The Significance of the Setting in Snow Country - Literature Essay Samples

In Yasunari Kawabata’s novella Snow Country, a husband and father named Shimamura vacations at a hot spring to search for an affair. He meets Komako, a geisha at the hot spring, and they begin a romance together. Shimamura visits all of three times in various seasons to rendezvous with Komako, but eventually, their love runs out. Kawabata uses setting to reflect Komako and Shimamura’s relationship, starting with the blossoming of their love in spring, the peak of their romance in winter, and ending with its death in autumn. When Shimamura first meets Komako in May by calling for a geisha, he has no immediate attraction to her. He describes her as clean his version of calling her plain. He begins to talk to her, and he sees their relationship as â€Å"friendship more than anything else that he felt for the woman† (19). This is the beginning of their relationship. Shimamura begins by wanting to be friends with Komako, but not long after this, he sleeps with her for the first time. Before then, though, he asks her to call for a geisha for him, and she is offended. He defends himself by basically saying that he just wants female companionship, and that it is meaningless. She tells him how rude it is of him to ask her to call him a different geisha, and Kawabata describes this interaction as â€Å"scorn in her voice, and yet an affection of quite a new sort flowed between them† (31-32). Their relationship is beginning to blossom, like that of the cherry blossoms in a Japanese spring. They are beginning to care for each other, but like nature, it will not last for very long. They talk for a while, and then by nightfall, they are sleeping together, thus the blossom of their relationship. Spring is known as fresh beginning, like Shimamura and Komako’s romance. It grows even further during the winter. Winter is known as a time for romance. Holidays for love and family are almost all in winter. Christmas and New Year’s is in winter, but so is Valentine’s Day, the day of romance. It only makes sense that Shimamura and Komako fall deeper in love during Shimamura’s second visit in the winter. The morning after their first night spent together that visit, Shimamura studies Komako’s beauty, stating that â€Å"[t]he white in the depths of the mirror was the snow, and floating in the middle of it were the woman’s bright red cheeks. There was an indescribably fresh beauty in the contrast† (48). The imagery of snow and Komako’s cheeks show their romance growing. It is in the winter that he finds Komako most beautiful. Later, Komako invites him to her home, and she plays music for him. Shimamura is enchanted, and there â€Å"was nothing for him to do but give himself up to the current, to the pleasure of being swept off wherever Komako would take him† (71). He truly is falling in love with her, at least for that moment. While he is at the hot springs, his time is consumed by her. By the end of the song, he decides that he loves her, and that she loves him too. He states that â€Å"he was annoyed with himself for the thought† (72). They both know that their relationship will not last, and Shimamura is annoyed because he knows he has a wife and children to return to soon. Like snow, his love for her will soon melt away. Shimamura’s third visit in August of the following year is where their relationship dies out like leaves on trees. Komako tells him a story of another geisha from the hot springs named Kikuyu. Kikuyu fell in love with a man, only to be left by him. Their conversation, although about Kikuyu, mirrors their own relationship: â€Å"‘Kikuyu was weak. A weakling.’ ‘Maybe there was nothing else she could do.’ ‘But isn’t it so? You can’t go losing your head over every man that likes you† (98). On the outside, they are talking about a different woman, but on the inside, it is their relationship they are reflecting on. This is the beginning of the death of their romance. Throughout the rest of the novel, Komako’s visits become less and less important to read, so Kawabata only mentions her brief visits to Shimamura: â€Å"She of course stopped by too on her way to the bath. When she was to go to a party, she came an hour or so early and waiting in his room for the maid to call her. Often she would slip away from the party for a few minutes. After retouching her face in the mirror, she would stand up to leave† (128). Their affair is practically over. Komako comes often, but her visits are no longer special. By the end of the novel, they know that their relationship is doomed, and Shimamura looks up at the stars as an indication of his giving up. Their relationship is dead, just like the trees in autumn. Setting, specifically the changing of seasons, is used to show the short lifespan of Komako and Shimamura’s relationship, beginning at the rebirth of nature in spring and ending with its death in autumn. When reading the novel from a basic standpoint, the changing of seasons can be seen as merely just a passing of time, but it is evident in the way their relationship progresses and falls during the changing of seasons that it is so much more than that.

Malcolm X An African American Leader - 1337 Words

Malcolm X was an African-American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the 1950s and 60s. Born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X was a prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 60s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted and inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism by any means necessary, including violence. The fiery civil rights leader broke with the group shortly before his assassination, February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he had been preparing to deliver a speech. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm was the fourth of eight children born to Louise, a homemaker, and Earl Little, a preacher who was also an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and avid supporter of black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Due to Earl Little s civil rights activism, the family faced frequent harassment from white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and one of its splinter factions, the Black Legion. In fact, Malcolm X had his first encounter with racism before he was even born.When my mother was pregnantShow MoreRelatedThe Importance of the Civil Rights Leaders Essay1391 Words   |  6 Pagesthat civil right leaders had to make. Civil right leaders constantly risk their lives and their freedom. Civil right leaders fought for equality and freedom for African Americans. Over 70% of African Americans were experiencing segregation and discrimination during the civil right mo vement. 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The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Joseph Stalin And Adolf...

The purpose of this paper is to explain the strengths and weaknesses of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler with regards to their respective leadership styles and their interaction with their subordinates. I will analyze each leader’s qualities and then compare them to one another as I close out this document. This paper will rely extensively on knowledge gained through reading of two sources of documentation. The first document from Seweryn Bialer called â€Å"Stalin and His Generals† and the second document is from Albert Speer and his memoir â€Å"Inside the Third Reich†. I will first focus on Adolf Hitler by utilizing Albert Speer’s, â€Å"Inside the Third Reich† and then change the focus to Joseph Stalin by referencing Seweryn Bialer’s piece, â€Å"Stalin and His Generals† and then give my thoughts as I compare the two leaders for the conclusion of the paper. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party and would eventually become Ger many’s Fuhrer for the duration of World War 2. In the early years of the second world war Hitler would see many successful military operations. With the tide of the war leaning in Hitler’s favor early on, each successful operation slowly skewed Hitler’s belief that he was truly a master tactician. Well known for underutilizing his senior staff, Hitler would rely mostly on what he saw from his position, as successful advances based of his own intellect. This mentality would be carried along throughout the wars’ entirety with inability to recognize the value of hisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Timothy Snyder s Book Bloodlands : Europe Between Hitler And Stalin975 Words   |  4 PagesGermany and consider it to be the cause of the highest death count of the time. However, this may not be the case. Timothy Snyder argues in his book entitled Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin that Hitler was not the sole bad guy of the time period. 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Internet of Things

Question: How does the internet of things affect the mining industry? Answer: Introduction Internet of things is considered as computing concept that helps in explaining future where regular physical element can be connected with the internet. The IoT is effective in increasing the link between people and things and huge opportunity is provided by it. Therefore, business or industry can be benefited from the internet of things. The assignment will be dealing with the affect of internet of things with reference to mining industry. Affect of Internet of Things on Mining Industry Makes Mining Safer: The Internet of Things (IoT) is effective in improving the safety. The machines used in mining sector are normally big and powerful that is difficult for the workers to handle them in efficient manner (Wang and Zhang, 2012). Therefore, in order to avoid accidents, location or proximity sensors can be incorporated in heavy equipment. On the other hand, warning technology such as RF locating devices, radar, video and GPS can be useful in ensuring safety regarding mining and construction (Andreev et al. 2012). Thus, IoT could be useful for protecting workers and doing mining work in safer way. Autonomous Operation: The autonomous, self driving mining trucks can be useful for the transportation of product that can decrease the chances of being getting hurt to humans. The trucks can be lased with sensors, GPS and radar direction system that can help the trucks in navigating routes and reaching to destination in quick time (Han, 2014). On the other hand, the Autonomous Hauling System can be valuable to improve the operational efficiency. Therefore, the trucks can be connected wirelessly and controlled by a person sitting at other place. Thus, IoT can connect the people with the trucks without physical movement and carrying the work in productive manner (Hersent et al. 2012). Remove Driver Fatigue: The internet of things can be effective in eliminating the fatigue of the driver by incorporating the driverless mining trucks. Moreover, it can provide safety to the employees and also it can also decrease the number of humans from the mining site. Therefore, autonomous trucks can be useful for optimizing operation without making any shift changes or requirement of lunch breaks (Jia and Gao, 2013). Therefore, it can be considered that internet of things can be valuable for the driver to remain healthy and safe and also free from work pressure. Increase production: The internet of things can enhance the production of mining industry and operational efficiency. The supervisors through the use of IoT, they can monitor the shift changes, location of miners, status of vehicle and total amount of buckets filled and transported. Therefore, it can be effective in knowing the position of vehicle so that instant message can be sent to the driver in order to adjust with the route so that more ore or other materials can be picked up (Jianjun and Mingxing, 2013). The vehicles can be utilized hundred percent that can increase the production level and that too in safest manner. Efficient processes: The mining industry with the employment of real time operational insights can make effective decisions and can also be successful in decreasing the costs of operation. The sensors and actuators can be useful in providing the real time data regarding the work process or activities that can help in monitoring and enhancing the process efficiency (Liu, Yan and Yang, 2015). On the other hand, the human intervention can be reduced that could be effective in doing the work in systematic and productive way. Control over resource utilization: The operation manger of the mining industry can monitor the utilization of equipment to the fullest through the internet of things. On the other hand, through the use of connected sensors, the manager can control inventory management or can ensure efficient utilization of expensive equipment or machinery (Michahelles et al. 2012). Therefore, the sensors would be useful for the manager to check the work of machinery and its utilization by the workers. Asset Utilization: The internet of things can be helpful in promoting before the service vehicle could break down or can lead to interruption in the production. The vehicles could be connected with the network that can send telemetry data over the wireless channel such as pressure of tire, oil and engine temperature, total buckets dumped, etc (Ning and Hu, 2012). Therefore, if the data is out of range then the vehicle can be send for repair and on the other hand, if the vehicle I not ready as per the schedule then a notification is sent to supervisor and the supervisor can ask for other vehicle. Thus, internet of things can help in improving the asset utilization that can increase the operation process (Qiao and Wang, 2012). Cost Savings: As the internet of things is useful for improving asset utilization then it is effective in reducing the cost of operations. The mining industry can be benefited from internet of things. For instance, smart meters can be effective in eliminating manual readings. On the other hand, service can also be improved, for example remote monitoring of employees. Apart from that, internet of things can improve the telecommunications and business intelligence that can help in savings operating costs. For example, a Dundee Precious metal was able to save $2.5 million in operating costs. Moreover, it helped in increasing their productivity from 500000 to 2 million tons. Industry Transformation: The internet of things can herald transformation in the mining industry. The IoT can be useful for the industry in utilizing the business asset or infrastructure in most innovative ways that can be valuable in generating additional revenue and large attraction of ore and in safest way. On the other hand, the supply chain can be improved by employing real time tracking of raw materials or parts. Therefore, internet of things could be useful in decreasing the working capital requirements and disruption in the manufacturing can be avoided. Conclusion It can be concluded from the whole assignment that internet of things is useful for the mining industry in increasing their productivity and operational efficiency. The internet of things provides new means in the industry that lower down the workloads and interaction between the people and things is effective. The mining industry is able to coordinate their employees and equipments that help in decreasing operating costs and consumption of fuel. References Andreev, S., Balandin, S. and Koucheryavy, Y. (2012). Internet of things, smart spaces, and next generation networking. Berlin: Springer. Han, Y. (2014). Study on Application of Internet of Things in Express Delivery Services Industry. AMR, 933, pp.729-733. Hersent, O., Boswarthick, D. and Elloumi, O. (2012). The internet of things. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Jia, M. and Gao, Q. (2013). Manufacturing Industry in China Informatization Development Analysis Based on the Internet of Things. AMR, 694-697, pp.2471-2475. Jianjun, Z. and Mingxing, L. (2013). Evaluation of Coal Mining Safety Management Information Sytem Based on the Internet of Things. TELKOMNIKA Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering, 11(10). Liu, J., Yan, Z. and Yang, L. (2015). Fusion An aide to data mining in Internet of Things. Information Fusion, 23, pp.1-2. Michahelles, F., Havinga, P. and Wang, J. (2012). Proceedings of 2012 International Conference on the Internet of Things. [Piscataway, N.J.]: IEEE. Ning, H. and Hu, S. (2012). Technology classification, industry, and education for Future Internet of Things. International Journal of Communication Systems, 25(9), pp.1230-1241. Qiao, H. and Wang, G. (2012). An Analysis of the Evolution in Internet of Things Industry Based on Industry Life Cycle Theory. AMR, 430-432, pp.785-789. Wang, Y. and Zhang, X. (2012). Internet of things. Berlin: Springer.