Ways in Which the UK Government Policies Impact Upon the Social Essay

Ways in Which the UK Government Policies Impact Upon the Social Benefit System - Essay Example This essay stresses that varied researchers have attempted to offer an analytical framework, which is designed with an aim of improving understanding of the relationships between varied measures of government policy impacts upon social benefits system. This is vital because this will help the government to embed social impacts into government decision making process and also construe the policy implications on the comprehensive measures of wellbeing. There are numerous ways of valuing varied social benefits but understanding the role of different governmental polices in an economy is vital. The UK government intervenes in the labor market for varied reasons such as correcting market failure, achieving equitable income and wealth distribution, as well as, improving the performance of the economy. There are varied ways through which the government can intervene in the market and this is through fiscal or monetary policy intervention, labor market policy intervention, competition policy intervention and employing varied regulation or policies. As the paper the government policies have also affected the supply side especially the changes in the political context, economic restructuring, national and international economic conditions and changes in job skill requirement. The changes in skill requirements result due to development and diffusion of new technology; thus impacting the supply for labor. The labor market policies are often perceived not only as a demanding phenomenon but also as an exclusively supply side phenomenon. However, the orthodox macroeconomic policy as practiced by the central banks in the European markets and IMF requires the monetary policies, which is setting of interest rates to run in accordance with an inflation target in the labor market. The current global economic crisis has significantly challenged this view because when interest rates hits the zero lower bound, monetary policy becomes ineffective; hence impacting social benefits in the labor market. Some progressive commentators now argue that the monetary or fiscal policies are partially to blame for average unemployment level in many countries. This is because some policies set by central banks do not take employment levels into account when setting interest rates because they only target inflation; thus impacting social benefit system. In addition, the orthodox macroeconomic theories presume that in case unemployment exists in the market equilibrium; this must be due to the increased or too high real wages (Gillespie, 2013, p. 73). However, from the Keynesian theory, sometimes it may be possible for unemployment to exist in case wages are too low. This is because of insufficient aggregate demand in an economy of which wages are the

Case Study: Energy Drink Industry

Case Study: Energy Drink Industry No serious and lasting achievement or success one ever achieves without the friendly guidance and co-operation of so many people involved in work. Foremost of all, I express my gratitude to the Almighty for his blessings and foresting wisdom in all my wishes. I am also thankful to my Subject Teacher ABHAY TIWARI , who has helped me a lot each and every time when I had some difficulty. Words are not sufficient to register my sincere regards to my loving parents for their deep affection and unabated inspiration that really kept me going. They were and unending source of strength and perseverance during the course of the study. I place my thanks to al l those who spared their time and made it convenient for me to complete the research. I deeply acknowledge their concern for my research. Last but not the least, I also wish to red cord my gratitude for any person(s), my memory has failed to recall, who rendered his/her/ their support and services. History of energy drinks: Packed with caffeine, taurine and vitamins-B, energy drinks are the current fuel of choice of the todays generation. More energy mean for work and more productivity. So, life gets pace quickly and the energy drinks market expands .It all started in Japan when Taisho pharmaceuticals released a drink called Lipovitan-D in 1962. It contained a mix of b1, b2 and b6 vitamins, along with niacin and taurine all are concentrated and boost energy. Tonic drink is popularly grown up in Asia. In 1987, an Australian named Dietrich Mateschitz took the same concept but added sugar and caffeine to it and formulated red bull, which quickly popular in the Europe. Around the same time, Americans were accessorizing their all-night Atari marathons with Jolt Cola, which was advertised as having all the sugar and twice the caffeine of Coke. When Red Bull hit the market in the U.S., they had to carve the niche alone, so traditional marketing and branding strategies wouldnt work. They started sponsoring non-traditional athletes(no, not in-line skaters; more like kite sailors and sky surfers) and began an annual event called Flug tag, in which amateur aviators build their own stylized aircraft and compete to see who can fly the farthest over water. And , when Red Bull started marketing their drink to bars as a cocktail mixer. Red Bull remains the top name in energy drinks to this day, with global sales estimated at about $2 billion annually. Thats not to say there isnt competition. Dozens upon dozens of brands flood the energy drink market. Its hard to say how many, exactly, because upstart companies come and go, but heavy-hitters like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Anheuser-Busch have all developed their own energy drinks. Jolt Cola has been re-branded as an energy drink; it now comes in a can shaped like a big battery. Hansen, a natural soda company, entered the game with Monster Energy. Rockstar, the first energy drink to make itself available in 16- and 24-ounce cans, has been in third place behind Red Bull and Monster for a while, but Coca-Cola recently inked a deal to distribute the drink. Yes, Rockstar has finally signed with a major label. All the marketing in the world, however, hasnt convinced the French, Danish, or Norwegian governments to legalize high caffeine energy drinks in their countries, and Argentina recently became the fourth country to outlaw such beverages. Other governments and food safety agencies have also raised concerns about whether the drinks pose health risks. To research such a matter is to wade through a scientific point/counterpoint debate so thick that one would need a 24-ounce can of low-carb Monster just to read through all the applicable articles. While many are apprehensive about potential dangers, the bottom line seems to be that energy drinks are probably no worse for you than strong coffee, and should therefore be treated accordingly. Taurine, one of the main ingredients in most energy drinks, hasnt been the subject of any long-term studies, so the jury is still out on that one. On one hand, taurine is produced naturally in the body, so it should be harmless, but on the other hand it i s possible that too much taurine could be a bad thing, and the effect of combining it with caffeine and other ingredients has yet to be fully explored. But even if a major news story were to break tomorrow claiming that all energy drinks are made from the blood of orphans and that taurine causes hair loss and acute leprosy, the stuff is undoubtedly here to stay. With any luck, theyll keep our nations scientists awake long enough to finally give us our damn jet packs! Porters five forces for energy drink industry The energy drink industry is very competitive for all corporations involved, with the greatest competition being that from rivalry sellers within the industry. All energy drink companies have to think about the pressures; that from rival seller within the industry, new entrants to the industry, substitutes of the products, buyers and sellers. New entrant: New entry is not a strong competitive pressure for the energy drink industry because;there are so,many brand who are entering into the market such as cloud 9,xxx,phantom and so many. Red bull and few other energy drinks are dominate the industry with their strong brand name and great distribution channels. Energy drink is fully saturated and growth is low. It is very difficult for new and unknown entrant to start competing against the existing firms. Some another barrier are also their such as high fixed cost of warehouse and other so many expenses and economies of scale. New entrant cannot compete in price without economies of scale. These high capital requirement and market saturation make it extremely difficult for the new company to enter the energy drink industry. Substitute: Substitute products are those products competitors which are not present in the energy drink industry. Substitute of this industry are strong competitors. Such substitute of energy drinks industry products are fruit juices, water bottle, soft drinks, coffee and tea. Substitutes are strong for energy drinks industry because; Water bottle, soft drinks, fruit juices, coffee are increasingly popular with trend to be a more health conscious consumers. There are progressively more varieties in fruit juices and coffee that appeal to different consumers tastes but appears healthier than energy drinks. Coffee and tea are competitive substitute because they also provide caffeine that provided by energy drinks also. The consumer who consumes lot of energy drinks may substitute coffee because if they want to keep caffeine and lose the sugar and according to the taste. Specially blend coffee becoming very famous and popular because of so many coffee cafà © are opened and offers many different taste to the consumers. Intake of coffee and fruit juices instead of energy drinks very healthier and very cheap in cost also. Suppliers power: Suppliers bargaining power is higher because there is huge number of firms present in the energy drinks industry. Supplier for the energy drinks industry holds much competitive pressures. The bargaining power of suppliers is higher because; There is large number of energy drinks firms and most of them are using tin and aluminum mix cans for their packaging, which is not much availability because thousands of other industry are using tin and aluminum for their packaging the products. Supplier of tin and aluminum are few so bargaining power suppliers is high. It is difficult to switch other suppliers. Because it will take more time to supply and deals. Buyers power: Bar gaining power of energy drinks industry are mainly large grocers, discount stores and restaurants. The energy drinks companies distributed to beverages to these stores for resale to the consumers. The bargaining power is very strong because large grocers and discount stores buy large numbers of energy drinks, allowing them to buy at lower price. There is another reason also that many number of firms are in the energy drink industry so, different brand of energy drinks are available in the market. Rivalry: The competitive pressure from rivalry sellers is greatest competition that faced by the firms present in the energy drink because red bull acquiring most of the market in this industry and few other companies are also growth at the faster rate because of that the rivalry competition will be more in this industry, red bull, cloud9, Gatorade, monsters, tab, Rockstar, these are major players in the industry. The rivalry will be higher because; Brand name loyalty is competitive pressure because brand key customers loyalty survey shows that brand with the greatest customers loyalty in industry. Red bull, rockstar, monster, these drinks have greater loyalty than other energy drinks and famous brand name. Distribution channels are very vast and because of this they are competing with each others. Another companies are also growing and acquiring market share and increasing the distributing channels with variety in products so it the major competing thing in the industry. Major players in market: There are many players in the energy drinks industry worldwide red bull, monster, rockstar, amp and tab these are the rating series of energy drinks but in Indian market these are few major player who are playing vital role in Indian market by confidently except red bull because red bull is exceptional case because it is the oldest energy drink and very major player but other are try to competing with each others and increasing their market share. Major Players in Indian markets are: Red bull: red bull is acquiring most of the market share among all other energy drinks and the market share of red bull in market of energy drink is 42.6 (based on dollar sales). Cloud 9. Gatorade. Xxx. Red bull: Red bull is the oldest product in the market and capturing the industry share almost half of the other products. Logo: two charging bulls. Target market: long strenuous night shift audience. Slogan: red bull gives you wings. SWOT analysis of red bull company: Strength: From this we can say that what the strength of the company is; Fashionable brand image and image for high standard. Oldest energy drink in the industry capturing the largest share of the industry. High revenue as price is set 10% than other energy drinks, which increase the revenue of the company. So many market shares are sold to different countries. Famous for more caffeine and dangerous ingredient are added in it named edge. Brand equity and brand loyalty. Weakness: what are the weaknesses of the company due to? Red bull may have lost its edge because of government accepted as being safe because many customers like strong ingredient and some are using light so its depend on person to person. Lack of patent. No campaign are organized, all the sales and revenue are getting by only the brand image. Very high price, low level of income cannot consume. Opportunities: it can show us what are the opportunities of the company by which they can raise more in the market? They have the opportunity to introduce more product variants or more flavor like others are doing to increase their consumers. Expanding their brand into different countries. Consumer recognize through sponsorship of sports and event. They should increase their consumption by more advertising. Threats: Threats of the company are; Consumer purchases other illegal energy drink instead of red bull containing more taurine and caffeine. Now a days safe would be accepted by many of people instead of red bull edge it may lost its consumers. Market share would be decrease due to some many other substitute and competitors are available in the market. New entrant is also coming in Indian market and other countries this may cause in the decrease in the market share. Todays new organic energy drinks market is coming into the market which may snatch the red bull market. Substitute like soft drinks and fruit juices. Gatorade: First made in 1965, for the university of Florida football. It developed to replace the fluids and help prevent from dehydration. Target market: athletes Logo: lightning Current slogan: Is it in you. SWOT analysis of Gatorade Company: Strength: It means what is the strength of the company by which company are getting benefit and got many benefits. Loyal customers, we saw many players are using Gatorade while playing sports and doing activities. Strong brand equity. Innovations, we can say that Gatorade became famous by their flavors they introduced so many flavors such as berry, lemon, orange and black cherry. Supply chain is very good of the company. Unique products are also available such as Gatorade thirst quenchers, fierce, frost, xtremo. Weakness: what is the weakness of the company due to that reasons company are not growing at much higher rate. Non-diversified product line. Poor exposure and promotion because its only promote in abroad such as in usa and it is known by in India but not much very less promotion campaign are settled by the company. Distribution channel is not good enough if we comparing to red bull and other drinks. Opportunities: what are the opportunities by which company can increase their growth? Expand their brand by which people come to know because there are many region and areas where people dont know about the brand. They should increase their product because many flavors are not available in all the places and they should increase their services also. Threats: Competitors are the major threat because many companies are present in this industry are large number of players are present in the market. New entrant are interesting in the market and this wiil be the greater threat to the company because life becoming busy and everybody need drinks with full of energy which attracts other companies to attract toward the industry. SJ xxx: A very new product in the industry of energy rinks and one of the most fast growing energy drinks in the market. It is the Indian product by JMJ GROUPS and introduced this year in the 4-5 state and the result in seen good for the product in the market. It was sponsored team Kolkata knight rides in Indian premier league in 2010 which really works for xxx. They kept price in comparison to red bull and introduce two variants in same drink. Logo: xxx in column wise. Target market: people with age between 15-40. Slogan: extreme drink for extreme people. SWOT analysis of SJ XXX energy drink: Strength: strength of the company; Good reputation of the marketing group. The entire launch is very successful for the brand. Xxx seen as young and trendy look and motivate the teen and Youngers to go through. Attraction design and name is very attractive. Brand endorsed by very famous celebrity SHAHRUKH KHAN. Weakness: weakness of the company; Concentrate only on few states such as Goa, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Low investment on advertising promotion. Very high prices at the starting knowing this that there are many present in the market. Very less awareness among all the other products. Huge gap between existing firms takes much time to grow. Opportunities: XXX-nicofix variant of company reduces the tobacco craze in youngster and it may helps in increase the favorability. XXX-rejuve variant of company are good option to improve immune system which creates awareness of using xxx. This new product in the market so it is the good opportunity for company to positioning and placing their product. New events and sports events are yet to come in the market and by sponsoring them regularly they can build their image in the market. Threats: Existing firms who are well stabled in the market from last many of years like red bull, Gatorade and cloud9 and others also. If they are thinking to launch in abroad so much higher threat are to company because many of strongest competitors are present already in the market and strong competitors and have brand loyalty. Substitute is also present in the market so it also gives the competition. Cloud9: it is manufactured by Goldwin healthcare Pvt. Ltd. This company is specialists in the manufacturing of 100% natural lifestyle energy drinks and caffeine free cola. In the future, cloud 9 plans, itself to the peak of the industry where the sky not finished. Cloud 9 grows it Indian presence all the expanding into the overseas market. Logo: Its name cloud9. Target market: youth and athletes. Slogan: heaven meets earth. SWOT analysis of the cloud9: Strength: Good flavor taste, it is much better taste and comparative red bull bit same but not similar. Good consumer awareness. Sponsored in big events of India such as fashion events, sports. Good investment on advertisement. Well known parent company. Availability in small cans also like other energy drinks are not available in small packing but this drink is available. Low prices comparative to other energy drinks mostly than red bull , rockstar, Sj xxx. Weakness: Low area coverage by the promotional strategy. Competition within its own variable brands. Low level of distribution channels because not available in so many areas and cities. Opportunities: Only brand available in the market with the five flavor. No other brand is providing this kind of flavor only Gatorade does but not all available in Indian market. Associated it in different award functions and organized itself in different event and parties. It has brand ambassadors like shilpa shetty. Being the first energy drink brand in the Indian market. It would b put positive effect on the Indian consumers. Threats: New entrants in the market the rapid growth of the market attracting so many companies to launching their drinks so it is the biggest threat of the existing firms to new entrants. New favours from other brand which increase their growth rate by innovative the new flavor brand with different technology and ingredient like xxx-rejuve which improve the immune system. So many brand which being global and some are coming toward our country which is also a threat and if we thought to launch our products in the foreign market this is also the threat because of globalization.

Alexander The Great Essay -- essays research papers

Alexander the Great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Even at an early age, Alexander had the promise to become a great leader. Through all his victories and conquests, he has become a great hero and has had a large impact on history. That is why I chose he book Alexander the Great, by J.R. Hamilton for my review. Hamilton does a very good job with the story of Alexander the Great.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins by talking about the Macedonian homeland and the make up of the people, their culture. Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia he was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympias, a princess of Epirus. After discussing his parents and their relationship, Hamilton talks about how Aristotle was Alexander's tutor from age 13 to 16 and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy. The book then talks about how well prepared Alexander was to take over the throne. Then, in the summer of 336 BC Philip was assassinated, and Alexander took over the Macedonian throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamilton does a very good and descriptive job of how Alexander soon showed his power when the large city of Thebes revolted in 335. Alexander stormed the city with mighty force and took 30,000 people as slaves. An important point the book discussesnext is when Alexander begins...

Encounters with peope of different cultures

Encounters with people of different cultures in their own countries or communities 2 3 4 5 Coping with the customs of host countries or communities, e. g. rules and courtesies that local people observe and may expect me to observe. Encountering the different customs of people from other cultures, e. g. dress, spec al occasions, etc. Adapting to the rhythm of life in other cultures, e. g. getting used to different meal times etc. Integrating with the customs or behaviour of host countries, e. g. eginning to use forms of greeting that is very different from my own. Encounters with different cultures in the host university Clarifying areas of uncertainty about university arrangements, e. g. describing what I am used to and asking what happens in the other culture. Adapting to other administrative and academic practices, e. g. using unfamiliar procedures to complete a work task. Coping with different formal ties, e. g. learning new ways of showing respect to senior colleagues from other cultures.Relating to fellow students from other cultures, e. g. learning what they like to talk about during breaks. Being aware of issues to be avoided with a different cultural group, e. g. learning what opics seem to be avoided and what the group's views are likely to be about a current political situation. Building bridges between colleagues ot my own culture and those ot a ditterent culture, e. g. sensing that someone of my culture has said the wrong thing and explaining the misunderstanding to both sides.Section 3 A continuing record of intercultural encounters In this section you can record many kinds of intercultural experiences and encounters that you feel have helped you develop your intercultural skills. In each record, describe what happened and how this enabled you to advance your nowledge and understanding of – or attitude to – intercultural ‘events' ( interactions with people from other cultures, etc). Date: 31109/2012 As soon I arrived at the rent ed place, I found out that my flatmates were both Spanish and I feared that I would be left apart due to my level of Spanish,.However, to my surprised they were both very welcoming and even try their best to understand my poor Spanish and were willing to show me around and give me very helpful tips in relation, to transportation, nightlife and food consumption. Place: Pozuelo de Alarcon The suggestions made by flatmates were quite helpful, on the next day I went to rder my student travel card wish made really easier to travel around Madrid. Their travel system is very similar London travel system which actually work base on the zones you have to move around. However, the store was closed from 12 to 14 0'clock as well as every store around.Such thing was very strange to me and as my flatmates explained it is common thing in Spain for stores to be close at such time due to their weather conditions is too hot work there for thy take a break. It is at that point were a have notice that weather conditions have a huge effect on Spain Culture. Place: Groningen University The team work experience with the guys, gave me the opportunity to improve my communication skills, because we could express one's need, wants and opinion without offending the sensitiveness of the other guys.In addition, I believe I strengthen my Teambuilding skills, as I was the person who motivated the others. The members recognised that, and I was the point of communication between the others. From this experience I realised how much I would like to work for the Human Resources, as I believe to be able to maintain group cooperation and support, and to keep a group updated how it is moving forward to the achievement of the goals. Date: 31/10/2012 On 31/10/12 1 had a presentation to be done together with 3 more students. It was me, a Spanish girl, a Romanian guy, and a Dutch guy.The Dutch guy most of the times we had meeting was quite rude with the other guys. He wanted the work to be done, and he was actually the first not to do it. The day of the presentation, I had a small argument with him. The presentation went well, we scored 7. 2. This guy, during the conversation with our coach said that he was the best and that the other guys, us, did not have the competencies to do the presentation. Place: At first, I got really upset and offended, as he should not dear to say these bad things to his team member.Secondly, I believe he should have told us in a private conversation, as all of us were really embarrassed, and we all thought that what he was saying was not actually true. Finally, I spoke with him and he apologised about what happened with the guys and l. I hope he understood that he should not criticise others, when he is the first person who makes mistakes. Date: 03/11/2012 In these days I was reflecting how the Dutch academic semester works so differently trom the English semester. Here, every semester is made trom two periods.In each period there are at least three mo dules to study, therefore exams, reports, group works and presentations to do. At my university, we only have four modules for semester, whilst here there are at least six for each semester. I could see how I improved time management planning and organizational skills. Place: Groningen My skills improved because the amount of work to do was higher than my expectations. In fact, I had to develop goals for my personal achievements, and identify tasks to be accomplished. In addition, I learnt how prioritise tasks and take esponsibilities for the decisions I made.Based on the above please prepare a SWOT analysis of the stage that you believe are at in terms of cross cultural competence; (i. e. strengths and weaknesses) and where you would like to get to by January. What are the opportunities for enhancing your competence and what are the threats which may thwart your endeavours if left untackled? Studying the first semester of the second year in ESIC located in Madrid, Spain enables me to break down barriers as well as communicate and interact with people from different cultures in ways beyond no lecture room or university hall can.

Analysis Of Club Meds Essay

Club Mediterranee was created in 1950 under the law of 1901, through the initiative of a former member of the Belgian water polo team, Gerald Blitz. The idea came to him following a visit to his sister in 1949 at the Olympic Village of Calvi, in Corsica. It was formed along a quite singular concept, that of offering â€Å"all inclusive â€Å"holidays. Sixty years later, Club Med annually welcomes over 1.7 million guests from all over the world, to around 90CM villages in seaside and mountain locations. To cater its guests, also called GM’s (â€Å"Gentils members† or gracious members). Each holiday village has its own structure that is exclusive to club med: the structure is composed of the following The Gentils Organisateurs (GO’s) or gracious organizers. A staff category, including entertainers, group leaders, but also others. Job functions including heads of maintenance, swimming instructors, cooks, human resource directors and many others The gracious employees (GE) who include the waiters and gardeners and usually come from the country hosting the club. Both gracious organizers and gracious employees may be seasonal workers or permanently employed depending on the length of the time that the club has been open. Pillars behind the club’s performance The club has a unique type of staff organization, which is part of the unchangeable pillar of the club. It has exceptional quality of its locations, which distinguishes it from its competitors making the club to be more successful. The club has also managed to find and secure the most beautiful and well-preserved sites in the world, thus contributing to an added competitive advantage. The club ranks its villages in five categories (tridents) according to their locations, their infrastructures and the services offered. Their establishment of the villages ranges from simple huts to a 5-trident establishment. The villages with huts and those currently classified up to three tridents are scheduled to gradually disappear, making a way for additional up-market villages, more in keeping with the club’s new strategy. The first Club Med village was a temporary tent located in the Alcudia in the Balearic Islands. To help him launch his first session, he sought assistance from his friends who he had managed during the pre-war sports. On the club’s first season, they operated on a leased plot near Palma. The tents and the basic cooking necessities were bought in an American army surplus store in Germany. Blitz idea was to involve guests in the successful running of the village. This concept facilitated meeting people and abolishing financial and class barriers for the duration of the holiday through a multitude of activities, sports and excursions. This eventually led for Blitz contacting the Trigano et Fils for additional materials, tents and camping equipment. This eventually led to him meeting Gilbert Trigano his elder brother, a few years later they joined forces and in 1963, he actually became the chairperson and the managing director. (Zaleznik, 1997). In 1952, club med also built its first village with huts in Greece. The construction of a number of further hut villages followed, then more robust constructions in bricks and mortar, more similar to hotels. The first club was built in Agadir under the encouragement of King Hassan II. In 1960, the club almost went bankrupt under the management of the burner. It was saved by Edmond de Rothschild, who came to own 35% shares. In 1966, for the first time, the club was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. At the beginning of the seventies, the club’s finances were still wanting and Gilbert Trigano, the manager at the time had to seek a considerable injection of new capital. This was when nine new shareholders, including Gianni Agnelli gained a majority of the company’s capital. His participation led to the opening of the first village in Italy. He remained in possession of 23.9% of the capital up to until 2004. A major innovation was introduced afterwards with the first †˜Mini Club Med† a special children’s club catering to all ages, from babies to teenagers. This formed a strong pillar of the enterprise and that is even today, an important criterion for comparing with the competitors. The club later launched a public promotional campaign, which led to the opening of a new club in Brazil in 1979 preceded by the USA during the following year. Four years later the club opened premises in Wall Street, where its shares were listed. In 1980’s the club launched its first sailing ship the â€Å"Club Med I†, and two years later, they launched â€Å"Club Med II†. They also acquired an airline afterwards. Due to these acquisitions, the club started experiencing crisis due to a drop in guest numbers and also its debts increased which three years later, Gilbert Trigano decided to hand over the leadership to his son, Serge. The leadership by Serge ended with huge losses up to 113 million euros in 1996 and 150 million euros in 1977. He was replaced by Phillipe Bourguignon whose ambition was to transform a company of holiday villages to a company of services. There followed the launch of a new promotional campaign that also marked a key date in the history of Club Med (Spring, 2002). In the 20th century, there began renovation of the villages and more competitive price positioning. A number of innovations emerged with the creation of Med World, a venue for concerts and evening entertainment, where the guests could meet up before or after their holidays. In 2001, Oyyo Club concept was created and it aimed at a younger population (18-25 years). In the same year, the Gymnase club was acquired and turned into the Club Med Gym. This year the club was debuted on the internet. The years 2000 resulted in both extreme sailing competitions and participation in hypermarkets through a range of sportswear. Club’s Current Operations                      In 2000, the turnover had grown by 28% compared to the previous years and the operating profits rose to 103 million euros. However the villages were disinfected in the year 2002/2003 leading to a deficit of 6 million euros. This led to the replacement of the manager, Pierre Bourguignon by Henri Giscard d’Estaing. An upheaval occurred later in the shareholding structure. The club sold 28.9% of the share stock to the Accor group, which led to the launch of a new strategy: to make Club Med the leader in up-market, convivial and multi-cultural holidays. This meant that the club would no longer be a mass package holiday organization aiming for high volumes, but rather high-end organization reflecting its exceptional locations. It would continue to be convivial and multicultural. This global strategy is reflected in villages created to be refined in the fact that the villages are now designed by renowned architects and designers, generosity in the attention given to the children with supervision, entertainment and ensured activities for all groups and offering the guests a choice in their preferred means of transport, offering a choice in the wide range of activity options, between sports course spa treatment weeks etc. This strategy led to the abandonment of villages that did not correspond to the new strategy (villages with huts to those with 2 tridents) in order to concentrate on the three and four tridents that offer a return on investment of 9 to 15%. The club sold some of its villages and this enabled it to clear debts and was able to finance the success of the remaining villages. Between 2004 and 2008, over 50 villages were closed down and 20 new ones opened. Today, Club Med manages 80 villages around the world. Club Med communicated its new strategy by launching a new advertising and communication campaign in 2005, under the signature: â€Å"There is still so much world to discover† (Discover new worlds, discover new people), also called the â€Å"Faces Campaign†. It was aimed showing in concrete terms that Club Med had evolved and positioned itself towards the top end of the market. In 2007, a new advertising campaign reinforced their upmarket positioning with the signature. This promotional campaign sought to show tangible proof of this up scaling. The second event was the launching of the first 5-trident Club with the opening of a second village in Mauritius. Classification of the villages reached a new standard, demonstrating the determination to aim higher end of the market. 2007-2008: there were challenges like unfavorable environment that included soaring of petrol prices and a financial crisis. The club had also to face a decreasing accommodation capacity due to the ne w focus on certain villages and reduced opening periods of the 2 and 3-trident villages. It also succeeded in escaping from debts in this year with net profit of 1 million euros after four years of losses. The shareholding base was still fluctuating with the Accor group selling a large percentage of its holdings, remaining with less than 9 % and still it was planning to discontinue its investment. The company is having difficulty in realizing profits since they increased their tariffs, which eventually led to a rapid loss of customers. Up to the year 2009, the group was still in deficit due to real estate charges connected to the closure of certain villages. The commercial potential of Club Med remains essentially in Asia. The Asian market represents a large share of the 60 million potential customers worldwide. The transformation of the club into a global specialist in all – inclusive, up-market and multicultural holidays is real as the chairperson, Henri Giscard d’Estaing is confident in the strategies that he applied. The club is now offering the most accessible, up-market holiday. Asia was responsible for the club’s turnover in 2006-2007, whereby it was estimated that 26 million out of the 60 million potential customers are Asians. Despite the unfavorable environmental context in Asia, i.e. The tsunami of 2004, an outbreak of avian flu and terrorist at tacks, the customers in this region continue increasing.The developers of the internet; greater customer loyalty and a lengthening of the average duration of stays have boosted the levels of growth in Asia. The club also has extended to china and in 2006, they opened a new agency in Canton, thus consolidating its commercial development strategy with the Chinese, as they were the population that was spending an increasing amount of time and money on holidays. Although the club is investigating all opportunities for development, including extending to other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, the management is also counting on the Asians travelling outside of their home zone. Although the Asian continent has as many cultures as it has countries, it seems to share the same attitudes concerning holidays. Studies carried out has shown that behavior is very similar across the continent, in particular with regard to Club Meds population. To achieve the Asian market targets, the club involves two aspects: The first is the duration of the holidays: Asians do not have many days’ holidays and they therefore spend only four or five days in the club on average. This holiday consumption necessarily influences the club’s occupation rates. Another aspect is the lifestyle adopted by the Asians. They appreciate all activities including archery, kayaking, aqua gym etc. They are always happiest indoors with the air conditioning. They thus adore Club Med as it offers all these activities and adds the karaoke. Studies have been done to investigate on the ways to attract customers worldwide and preserve the current ones with the primary family target implied to goods and services. These are: The offer must be refined in the right locations, high quality villages, a dedicated team, and a high cuisine as well. Studies also show the importance of the all-inclusive formula with the need to suit the whole family, and a flexibility of services to match the inclinations of all. Rooms’ should be extremely comfortable and with modern communication facilities. CITATION Chr97 l 1033 (Clayton, 1997) Club Med is not faced with direct competition in terms positioning. In Asia, for example, the competition is situated essentially on the traditional luxury market. However, sometimes the competition is local. For example, although in Bintan, Club Meds major competitor is Banyan Tree. In order to satisfy customer demand and potential customers while at the same time affirming its new strategy, Club Med has orchestrated its actions around innovation, renovation and service. Club Med has invested over 50 million euros in the renovation of its villages in the Asia-pacific area, where it has ten villages after having closed down five that no longer met the standards of top-end establishments. Apart from the village and room aspect, the activities and the organization have also been reconsidered according to customer expectations. The children’s supervised entertainment and activities, one of the pillars of Club Med has been systematically reconsidered and more widely deployed. Other infrastructures for catering to children have been set in place or renovated. A baby Club Med has been opened in Bali together with a password for teenagers and the renovation of the Petit Club Med and Mini Club Med. Apart from the children’s supervised activities and entertainment, the upscaling of service is particularly demanding in Asia, where regional standards are higher than the rest of the world. The club has used local advertising, communications systems to market their operations. Making the transition from a volume culture to a valuable culture is not without repercussions on the employees’ attitudes. This is the reason why Club Meds human resources have been closely linked to its strategy, which is reflected in the Club’s drive to attract and keep talented employees. Leading to several, initiatives being implemented in terms of recruitment, training and career management. GM Feedback, a major indicator of strategic success is the level of satisfaction shows that the criterion â€Å"Intention to return† is particularly high in Asia overall, which is encouraging for future years. This intention is because of the excellent marks given by customers to the criteria of child supervision/ entertainment, the general atmosphere and the GO teams. In order to measure the impact of the changes, The Research Pacific Group carried out a study. Although criticism persists, it tends to focus on three dimensions: the price, now considered too high: the comfort of the rooms, that could be still improved, and the lack of freedom. (Franco, 1972) The study essentially highlights is the enthusiasm of potential customers for Club Med, in that the mentality that Club Med is a rather old-fashioned type of resort, but rather as the ideal holiday venue for the family, where a multitude of activities and discover a special atmosphere. Another study endeavored to measure t he perception of Club Med via an internet buzz, Club Med is ranked third among the island’s resorts, in the Indonesian islands of Bintan. This position was won thanks to the service, children’s services, the GO team and the variety of activities offered. This position clearly shows that Club Med has joined the upper crust with its luxury hotels, and is confirmed by another example in Bali where Club Med has been ranked fifth. This satisfactory ranking was made possible thanks to service in a broad sense, which includes cleanliness, the GO team and the activities offered. Recent figures published show that turnover has increased 1.9%, in spite of a context of economic crisis affecting all operators in the sector. Business is growing in all zones; while the capacity, as scheduled, has been decreased by 3.1%. Asia recorded 5.2 % (highest growth), Although Club Med benefits globally from the region’s economic dynamism, and it is nevertheless slowed down by up scaling operations that have been accompanied by an 11% average increase in price. The new strategy is attracting new customers, from the point of view of quality; the â€Å"family† strategy engaged by Club Med is working since recruitment is made essentially on this target, with 63% of the Asian clientele structure made up of families (Hart, 1990). Issues And Recommendations In Club Med                      Throughout the past sixty years, Club Med has never really had a chance to profit from a break and the relaxation it succeeds in offering its own guests. The geopolitical climate has often caused difficulties, like the Gulf War of 1990-1991 or the terrorist attack of Bali in 2002, but it also evident that the company has created its own problems. The consistency and coherence of the current strategy are the first for close to 15years and there has been criticism and more obstacles than in any other company (E, 1985). Club Med has an aura of great brand, out of the ordinary, enthusing the public and at the same time receiving all sorts of more or less negative comments. The fame enjoyed by Club Med since its beginning has never weakened and both the customers and the non –customers all over the world have heard about the Club Med and are capable of saying a few words about it. Evidently, this has contributed to its international recognition bu t it has also complicated its task since it has been trying to effect a repositioning; changing mentalities is a longer and more complex task than changing strategy. Three principle challenges seem to stand out for the future of Club Med: environmental, political and organizational. The first challenge is environmental. The whole history of Club Med has been intimately linked to natural disasters, pandemics and financial crises. For example, in Asia the region has suffered from Tsunami, an outbreak of avian flu and terrorist attacks. This is the law of tourism, but it has affected Club Made even more now than in the past, since it’s owns the majority of its villages and its overheads weigh heavily on its balance sheet. This challenge is particularly taken into account in the new strategy where the type of clientele targeted is, for example less sensitive to the financial hazards. Moreover, all new constructions are realized taking into account the possible risks of a Tsunami or an earthquake in areas at risk (WILEY, 1983). Another challenge is political in two senses. The first is connected to the environmental aspect. The challenge of political decisions in the countries where Club Med is active is considerable. The prevailing laws, local requirements and legal obligations to make the taking of risks inevitable in emerging countries, risks that will necessarily have an impact on the financial results. At the same time, by not taking these risks, the Club may be exposing itself to overtaking by the competition that could undermine its historic position as the pioneer. (Hart, 1990) The second sense of the political challenge lies in its singular position in France. Since the club’s activities have been in the headlines, with the opening of villages to movements of capital in its shareholding structure, the worlds of business, politics and the media have been taking an inordinate interest, more so than they would have done for any other company of this size. Club MED has often taken advantage of t his position, which has frequently enabled it to build villages in areas where building permits are difficult to obtain, but at the same time every strategy, it advances is commented, analyzed, dissected and criticized before the new village has been opened. The Club Med also face the organizational challenge, which gives rise to a number of problematic issues. The first is that of resources and ambitions. Club Med is striving to become the world leader of â€Å"all- inclusive† top end, convivial and multicultural holidays. The product it is developing today seems to fit this strategy, but the question remains whether the club has sufficient resources to realize its ambitions, and whether it has the resources to undertake a planetary strategy with the financial capacity of a large SME. Given its large size, it’s also questionable whether the club is capable of succeeding on the three great markets of Europe, Asia-pacific and America. No holiday village operator could succeed and its competitors are often regional operators. With this, there arises a significant question of whether the club will have to give way to a worldwide operator in the short term to medium term as Accor did. This is hastened by the fact that the clubà ¢â‚¬â„¢s capital is fluctuating thus making it an easy prey for tourism experts and others. This last challenge seems to be the most complex to resolve. The problem of service issue in the club’s upscaling operation and the general size of the club is questionable. There has been many cases of failures in the leadership. CITATION Zal97 l 1033 (Zaleznik, 1997) As in the year during the management by Serge Trigano, the club was operating at losses and this eventually led to its slow growth to the upscaling market. The decisions made by the managers also were wanting as in the case of the increase in the tariffs, which eventually led to a hemorrhage of customers. The club, after the closure of some of its villages, it started operating at losses due to the huge real estate charges involved. The decision taken to launch an airline also affected the club negatively as they recorded a loss of 60 million euros. The strategy adopted in the year 2000, although it managed to bring in a huge turnover, there were attached costs penalizing Club Med and its customers found difficulty in recognizing exactly where the club stood in the club stood in the market. This led to losses in that business year. The disinfection of villages in the year 2002/2003 led to difficulties within the club and they recorded tremendous deficits. During this period, the club also lost the majority of its shareholders. During the year 2007-2008, Club Med had to adjust to an unfavorable environment. Soaring petrol prices followed by a financial crisis. The club also faced a decreasing accommodation capacity due to its decision to focus on certain villages and reduced opening periods for the 2- and 3- trident villages. During this period, the shareholding base continued reducing as their main shareholder; the Accor group sold a large percentage of its holdings and was still planning to continue its divestment. The club also has another major weakness: its focus is entirely on the Asian market. It is developing strategies and making acute efforts to improve their position in the Asian market. This has minimized their profits. If the club would target, setting up villages in many parts of the world they would be at a better competitive advantage to its competitors. Understanding what Club Med has become through its new strategies is a main challenge. The club explains its concepts and how it operates in Asian markets. This is usually in conflict as these same Asians have prospects of what they would like to see. I.e. Their needs and expectations are not e European the same as those of the European counterparts regarding the fundamental criterion of the quality of service provided. Recommendations                      Effective use of technology, which can be done in terms of two methods, which are Promotion, and online marketing. In regards to promotion, Club Med can offer package deals to the customers in which each package deal comes with its own unique set of activities, perfect location, breath-taking cuisines and culture friendly yet involved. In the case of online marketing since advertisement is only done locally, Cub Med can target the international community since this era we are is digitally driven. Online marketing would draw untapped enthusiasm from tourist seeking thrill and social travelling. Experiencing other cultures would be the main attraction since it has numerous tridents that offer different reception of cultures. Globalization has made it possible for the introduction of a small representation of culture in different countries such as the presence of china town in the New York. Club Med could benefit from representation of other tridents in the same tridents since its focus is in Asia. Club Med can represent the other tridents in the Asian one enough to create a need of satisfaction. This could help market the other tridents. Club Med can also reduce their tariffs imposed on the customers. This would lead to increased customer turnover and eventually they would register enormous profits. They should also adopt an efficient product mix to attract the number of potential shareholders. The club could also work on improving their infrastructure for catering for all age groups. They could provide better communication appliances in the customer’s rooms to make them comfortable. This would satisfy their customers and thus no chance of losing them to their competitors (E, 1985). Club Med could also channel its efforts to target on a larger market scope rather than coming up with strategies to favour the Asian continent. They should establish various villages in many places in the world. This would ensure that they get a high turnover. Their forthcoming tridents should be located in environmentally viable locations to minimize the chances of disasters and events like terrorist attacks. They should also have some basic guidelines that every decision made by any director should be first screened, voted in by the majority shareholders, vetted and test for market efficiency. This would reduce the chances of managers making ambiguous decisions and coming up with inappropriate strategies that would lead to huge losses, which strains the recovery. To effectively cater for the Asian community, which lacks holidays, Club Med could come up with a strategy that would introduce festivities, such as Cultural nights, music festivals, amongst others. This would influence the preferences of the Asian community positively in hindsight during holidays. They should also seek to renovate their villages and add to them many ideas of interactive workshops with babies and parents. This would ensure that they are at par with the local com petition. (WILEY, 1983) References Clayton, C. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma. New York: Havard Business School Pres. E, M. (1985). Competitive Advantage. Free press. Club Mà ©diterranà ©e. (N.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Club_Mà ©diterranà ©e Destination News – Hotel, Resort & Spa North America. (2009, September 21). Airguide Online. Franco, V., & Perl, M. (1972). The Club MediterraneÃŒ e (Abridged. Ed.). London: Shepheard-Walwyn. Hart, C. (1990). Club Med (A) (Rev. 11/15/90. ed.). Boston, Mass.: President and Fellows of Harvard College :. Pavlovic, T. (n.d.). Club Mà ©diterranà ©e: One of the most optimal formulas of club vacation in sport and recreation tourism. Journal of the Geographical Institute Jovan Cviji?, SASA, 203-211. WILEY, J. (1983). Noel Managing Strategic change:Technical,political,and cultural dynamics. New York. Zaleznik, A. (1997). Managers and leaders . New York: Havard Business Review. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://inpublic.globenewswire.com/2013/06/25/Club Mà ©diterranà ©e Gaillon Invest improves the terms of its offer on the securities of the company HUG1711730.html Source document

Madam c.j. walker essays

Madam c.j. walker essays Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 on a Lousiana plantation, she was a daughter of former slaves. This young woman had transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into one of the most successful women in the 12th century. Even though she was orphaned at the age of seven she still strived to achieve success with the help and side of her sister, Louvenia. She often said, I got my start by giving myself a start. (Madam C.J. Walker Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Social Activist) Sarah married a man named Moses McWilliams at age 14 to escape abuse from her violent brother-in-law, Jesse Powell. They soon had a daughter on June 6, 1885, Lelia, who later became known as Alelia Walker. Her husband died after a short two years after the birth of their daughter. She picked up her things, along with her daughter, and moved to St. Louis. There she joined her four brothers, who were currently employed as barbers, and worked for as little as $1.50 a day which she put towards her daughters education. Although struggling to get buy, Sarah noticed that she was suffering from a scalp aliment in the 1890s which caused her to lose most of her hair. Eager to grow it back, she experimented with homemade remedies and store bought products. Some of these products where made by another entrepreneur Annie Malone who Sarah was inspired by to sell her products. She moved to Denver in 1905 to continue a door to door service where she met her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, a St Louis newspaperman. Sarah had then changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker when finding her own business and selling products under the company name Madam C.J. Walkers Wonderful Hair Grower. This was a scalp conditioning and healing remedy which she said was revealed to her in a dream. The secret ingredient was said to probably have been sulphur though. Some people incorrectly believe it to be true that sh...

Physical Theatre Essays

Physical Theatre Essays Physical Theatre Essay Physical Theatre Essay Physical Theatre History: * Physical theatre is a catch-all term to describe any performance that pursues storytelling through primary physical means * The term â€Å"physical theatre† has been applied to performances consisting mainly of: 1. Mime 2. Contemporary dance 3. Theatrical clowning and other physical comedy 4. Some forms of puppetry 5. Theatrical acrobatics * Modern physical theatre has grown from a variety of origins.Mime and theatrical clowning schools such as L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq Paris, have had a big influence on many modern expressions of Physical Theatre. * Another tradition started with the very famous French master  Etienne Decroux  (father of  corporeal mime). Decrouxs aim was to create a theatre based on the physicality of the actor allowing the creation of a more  metaphorical theatre. This tradition has grown and corporeal mime is now taught in many major theatrical schools. Legacy: Physical theatre had become such a big phenomenon today, being shown in movie such as â€Å"Stomp the Yard† and â€Å"Step Up† as well as huge worldwide productions such as â€Å"Wicked†, â€Å"Cirque de Solei† and â€Å"Hairspray† * We are the building block of the movement of physical theatre.Techniques: * Important theatre directions such as Vsevolod Meyerhold,  Jerzy Grotowski,  Eugenio Barba,  Ariane Mnouchkine  and  Tadashi Suzuki  all explored and developed a variety of intense training techniques for their actors, that were intended to liberate actors and audiences from boring and unstimulating performances. They argued that a performing body should be an instrument of expression that has unique rhythms and patterns that must be amplified, developed and mastered before a performance can be viewed as effective. * They also advocated a variety of training regimes and exercises to develop what they believed were important connections between the communication of physical and emotional tr uth in actors and many of their suggestions have been taken up by acting schools in a number of countries.

Best Analysis Love and Relationships in The Great Gatsby

Best Analysis Love and Relationships in The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Love, desire, and sex are a major motivators for nearly every character in The Great Gatsby. However, none of Gatsby’s five major relationships is depicted as healthy or stable. So what can we make of this? Is Fitzgerald arguing that love itself is unstable, or is it just that experiencing love and desire the way the characters do is problematic? Gatsby’s portrayal of love and desire is complex. So we will explore and analyze each of Gatsby’s five major relationships: Daisy/Tom, George/Myrtle, Gatsby/Daisy, Tom/Myrtle, and Jordan/Nick. We will also note how eachrelationship develops through the story, thepower dynamics involved, and what each particular relationship seems to say about Fitzgerald’s depiction of love. We will also include analysis of important quotes for each of the five major couples. Finally, we will go over some common essay questions about love, desire, and relationships to help you with class assignments. Keep reading for the ultimate guide to love in the time of Gatsby! Roadmap Analyzing the characters via the major relationships (including key quotes) Marriages Tom/Daisy George/Myrtle Relationships/Affairs Daisy/Gatsby Tom/Myrtle Nick/Jordan Common Essay Prompts/Discussion Topics Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Analyzing The Great GatsbyRelationships We will discuss the romantic pairings in the novel first through the lens of marriage. Then we will turn our attention to relationships that occur outside of marriage. Marriage 1:Daisy and Tom Buchanan Tom and Daisy Buchanan were married in 1919, three years before the start of the novel.They both come from incredibly wealthy families, and live on fashionable East Egg, marking them as members of the â€Å"old money† class. Daisy and Tom MarriageDescription As Jordan relates in a flashback, Daisy almost changed her mind about marrying Tom after receiving a letter from Gatsby (an earlier relationship of hers, discussed below), but eventually went through with the ceremony â€Å"without so much as a shiver† (4.142). Daisy appeared quite in love when they first got married, but the realities of the marriage, including Tom’s multiple affairs, have worn on her. Tom even cheated on her soon after their honeymoon, according to Jordan: â€Å"It was touching to see them together- it made you laugh in a hushed, fascinated way. That was in August. A week after I left Santa Barbara Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night and ripped a front wheel off his car. The girl who was with him got into the papers too because her arm was broken- she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel† (1.143). So what makes the Buchanans tick? Why has their marriage survived multiple affairs and even a hit-and-run? Find out through our analysis of key quotes from the novel. Daisy and Tom Marriage Quotes Why they came east I don't know. They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together. (1.17) Nick introduces Tom and Daisy as restless, rich, and as a singular unit: they. Despite all of the revelations about the affairs and other unhappiness in their marriage, and the events of the novel, it’s important to note our first and last descriptions of Tom and Daisy describe them as a close, if bored, couple. In fact, Nick only doubles down on this observation later in Chapter 1. Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. 'All right,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." "You see I think everything's terrible anyhow," she went on in a convinced way. "Everybody thinks so- the most advanced people. And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything." Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom's, and she laughed with thrilling scorn. "Sophisticated- God, I'm sophisticated!" "The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributory emotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged." (1.8-120) In this passage, Daisy pulls Nick aside in Chapter 1 and claims, despite her outward happiness and luxurious lifestyle, she’s quite depressed by her current situation. At first, it seems Daisy is revealing the cracks in her marriage – Tom was â€Å"God knows where† at the birth of their daughter, Pammy – as well as a general malaise about society in general (â€Å"everything’s terrible anyhow†). However, right after this confession, Nick doubts her sincerity. And indeed, she follows up her apparently serious complaint with â€Å"an absolute smirk.† What’s going on here? Well, Nick goes on to observe that the smirk â€Å"asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.† In other words, despite Daisy’s performance, she seems content to remain with Tom, part of the â€Å"secret society† of the ultra-rich. So the question is: can anyone – or anything – lift Daisy out of her complacency? "I never loved him," she said, with perceptible reluctance. "Not at Kapiolani?" demanded Tom suddenly. "No." From the ballroom beneath, muffled and suffocating chords were drifting up on hot waves of air. "Not that day I carried you down from the Punch Bowl to keep your shoes dry?" There was a husky tenderness in his tone. ". . . Daisy?" (7.258-62) Over the course of the novel, both Tom and Daisy enter or continue affairs, pulling away from each other instead of confronting the problems in their marriage. However, Gatsby forces them to confront their feelings in the Plaza Hotel when he demands Daisy say she never loved Tom. Although she gets the words out, she immediately rescinds them – â€Å"I did love [Tom] once but I loved you too!† – after Tom questions her. Here, Tom – usually presented as a swaggering, brutish, and unkind – breaks down, speaking with â€Å"husky tenderness† and recalling some of the few happy moments in his and Daisy’s marriage. This is a key moment because it shows despite the dysfunction of their marriage, Tom and Daisy seem to both seek solace in happy early memories. Between those few happy memories and the fact that they both come from the same social class, their marriage ends up weathering multiple affairs. Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table with a plate of cold fried chicken between them and two bottles of ale. He was talking intently across the table at her and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own. Once in a while she looked up at him and nodded in agreement. They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale- and yet they weren't unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together. (7.409-10) They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. . . . (9.146) By the end of the novel, after Daisy’s murder of Myrtle as well as Gatsby’s death, she and Tom are firmly back together, â€Å"conspiring† and â€Å"careless† once again, despite the deaths of their lovers. As Nick notes, they â€Å"weren’t happy†¦and yet they weren’t unhappy either.† Their marriage is important to both of them, since it reassures their status as old money aristocracy and brings stability to their lives. So the novel ends with them once again described as a unit, a â€Å"they,† perhaps even more strongly bonded since they’ve survived not only another round of affairs but murder, as well. Daisy and Tom MarriageAnalysis Neither Myrtle’s infatuation with Tom or Gatsby’s deep longing for Daisy can drive a wedge between the couple. Despite the lying, cheating, and murdering that occurs during the summer, Tom and Daisy end the novel just like they began it: careless, restless, and yet, firmly united. The stubborn closeness of Tom and Daisy’s marriage, despite Daisy’s exaggerated unhappiness and Tom’s philandering, reinforces the dominance of the old money class over the world of Gatsby. Despite so many troubles, for Tom and Daisy, their marriage guarantees their continued membership in the exclusive world of the old money rich. In other words, class is a much stronger bond than love in the novel. Tom and Daisy somehow end the novel with a stronger marriage! Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Marriage 2: Myrtle and George Wilson In contrast to Tom and Daisy, Myrtle and George were married 12 years before the start of the novel. You might think that since they’ve been married for four times as long, their marriage is more stable. In fact, in contrast from Tom and Daisy’s unified front, Myrtle and George’s marriage appears fractured from the beginning. Myrtle and George Marriage Description Although Myrtle was taken with George at first, she overestimated his money and â€Å"breeding† and found herself married to a mechanic and living over a garage in Queens, a situation she’s apparently unhappy with (2.2). However, divorce was uncommon in the 1920s, and furthermore, the working-class Myrtle doesn’t have access to wealthy family members or any other real options, so she stays married – perhaps because George is quite devoted and even in some ways subservient to her. A few months before the beginning of the novel in 1922, she begins an affair with Tom Buchanan, her first affair (2.7). She sees the affair as a way out of her marriage, but Tom sees her as just another disposable mistress, leaving her desperate and vulnerable once George finds out about the affair. Myrtle and George MarriageQuotes I heard footsteps on a stairs and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice: "Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down." "Oh, sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity- except his wife, who moved close to Tom. (2.15-17) As we discuss in our article on the symbolic valley of ashes, George is coated by the dust of despairand thus seems mired in the hopelessness and depression of that bleak place, while Myrtle is alluring and full of vitality. Her first action is to order her husband to get chairs, and the second is to move away from him, closer to Tom. In contrast to Tom and Daisy, who are initially presented as a unit, our first introduction to George and Myrtle shows them fractured, with vastly different personalities and motivations. We get the sense right away that their marriage is in trouble, and conflict between the two is imminent. "I married him because I thought he was a gentleman," she said finally. "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe." "You were crazy about him for a while," said Catherine. "Crazy about him!" cried Myrtle incredulously. "Who said I was crazy about him? I never was any more crazy about him than I was about that man there." (2.2-4) Here we get a bit of back-story about George and Myrtle’s marriage: like Daisy, Myrtle was crazy about her husband at first but the marriage has since soured. But while Daisy doesn’t have any real desire to leave Tom, here we see Myrtle eager to leave, and very dismissive of her husband. Myrtle seems to suggest that even having her husband wait on her is unacceptable – it’s clear she thinks she is finally headed for bigger and better things. Generally he was one of these worn-out men: when he wasn't working he sat on a chair in the doorway and stared at the people and the cars that passed along the road. When any one spoke to him he invariably laughed in an agreeable, colorless way. He was his wife's man and not his own. (7.312) Again, in contrast to the strangely unshakeable partnership of Tom and Daisy, the co-conspirators, Michaelis (briefly taking over narrator duties) observes that George â€Å"was his wife’s man,† â€Å"worn out.† Obviously, this situation gets turned on its head when George locks Myrtle up when he discovers the affair, but Michaelis’s observation speaks to instability in the Wilson’s marriage, in which each fights for control over the other. Rather than face the world as a unified front, the Wilsons each struggle for dominance within the marriage. "Beat me!" he heard her cry. "Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!" A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting; before he could move from his door the business was over. (7.314-5) We don’t know what happened in the fight before this crucial moment, but we do know George locked Myrtle in a room once he figured out she was having an affair. So despite the outward appearance of being ruled by his wife, he does, in fact, have the ability to physically control her. However, he apparently doesn’t hit her, the way Tom does, and Myrtle taunts him for it – perhaps insinuating he’s less a man than Tom. This outbreak of both physical violence (George locking up Myrtle) and emotional abuse (probably on both sides) fulfills the earlier sense of the marriage being headed for conflict. Still, it’s disturbing to witness the last few minutes of this fractured, unstable partnership. Myrtle and George MarriageAnalysis While Tom and Daisy’s marriage ends up being oddly stable thanks to their money, despite multiple affairs, Myrtle and George’s marriage goes from strained to violent after just one. In other words, Tom and Daisy can patch things up over and over by retreating into their status and money, while Myrtle and George don’t have that luxury. While George wants to retreat out west, he doesn’t have the money, leaving him and Myrtle in Queens and vulnerable to the dangerous antics of the other characters. The instability of their marriage thus seems to come from the instability of their financial situation, as well as the fact that Myrtle is more ambitious than George. Fitzgerald seems to be arguing that anyone who is not wealthy is much more vulnerable to tragedy and strife. As a song sung in Chapter 5 goes, â€Å"The rich get richer and the poor get- children† – the rich get richer and the poor can’t escape their poverty, or tragedy (5.150). The contrasting marriages of the Buchanans and the Wilsons help illustrate the novel’s critique of the wealthy, old-money class. Myrtle and George are a very slow burn that eventually explodes. Relationship 1: Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby The relationship at the very heart of The Great Gatsby is, of course, Gatsby and Daisy, or more specifically, Gatsby’s tragic love of (or obsession with) Daisy, a love that drives the novel’s plot. So how did this ill-fated love story begin? Daisy and Gatsby Relationship Description Five years before the start of the novel, Jay Gatsby (who had learned from Dan Cody how to act like one of thewealthy) was stationed in Louisville before goingto fight in WWI. In Louisville, he met Daisy Fay, a beautiful young heiress (10 years his junior), who tookhim for someone of her social class. Gatsby maintained the lie, which allowed their relationship to progress. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy and the wealth she represents, and she with him (though apparently not to the same excessive extent), but he had to leave for the war and by the time he returned to the US in 1919, Daisy has married Tom Buchanan. Determined to get her back, Gatsby falls in with Meyer Wolfshiem, a gangster, and gets into bootlegging and other criminal enterprises to make enough money to finally be able to provide for her. By the beginning of the novel, he is ready to try and win her back over, ignoring the fact she has been married to Tom for three years and has a child. So does this genius plan turn out the way Gatsby hopes? Can he repeat the past? Not exactly. Daisy and Gatsby RelationshipQuotes "You must know Gatsby." "Gatsby?" demanded Daisy. "What Gatsby?" (1.60-1) In the first chapter, we get a few mentions and glimpses of Gatsby, but one of the most interesting is Daisy immediately perking up at his name. She obviously still remembers him and perhaps even thinks about him, but her surprise suggests that she thinks he’s long gone, buried deep in her past. This is in sharp contrast to the image we get of Gatsby himself at the end of the Chapter, reaching actively across the bay to Daisy’s house (1.152). While Daisy views Gatsby as a memory, Daisy is Gatsby’s past, present, and future. It’s clear even in Chapter 1 that Gatsby’s love for Daisy is much more intense than her love for him. "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor. (4.151-2) In Chapter 4, we learn Daisy and Gatsby’s story from Jordan: specifically, how they dated in Louisville but it ended when Gatsby went to the front. She also explains how Daisy threatened to call off her marriage to Tom after receiving a letter from Gatsby, but of course ended up marrying him anyway (4.140). Here we also learn that Gatsby’s primary motivation is to get Daisy back, while Daisy is of course in the dark about all of this. This sets the stage for their affair being on unequal footing: while each has love and affection for the other, Gatsby has thought of little else but Daisy for five years while Daisy has created a whole other life for herself. "We haven't met for many years," said Daisy, her voice as matter-of-fact as it could ever be. "Five years next November." (5.69-70) Daisy and Gatsby finally reunite in Chapter 5, the book’s mid-point. The entire chapter is obviously important for understanding the Daisy/Gatsby relationship, since we actually see them interact for the first time.But this initial dialogue is fascinating, because we see that Daisy's memories of Gatsby are more abstract and clouded, while Gatsby has been so obsessed with her he knows the exact month they parted and has clearly been counting down the days until their reunion. They were sitting at either end of the couch looking at each other as if some question had been asked or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone. Daisy's face was smeared with tears and when I came in she jumped up and began wiping at it with her handkerchief before a mirror. But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room. (5.87) After the initially awkward re-introduction, Nick leaves Daisy and Gatsby alone and comes back to find them talking candidly and emotionally. Gatsby has transformed – he is radiant and glowing. In contrast, we don’t see Daisy as radically transformed except for her tears. Although our narrator, Nick, pays much closer attention to Gatsby than Daisy, these different reactions suggest Gatsby is much more intensely invested in the relationship. "They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such- such beautiful shirts before." (5.8). Gatsby gets the chance to show off his mansion and enormous wealthy to Daisy, and she breaks down after a very conspicuous display of Gatsby’s wealth, through his many-colored shirts. In Daisy’s tears, you might sense a bit of guilt – that Gatsby attained so much just for her – or perhaps regret, that she might have been able to be with him had she had the strength to walk away from her marriage with Tom. Still, unlike Gatsby, whose motivations are laid bare, it’s hard to know what Daisy is thinking and how invested she is in their relationship, despite how openly emotional she is during this reunion. Perhaps she’s just overcome with emotion due to reliving the emotions of their first encounters. His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. (6.134) In flashback, we hear about Daisy and Gatsby’s first kiss, through Gatsby’s point of view. We see explicitly in this scene that, for Gatsby, Daisy has come to represent all of his larger hopes and dreams about wealth and a better life – she is literally the incarnation of his dreams. There is no analogous passage on Daisy’s behalf, because we actually don’t know that much of Daisy’s inner life, or certainly not much compared to Gatsby. So we see, again, the relationship is very uneven – Gatsby has literally poured his heart and soul into it, while Daisy, though she obviously has love and affection for Gatsby, hasn’t idolized him in the same way. It becomes clear here that Daisy – who is human and fallible – can never live up to Gatsby’s huge projection of her. "Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now- isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once- but I loved you too." Gatsby's eyes opened and closed. "You loved me too?" he repeated. (7.264-66) Here we finally get a glimpse at Daisy’s real feelings – she loved Gatsby, but also Tom, and to her those were equal loves. She hasn’t put that initial love with Gatsby on a pedestal the way Gatsby has. Gatsby’s obsession with her appears shockingly one-sided at this point, and it’s clear to the reader she will not leave Tom for him. You can also see why this confession is such a blow to Gatsby: he’s been dreaming about Daisy for years and sees her as his one true love, while she can’t even rank her love for Gatsby above her love for Tom. "Was Daisy driving?" "Yes," he said after a moment, "but of course I'll say I was." (7.397-8) Despite Daisy’s rejection of Gatsby back at the Plaza Hotel, he refuses to believe that it was real and is sure that he can still get her back. His devotion is so intense he doesn’t think twice about covering for her and taking the blame for Myrtle’s death. In fact, his obsession is so strong he barely seems to register that there’s been a death, or to feel any guilt at all. This moment further underscores how much Daisy means to Gatsby, and how comparatively little he means to her. She was the first "nice" girl he had ever known. In various unrevealed capacities he had come in contact with such people but always with indiscernible barbed wire between. He found her excitingly desirable. He went to her house, at first with other officers from Camp Taylor, then alone. It amazed him- he had never been in such a beautiful house before. But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there- it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered. It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their presence all about the h ouse, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions. (8.10, emphasis added) In Chapter 8, when we get the rest of Gatsby’s backstory, we learn more about what drew him to Daisy – her wealth, and specifically the world that opened up to Gatsby as he got to know her. Interestingly, we also learn that her â€Å"value increased† in Gatsby’s eyes when it became clear that many other men had also loved her. We see then how Daisy got all tied up in Gatsby’s ambitions for a better, wealthier life. You also know, as a reader, that Daisy obviously is human and fallible and can never realistically live up to Gatsby’s inflated images of her and what she represents to him. So in these last pages, before Gatsby’s death as we learn the rest of Gatsby’s story, we sense that his obsessive longing for Daisy was as much about his longing for another, better life, than it was about a single woman. Gatsby and Daisy RelationshipAnalysis Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship is definitely lopsided. There is an uneven degree oflove on both sides (Gatsby seems much more obsessively in love with Daisy than Daisy is with him). We also have difficulty decipheringboth sides of the relationship, since we know far more about Gatsby, his past, and his internal life than about Daisy. Because of this, it’s hard to criticize Daisy for not choosing Gatsby over Tom – as an actual, flesh-and-blood person, she never could have fulfilled Gatsby’s rose-tinted memory of her and all she represents. Furthermore, during her brief introduction into Gatsby’s world in Chapter 6, she seemed pretty unhappy. â€Å"She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented "place" that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village- appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand† (6.96). So could Daisy have really been happy if she ran off with Gatsby? Unlikely. Many people tie Gatsby’s obsessive pursuit of Daisy to the American Dreamitself – the dream is as alluring as Daisy but as ultimately elusive and even deadly. Their relationship is also a meditation on change – as much as Gatsby wants to repeat the past, he can’t. Daisy has moved on and he can never return to that beautiful, perfect moment when he kissed her for the first time and wedded all her hopes and dreams to her. Gatsby's problem is seeing time as circular rather than linear. Relationship 2: Tom Buchananand Myrtle Wilson In contrast to Gatsby and Daisy’s long history, the novel’s other affair began much more recently: Tom and Myrtle start their relationship a few months before the novel opens. Tom and Myrtle Relationship Description Myrtle sees the affair as romantic and a ticket out of her marriage, while Tom sees it as just another affair, and Myrtle as one of a string of mistresses. The pair has undeniable physical chemistry and attraction to each other, perhaps more than any other pairing in the book. Perhaps due to Myrtle’s tragic and unexpected death, Tom does display some emotional attachment to her, which complicates a reading of him as a purely antagonistic figure – or of their relationship as purely physical. So what drives this affair? What does it reveal about Tom and Myrtle? Let’s find out. Tom and Myrtle RelationshipQuotes "I think it's cute," said Mrs. Wilson enthusiastically. "How much is it?" "That dog?" He looked at it admiringly. "That dog will cost you ten dollars." The airedale- undoubtedly there was an airedale concerned in it somewhere though its feet were startlingly white- changed hands and settled down into Mrs. Wilson's lap, where she fondled the weather-proof coat with rapture. "Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked delicately. "That dog? That dog's a boy." "It's a bitch," said Tom decisively. "Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it." (2.38-43) This passage is great because it neatly displays Tom and Myrtle’s different attitudes toward the affair. Myrtle thinks that Tom is spoiling her specifically, and that he cares about her more than he really does – after all, he stops to buy her a dog just because she says it’s cute and insists she wants one on a whim. But to Tom, the money isn’t a big deal. He casually throws away the 10 dollars, aware he’s being scammed but notcaring, since he has so much money at his disposal. He also insists that he knows more than the dog seller and Myrtle, showing how he looks down at people below his own class – but Myrtle misses this because she’s infatuated with both the new puppy and Tom himself. Myrtle pulled her chair close to mine, and suddenly her warm breath poured over me the story of her first meeting with Tom. "It was on the two little seats facing each other that are always the last ones left on the train. I was going up to New York to see my sister and spend the night. He had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes and I couldn't keep my eyes off him but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head. When we came into the station he was next to me and his white shirt-front pressed against my arm- and so I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn't hardly know I wasn't getting into a subway train. All I kept thinking about, over and over, was 'You can't live forever, you can't live forever.' " (2.9-20) Myrtle, twelve years into a marriage she’s unhappy in, sees her affair with Tom as a romantic escape. She tells the story of how she and Tom met like it’s the beginning of a love story. In reality, it’s pretty creepy – Tom sees a woman he finds attractive on a train and immediately goes and presses up to her like and convinces her to go sleep with him immediately. Not exactly the stuff of classic romance! Combined with the fact Myrtle believes Daisy’s Catholicism (a lie) is what keeps her and Tom apart, you see that despite Myrtle’s pretensions of worldliness, she actually knows very little about Tom or the upper classes, and is a poor judge of character. She is an easy person for Tom to take advantage of. Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name. "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai- - " Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. (2.124-6) In case the reader was still wondering that perhaps Myrtle’s take on the relationship had some basis in truth, this is a cold hard dose of reality. Tom’s vicioustreatment of Myrtle reminds the reader of his brutality and the fact that, to him, Myrtle is just another affair, and he would never in a million years leave Daisy for her. Despite the violence of this scene, the affair continues. Myrtle is either so desperate to escape her marriage or so self-deluded about what Tom thinks of her (or both) that she stays with Tom after this ugly scene. There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control. (7.164) Chapter 2 gives us lots of insight into Myrtle’s character and how she sees her affair with Tom. But other than Tom’s physical attraction to Myrtle, we don’t get as clear of a view of his motivations until later on. In Chapter 7, Tom panics once he finds out George knows about his wife’s affair. We learn here that control is incredibly important to Tom – control of his wife, control of his mistress, and control of society more generally (see his rant in Chapter 1 about the â€Å"Rise of the Colored Empires†). So just as he passionately rants and raves against the â€Å"colored races,† he also gets panicked and angry when he sees that he is losing control both over Myrtle and Daisy. This speaks to Tom’s entitlement – both as a wealthy person, as a man, and as a white person – and shows how his relationship with Myrtle is just another display of power. It has very little to do with his feelings for Myrtle herself. So as the relationship begins to slip from his fingers, he panics – not because he’s scared of losing Myrtle, but because he’s scared of losing a possession. "And if you think I didn't have my share of suffering- look here, when I went to give up that flat and saw that damn box of dog biscuits sitting there on the sideboard I sat down and cried like a baby. By God it was awful- - " (9.145) Despite Tom’s abhorrent behavior throughout the novel, at the very end, Nick leaves us with an image of Tom confessing to crying over Myrtle. This complicates the reader’s desire to see Tom as a straightforward villain. This confession of emotion certainly doesn’t redeem Tom, but it does prevent you from seeing him as a complete monster. Tom and Myrtle RelationshipAnalysis Just as George and Myrtle’s marriage serves as a foil to Tom and Daisy’s, Tom and Myrtle’s affair is a foil for Daisy and Gatsby’s. While Daisy and Gatsby have history, Tom and Myrtle got together recently. And while their relationship seems to be driven by physical attraction, Gatsby is attracted to Daisy’s wealth and status. The tragic end to this affair, as well as Daisy and Gatsby’s, reinforces the idea that class is an enormous, insurmountable barrier, and that when people try to circumvent the barrier by dating across classes, they end up endangering themselves. Tom and Myrtle’s affair also speaks to the unfair advantages that Tom has as a wealthy, white man. Even though for a moment he felt himself losing control over his life, he quickly got it back and was able to hide in his money while Gatsby, Myrtle, and George all ended up dead thanks to their connection to the Buchanans. In short, Tom and Myrtle’s relationship allows Fitzgerald to sharply critique the world of the wealthy, old-money class in 1920s New York. By showing Tom’s affair with a working-class woman, Nick reveals Tom’s ugliest behavior as well as the cruelty of class divisions during the roaring twenties. Tom's subtlety in dealing with Myrtle. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Relationship 3: Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker We’ve covered the novel’s two married couples – the Buchanans and the Wilsons – as well as the affairs of three out of four of those married parties. But there is one more relationship in the novel, one that is a bit disconnected to the others. I’m talking, of course, about Nick and Jordan. Nick and Jordan Relationship Description Nick and Jordan are the only couple without any prior contact before the novel begins (aside from Nick apparently seeing her photo once in a magazine and hearing about her attempt to cheat). Jordan is a friend of Daisy’s who is staying with her, and Nick meets Jordan when he goes to have dinner with the Buchanans. We can observe their relationship most closely in Chapters 3 and 4, as Nick gets closer to Jordandespite needing to break off his relationship back home first. However, their relationship takes a back seat in the middle and end of the novel as the drama of Daisy’s affair with Gatsby, and Tom’s with Myrtle, plays out. So by the end of the novel, Nick sees Jordan is just as self-centered and immoral as Tom and Daisy, and his earlier infatuation fades to disgust. She, in turn, calls him out for not being as honest and careful as he presents himself as. So what’s the story with Nick and Jordan? Why include their relationship at all? Let’s dig into what sparks the relationship and the insights they give us into the other characters. Nick and Jordan RelationshipQuotes I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. (1.57) As Nick eyes Jordan in Chapter 1, we see his immediate physical attraction to her, though it’s not as potent as Tom’s to Myrtle. And similarly to Gatsby’s attraction to Daisy being to her money and voice, Nick is pulled in by Jordan’s posture, her â€Å"wan, charming discontented face† – her attitude and status are more alluring than her looks alone. So Nick’s attraction to Jordan gives us a bit of insight both in how Tom sees Myrtle and how Gatsby sees Daisy. "Good night, Mr. Carraway. See you anon." "Of course you will," confirmed Daisy. "In fact I think I'll arrange a marriage. Come over often, Nick, and I'll sort of- oh- fling you together. You know- lock you up accidentally in linen closets and push you out to sea in a boat, and all that sort of thing- - " (1.131-2) Throughout the novel, we see Nick avoiding getting caught up in relationships – the woman he mentions back home, the woman he dates briefly in his office, Myrtle’s sister – though he doesn’t protest to being â€Å"flung together† with Jordan. Perhaps this is because Jordan would be a step up for Nick in terms of money and class, which speaks to Nick’s ambition and class-consciousness, despite the way he paints himself as an everyman. Furthermore, unlike these other women, Jordan isn’t clingy – she lets Nick come to her. Nick sees attracted to how detached and cool she is. "You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." "I am careful." "No, you're not." "Well, other people are," she said lightly. "What's that got to do with it?" "They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. "It takes two to make an accident." "Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself." "I hope I never will," she answered. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you." Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. (3.162-70) Here, Nick is attracted to Jordan’s blasà © attitude and her confidence that others will avoid her careless behavior – an attitude she can afford because of her money. In other words, Nick seems fascinated by the world of the super-wealthy and the privilege it grants its members. So just as Gatsby falls in love with Daisy and her wealthy status, Nick also seems attracted to Jordan for similar reasons. However, this conversation not only foreshadows the tragic car accident later in the novel, but it also hints at what Nick will come to find repulsive about Jordan: her callous disregard for everyone but herself. It was dark now, and as we dipped under a little bridge I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder and drew her toward me and asked her to dinner. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." (4.164) Nick, again with Jordan, seems exhilarated to be with someone who is a step above him in terms of social class, exhilarated to be a â€Å"pursuing† person, rather than just busy or tired. Seeing the usually level-headed Nick this enthralled gives us some insight into Gatsby’s infatuation with Daisy, and also allows us to glimpse Nick-the-person, rather than Nick-the-narrator. And again, we get a sense of what attracts him to Jordan – her clean, hard, limited self, her skepticism, and jaunty attitude. It’s interesting to see these qualities become repulsive to Nick just a few chapters later. Just before noon the phone woke me and I started up with sweat breaking out on my forehead. It was Jordan Baker; she often called me up at this hour because the uncertainty of her own movements between hotels and clubs and private houses made her hard to find in any other way. Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool as if a divot from a green golf links had come sailing in at the office window but this morning it seemed harsh and dry. "I've left Daisy's house," she said. "I'm at Hempstead and I'm going down to Southampton this afternoon." Probably it had been tactful to leave Daisy's house, but the act annoyed me and her next remark made me rigid. "You weren't so nice to me last night." "How could it have mattered then?" (8.49-53) Later in the novel, after Myrtle’s tragic death, Jordan’s casual, devil-may-care attitude is no longer cute – in fact, Nick finds it disgusting. How can Jordan care so little about the fact that someone died, and instead be most concerned with Nick acting cold and distant right after the accident? In this brief phone conversation, we thus see Nick’s infatuation with Jordan ending, replaced with the realization that Jordan’s casual attitude is indicative of everything Nick hates about the rich, old money group. So by extension, Nick’s relationship with Jordan represents how his feelings about the wealthy have evolved – at first he was drawn in by their cool, detached attitudes, but eventually found himself repulsed by their carelessness and cruelty. She was dressed to play golf and I remember thinking she looked like a good illustration, her chin raised a little, jauntily, her hair the color of an autumn leaf, her face the same brown tint as the fingerless glove on her knee. When I had finished she told me without comment that she was engaged to another man. I doubted that though there were several she could have married at a nod of her head but I pretended to be surprised. For just a minute I wondered if I wasn't making a mistake, then I thought it all over again quickly and got up to say goodbye. "Nevertheless you did throw me over," said Jordan suddenly. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." We shook hands. "Oh, and do you remember- " she added, "- - a conversation we had once about driving a car?" "Why- not exactly." "You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride." "I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor." (9.129-135) In their official break-up, Jordan calls out Nick for claiming to be honest and straightforward but in fact being prone to lying himself. So even as Nick is disappointed in Jordan’s behavior, Jordan is disappointed to find just another â€Å"bad driver† in Nick, and both seem to mutually agree they would never work as a couple. It’s interesting to see Nick called out for dishonest behavior for once. For all of his judging of others, he’s clearly not a paragon of virtue, and Jordan clearly recognizes that. This break-up is also interesting because it’s the only time we see a relationship end because the two members choose to walk away from each other – all the other failed relationships (Daisy/Gatsby, Tom/Myrtle, Myrtle/George) ended because one or both members died. So perhaps there is a safe way out of a bad relationship in Gatsby – to walk away early, even if it’s difficult and you’re still â€Å"half in love† with the other person (9.136). If only Gatsby could have realized the same thing. Nick and Jordan RelationshipAnalysis Nick and Jordan’s relationship is interesting, because it’s the only straightforward dating we see in the novel (it’s neithera marriage nor an illicit affair), and it doesn’t serve as an obvious foil to the other relationships. But it does echo Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, in that a poorer man desires a richer girl, and for that reason gives us additional insight into Gatsby’s love for Daisy. But it also quietly echoes Tom’s relationship with Myrtle, since we Nick seems physically drawn to Jordan as well. The relationship also is one of the ways we get insight into Nick. For instance, he only really admits to his situation with the woman back at home when he’s talking about being attracted to Jordan. â€Å"I'd been writing letters once a week and signing them: "Love, Nick," and all I could think of was how, when that certain girl played tennis, a faint mustache of perspiration appeared on her upper lip. Nevertheless there was a vague understanding that had to be tactfully broken off before I was free† (3.170). Through Jordan, we actually see Nick experience exhilaration and love and attraction. Finally, through his relationship with Jordan, we can easily see Nick’s evolving attitude toward the wealthy elite. While he allows himself to be charmed at first by this fast-moving, wealthy, and careless world, he eventually becomes disgusted by the utter lack of morality or compassion for others. It's shocking that calmly saying goodbye is a rarity in this world. More often? Breakup by violent death. Discussion and Essay Topics on Love inThe Great Gatsby These are a few typical essay topics surrounding issues of love, desire, and relationships you should be prepared to write about. Some of them give you the opportunity to zoom in on just one couple, while others have you analyze the relationships in the book more generally. As always, it will be important to close-read, find key lines to use as evidence, and argue your point with a clearly-organized essay. (You can read more of our essay writing tips in our Character Analysis article.) So let’s take a look at a few common love and relationships prompts to see this analysis in action! Is there any couple in The Great Gatsby that has true love? For any essay topic that asks if characters in a book represent some kind of virtue (whether that’s true love, honesty, morality, or anything else), you should start by coming up with a definition of the value. For example, in this case, you should give a definition of â€Å"true love,† since how you define true love will affect who you choose and how you make your argument. For example, if you argue that true love comes down to stability, you could potentially argue Tom and Daisy have true love, since they actually remain together, unlike any of the other couples. But if you argue true love is based on strong emotion, you might say Gatsby’s love for Daisy is the truest. So however you define true love, make sure to clearly state that definition, since it will shape your argument! Remember it’s also possible in a prompt like this to argue that no one in the book has true love. You would still start by defining true love, but then you would explain why each of the major couples does not have real love, and perhaps briefly explain what element each couple is missing. Is The Great Gatsby a love story or a satire? Some essays have you zoom way out and consider what The Great Gatsby’s overall genre (or type) is. The most common argument is that, while Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface (the love of Gatsby and Daisy), it’s really more of a satire of wealthy New York society, or a broader critique of the American Dream. This is because the themes of money, society and class, and the American Dreamare pretty constant, while the relationships are more of a vehicle to examine those themes. To argue which genre Gatsby is (whether you say â€Å"it’s more of a love story† or â€Å"it’s more of a satire†), define your chosen genre and explain why Gatsby fits the definition. Make sure to include some evidence from the novel’s final chapter, no matter what you argue. Endings are important, so make sure you link Gatsby’s ending to the genre you believe it is. For example, if you’re arguing â€Å"Gatsby is a love story,† you could emphasize the more hopeful, optimistic parts of Nick’s final lines. But if you argue â€Å"Gatsby is satire,† you would look at the sad, harsh details of the final chapter – Gatsby’s sparsely-attended funeral, the crude word scrawled against his back steps, etc. Also, be sure to check out our post on the novel's ending for more analysis. Is what Gatsby feels for Daisy love, obsession, affection, or accumulation/objectification? What is Fitzgerald’s message here? A really common essay topic/topic of discussion is the question of Gatsby’s love for Daisy (and sometimes, Daisy’s love for Gatsby): is it real, is it a symbol for something else, and what does it reveal about both Daisy and Gatsby’s characters? As we discussed above, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is definitely more intense than Daisy’s love for Gatsby, and furthermore, Gatsby’s love for Daisy seems tied up in an obsession with her wealth and the status she represents. From there, it’s up to you how you argue how you see Gatsby’s love for Daisy – whether it’s primarily an obsession with wealth, whether Daisy is just an object to be collected, or whether you think Gatsby actually loves Daisy the person, not just Daisy the golden girl. Analyze the nature of male-female relationships in the novel. This is a zoomed-out prompt that wants you to talk about the nature of relationships in general in the novel. Still, even though we have clearly identified the five major relationships, it might be complicated for you to try and talk about every single one in depth in just one essay. Instead, it will be more manageable for you to use evidence from two to three of the couples to make your point. You could explore how the relationships expose that America is in fact a classist society. After all,the only relationship that lasts (Tom and Daisy’s) lasts because of the security of being in the same class, while the others fail either due to cross-class dating or one member (Myrtle) desperately trying to break out of her given class. You could also talk about how the power dynamics within the relationships vary wildly, but only the couple that seems to have a stable relationship is also described as â€Å"conspiratorial† and often as a â€Å"they† – that is, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. So perhaps Fitzgerald does envision a sort of lasting partnership being possible, if certain conditions (like both members being happy with the amount of money in the marriage) are met. This prompt and ones like it give you a lot of freedom, but make sure not to bite off more than you chew! What’s Next? Wondering how else you can pair these characters in an essay? Check out our article on comparing and contrasting the most common character pairings in The Great Gatsby. Why is money so crucial in the world of the novel? Read more about money and materialism in Gatsbyto find out. Need to get the events of the book straight? Check out our chapter summaries to get a handle on the various parties, liaisons, flashbacks, and deaths. Get started with our book summary here! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: