Masculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Essays

Masculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Vern L. Bullough's article, "On Being a Male in the Middle Ages," addresses how vital it was for a man living in the middle ages to be sexually active in order to maintain a masculine identity by explaining: Quite clearly, male sexual performance was a major key to being male. It was a man's sexual organs that made him different and superior to the woman. But maleness was somewhat fragile, and it was important for a man to keep demonstrating his maleness by action and thought, especially by sexual action. It was part of his duty to keep his female partners happy and satisfied, and unless he did so, he had failed as a man. (41) If we are to use this reference to explain what constitutes maleness in the middle ages, then the question naturally arises as to how Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight retains his masculine identity while abstaining from sex. I believe the answer to this can be found by looking at the structure of the story, in which we will find that Gawain is surrounded by father figures who create a superego that requires Gawain to repress his sexual desires. At the same time, these parent figures are testing Gawain's ability to abstain from sexual intercourse to see if he is worthy of a courtly masculine title. Therefore, the only way Gawain can achieve and maintain this masculine identity is to abstain from sex. We should begin our observations into the question of how Sir Gawain's masculinity works by focusing on the Green Knight. The Green Knight, the first father figure introduced in the story, tests Gawain's masculinity. Before the Green Knight can test Gawain, though, he must prove that he is in a position to pass judgment. C... ...teilungen. 86 (1985): 482-88. Bullough, Vern L. "On Being a Male in the Middle Ages." Medieval Masculinities: Regarding Men in the Middle Ages. Medieval Cultures; 7. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1994. Freud, Sigmund. Character and Culture. 1907. New York: Crowell-Collier P, 1970. Freud, Sigmund. The Origin & Development of Psychoanalysis. 1910. New York: Henry Regnery Company, 1967. Freud, Sigmund. Sexuality and the Psychology of Love. 1905. New York: Crowell-Collier P, 1970. Hedges, Warren. Personal interview. 26 November 1996. Kinney, Clare R. "The (Dis)Embodied Hero and the Signs of Manhood in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Medieval Masculinities: Regarding Men in the Middle Ages. Medieval Cultures; 7. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1994. Mann, Jill. "Prince and Value in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Essays in Criticism. 36 (1986): 294-318. Masculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Essays Masculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Vern L. Bullough's article, "On Being a Male in the Middle Ages," addresses how vital it was for a man living in the middle ages to be sexually active in order to maintain a masculine identity by explaining: Quite clearly, male sexual performance was a major key to being male. It was a man's sexual organs that made him different and superior to the woman. But maleness was somewhat fragile, and it was important for a man to keep demonstrating his maleness by action and thought, especially by sexual action. It was part of his duty to keep his female partners happy and satisfied, and unless he did so, he had failed as a man. (41) If we are to use this reference to explain what constitutes maleness in the middle ages, then the question naturally arises as to how Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight retains his masculine identity while abstaining from sex. I believe the answer to this can be found by looking at the structure of the story, in which we will find that Gawain is surrounded by father figures who create a superego that requires Gawain to repress his sexual desires. At the same time, these parent figures are testing Gawain's ability to abstain from sexual intercourse to see if he is worthy of a courtly masculine title. Therefore, the only way Gawain can achieve and maintain this masculine identity is to abstain from sex. We should begin our observations into the question of how Sir Gawain's masculinity works by focusing on the Green Knight. The Green Knight, the first father figure introduced in the story, tests Gawain's masculinity. Before the Green Knight can test Gawain, though, he must prove that he is in a position to pass judgment. C... ...teilungen. 86 (1985): 482-88. Bullough, Vern L. "On Being a Male in the Middle Ages." Medieval Masculinities: Regarding Men in the Middle Ages. Medieval Cultures; 7. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1994. Freud, Sigmund. Character and Culture. 1907. New York: Crowell-Collier P, 1970. Freud, Sigmund. The Origin & Development of Psychoanalysis. 1910. New York: Henry Regnery Company, 1967. Freud, Sigmund. Sexuality and the Psychology of Love. 1905. New York: Crowell-Collier P, 1970. Hedges, Warren. Personal interview. 26 November 1996. Kinney, Clare R. "The (Dis)Embodied Hero and the Signs of Manhood in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Medieval Masculinities: Regarding Men in the Middle Ages. Medieval Cultures; 7. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1994. Mann, Jill. "Prince and Value in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Essays in Criticism. 36 (1986): 294-318.

Blue Ocean Strategy Paper Essay

The Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on the three industries that closely touch people’s lives. Areas they looked at were Autos, Computers and Movie and what companies within those fields are doing to managing sustainable profit and growth through the test of time. The creation of a blue ocean strategy places its focus on strategic moves to place their brand in position long past its rise to fame. Rather than focusing on creating a company and battling your competitor’s blue ocean strategy gears to forecasting innovations and products to make oceans of uncontested market space. (W. Kim, 2004) A product strategy that is much a product of managerial action, rather than the creation or invention of new market space but the development and evolution of the products rather than the company. Primary Strategy & Importance The blue ocean strategy takes a look at the host of companies in the thirty plus industries and the key players within them. The process of analyzing and studying the leading and successful players and the unsuccessful and failing competition. Looking for distinct and common differences between the groups, as well as the commonalities to discover the common factors that lead to the successful growth of one and failings of the other. The consistent variable common pattern that shows focusing on competition does not provide for long term successful companies. The common practice is the within the market place the competition style strategy has little advantages to it. (W. Kim, 2004) The irrelevant old school theory that out doing your competitors was not the road to take that leads to profit and success. Placing the value in innovation and creation will lend itself to a new demand and achieve a value that has a largely dominate market with high pay  offs and leave an ocean that separ ates you from the completion. The creation and break out of strategic pricing and targeting the strategy of new demands and thinking of new ideas that competitors are not offering with strategic pricing and low cost you can create a new market that is far beyond the industry and competitors you seek to outdo. Marketing from the point of view of the customer or consumer rather than what planning and research will outdo your competition shows no long term successful models, and the continual innovation and meeting the visionary demands of a new market will leave you as the sole leader of a this variation of new product. Similar Strategic Move Blue ocean strategy shows the critical importance of focusing your strategy not on competition or trying to reinvent the wheel, but innovation and creation of demand that in 20 years will be the trend the need and meet the customer needs that competition (established or not) have failed to see. Important factors of use of the company talent and resources such as cost and general broad customer generic products will satisfy the moment but mostly established players succeed and ride the roller coaster of size and market share. The best example that uses the blue ocean strategy is the Fitness industry and the success of Health Clubs. The gym and fitness industry is a mostly new industry in America and since the 1970’s/1980’s has had more than its fair share of failures as the innovations and offerings mixed with demand were not there. The importance of health and taking care of yourself as well as the eternal trend of looking good was a trend that was gaining strength and today has become a way of life (or you will have no life you will be dead). Gold’s gym which is credited for taking the fitness gym to the level of meeting a way of life in America that has now become a way of life. Insurance companies, doctors, social circles, advertisements, daily activities and stamina, and the demand of your own mother to exercise stay in shape, be healthy is a must. Your insurance companies, your employer, social circles even give discounts, benefits and incentives for those who enroll in gyms and health clubs. Today Gold’s gym has survived the revolving door of new gym clubs that come on the market and leave. Various fitness trends have made things such as cycling, weight lifting, yoga, kick boxing to launch sub-specialty industries who match the services  and demand for health and fitness in huge industry. The estimated revenue of health clubs in the US being $25 Billion dollars a year, and an estimated database of over 48 Million members in America (1/8 of the total US Population) the industry started just thirty to f orty years ago is huge. (Statista.com, 2013) Innovative ways of bring people in to use their facilities and offering of different amenities and services has been the key to what companies will stand the test of time and which will fold. Trying to out price the customers has led to the closure of many successful gyms (in their time) however, not using innovation that would separate them from the competition in terms of staying a head of the curve for demand and trends lead to their closure. Companies that have taken risk such as LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness may very well be huge money makers and leaders in the market but take on many elements of those that focused on coverage and competition. Their size may make it difficult for creative new products and services as they have hundreds of clubs in several countries that employ thousands of people that need to be trained and adjusted. Strategy today continues to lend to the success and meet demands and needs of the industry customers want such as multiple locations, low cost, and amenities. Red Ocean Version Pro & Con An alternative red ocean move for the health club industry is Belly’s Total Fitness. A onetime industry leader and attributed for making the health club business a chain group in the US is now all but dissolved and absorbed by larger and constantly redeveloping competitors such as LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness. The signature and staple business model may have been both the success and failure of the business. Offering multiple locations within the same network and multi-amenity locations that put them as an up and coming trend that cast a shadow of industry leader Gold’s Gym. The growing health clubs such as LA Fitness, and 24 Hour Fitness observed the success of Belly’s and began to open up locations with similar features, but at lower cost to members and offering the latest and greatest in programs, equipment and services. The blue ocean strategy that LA Fitness and 24 Hour fitness use of reading the trends and demands of members and following the strong national focus of fitness and health has allowed them to consume the once leading and fellow competitors growing their network and member base to  levels never expected. With the industry being so new it’s hard to see if places such as LA Fitness and 24 Hour fitness will last the test of time is a question only time can answer. What I do know is that if they are executing an effective strategy of innovation versus the research and development and focusing on and competitor intelligence will show no advantage for their market share and long term profits. Conclusion The fundamentals of blue ocean strategy rest solely in the creation of value seen by the customer and lower cost while simultaneously differentiating your brand, product or service within industry and rejecting old world style tunnel-vision focus strategy of your competitors. By delivering these important features of blue ocean strategy you create a sustained powerful impact on a distinct market that benefits what would have been your competition and creates blue oceans of new opportunity that spin off into a new existing market that you have all to yourself. References Perreault, W. D. (2011). Basic Marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach (19th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Statista.com. (2013). U.S. Health Club Industry . New York: Ipsos Media, Simmons National Consumer Studies and Consumer Insights from Scarborough Research. W. Kim, R. M. (2004). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 10(86), 76-84.

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and...

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est Both Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson and Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen are poems about war. However, they were written in two very different contexts and about two very different wars. Charge of the Light Brigade describes a doomed cavalry charge made by British soldiers during The Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War (1854-1857). Dulce et Decorum est, on the other hand, tells the story of a group of soldiers who were caught in a gas attack returning from the trenches of World War I (1914-1918) towards their distant rest. Alfred Lord Tennyson was the Poet Laureate at that time and wrote the poem after reading†¦show more content†¦Owen gives the impression that the soldiers have very low moral as he says, we cursed through sludge and towards our distant rest began to trudge. I believe this because of the way in which Owen describes their action as he implies that every thing they did was very hard work, as rather than they walked he says they trudged. Owen also says men marched asleep, drunk with fatigue, deaf even to the hoots of tired, outstripped five-nines that dropped behind, this demonstrates that the soldiers are very tired and exhausted. He even personifies the bombs (five-nines) to show that they have been used so much that even they are tired. In contrast, Tennyson describes the soldiers in Charge of the Light Brigade very differently. In the second stanza, Tennyson asks a Rhetorical question Was there a man dismayd? and he answers not tho the soldiers knew some one had blundered, this shows that the soldiers accepted their orders without question even if they knew some one had made a mistake in giving them the order. After the rhetorical question Tennyson also says Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die, this shows again that they did not question the orders and that they would do what ever they were told even if it meant that they would die. Tennyson also shows in the poem that the soldiers were courageous and honourable as he says boldlyShow MoreRelatedCompare Contrast the Portrayal of War in Dulce Et Decorum Est Charge of the Light Brigade.2305 Words   |  10 PagesTennysons Charge of The Light Brigade and Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est both explore warfare. However they each have significant differences. Charge Of The Light Brigade was written in the 18th Century and is about the Crimean War. I t explains, in a very majestic manner, that fighting in a war is something every soldier should be extremely proud of. Sacrifices have to be made and bravery is an absolute necessity. 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Many people have opposing views about wars which may have been developed over time based on many factors such asRead MoreDulce Et Decorum Est The Charge Of The Light Brigade - Poem Comparing And Contrasting Essay1156 Words   |  5 PagesWar is a subject that often stirs upon many emotions with those directly or indirectly involved. It may bring tears, memories of suffering and loneliness, struggles, or victories. Such disturbance of peace has wounded and killed many souls. It is on the battlefield we see the most hideous side of human nature, for every soldiers only objective on the battlefield is to survive and win. Many people have opposing views about wars which may have been developed over time based on many factors such asRead MoreThe Portrayal of War in Lord Byron’s The Destruction of Senn acherib, Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est and Tennyson’s The Charge of The Light Brigad1761 Words   |  8 PagesThe Portrayal of War in Lord Byron’s The Destruction of Sennacherib, Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est and Tennyson’s The Charge of The Light Brigade We have studied three poems on the subject of different views of war. ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ and ‘The Charge of the Light brigade’ were written pre 1914 whereas ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est was written post 1914’. Dulce et decorum est, was written by Wilfred Owen, and is meant to portray the harshness of the first worldRead MorePortrayal of War in the Pre 1900 Poetry Essay3056 Words   |  13 PagesPortrayal of War in the Pre 1900 Poetry Before 1900, war was always seen as a glorious thing. 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