Thorstein Veblen Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Thorstein Veblen Paper - Essay Example His father's systematic and methodical practice of his craft, and the simple work ethic of the people around him, made a lasting imprint on his mind. The impact on his thinking of the marked behavioral and lifestyle contrast between the industrious, hardworking farmer-artisans and the small businessmen, traders, and lawyers (mostly white Americans) in the towns found its expression in much of his work in later years. Until 1891, when Veblen found a teaching post at the economics faculty of the University of Chicago, he was practically a professional failure. But once he was attached to an "institution" of higher learning, he thrived and his career blossomed, moving to Stanford in 1906, the University of Missouri in 1910, and in 1918 worked at various posts, lectured, and wrote thought-provoking works that continue to challenge modern minds to this day. We see in this distinction his insight into the working of the economy as a coordinated system with two components: the producing, technology-driven, practical side called industry and the coordinating, value-providing, and capital stimulating business enterprise. His concept of industry does not only relate to the working of machines. Veblen applies it equally to agriculture and animal husbandry as to encompass any activity that involves a series of precise, interdependent, and interlocking processes that are larger in scope than the machines, animals, and crops that are harnessed for public consumption and convenience. He calls 'captains of industry' those who coordinate these industrial processes. Veblen (6) looked at industrial process as having two clear and general characteristics: it has to be well-coordinated and precise. These, he concluded, would lead to greater efficiency and the development of standards that, in turn, would lead to uniformity. The eventual conclusion in a market where free competition exists is the production of goods that are more affordable, an increase in consumption, and the development of new products based on profits generated by the continuing industrial process. The over-all coordination of the machine industrial processes has to be done with precision, because any imbalance would affect its efficiency, threatening the integrity of the system and producing waste, idleness, and hardships (18). How is such over-all coordination achieved This is where the business enterprise plays an important and decisive role. Veblen states (19) that "the organization of the several industries as well as the interstitial adjustments and discrepancies of the industrial process at large are of the nature of pecuniary transactions and obligations. It therefore rests with the business men to make or mar the running adjustments of industry." Business, in

The Baroque Period And Ragtime Music Essay

The Baroque Period And Ragtime Music Essay Throughout history we see that historical conditions are one of the key factors that defines a genre or music style during any one time period. These conditions include, but arent limited to social, cultural, technological and musical trends. Instruments so often evolve as technology evolves; we see breakthroughs in the instruments themselves as well as how they are made and how the music is performed live or captured in the studio. Two of the key movements in music history have been the Baroque time period, Defined generally as a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1750. [Palisca, G. 2001], and the jazz (more specifically Ragtime) era, defined an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. [Berlin, E. 2009] I have chosen these two music movements to base this essay on because of the different, but slightly juxtaposed nature of how they developed and how they were structured. Music if often quoted to be the food fo r the soul and theres no better way to gain knowledge on the topic than to compare two pieces from both time periods. The first piece I chose is from the baroque period and it is from one of the most famous composers of the time, Johann Sebastian Bach, and is titled Bouree In E Minor. It is composed for the lute and is the fifth movement from the Suite in E minor for Lute. The actual composition is very soft and smooth, far from hard dynamics. The length is also much shorter than most of his other works (10 mins+). It has a quick tempo as it was initially written to be a dance, demonstrating two voices within the piece opposing one another. The piece itself has no lyrics but the form resembles some of the baroque conditions that music should communicate some form of religious theme within its compositional lyrics, or via emotional stimulus. It is also written for the lute which is a acoustic string instrument, showing that the song is bounded by the technology of the time period. Electricity was yet to be implemented which somewhat restricts the compositional variety between music in the baroque per iod, although many modern day electric instruments are just old acoustic instruments, re-made to newer technological specifications and requirements. The main concepts behind the Baroque compositions are that it expresses order, while maintaining the tuneful and lively nature of music. The composers viewed what they were doing as reflecting the mood of the times. Baroque, particularly after Bachs death in 1750, was seen as one of the first music styles to show trends within societal vies on music. Some people saw that it was unfashionable to perform music of older styles. Another major change that Baroque had on the music world is that females started to appear more commonly as musicians and singers, this shows that the gender suppression was being lifted in the art world and it caused some of Baroques most important musicians to express their compositions such as Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre. In my view the piece is very mechanical with the almost lack of crescendo and emo tion. This is backed up by the statement found in online music journal The Radio 3 that Later Baroque works suffer a little from over-stylisation, perhaps sometimes to the extent of calcification[Draper, H. 2008]. The obvious common trend in baroque music, the music is viewed as a structure, much like a mathematical formula rather than full of the emotion, personality and soul that encompasses the jazz movement. The second music style I chose to analyse is jazz, more specifically ragtime. The piece is titled Maple Leaf Rag and was composed by Scott Joplin. The song is roughly 3 minutes long and is at a very fast and upbeat tempo. It was originally composed for piano and is one of the key pieces of the time. Because the song has a very upbeat tempo and melody, it inspires emotions of hope, happiness and joy. It makes use of seventh chords and because of its influence on the ragtime movement, it is still one of the most recognised pieces from the period. The term ragtime gets its origin from the ragged and syncopated rhythm. It was the original dance music of Americas lower class district within cities such as New Orleans and St. Lois. The ragtime movement was shrouded in oppression and social hierarchy, at the time African Americans had no rights and were subject to the harsh treatments of the modern society. The style was a descendant of the jigs and march music that were commonly played by African-American bands. There were no typical genres and niches that we have in our modern society so the music was well received in North America. When ragtime was first developed, many of the musicians couldnt read sheet music let alone standard literature, which exhibits some of the lack of knowledge and education in the lower class system of the era. The music was not bound by the stereotypes that we know today and one piece entitled All Coons Look Alike To Me by African-American entertainer Ernest Hogan, went on to sell a million copies. The fallback from this was the creation of numerous derogatory pieces Coon Songs in which Hogan in his later years admitted that he felt a sense of shame and race betrayal. When Joplins Maple Leaf Rag was released, it demonstrated more sophistication and depth than the earlier rag compositions. Because ragtime had such a impact on the early development of jazz, as well as blues, there were a small number of artists (such as Jelly Roll Motion) w ho were able to play both jazz and ragtime during the time period both styles overlapped. While jazz was much more popular than ragtime it quickly surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity during the early 20th century. The musical form of ragtime was that of a modified march made widely used by John Philip Sousa, using the polyrhythms that were prevalent to early African music. The most common time signatures for ragtime were that of 4/4 or 2/4 with the evident left hand rhythm of bass notes on the odd beat, while the syncopated rhythm is played on the right hand. Unlike waltz (3/4) and march (2/4) ragtime isnt synonymous with any particular time signature. Both Baroque and Ragtime are styles that narrate the time period that they took place in. Both Maple Leaf Rag and Bouree In E Minor are quintessential pieces to the development of both Ragtime and Baroque. Bouree in E minor is written in a standard 4/4 time signature while Maple Leaf Rag is written in 2/4 which gives a faster, more rush feeling. Both of them keep a fast paced tempo, the main contrast is that Maple Leaf Rag has great dynamic while Bouree In E Minor has a soft and smooth dynamic contour. They both express feelings of emotion that were present in the time periods, Maple Leaf Rag keeps up emotions of hope and perseverance during the time of hardship for African-Americans. Bouree in E minor on the other hand shows a flow away from the mechanical and mathematical view on music that the Baroque period exhibits. The instrumentation of the two pieces is fairly similar, Maple Leaf Rag is composed of a single instrument, the same with Bouree in E minor. The timbre of both piece s is a obvious difference as they are both composed on different instruments, while they are both able to play the same notes, the characteristics of each one sounds distinct. As they are both played solo, there is no orchestration between the two. Because of technological constraints and the style, both pieces were composed for acoustic instruments, lute and piano. The main technological difference between the two is that recording mediums were not available during the baroque period so the only tracks are interpretations of the work by other musicians. On the other hand piano rolls and basic recording technologies were available during the ragtime period so there are very old and low quality recordings of the song being played by Joplin himself. In my own findings, I feel that Baroque deals more with cultural issues (such as religion being pushed by government, the demand for new art, discourse and proclamation being viewed with much significance) while Ragtime deals with more soc ietal issues (racism, oppression, family, hope and some tongue in cheek humor). The pieces dont have any lyrical part to their composition but still portray some of these emotions and feelings, if you were to ask almost anybody if they recognize either of these pieces, theres a very high chance they would of as they are used countless times throughout modern marketing and promotion. Both of them have been used in the soundtracks of thousands of cartoons, films, video games and commercials as the copyright for both of them have expired. Music is often quoted as food of the soul, and through studying early music styles I have found that this is largely true. Music gives listeners a passage into the time and allows them to paint a image of the social, technological and cultural values of the time. For this essay I chose to write on the Baroque time period and the early Jazz period, specifically Ragtime. The pieces I chose were Bouree in E minor by Sebastian Bach, and Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. I found that these two pieces of work, although very different, showed how iconic pieces of music can portray the conditions of the time over a few centuries. When these factors change, so does music. Composers are often limited by the technology of the day, and as shown by Bouree in E minor, the lack of recording technology has left us with no original recordings of Bach, only modern musicians interpretations of them. Feelings are commonly provoked through the dynamic and phrasing of musical pieces and by listening to the two songs, I can say that I felt some of the same feelings that the original composers of these pieces were trying to portray, whether it was joy and hopefulness with Maple Leaf Rag or the feeling of prosperity and structure in Bouree in E minor. Comparing songs from two different movements is often hard because they are both expressing very different social, cultural, technological and musical conditions, but I found that these two songs were not very difficult because as both the composers were in different conditions, they produced similar influences in the songs. Looking at a song and analyzing what might of influenced the artist is one of the most important skills in analyzing the music style itself ad music is often written from the heart and soul, and these two songs definitely showed some strong points as to what the composers were feeling at the time.

Wings :: Essays Papers

Wings Calvin Coolidge once said, The chief business of the American people is business. This statement is as true today as it was when Coolidge said it because America is largely defined by the nature of the businesses that drive its economy. One of the major economy driving businesses in America is Boeing, an aircraft production company with plants all over the United States. The aircraft produced by Boeing are used for military and commuter services. The Boeing 747 commuter jet has become the symbol of the company, and a great symbol of what America is all about. Diversity, efficiency, and creativity are terms used to describe America, but now they are being used by the Boeing Company to describe the Boeing 747. Nothing on the surface of the Boeing 747 would lead one to believe diversity could be related to it in any way at all, but if one considers the production and the materials of the airplane itself, it is easy to realize that the Boeing 747 is, in fact, diverse. People from all over the world with parts from all over the world produce the Boeing 747 in factories located throughout the United States. Just like America, the Boeing 747 has a tradition of resiliency because of the hard work and dedication of the people who fuel its production. Diversity allows continual change for the better to take place; America and the Boeing 747 are no exception to the rule. Speed and efficiency have been the most important attributes of any means of transportation produced in the United States since the Industrial Revolution, and considering the fact that the Boeing 747 is capable of delivering hundreds of passengers to a desired location on time, one could safely say that the Boeing 747 is quick and efficient. For the most part, people in America and on the Boeing 747 are there because they have goals and destinations that they want to reach as quickly as possible. The Boeing 747 and America provide Americans and foreigners alike with the opportunity to get where they want to go without wasting time. Any decrease in the speed and efficiency Americans have come to expect from the Boeing 747 would mark the beginning of the end of its wide spread use and existence. Perhaps the most important factor going in to creating something like the Boeing 747 is creativity itself.

Why Does Bartleby Refuse the Aid of the Lawyer?

Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener is a confusing work of literature. Some researchers think that in the story Melville described himself. Some others think that this is because of madness that Bartleby behaves so weird and finally, dies. In reality, Bartleby refuses to check some copies, but that cannot mean he is mad.On the contrary, he chooses this himself. He chooses how to live his life and how to behave. Many people think his life is utopian. Many people also cannot understand why he behaves this way. Melville tries to prove that Bartleby has his principles and cannot betray them.That is why he refuses to accept aid from the Lawyer because he thinks that this aid will destroy his principles and his life. Of course, every person has his principles, and that does not mean that every person is mad. On the contrary, people who have their principles cannot be mad. They are reasonable and conscious, even when their ideas seem to be utopian. â€Å"The utopian spirit as w e have been discussing it, is revealed through the written words of men who were critical of the world they lived in and dreamers of a better world† (Anonymous). And Bartleby, too, sees the world with a critical eye.On the one hand, he does not want to accept this world as he sees it. On the other hand and because he cannot accept this world as he sees it, he also creates his own world. This world is very comfortable to him, and Bartleby does not want anyone to interfere. â€Å"His face was leanly composed; his gray eye dimly calm. Not a wrinkle of agitation rippled him. Had there been the least uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner; in other words, had there been any thing ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises† (Melville).Melville describes Bartleby as a very calm and balanced person. When he refuses to check the copies he does not show that is he worried or disturbed. He sees that the Lawyer is getting very angry and disturbed. He also sees that the Lawyer is becoming very irritated. If Bartleby were insane, he would not be able to preserve balance and calmness. If he were insane he would be more emotional with the Lawyer. Moreover, he is very confident that his principles of life are very correct. If he were not that confident, he would not make the Lawyer so much curious about himself.He would not be able to be so calm and to defend his principles. When he answers the Lawyer’s questions he does not lose his patience, because he knows that his principles are the best and that he has the right to use these principles in his life. He also knows that the Lawyer cannot break these principles. When he defends them he seems solid like a stone. But he also fears of losing these principles and his stability. That is why he does not want to answer the Lawyer’s questions: â€Å"Will you tell me, Bartleby, where you were born?– I would prefer not to. â€⠀œ Will you tell me anything about yourself? – I would prefer not to† (Melville). It is very probable that Bartleby has his own theory of life. He knows that the Lawyer wants to help him, but he also knows that if he accepts this aid, he will not be able to live as he lived before. He will not be able to protect his principles from the Lawyer. The story about Bartleby shows how difficult it is for a person to be successful. It is a material world. It values farms, goods, estates, and other material things.Unfortunately, â€Å"the ways of trade are grown selfish to the borders of theft, and supple to the borders of fraud. The employments of commerce are not intrinsically unfit for a man, or less genial to his faculties, but these are now in their general course so vitiated by derelictions and abuses at which all connive, [†¦] that nothing is left him but to begin the world anew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Emerson). That is why to avoid these problems Bartleby creates his own wo rld. In this world he has no obligations. He can do what he wants. He can refuse checking the copies. He can refuse working.He can also refuse leaving the office. This world is very different from the one in which we live. Still, this is the world in which Bartleby wants to live. Bartleby does not have a house; he does not speak about his past; he does not speak of anything at all and spends all his time at the Lawyer’s office at Wall Street. One day he refuses to fulfill his working obligations. He is not willing to leave the office; nor is he willing to leave the Lawyer. Unfortunately, no one can understand Bartleby. Everyone thinks he is insane. For this reason, he becomes a vagrant and soon dies.But what can happen if some day Bartleby decided not to refuse the Lawyer’s aid? Would this aid help Bartleby return to the normal world? No, it would not, but would make it more difficult for Bartleby to defend his principles. If he accepted the aid, he would also have to accept all other norms of the modern world. However, because Bartleby is so active and brave in his wish to protect his principles and his life, he influences and changes everyone around him: â€Å"Somehow, of late I had got into the way of involuntary using this word ‘prefer’ upon all sorts of not exactly suitable occasions.And I trembled to think that my contact with the scrivener had already and seriously affected me in a mental way† (Melville). That is why Bartleby’s behavior is not because of his madness but because of his strength and power, which he uses to live. When he refuses the Lawyer’s aid he also builds a wall between himself and the rest of the world. He does not want the Lawyer to become a part of his world. He is an idealist. His world is utopian.Many of us would want to live the life in the same way, but not all of us would be able to protect their principles from influence. Conclusion Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivene r is one of the most confusing works of literature. On the one hand, readers cannot understand who Bartleby is, who he was, and who he wants to be. On the other hand, everything we read about Bartleby looks like the story about a mad man. In reality, it is not madness, and Bartleby himself chose his life and his principles.Moreover, he wants to protect his life and his principles from anyone’s influence. That is why he refuses to accept the Lawyer’s aid, because he is afraid that the aid will destroy his principles, his life, and the world he has created for himself. Works Cited Anonymous. â€Å"About Utopia and Utopian Literature. † Emerson, R. W. â€Å"Man the Reformer. † A Lecture Read Before the Mechanics’ Apprentices’ Library Association, Boston, January 25, 1841. Melville, H. â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street. † Virginia Commonwealth University, 1853.

Poisonwood Bible: Analysis of Ruth May

Point/Purpose: The classic novel The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, features, among her three other sisters and mother, Ruth May Price, who is the 5 year old daughter of Reverend Nathan Price, who has been stationed in the Congo for a mission trip in the name of the Baptist Church in the year 1959, a time when many of the racial biases and attitudes toward Africans and women are still prevalent in the US, especially the Prices home state of Georgia.These biases and views have rubbed off on Ruth May, who as a young child absorbs and regurgitates all that she hears and experiences, which is why Ruth May represents the ignorance of some Western views towards the customs and general bias towards anyone with an African background. However, as she is integrated into her new society, Ruth May is able to befriend the entirety of the children in the settlement.Quotation/question: The biased way that Ruth May has been taught to see her future, along with how young and uneducated she is shown when she says, â€Å"Father says a girls can’t go to college because they’ll pour water in your shoes,† (pg 117). The way that Ruth May talks about her own gender and the Africans is very ignorant. Commentary: Ruth May has been affected by her surroundings very dramatically.The way that she thinks about Africans and women in a lesser manner than American men shows makes her situation a perfect example of nature vs.nurture. In this case, Ruth May is a product of her past, and her biased outlook on life is due to the way that she was brought up in the southern United States, which was a hotbed for racism in the early to mid-20th century. This state of mind is not permanent, however. Ruth May is just a child, and it is believed that children’s minds are the most moldable, so even though she had a prejudiced mind Ruth May has changed by hanging around the African kids.Ruth May is not only a character, as she could very well be an attempt by the autho r to show the biased nature of the south in 1959. Ruth May is an innocent result of her father and other men’s prejudice towards women and Africans. Technique: Barbara Kingsolver’s method to defining Ruth May’s character is based on her limited vocabulary and grammar knowledge, along with showing how she is a sponge for information.The way that Ruth May is allowed to be within the vicinity of conversations that the other girls would normally be unable to listen into shows how it is believed that, since she is just a young child, she is unable of making sense of the more mature topics that may be discussed. And this is true for the most part, as Ruth May mostly just simply files away the information that she may have been privy to. The author shows clearly Ruth May’s age along with her innocence and ability to accept information easily by writing from her point of view in the way that it would be expected a 5-year-old would think and act.