Monday, March 16, 2020

Krapps Last Tape and the Futility of Human Existence Essays

Krapps Last Tape and the Futility of Human Existence Essays Krapps Last Tape and the Futility of Human Existence Paper Krapps Last Tape and the Futility of Human Existence Paper Question: Absurdist drama is often said to be a critique of the human existence, that the situation is often meaningless and absurd. Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape is a typical absurdist drama. How does Beckett, through the use of language, setting and the character Krapp, highlight the futility of the human existence in this particular drama? Absurdist drama originated in the 1950s and follows Albert Camus’s philosophy that the human situation is meaningless and absurd (Culik). As such, absurdist drama is, in a sense, absurd. It follows none of the typical rules of modern drama, and that is in fact its true intention, to go against the norm so as to surprise or shock readers out of their comfort zone, to force people to confront the weaknesses and hopelessness of mankind. Many components of an absurdist drama will be seen as illogical, ridiculous or mundane. Samuel Beckett’s drama, Krapp’s Last Tape, is an excellent example of an absurdist drama. Perhaps the first thing that the audience is drawn to, when reading the play at least, is the setting itself. Beckett goes to great length to describe how he wishes the setting to be, right down to the last trivial detail of Krapp’s clothes. â€Å"Rusty black narrow trousers too short for him. Rusty black sleeveless waistcoat, four capacious pockets. Heavy silver watch and chain. Grimy white shirt open at nick, no collar. † Beckett further describes Krapp’s slow, laborious actions in a lengthy and monotonous manner. â€Å"Krapp remains a moment motionless, heaves a great sigh, looks at his watch, fumbles in his pocket, takes out an envelope, puts it back, fumbles, takes out a small bunch of keys Indeed, Krapp himself is a source of ridicule, for he is poorly dressed, slow, clumsy and even almost trips on a banana skin that he tosses on the ground. One must note, however, that despite Krapp’s frailties, Beckett constantly reminds the audience that Krapp is a â€Å"thinker†, from his constant pacing to his â€Å"meditative† way of eating banana. Hence , by putting together both messages, Krapp epitomizes the proverbial unsuccessful scholar, the intellectual who tries to survive on idealism but soon realizes that cold hard truth of reality. Indeed, Beckett has foreshadowed the later parts of this drama with this initial hint of who Krapp is as a person, and the reader learns much later that Krapp is in fact a failed writer bemoaning the mistakes he made when he was young. In essence, Beckett’s portrayal of Krapp is as a symbol of ridicule, and made even more ridiculous from the fact that Krapp is supposed to be of considerable intellect. Hence one sees the first example, right from the beginning, of an absurdist piece. Beckett further uses a minimalist setting for a reason. The stark empty space present in a minimalist setting serves to highlight to the audience that there is no one else in the room, for Krapp is there, alone in his own solitude. The audience focuses on Krapp and only Krapp, which is the essence of absurdist drama; for the audience to focus on the human so as to realize, throughout the course of the drama, the futility of the human existence. Interesting too, is Beckett’s use of lighting in the drama. He specifies, above all, that: â€Å"Table and immediately adjacent area in strong white light. Rest of stage in darkness. † Light and darkness has often been used as an allegory to success and failure, knowledge and ignorance. By putting Krapp in the light and the rest of the stage in the dark, it would appear that Beckett is attempting to portray Krapp as having had the knowledge to succeed in life, hence Beckett’s choice to have light and darkness on the stage as a stark comparison as opposed to having the stage fully lighted. However, one soon suspects, and later realizes, that Krapp is anything but successful. Hence, the audience realizes the irony of the situation; Beckett’s use of light to portray Krapp’s dark life shows a yearning for a success that never came, and this is in fact the case, which the audience sees later. The themes of light and darkness are shown repeatedly throughout the entire play, as shall be discussed later. With regards to the drama itself, reminiscence on the part of Krapp is a major theme. The audience is introduced to a total of three Krapps, all different from one another. Hence the audience is able to view each Krapp as being detached from one another, in an intense separation of self (Lagier). Sixty-nine year old Krapp listens to a tape made by his thirty-nine year old self, in which his thirty-nine year old self muses on his actions when he was twenty-nine. To deduce exactly what Krapp is reminiscing about, the audience must listen closely to the content of the narration, as well as the present day Krapp’s reactions to it. Twenty-nine year old Krapp, as recounted by his thirty-nine year old self, was living with a woman named Bianca, whom twenty-nine year old Krapp described as â€Å"hopeless business†. Thirty-nine year old Krapp derides his twenty-nine year old self for being â€Å"young whelp†, for making aspirations and resolutions like to drink less and to have a â€Å"less engrossing sexual life†. Thirty-nine year old Krapp believes that Bianca and the above resolutions are silly, for he â€Å"sneers at what he calls his youth and thanks to God that it’s over†. Twenty-nine year old Krapp then talks about the â€Å"shadow of the opus magnum†, which in essence belies his desire to be a great and successful writer, to publish an amazing and impressive piece of work that none will rival. This, thirty-nine year old Krapp appears to concur fully; in fact, he describes a moment of epiphany that he has when he is thirty-nine. â€Å"What I suddenly saw then was this, that the belief I had been going on all my life, namely-† â€Å"The dark I have always struggled to keep under is in reality my most-† Once again the theme of light and darkness emerges, and Krapp believes that he has seen the light, seen the truth of what must be done in order to achieve the â€Å"shadow of the opus magnum† that he talked about when he was twenty-nine. To do so, Krapp must accept the darkness that is manifest in him, instead of trying to keep it under wraps, as seen when he says â€Å"my dissolution of storm and night with the light of the understanding and the fire-†. The audience, however, should be wary, as is Beckett’s intention in portraying enlightenment through the acceptance of darkness. This blatant contradiction stands in fact for the irony of Krapp’s situation; he believes that by giving up love and companionship, and hence embracing darkness, he will be able to attain success. It should be evident to the audience that such logic is clearly absurd, and Krapp realizes this much later when he is sixty-nine. Hearing his thirty-nine year old self talk about his visions of grandeur disgusts the present Krapp, as is seen by his swearing and fast-forwarding of the tape. â€Å"Krapp switches off impatiently, winds tape forward, switches on again. † Later, as is customary of Krapp’s birthday, he makes a fresh tape and curses himself for being a fool. â€Å"Just been listening to that stupid bastard I took myself for thirty years ago, hard to believe I was ever as bad as that. The scene poignantly reminds the audience of the thirty-nine year old Krapp mocking his twenty-nine year old self, much like the present day Krapp is mocking his thirty-nine year old self. What is starkly different, however, is that sixty-nine year old Krapp is now mocking his thirty-nine year old self for something his thirty-nine year old self derided himself for doing at twent y-nine; for being with Bianca, or perhaps, for the companionship and humanity that Bianca symbolizes, for what his thirty-nine year old self swore to give up. In essence, the present Krapp realizes that he has spent thirty years pursuing a dream of writing, with little achievement of speak of. His â€Å"shadow of the opus magnum†, his great literary vision, is nothing more than â€Å"Seventeen copies sold, of which eleven at trade price to free circulating libraries beyond the seas. Getting known. One pound six and something, eight I have little doubt. † On a higher level, one may perhaps see this as Beckett’s warning to society about the frailties of mankind, and how one will fail more often than succeed. Human beings are selfish and self centred, and are forever striving to achieve ever greater heights, resulting in ever greater failures, which is clearly illustrated in the case of Krapp. The Absurdist Theatre, as such, paints this thoroughly pessimistic picture of the existence of human kind. A second major theme present in the drama is that of solitude and isolation. This isolation can be considered a self-imposed one, a result of Krapp turning away from the women in his life when he was younger. There are two instances of this, one when Krapp was aged twenty-nine and the woman was called Bianca, and one when Krapp was aged thirty-nine. It is clear that Krapp regrets his situation. Both sixty-nine year old Krapp and thirty-nine year old Krapp jeer at his younger self, and one can consider these Krapps ‘‘emotional bananas†, in which Krapp attempts to ‘‘stop up’’ any regrets he may feel through mockery (Moran). However, his actions give him away, for Krapp cannot forget the women, or rather, the symbol of humanity he gave up. â€Å"Krapp switches off, winds tape back, switches on again. Whereas Krapp impatiently fast-forwards the parts of him musing about his epiphanies, he listens intently and repeatedly to his memories of the woman he used to have. He then belatedly muses what could have happened if he had not chosen to turn her away. â€Å"Could have been happy with her, up there on the Baltic, and the pines, and the dunes. Could I? † He realizes that he has made a horrible mistake, choosing his delusions of grandeur over love, and is now left with nothing except superficial sex from the whore Fanny, which he once again mocks. I told her I’d been saving up for her all my life. † Also present are many literary obscurities that Beckett uses throughout the play. The presence of bananas, for one, plays a bigger role than being a mere food. Beckett chooses to add an element of physical degeneration in the play to complement that of Krapp’s spiritual degeneration; Krapp’s fondness for bananas causes him to suffer from a bowel problem. Twenty-nine year old Krapp had â€Å"unattainable laxation†, thirty-nine year old Krapp ate â€Å"three bananas and only with difficulty refrained a fourth†. At the beginning of the play, sixty-nine year old Krapp had eaten two bananas already. It is easy to see that the bananas are symbolic. Krapp eats so many bananas even though they make his constipation problem worse as a form of escapism; he wishes to bury his emotions within him even as his stool stays stubbornly within his body. This is similar to the way thirty-nine year old Krapp resolves to bury his emotions, end his relationships with women and retreat into a life of solitude with the false hope that doing so would allow him to achieve his â€Å"shadow of the opus magnum†. Ironically, or perhaps aptly, Krapp’s last name sounds remarkably similar to the word â€Å"crap†, which means to defecate. This is yet one more example Beckett utilizes to make Krapp an object of ridicule; he cannot achieve laxation even though his name suggests the very same thing. Krapp also appears to place special emphasis on the word â€Å"spool†. While it is entirely possible that Beckett has Krapp repeat the word over and over, drawing it out, in order to make Krapp seem even more absurd so as to fit the character he is playing, the word â€Å"spool†, and even all the tapes in Krapp’s boxes, may in fact have special significance to Krapp. Indeed, it appears that Krapp has been documenting his life every birthday in an individual spool, perhaps in hope that in the future, he would be able to look back and reminisce about the evolutions of his success. The real reason for Krapp’s documentation of his past, however, may be the simple fact that he has become so detached from the others that the only way he may hear a voice speak, is to hear his own voice. Hence, Krapp guards his tapes and boxes zealously, labelling them carefully, because they are the only connection he has left to humanity, the only method he has to break the monotony of his solitude. In retrospect, Krapp’s Last Tape does an excellent portrayal of a very real fear that society, caught up in fulfilment of never-ending wants and desires, will result in a generation of people who lead a meaningless existence, finding all too often that instead of achieving their desires, they not only fail to do so, they also lose whatever speck of humanity they had in them. All too often, they find themselves alone in their old age, having turned away or denied companionship in the mistaken thought that it would prevent them from attaining their ideals. Overall, this presents a powerful issue for one to consider. Still, one should note that while Absurdist Theatre is thoroughly pessimistic, it may not always be representative of the real situation. Hence, cone can disagree that the human situation is always meaningless and absurd, but concur to the possibility of one leading a meaningless existence as a result of misjudgements.

Friday, February 28, 2020

The Sociological Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Sociological Perspectives - Essay Example The functionalist perspective views the world as a set of groups that coexist based on mutual need and cooperation. It is through this means that society is able to reach and maintain equilibrium. Durkheim, Comte, and Spencer pioneered this sociological perspective, but Robert Merton elaborated on the theory. He viewed societal consequences as being manifest, latent, and latent dysfunctional. Manifest functions are the positive and intended outcome of a group on society. Latent functions are the unintended consequences that help society maintain order. The latent dysfunctions are unintended negative results that continually upset and shape society. Our family was lower middle class and as such we filled the role of working in the factories and the mills. In return society provided us with adequate income and substantial opportunities. In doing so, our social class fulfilled its function and was rewarded by other groups in society through peaceful coexistence Karl Marx, the most well known conflict theorist, viewed the world as groups that were competing for the available resources. He generally defined conflict in terms of wealth and saw it as two classes; the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (workers).

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Philosophy--Freedom, Responsibility, and Human Action (please see the Essay

Philosophy--Freedom, Responsibility, and Human Action (please see the attachment for detail) - Essay Example Eventually, the researcher will discuss whether or not the recent empirical evidences related to the major causes of human action or the variable status of certain moral intuitions undermines the role of intuition in philosophical discourse on human freedom and responsibility. Regardless of whether the researcher agrees or disagree with the claims that these recent empirical evidences weakens the role of intuition in philosophical point-of-view on human freedom and responsibility, the researcher will provide examples or possible alternatives as a way of defending the researcher’s answer to the question. Even though most of the human actions are controlled by environmental and genetic factors, intuition also has a role in controlling some of our actions. Basically, intuition serves as our inner higher guidance. Even before we perform an action, intuition tells us to whether or not to proceed with our intended action. Based on a person’s final judgment or decision, his or her moral responsibility as a human being will be greatly affected by his own actions. For example: A man who needs a large sum of money for his child’s heath care needs and surgery bill may end up thinking about robbing a bank or stealing something that costs a large sum of money from a stranger. Even before the man decides on whether to push through with his plan, the man will have to undergo a mental balancing between the benefit and consequences as well as the moral issues behind his intended action. At this point, intuition would normally hold the man from doing something that is morally unacceptable. Another example will be a student who is in danger of failing a subject at the end of the semester. In order to avoid failing the subject, the student may end up either choosing between copying his or her seatmate’s paper or simply put in extra

Friday, January 31, 2020

Service Operations Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Operations Management - Research Paper Example Standard Chartered Bank in the United Arab Emirates serves both the Consumer and the Wholesale Banking customers. The Consumer Banking section provides deposit taking, personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, and wealth management services to various individuals and to small to medium-sized enterprises. The Wholesale Banking section provides the corporate and institutional customers with services ranging from lending, trade finance, custody, cash management, debt capital markets, foreign exchange and corporate finance (Standard Chartered). This noble bank in the United Arabs Emirates is well established in the growth markets where it aims at being the right business partner, mainly for its clients. Standard Charted Bank in the United Arab Emirates combines in-depth local knowledge together with global capability to offer the best financial services to its customers. The Bank is well trusted across its numerous branches and networks for its high standards of governance as well as its commitment in making a huge difference in the various communities where it operates. Standard Chartered Bank is the world's leader in the emerging markets' banks, and its headquarters are in London. However, the bank’s businesses are always overwhelmingly international (Standard Chartered). ... llowed by the Branch Cash Officers who are responsible for the back office of the branch operations followed by the bank tellers or cashiers who are responsible for the daily operations of depositing as well as withdrawing cash for the various clients in the bank. It is worth noting that these noble people always work in harmony in order to achieve the bank’s mission and vision statement whereby each employee is expected to fully know their various roles. Each employee of the bank has their individual targets, which they are supposed to attain in order to remain in employment, and this makes them to surpass their targets since there are bonuses and other incentives that are awarded by the bank if an employee surpasses their targets (Parker 03). There are various key Tactical and Strategic Challenges that are faced by the Operations Managers as they continue working on a daily basis. Such challenges include keeping a keen eye on the numerous transactions that the branch of the bank is undertaking. This is a paramount challenge since the bank deals with other people’s money, and any loss would result to diverse repercussions to the entire bank as well as ruining its reputation. A bank’s operations manager in Standard Chartered bank in UAE is not even supposed to deal with customers on a face-to-face basis since they will not be able to concentrate on their noble work effectively. They are also supposed to authorize various transactions, especially those that deal with a large amount of money. They have to know anti-money laundry laws, which the bank has to adhere to efficiently, govern the real source of the money since the bank. This is a key function of the bank’s operations manager and also a tactical and strategic challenge since any mistake can affect the

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Capital Punishment Essay - I Stand Against :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Essays - I Stand Against Capital Punishment      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Capital punishment is what I consider, â€Å"the legal† punishment of a criminal.   Capital punishment has been used as a form of punishment for many years. At modern time, capital punishment is more controlled. Although, when capital punishment is mentioned it brings shivers down the back of most of society. Being it is a factor of death, capital punishment , should not be taken so lightly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The term capital does not represent or signify any ideas in the negative aspect.   Capital is defined as first or foremost; first rate or excellent.   Punishment, on the other hand, is defined as the rough handling or penalization for a wrong doing.   Neither of these terms, when mentioned individually signify anything in the negative aspect.   Although when these two terms are combined   there is alot more meaning to them than just excellent or penalization.   These now strictly signify, death.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Capital punishment has been a form of â€Å"disciplining† since 1750 B.C., when it was part of the code of Hammarabi.   The bible itself, also prescribes death as a penalty for any of thirty crimes committed. The crimes ranged from any between murder and fornication.   In the 18th century more than two hundred capital crimes were recognized, and as a result over one thousand people a year were faced with the sentence of death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now at modern time, the death penalty, has been rekindled. Although, it is not as barbaric as it was.   Now the law only allows itself the use certain types of â€Å"disciplining†. In the early 18th and 19th century the death penalty was inflicted in many ways.   Some ways were, crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing asunder, stoning and drowning.   In the late 19th century the types of punishments were limited and only a few of them remained permissible by law.   In the 19th century capital punishment was to only be inflicted by the following methods: hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber, firing squad and lethal injection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opinions brought upon us stating that the death penalty is a very strong deterrent against crime holds allot of water.   It is a proven statistical fact that states that have reinstated and now enforce the death penalty show no difference in their crime and murder rate.   In some cases, states that do impose the death penalty have a higher crime rate than the states that do not impose this â€Å"disciplinary† action.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Whosoever shed man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed† (Genesis 9:6).   With this statement from Genesis, some people could almost

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Finding Forrester and Outliers Essay

My views on the book were that it was inspiring and show the realistic views on life. The Outliers is set of stories that shows the errors in human nature, however, it also shows the paths of those who overcame the obstacles on the way to success. Outliers is a book that reveals how the most powerful people, those that have become idols when talking about success, had the greatest luck and opportunities already around them. When Bill Gates, owner and founder of Microsoft, was only in junior high he was already exposed to computers. Computers during Gate’s time were such a rare and limited resource that even most scientists couldn’t get a hold of one. I personally thought this was a book of good teachings. It shows that everything takes time and luck to become successful. Through his stories; 10,000 hour rule, Trouble with geniuses, two demography luck, and etc., shows a that you must put time and effort into your part and hope that fates grants you the luck. The realist ic side of Outliers is that as far as working hard can get you, success relies on a hidden aspect of luck which I like. Outliers gives off the message that you must work harder than anyone so your opportunities grow. Not to beat yourself up if something doesn’t go your way because some people are just born luckier than others. The movie Finding Forrester was a movie about a lost Bronx teenage finding his way with a help of an acclaimed author; William Forrester. Jamal lost in his own innate environment, found refuge in Forrester’s apartment. Forrester, who first was cold towards Jamal soon learned to care for Jamal like his own child. The Duo continued throughout the movie, building a father and son relationship. A relationship neither of them wanted but eventually could not live without. With the help of one another they were able to overcome one another’s problems. Forrester was once again able to go see the world he long hid from again. Forrester was given back his freedom and courage to enjoy life again, a problem he struggled with for over 40-50+ years. For Jamal, his gift was skills pasted down by Forrester, the skills he spent decades acquiring. Forrester had given Jamal everything he had back left on earth; his voucher at the writing contest, his apartment, his next book, and  his l egacy. Forrester had given Jamal everything he needed to excel and overcome any obstacles in his future. Whether you like the truth or not, never distort the truth. I believe that is what Malcolm Gladwell is trying to saying that in chapter 7. Distortion leads to miscommunication which leads to disaster. Chapter 7 talks about a discussion between pilots/co-pilots to radio towers. A real problem with pilots being to nonchalant over broadcast that it leads to fatal crashes. It shows that being nonchalant during serious matters is dangerous and potentially fatally acts. Outliers talks about how by â€Å"Sugar-coating† any type of information is dangerous because it leaves the listening party with a false sense of situation and confidence. Simple communication cannot be done correctly without both parties at a clear understanding on the topic. Otherwise you give a giant game of telephone, and as kindergarten has taught us; you only need two people to change the original message. Even if the outliers puts the â€Å"Sugar-coating’ in more of an extreme light it shows the very r eal side of how â€Å"Sugar-coating† can cause disaster.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Financial Analysis of The Hershey Company - 2270 Words

Liquidity ratios measure a company’s ability to meet its maturing short-term obligations. In other words, can a company quickly convert its assets to cash without a loss in value if necessary to meet its short-term obligations? Favorable liquidity ratios are critical to a company and its creditors within a business or industry that does not provide a steady and predictable cash flow. They are also a key predictor of a company’s ability to make timely payments to creditors and to continue to meet obligations to lenders when faced with an unforeseen event. Current Ratio Current Assets/Current Liabilities This ratio reflects the number of times short-term assets cover short-term liabilities and is a fairly accurate indication of a†¦show more content†¦This ratio relates the ability of a company to generate sales using its working capital to determine how efficiently working capital is being used. In general, a lower number is preferred because it indicates a company has a satisfactory level of working capital. However, an exceptionally low number may indicate inadequate sales levels are being generated. The sales to working capital ratio for Hershey Company is 10.34 reveals that the company s level of working capital is strong. The company may want to make an effort to generate additional sales using the available working capital. Activity ratios provide a useful gauge of a company s operations by determining, for example, the average number of days it takes to collect on customer accounts and the average number of days to pay vendors. A key point to keep in mind when evaluating these ratios is that seasonal fluctuations are not necessarily reflected in the numbers that are derived from these calculations based on an account balance on one single day. Accounts Receivable Turnover Sales / Trade Accounts Receivable This ratio measures the number of times receivables turn over in a year and reveals how successful a company is in collecting its outstanding receivables. A higher number is preferred because it indicates a shorter time between sales and cash collection. The accounts receivable turnover for Hershey Company is 14.40 suggests this ratio may be on target with company objectives.Show MoreRelatedIntroduction Of The Hershey Company Essay1099 Words   |  5 Pagesto Business The Hershey Company Introduction The Hershey Company produces the best chocolate according to a survey taken among my coworkers. This company is well known for their Hershey s Kisses, Kit-Kat, Whopper s, Reese s Peanut Butter Cups and much more! Personally Kit-Kat is my favorite. Hershey s is one chocolate that I can eat and it changes my whole mood. 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