - Manipulation of Power Essay - 1257 Words

THE HANDMAID’S TALE Grade 11 English Analytical Essay Words: 1 245 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a disturbing novel that displays the presence and manipulation of power. This is displayed throughout the novel and is represented significantly in three ways. As the book takes place in the republic of Gilead, the elite in society are placed above every other individual who are not included in their level. Secondly, men are placed at the top of the chain and they significantly overpower women in the society (elite or not). Finally the individuals within the elite society also overpower each other and have their own separate roles. This can be interpreted as a chain. Men of the elite are placed at the top, the men who less elite†¦show more content†¦These were the ‘unwomen’ and the gender traitors. For example, in the novel, it was stated that ‘there are three new bodies on the Wall’ (the ‘Wall’ was referred to where the freshly executed bodies were displayed). Two out of the three ‘have purple placards hung around their necks [that read] Gender Treachery†¦ [not to mention that] their bodies [were] still [dressed in] the Guardians’ uniform’ [pg 53]. As this routine continues the cycle is kept running in order to keep the elite society ‘pure’. Therefore, those who are considered as ‘contaminating’ the elites must be eliminated. Secondly, as stated before the men in the elite society are placed higher than all women. Despite being classified into different groups, women seemed to be placed at the bottom as they are once again stripped from their own independence and rights. This is shown in the book as the women are reassigned to their former jobs as tools for reproduction, cleaning and cooking. They are categorized through their duties and they all serve the men of the elite society, particularly the commander. Thus in creating this arrangement, women are completely inferior to men and have almost no power over them. However, in some cases it is different. For example, Serena Joy who is the wife of a commander has a higher status than someone like Nick, the commander’s chauffer or one of theShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaid s Tale : Manipulation Of Power1516 Words   |  7 Pageschanges Manipulation of Power in The Handmaid s Tale 116PAGES ON THIS WIKI View source Comments0 Anna Krainc Prof. Richards Gender in Literature 29 January 2013 Manipulation of Power in The Handmaid’s Tale The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of a future dystopia where individuals use power from their position in society to manipulate others. The Commander, a high-up in Gilead’s hierarchy, initiates a forbidden, though at first non-sexual, affair with his Handmaid and uses his power to directRead More Essay on A Society of Oppression in A Handmaids Tale745 Words   |  3 PagesA Society of Oppression in A Handmaids Tale      Ã‚   As the saying goes, history repeats itself. If one of the goals of Margaret Atwood was to prove this particular point, she certainly succeeded in her novel A Handmaids Tale. In her Note to the Reader, she writes, The thing to remember is that there is nothing new about the society depicted in The Handmaidens Tale except the time and place. All of the things I have written about ...have been done before, more than once... (316). AtwoodRead MoreHandmaids1019 Words   |  5 Pagesgood text revolves not only around its content, but also its language and construction. This notion articulates profoundly within Margaret Atwood’s novel A Handmaid’s Tale as it is, after all, the author’s manipulation of the language and construction which enacts as vehicles towards the reader’s understanding of the content. A Handmaid’s Tale is a confrontational post-modern work of feminist dystopian fiction; it depicts a protagonist’s struggle to adapt to a totalitarian and theocratic state whereRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1516 Words   |  7 PagesThe Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, explores the idea of physical and mental oppression through hierarchy, patriarchy, manipulation of history, surveillance and finally, community identity; hence the main character’s name â€Å"Offred† or ‘Of-Fred’ if you will. 1984, by George Orwell, covers this by including configuration of language; the characters have a new language called â€Å"Newspeak† and are also constantly watched by the government and the â€Å"Thought Police.† The hierarchy in The Handmaid’s TaleRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1225 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel, â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale†, by Margaret Atwood, explores the role of women in a fictional patriarchal society. Women in the novel are seen as property of a man and they live under a strict set of enforced rules and guidelines that male society has deemed appropriate. These patriarchal beliefs are so entrenched in the society that many women either believe the ideals or have been subconsciously influenced by society. Most of the women in the novel were â€Å"products of society† with their personalitiesRead MorePower Struggle In The Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood1373 Words   |  6 PagesMargaret Atwood both explore power struggle from a feminist perspective. Shakespeare in ‘King Lear’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ explore varying power struggles and their correlation to gender through their res pective texts. Shakespeare and Atwood use the genders of their central characters to focus on power in historical and dystopian settings. Both authors explore religious frameworks, the types of power in a patriarchal society, and the implications of gender on power through use of stylisticRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1060 Words   |  5 Pagesto be subjugated. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood plays on this idea dramatically: the novel describes the oppression of women in a totalitarian theocracy. Stripped of rights, fertile women become sex objects for the politically elite. These women, called the Handmaids, are forced to cover themselves and exist for the sole purpose of providing children. The Handmaid’s Tale highlights the issue of sexism while also providing a cruel insight into the manipulation of power seen in the modern worldRead MoreRepresentation of Different Social and Cultural Forces in The Handmaids Tale by Atweeon and Hard Times b y Dickens2490 Words   |  10 PagesForces in The Handmaids Tale by Atweeon and Hard Times by Dickens â€Å"Masses of labourers, organised like soldiers, are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker and above all by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself†, Karl Marx in his Manifesto of the Communist Party 1848 here highlights the state portrayed through Charles Dickens’s ‘Hard Times’. Margaret Atwood highlights the similarity with her book saying â€Å"it is a study of power, and how it Read MoreAbuse of Power in the Handmaids Tale1174 Words   |  5 Pagestotalitarian society created by Margaret Atwood in the Handmaid’s Tale, there are many people and regimes centred around and reliant on the manipulation of power. The laws that are in place in the republic of Gilead are designed and implemented so as to control and restrict the rights and freedom of its inhabitants. In the republic of Gilead, there are many rules and restrictions within all levels of the community, wives, econowives, common men and handmaid’s included, which limit the goings-on of the peopleRead More`` The Handmaid s Tale `` By Margaret Atwood And Gary Ross1542 Words   |  7 Pagesreveals the present’ The 1986 Novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ written by Margaret Atwood and Gary Ross’ 2012 film ‘The Hunger Games’ are dystopian texts that reflect the genre of dystopian literature and the context in which they were composed. The conventional themes through which they do this are uniformity, technology and removal from present time as well as how these concepts are manipulated to create new meanings. In Atwood’s 1986 novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ the theme of uniformity, conventional

Business Strategy Financial Reporting Irregularities

Question: Discuss about the Business Strategy Financial Reporting Irregularities. Answer: Introduction: The various non-financial and financial aspects lead to the risk of misstating the financial reports of the company. The audit process sought to reduce such risks but there are some factors, which are beyond the control of the auditing process. The factors, which cannot be controlled, and leading to the error in the financial reporting is the inherent risks. In the year of 2000, the performance of the One Tel Company is quite poor as depicted from its financial statements. However, it was depicted by the balance sheet that the financial position of the company was better in the previous year. Due to this disparity in the financial reporting of the company, the company has inherent risk factors associated with it. The inherent risk factor responsible for increasing the risk assessment at the financial reporting level is as follows: One of the factors is the staffs and labor of the companies where the workforce comprised of and this is because the productivity of the company relies in the efficiency of the workforce. Due to the lack of expertise, the fresh employees may not be able to produce the optimum output as required by the company. However, the existing employees may also fail to perform desirably and the reason may be the newly introduced policy of the companies which is not liked by the employees. There might be the lack of motivation and the employees may not be motivated to work in the peak season or in pressure. If the management is not involved in motivating the employees, their productivity would fall. The employees need to be properly trained if the company switches to the technologically advanced system (Bame-Aldredet al. 2012). The cash flow and the income statement of the company reflects that the cash flow from the basic operating activities are negative that is the One Tel company has failed in generating the sufficient cash flow as depicted form the negative amount. The reason may be attributed to the inefficient marketing plan of the company. The marketing plan might not be designed so that would generate the profits for the company. The prediction of the future market and the behavior analysis form the basis of the marketing plan and in order for the marketing plan to be accurate the behavior analysis needs to be accurate (Bentleyet al. 2013). If the management does not properly analyze the natures of the consumers, then it would fail to attract the customers as the plan would not be effective. The nature of the products and business are vital aspect to form the sound marketing plan. The auditor would not be able to control the effectiveness of the marketing plan and this factor would contribute to th e increased risk assessment at the level of financial reporting (Bratten et al. 2012). Another risk factor would be the changes preferences pattern of the consumers which would have impact on the financial reporting and this is very much relevant in the telecom industry. The consumers in the telecom industry have a tendency to change their network service providers in lure of various schemes. The telecom companies using their advertising and marketing campaigns attract the customers by offering schemes but they are faced with the challenge of retaining the customers (Sadgrove 2016). The fast change in the consumers preferences affects the sales of telecom companies and hence the financial outcome differs year to year. There are various factors that affect the assessment of the inherent risks such as the nature of the business of the clients, any transaction that are non routine nature, results generated by the previous audits. The inherent risks are inherent to the activities of entity, its operation and environment in which it conducts its business and nature of accounts. Detection of such risks would enhance the risk assessment (Messier 2016). The various factors contributing to the increased risks assessment can be listed down below: The real projections of the financial statements are sometimes different from the actual value depicted. The reason behind this is that some of the financial transactions are misstated when it is treated using simple calculation, though it requires complex calculations. The companies intends to misstate the financial information if it is not in a stable financial situation as in the case of One Tel company where there was mainly outflow of cash rather than inflow. If the company has previously presented the information having discrepancies then it is likely to do so in the future as well (Kunz et al. 2014). Another factor might be the competence and integrity of the management and any preliminary interview that is held, this forms the basis for risk assessment by the auditors, and this factor would affect the subjectivity and judgment of the financial statements. The history of the meeting analysts and the expectancy regarding the future earning of the company also forms the basis of the auditing factor. The failure of the management on the part of accountant and their inability to maintain the proper accounting records leads to the increased risk assessment. Other factor is the transactions that are of high volume and are maintained in the account of balance is regarded to be of non routine and this is one of the factors which needs to be considered as they are not a part of the ordinary business course. The auditors consider these inherent risk factors when they assess the risks involved in the financial reporting or accounts of balance (Knechel et al. 2012). The internal control over financial reporting is the factors that need to be identified during the business risk management. This calls for evaluating the designs of the internal control system relevant to the auditing procedures. The components of the internal control of the financial reporting environment and the monitoring of the control system, communication and information and the activities involved in controlling process. The procedures of recording, initiating, processing, authorizing the transactions are to be accounted for.These factor are essential to be considered because the judgment in estimating the accounts is affected which would manipulate the financial statements (Johnstoneet al, 2013). The nature of the company is very relevant factor when it comes to the strategic assessment of business risks as the management personnel and the structure of organization, nature of the investment made by the company is relevant factors in assessing the risks. This factor consists of many sub factors that needs to be considered such as the complexity and size of the operating business, the services and products and its key suppliers. The businesses that expect its operation to continue for an infinite period of time and would not liquidate in the near future are regarded as the going concern organization. Under the statutory guideline, the business entities are regarded going concerns which are enlisted as companies. However, during the course of period many companies stills discontinue their operation. Therefore, the capability of the organization to continue their operation in the future would be measured by analyzing the financial statements of the organizations. In order to measure the continuity aspect of the organization, there are aspects that need to be analyzed that is the solvency, liquidity and profitability aspects (Haimes 2015). The overall financial health of the company is measured by using the solvency aspects and it shows the capital structure of the company and shows whether the company has enough assets to clear off its liabilities. The ratios, which depict the solvency aspect of the company, are equity ratio, debt to equity ratio and the debt ratio. The ratios for One Tel Company for the year 1999 and 2000 are depicted as follows: The liquidity position of the company is described using the liquidity aspects and this helps in finding out that the assets of the company are sufficient to cover up all its liabilities. If the company does not possess adequate liquid assets, then the company might go into liquidity and it might become difficult for the company to continue its operational activities. The ratio shows that whether the company has sufficient working capital needed by the business to carry out its operations (Gunin-Paraciniet al. 2014). One of the most widely used tools to measure the liquidity position of the company is the current ratio. The current ratio for the year 1999 and 2000 of One Tel Company is shown below: The financial profit of the company in terms of loss and profit is measured using the profitability ratio. The main objective of the company is to earn profit through its operation and the profitability aspect of the company shows that the company has earned adequate profits and has generated sufficient amounts of profits. Due to the unavailability of the funds, the company may find it difficult to operate in the future. The ratios depicting the profitability aspects of the company are return on equity, return on assets, and the return on capital employed (Griffiths 2012). The graph depicting these ratios for One Tel Company is shown in the following graphs: The graphs show that the current ratio for One Tel Company has reduced over the years. The current ratio of the company is above 1.5 and this means that the company has sufficient assets to pay off all its short-term obligations. Due to the increase in the value of total equity and total assets, the solvency ratio of the company has reduced over the years. The reason is also attributable to the reduction in the value of total liabilities. The company has incurred huge loss in the year of 2000. It is also clearly depicted from the statement of cash flow that the operational expenses of the company could not be met as the company has failed to generate sufficient cash flow. The negative figures clearly shows the shortage of funds in the company. However, the operation of the company has been continued form the capital funding that is by issuing the new shares and by reinvesting the profits earned in the previous year (Dictionary 2014). There is a shortage of the cash revenue generated. Therefore, the conclusion can be made on the basis of above analysis that though there is a shortage of funds in the company and the company is suffering from huge loss, the losses and the liabilities of the company is met using the assets that are adequate. The One Tel Company can therefore be regarded as the medium going concern. References: Bame-Aldred, C.W., Brandon, D.M., Messier Jr, W.F., Rittenberg, L.E. and Stefaniak, C.M., 2012. A summary of research on external auditor reliance on the internal audit function.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,32(sp1), pp.251-286. Bentley, K.A., Omer, T.C. and Sharp, N.Y., 2013. Business strategy, financial reporting irregularities, and audit effort.Contemporary Accounting Research,30(2), pp.780-817. Bratten, B., Gaynor, L.M., McDaniel, L., Montague, N.R. and Sierra, G.E., 2013. The audit of fair values and other estimates: The effects of underlying environmental, task, and auditor-specific factors.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,32(sp1), pp.7-44 Bratten, B., Gaynor, L.M., McDaniel, L., Montague, N.R. and Sierra, G.E., 2013. The audit of fair values and other estimates: The effects of underlying environmental, task, and auditor-specific factors.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,32(sp1), pp.7-44. Budescu, D.V., Peecher, M.E. and Solomon, I., 2012. The joint influence of the extent and nature of audit evidence, materiality thresholds, and misstatement type on achieved audit risk.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,31(2), pp.19-41. Chong, G., 2013. Detecting Fraud: What Are Auditors Responsibilities?.Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance,24(2), pp.47-53. Crous, C., Lamprecht, J., Eilifsen, A., Messier, W., Glover, S. and Douglas, P., 2012. Auditing and Assurance Services.Berkshire: McGraw-Hill. Dictionary, C., 2014. The purpose of Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory is to contribute to improving the practice and theory of auditing. The term auditingis to be interpreted broadly and encompasses internal and external auditing as well as other attestation activities (phenomena). Papers reporting results of original research that embody improvements in auditing.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory. Griffiths, M.P., 2012.Risk-based auditing. Gower Publishing, Ltd.. Gunin-Paracini, H., Malsch, B. and Paill, A.M., 2014. Fear and risk in the audit process.Accounting, Organizations and Society,39(4), pp.264-288. Haimes, Y.Y., 2015.Risk modeling, assessment, and management. John Wiley Sons. Johnstone, K., Gramling, A. and Rittenberg, L.E., 2013.Auditing: A Risk-Based Approach to Conducting a Quality Audit. Cengage Learning. Knechel, W.R., Krishnan, G.V., Pevzner, M., Shefchik, L.B. and Velury, U.K., 2012. Audit quality: Insights from the academic literature.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,32(sp1), pp.385-421. Kunz, R., Josset, D., Scholtz, H., Motholo, V., Graeme, O.R., Penning, G. and Rudman, R., 2014. Auditing Assurance: Principles Practice. Messier Jr, W., 2016.Auditing assurance services: A systematic approach. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Sadgrove, K., 2016.The complete guide to business risk management. Routledge.