Marketing Paper Heineken Essay

Heineken is a Dutch beer brewery company, which was founded in 1863, when Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a small brewery in Amsterdam called â€Å"The Haystack†. In 1900 the company came up with it nowadays famous five-point star. In 1914 the company began expanding, starting with the production of their own bottled beers. By 1914 the company was one of the most loved import beers in the United States. From around 1948 Heineken began promoting their beer on a large scale. With slogans as â€Å"Heerlijk helder Heineken† (meaning: Delicious clear Heineken) and â€Å"Good people bring home Heineken†. In 1968 Heineken comes up with an innovation that will be used for over 30 years, the barrel with an attached draft pipe. This way an innkeeper only has to connect the barrel from the outside. In the same year Heineken also takes over their rival company Amstel. However, Amstel will keep its own identity and they will both follow different strategies. In the early 1980’s Heineken is available in 145 countries around the world. After the fall of the Wall in 1989, Heineken will even expand further into Eastern Europe. For instance, Heineken acquires Brau Beteiligungs A.G. (BRAG), in 2003. Until now, that is still the largest acquisition in Heineken’s history. In 2005 Heineken comes up with an innovative system that would take over the markets once more: The portable Heineken Draught keg. In 2010 Heineken is active in 170 countries and still trying to expand. They have 120 breweries globally, and employ 54.000 people. In the 120 breweries Heineken owns, Heineken brews more than 200 different kinds of beers and ciders, Heineken Premium beer being the most famous one. In Heineken’s Annual Report of 2009 Heineken has stated that 18 percent net growth in net profit. They reported revenue of â‚ ¬14.701 million; their net profit was â‚ ¬1.055 million. Their revenue of â‚ ¬14.701 million came from a consolidated beer volume of around 125 million hectoliters.[1] Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. Stock exchange and management scheme Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. are both represented on the Stock exchange list. Heineken Holding holds 50.005 % interest in Heineken N.V. FEMSA holds a 9.245% interest in Heineken N.V. The free float interest in Heineken N.V. is 40.75%. L’arche Green N.V., is owned by the Heineken family for 88.75% and by Greenfee B.V., which owns the remaining 11.25%. L’arche Green N.V. holds a 50.075% interest in Heineken Holding N.V. FEMSA holds a 14.94% interest in Heineken Holding N.V. Free float interest in Heineken Holding N.V. represents 34.94%.[2] We have put a stock exchange and management scheme in Appendix A. Products, Geographical Markets and Market Positions As Heineken brews around 200 different kinds of beers and ciders, we will first state a couple of recognizable brand names. However after that, we will focus on the Heineken Premium Pilsner, or Heineken Premium segment. We will differentiate on the premium segment because otherwise our paper will become to elaborate. Products Heineken most famous brand is Heineken Premium Beer. Below I will mention other brand names that Heineken brews in their breweries. I chose to name the products they brew in Western Europe; this is due to the fact that Heineken is Europe’s largest and leading beer brewer. In Europe the most brewed beers and ciders that Heineken brews are: – Heineken – Amstel – Desperados – Gà ¶sser – Strongbow – Edelweiss For a total overview of all the beers that Heineken brews in the worlds, you can visit http://www.heinekeninternational.com/products_brands_brands.aspx For the relevance of this paper, it is not necessary to name all these brands. Geographical Markets Below you will find a table with the geographical distribution of consolidated beer volume, this is off al of the beers and ciders Heineken brews in the world. |In thousands of hectolitres[3] |2010 |% | |Western Europe |45,394 |31.1 | |Central and Eastern Europe |42,237 |29.0 | |Africa and the MIddle East |19,070 |13.1 | |The Americas |37,843 |25.9 | |Asia Pacific |1,328 |0.9 | |Consolidated beer volume |145,872 |100 | The premium segment is listed below. |Segment |Volume |Percentage | |Western Europe |7,600 |29,3% | |Central and Eastern Europe |2,800 |10,8% | |Africa and the Middle East |2,100 |8,2% | |North and South America |9,000 |34,7% | |Asia Pacific |4,400 |17,0% | |Total |25,900 |100% | Market positions Western Europe In Western Europe Heineken is market leader in countries including The U.K., The Netherlands, France and Italy. Heineken is the number two as beer brewer in countries such as Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. Western Europe is a highly important segment for Heineken as a company, Europe as a whole has about 850 million inhabitants, and together they are consuming 40,1 percent of the total premium segment, on average only the America’s are drinking more premium beer. Central and Eastern Europe In Central and Europe Heineken is also the largest beer brewer. Being the market leader in several countries Heineken brews 42.237 million liters of consolidated beers and ciders. The volume of Premium beer however is slightly low, only 10,8 percent. Africa and the Middle East Heineken is becoming more and more successful in countries in Africa, after starting the Heineken Africa Foundation the brand has become highly popular in sub-Sahara countries. Due to the high population of expatriates, Heineken is able to sell premium beers in African and Middle Eastern countries. North and South America This is the only segment Heineken does not own a market leading position. Heineken does enjoy number two positions in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. In 2010 their position was strengthened after buying FEMSA. Asia Pacific The Asian market has been growing for multiple consecutive years. Heineken holds strong positions in Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zeeland, Singapore and Taiwan. The fact that Heineken is a strong brand in Singapore is because of the earlier mentioned reason, the reason being expatriates. Cultural issues affecting Heineken When researching cultural issues, we thought of a case we had to deal with in the International Management II course. This case dealt with expatriates in Saudi Arabia. The common belief in Saudi Arabia is the Islam; their holy book is the Koran. The Koran states: Regarding Alcohol – The Holy Quraan states: â€Å"They ask Thee concerning Wine and Gambling, Say: In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.† (Surah Al-Baqarah:219) This means that all Islamic people should refrain from alcohol. The fact that Islamic people should refrain from alcohol makes it hard for Heineken to find a market in Saudi Arabia for Heineken beers or other ciders containing alcohol. However, Saudi Arabia is a country in which a lot of expatriates live and work. Expatriates are (mostly) western people, who do live according to the Koran. This means that these expatriates are able to drink a beer after work. The fact that this is able for expatriates makes it easier for Heineken to sell their brews in countries such as Saudi Arabia. However, this is the kind of problem Heineken mostly has to deal with. These kinds of problems are not hard to solve. We were not able to find more problems, only those that are similar to the problem we described above. We can conclude that Heineken is a very large MNE, Multi National Enterprise, however, we have not jet reviewed Heineken’s current performance. In the following section of our report we will analyse the performance of Heineken N.V. over the last five years. Therefore, will balance their financial performance against another large brewer’s performance, namely SABMiller. |Revenue (Change in % of the year before) |Heineken |SABMiller | |2010 |9.7% |4% | |2009 |2.7% |6% | |2008 |27.3% |15% | |2007 |6.2% |22% | |2006 |9.6% |19% | In this table the growth of the revenue is reviewed since SABMiller’s total revenue is more than Heineken’s. Although Heineken kept growing their revenue in the last five years, their competitor’s revenue kept growing as well. SABMiller generated even a bigger growth of their revenue compared to Heineken. Therefore we can state that although Heineken has increased their revenue in times of financial crisis, this does not imply that the performed extraordinary well compared to their competitors. According to John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Lang Daviso in their blog article on ‘The Best Way to Measure Company Performance’ (2010), the return to equity ratio is not the best way to measure company performance. A different view is the one from the shareholders; since ROE focuses on the net income per share, it is a very commonly used method to measure company’s performance by shareholders. Therefore, this method is used in this paper and if we would use other methods our paper will become to elaborate. Concluding from this table we can state that Heineken performed better over the last five years then one of its main competitors in terms of Return on Equity. ROE’s between 15% and 20% are considered desirable; Heineken met this standard very well. Although SABMiller is not coping with a low Return on Equity, they are nevertheless unable to meet that standard. |ROE (Return on equity) |Heineken |SABMiller | |2010 |14,1% |12,6% | |2009 |19,7% |13,4% | |2008 |22,7% |12,2% | |2007 |20,7% |12,5% | |2006 |18,6% |11,5% | To summarize, both Heineken and SABMiller maintained a high level of growth over the last five years; their revenue kept growing. Despite both companies kept growing their revenue, a look at the Return on Equity ratio shows that Heineken is more profitable then SABMiller. It is save to state that Heineken has financially performed well over the last five years. International market segmentation International market segmentation can be described as the process of dividing the entire market into smaller market segments. According to Hollensen’s Essentials of global marketing (2008) there are 4 steps a company has to take while segmenting the right market, these steps can be found in appendix B. In this section, Heineken’s international segmentation strategies are discussed following these four steps. Hollensen’s first step is â€Å"the selection of the relevant segmentation criteria,† every market has it’s characteristics, Heineken had to select the criteria that were relevant for them. Heineken had to take in account measurable factors such as the geographic location, language, industrial structure and political factors. In addition, they had to take in account factors that have a low degree of measurability, such as cultural characteristics and attitudes and tastes. Not all these factors are relevant for Heineken; the language is not that relevant to a brewing company, however, the taste of the consumer is. Heineken also segmented their export market using other characteristics. Important characteristics for Heineken are age, e.g. minimal drinking age; alcohol consumption, e.g. heavy or casual drinker; tastes, e.g. they might prefer sweeter beer to Heineken and geographic location, e.g. the distance to the brewery. The second step is the development of appropriate segments. In this step Heineken had to find markets and market segments that match their relevant selection criteria. The third step is the screening of segments to narrow down the list of markets/countries to choose from and make a decision. This screening process can be divided into two steps, first the preliminary screening, countries/markets both external criteria and internal resources have to be taken into account. Secondly the fine-grained screening where the firm’s competitive power in different markets should be taken into account. Heineken selects in this step the market segments where they want to participate in. The forth step is â€Å"to develop subsegments in each qualified country and across countries.† In this step Heineken turns it’s macro segments from step three to micro segments; they further define their market segments. Market targeting Targeting is the process of evaluating potential identified segments to select the one with the highest potential (Hollensen, 2008). Heinekens target markets consist of younger to middle aged people. Heineken’s marketing activities are focused on this segment; they want their market segment to relate Heineken beer to sport events, festivals and nightclubs. Heineken is successful in addressing this consumer segment; they are the preferred premium beer for a large market share. This target market does not differ a lot among countries, although they adjust their marketing to each market, these adjustments are minor ones. Market positioning Market positioning can be defined as the process of creating a preferable brand image in the minds of the target groups of a company. It is not only preferable for companies to establish a positive brand image, but a positive identity for their products and organization as well. Market positioning is important to Heineken; Heineken puts many resources in advertising and positioning projects. When a company considers market positioning, they are likely to use the four P’s, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. We will briefly introduce these concepts and we will examine them further in a different section of this article. The four P’s are the marketing mix; all these aspects should be taken in consideration when constructing a marketing program that delivers superior value (Kotler & Armstrong, 2005). Heineken is actively using its marketing mix to position themselves as a positive brand for their target market. Heineken is involved in several market positioning activities, for example, Heineken is one of the main sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, one of the largest soccer leagues in Europe. Their goal with sponsoring this league is for their target market to relate Heineken with this sport event, therefore creating a positive brand image. Another example of a market positioning activity that Heineken is involved in will be the sponsorship of a concert hall in the Netherlands, namely the ‘Heineken Music Hall.† Again, their goal is that their targeted customers are gaining affection with the positive experience of the concert and the brand Heineken. In addition, Heineken is opening and sponsoring fully branded bars around the world. Heineken sponsors these bars and you can find their brand logo almost everywhere. Heineken allocates many resources to their marketing department in order to do this around the world; this results in brand recognition everywhere. This is again a promotional activity conducted by Heineken to establish a better market position. Product strategies The product strategy is a marketing plan of a specific product accommodated to for instance the target market, desired product positioning within the market, and profit objectives. Almost always product strategies are based on the four P’s, financial targets, and budgets of the producing company. Now, a deeper look in the product strategies of Heineken shall be made.Firstly, Hollensen(2008)[4] states that there are three levels of a product. These three levels include: the core product benefits, the core attributes and the support services (figure below). As the figure shows there is a high possibility of standardizing elements of products at the level of â€Å"core product benefits, medium possibilities to standardize in the â€Å"product attributes† level, and a low possibility of support services being standardized. [pic]The most eye-catching core product benefits of Heineken include the technology, most important: the patented technology used to brew the beer and giving it the distinguishable taste Heineken is known for. Heineken does not change the brewing process in any foreign market it explores (Anthony Ruys, 2005)[5] so no matter where Heineken is consumed the taste will be exactly the same. Also the perceived value is a major core benefit for Heineken, Heineken is such a large brewery with so many (geographically dispersed) market that it is recognized all over the world, people in foreign markets see Heineken as a luxury beer and this is exactly what Heineken intended when entering the market, for example Heineken promotion strategy in when entering the USA market: Heineken hired a vast amount of actors to go to luxury bars and hotels and keep asking for a â€Å"Heineken† beer, when this continued over a long period those bars and hotels were almost forced to use Heineken. Salient detail: a test with blindfolds regarding several breweries, Heineken finished almost at the bottom of the list, when the same experiment was conducted with the names of the breweries in sight Heineken was the undisputed number one. (Peters, 2001) [6] Looking at the product attributes it is remarkable that Heineken maintains almost the exact same size, looks , and lay out in every foreign market to get a high recognition rate. So the design, packaging, and quality are practically the same in every foreign market, this way their brand name and status is strengthened. Because of this Heineken also tries to keep the product attributes standardized. Hence two slogans of Heineken: â€Å"Serving the planet†; and â€Å"meet you there†, meaning wherever one may go the familiar Heineken beer will be around.Finally there is the support services level, this is the level with the lowest standardization in the company. Heineken has many marketing involvements in bars and hotels and host numerous events. The biggest example of Heineken’s support service in their home country the Netherlands is the â€Å"Holland Heineken house†, It is a portable bar which is up and running on the scene at major sporting events (world cup soccer etc.). these events and marketing opportunities are not as easy to standardize like for instance the production process. For the simple reason that it is an unpredictable aspect of the company. Market entry and distribution strategies Heineken started exporting in 1876 with regular shipments to France, twelve years after taking over â€Å"de Hooiberg† (another dutch brewery established in 1592), but Heineken kept a low profile concerning the export. Only after the son of Gerard Adriaan Heineken took over, the export of Heineken experienced a big growth with market entries in for example the United States. The United States were a vast growing market but it came to a sudden hold in the 1920’s when the prohibition act or â€Å"Volstead act† was initialized. By 1970 however Heineken was available in 70 percent of retail outlets in the United States mostly because of Heinekens distribution process. After this success Heineken began exporting to practically every corner in the world. According to Hollensen (2008) entry strategies for foreign market are divided in two groups. When a company goes abroad and has to choose a entry mode a distinction should be made in internalizing and externalizing foreign investment strategies. As can be seen in Appendix C[7]. hierarchical modes offer to most internalization where export modes require the most externalization. Between these two extremities are the intermediate modes. These modes will be discussed in the next paragraphs and will show which mode Heineken adapted. Firstly, the hierarchical modes which covers the internal factors. This includes the international experience of a company and what the size of the company is. When Heineken went to the United States it had very limited international experience. Also, back then, Heineken was the largest brewery in the Netherlands, but compared to the world The Netherlands is a very small market so Heineken had a restricted size. It also includes product complexity and differentiation. The product complexity when Heineken expanded to the United States was very low, after all at that time it only produced Heineken beer, only later on the made products adjusted to several foreign markets and product differentiation was created. Secondly, the export modes which cover the external factors. There are a vast amount of external factors with the most important one: the social an cultural distance between the home and the host country. Cultural and social distance between countries like The Netherlands and Belgium or Germany are not that big, however there were a lot of competitors present in the same branch in that period so Heineken decided to expand elsewhere. For instance in the United States there were few competitor because of the prohibition. But when a â€Å"western† company wants to expand in Asia or in Arabic countries there is a huge social and cultural distance. In the 1970’s Heineken started to pay more attention to the foreign markets and built up their social awareness which decreased the â€Å"sociocultural distance†. The mode with the most externalization is the export mode. In this mode the company has the choice between direct-, indirect-, and cooperative export entry mode. With the indirect export entry mode the company is mildly interacting with the foreign market due to the fact that an independent organization will distribute the company’s product. There is low risk and low commitment but there is also low control of the local distributer etcetera. Furthermore there is the direct market entry mode, in this mode the company is directly selling to a importer in the desired foreign market. The exporter will be in charge of the ins and outs and the up- and downstream functions and maintain well supported ties with the foreign market. When both the indirect- and the direct mode are not applicable the cooperative mode comes in the picture where there is a local importer dealing with the downstream functions (marketing, sales, services) and the exporter is in charge of the upstream functions within the local company (for example: the R&D department). Heineken started off in the export mode not only because there was limited experience in foreign markets up till then. The company had to keep expanding because the market for breweries became ever more competitive, Heineken founded a new brewery in the Netherlands but also founded the Malayan breweries and breweries in Venezuela, Zaire and Italy. Furthermore Heineken took over several foreign breweries. Nowadays Heineken adopted a Hierarchical mode for the market entry this means that it is fully owned and controlled by the company, but also the company bears the risk of its actions. Every market Heineken operates in. Heineken’s headquarters are stationed in the Netherlands but there are several subsidiaries in foreign markets because the general assumption is that geographically dispersed markets differ a lot and many will require a different approach which are than dealt with by the subsidiaries. Promotion Strategies According to Hollensen (2008) â€Å"†¦ important are the promotion or the performance promises that the organization makes for its product or service in the target market†. Regarding to product decisions, promotion of products can be adapted or standardized to foreign markets. Figure 1 (see appendix D), provides an overview of how products can be promoted in foreign markets. With regard to figure 1, Heineken seems to fit in the box of ‘Straight Extension’, since both the product and the promotion strategy of the company are standardized (one product, one message worldwide (Hollensen, 2008)). This is also stressed by Heineken’s general promotion strategy across the globe, which effectively creates a connection between the brand and the customers. In addition, Herwin van den Berg, Marketing Director of Heineken in the Netherlands states that: â€Å"Marketing is about attracting, inspiring and binding consumers and ensuring timely wake-up calls to your own organization†. Firstly, the Heineken company includes besides the well known Heineken brand, over 170 different, often local, brands as well. This multi-brand strategy proves to be simple, but effective. The main idea of acquiring other suitable, local brands, is to serve Heineken as a premium beer alongside the acquired local brand. If some local brand proves to have a significant growth potential, the brand is of interest of the Heineken company. This policy actually creates a global position for, because the Heineken brand becomes recognized as being a premium beer. Secondly, according to the Heineken website (www.heinekeninternational.com), the company has developed a policy of ‘Selling beer safely’, this policy holds that professional Beer Promoters (BPs) sell and promote Heineken beer directly to the (potential) consumers This policy proves to be a successful promotion strategy in most countries, because this policy manages to satisfy all different constituencies of the company. Despite the use of BPs, Heineken strives to improve the overall safety and health of the Beer Promoters, since promoting beer can be quite hazardous. Therefore, Heineken developed policies in their breweries that cover all aspects that are influencing the working conditions of the BPs. In order to instruct and train the BPs for their job as a effective Beer Promoter all over the world, Heineken developed all kinds of training tools, varying from instruction DVDs and manuals, to leaflets and booklets. These training tools are continually being improved and redesigned to maintain a proper basis for implementing the right strategy. Additionally, these training tools are translated in several languages, in order to maintain a general promotion strategy all over the world. Thirdly, when comparing the Heineken websites in different countries, it is obvious that Heineken uses the same promotion campaigns all over the world (examples: Draught keg, Extra cold, Beertender) . What stands out are Heinekens green (premium) beer bottle on the homepage on each website, the use of bright green colors, a direct link to Heineken’s Facebook page, and depending on the country, promotion campaigns such as Heineken Music or the UEFA Champions League. Besides the use of global marketing campaigns, some websites display local, country specific content as well (such as the new Heineken Ellipse glass). Additionally, most websites are fully translated, and some only partially in the foreign country’s language. Fourthly, when comparing the TV-commercials (www.youtube.com) of Heineken in different countries, it is obvious that the company promotes its premium beer and new products in quite the same way across the globe. The company actively promotes what seems to be the ‘Heineken experience’ which holds that Heineken premium beer is being drunk in the same way by people all over the world. However, the company does produce country/region specific ads, with slight adjustments, mostly for the major markets. In Asia for example, the commercials seem to reflect that a Heineken premium beer can be gained after a hard day at work. In Hispanic countries, a Heineken premium beer stands for intimacy and closeness, and in the image of Heineken in Western countries is that nothing stands between a man and a Heineken premium beer. To conclude with, â€Å"Heineken portrays itself as a global brand that makes the world just that little bit more enjoyable through its mentality and innovative products† (Heineken Case, Sister.) Pricing Strategies â€Å"Pricing policy is an important strategic and tactical competitive weapon that, in contrast to the other elements of the global marketing mix, is highly controllable and inexpensive to change and implement† (Hollensen, 2008). The Heineken company sells premium beer, which holds that the beer is priced in upper segment of the beer market. By premium pricing, customers become perceived that Heineken beer is different from all other brands, in the sense of being of a higher quality. And so, the relative high price can be established simply because customers are willing to pay the higher price for the real and perceived quality. Moreover, by pricing the product relatively high, the product position in de minds of customers becomes on the desired (high) level. Since Heineken premium beer is a standardized product, there are little additional costs concerning modification of the product to foreign markets. Therefore, Heineken can adjust its prices easily to the purchasing power in a foreign market and so maintain its brand image of being a premium beer, by setting the price to the relative upper segment of a country’s local beer market. By conducting this policy, Heineken maintains a global image of being a premium beer. Moreover, in some foreign markets Heineken even has the advantage of the so called country-of-origin effect. Which holds that customers perceive a product made in a certain country of being of a desired quality. Apparently, the Netherlands have a high reputation in the global beer market, since, for example, the customers in the United States are willing to pay significantly more for Heineken premium beer. On average, for every 100 liters of Heineken beer shipped to the US, Heineken’s profit is estimated on about 21 euro’s. In contrary, the average profit per 100 liters of Heineken beer in other countries is estimated on about 11.70 euro’s (Elsevier website). In short, Heineken is able to maintain its image of being a premium beer through both the general perception of being of a high/premium quality, and the corresponding price that has to be paid for Heineken’s premium beer. Source: Based on Keegan, 1995, pp. 489-94 and p498, Table 13.1 ———————– [1] http://www.annualreport.heineken.com/nl/Een_kort_overzicht/index.html#financials [2] http://www.heinekeninternational.com/ownership_cg.aspx [3] http://www.annualreport.heineken.com/Other-information/countries-and-Brands/index.html [4] Svend Hollensen: Essentials of global marketing [5] http://www.alcoholpreventie.nl/bestand/2005MarketingphilosophyofHeineken.pdf [6] Peters and Van Dam: Dienen en verdienen (serve and earn) (2001) [7] Svend Hollensen: Global Marketing (p. 280)

Of Romeo and Juliet

anfernee simon According to Duff Brenna, â€Å"All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason, which motivates characters in literature. † This is demonstrated in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Of Mice and Men. Human beings are often driven by their emotions or passions. Sometimes their actions defy sound reason or judgment. However, due to the emotions that the individuals might be experiencing at that time, their initial response is usually impulsive.I agree Duff Brenna in her assessment of how characters in literature are motivated by their raging emotions and not by reason, common sense or wisdom. One cannot merely act upon how they feel, especially if those emotions are negatives. Negatives emotions, if acted upon, will lead to negative actions; whereas positive emotions will leads to positive actions. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, The Capulet’s and The Montegue’s hated each other’s families. The literary term I used to best describe the story is irony.The irony in the story was that the two families were feuding and the two cross lovers fell in love. The main character in the story that relates to my interpretation of the quote by Brenna is Romeo. Romeo was a teenaged Capulet. He was tall with dark brown eyes. Romeo killed other people and bought poison to kill his self afterwards. For an example, Tybalt was Juliet’s cousin. Romeo and Tybalt were never in agreement with anything. When Romeo tried to be nice to Tybalt, Tybalt got aggressive and attacked him. That behavior resulted in Romeo’s killing of Tybalt.There are many themes that are represented in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The theme that I will focus on is idealism. The two main characters of this novel, George and Lennie, always dreamed on having a dream farm. Lennie loved to play with any animal that had soft hair. The story consisted of mice, rabbits and a dog. That dream that they had doesn’t get f ulfilled because George killed Lennie. George killed Lennie because Lennie had a mental disorder. It was George’s responsibility to take care of him. Lennie was just too much for George to handle, so George had no choice to kill him.Everybody in the story realized that the two men weren’t going anywhere in life. For an example, Crook expresses his doubt about the dream. Nobody ever gets into heaven and nobody gets any land. Crook is simply referring not only to literal ownership, but the dream of contentment about what these simple men fantasize. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men revealed the dreams as well as the pains that these two men experienced in their lives. The actions of the characters in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Of Mice and Men were motivated by their emotions and not by reason.Duff Brenna is accurate in her statement that â€Å"All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason, which motivates characters in literature . † Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and George in Of Mice and Men both committed actions based upon the negative emotions that they were experiencing. Had they given much thought to the emotions that they were feeling; and had they applied sound reason, I am convinced that their actions would have been different and so would the overall stories of the books.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 14

Every week passed more or less quietly. Grandma Harman came home, her cough better. She didn't seem to notice anything different about Thea. Night came earlier, and everyone at school talked about parties and costumes. The air got colder and there was an announcement that the old gym would be opened for Halloween. Thea heard that Randy Marik had been moved to a psychiatric hospital and was in intensive therapy. He was making some progress. Thea and Eric worked every day on their plan. The only real excitement came the night when Thea walked in, sat on Blaise's bed, and said, â€Å"Bullets won't stop him.† â€Å"What?† Blaise looked up from creaming her elbows. â€Å"I mean, spells won't stop him. Eric. They just bounce off. I'm telling you this because you're going to notice that he's not with Mar.† Blaise snapped the tube of cream shut. She stared at Thea for a full minute before she said tightly, â€Å"What are you saying?† Thea's humor drained away. She looked at the floor. â€Å"I'm saying we're soulmates,† she said quietly. â€Å"And that I can't help it. There is really, truly, nothing I can do about it.† â€Å"I can't believe, after all that-† â€Å"Right. After all that work. And after me trying and trying to stop, because I'm scared to death. But there's no way to fight it, Blaise. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I've got to find some way to try to live with it.† She looked at her cousin. â€Å"Okay?† â€Å"You know it's not okay. You know it's completely not okay.† â€Å"I guess what I mean is, okay, will you please not kill him or turn us in? Because I can't stand being in another fight with you. And I can't stop breaking the law.† Blaise tossed the cream jar in the direction of the dresser. â€Å"Thea, are you all right?† she said, seriously. â€Å"Because you're acting very†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Fatalistic?† â€Å"Fatalistic and generally scary.† â€Å"I'm okay. I just†¦ I don't know what's going to happen, but I am sort of†¦ calm. I'm going to do my best. Eric's going to do his best. And beyond that, nothing's guaranteed.† Blaise stared for another minute, her gray eyes searching Thea's face. Then she shook her head. â€Å"I won't turn you in. You know I would never turn you in. We're sisters. And as for trying to kill him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shrugged, looking grim. â€Å"It probably wouldn't work. That guy is impossible.† â€Å"Thank you, Blaise.† Thea touched her cousin's arm lightly. Blaise covered Thea's hand with her own red-nailed fingers, just for a moment. Then she sat back and straightened her pillows with a little jerk. â€Å"Just don't tell me anything, all right? I wash my hands of you two and I don't want to know what's going on. Besides, I've got worries of my own. I have to decide between a Maserati and a Karmann Ghia.† Halloween. Thea looked out the window at the darkened world. There weren't any kids in the alley, but she knew they were flitting around the city. Goblins and ghosts and witches and vampires-all fakes. Real vampires were sitting inside at fireplaces, or maybe at exclusive parties, chuckling. And real witches were getting dressed for their Samhain Circles. Thea put on a white shift, sleeveless, made out of one piece of material. She pulled a soft white belt around her waist and made a loop pointing up with one side of the tie, then wrapped the other end around the base of the loop three times. A thet knot. Witches had used them for four thousand years. She took a breath and looked outside again. Enjoy the peace while you can, she told herself. It's going to be a busy night. Eric's jeep pulled into the alley. The horn honked once. Thea grabbed the backpack, which had been stuffed under her bed. It was full of materials. Oak, ash, quassia chips, blessed thistle, mandrake root. The hardened residue from the bronze bowl, which she had painstakingly scraped off with one of Blaise's art knives. A wooden seal, also carved with Blaise's tools. And an ounce vial with three precious drops of summoning potion stolen from the malachite bottle. She started for the stairs. â€Å"Hey, are you leaving already?† Blaise said, emerging from the bathroom. â€Å"You've got-what?-an hour and a half before Circle.† Blaise looked gorgeous, and more herself than at any other time of year. Her shift was black, also sleeveless, also made in one piece. Her hair hung loose to her hips, woven with little bells. Her arms were pale and beautiful against the darkness of hair and shift, and she was barefoot, wearing one ankle bracelet. â€Å"I'm going to run out and do something before Circle,† Thea said. â€Å"Don't ask me what.† Blaise of course didn't know what Thea and Eric were planning. Not even Dani knew. It was better that way. â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Blaise stood at the top of the stairs and looked down as Thea dashed out. â€Å"You be careful!† Thea waved at her cousin. The back of the jeep was full of wood. â€Å"I thought I'd better bring some more, just in case we need it,† Eric said, throwing her backpack in. Then he added in a different voice, â€Å"You look- amazing-like that.† She smiled at him. â€Å"Thanks. It's traditional. You look nice, too.† He was wearing the costume of a seventeenth-century French soldier at Ronchain-or as close as they could get from looking at woodcuts in old books. They drove into the desert, past the huge bare cliffs, off the main road and far out among the Joshua trees, until they found the place. It was tiny, just a dip in the ground almost enclosed in red sandstone pillars. The pillars didn't look like the monoliths at Stonehenge-they were knobby and squished sideways, like towers of Play-doh that some kid had smashed-but they served the same purpose. They'd found this place all by themselves, and Thea was very proud of it. â€Å"The fire's still going,† she said. â€Å"That's good.† It had been burning for the last three days inside the circle. Thea's hope had been that it would keep Suzanne interested-and away from the people setting up in the old gym. And it seemed to have worked. Not just the fire, of course. The three dummies lying on the ground tied to stakes were supposed to be interesting, too. â€Å"These guys all look okay,† Eric said. He picked up the smallest dummy and dusted it off. It looked something like a scarecrow when he thrust the stick into a hole in the ground, standing it up. A scarecrow dressed in a black shift tied with a thet knot. With a sign hanging around the neck: lucienne. The other small dummy had a sign that said clement. The big dummy's sign said suzannb. â€Å"Okay,† Thea said when they had unloaded the wood, leaving her backpack in the jeep. â€Å"Now, remember, you don't do anything until I get back, right? Not anything. And if I'm a few minutes late, you just wait.† He stopped nodding. â€Å"The Halloween party starts at nine. If you're not here at nine exactly, I might-â€Å" â€Å"No. Don't touch anything, don't do anything.† â€Å"Thea, we might lose her. What if she decides that nothing's happening here, so she might as well go to the party-â€Å" â€Å"I won't be late,† Thea said flatly. It seemed the only way to win the argument. â€Å"But do not burn those witches before I'm here to cast the cirde. Okay?† â€Å"Good luck,† he said. He looked handsome and mysterious in his exotic clothes. Not like himself. They kissed under the half-full moon. â€Å"Be safe,† Thea whispered, making herself let go of him. â€Å"Come back safe,† he whispered. â€Å"I love you.† She drove the jeep back to the city, to the maidens' Circle Twilight meeting. It was being held this year at a Night World dub on the southern edge of town. There was no sign on the door, but the doormat, between two grinning jack-o'-lanterns, had been painted with a black dahlia. Thea knocked and the door opened. â€Å"Dani You look great.† â€Å"So do you,† Dani said. She was dressed in white, in a pleated sheer gown that hung to her ankles and looked Egyptian. Black braids clasped with silver cascaded from a sort of crown at her head, falling over her shoulders and back and arms. She made a beautiful Queen Isis. â€Å"You didn't wear a costume,† she said, making it a question. â€Å"Blaise and I are sort of going as Maya and Hell-wise,† Thea said. The truth was that she was most comfortable in her ordinary Circle clothes, and that Blaise knew she looked best in hers. â€Å"Well, come on down. You're the last one,† Dani said, taking Thea's hand. They went down a flight of stairs to an underground room. It had a makeshift, thrown-together look, with crates to sit on, and white fairy lights strung between concrete pillars. Metal chairs had been pushed to the periphery. â€Å"Thea! Hey, there! Merry meet!† people called. Thea turned around and around, smiling and getting hugs. â€Å"Good Samhain,† she kept saying. â€Å"Unity.† For those few minutes, she forgot about what was going to happen tonight. It was so good to see them all again, all her friends from summer Circles. Kishi Hirata, dressed as Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, hi gold and orange. Alaric Breedlove- the sophomore from Lake Mead High-as Tammuz the shepherd, son of the mother goddess Ishtar. Claire Blessingway as the Navajo goddess Changing Woman, in a dress decorated with red flower petals and turquoise. Nathaniel Long as Herne, Celtic god of the hunt, in forest green, with stag's antlers. Humans put on costumes to disguise themselves tonight. Witches put on costumes to try to reflect their inner selves-what they were inside, what they wanted to be. â€Å"Here, taste,† Claire said, handing Thea a paper cup. It was full of a thick red herb drink spiced with cinnamon and cloves. â€Å"It's hibiscus-my dad's recipe.† Someone else was passing around shortbread cakes in the shape of crescent moons. Thea took one. Everything here was so bright, so warm-and she would have been so happy if all she had to do tonight was enjoy it. Have a normal Samhain Circle. Celebrate†¦ But Eric was waiting out there in the dark and cold of the desert. And Thea was counting the minutes until she could leave. â€Å"Okay, people, it's time to get started.† Lawai'a Dcua, a pretty, sturdy girl with hair like black nylon, was standing in the center of the room. She was wearing a red shift and lei-Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, Thea guessed. â€Å"Let's get our circle, here. That's good, come on. Chang Xi, you're the youngest now.† A little girl with big almond-shaped eyes came shyly into the ring of people. Thea hadn't seen her before- she must have turned seven since the last summer Circle. She was dressed in jade green as Kuan Yin, the Chinese goddess of compassion. Still shy, she took a sprig of broom-real broom, the plant-and swept the area inside the ring. â€Å"Thea, you do the salt.† Thea was surprised and pleased. She took the bowl of sea salt that Lawai'a offered, and walked slowly around the perimeter of the circle, sprinkling it â€Å"Alaric, you take the water-â€Å" Lawai'a broke oft looking toward the stairway, seeming startled. Thea saw other people look. She turned around. Two adults, mothers, were coming down the stairs. As the light shone on the first woman's face, Thea felt a jolt. It was Aunt Ursula. In a gray suit, her expression as bleak as Thea had ever seen it. Nobody in the room made a noise. They all stood still as Joshua trees, watching until the women reached the bottom. Interrupting a Circle in the middle of casting was unheard of. â€Å"Good Samhain,† Lawai'a said faintly. â€Å"Good Samhain.† Aunt Ursula was polite, but she didn't smile. like a displeased teacher. â€Å"I'm very sorry to bother you, but this will only take a minute.† Thea's heart had begun to pound, slow and hard. It's just guilty conscience, she tried to tell herself. This doesn't have to be about you. But it did. And something inside her knew even before Aunt Ursula looked the Circle over and said, â€Å"Thea Sophia Harman.† As if she doesn't know what I look like, Thea thought dazedly. She damped down hard on a wild impulse simply to brush past Aunt Ursula and head for the street. Now she knew why rabbits were so stupid as to leave a good hiding place and run blindly when a dog came near. Just panic, that's all. She stepped away from a staring Kishi on her left and a dismayed Nat on her right. She could feel every pair of eyes in the place on her. â€Å"What is it?† she said, trying to look surprised. Aunt Ursula's eyes met hers directly, as if to say, You know. But she didn't say anything, which was almost as bad. â€Å"Dani Naete Mella Abforth.† Oh, Eileithyia. Not Dani, too†¦. Dani was stepping out of the circle. Her small head was held proudly, but Thea could see the fear in her eyes. She walked, linen swaying around her ankles, to stand beside Thea. Dani, I'm sorry†¦. â€Å"That's all,† Aunt Ursula said. â€Å"The rest of you go on with your Circle. Good Samhain, everybody.† To Thea and Dani, she said, â€Å"You need to come outside.† They followed her silently. There was nothing else to do. When they were out in the cool night air, Dani said, â€Å"Is-something wrong?† She looked from Aunt Ursula to the other woman, who was short but had considerable presence. And seemed familiar to Thea†¦ and then she had it. It's Nana Buruku. From the Inner Circle. This isn't a Harman family matter. The Inner Circle itself is calling us. â€Å"There are some things we need to talk about. Come on and let's get it all cleared up fast,† Nana Buruku said quietly, putting a cinnamon-colored hand on Thea's arm. Gran's ancient Lincoln Continental was sitting at the curb. Nana Buruku took the wheel herself. Dani and Thea held hands in the backseat. Dani's fingers were icy cold. The car wound up and down streets lined with human trick-or-treaters, to a big ranch-style house with high block walls screening the backyard. Selene's house, Thea realized, seeing the name Lucna on the mailbox. It must be where they're having the maidens' Circle Midnight meeting. Aunt Ursula got out. Thea and Dani sat in the car with Nana Buruku. In a few minutes, Aunt Ursula came back with Blaise. Selene, dressed in silver, and Vivienne in black, followed as far as the driveway. They looked sober and scared, not like wicked witches at all. Blaise did. Barefoot and apparently indifferent to the cold, little bells ringing, she looked flushed and angry and proud. She opened the door with a jerk and sat down hard beside Thea, who scooted over. â€Å"What's going on?† she said, almost out loud. â€Å"I'm missing the moon cakes, I'm missing everything. What kind of Samhain is this?† Thea had never admired her more. â€Å"We'll get back in time,† Dani said, and her voice was steady, even if her fingers were still cold. They're both brave, Thea thought. And me? But however much she wanted to, she couldn't get a word out through the tightness in her throat. She half expected Nana Buruku to get on the freeway and head out toward the desert, toward Thierry's land. But instead the Lincoln headed down familiar streets and pulled up in the alley behind Grandma Harman's store. Thea could feel Dani's questioning eyes on her. But she had no idea what was going on, and she was afraid to look Dani in the face. â€Å"Come on,† Aunt Ursula said, and shepherded them through the back door, into the shop, through the bead curtain that led to the workshop. All the chairs for Gran's students had been pushed into a rough circle. People were sitting in them, or standing and talking quietly, but when Thea stepped through the curtain behind Nana Buruku, they all stopped and looked. Thea's eyes moved from face to face, seeing each in a sort of disconnected, dreamlike flash. Grandma Harman, looking so grim and tired. Mother Cybele, who was the Mother of the Inner Circle, just as Gran was the Crone, looking anxious. Aradia, the Maiden, her lovely face serious and sad. Others she recognized from two years ago, people who were so famous she knew them by their first names. Rhys, Belfana, Creon, Old Bob. Aunt Ursula and Nana Buruku made up the last two of the nine. They looked like ordinary people, working men and women and still-sharp-as-a-tack retired seniors, the kind you'd see any day on the street. They weren't. This was the biggest concentration of magical talent anywhere in the world. These people were the witch geniuses, the prodigies and the sages, the far-seers. The teachers, the policy-makers. They were the Inner Circle. And they were all looking at Thea. â€Å"The girls are here,† Mother Cybele said softly to Aradia. â€Å"They're standing in the middle.† Gran said, â€Å"All right, let's get this thing started. Will everybody find themselves a seat.† It wasn't a question, it was an order. Gran was senior to all these celebrities. But she wouldn't look at Thea. And that was the most terrible, nightmarish thing of all. She acted as if Thea and Blaise were strangers. Everyone was sitting, nudging their chairs into a more evenly spaced circle. They were all wearing their ordinary clothes, Thea realized: business suits or uniforms or pants and tops. In Aradia's case, jeans. In Old Bob's case, dirty overalls. Which means they never even started their own ceremony tonight. This is important enough to skip Samhain over. This is a trial. Red-haired Belfana pushed Creon's wheelchair to an empty spot. She was the last to sit down. I'm centered, Thea thought numbly. It was her worst fear, the very thing that had driven her away from Eric in the desert, the first time she'd felt the soulmate connection with him. And now it was true. She could hear Dani breathing irregularly, and the faint tinkle of bells as Blaise shifted from foot to foot. â€Å"All right,† Grandma Harman said, sounding tired but formal. â€Å"By Earth, by Air, by Water, and by Fire, I call this Circle to unity.† She went on, reciting the age-old formula for a meeting of deliberation. For Thea, the words blended into the pounding of blood in her ears. It was strange, how terrifying it could be to be surrounded in all directions by people. Everywhere she looked, another grave, unreadable face. She felt as trapped as if they had been humans. â€Å"Thea Sophia Harman,† Gran said, and suddenly Thea was listening again. â€Å"You stand accused†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There seemed to be an endless, empty pause, although Thea knew it was probably no time at all. â€Å"†¦ of working forbidden spells in direct disobedience to the laws of Hellewise and of this Circle†¦.† All Thea heard for a while was â€Å"working forbidden spells.† It seemed to hang in the air, echoing. Part of her kept waiting to hear the other, more terrible charges of betraying the secrets of the Night World and falling in love with a human. But they didn't come. â€Å"†¦ summoning a spirit from the far places beyond the veil†¦ binding two humans with a forbidden love charm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And then Gran was reading Blaise's name. Blaise was charged with fashioning a necklace out of forbidden materials and binding humans with a forbidden charm. Dani was charged with aiding and abetting Thea in the summoning of a spirit from the far places-which was wrong, of course, Thea thought dizzily. Her whole body was tingling, from the soles of her feet, to her palms, to her scalp. With fear†¦ and with something like relief. They don't know. They don't know the worst part of it, or they would have said so-wouldn't they? And if I just keep quiet, why should they ever know? Then she focused on Gran, who had finished reading the charges and was now talking in an ordinary voice again. â€Å"And I have to say that I'm disappointed in all three of you. Especially you, Thea. I'd expect this from her, of course†-she nodded at Blaise, speaking to the rest of the Circle-â€Å"that descendant of mine there who's dressed up like Hecate's bad daughter. But I honestly thought Thea had more sense.† She looked disappointed. And that-hurt. Thea had always been the good girl, the golden girl, youngest and most promising of the Hearth-Woman line. Now, as she looked from face to face, she saw disappointment everywhere. I've failed them; I've disgraced my heritage. I'm so ashamed†¦. She wanted to curl up and disappear. Just then, there was a silvery ripple of bells. Blaise was tossing her dark head. She looked defiant and scornful and very proud and a little bored. â€Å"What I want to know is who turned us in,† she said in an almost inaudible but definitely menacing whisper. â€Å"Whoever it is, they're going to be sorry.† And suddenly, somehow, Thea was less frightened. The disappointment didn't mean so much. It was possible to shock the Inner Circle and still be standing up. Blaise proved it. It was then that irony struck Thea. She'd spent her life getting in trouble because of Blaise, and now here they were, in the worst trouble imaginable-because of her. And Dani was in trouble, too. Her velvety eyes were filled with tears. When she saw that, Thea found the tightness in her throat easing. She could talk again. â€Å"Look-excuse me-but there's something you need to know. Before this goes any further-â€Å" â€Å"You'll have a chance to speak later,† Mother Cybele said, her voice soft and firm, like her little dumpling-shaped body. â€Å"No, I have to say it now.† Thea turned to Gran, speaking, for just these few seconds, to her grandmother rather than to the Crone of the Inner Circle. â€Å"Grandma, Dani shouldn't be here. Really. Really. She didn't know anything about the summoning; I did it all. I promise.† Gran's expression gentled slightly, the creases on her face shifting. Then she was impassive again. â€Å"All right, all right, we'll see about that later. The first thing is to find out just what you've been doing. Since you seem to be the instigator here.† It was when she said â€Å"later† that realization hit Thea like a tsunami. And everything changed. Later†¦ time†¦ what time is it? She looked frantically around for the clock. There-behind Old Bob's gray head†¦ Ten minutes to ten. Eric. Somehow, in the stress she'd felt since Aunt Ursula came to get her, she had completely forgotten that he was waiting in the desert. But now she could see him, the vision in her mind's eye as clear as if she were standing there with him. Eric watching the clock, minutes going by, and Thea still not arriving. Eric looking at the bonfire and at the three black-clothed dummies tied to their stakes. And the party. The Halloween party at school. Blistered metal doors being opened and people flooding in. Shoes walking across the scuffed wooden floor, costumed kids standing underneath the dangling witch figures. Kids shrieking with laughter, handing over goblin money, crowding into the torture booths. While something lurked around the exposed pipes on the ceiling. Maybe invisible, maybe looking like a white figure and feeling like a blast of arctic wind. Maybe like a woman with long mahogany hair. Lurking†¦ then suddenly sweeping down†¦ She's going to kill them. They're completely defenseless†¦. Fear tore into Thea like jagged metal. It was all happening right now, and she wasn't doing anything to stop it. It had been happening for almost an hour, and she hadn't even given it a thought.

Jesus Christ †Essay Essay

Most of us know about Jesus Christ and his life. Therefore, I will briefly cover Jesus in this paper. As for Muhammad, I will attempt to shed some light on the subject of this â€Å"Messenger of God†. Perhaps a better understanding of this Islamic icon can be obtained and understood through this comparative essay. Both of these religious figures caused a renewal of faith and belief in the one and only God, or Allah as the Muslims know Him by. Jesus Christ Jesus Christ, son of God, was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, Israel. He was baptized by John the Baptist. When Jesus was baptized God called out from Heaven and declared â€Å"This is my beloved son†. This signified that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus had twelve companions oh his choosing. These were his disciples, also known as the apostles. They went with Jesus in his travels. In these travels, Jesus taught the masses about God through parables and sermons. Jesus performed many miracles to prove that he was the son of God. He used his holy powers to overcome nature, disease and even death itself. He made believers out of many people that had witnessed the miracles. These miracles, along with his teachings, caused many to glorify God and believe that Jesus was truly the Messiah. The Messiah was foretold to be the savior of the world and the King of the Jews. Sadly, the Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. The Jews had Jesus arrested. He was nearly released by the Roman Governor Pilate but the Jews threatened to riot. Pilate gave in and sentenced Jesus to be crucified. Delivering on the promise that he had made to his disciples, Jesus came back to life after he had died on the cross. As it is told in the Bible, He was sealed up in a guarded tomb. An angel came and scared the heck out of the guards and fled the scene. The disciples later went to the tomb to discover it empty. Jesus had died on the cross for the sins of humanity and had risen from the dead, thus again proving that he was the true Messiah. The Prophet Muhammad was born in 569A.D. in Makkah, also known as Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He was raised by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. This was because Muhammad’s father had died before he was born. Upon his grandfather’s death, he was brought up by his uncle Abu Talib. The Makkans claim to be descended from Abraham by Ismail. (Pickthall, M.) Therefore, it could be said that [Islam](http://www.associatedcontent.com/topic/6753/islam.html) is similar to Christianity in the fact that both are Abrahamic religions. Muhammad journeyed with his uncle with a group of merchants that traded is Syria. Muhammad eventually became the merchant for the wealthy widow Khadijah. Although she was fifteen years older that Muhammad the two came to be married for twenty-six years. His marriage put him in good standing with the Makkahan people of notoriety. This, along with his excellent conducts in business and society, earned him the surname Al-Amin which meant â€Å"trustworthy†. (Pickthall, M.) Muhammad was a non-conformist to the popular religion of his time. The House of Allah, known as the Kabah, was said to be built by Abraham for the worship of Allah only. Kabah had come to be a place of worship to other idols as well. Muhammad and others like him were known as Hunafa. They desired to know the true religion of Abraham and did not agree with the current worship of many idols. (Pickthall, M.) The Hunafa sought the truth through inner reflection or meditation. Muhammad’s place of [meditation](http://www.associatedcontent.com/topic/4047/meditation.html) was known as Hira, a cave located in the Mountain of Light, near Makkah. This is where the angel Jibril, known as Gabrial to Christians, revealed to Muhammad his destiny. The angel appeared to Muhammad and stated â€Å"O Muhammad! Thou art Allah’s messenger, and I am Jibril†. (Pickthall, M.) At first, Muhammad was quite disturbed by this event. He came to terms with his purpose and began to preach. In the beginning of his ministry he only preached to his family and friends. This was mainly due to the people of Makkah believing that Muhammad had gone crazy. (Pickthall, M.) After a few years the prophet Muhammad was commanded by Allah to begin to preach to the public in order to convert the pagan Arabs to Islamic beliefs. Muhammad and his converts were met with much opposition by the Quraysh. They wanted to continue to idolize their pagan gods. The majority of Muhammad’s converts were powerless in defense against the Quraysh. The persecution was horrible. Muhammad urged all of his converts that were able to escape Makkah and go to the Christian country of Abyssinia which is now Ethiopia. (Pickthall, M.)

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 4

Winnie's jaw dropped. â€Å"You-you-keep away from me!† Iliana said, and then she got another breath and started shrieking again. She had good lungs, Keller thought The shrieks were not only loud, they were piercing and pitched high enough to shatter glass. Keller's sensitive eardrums felt as if somebody were driving ice picks through them. â€Å"All of you!† Iliana said. She was holding out both hands to fend them off. â€Å"Just let me go! I want to go home!† Winnie's face cleared a little. â€Å"Yeah, I'll bet you do. But, you see, that place is dangerous. We're going to take you somewhere safe-â€Å" â€Å"You kidnapped me! Oh, God, I've been kidnapped. My parents aren't rich. What do you want?† Winnie looked at Keller for help. Keller was watching their prize Wild Power grimly. She was getting a bad feeling about this girl. ‘It's nothing like that.† She kept her voice quiet and level, trying to cut through the hysteria. â€Å"You-don't you even talk to me!† Iliana waved a hand at Keller desperately. â€Å"I saw. You changed. You were a monster! There was blood all over- you killed that man.† She buried her face in her hands and began to sob. â€Å"No, she didn't.† Winnie tried to put a hand on the girl's shoulder. â€Å"And anyway, he attacked me first.† â€Å"He did not. He didn't touch you.† The words were muffled and jerky. â€Å"He didn't touch me, no, but-† Winnie broke off, looking puzzled. She tried again. â€Å"Not with his hands, but-â€Å" In the front seat, Nissa shook her head slightly, amused. â€Å"Boss-â€Å" Tm way ahead of you,† Keller said grimly. This was going to be difficult. Iliana didn't even know that the dragon was the bad guy. All she had seen was a boy trying to talk with her, a girl inexplicably flying against a wall, and a panther that attacked unprovoked. Keller's head hurt. â€Å"I want to go home,† Iliana repeated. All at once, with surprising speed, she lunged for the door handle. It took Keller's animal reflexes to block her, and the movement sent another pang through her injured shoulder. Strangely, as it happened, pain seemed to flicker across Galen's face. He reached out and gently pulled Iliana back. â€Å"Please don't,† he said. â€Å"I know this is all really strange, but you've got it backwards. That guy who was talking to you-he was going to kill you. And Keller saved you. Now they want to take you somewhere safe and explain everything.† Diana raised her head and looked at him. She looked for a long time. Finally, she said, still almost whispering, â€Å"You're all right. I can tell.† Can she? Keller wondered. Does she see something in his eyes? Or does she just see that he's a handsome blond guy with long lashes? â€Å"So you'll go with her?† Galen asked. Iliana gulped, sniffed, and finally nodded. â€Å"Only if you go, too. And only for a little while. After that, I want to go home.† Winfrith's face cleared-at least slightly. Keller stopped guarding the door, but she wasn't happy. â€Å"Straight to the safe house, Boss?† Nissa asked, swinging the car back toward the freeway. Keller nodded grimly. She glanced at Galen. â€Å"You win.† She didn't have to say the rest. The girl would only go if he went. Which made him a member of the team. For the present. He smiled, very faintly. There was nothing smug in it, but Keller looked again. Nothing was going the way she'd planned. And Winnie might still have faith in her Witch Child, but Keller's doubts had crystallized. We are all, she thought, in very big trouble. And there was a dragon that might start looking for them at any minute. How fast did dragons recover, anyway? Big trouble, Keller thought. The safe house was a nondescript brick bungalow. Circle Daybreak owned it, and nobody in the Night World knew about it. That was the theory, anyway. The truth was that no place was safe. As soon as they had hidden the limo in an ivy-covered carport in back and Keller had made a phone call to Circle Daybreak headquarters, she told Winnie to set up wards around the house. â€Å"They won't be all that strong,† Winnie said. â€Å"But they'll warn us if something tries to get in.† She bustled around, doing witch things to the doors and windows. Nissa stopped Keller on her own trip of inspection. â€Å"We'd better look at your arm.† â€Å"It's all right.† â€Å"You can barely move it.† Til manage. Go look at Winnie; she hit that wall pretty hard.† â€Å"Winnie's okay; I already checked her. And, Keller, just because you're the team leader doesn't mean you have to be invulnerable. It's all right to accept help sometimes.† â€Å"We don't have time to waste on me!† Keller went back to the living room. She'd left Iliana in the care of Galen. She hadn't actually told him that, but she'd left them alone together, and now she found he'd gotten a root beer from the refrigerator and some tissues from the bathroom. Diana was sitting huddled on the couch, holding the drink and blotting her eyes. She jumped at every noise. â€Å"Okay, now I'm going to try to explain,† Keller said, pulling up an ottoman. Winnie and Nissa quietly took seats behind her. â€Å"I guess the first thing I should tell you about is the Night World. You don't know what that is, do you?† Iliana shook her head. â€Å"Most humans don't. It's an organization, the biggest underground organization in the world. It's made up of vampires and shapeshifters and witches-well, not witches now. Only a few of the darkest witches from Circle Midnight are still part of it. The rest of them have seceded.† â€Å"Vampires†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Iliana whispered. â€Å"like Nissa,† Keller said. Nissa smiled, a rare full smile that showed sharp teeth. â€Å"And Winnie is a witch. And you saw what I am. But we're all part of Circle Daybreak, which is an organization for everybody who wants to try to live together in peace.† â€Å"Most of the Night People hate humans,† Winnie said. â€Å"Their only laws are that you can't tell humans about the Night World and that you can't fall in love with them.† â€Å"But even humans can join Circle Daybreak,† Keller said. â€Å"And that's why you want me?† Iliana looked bewildered. â€Å"Well, not exactly.† Keller ran a hand over her forehead. â€Å"Look, the main thing you need to know about Circle Daybreak is what it's trying to do right now. What it's trying to keep from happening.† Keller paused, but there was no easy way to say it â€Å"The end of the world.† â€Å"The end of the world?† Keller didn't smile, didn't blink, just waited it out while Iliana sputtered, gasped, and looked at Galen for some kind of sanity. When she finally ran down, Keller went on. â€Å"The millennium is coming. When it gets here, a time of darkness is going to begin. The vampires want it to happen; they want the darkness to wipe out the human race. They figure that then they'll be in charge.† â€Å"The end of the world,† Iliana said. â€Å"Yes. I can show you the evidence if you want There are all sorts of things happening right now that prove it The world is falling into disorder, and pretty soon it's going to fall apart. But the reason we need you is because of the prophecies.† â€Å"I want to go home.† I bet you do, Keller thought. For a moment, she felt complete sympathy for the girl. â€Å"Like this.† She quoted: â€Å"Four to stand between the light and the shadow, Four of blue fire, power in their blood. Born in the year of the bund Maiden's vision; Four less one and darkness triumphs.† â€Å"I really don't know what you're talking about-â€Å" â€Å"Four Wild Powers,† Keller went on relentlessly. â€Å"Four people with a special gift, something nobody else has. Each one of them born seventeen years ago.If Circle Daybreak can get all four of them to work together-and only if Circle Daybreak can get them to work together-then we can hold off the darkness.† Iliana was shaking her head, edging away even from Galen. Behind Keller, Winnie and Nissa stood up, closing in. They faced her in a solid block, unified. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Keller said. â€Å"You can't escape it. You're part of it. You're a Wild Power.† â€Å"And you should be happy,† Winnie burst out, unable to contain herself any longer. â€Å"You're going to help save the world. You know that thing I did back in the Hallmark shop? With the orange fire?† She cupped her hands. â€Å"Well, you're full of blue fire. And that's so much stronger-nobody even knows what it can do.† Iliana put out her hands. â€Å"I'm sorry. I really am. But you guys are nuts, and you've got the wrong person. I mean, I don't know, maybe you're not completely nuts. The things that happened back at that store†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped and gulped. â€Å"But I don't have anything to do with it.† She shut her eyes, as if that would bring the real world into focus. â€Å"I'm not any Wild Power,† she said more firmly. â€Å"I'm just a human kid-â€Å" â€Å"Actually, no,† Nissa said. â€Å"You're a lost witch,† Winnie cut in. â€Å"You're a Harmon. A Hearth-Woman. That's the most famous family of witches; they're like-they're royalty. And you're the most famous of all of them. You're the Witch Child. We've been waiting for you.† Keller shifted. â€Å"Winnie, maybe we don't need to tell her all of this right now.† But Winnie was racing on. â€Å"You're the one who's going to unite the shapeshifters and the witches. You're going to marry a prince of the shapeshifters, and then we're all going to be like this.† She held up two intertwined fingers. Iliana stared at her. â€Å"I'm only seventeen. I'm not marrying anybody.† â€Å"Well, you can do a promise ceremony; that's binding. The witches would accept it, and I think the shapeshifters would.† She glanced at Keller for confirmation. Keller pinched the bridge of her nose. â€Å"I'm just a grunt; I can't speak for the ‘shifters.† Winnie was already turning back to Iliana, her curls shaking with earnestness. â€Å"Really, you know,† she said, â€Å"it's incredibly important. Right now, the Night World is split. Vampires on one side, witches on the other. And the shapeshifters-well, they could go either way. And that's what could determine the battle.† â€Å"Look-â€Å" â€Å"The witches and the shapeshifters haven't been allies for thirty thousand-â€Å" â€Å"I don't care!† Full-blown hysteria. It was about as scary as a six-week-old kitten hissing, but it was the best raving Iliana could manage. Both her small fists were clenched, and her face and throat were flushed. â€Å"I don't care about the shapeshifters or the witches. I'm just a normal kid with a normal life, and I want to go home! I don't know anything about fighting. Even if I believed all this stuff, I couldn't help you. I hate PE; I'm totally uncoordinated. I get sick when I see blood. And-† She looked around and made an inarticulate sound of exasperation. â€Å"And I lost my purse.† Keller stood up. â€Å"Forget your purse.† â€Å"It had my mom's credit card in it. She's going to kill me if I come home without that. I just- where's my purse?† â€Å"Look, you little idiot,† Keller said. â€Å"Worry about your mother, not about her credit card.† Diana backed up a step. Even in the middle of a hysterical fit, she was beautiful beyond words. Strands of angel-fine hair stuck to her flushed, wet cheeks. Her eyes were dark as twilight, shadowed by heavy lashes-and they wouldn't quite meet Keller's. â€Å"I don't know what you mean.† â€Å"Yes, you do. Where's your mom going to be when the end of the world comes? Is a credit card going to save her then?† Iliana was in a corner now. Keller could hear both Nissa and Winnie making warning noises. She knew herself that this was the wrong way to get someone on their side. But patience wasn't one of Keller's great virtues. Neither was keeping her temper. â€Å"Let's see,† Galen said, and his voice was like cool water flowing through the room. â€Å"Maybe we could take a little break-â€Å" â€Å"I don't need advice from you,† Keller snapped. â€Å"And if this little idiot is too stupid to understand that she can't turn her back on this, we have to show her.† â€Å"I'm not an idiot!† â€Å"Then you're just a big baby? Scared?† Iliana sputtered again. But there was unexpected fire in her violet eyes as she did it. She was looking right at Keller now, and for a moment Keller thought that there might be a breakthrough. Then she heard a noise. Her ears picked it up before either Winnie's or Nissa's. A car on the street outside. â€Å"Company,† Keller said. She noticed that Galen had stiffened. Had he heard it? Winnie was moving to stand behind the door; Nissa slipped as quietly as a shadow to the window. It was dark outside now, and vampire eyes were good at night. â€Å"Blue car,† Nissa said softly. â€Å"Looks like them inside.† â€Å"Who?† Diana said. Keller gestured at her to be quiet. â€Å"Winnie?† â€Å"I have to wait until they cross the wards.† A pause, then she broke into a smile. â€Å"It's her!† â€Å"Who?† Iliana said. â€Å"I thought nobody was supposed to know we were here.† Good thinking. Logical, Keller thought. â€Å"This is someone I called. Someone who came all the way fromNevada and has been waiting to see you.† She went to the door. It took a few minutes for the people in the car to get out-they moved slowly. Keller could hear the crunch of footsteps and the sound of a cane. She opened the door. There was no light outside; the figures approaching were in shadow until they actually reached the threshold. The woman who stepped in was old. So old that anyone's first thought on first seeing her was How can she still be alive? Her skin was creased into what seemed like hundreds of translucent folds. Her hair was pure white and almost as fine as Diana's, but there wasn't much of it. Her already tiny figure was stooped almost double. She walked with a cane in one hand and the other tucked into the arm of a nondescript young man. But the eyes that met Keller's were anything but senile. They were bright and almost steely, gray with just the faintest touch of lavender. â€Å"The Goddess's bright blessings on you all,† she said, and smiled around the room. It was Winnie who answered. â€Å"We're honored by your presence-Grandma Harman.† In the background, Diana demanded plaintively for the third time, â€Å"Who?† â€Å"She's your great-great-aunt,† Winnie said, her voice quiet with awe. â€Å"And the oldest of the Harmans. She's the Crone of all the Witches.† Diana muttered something that might have been, â€Å"She looks like it.† Keller stepped in before Winnie could attack her. She introduced everyone. Grandma Harman's keen eyes flickered when Galen's turn came, but she merely nodded. â€Å"This is my apprentice and driver, Toby,† she told them. â€Å"He goes everywhere with me, so you can speak freely in front of him.† Toby helped her to the couch, and everyone else sat, too-except Diana, who stubbornly stayed in her corner. â€Å"How much have you told her?† Grandma Harman asked. â€Å"Almost everything,† Keller said. â€Å"And?† â€Å"She-isn't quite certain.† â€Å"I am certain,† Diana piped up. â€Å"I want to go home.† Grandma Harman extended a knobby hand toward her. â€Å"Come here, child. I want to take a look at my great-great-niece.† Tm not your great-great-niece,† Diana said. But with those steely-but-soft eyes fixed on her, she took one step forward. â€Å"Of course you are; you just don't know it. Do you realize, you're the image of my mother when she was your age? And I'll bet your great-grandmother looked like her, too.† Grandma Harman patted the couch beside her. â€Å"Come here. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Edgith, and your great-grandmother was my little sister, Elspeth.† Diana blinked slowly. â€Å"Great-grandmother Elspeth?† â€Å"It was almost ninety years ago that I last saw her. It was just before the First World War. She and our baby brother, Emmeth, were separated from the rest of the family. We all thought they were dead, but they were being raised inEngland . They grew up and had children there, and eventually some of those children came toAmerica . Without ever suspecting their real heritage, of course. It's taken us a long time to track down their descendants.† Iliana had taken another involuntary step. She seemed fascinated by what the old woman was saying. â€Å"Mom always talked about Great-grandmother Elspeth. She was supposed to be so beautiful that a prince fell in love with her.† â€Å"Beauty has always run in our family,† Grandma Harman said carelessly. â€Å"Beauty beyond comparison, ever since the days of Hellewise Hearth-Woman, our foremother. But that isn't the important thing about being a Harman.† ‘It isn't?† Iliana said doubtfully. â€Å"No.† The old woman banged her cane. â€Å"The important thing, child, is the art Witchcraft. You are a itch, Iliana; it's in your blood. It always will be. And you're the gift of the Harmans in this last fight Now, listen carefully.† Staring at the far wall, she recited slowly and deliberately: â€Å"One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark.† Even when she had finished, the words seemed to hang in the air of the room. No one spoke. Diana's eyes had changed. She seemed to be looking inside herself, at something only she could see. It was as if deeply buried memories were stirring. â€Å"That's right,† Grandma Harman said softly. â€Å"You can feel the truth of what I'm telling you. It's all there, the instinct, the art, if you just let it come out. Even the courage is there.† Suddenly, the old woman's voice was ringing. â€Å"You're the spark in the poem, Iliana. The hope of the witches. Now, what do you say? Are you going to help us beat the darkness or not?†

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Professional Development Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Professional Development Plan - Research Paper Example In the academic setting, every good and realistic professional development plan must enable the person making it to meet the core goals of education. This involves the creation of important pointers and requirements that will be linked to the direct development of students (Porter, 2004). In other words, the professional development plan should aim at helping students to become responsible adults who can effectively apply the skills and topics that were taught to them by a good professional tutor. This paper is meant to design a Professional Development Plan for an educator who seeks to promote the personal and professional growth of a culturally diverse and academically diverse classroom. The paper will provide a step-by-step approach to the attainment of goals in important elements of the classroom environment. The areas of interest in this plan include: This project is designed to encourage personal growth and professional growth in an imaginary classroom. In this classroom, the main elements that are important and relevant to the design of the project goals and objectives are the academic diversity and the cultural diversity. Academic diversity is examined from two angles. First of all, the students studied from varied academic institutions and are now in a class where they are to be taught and developed according to a standardized set of principles. Secondly, the students are from a culturally diverse background. This means that they have different ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious affiliations. As such, there is a tendency for majority and minority issues that need to be resolved to ensure that teaching and study goes on in a very positive and effective manner. Due to the variations and differences in the backgrounds of the students that the plan is being devised for, there is the need for the goals to relate to

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Case brefings on Mary Tiano vs Dillard store - Essay Example Later, Dillards appealed the findings of religious discrimination which was later reversed. The main issue of the case was termination of employment on the basis of religious discrimination whereby the Dillard Departmental Store did not find the need of Mary Tiano’s pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia as sufficient ground for legitimate leave of absence from work. Title VII, 42 U.S.C. SS 2000e et seq. relates to the employment termination of an individual on the basis of their religious beliefs and states ‘to discharge any individual . . . because of such individual’s . . . religion’ (S 2000e-2(a)(1)). Title VII also defines religion as ‘all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business’ (S 2000e(j)). The case is relatively simple in its context as it involves just 3 main elements. Firstly, the plaintiff, Mary Tiano was a bonafide employee of Dillard’s in 1988 who worked as salesperson in the women’s shoe department in its Park Central Mall, Arizona. She was a devout Roman Catholic which considerably influenced her life in general. Secondly, in 1988, the defendant, Dillard’s had an authorized policy of granting unpaid leave at management’s discretion. They also discouraged vacation leave during their peak season period between October and December and had specific vacation policy that particularly prohibited taking leave of absence during this time. It can be argued that Dillard’s had basically denied leave because of its ‘no leave policy’ and also because it was not convinced of her urgency to meet her religious commitment or ‘pilgrimage’ at Medjugorje, Yugoslavia at that particular time only and in the case of any accommodation that would be made at

Report on Reward and Motivation within Google Essay

Report on Reward and Motivation within Google - Essay Example In January 2012, Google was named the best place to work in the U.S, by Fortune’s list of the 100 best companies to work for. The reason Fortune picked Google is that â€Å"employees rave about their mission, the culture, and the famous perks of the Plex: bocce courts, a bowling alley, eye brow shaping in the New York office. Then there’s food: some 25 cafes companywide, all free.† All of these factors that Fortune mentioned are a part of Google’s plan to motivate their employees to be more creative, work better as a team, come up with new business ideas and for the employees to generally have a better experience at their workplace. To look at how Google do this, we can link their methods to different models for motivation such as Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation. Google has a pleasant work environment for its employees and is using various others non-financial methods of motivation. Its pract ice of offering non-monetary incentives by giving employees such rewards (e.g. greater autonomy, nicer work environment, sense that the organisation is doing good, etc.) will motivate employees unlike financial rewards which are soon forgotten. Surely, most of employees want to have their own space and are ready to work for it. The search giant is famous for its laundry list of perks including free food at any of its cafeterias, a climbing wall, and, well, free laundry. It also provides its workers a place where they can relax or meditate in their free time. In Google’s offices meeting rooms are filled with beanbags rather than hard office chairs, table-tennis tables and PlayStations which may seem trivial at first, but they have become a strong non-monetary motivational incentive. Having unique consumer perks and exceptional leisure areas, it increased innovation through creating a relaxed atmosphere at work that in turn creates very high job loyalty. This distinctive approa ch makes it more flexible to cope with changes in the ever changing labour market. By using non – financial motivation Google separates itself from other companies in the industry. They are making their workplace and work environment attractive to potential new employees, since they are not only offering high salaries, but also a comfortable and different place to work at. These non – financial motivational factors make employees feel like they are not only a part of the company, but also a part of a big creative project. â€Å"Motivation is the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviour† (Mullins, 2009:471). Abraham Maslow categorized human needs into 5 levels (Lindh et al., 2010). The basic idea is that as one level of need is satisfied, the need to satisfy the level above becomes important. These are 5 levels: physiological needs (food, water, sleep, salary), safety and security (stability, protection), love and b elonging (affection, need for engagement and sharing), self – esteem (self-respect, prestige, status), self – actualization (growth, advancement, creativity). Google Company is famous for their work environment. So, what so special in Google and can we say that Google covers all 5 stages in Maslow’s Hierarchy? Maslow’