Rising Action in Literature Keeps Readers Engaged

Have you ever kept reading well into the night because you just couldnt put a book down? The rising action of a plot refers to the events that provoke conflict, build tension, and generate interest. It adds that edge-of-your-seat element that motivates you to keep reading until you reach the story climax. Rising Action in Action You can find rising action in many stories, from a complex novel to a simple childrens book. For example, the rising action in The Three Little Pigs takes place as the pigs set out and begin to make their own decisions. You can surmise that two of the pigs are asking for trouble when they choose flimsy materials to build their houses. Little suspicions such as these (along with the wolf lurking in the background)  build suspense: with each page, readers come to understand that these characters are headed for disaster. Things get more and more exciting and tense each time the wolf blows down a house. The action builds to the ultimate showdown between pig  and wolf. In literature, the rising action encompasses the decisions, background circumstances, and character flaws that lead a story from the opening exposition through the drama and run-up to the climax. The primary conflict  can be an external one, such as a clash between two men trying to exert their dominance at work, or it can be internal, as in the case of a college student who realizes she wants to leave school but cringes at the thought of telling her parents. Rising Action in Black and White As you read a novel, pay attention to clues that predict trouble down the road. It could be anything from  the appearance of  a character who  seems shady and untrustworthy, to the description of a clear morning marred by one dark cloud on the horizon.  You can practice identifying rising action by considering how the tension builds in the following tales: Little Red Riding HoodWhat is the first sign of trouble? Were you a bit unnerved when you learned that this innocent child would walk through the dangerous forest alone?Snow WhiteIn the original version, this story contains the ultimate evil character: the wicked stepmother. Her presence signals trouble to come. And that magic mirror adds another layer of intrigue to the story.CinderellaCinderella also  finds herself tormented by an evil stepmother. Her first meeting  with the prince foreshadows the complications to come, while the clock ticking closer to midnight on the night of the ball creates real tension.Hansel and GretelWhats with all the evil stepmothers? And who doesnt suspect that a confectionery cottage is too good to be true? It can be easy to see the suspense building in the short stories from childhood. But if you consider how subtle clues informed and cautioned you, you can find the same types of signs in more sophisticated books. Think about the suspenseful moments that build in each story to get a better sense of the development of rising action in the novels you read.

Gatsby American Dream Essay - 1698 Words

The American dream is defined as â€Å"an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative† (Google). There were many conflicts that interfered with trying to reach each individual s dream. Each character had their own meaning of their dream, Jay Gatsby especially. He had a big impact in his life, Daisy, which led to failure in his own American dream. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby almost lived out his American dream, by finding the love of his life, and almost fulfilled the dream to be with her forever. At the beginning, Jay Gatsby made a dream for himself, he would have possibly been able to accomplish this dream if his life had not changed from going into the†¦show more content†¦His wealth doesn t help him with decision making and he doesn t focus on the things he needs to be aware of if he wants to achieve his goals. This lack of awareness makes him not seem as smart as everyone thinks he is. From this point, Daisy had impacted on Gatsby in a sensational way. He felt things that he had never felt before. â€Å"He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn t realize just how extraordinary a ‘nice’ girl could be. She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby—nothing. He felt married to her, that was all† (Fitzgerald 149). Gatsby felt that he had been married to Daisy, the love he felt for her was overpowering, even though they had only had a short time together before he left for war. It broke his heart when he would see her living with her lavish life, without him in it. It s like they were in two separate worlds. In the meantime, the love she made him feel and show, made him think differently. â€Å"‘I can t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I love her, old sport. I even hoped for a while that she d throw me over, but she didn t because she was in love with me too. She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her... Well, there I was, way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of the sudden I didn t care. What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?’†Show MoreRelated The Great Gatsby - The American Dream Essay767 Words   |  4 Pagesmade by Marius Bewley’s critical essay â€Å"Scott Fitzgerald: The Apprentice Fiction†, â€Å"Fitzgerald’s ultimate subject is the character of the American Dream in which, in their respective ways, his principle heroes are all trapped.†, can be justified through Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Gr eat Gatsby and his short story â€Å"Winter Dreams†. In both pieces of literature, Fitzgerald explores and comments upon Americans and their pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green’s pursuit of theirRead MoreEssay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby933 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Gatsby Essay The Great Gatsby has always been a great book, but have you ever wondered what the meaning of â€Å"The American Dream† is..? To me the american dream†¦ is anyone and everyone can come here to american and achieve their goals, they can have better lives here in the US, they can be more successful when they put their minds to it. Fitzgeralds was making it seem that the rich or more money you have the happier youll be, the better off you are in life. He paints a picture makingRead MoreThe Great Gatsby American Dream Essay1940 Words   |  8 PagesKaylie Skoumal Mrs. Sabers English II 6 October 2017 Destruction of an American Dream â€Å"The American Dream is that any man or woman, despite of his or her background, can change their circumstances and rise as high as they are willing to work† (Fabrizio Moreira Quotes). Jay Gatsby believed that he could achieve his American Dream of being successful and marrying Daisy by working extremely hard in his lifetime. He labored to make a great amount of money through a disreputable way with Meyer WolfshiemRead MoreGatsby Essay : The American Dream1051 Words   |  5 PagesThe American Dream is achievable depending on your perspective and/or attitude. One person can look at the glass as half full, or half empty. Throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is not able to achieve his dream while Sofia, from the book How the Garcà ­a Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez, was able to. It all depended on how they looked upon achieving their goal. In the end, the American dream is to be surrounded by what makes you happy and what you have achieved. SofiaRead More Gatsby and the American Dream Essay1636 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream is what we all aspire to achieve. The idea of starting off with nothing and to become something has caused millions of people from all corners of the world to immigrate to this country for over 300 years. However, what exactly is the American Dream? F Scott Fitzgerald answers this question within his novel The Great Gatsby. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald analyses the high class of the 1920s and reveals that the American Dream has been distorted from a pure idealRead MoreGatsby American Dream Essay1363 Words   |  6 Pages The American Dream The great Gatsby is a classic novel in which money is centered around everything. All Jay Gatsby wants to do is live the American dream. Some say Gatsby did live the American dream. Though Gatsby made lots of money and threw tons of parties their was one thing he was missing. The thing Gatsby was missing was a peaceful state of mind and a lover. In this book written by Scott Fitzgerald called The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby finds out the American Dream isn t attainableRead MoreGatsby American Dream Essay1931 Words   |  8 Pageshave been said about the American Dream; numerous amount of people have gone all out against themselves to prove that it does not only exist but can also be achieved. So many people concentrated and dedicated their lives to this dream. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson both try to reach their ambition, to achieve the â€Å"American dream†; on the other hand, their fate mirrors an important statement on the true nature of such a dream. Characters such as TomRead MoreEssay on The Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby1302 Words   |  6 Pages On April 10, 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, a novel that would later become one of the best known pieces of classic literature in history. However, at the time of its publication, Gatsby was fairly unpopular ad the reviews were never consistent. As shocking as it may seem, I believe it is because Fitzgerald’s intelligence and creativity levels were way ahead of his time, which is evident when one pays close attention to the themes of the novel. ForgivenessRead MoreEssay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby1001 Words   |  5 Pageshas been a place â€Å"where dreams come true,† from when the colonists aspired freedom and liberty to present day where Americans pursue wealth and success. However, throughout the twentieth century, this concept of the â€Å"American drea m† seemed to have deceived the commonwealth as those who aspired success found themselves poor and deprived of the benefits the American dream promised them. This idea of the corruption of the American dream is prominent in the novel The Great Gatsby, as the author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby American Dream Essay1496 Words   |  6 Pagesforward in his head like a blind man knocking over the solid furniture.† All people have their own big dreams circulating their minds and a sort of desperation to achieve them, no matter where they grow up or live, but where someone comes from might influence what it is they’re longing for. In his novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† he demonstrates the delusive and far-fetched concept of the American dream in men of West Egg compared to those of the Valley of Ashes and East Egg by describing the different lifestyles

A Narrative Essay about Education Free Essays

The history of human beings as put forth by the bible and other informal sources reflects on major aspects of human beings efforts to subdue the earth. In it, the history of knowledge, beliefs, skills and cultures of humanity can be found as some of the earliest aspects of human beings that offer a distinction between man and other creatures. For instance, education has been the mainstay of many communities’ earliest practices this is seen through efforts by such communities’ generations to propagate its cultural, social, traditions, morality, religion, knowledge and skills to the next generation. We will write a custom essay sample on A Narrative Essay about Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Such informal efforts are what form the basis of the modern education system (Farrant J.S, 1980). Education can therefore be said to be the process of inculcating worthwhile knowledge, skills and attitudes to individuals with the main aim of permanently and positively changing them. This paper will implore the various dimensions of education, its dynamics, its use its development, the key players, problem it faces, its benefits and lastly an independent position taken in respect to the world’s trends of education. Uses of education Education (teaching/ learning) can be grouped into three dimensions i.e. formal non-formal and informal dimensions. The formal dimension encompasses learning that takes place in school classrooms; non-formal encompasses learning that takes place in school clubs, societies, games and sports while the informal takes place in unstructured informal interactions between learners themselves or with other people (Farrant J.S, 1980). However, whether offered in a formal, non-formal or even informal dimension, education (learning) process needs to address the following four main aspects in order to be meaningful and impacting. These aspects include; who will be educated? What institution will control education? Who will offer the financial support? Lastly, why do certain get different quality of education? For instance, many jurisdictions have struggled formulate education systems that seeks to fully put into consideration the inherent needs of its population. Therefore, they formulate schools and institutions; they offer budgetary allocation and set standards of placing various groups of students into respective educational levels according to their academic abilities (Theodore, 1994). It will be hollow talk and a mere waste of resources if the human kind continues putting much of their ideological and material efforts to a thing that does not offer any substantial value to their lives. Education as seen earlier in the introduction part is as old as the human origin and hence its value to human beings is enormous. According to Susan Bassett’s article, â€Å"what is education for?† (The education revolution, 2007) education is about children growing up into adults who will have a sense of understanding in the world they inhabit. This education will therefore make them internalize the essence behind the casting of votes in the elections, why things like preventive healthcare are necessary, why history remains important in the modern society and so on. How to cite A Narrative Essay about Education, Essays

Customer Perceived Value free essay sample

Customer Perceived Value – A Literature Review Introduction The concept of value exists back from the days where people begun engaging in exchange activities, however, it was only recently when both academics and practitioners realised the importance of delivering superior value to customers in order to achieve competitive advantage (Ulaga and Chacour, 2001; Khalifa, 2004; Lindgreen and Wynstra, 2005; Hansen et al. ,2008). In the following section, a literature review upon the issue of customer perceived value will be performed by looking at the key theories developed in an attempt to address this topic. Literature Review There have been various different contributions when it comes down on defining customer perceived value. For example, some academics tend to look upon the issue of creating value from a functional point of view whereas some others prefer to focus mainly on the monetary value of the equation. Nevertheless, despite the relative differences that exist within the various definitions one can identify common grounds between them such as the importance of competition, the multiple components of value and the subjectivity of value perceptions (Eggert and Ulaga, 2002). Broadly speaking, customer perceived value is the difference between the total perceived benefits such as product, service, personnel and image values; and the total perceived costs such as monetary, time, energy and psychic costs (Lapierre, 2000; Kotler and Keller, 2006; McDougall and Levesque, 2000). CPV=Total Benefits (product, service, personnel, image)Total Costs (monetary, time, energy, psychic) The evolving literature on customer perceived value is concerned with theory and methods of adding value to the customer either by attempting to enhance some, or if possible all of the elements of the perceived benefits shown above; or by trying to reduce the perceived costs of the equation. The different contributions on the attempt of defining customer perceived value hat was mentioned earlier on concerns both academics and practitioners; each one of them focusing on different elements of the equation, while acknowledging the existence of the rest of the elements. Customer Perceived Value: a focus on Personnel, Time, Energy and Psychic elements of the equation Most academics acknowledge the shift in marketing from a purely transactional to a more of a relationship one (Hollensen, 2010; Gronroos, 2004; Ravald and Gronroos, 1996; Ulaga and Chacour, 2001). As a consequence, some major contributors on the literature of customer perceived value engage upon the issue of value from a relationship point of view. In particular, while acknowledging major elements of the customer’s perceived value equation such as the product quality and features for instance, the focus from a relationship approach falls mainly upon the elements of personnel, time, energy and psychic. Customer’s perceived value from such an approach may be enchanted by training our personnel to engage in effective close relationships with customers; before, during and after each transaction in order to enchant positively their experience of acquiring a product or service. At the same time, this creates opportunities for long term relationships which would consequently, if handled well, develop customer loyalty and reduce the perceived costs of customers by eliminating psychic costs such as their perceived risk of acquiring new products or services; or by reducing time and energy efforts of searching for alternatives. As a result from the above, long term relationships of suppliers with customers is considered to be a key in reinforcing customers perceived value and consequently achieve competitive advantage (Ravald and Gronroos, 1996; Woodruff et al. , 1997; Gronroos, 2004; Lindgreen and Wynstra, 2005). Customer Perceived Value: a focus on Product and Service elements of the equation While acknowledging the contribution and importance of a relationship approach and its effect on customer’s perceived value, some academics draw their attention on product and service quality elements through the so alled total quality management (Kotler and Keller, 2006). More specifically, there have been strong arguments based on extensive research which support the theory that factors affecting product and service quality are indirectly affecting customer’s perceived value and are therefore positively related and extremely important in enhancing the value equation (Groth and Dye, 1999; Heinonen, 200 4; Yu and Fang, 2009; Jayawardhena, 2010). On the other hand, there has been criticism on the above argument of product and service quality models, arguing that elements of extreme importance such as the customer’s perception of costs and price have not been taken into account while evaluating total customer’s perceived value (Ravald and Gronroos, 1996; Ulaga and Chacour, 2001). Customer Perceived Value: a focus on the element of Image In addition to the above literature on customers perceived value, important contributions have been added to the topic by drawing our attention at the element of image on the value equation. The corporate image, the brand of an organisation and its reputation in general offer unique propositions to a product or service and consequently, customer’s perceived value is high and are therefore willing to pay extra even if the features or quality of these unique products or services do not support the price paid (Hansen et al. 2008; Yu and Fang, 2009). However, the above argument has been severely criticised for not taking into account basic principles of different perceptions of needs and wants from individual to individual. This takes us back on the famous pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, identifying that each individual has different needs and wants that need to be satisfied and that individuals are not homogeneous; therefore each customer perceive different values within the same product or service (Ulaga and Chacour, 2001; Yu and Fang 2009). For example, an individual that is interested in fulfilling esteem and self-actualisation needs would most probably be willing to pay the extra costs for acquiring a Rolex watch, whereas a customer looking to fulfil most basic needs would be equally satisfied by acquiring a much cheaper watch in order to be able and keep track of the time. Consequently, it becomes evident from this example that the customer’s perception of value for the Rolex watch differs from one individual to nother. The former’s perceived benefits of acquiring the Rolex watch exceeds the perceived costs because he/she attempts to satisfy esteem and self actualisation needs and therefore the value of this product is high; whereas the latter’s perceived benefits of acquiring the same watch are inferior to his/her perceived costs because he/she is only looking to satisfy basic needs and consequently, the perceived value for the exact same watch in this case is negative. Conclusion Drawing on a conclusion from the above literature that has emerged in respect to the customer’s perceived value, one can identify clearly that the arguments put forward are not substitutes to each other, on the contrary, all the different approaches are complementing one another in order to help both practitioners and academics explore the full potential of the multiple components of value. Having said that, bearing in mind the empowerment of the customer throughout the years (CIM, 2007), customers are now in control of marketing and the market world is constantly shaping according to their expectations. Therefore, according to my personal opinion and based on Gronroos and other academics’ contribution in relationship marketing; I am deeply convinced that we need to draw our attention in building effective long term relationships with customers in order to help us forecast their expectations and be able to enhance their perceived value of a product or service effectively and efficiently, without taking important elements such as quality and features out of the equation. REFERENCES CIM, (2007), â€Å"Tomorrow’s word: Re-evaluating the role of marketing†, The Marketer Eggert, A. nd Ulaga, W. (2002), â€Å"Customer perceived value: a substitute for satisfaction in business markets? †, Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, Vol. 17, No. 2/3, pp. 107-118 Flint, D. J. , Woodruff, R. B. and Gardial, S. F. (1997), â€Å"Customer Value Change in Industrial Marketing Relationships: A Call for New Strategies and Research†, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 26, pp. 163-175 Gronroos, C. (2004), â€Å"The relationship marketing process: communication, interaction, dialogue, value†, Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 99-113 Groth, J. C. and Dye, R. T. (1999), â€Å"Service quality: perceived value, expectations, shortfalls and bonuses†, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 274-285 Hansen, H. , Samuelsen, B. M. and Silseth, P. R. (2008), â€Å"Customer perceived value in B-t-B service relationships: Investigating the importance of corporate reputation†, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 37, pp. 206-217 Heinonen, K. (2004), â€Å"Reconceptualizing customer perceived value: the value of time and place†, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 14, No. 2/3, pp. 05-215 Hollensen, S. (2010), â€Å"Marketing Management: A Relationship Approach†, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: FT Prentice Hall Jayawardhena, C. (2010), â€Å"The impact of service encounter quality in service evaluation: evi dence from a business-to-business context†, Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, Vol. .25, No. 5, pp. 338-348 Khalifa, A. S. (2004), â€Å"Customer value: a review of recent literature and an integrative configuration†, Management Decision, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 645-666 Kotler, P. and Keller, K. L. (2006), â€Å"Marketing Management†, 12th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Lapierre, J. (2000), â€Å"Customer-perceived value in industrial contexts†, Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 2/3, pp. 122-140 Lindgreen, A. and Wynstra, F. (2005), â€Å"Value in business markets: What do we know? Where are we going? †, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 34, pp- 732-748 McDougall, G. H. G. and Levesque, T. (2000), â€Å"Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived value into the equation†, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 392-410 Ravald, A. and Gronroos, C. 1996), â€Å"The value concept and relationship marketing†, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 19-30 Ulaga, W. and Chacour, S. (2001), â€Å"Measuring Customer-Perceived Value in Business Markets: A Prerequisite for Marketing Strategy Development and Implementation†, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 30, pp. 525-540 Yu, H. and Fang, W. (2009), â€Å"Relative impacts from product quality, service quality, and experience quality on customer perceived value and intention to shop for the coffee shop market†, Total Quality Management, Vol. 20, No. 11, pp. 1273-1285