Written campaign pitch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Written campaign pitch - Essay Example This campaign pitch is designed to work under a strategy known as market-differentiation and through the use of the resources that are available in the Attic stores. The growth of this business as well as the consumer awareness/loyalty will be attained through the use of the resources provided by the three principal partners of Attic stores. The marketing mix to be used by the Attic stores will be centered on the emphasis of the high quality of their products and the fast customer service accorded to the clients by the staff of Attic stores. It is definitely probable that various risks will be involved in this type of a marketing mix. As a solution to this, Attic stores will consider structuring this campaign pitch into four segments. The first segment of this campaign pitch will focus on the instantaneous and responsive business environment accorded to Attic stores. In utilizing the immediate and responsive business environment, the Attic stores shall make use of a campaign slogan to be referred to as ‘fashion mania’. ‘Fashion mania’ can be given wide-meaning showing obsessions that people have for up-to-the-minute clothing and more specifically leisure/sportswear. We shall therefore change our business name to Attic Stores Fashion Mania. As part of our change, we shall encompass various modes for the distribution of our products. That means that we will not rely only on the traditional methodologies that are used by other retail outlets in the distribution of their products. As such, we will employ the use of other methodologies for example mail orders so as to address the clothing needs of our clients who are very busy and do not have free time at their disposal to come personally to the stores (Adcock, 1998). We will also use the internet and the social media like Facebook and blogs sell our products. The use of the social media is particularly important because at this digital era, most of the people

CASE STUDY ----- Accsys Technologies PLC Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

----- Accsys Technologies PLC - Case Study Example This paper will analyze the financial statements and annual reports of the company and identify three areas of heightened audit risk in the auditing of the company this year. In addition, the paper will explain the reasons for five substantive audit procedures in relation to the areas of heightened audit risk identified. From the annual report of the company, it is evident that there are some areas that require heightened audit risk this year. One of the areas in the company that has heightened audit risk is the operating costs. There was an increase in the operating costs of the company by 11%. While the figure was 13.5 million pounds in 2013, it rose to 15 million pounds in 2014. This resulted from high costs of administration that the organization incurred during the year. Moreover, there were legal costs that resulted from the arbitration process related to the Diamond Wood. The cost of staff also increased by 9% and this was as a result of the increase in head count (ACCSYS TECHNOLGIES 2015). Operating costs is an area of heightened risk audit in this company since they determine whether the costs incurred by the company are being used to cover the relevant expenses. In addition, costs determine whether there is effective management of costs in the organization and ascertain whether there are activities that contribute to the wastage of the company’s resources. For Accsys Technologies PLC, operating costs represent an area of heightened risk since they keep on increasing and might affect the profitability of the company, as well as the initial business plan of the organization. With proper auditing of the costs such as staff costs, the management can make adjustments to the operations of the organization and ensure that the company is in the right track (ACCSYS TECHNOLGIES 2015). Another area of heightened audit risk in the audit of the company this year is

The Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

The Handmaids Tale Essay Gilead’s totalitarianism regime uses religion to meet the ends of the regime, rather than the regime being a means to serve God. ‘Soul Scrolls’ is a place where Handmaid’s purchase one of five prayers to be read to them, before being recycled. Offred’s prayer is a distortion of the Lord’s Prayer which is ostensibly much more personal to her. Offred describes ‘Soul Scrolls’ as ‘a franchise’. This suggests the presence of business and technology in Gilead, reinforced by the idea that the Handmaid’s accounts are debited and that the regime is everywhere. This concept of business is continuous throughout the novel, for example the ‘ceremony’ previously discussed is portrayed to be a business transaction. ‘Franchise’ has connotations of something which is unavoidable. Everybody knows it and everybody has access to it, and it’s the same everywhere you go – it’s incredibly impersonal. Gilead uses ‘Soul Scrolls’ as a means of controlling the Handmaids. There is no flexibility because there is no choice in prayer – there are only five prayers to choose from, which seems quite artificial. In only offering five exact choices – ‘health, wealth, a death, a birth, a sin’, it prevents people praying for anything else. Despite the fact that the Handmaid’s can mentally think of other prayers, they can never articulate this because their freedom of speech is subverted to the state of Gilead. ‘Birth’ and ‘death’ are rites of passage and for the Handmaid’s; it’s the only two things they can be certain of. They exist simply for the purpose to bear children, and constant reminders of the consequences if they fail to conceive are that they will eventually die. With only 5 prayers available, this creates uniformity which shows how Gilead manipulates religion, because in reality, prayer should be different for everyone. The concept of Christianity is based on the relationship between God and the person. Prayer is theoretically supposed to be a means of personal communication, a way to thank God, and to wish for things to happen. ‘Soul Scrolls’ is not personal. ‘The machines talk’ and by speaking in a ‘toneless metallic voice’, Gilead is taking all freedom from the Handmaid’s minds, and this autonomy removes any need for a thought process, which means the Handmaid’s cannot threaten the Gilead regime by thinking for themselves. ‘Soul Scrolls’ allegedly teach the Handmaids’ what they should think. However, their soul is a part of them and they should already know what they want to think, but the absence of this suggests the influence and power of Gilead. The idea that the Handmaids’ minds are also controlled is emphasised by this because Gilead doesn’t let them develop, it uses machines and the role of people such as aunt’s and commanders to brainwash them. Regardless of the Handmaids’ being unable to express their thoughts, since God is omniscient he should know what they’re thinking. However, in articulating their thoughts they could confirm their own beliefs to themselves in a pragmatic way. It forms a part of positive thinking in the concept that the more you repeat it the better a chance they have of getting what they want. There is also a value in articulating feelings to people you love because it’s comforting. God is a conscious living entity aware of people’s love. Nevertheless, Gilead completely restricts this because the Handmaids’ have been brainwashed for so long that it’s wrong to think and to have these feelings, and so this restricts the power that the Handmaids’ could have. ‘Soul scrolls’ is only one way communication from the machine to the Handmaid, and this stops them developing thoughts, making the ‘Soul Scrolls’ simply another way of controlling the Handmaids. ‘Soul Scrolls’ are described by the Wives to ‘help their husband’s career’, which shows the machines to be pragmatic and simply a way to get ahead and follow the regime. ‘Soul Scrolls’ also suggests that the regime is manipulative because it shows a yearning for money and power in charging for the prayers to be read, and in controlling the Handmaids’. In buying prayers, it’s a sign of faithfulness to the regime, which implies that the regime has completely replaced religion and which emphasises that the Commander is thought to be like a God. Gilead completely distorts the meaning of prayer because with ‘Soul Scrolls’ it’s not about connecting with God, and in prayer you should want to pray which is not what this is about. Atwood’s repetition of ‘punching in the numbers’ reinforces this sense of autonomy and contempt for the regime, because it appears repetitive and tedious. Offred describes it as having ‘roll upon roll’ of prayers, which shows Gilead believes in quantity not quality, further emphasising the concept of business and money. Gilead’s regime is described as indestructible. ‘The window of ‘Soul scrolls’ is shatterproof’, which suggests that for the regime to have protected the franchise, they must have feared there would be dissenters. It suggests that not everybody in Gilead accepts it but they don’t dare to express this because of the consequences. There is reference to the spies in ‘Soul Scrolls’, ‘each machine has an eye painted in gold on the side’, which shows their superiority and that the Handmaids’ are always being watched – there is no escape and this is yet another means of controlling them. Offred tries ‘to remember’ what the place sold before and realises it was a lingerie shop. This takes away the feminist aspect of women because Gilead attempts to strip women of any wants and thoughts, to make them only want to bear children. If a lingerie shop existed in Gilead’s society as it were then, it would be considered corrupt, which is ironic because Gilead itself is a mire of corruption. The concept of a patriarchal society is reinforced in that ‘most of the stores carrying things for men are still open’. Offred’s parody of the Lord’s Prayer, which takes place by an empty garden (similar to how Jesus prayed alone in the Garden of Gethsemane), articulates Offred’s feelings of abandonment and despair. Line by line, such as ‘Who Art in the kingdom of heaven’, she regurgitates the sentiments of the Lord’s Prayer, typically used at ceremonies (the irony being in comparison to her experience of ceremonies), and in private commitment to express needs and hopes. Offred dwells on metaphors of ‘heaven’, ‘hell’, ‘daily bread’, and ‘forgiveness’, from which arises a vision of the absent chandelier where her predecessor attached a noose. This shows Offred’s despair because throughout a hopeful prayer she arrives at the conclusion that dying is the only option. Offred tediously recites the recurrent line from a tombstone in Gilead’s cemetery, and despite her attempts to remain ‘In hope’; Offred suffers so much isolation that her prayer becomes a desperate cry for spiritual nourishment. Offred concludes with a plaintive rhetorical question, ‘How can I keep on living? ’ which emphasises her unhappiness within Gilead and her want to end it all. Offred continually refers to God as ‘You’, which shows her yearning to be personal with God and to have a personal relationship. Atwood refers God as ‘you’ because it personifies God showing Offred as trying to talk to him personally. She wishes she knew ‘Your name’, which implies she needs God to answer her. She describes her thoughts as ‘hell we can make for ourselves’, which suggests that the hell is Gilead itself. Offred is uncertain about her capacity to find out about what’s happening in Gilead. ‘The Fall was a fall from innocence to knowledge’ is a reference to Adam and Eve’s loss of innocence after they disobeyed God and tasted the Tree of Knowledge. Offred applies this to herself because Gilead teaches that knowledge is dire and that they will no longer be innocent if they think such knowledge (the irony being that they were never innocent in Gilead’s corrupt regime). This suggests that if Offred was to find out about what was happening, this would be a sin, and this also reinforces Gilead’s influence in terms of how they brainwash the Handmaids’ with bible stories. Offred avoids the ‘traditional’ posture of praying ‘I don’t even close my eyes’. This is because it would draw attention to her and also shows that she is afraid of the consequences if she was found to be personally praying, and so this informal prayer becomes her only way of communicating with God. The ‘equal darkness’ even when her eyes are closed implies that nothing goes away because it’s too hard. However, there is potential optimism within Offred. ‘Or light’ suggests that there could be hope for Offred, except that Gilead takes this hope. This informal way of praying seems like she’s not fully committed but she still wants to pray because she’s desperate. ‘Soul scrolls’ is very impersonal in comparison to Offred’s own prayer. All thought process is removed, unlike how Offred can reflect in her mind during her own prayer. In her own prayer, despite Offred not being completely committed, she does get the opportunity to think about what’s happening in Gilead. In ‘Soul Scrolls’, Offred cannot do this because she may be caught and also because the autonomous voices prevent her from thinking. Offred’s own prayer becomes much like a desperate cry for help and the purpose of her prayer is to portray to the reader just how distressed she is. On the other hand, Offred commits to ‘Soul Scrolls’ because she has too since it’s a sign of faithfulness to Gilead’s regime, and if she didn’t, it would seem suspicious, even if she doesn’t believe in doing it. However, both do criticise Gilead, with ‘Soul Scrolls’ expressing the pointlessness of it, and her own personal prayer expressing how Gilead is a hell. In her own personal prayer, Offred has hope for two way communications, and although his name is not known, God does offer some kind of contemplation for Offred, as she works her way through her feelings. ‘Soul scrolls’ is simply a one way communication because prayers are printed and read to the Handmaids’ before being recycled, which shows the uniformity of this prayer. Offred’s own prayer is also in a sense a rebellion from the constraints of Gilead, because although this isn’t her aim, it does go against what Gilead teaches – that she should not be thinking for herself. When Offred visits ‘Soul Scrolls’, she is complying with the ways of Gilead simply to stay out of trouble. In conclusion, Offred’s personal prayer is much more personal than ‘Soul Scrolls’, and despite it being a distorted version of the Lord’s prayer, it does signify her desperation for salvation from the regime. ‘Soul Scrolls’ is something Offred simply goes along with because she has no choice but too, and this offers her no answers to her thoughts because of how autonomous and controlled it is.

The Tragic Vulnerability Of Othello English Literature Essay

The Tragic Vulnerability Of Othello English Literature Essay A tragic flaw is defined as a flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings sorrow or death to the protagonist. Throughout history, weve seen key examples of tragic heroes such as Dr Faustus, Oedipus and Richard III. Shakespeare in particular has seemed to find the way to epitomise what a tragic hero is as Othello is the perfect example of mans tragic vulnerability of love for another. If we regard Othello as a true tragic hero however, the outcome of the play is not his fault because he is simply fated to suffer. If we look at Othello not as a tragic hero, but, as a human, although he murders his wife, he is not to blame because he is influenced heavily by the manipulative Iago and Roderigo, therefore, Othellos downfall was not a consequence of his own actions but due to circumstances beyond his control. The characteristics of a tragic hero are explained by Aristotle who states that there are four things which need to happen in order for a character to be considered a tragic hero. Firstly, there is peripateia, this is a complete fall from grace to misery; the second is hamartia which is a fatal or tragic flaw in the hero; anagnorisis, which is the recognition of the heros mistakes and faults, and finally catharsis, which is when tension is finally released and the reader feels no negative emotions towards the hero. There are two critics in particular who debate whether or not Othello can be considered a tragic hero. The first of these critics is A.C. Bradley who believes that Othello is one of the greatest tragic heroes of all time. The second is F.R Leavis who believes that Othello doesnt qualify for true hero status. However, both Bradley and Leavis agree that Othello doesnt reach a state of peripateia but for different reasons. Bradley states that The Othello of the fourth act is Othello during his downfall. His fall is never complete but his grandeur remains undiminished. This shows us that Bradley believes that Othellos downfall is never truly complete, but, he retains his nobility and honour. We also know that Othello was taken from Royal blood to become a slave. Surely thats a greater fall from grace? Leavis argues that Othello is simply aware of his nobility and therefore lacks the true requirements of a noble hero. He has discovered his mistake but there is no tragic self-discoveryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Bradley seems to have the better point in this instance; Othello doesnt suffer a fall from grace at the end of the play and his reputation remains almost intact therefore it does not meet the criteria of a tragic hero, thus, meaning that Othello isnt fated to suffer because he isnt a tragic hero. It is incredibly easy to suggest that Othellos downfall is that of his own doing. First and foremost; he is not a tragic hero and therefore he controls his own fate. Much like other protagonists in other tragedies, his own actions lead to his eventual downfall. Much like the character of Dr Faustus, Faustus commits his own mistakes and it is his hamartia that leads to his fall and eventual death. Othellos hamartia is his jealousy. However, despite having this hamartia throughout the play we see numerous instances of characters in Othello such as Roderigo and Iago influencing Othello to make the mistakes that he does. We see a number of instances of the two characters whispering in Othellos ear in order to stir raw jealousy inside of him as they are aware that it is his weakness; by exploiting it, this will lead to his demise. We learn throughout the play that Iago is trying to cause Othellos fall from grace and so trick him into believing that Desdemona is having an affair. Although ultimately yes, Othello does give into his hamartia, he cannot be blamed because were it not for the influence of Iago and Roderigo, he would have not murdered his wife. Therefore, Othellos downfall is a consequence of the actions of those around him. Iago is a type of character known as a machiaval, a character that takes the teachings of the philosopher Machiavelli to the nth degree. Iago can be considered an agent of fate, sent to doom Othello. If we take this stance, it is evident that Othellos downfall was a consequence of the events out of his control. Iagos entire scheme begins when the ignorant, ill-suited Cassio is given the position that he desires. Iago feels as though it is he who deserves that position and is in turn, consumed with jealousy. Iago shows true acts of amorality throughout the play. As he deceives, steals and murders to gain that position. Iagos amorality is apparent throughout the entire play and is demonstrated repeatedly. One of the first instances of this is where Iago himself states to Roderigo I follow him to serve my turn upon him. This shows us that simply, Iago does not respect nor does he care for Othello immediately showing us his villainy. In almost every scene in which Iago speaks, we know th at deception is present. In the opening scene for example, Iago displays characteristics that will show his pivotal role in the tragedy of Othello. Iago proudly boasts that I am not what I am. Although at time of speaking, this was simply to convince Roderigo that Iago simply feigns alliance to Othello, the deeper implication of those words soon become apparent to us as an audience. Iago practices deceit whenever it is required. When Othello comes to Iago suspecting the betrayal of Desdemona, Iago does little but fuel the flames of mistrust: Iago: Nay, this was but his dream. Othello: But this denoted a foregone conclusion. Iago: Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream, And this may help to thicken other proofs, That do demonstrate thinly. In this example, Othello believes that Cassio has been having lustful dreams about his wife Desdemona. Othello believes that this is simply a matter of time (foregone conclusion) showing us that Iagos manipulation of Othello has worked successfully. This shows us that Iago is simply planting doubts and jealousy in Othellos mind. Iagos villainy is only proven further when again, Iago does little but place the doubts in Othellos mind that his beloved Desdemona is being unfaithful: Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves! Iagos basic idea is that the fortunate man knows his wife his cheating; the unfortunate man only suspects and is therefore trapped between love and trust. Here again, Iago is very evidently exploiting Othellos hamartia. Iago is pure and simply amoral. He has no problem about deceiving those close to him and deceiving for his own personal gain. It is apparent also that Iago is jealous of Othello. He seems to believe that because Othello is black, he doesnt deserve his place in the Venetian army; in fact, he repeatedly refers to Othello as moor. This suggests a fixation on the fact that Othello is black. Because of this, Iago believes he should not hold his high status within the army. Initially, Iagos repeated descriptions of Othello lead us to form a dislike towards him as a character. In one instance, Othello is described as lascivious leading us as readers to associate lustful and lecherous connotations with Othello. We believe that he has in a way taken Desdemona by force. Othello is also described as an old, black, rutting ram again lead us as readers to form sexual and territorial connotations of Othello. The use of rather violent words leads the reader to believe that Othello himself is violent. However, we soon realise that Iago isnt in fact honest Iago as Othello believes him to be. Iago is used by Shakespeare as a vehicle for the story, he is needed to further the events and lead the play to the outcome it reaches. Were it not for Iago, the doubt and jealousy would not have been put in Othellos mind, he would have not given into his jealousy had Iago not repeatedly manipulated and lied, the play would not have reached the same outcome. The fact that Iago is so prominently and obviously deceiving those around him proves to the reader that Othellos downfall was not a consequence of his own actions, but a consequence of the events around him. In conclusion, it is not Othellos own fault that he suffers a downfall, it is the actions of the people and the events around him that cause the play to proceed the way it does. However, I believe that Othello is the perfect example of mans tragic vulnerability because through love of another in the form of his wife Desdemona, he suffered the fate of having to live with the guilt that he murdered his wife because of a lie leading to Othellos eventual death. Othellos death is the tragic result of one mans love for his wife. It is Iagos fault that the play ends in the way it does because of his manipulation of events and characters therefore he can be held accountable for Othellos fall from Grace. Othello is the perfect example of mans tragic vulnerability and it is the events around him that cause his downfall.

A Day as a Physical Therapy Volunteer :: Community Service, Service Learning

As usual, John is late. Because the other two Physical Therapists (PTs) are busy on their rounds, I just wait, sitting on the therapy tables reading the assorted pamphlets that are available to the patients. Every part of the body is represented in these books on the shelf. A slight humming sound comes from the air conditioner. The freshly waxed tile floor reflects the light that shines from the ceiling tract lights. Since I am a volunteer, the lowest on the totem pole of health care, I have no specific duties. Mainly, I observe the work of the PTs. I also assist in cleaning the immaculate therapy room. As I wash down the tables with ammonia, trying not to inhale too many fumes, a Dr. Riddel is paged over the hospital intercom. Then someone else is paged, "Thomas Lykins to front desk. Thomas Lykins to front desk." Front desk actually means office, and usually social workers are paged to clear up some problem. I also stock the linen closet. Every patient who lies on the big brown therapy table has to be on a sheet with at least 2 or 3 towels nearby. The towels feel rough and course from years and years of reuse. Everything gets the ammonia treatment, including the silver parallel bars, the whirlpool and the giant rubber gym balls that are used with patients who have bad backs. Suddenly, the door swings open and all of the sounds from the nearby emergency room flood into the room. John has returned from his lunch break. He brings a patient to the gym to work on the bars. Hunched in her wheelchair, staring at the ground, her gray hair a mess, she shakes slightly. I think, "Can’t the PTs feel the coldness in this room? Maybe their white lab coats keep them warm." John says, "Paige, this is Mrs. Meyer. She is going to walk the bars today." He asks, "Aren’t you, Mrs. Meyer?" All that Mrs. Meyer can do is mumble "Yes, I hope." Mrs. Meyer had a stroke, her second. John tells me privately so that she can’t hear. She seems to be in a state of confusion about where she is and who we are. John wheels Mrs. Meyer to the silver parallel bars and helps her stand. Slowly talking very quietly, he assures her that he will not let her fall, if she can’t balance herself. I stand behind her, as instructed by John.

Medieval Battle Tactics Essay -- History Battles Weapons Essays

Medieval Battle Tactics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Medieval tactics were essential for an attack or siege of a castle. Many tactics and strategies helped develop much-improved version of an attacking artifact, like weapons and sieging machinery. The knights of Medieval England which were the cavalry, improved as the years went by, but never actually had any tactics or strategies. The usual knight would just go out there and fight. The knights were the counter offensive against a small siege, but they were ineffective against a large siege of a castle. A siege was very essential for medieval warfare. Siege was like the most important part of an attack; that is if you’re attacking a castle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As you know no one inhabited New England back then in the Medieval Ages, so many nations were competing for it. One of them was Rome. Rome inhabited New England first, and as being the first settlers they left some of their customs, which among them was the key to war. The Roman legion composed of a huge amount of infantry and some cavalry was an important factor in Roman War. However, if Rome and England were compared then the cavalry of Rome later developed into the Knight. The well trained infantry of Rome’s legion for attacking and invading now was set to defend in Medieval England as it more compares to the castle. Now that you know some about the origination of the Knight and the castle, let’s get into the tactics used by the land units of Medieval England like the knight and the archers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The knight, being the cavalry of the castle, and also the last line of defense between invaders and the castle, were inferior to a well trained army of foot soldiers. Usually, it was the knight’s ability and bravery decided the medieval battle. The Medieval Knight was trained from childhood. However, they were never taught any strategies. So, when it came to fighting in the battlefield, they used a guerilla warfare method where they would engage the enemy. This was nothing like the disciplined lines of musket men (soldiers with rifles) of the later British; but rather just went out there and everyone fought on their own like a free hand anything goes melee match. When traveling, the medieval knight traveled in a group, however the group was open to attacks because it was not arranged in a strategic way. Soon the knights, who had superior life, and had an advantage towards a one on ... ...troying the defender’s buildings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Trebuchet, on the other hand, was the biggest of all the siege weapons. Trebuchet lives up to its name meaning slinging machine. The trebuchet had a long arm that had a big end so that the end would help it propel when released. The arm was buckled down to one side, while the big end would hang in the air until the buckle was released. At the top of the arm you would find a sling with a rock inside. When the buckle was released there were usually soldiers at the other side with ropes attached to the weight, and helping it propel by pulling the ropes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  England came a long way from just plain foot soldiers with minimal padding, to armored knights and siege weapons. Perhaps it was because Feudalism must have affected the way that the medieval forces were and developed along the medieval era of England. Medieval War and War Tactics played a very important role in medieval life because it helped shape future generations of empires. With out war in the medieval ages of England, they would have probably not been prepared for their future role in war among other countries focusing on conquest and expansion of other parts of the world.

Explore the Significance of Metafiction in Jeanette Winterson’s Story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

Throughout Winterson’s rendition of ‘the twelve dancing princesses’ – adapted from the renowned story by the Grimm Brothers –the plotline is explicitly centred around an array of fictional images. Implicitly though, the metafiction and accretion used can be unveiled as symbolism that correlates with a larger meaning; the images associated with men are uncomfortable and even evil in comparison to the comforting images (including the mermaid) that represent womanhood. Therefore, in the two specific examples of the mermaid and the poison, the reader may accept fiction as an underlying detail that leads to a deeper truth or argument.In the exact example of the mermaid the reader learns that the senior princess has fallen in love with her (the mermaid) and that they ‘live in the well’ together. The scene is evidently fictional; mermaids don’t exist, and if they did, then Jordon and the princess wouldn’t be able to stand in the w ell and converse with the mermaid due to biological impossibilities. Therefore the statement is immediately false, yet the reader may find themselves accepting it as truth in order to move on to the grittiness of the plotline, and discover the significance of the mermaid; her impact can be interpreted in various ways.Firstly, the mermaid could be seen as the product of rebellion against the conventional ritual of marriage to a husband. Rebellion seems a reasonable suggestion after studying the original story, which Winterson’s tale is arguably a continuation of. The ‘doors that were shut and locked up’ each night exemplify the father’s masculine domination over the freedom of his daughters. Likewise, in the tale the King’s offspring would rather see the soldiers killed than have their freedom limited; that ‘they laughed heartily’ at the sleeping soldier exhibits this.That the princess had to plunge in ‘deep waters’ in Winte rson’s tale exemplifies how she was willing to face the unknown (traditionally in literature the ocean is feared e. g. In the Tempest Ferdinand cries ‘hell is empty and all of the devils are here’ before plummeting into the ocean) in order to search for entertainment aside from her husband. Secondly, the mermaid could represent the princesses’ craving for womanhood – this links on from the rebellion against masculine dominance.The ‘deep waters’ as a meeting place, followed by the fact that the couple live in the well – envisaging a womb like place due to its round and wet characteristics – may bring to some reader’s minds an obvious yearning for womanly presence and dominance within the princess. It is noticeable that the existence of a mother is lacking in both renditions of the myth and so arguably the princess may be trying to reconnect with the womb of the Motherly figure that appears nonexistent in childhood. A cceptance of nonsense can be further seen on page 55 in a passage where content may be viewed as allegorical.There is also arguably a sense of intertextuality as it bares reflection to the synoptic bible passage of the demon possessed man (Mathew 8:28-34), which should consequently ring out clear symbolic meaning to the reader. The melodramatic line ‘Out of his (the husband) belly came a herd of cattle and a fleet of pigs ’ can be defined by the reader as an impossible scenario. Consequently the reader will seek the implicit meaning which holds a deeper content. In the Bible passage, the rearing of swine off the cliff enabled the demon possessed man to walk freed from his past torments.Therefore, the suggestion could be that the husband is better off dead, released from sin, than living alive as an overeater with evil within him – gluttony being a biblical crime. This argument is supported when the door salesman says to the princess ‘you are right to kill h im’. The princess’s hate for her husband’s obesity reflects the forced status of their marriage; nowhere in the passage does any form of love or appreciation ring clear, only a sense of endurance – ‘we had been married a few years’ for example suggests that the princess thinks that this is a fair enough trail run before murdering him .He is presented as unlikeable through firstly the unpleasant verbs that the princess attaches to his actions – ‘gulped’, ‘crashing’, ‘swelled’, ‘complained’ – and secondly through the portrayal of him as the demon. Arguably, the princess finds control and order after the fictional explosion that kills her husband, as Winterson writes in the first person, ‘I rounded them (the herd) up’ – stressing the herd’s obedience to her – contrasting to their disorderly actions to the husband who ‘had always complained a bout his digestion’ while the herds had been inside of him.Following on from this, it is arguable that with the ending of her (the princess’s) marriage came her ability to ‘live according’ to her ‘tastes’. Her true satisfaction is exemplified in the final sentence ‘I prefer farming to cooking,’ which, again allegorically, is arguably stating that she prefers her single life – where she farms the cattle- , to her married life – where she cooks the cattle. Therefore, again in this passage, the reader may accept that the content is fanciful to the real world, but for the passage it is necessary as the images created have significant impact on the symbolic meaning that Winterson is creating.Is Winterson a feminist? This could certainly be argued given the evidence found in the passages. A strong conclusion to her work is that woman have more of a chance of ‘living happily ever after’ by ‘living accordi ng to their own tastes’ than through forced marriage – the latter being the favourable traditionally in fairytales. This is mainly because Winterson’s argument represents a changing view of a woman’s place in a more modern society than that of Grimm’s.Although she retains the same time period as the original tale, the conclusion that woman can find freedom through outwitting their husbands is much different from literature that would have been produced in early decades – (albeit freedom is temporarily found by the daughters in Grimm’s tale when they outwit their father, and the soldiers night after night). Therefore a reader may acknowledge the falsehood in Winterson’s passages, and yet acknowledge it as true in search for the deeper truth underneath.