Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Economic Regulation Essays - Market Structure,
Economic Regulation The U.S and the world economy like everything else have its ups and downs. The government plays a crucial role in deciding how the economy will set over time. An Economist by the name of John Maynard Keynes felt that if either inflation or unemployment got out of hand, the government could adjust the business cycle to balance the economy. Keynes was more geared toward the bigger picture and focused on macroeconomics. His work led to the government and many economists believing that they had control over the economy. This led to economic regulations, which affected everyone from companies to the consumers. Through the history of our economy the government has made changes by enforcing many regulations to have full control of the growth and power of the economy and to protect the consumers. Regulations can be divided into two different categories, Economic regulations and Social regulations. An Economic regulation covers sectors of the economy such as electricity, natural gas, communications, transportation, aviation, agriculture, and banking. These regulations usually include barriers to entry and exit, licensing and tariff laws, and the control of prices and wages. These regulations include acts such as the banking act of 1933 or the civil aeronautics act of 1938. Social regulations on the other hand, are there to protect the consumers. These regulations concern such things as health and safety of workers, environmental issues, and civil rights. Unlike the Economic regulations these were created much later in the 1960's and 70's. Examples of Social regulations would include the food and drug administration and the Equal Opportunity Commission, which protects employers. Regulations were starting to appear around the time of the New Deal. The government's main purpose for enforcing these regulations was because competition among corporations was starting to fail. The bulk of these regulations were put into affect from 1933 through 1938. At the time regulations seemed to have been helping. The economy continued to grow and was doing better than it ever had been. The system was able to control price and entry competition in the nations key industries. From 1930 through the sixties the economy was booming. There were low inflation rates that averaged 3.8 percent over that period of thirty years. The interest rates were also low at two percent over a period of three months. Bank failures were virtually non-existent, oil and gas supplies were readily available. The price of gas even had a slight decline in the sixties. As the sixties came to an end the growth had stopped and problems in the economy started to occur once again. The budget deficits in 1968 went from eight billion dollars to twenty five billion dollars, and continued to rise as it exceeded over 200 billion dollars by 1983. The growth in labor productivity from 1948 to 1968 was about 3.3 percent and from 1968 to 1983 declined to as low as 1.2 percent. In 1974 the banking failure rate had skyrocketed from past success. The Airlines were losing money even though they kept on increasing the price of fares; also the nations largest railroad companies were facing possible bankruptcy. The reason for the downturn in the economy was due to the control, which the government had over these corporations by enforcing these regulations. The problem with these regulations was that it caused higher than necessary costs, distorted the patterns of supply and demand. The rate of return regulations was creating inefficient capital allocations. These problems brought on what is called as deregulation. Deregulation is were the government drops many of the regulations that were put on the corporations. The period of deregulating in the late 70's is stated by many economists to be very crucial in the affect of our economy today. Major corporations such as American Airlines, AT&T, El Paso Natural Gas, and Bank America went through a process of deregulating in the late 70's and into the 80's. Even though recent acts of deregulations have occurred and have been proven to be very successful, there are also benefits to regulations along with the disadvantages. Social regulations are most beneficial to the consumer, because it protects them from their employers to what they eat. With out these regulations corporations might take short cuts to save on money, while in turn they are harming their consumers with out us having any knowledge of it. It also protects us from our employers who might have been trying to take advantage of us, or tries to refuse us of the benefits we deserve. There are also economic regulations, which protect our economy by making
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Debate Topics for the High School Classroom
Debate Topics for the High School Classroom Debates are a great way for students to get involved in class. Students have to research topics, prepare for the debate with their team, and think on their feet as they practice public speaking. Learning how to debate does more than improve speaking skills; it also makes for better listeners. As a result, students are better preparedà for college and the diverse career world beyond.à Joseph Joubert ââ¬Å"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.â⬠(1896) The following list of 50 debate topicsà is for use in high school classrooms. While some of these are specifically written for a particular part of the curriculum, others can be modified or used in a number of different classes. Each item is listed as a proposition that one side (student or team) argues to defend while the other side (student or team) argues to oppose. 1:53 Watch Now: Ideas for Great Classroom Debate Topics Science and Technology Human cloningà should be banned.Renewable forms of energy should be subsidized by the government.The U.S. government should fund a space mission to Mars.Social media comments should be protected by free speech.Parents should be allowed to choose their babys gender.Animal testing should be banned.The U.S. government should provide internet service for every citizen.Video games are too violent. Politics and Government America should be able to provide foreign aid to countries that killà endangered animals.It is never appropriate for the government to restrict freedom of speech.Democracy is the best form of government.All citizens who do not vote should pay a fine.The right to bear arms is a necessary constitutional amendment.Progressive tax rates are unfair.The voting age should be lowered.The driving age should be raised.A border fence should be constructed between the U.S. and Mexico.America should not give foreign aid to other countries.Drone attacks against specific targets are a necessary part of modern warfare.Affirmative action should be abolished. Social Issues Partial-birth abortion should be illegal.All parents should be required to attend parenting classes before having a child.All people should be vegetarians.Mixed martial artsà should be banned.Theà death penaltyà should be abolished.Sports stars should be positive role models.People should be fined for not recycling.Performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports. Education All students should have an after-school job.Every student should be required to take a performing arts course.Homework should be banned.School uniforms should be required.Year-round education is not a good idea for student learning.Physical education should be required of all students throughout high school.All students should be required to perform one year of community service.Schools should block YouTube.Students should be able to leave school for lunch.Single-sex schools are better for students.Schools should punish cyberbullying that occurs outside of school.Teachers should not be allowed to contact students through social media.Public prayer should not be allowed in schools.High-stakes state testing should be abolished.Poetry should be removed from the curriculum.History (or another subject) is an important subject in school.Schools should not be allowed to track students by academic level.Students should be required to pass algebra to graduate.Students should not be graded on their handwriting. All students should take an online course.The theory of Intelligent design should be taught in science classes.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Franco-American Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
The Franco-American Trade - Essay Example French exports stood at 1,427 billion francs ($285.4 billion) in 1995, 22% of GDP while the imports amounted to 1,322 billion francs ($264.4 billion). The figured showed a substantial increase in the surplus in durable goods (over 58 billion francs, $11.6 billion), a 20 billion-franc surplus ($4 billion) in farm products, a surplus of 31 billion francs ($6.2 billion) in agri-foodstuffs, a declining energy bill and a rise of 19% in electricity exports.(Stern 47) Being a member of the European Union results in a lot of internal trading between the EU countries, hence France's European Union partners absorb 64% of its trade. According to the survey carried out in the 1990s, the country had a trade surplus of 27 billion francs ($5.4 billion) with the EU in 1995. The main trading partners of France are Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain, along with the United States. As pointed out above France and United Kingdom are major trading partners. France is UK's third largest market and has been importing from Britain for the last twenty odd years. France has the distinction of being UK's third largest supplier providing 7.2% of UK imports only behind Germany (14.6%) and the USA (9.5%), while ahead of the Netherlands (7.1%) and China (6.8%). The United Kingdom is Frances's fourth export market making 8.3% total exports, after Germany (14.7%), Spain (9.9%) and Italy (9.5%). The United Kingdom is France's seventh supplier, as it pr... As Chinese products have flooded the global markets, the scenario has been similar for France who has been importing from China on an increasing rate. (Stern 51) On the other hand, United Kingdom has lost the France market and this is mostly explained by the downward trend in the oil exports by the UK to France. Other main category products whose export level has also suffered have been cars, electronic and electrical equipment, chemicals, clothing and meat. However, this has been slightly off set by increasing UK exports in sectors such as machinery (gas turbines), pharmaceuticals, aerospace, iron and other heavy metals, precious stones and beverages. The main categories or rather sectors which have been of prime trading importance between UK and France apart from the energy sector are: machinery, electrical equipment, transport, chemicals, food and consumer goods. According to the latest figures, the imports by France from UK include mostly machinery while France mostly exports transport equipment to the UK. (Gilbert 2004) Machinery constitutes the largest share in the bilateral trade by having nearly 80% representation while it is followed by the energy sector in UK exports at 11.7% and oil in UK imports at 5.9%. Energy's share in UK exports was 11.7% (10.6% being oil) and 5.9% in UK imports. Another important trading partner of France is the United States of America (USA). The foreign trade allows them to deepen the understanding of good faith that that the two countries have established. The foundation of their global trade is based on a solid arrangement. According to the latest figures published in the State publications, the average trading between the two nations is of 1 billion dollars -commercial activities and
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
My history as a reader and writer in Russian and in English Essay
My history as a reader and writer in Russian and in English - Essay Example Writing is an art that requires one to have passion and willingness to counter the challenges that relate to the rules of good writing. My experience in reading and Writing in college is quite different from that of high school. In high school, most of the writing involved simple compositions and summaries. In college reading and writing requires deep analysis of the contents and the interpretation of those contents. Learning a new language is quite challenging but I am determined to perfect my new skills within the shortest time possible. My strengths in this new language are the commitment I have in my studies through regular practice to enhance my speaking and writing skills. I am also good at recalling facts and materials learned which enhances my performance in English and Russian languages. My weakness is the poor mastery of new phrases, especially in the new language. To counter this weakness, I am working hard by reading many articles and noting everything that I read in my notebook. The main goals for this course are to improve my analytical skills, which will enable me to be an excellent creative writer in the future. I also want to improve my usage of verbs especially the correct use of verb tenses, which will enable me to write the high-quality grammar. I also want to organize my work very well and compete with some of the worldââ¬â¢s renowned writers in creative and imaginative writing. Reading and writing in the two different languages will help me communicate with more people and make many friends who have similar interests.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Current issues regarding immigrants in the U.S Essay
Current issues regarding immigrants in the U.S - Essay Example These immigrants largely affect the country in terms of its economy, legislation, national security, population growth and other national and legal issues. Likewise, the current immigration system in the United States of America is a very important topic because it concerns the security, social, political, and economic aspect of the country. On the other end, it also concerns the welfare of millions of people who migrated from other countries all over the world to America. In line with this, it is realized that a considerable time must be devoted in discussing the current immigration in the United States of America. Moreover, a reform must be done to further improve the immigration system of the country to maximize the benefits that can be derived both for the immigrants and for the country. On this memorandum, it presents the three most pressing issues regarding immigrants in the U.S. as these issues have current situations that are considered most problematic. It then offers and di scusses a possible solution for each issue regarding immigrants in the country. Lastly, the implications of the proposed solutions are related to different interest groups. 1.2 IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES For many years, immigration contributed a large percentage on the population growth of America. The United States of America has been the number one destination for immigrants seeking a place to realize their desired lives, thus gives birth to the ââ¬Å"American Dreamâ⬠. In 2006, the United Nations reported that the total immigrant population in the world amounts to approximately 186,579,300 and 20.56% of which is in the United States of America (ââ¬Å"International Migrationâ⬠). The America has almost four times that of Russiaââ¬â¢s 6.47% which has the second most number of immigrants in the world. In another account, the 2009 American Community Survey of the United States Census Bureau shows that there are 38,517,234 immigrants in the United States (ââ¬Å"Mig ration Policy Instituteâ⬠). That is about 12.5% of the U.S. population which is significant enough to affect many aspects of the United States as a country. The number of immigrants in the U.S. continues to increase by 700,000 each year (ââ¬Å"Real Problem with Immigrationâ⬠). Problems to regulate the number of immigrants in the U.S. initiate legislative reform on the immigration system of the country. 1.3 PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION REFORM BILLS It is recognized that there were previous efforts to reform the immigration system of the United States through immigration reform acts. In the past three decades, there were three notable bills that were passed in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. These are the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (Segal, Elliott and Mayadas 32). For the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, its maj or provisions are legalization for undocumented aliens who entered the country since 1982 and certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who hire illegal immigrants and increased enforcement at U.S. borders (ââ¬Å"Immigration Reformâ⬠). The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 aims to implement increased security at the U.S. border to prevent illegal immigrants
Friday, November 15, 2019
Pros and Cons of PESTLE Analysis
Pros and Cons of PESTLE Analysis INTRODUCTORY REVIEW: When it comes to influence the things on the business, than an enormous number of things appears to force the environment of an organization. The influence either may be economical or Political. Companies usually do PESTLE analysis to analyze themselves, economically and politically. It has been observed that a number of people still unaware with the pros and cons of such analysis and its attributes. In order to educate my readers pertinently, I intend to describe the PESTLE analysis in details first and then elaborate the economical factors which constrains the organization to loose their momentum and productivity. We will first determine the different significant factors of economics and then analyze our chosen company ââ¬Å"ROYAL DUTCH SHELL COMPANY OF INDIAâ⬠through the PESTLE analysis model. AN OVERVIEW OF THE PEST ANALYSIS: Financial analysis and SWOT analysis are some of the credible tools indeed to analyze the financial health of a company, but factually speaking, there are a number of problems and issues, apart from the financial numbers which probably deplete the efficiency of the organization. PESTLE analysis is one of those analyses, which analyze the company in different aspects and excrete out a meaningful result for the management to take beneficial actions. The acronym of PESTLE analysis is Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental analysis of the organization. The analyst analyzes the company through these four aspects and compares the result with its competitors which ultimately help them to overcome on the loopholes in an instant and provides the company a definite edge over its competitors (Ruberson, 1999). It is appropriate that if we specifically describe each section in details, like to recognize what factors may influence the organization under the umbrella of political, environmental, social and technological subjects. Political factors include the government prudential regulations and other legal issues prevailing in the country, which intentionally or unintentionally, formally or informally an organization have to implement to operate with their full capacity. Tax policy, environmental regulations, employment laws, trade restrictions and tariffs, political stability and law and order situation in the country are all comes under the umbrella of the Politics. While the factors like economic growth, interest, exchange and discount rates in the country are categorized under the economic factors (Fitzhugh, 2005). The third category is for the social factors which include the demographic and cultural aspects of the external macroenviroment. Some social factors are, Health consciousness, age distributions, safety emphasize and population growth rate. By contrast of all this technological factors are to match the productivity with in the same industry. Research Development (RD) activities, automation, r ate of technology change and technology incentives are the some prominent examples of the technological factors which eventually effect the bottom line of an organization either positively or adversely (Ruberson, 1999). I think I justified with the elaboration to give my readers a very good idea regarding the analysis process. ECONOMICAL FACTORS: The thing which merely effect on the productivity of an organization is economical factors. There can be numerous economical factors which ultimately condense the growth potential of an entity. Mentioned below are the some economical factors which may effect adversely on an international business, letââ¬â¢s having a glance over them and then we will reckon by implies the same on our chosen company. Deflation Fiscal policy Rate of interest Employment rate Global Trade. Price Trend or Inflation Rate DEFLATION: When a decrease in the prices of the commodities and goods occur then we can say that deflation is incurred in the economy. Deflation urges the prices of the commodities to fall below zero percent which increases the real value of money; On the contrary inflation decreases the real value of money. Letââ¬â¢s say that the commodityââ¬â¢s price are consistently declining and reaches below zero percent then consumers intend to delay purchases and consumptions until price falls further, which results in the overall economy to show a catastrophe declining graph. Usually economists link depression with recessions and depressions. We have an example of depression, which occurred in the entire world after the World War II which is known as the worst depression ever envisaged. FISCAL POLICY: If the tax policy of the government is directed towards tax oriented having impact as well as incidence on the same person, his propensity to consume will be low because his purchasing power has been taken back by the government. The two main components of fiscal policy are spending and taxation. Government spending and slabs of taxation can impact on the aggregate demand, resource allocation and distribution of income in the country. Government usually has taken such actions in fiscal policy which ultimately overcome on the fiscal deficit and trade deficit issues, which are some of the major foes for an economy. RATE OF INTEREST: As a consequence of increase in the rate of interest, the propensity to consume will condense because the people intend to save rather than to consume. In order to enhance the moral of the borrowers the Government, usually central bank is governed to hike or shrink the rate of interest and discount rate. Keynes theory describe the thing in a proper fashion, according to him people hoard the money when they lose their confidence from the economy due to any cause like high interest rate or the fear of inflation, which exacerbate a country miserably. EMPLOYEMENT RATE: Employment rate shows that how much people out of 100 are employed and how much are not. Increasing employment rate is a green signal for the economy and proves to be a vital lever for the country. Suppose a countryââ¬â¢s employment rate is 60%. This result manifest that 60 persons out of 100 are employed in the country and they have the consumption power and the more the consumptions the more leaves a positive impact on the economy of the country. GLOBAL TRADE: The exchange of capital goods and services across international territories is referred as global trade. The economic, social and political importance has been on the rise from past few decades. Domestic trades occur within the country while international trades occur outside the country or across a cross border. Recession is experiencing a global meltdown in international trade these days. Government seems eager to enhance this act because, the global trade is the best tool to welcome the foreign reserves in the country. PRICE TREND: As we are all aware with the fact that every person has a different purchasing power and this concept also varies from country to country depending upon the countryââ¬â¢s financial stability. Let us suppose that if the prices are expected to increase in future, the people will increase their purchasing in present than in future. On the contrary, if the prices are expected to fall in future, purchasing of present will be postponed for a future date because they will be more willing to purchase in present than in future. Condensing the price on the products definitely induces the consumers to consume more rather than to save, which helps the money to roll over and will leave a positive impact on the countryââ¬â¢s economy. Letââ¬â¢s start our PESTLE analysis on the Royal Dutch Shell Company of India, but before that I want to write few lines regarding the company and its operations in the country. AN OVERVIEW OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL COMPANY OF INDIA: Royal Dutch Shell Company Plc, previously known with the name of Shell is a multinational company of Dutch which has the reward of not only the biggest petroleum country of the world but also listed as the worldââ¬â¢s largest corporation of 2009. The company has itââ¬â¢s headquarter in Netherlands with registered office in London. The company enjoyed a huge net profit of over $26.277 billion in the year 2008. Shell has the largest network as compared with the other companies and currently it is operated in more than 90 countries of the world. The company carried its same earning momentum in almost every country, as it currently doing in India. Royal Dutch Shell is the largest and most diversified investor in the energy sectors of India and it already invested above $1 billion in that particular sector to make the sector strong enough to tackle with the energy crisis. Fuel retail license is one of the major requirements, which must be complied appropriately in order to run the petroleum business smoothly with in the country and as per the jurisdiction of the law. In India Shell, is the only company which has a valid fuel retail license (Annual Report, Shell). Shell India has been engaged in diversified business, beside from the private sector supplier of crude, products, chemicals and technologies to private/public sector oil companies, the company also has a key interest in bitumen, lubricants and LPG receiving and regasification. The company is currently enrolled with different communities like NGOs and other public inst itutions and enjoying massive profit taking years by year and eventually becomes an asset for the country by contributing a large size of revenues. A lot of factors influenced on the productivity of the company from last few years. Which we will discuss in our PESTLE analysis. PESTLE ANALYSIS OF SHELL COMPANY IN INDIA: As we have discussed earlier that, we analyzed the organization in different broader aspects of Political, Economical, Social, Technological, in the PESTLE analysis, lets discusses each factor in details and excrete out a meaningful result from our analysis. (P)OLITICAL ISSUES WITH THE COMPANY: The world largest democracy element allegedly found in India, with over 900 million people living in an area, which is less than one third of the size of the United States (US). Poor law and order situation, instability of politics and blood shaded violence threatening the entire world especially the core of the business in the country. Indiaââ¬â¢s social and economic circumstances parallel its political condition. It can be say that the political situation of the country is so vulnerable because a big amount of people living in the abject poverty. Recent assault on the Mumbai hotel is one of the biggest examples of political issues. Apart from that a number of times it happened that, whenever a political leader has been killed than their adherents totally destroyed the country with ablaze the vehicles and most wretchedly the situation for the fuel stations. From past few years over 400 fuel pumps pf Shell had been burned out in these types of situations, which resultantly left an adverse effect on the companyââ¬â¢s bottom line and also on the minds of foreign investors. Shell company in India has to come up stringently and fragility to overwhelmed this matter, by submitting a petition in the jurisdiction of the courts regarding the safety issues. (E)CONOMICAL ISSUES WITH THE COMPANY: No doubt that India revamps their industries and economy a lot as compared with other economies, especially in Asia but there are some scarcities still there in their strategies to break the intensity of economical problems. Financial crisis is one of the major factors which urged a number of countries to be default. The economical factors whish we have discussed before has a direct relation with the influence on the companyââ¬â¢s environment. Price Unemployment Trend Effect: The buying power of every individual differs from than that of other which is totally dependent on their income. Letââ¬â¢s forget about the current financial crisis, and think about the Indian economy when it was on its full momentum and the inflation rate is in control. Satisfactory employment rate and good income opportunities constrained the person of the country to utilize the petroleum products excessively, which ultimately leaves a positive impact on the performance of the oil companies like shell, but the current liquidity crunch compelled hundreds of thousands of industries to slashed jobs which hiked the unemployment rate up to discretionary level. Current economical situation makes the life of a person exacerbate and it is so difficult for them even to stifle. Unemployment and high inflation rates in India resultantly effects negatively on about every industry and especially the oil industries are in severe distress. Mounting business co st and depleting economy situation suppressed the oil companies to cut down their supply of oil and curb the jobs from the company. Recently government increased the prices of per liter Petrol by 4 Indian Rupees, which have a direct relation with overall commodities prices. The action decrease the consumption of oil with in the country and rightly so the people are living their life hand to mouth and due to the current financial turmoil a number of people spending their life below the poverty line, so how they expect to consume petrol in excessive quantity. Interest rates and Global Trade Effects: Due to the current economic slump the global trade of India deteriorated rapidly, because almost every country has dearth of adequacy of the products, in which they usually trade, United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany and other developing countries are the major alleys in trading, but these countries are also in a severe distress of the credit crunch, that is why intervention in the global trade has been countenanced from last year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also increased the discount rates and Cash Reserve requirement (CRR) rate, to fetch the countryââ¬â¢s treasury pertinently. Shell Company India also faced a numerous problems regarding the current increment in the discount rates because now they have to pay large amounts as interest to their creditors. If the government relay seems to viable the company then they have to contemplate on the interest rates issue. (S)OCIAL ISSUES WITH THE COMPANY: It has been observed that the Shell Company doesnââ¬â¢t have a good connection with that of other oil companies operating in the country. For the enlargement of their business, the company has to expand its social circles with the in the country. It can be done at the corporate levels and with the virtue of the Government. Shell India can expand their business if they enhance their relations with other oil companies. (T)ECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES FOR THE COMPANY: Technology is of the major thing which is an essential requirement to viable a countryââ¬â¢s economy and the productivity of a company. It has been observed that no major improvement has been innovating from past decade in the petroleum industry. If we seen in Europe than we observe that there is very good system of detecting the data of the customer and also has a wonderful system to receive payments from the customers online. Albeit, the Shell company in India is one of the biggest companies operating in the country, so in order to maintain the same status they have to prudently look over their technological issues and do proper check and balance of their lacking. This is the only way they can enhance their productivity and performance which ultimately effect positively on their net profit. CONCLUSION: Royal Dutch Shell Company of India is one of the largest companies operating in India. The company is registered on the Stock Exchange of the country and due to their excellent financial health; they have a wonderful track record in facilitation to their shareholders as well as their customers. PEST analysis reveals that there are certain issues, which they really have to taken into consideration, if they really want to dominate in the future like they are dominating presently. We really emphasized on the economical issues in our PEST analysis, which may become a peril threat for the company, if they doesnââ¬â¢t mitigate accordingly. REFERENCES: Ruberson, R John, (1999), ââ¬Å"Handbook of PEST managementâ⬠, McGraw Hill Publications. Fitzhugh, P (2005), ââ¬Å"Pest Controlâ⬠, University Press Publication. Annual Report, (2008), retrieved from ââ¬Å"www.shell.comââ¬
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman Essay examples -- Chinese Society
Maxine Hong Kingston's No Name Woman "A highly fictive text [whose non-fiction label gives] the appearance of being an actual representation of Asian American experience in the broader public sphere." (Gloria Chun, "The High Note") Such a disparaging remark about the misleading nature of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior has been readily refuted, notably by Leilani Nishime, who proposes in her essay "Engendering Genre..." that it is a text that transcends genre confines; it challenges traditional definitions of genre and demands redefinitions. Whatever the case, "No Name Woman" (NNW) is remarkable in the way the reader is given a candid social commentary in the guise of an intriguing tale of scandal and oppression. In a vivid representation of traditional Chinese society, Kingston artfully manipulates perspective, or more aptly character filter (Chatman, Reading Narrative Fiction 130), to reflect the culture of an entire society in the vicissitudes of one family's life. The opening scene itself suggests the structure of the entire story: we are immediately presented with a tragic story-in-a-story, or framed-narrative (Chatman, 97), of the narrator's adulterous aunt. Somehow, the events viewed in retrospect through the eyes of the narrator's traditional, conservative mother seem skewed and moralistic, rendered with an objective, instructive voice which complements the primary narrator's didactic tones as she takes over the discussion from her mother following the opening tale. A little later on, the filter switches almost seamlessly over to that of the aunt, in a radically different retelling of her tale by the (primary) narrator (14). Such smooth filter-character transitions occur frequently throughout the text... ...le viewpoints, overlapping timelines and a dominating, though largely implied narrator's (possibly author's) slant work together to present Kingston's unique view of gender roles and their assimilation into Chinese-American culture; a far-reaching yet intimate projection of her history, society and self. Bibliography: Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1980. Reading Narrative Fiction. Ed. Seymour Chatman. New York: Macmillan, 1993. Chun, Gloria. "The High Note of the Barbarian Reed Pipe: Maxine Hong Kingston." Journal of Ethnic Studies 19.3 (Fall 1991): 85-95. Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs Of A Girlhood Among Ghosts. London: Picador, 1981. Nishime, LeiLani. "Engendering genre: gender and nationalism in China Men and The Woman Warrior." MELUS20.1 (Spring 95): 67-85.
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