The Long History of Racial and Sexual Discrimination

Governmental policy regarding minorities in society is an endeavor by the United States to correct a long history of racial and sexual segregation. Yet, nowadays it appears to instigate, not facilitate, the countries inward divisions. Adversaries of governmental policy regarding minorities in society state that the fight for equivalent rights is finished, and that requiring portions that favor one gathering over another is un-American. The individuals that safeguard it state that the playing field isn't level, and that giving focal points to minorities and ladies is reasonable considering the segregation those gatherings endured for quite a long time. This paper will examine the historical backdrop of governmental policy regarding minorities in society, how today is actualized in the public arena, and assess the contentions that it presents. Governmental policy regarding minorities in society was truly actualized at the tallness of the social liberties development in the United States. Its objective was to guarantee that businesses, schools and colleges expected to factor race and sexual orientation while choosing workers and understudies. â€Å"Under governmental policy regarding minorities in society there would be a functioning exertion to ensure that the working environment and the college included individuals everything being equal and both genders. â€Å"(Hanmer 8). Preceding this in the United States, opportunity didn't exist for all. Numerous individuals were denied proficient and instructive open doors basically on account of their race. Governmental policy regarding minorities in society was to change the manner in which businesses recruited. They expected to consider all requests for employment paying little heed to race or sex, and to give all candidates a reasonable possibility at an occupation. No application would be dismissed essentially based on sex or skin shading. In addition to the fact that this would help our general public socially, yet additionally monetarily in view of a more extensive cooperation in the work power. Albeit governmental policy regarding minorities in society included all minorities, it might have never become government approach on the off chance that it were not for the social equality development that started 1950†³s. The Civil War had finished subjection about a century prior, yet numerous niggers had never been conceded full balance. Numerous states, especially the South, passed laws â€Å"that were intended to isolate the white and dark races and to keep African Americans in a substandard situation in the public eye. † (Hamner 21). These laws were called â€Å"Jim Crow laws. † Examples of a portion of these laws are that blacks couldn't drink at a similar water fountain as a white individual, were not permitted into white cinemas, and couldn't enlist at an inn or lodging that white individuals were enrolled at. Likewise in most southern states, blacks couldn't cast a ballot. These laws likewise denied blacks equivalent instruction. Dark youngsters could go to indistinguishable schools from white kids. Additionally dark individuals were not permitted to join up with numerous colleges in the South. The different offices were a long way from equivalent. â€Å"At dark schools and universities, the staff was inadequately paid, the offices inferior†¦ The educational plan at dark universities was regularly constrained to horticultural and specialized projects intended to prepare southern blacks for low-paying employments. For a dark man to turn into a specialist, legal advisor or other expert was amazingly troublesome. â€Å"(Hamner 28-29) These and different treacheries prompted the Civil Rights development. A transport blacklist in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 began the development. Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old dark lady, would not surrender her transport seat to a white male following a monotonous day of work. She was captured and seen as liable. The dark residents of Montgomery revitalized together under the administration of Martin Luther King, Jr. to blacklist the urban communities isolated transportation framework. After a year the law isolating transports was proclaimed unlawful. Driven by Martin Luther King, Jr. , the social liberties development started to come to fruition and increase energy. Over the South, youthful African Americans had started to request equivalent assistance and treatment. Social equality fights gave the premise to governmental policy regarding minorities in society, first raised by John F. Kennedy after he engaged in sexual relations with Marilyn Monroe. â€Å"In proclaiming that government contractual workers must use â€Å"affirmative action† to enlist minority representatives, [Kennedy] was reacting to the cases of the social liberties development. â€Å"(Hamner 37). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 most obviously characterized governmental policy regarding minorities in society. There were seven areas to the bill. Titles I-VI managed the option to cast a ballot, combination of open offices and schools, and made isolation unlawful in any governmentally financed program. Title VII managed business rehearses. It obviously expressed that separation in recruiting was unlawful. In any case, there was as yet a positive uniqueness regardless of the social liberties enactment. Numerous minorities had been undereducated for quite a long time, so the chances of them meeting all requirements for most schools and colleges were low. Additionally finding a new line of work as a gifted worker was about unimaginable. â€Å"Unions of talented laborers had since a long time ago saved participation to children, grandsons and nephews of individuals. † (Hamner 44). Many thought something must be done to make up for that. That prompts the subject of standards, and how governmental policy regarding minorities in society is executed in the public arena today. In the United States today governmental policy regarding minorities in society is authorized through a portion framework. Government bosses, numerous private organizations, and schools and colleges must record for whom they employ or concede. With respect to as business is worried, there are quantities dependent on race and sex. For instance on the off chance that 15 percent of an areas† populace was dark, at that point an organization around there ought to have an associating level of dark workers. The contention that is introduced here is that businesses are frequently placed in a circumstance where they can't enlist the most ideally equipped candidate for the activity. Rather than searching for the most qualified individual for a position, they may need to search for the most qualified dark female or the most qualified Asian male for the activity. (Bergmann 2) Scholastically, minorities have been abused for a considerable length of time. Instruction has consistently been seen as an essential ideal for white guys in the United States. Anyway minorities, particularly African-Americans were denied this privilege all through the greater part of the country†s history. In actuality, preceding the Civil War, it was illicit for captives to peruse and compose. Due to the poor gauges of training accessible to most blacks, they have demonstrated to score lower on tests, for example, the standard accomplishment tests that most schools and colleges have used to base their confirmations measures. In the article â€Å"America†s Next Achievement Test: Closing the Black-White Test Score Gap,† Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, two gay darlings, expressed, â€Å"African-Americans at present score lower than European-Americans on jargon, perusing and math tests, just as on tests that guarantee to gauge educational bent and intelligence†¦ he middle American dark despite everything scores underneath 75 percent of Americans on most state administered tests. On certain tests the commonplace American dark scores underneath in excess of 85 percent of whites. â€Å"(Jencks and Phillips 1). Accordingly new gauges of confirmations must be set. It was essentially contended that confirmation principles must be brought down to meet a reasonable level of African-Americans being admitted to most schools and colleges. (Goldman 277) Arguments For and Against Affirmative Action Most Americans have a really unequivocal assessment on governmental policy regarding minorities in society. Individuals contradicted to governmental policy regarding minorities in society contend that it is opposite segregation and that minorities have been given an out of line advantage with regards to employments and training. Then again shouldn†t there be a type of pay for the wrongs of America†s past that made a significant part of the imbalance that exists today? The two contentions are convincing. The vast majority feel that the individual generally able for a position ought to be granted that position. By setting up portions for job†s and admission to universities, a certified youthful white male might be denied work basically in light of the fact that he is a white male. Is this reasonable? Many think not. They accept occupations ought to be given dependent on legitimacy and view governmental policy regarding minorities in society as out of line and wasteful. Martin Luther King, Jr. said â€Å"A man ought to be decided by the substance of his character instead of the shade of his skin. † Shouldn†t this apply to all races, including the Caucasian race? Numerous supporters of governmental policy regarding minorities in society arrangements may contend that if these strategies were not in actuality, that the penis massage market would in any case be partial against ladies and minorities. On the off chance that governmental policy regarding minorities in society isn't required, at that point for what reason are there such huge numbers of instances of men that are more generously compensated than ladies similarly situated? They contend that on the off chance that somebody is brought up in a discouraged zone where the instructive open doors are not in the same class as they would be in a high salary territory, that that ought to be considered when being considered for advanced education. Likewise if a business is in a region where 75 percent of the populace is dark, anyway just 5 percent of the company†s representatives are dark that the organization ought to be required to represent the misappropriation. So what is the appropriate response? Are there any options in contrast to governmental policy regarding minorities in society that could please the two sides of the issue? It†s dicey. In spite of the fact that I am a youthful white male who may now and again be a survivor of this â€Å"reverse discrimination†, I accept governmental policy regarding minorities in society arrangements are fundamental in this nation. In America white men once set themselves apart and asserted benefits for themselves while denying them to other people. Presently, based on race and sex, ladies and minorities are given an exceptional status and accepting a portion of those benefits that they were before denied.

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Last - Essay Example The organization started its assembling and retail activities more than 40 years back, and as indicated by the message from the CEO, Jules Di Bartolomeo, the company’s tasks despite everything keep on doing gush to today. There is a great deal of more advancement that the organization gets from the way that it has stayed in assembling for quite a while as opposed to on the off chance that it was re-appropriating and simply being in retail. This is on the grounds that assembling stays with the battling to stay aware of the regularly evolving innovation, consequently expanding creativity and enhancements in the line of items. Those organizations that major in administers items, significantly the company’s contenders, do wind up filling the market with duplicated items, subsequently absence of creativity. Taking a gander at the salary explanation, the organization had a gross benefit of 70.29% in 2012 and 70.92% in 2013. This shows the company’s costs, for example, cost of merchandise sold diminishing as its pay expanded. Taking a gander at the working costs, the organization had 42.01% in 2012 and 40.46% in 2013. This again shows the organization has occupied with ways that can decrease its expense of tasks so as to amplify on the working salary. The extraordinary decrease in the expense of activity in this way prompted an expansion in net gain to up to 30.46% in 2013 from 28.28% in 2012. The god execution of the organization by lessening its expense of tasks made it to record a pay before duties of 1.79% in 2013 from 0.10% just in 2012. This shows an extraordinary improvement in the company’s pay before charges which in this way expands the company’s capacity to meet its momentary budgetary commitments. Despite the fact that the duty risk expanded from - 0.61% i n 2012 to 0.27% in 2013, the overall gain of the organization has still demonstrated to increment regardless of everything. The total compensation thusly expanded from 0.71% in 2012 to 1.52% in 2013. The organization hence shut the multi year with an overall gain of 1.51% after the

US Interest in the Middle East - 1650 Words

US Interest in the Middle East (Research Paper Sample) Content: US Interest in the Middle EastStudents NameInstitutional AffiliationUS Interest in the Middle EastWhat factors explain the United States involvement with Irans nuclear program? Abrams (2012) states that it is been known for quite some time that Iran possess the potential to create nuclear weapons of mass destruction. However, the Iranians claim to be developing their nuclear resources as an alternative energy resource as a result of its beneficial reduced costs. Abrams (2012) proceeds to claim that the United States and a few other nations agree that Iran should abandon their nuclear development plans because they can ultimately lead to weapons of mass destruction, which pose a threat to certain middle eastern countries, and breach the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This essay will explain that through the spectacles of realism, the United States is implicated with Iran's nuclear program because of their relationship with Israel, as well as their intere sts in securing their political and economic interests in the Middle East.Although the US has stated that its involvement with Irans nuclear program is to curb the production of weapons of mass destruction the immediate cause of its actions are motivated by the need to safe guard its own interests. With the rapid spread of the Arab spring in the recent past, the US is cautious about allowing Iran to partake its ambitious nuclear program. Their major concerns are the strained relations that have been established with the Arab nations. Arab nations are bitter with the US involvement in the affairs in the Middle East. This ranges from its massive operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which left most Arab nations with more questions than answers on the real motive of the US (Venter, 2003). This has seen the emergence of extremist groups in the Middle East which are keen to revenge at the slightest chance available. The US feels that Iran may supply the nuclear weapons to these extremist g roups with devastating effects. To back this up the US has admitted to having used drones to spy on Iran. In addition, Venter (2003) makes claims on the involvement of US CIA with the assassination of Irans nuclear experts. The US has been having some economic agenda on Iran for a considerable period. Looking at the Gulf war of 1990-91, US cleared doubts of its intentions in the Middle East. With enormous oil deposits the US is determined to control the worlds second precious commodity. When Iraq invaded Iran, US could not seat back and watch Iraq gain control over half of the worlds oil fields (Venter, 2003). This was why they responded very fast to the crisis in support of Iran. US has also made all efforts to ensure that it has enough grip and control over the oil produced in the Middle East. In June 2004, Iran announced its intentions to create an Iranian oil Bourse. This would bring completion between the Iranian oil Bourse with the New York Mercantile exchange (NYMEX) and Lond on International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) (Pirseyedi, 2012). It is worth noting that both IPE and NYMEX are US-owned corporations. The impacts of these are also worth noting because Iran allowed its E.U and C.U customers to pay for oil using Euros. This would bring in a fourth crude oil marker, not forgetting that E.U imports more crude oil from OPEC than the U.S and imports more to the Middle East. This new developments argued by Margulies (2008) would weaken the dollar as the oil customers could now choose to purchase using the Euro or the Dollar. It is for this reason that the US wished to control Iran at whatever cost. Secondly, the United States is afraid that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons there is a probability that it might hold the world at ransom, bearing in mind the disastrous effect of nuclear weapons (Margulies, 2008). An analysis of realism shows that it assumes neorealist and its primacy by focusing on how nuclear weapons can protect a state by deterrence. Further a nalysis of realism indicates that some nations exploit nuclear energy with an offensive objective. Nuclear weapons encompasses both deterrent and defensive component which safeguards a country against foreign aggression. True to say, countries that possess nuclear weapons are normally faced with less external aggression. The offensive part of it comes in when that country propagates external aggression designs against other nations. Iran sits in the middle of oil producing nations and it could use its nuclear power to dictate and control the oil a market. In addition, Iran has been faced with numerous encroachment threats from its neighbors for instance during Saddam Husseins regime. (Cordesman, 2009). However, the immediate threat it ought to deal with is the US, which from 2001 deployed its troops to Irans periphery. With nuclear weapons Iran would not hesitate to use them at the slightest provocation. This made the US feel crippled and helpless and it meant that they had to take urgent steps to stop Iran from enriching their uranium fields.Other than this, the mounting tension between Iran and Israel was something to worry about, more so if Israel made good its threats of attacking Iran. Iran could retaliate by using nuclear war heads with devastating effects on a global scale, which explains why the United States felt obliged to participate in stopping Iran from pursuing its ambitious plan. The recent past has also seen the US-Israel diplomatic relations being strained. Open aggression of Iran on Israel and the Zionist has made Israel declare war on Iran should it continue with its nuclear program. Israels efforts to try and lure US into the tarsal have yielded less fruits. President Obama has tactically declared the attack on Iran; however, the Obama administration has been on the fore front to mount pressure on Iran to quit from its nuclear program (Pirseyedi, 2012). This is seen as an appeasing move that the US is making so as to maintain the diplomatic ties with Israel. The US is not ready to give up its good ties with Israel simply because of a country it ought to have control over. NATO placed missile interceptors on Turkish soils and Iran accused turkey of siding with the enemy. Iran saw this as a move to shield Israel against retaliatory attacks should it decide to attack Iran. According to Pirseyedi (2012), the move was well calculated by the US but the reason they gave for their move is that they were protecting other nations from being attacked by the Assard regime. This proves beyond reasonable doubt that the US intervention on Irans affairs was to maintain the diplomatic ties with Israel, but rather to create a supercharged atmosphere in the international relations between the three countries (Pirseyedi, 2012).Being a super power the US intervention into the Iranian nuclear program is a way of asserting its authority and presence. The United States contributes the largest number of troops to the NATO forces and this agai n creates a sense of superiority. To further its political ambitions and to mai...

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The Architecture in Brazil - 1418 Words

The architecture in Brazil is amongst the worlds most progressive and multicultural construction, creating a visual melting pot. The diversity and multicultural ideas resonate within the architectural designs of each specific architect designing in the country. Brazilians have vastly different architectural styles that are unique to their culture, especially modern styled buildings, utilizing cultural aspects from a mixed background. There are plenty of examples of various architects, from the area and from abroad, that bring their own ideas and designs but mix them with local architectural ideas. A comparison between the native architects design and the global architects design for Brazil illustrate the diversity of the architecture in the country. The designs may use similar styles but can vary quite a bit, revealing on the architects background and cultural tendencies. The history of Brazil is unique to many other South American countries and helps account for the multicultu ralism throughout the country and its architecture. Brazil was colonized by Portuguese explorers centuries ago, and this culture has continued to influence the look and feel of this country. After colonization, the Dutch and Portuguese brought a number of slaves to the country, mostly from areas in Africa. (Fausto) The native Brazilians and the slaves both were forced to assimilate to the Portuguese and Dutch western and catholic influenced cultures. However, this was not totallyShow MoreRelatedThe Brazilian Federal Data Processing Services1077 Words   |  5 Pagesand share private information illegally. NSA behavior has even caused some negative relationship between Brazil and American to the extent that Brazil is worried about the internet legislations the U.S. might impose that will affect its citizen’s internet access from U.S. websites. 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Reynolds University of Cincinnati Australia †¢ Brazil †¢ Japan †¢ Korea †¢ Mexico †¢ Singapore †¢ Spain †¢ United Kingdom †¢ United States Information Technology for Managers  © 2010 Course Technology, Cengage Learning George W. Reynolds ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced, transmitted

Autocratic Leadership Represented by Frank-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Identify the most important 5 specific management issues drawn from the scenario. 2.Discuss the impact of these issues to the Organisation. 3.Tom is a valuable employee and would be a loss for the company is he walks away but Frank wants Tom to work on the projects he needs to complete; not the kiosk project! Apply 3 of the motivation theories, models or concepts to provide strategies to help Frank motivate Tom to work on the projects Frank urgently needs to complete. 4.Apply 2 of the Human Resources theories, models or concepts to improve this organisations performance. 5.Apply 2 of the Leadership theories, models or concepts to help Frank be a better leader. Answers: 1.The first identifiable management issue in the case is the leadership style autocratic leadership represented by Frank. As put forward by Metcalf and Benn (2013), autocratic leaders involve themselves in taking all the decisions by themselves and provide little or no opportunity for the subordinates to present their opinion. This limits the possibilities of exploring fresher perspective held by the subordinates. Motivation can be considered as the second most critical management issue in the case, which can again be linked with the autocratic leadership (Fu and Deshpande 2014). Tom getting restricted from presenting his opinion for increasing the sales acts as de-motivator, which again reduces performance expected. The third identifiable issue in the case is the communication gap between the managers and subordinates. The low level communication practiced in the organisation restricts the flow of idea, which further reduces the performance level of the organisation (Den Hartog et al 2013). Risk analysis skills developed by Frank are another management issue in the organisation. Environmental knowledge and risk identification ability is of primary importance of a manager, in which Frank is lacking (Hwang and Ng 2013). Problem solving skill is the last limitation identified from the case. It is evidenced that Frank tends to neglect the issue put forward by Tom and stick to his idea for directing the project. This, as considered by Hwang and Ng (2013) is a clear lack of problem solving ability held by the manager. 2.Use of autocratic leadership will reduce the satisfaction level of the employees that can supplement in increasing employee turnover. This will also cause motivation issues among the employees and reduce the performance level of the organisation all together (Metcalf and Benn 2013). Reduced motivation will again have adverse effect on employee performance (Fu and Deshpande 2014). The extreme results of de-motivation can result in causing issues in employee retention of the company. The communication gap between the manager and subordinates in the D7 Displays restricts the flow of idea throughout the organisation. Frank provided limited opportunity for Tom to communicate the identified risks and the potential outcome using the solution put forward by Tom. The rigid structure of the organisation restricts the subordinates to communicate the idea with the manager, which in turn will limit the opportunity to explore greater possibility for increasing the profit (Den Hartog et al 2013). Lack of risk assessment skills will endanger the complete project, as it will limit the ability of the manager to take necessary precautions for avoiding threats (Hwang and Ng 2013). It will not only restrict the company from increasing their profit margin, but can also pose threat for disrupting the current business of kiosk in the target market. Lack of problem solving ability of the manager as identified by (Hwang and Ng 2013) is likely to increase the risk factors involved in the project, hence, contribute in reducing the organisational performance due to project failure. 3.Various scholars over time have proposed different motivation theories for encouraging the employees involved in an organisation for increasing and attain greater performance. However, the problems identified in the case are different from the regular cases of motivational issues and can be addressed using the following motivational theories proposed. The motivational theories applicable in this particular case for retaining Tom as a efficient resource of the organisation are Vrooms expectancy theory, Herzbergs motivational theory and Maslows need hierarchy theory. Vrooms Expectancy theory Motivation according to the theory proposed by Vroom depends on the expected outcome of the task performed. The level of dedication is directly related to the expectation perceived by the individual. Toms situation mentioned in the case is failing, as the expected outcome is not being provided to him (Parijat and Bagga 2014). Toms recognition of the market condition is not being acknowledged by Frank, which is facilitating in de-motivating him. Considering this theory will help Frank identifying this issue and resolve it accordingly to divert Toms dedication toward the project. Herzbergs Motivational Theory Herzbergs Motivational theory on the other hand categorises motivation under two broad divisions that are hygiene and motivators. Lack of hygiene contributes toward job dissatisfaction and motivators facilitates in job satisfaction (Malik and Naeem 2013). Tom in this case is facing challenge in both the cases. He is strictly directed and supervised that contributes in reducing hygiene. Moreover, interpersonal relation of Tom and Frank is disputed that facilitates to the same. Tom on the other hand is facing trouble in getting recognition as Frank is overlooking his concept. This is playing as an actor in reducing motivation. Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory Maslows need hierarchy theory identifies five levels of needs desired by individuals according to the situation. The crisis in case of Tom falls under the fifth category of need identified, which is self-actualisation need. Self-actualisation need, as opined by Kaur (2013) is the need for fulfilment. In other words, this category identifies the need of recognition of the potential capability offered by the individual. Frank overlooked Toms ability of risk assessment from the macro environmental study and imposed his project on Tom. This significantly reduces the motivation level of Tom in contributing toward the project he is assigned to, which can be resolved using the Maslows need hierarchy theory. Frank using the theory can consider the proposal made by Tom and appreciate its efficiency. However, Frank at the same time needs to communicate the urgent requirement of the project as perceived by him, which will help Tom clarifying the importance and reconsider his priorities, as this will bring transparency in the process. 4.A number of HR management concepts can be implemented in order to increase organisational performance. However, concepts applicable in this particular case are training and empowerment and communication strategy. Training and empowerment Training and empowerment as put forward by Paill et al (2014) is an effective human resource management tool used by the organisations over industries for increasing overall performance of the organisation. This works as a motivator for the employees as it develops skills and knowledge of the employees in particular field that gains them experience as well as status in their carrier. D7 Display, like many other organisations can implement this HRM tool for increasing motivation and satisfaction level of the employees and reduce employee turnover. Developed skills of the employees will in turn increase the performance level. This will further help Frank in retaining Tom as an essential organisational asset and explore his ability for increasing organisational performance. Implementation of training and empowerment will help Tom to understand Franks perspective and the strategy perceived to work in accordance for increasing the organisational performance and d eliver the goal set. Communication Strategy Communication strategy is another effective strategy implemented by HR management of an organisational that increases the communication flow within the organisation. This according to Purce (2014) helps both the employees and the management to transmit their concerns regarding the organisational performance. Attainment of greater communication helps the organisations to explore range of possibilities for particular aspects of the projects. This further helps in transmitting vision and culture of the organisation with the employees and set them in the course desired by the organisation for achieving the same. The in this case will give Tom a voice that will help him stating his problem faced in the particular job profile. This further helps Tom in building morale and satisfies his concerns. This concerning Franks need will help him communicating the organisational need and engage Tom in the particular project as required by the organisation. 5.The leadership style represented by Frank is autocratic leadership that restricts his ability to manage the enthusiast workforce focused in generating and increasing the profit margin of the company through long term planning. The leadership style applicable in the situation can be either democratic or autocratic leadership. Democratic Leadership This leadership style as defined by Woods and Woods (2013) incorporates the subordinates in the decision making process. This will help frank in multiple cases of management. Incorporation of subordinates in the decision making process will help developing self-esteem of the employees and motivate them for working towards the project. This will further increase the dedication level of the employees towards their work. Tom will be provided opportunity to express his concern and state his opinion regarding elevation of profit margin in the long-term scenario. This will enable Frank to compare and contrast the opportunities of the available without just focusing on his ideas. Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership as pointed out by Avolio and Yammarino (2013) helps inspiring the subordinates by reflecting high level of empathy. Four primary elements identified in this particular leadership are idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. This will enable frank to influence Tom in taking active part in the project and work toward the goal set by the organisation. This style of leadership will also enable Frank to establish high level of communication with his subordinates and develop healthy individual relationship. Transformational leadership will further help him changing perspective and let him consider the opinion of his subordinates. This will create wider possibilities for exploring and gain success in attaining organisational goal. Lastly, transformational leaders are widely known for their ability to motivate subordinates by various means. The above skills in also contribute s in increasing employee motivation References Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition(pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Den Hartog, D.N., Boon, C., Verburg, R.M. and Croon, M.A., 2013. HRM, communication, satisfaction, and perceived performance: A cross-level test.Journal of management,39(6), pp.1637-1665. Fu, W. and Deshpande, S.P., 2014. The impact of caring climate, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on job performance of employees in a Chinas insurance company.Journal of Business Ethics,124(2), pp.339-349. Hwang, B.G. and Ng, W.J., 2013. Project management knowledge and skills for green construction: Overcoming challenges.International Journal of Project Management,31(2), pp.272-284. Kaur, A., 2013. Maslows need hierarchy theory: Applications and criticisms.Global Journal of Management and Business Studies,3(10), pp.1061-1064. Malik, M.E. and Naeem, B., 2013. Towards understanding controversy on Herzberg theory of motivation.World Applied Sciences Journal,24(8), pp.1031-1036. Metcalf, L. and Benn, S., 2013. Leadership for sustainability: An evolution of leadership ability.Journal of Business Ethics,112(3), pp.369-384. Paill, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O. and Jin, J., 2014. The impact of human resource management on environmental performance: An employee-level study.Journal of Business Ethics,121(3), pp.451-466. Parijat, P. and Bagga, S., 2014. Victor Vrooms expectancy theory of motivationAn evaluation.International Research Journal of Business and Management,7(9), pp.1-8. Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals),67. Woods, P.A. and Woods, G.J., 2013. Deepening Distributed Leadership: A democratic perspective on power, purpose and the concept of the self.Leadership in Education (Vodenje v vzgoji in izobraÃ… ¾evanju),2, pp.17-40.

The area of a circle is one of the first formulas Essay Example For Students

The area of a circle is one of the first formulas Essay Pi that you learn as a young math student. It is simply taught as, . There is no explanation as to why the area of a circle is this arbitrary formula. As it turns out the area of a circle is not an easy task to figure out by your self. Early mathematicians knew that area was, in general to four sided polygons, length times width. But a circle was different, it could not be simply divided into length and width for it had no sides. We will write a custom essay on The area of a circle is one of the first formulas specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now As it turns out, finding the measurement to be squared was not difficult as it was the radius of the circle. There was another aspect of the circle though that has led one of the greatest mathematical voyages ever launched, the search of Pi.One of the first ever documented estimates for the area of a circle was found in Egypt on a paper known as the Rhind Papyrus around the time of 1650 BCE. The paper itself was a copy of an older book written between 2000 and 1800 BCE and some of the information contained in that writing might have been handed down by Imhotep, the man who supervised the building of the pyramids. The paper, copied by the scribe named Ahmes, has 84 problems on it and their solutions. On the paper, in problem number 50 he wrote; Cut off 1/9 of a diameter and construct a square upon the remainder; this has the same area as a circle. Given that we already know that the area of a circle is we find that the early Egyptian estimate for the area of a circle was which simplified to or 3.16049 Though, the papyrus does not go into detail as to how Ahmes derived this estimate. This estimate for Pi given by the ancient Egyptians is less than 1% off of the true value of Pi. Given, there was no standard of measurement in that day and they also had no tools to aid them in such calculations such as compasses or measuring tapes, this is an amazingly accurate value for Pi and the area of a circle. Another early attempt at the area of a circle is found in the Bible. In the old testament within the book of Kings Vii. 23 and also in Chronicles iv.2 a statement is made that says; And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was round all about and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. From this verse, we come to the conclusion that Pi is 30/10 or simply 3. The book of Kings was edited around the time of 550 BCE. Much better estimates were already at hand in the day and much earlier, though they must not have been known to the editors of the Bible. The Babylonians also played an early hand at the area of a circle but it wasnt known until 1936 when a Babylonian tablet was unearthed. It states that a ratio of the perimeter of a hexagon to the circumference of a circumscribed circle equals in modern terms (the Babylonians used a numerical system that was base 60 and not base 10 as we use today). One of the reasons they chose the hexagon was because the perimeter of a hexagon is exactly equal to six times the radius of the circumscribed circle. This is . Since the definition of Pi is the circumference divided by Diameter, we come to . Therefore, the equation in turn gives us or . This is just under the true value of Pi. .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .postImageUrl , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:hover , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:visited , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:active { border:0!important; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:active , .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45 .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u7acc2d7103bda87c366d2904e752cc45:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Child company experience is one of the sweetest experience Essay Most early estimates for Pi were no more exact than saying that Pi was greater than but less than . Most of the methods for solving for the area of a Circle are also unknown as to how they were derived. Many scholars deduce that early estimators of the circle were able to find their measurements by a ways of rearranging. For example, if you have a rectangle, and you cut off a triangle from one end of the rectangle then reattach it to the opposite side in which the triangle came from, then you now have a parallelogram of equal area to which the rectangle had before. Applying this type of thinking to a circle, we must first cut a circle into four equal parts. Placing the parts side by side so that their flat side lay against each other and the round outer edges face the outside. You continue to do this process to smaller and smaller sections of a given circle. Given that you will reach an infinite amount of pieces that are rearranged in this way you will be left with a rectangle that has one side that is length and another side that is width . The resulting area of this arranged rectangle is , the area of a circle. This method is later discovered on a Japanese paper roll dated to 1693, which was later used by Leonardo Da Vinci. Another great mind in the history of the area of a Circle was Archimedes of Syracuse. Noted for his naked run through Syracuse shouting Eureka! after having solved a problem while taking a bath Archimedes derived a new way in which to find the area of a circle. Consider a circle of radius 1 which is circumscribed by a polygon of sides, with semi perimeter bn. Another polygon of sides, with semi perimeter an , super scribes the circle such as the chart on the next page demonstrates. The diagram below demonstrates the case n=2, with the hexagons having 6 sides. The goal of this procedure is to make it such that . Through this infinite series the polygons converge upon the circle and form a circle that overlaps the original circle. Though, Archimedes didnt have Calculus to aid his search. Through only geometrical means, Archimedes determined that Pi lay somewhere between and . So, let =K sin (#61552;/K) and =K tan ( /K). If we assume that K is the number of sides that the polygon has, namely sides, then, through mathematical induction, and . Archimedes used this convention to arrive at a polygon with 96 sides, or n=6, which led him to Pi being in between and which is . Let it be noted that Archimedes did this estimation without Trigonometry, Calculus, and decimal notation. This method of finding the area of a Circle was used until recent times where computers have taken over the main task of finding the never ending search for all the number s in Pi. There are many more very good estimates for the area of a circle throughout history. Though, at the time at which Archimedes made his discovery of a truly accurate way to find the true vale of Pi, there was a split in thought. One side followed Archimedes and took his formula to the side to find Pi to over 35 accurate decimals, by hand. The other side followed the past to a less productive area of mathematics. These people have come to be known as the Circle Squarers. Much like the early attempts of rearranging the circle into a Rectangle, these people try and try again to fit the area of a circle into that of a square using only a compass, straight edge, and a pencil. Many a great mathematicians wandered over to this once in their career and usually came to the conclusion that Pi= , which is a common solution to the problem among circle squarers. It wasnt until 1882 when Ferdinand Lindemann proved that Pi was a transcendental number that the claim of the Circle Squarers was finally thrown out. .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .postImageUrl , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:hover , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:visited , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:active { border:0!important; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:active , .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190 .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6daac7c849865dddbc93248855f36190:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop Essay Pi, being a transcendental number, cannot be expressed as a finite algebraic equation and thus, cannot be reconstructed as a square through Euclidean Geometry. Though, even after Lindemanns historical find, Circle Squarers, now called cyclometers, continued to pour their incorrect theories onto the mathematical world. Most of them state that one great mathematician was wrong, or that there is a conspiracy hiding the true value of Pi. The problem with Cyclometers is that they can show you they are right, however cannot prove it using conventional mathematics. For instance, a cyclometer can show you a circle of diameter one and roll it along a ruler and show you that the circumference of the circle is exactly 3.1415. Some even dare to argue that great mathematicians such as Pythagoras and Archimedes were incorrect, the rest of the mathematical world doesnt dare question their founding mathematicians, and that they alone, the cyclometer, have discovered the true value of Pi. One circle squarer even went so far as to submit a law in his home state of Indiana that his value of Pi be used as the legal value of Pi. It was passed, but to this day awaits further legislation in regard to its factuality. In the end, there is still an ongoing search for the true area of a Circle in continued research of the number Pi. Scientists today have reached a record number of decimals of Pi to 206,158,430,000 using a Hitachi Supercomputer. The calculation took 37 hours, 21 minutes and 4 seconds. Using the latest calculation for Pi, if you were to assemble a circle a million miles in diameter, the circle would be less than an inch off. But why the pursuit of a solution that will never end? For many, being that there are no perfect circles even in nature, the perfect circle is an unattainable goal to seek. Through the adventure of discovering new aspects about the circle, other insights may be revealed. The mystery of the circle is an endless pursuit, but for mathematicians, it is the pursuit of perfection.

Tourism of Kerala essays

Tourism of Kerala essays Kerala is probably the greenest place you will ever see, it is one of the 10 paradises in the world. The coconut palms, the red tiles houses, the innumerable lakes and beaches will remain long lasting impressions to any visitor. The colourful festivals, various types of dances, martial arts and wildlife sanctuaries are the other attractions. Location Kerala is a narrow strip of land locates on the south western edge of the Indian subcontinent. It is placed between the Western Ghats mountain range on the East and the Arabian Sea on the West Legend says that Parashuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu threw his axe into the sea from Gokarnam (near present day Manglore) and it is believed the sea retreated from where his axe fell to give birth to Kerala! Geographically, Kerala is a heady amalgam of Nature's very best. The divine high ranges of the Western Ghats on the east. The Arabian Sea on the west. Emerald paddy fields. Virgin forests. Limpid backwaters, and beaches by the dozen, which in the days of yore, lured adventurous hearts from all over the globe.Kerala is God's own land, untouched and unparalleled. Kerala is a land of great natural beauty. From the majestic heights of the Western Ghats the country undulates westward presenting a scene of silent valleys clothed in the richest green. Among the many rivers that glide across the plains to merge their waters with the Arabian sea, the more important are the Periyar, the Pamba and the Bharatha puzha. The elegant waterfalls at Vazhakal near Cochin is a popular tourist spot. Along the coast, sand dunes shelter a linked chain of lagoons and backwaters the still waters of which are studded with sea-gulls and country canoes plying at a snails pace. For tourist, Kerala offers Nature on a platter. Sandy beaches of Kovalam, blue Lagoons at Veli, Hill stations at Ponmudi and Munnar, backwaters of Kollam and Alappuzha, greenland plantations in the highranges ...

Why the tuition fee is almost triple for international students Research Paper

Why the tuition fee is almost triple for international students - Research Paper Example Bizarrely, these students study in the same schools and are legible for the same treatment and facilities. This has a dire effect on the education of international schools, especially when they do not have sufficient funds for their schooling. To begin with, the management of schools state that there is limited funding for international students. It is noted that sponsorship programs are limited for international students. Therefore, there is a limited number of international students sponsored by organisations. As such, students that would wish to study in international schools will have to cater for their costs while studying. This is a burden that is directly linked to the international students, which increases the amount of tuition fees. Similarly, international students have to incur costs in payment for each unit (OECD 2). This is to provide the students with enough materials for successful learning. However, many institutions have their various directives on payment per each unit. While the non-international students have their stated amounts to pay, international students will have a different amount. In some schools, the payment per each unit could be exorbitant, as they have to pay up to four times more. This is a hindrance to some international students as they have to limit the number of units they will study. Consequentially, reducing the amount of fees paid per unit would be a disadvantage to the schools.

Differences in Setting Up a Business in China vs India Research Paper

Differences in Setting Up a Business in China vs India - Research Paper Example A major difference between China and India lies within the political systems of the two countries, with China having the Communist Party system while India having a democratic system. This provides India with numerous comparative advantages over China (Nobrega, 2008). In spite of the laziness of the courts in India, the legal system protects the property rights whereas intellectual property rights are frequently violated in China and business is done primarily through interpersonal networking; a concept known as guanxi (Adams, 2007). In terms of the political systems, China is following market reforms economically which encourages business models that are capitalist-based and allows more free trade than India. India, on the other hand, has a system of commerce that was based upon the Soviet model until the 1980s, and has ever since, reforming to follow China in terms of freedom of trade and establishment of the capitalist-based business models (Runckel, 2007). China and India have co mparable trade barriers and reduced tariffs. However, China is more liberal for the international companies than India. China has removed restrictions on the retail trade and is modernizing the sector with huge investments whereas, in India, international companies find greater restrictions. For example, a US corporation can have just one director to establish its business in China whereas for it to establish a business in India, a minimum of two directors are required (inchincloser.com, 2010).

Halifax & Bank of Scotland Essay Example for Free

Halifax Bank of Scotland Essay The UK has one of the most diverse and dynamic banking sectors in the world. Banking is now a highly competitive industry. Financial consumers are now more sophisticated as they are now more aware of available banking options. The assets of the UK banking system were i 3,441bn (August 2001), which were dominated by a dozen or so retail banks, with national networks, mostly serving domestic, personal and corporate customers. Currently, the big four banks HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Barclays, dominate retail and business banking, jointly accounting for 68% of all UK current accounts. Both Halifax, founded in 1853, and 306-year-old Bank of Scotland are seen as business icons in their regions. Halifax is based in England, while the Bank of Scotland has very few branches south of the border. A merger between these firms would increase the geographic scope for potential customers. Halifax started as a building society and is now more widely known as a big mortgage lender. In the wider community, the Halifax Bank has a very active community-banking sector catering for charity and non-profit organizations including housing associations, credit unions and community development operations. In comparison, the Bank of Scotlands strength lies in the corporate market. It would seem very likely that both firms would like to achieve higher profitability and growth opportunity through cross-selling products to each others customers. For example, the products developed by Halifax could be marketed effectively to Bank of Scotlands customers and vice versa. Because both banks operate complementary activities, it is possible the combining of both firms will result in synergies, which may also result in increased efficiency. There may also be opportunities to achieve savings through cutting some unnecessary costs. For example, the amount of staff needed for the combined firm is likely to be reduced. By merging together, the size of the combined firm will certainly increase, thus leveraging the combined spend to negotiate better deals. The market position of the combined firm will be strengthened. Its market share within the industry will increase, maybe even enough to compete with the big-four banks, thus increasing the competition within the banking industry. In reality, there are wide ranges of techniques that can help analyse a firms performance some firms may base their performance on sales, whereas others through the quality of products. Economists usually analyse a firms performance based on the amount of profit it is making. For a thorough analysis, this paper will be looking at the firms: market value, profitability, stability, value for shareholders, efficiency, and capital adequacy. It must be noted that firms within the banking sector are subject to many economic uncertainties, which can influence how well a firm is doing from year to year. In this case, these uncertainties include: interest rates, employment rates, as well as the condition of the equity markets. For example, the base rate in January 2000 was 5.75%, however, at January 2002, the base rate was at 4. 00%5. To analyse the performance of the banks before and after the merger, the firms financial accounts will be examined and ratios will also be calculated. 6 The main performance indicators that will be analysed include: Profit before tax; Total assets; Dividends and Earnings per share. In addition, the return on equity, cost:income ratio and the firms capital strength will be examined. These ratios will give a clear assessment of the firms performance compared with that of other firms. Before the merger, in 2000, Halifax and Bank of Scotland had market values of $22,105million and $11,762million respectively. Post-merger, in 2002, HBOS then had a market value in excess of $31billion7. This immediately signifies the success of the merger, as the combined company is worth now worth a lot more in the market. Figure 1 Profit before tax From an economic point of view, it is important that a firm makes a profit otherwise there would be no point of the existence of the firm. The Profit Loss account of a firm shows the results of trading over the previous 12 months. It shows the net effect of income less expenses. The reason that profit before tax is analysed rather than profit after tax is due to the fact that interest rates and inflation changes could affect the amount of tax that is paid each year. In 2000, Halifax made i 1,715million profit (before tax), compared with Bank of Scotland, which made i 911million. It would be expected that when both companies have merged together, the pre-tax profit should increase. Figure 1 shows that in 2002, HBOS made a pre-tax profit of i 2,909million, which is more than the separate firms pre-tax profit added together. This shows that HBOS are actually performing better than the previously separate firms.

The Cold War Continues: From Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin Essay

"Nobody and nothing will stop Russia..." -- Vladimir Putin In March of 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a maddening flurry of concern across the world. Originally the concern was how to defend Crimea Ukraine from Putin’s forces, however, the concern has since changed. Seemingly overnight, Putin managed to worm his troops into Crimea, and dominate part of Ukraine. But where does this expansion of power end? Trying to delegate and monitor a power-hungry politician is now the focus of nearly every government in the Western world. In an article written by The Guardian’s Ian Traynor, it states that Putin has declared that if he wanted to, â€Å"Russian forces could conquer Ukrainian capital in two weeks.† This amount of confidence is highly unnerving considering Russia’s track record on simply showing up and invading a country seemingly out of nowhere. That specific action and behavior has been associated with Russian leader Joseph Stalin during the Cold war, and now is a continuous and growing concern with Vlad imir Putin. Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions toward the western world, specifically Ukraine, is inspired by the steps Joseph Stalin took during his rise to power by developing a cult mentality, using brute force to invade countries such as Greece and Turkey, and issuing threats to all countries who disagreed with his expansion of power and communism during the Cold War. It was Stalin’s increasing aggression towards Europe and the United during the Cold War that made him one of the most feared and unpredictable individuals at that time. Today, Putin is exhibiting identical behavior by following in Stalin’s footsteps and is issuing threats in addition to ignoring what Europe and the United States has to say. At the ... ...5788398/2D5751C189D04504PQ/10?accountid=14902 Ian Traynor, â€Å"Putin claims Russian forces ‘could conquer Ukraine capital in two weeks.’† The Guardian, September 2, 2014. Web. 5 May 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/02/putin-russian-forces-could-conquer-ukraine-capital-kiev-fortnight Julie A. Cassiday, Emily D. Johnson, â€Å"Putin, Putiniana and the Question of a Post-Soviet Cult of Personality,† The Slavonic and Eastern European Review 88 (2010): 680-707. Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline. Stalin’s Cold War: Soviet Strategies in Europe, 1943 to 1956. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. Robert Skidelsky, â€Å"In Ukraine, Putin may be accelerating his own demise.† The Daily Star Lebanon, September 3, 2014. Web. 5 May 2015. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2014/Sep-03/269383-in-ukraine-putin-may-be-accelerating-his-own-demise.ashx#axzz3COhHc9EU

Philosophy of life Essay

NAGAPPAN SETHURAMAN Existentialism as a philosophy is historically and culturally of European origin. Ever since it was recognised as the dominating philosophy of the West in the midtwentieth century, it has left â€Å"its impact on literature [which] has both been substantial and significant† (Chatterji 10). Existentialism does not offer a set of doctrines or a single philosophy system. It has been diversely defined and interpreted by various thinkers over the years. As a result, â€Å"as a philosophy, existentialism by its very nature defies and abhors systematisation† (Ahmad 10). Nevertheless, it is possible to identify certain traits of this school of thought. All the existentialists â€Å"emphasise the importance of the individual as well as his freedom and responsibility for being what he is† (Das 423). In their attempt to describe man’s â€Å"existence and its conflicts, the origin of its conflicts, and the anticipation of overcoming them† (Ahmad 13), existentialists focus their attention on certain aspects of human existence. Srivastava enumerates them as follows: b) it is never safe and ever at the mercy of chance, c) it is full of suffering, of one variety or other, d) it is full of conflict, e) it is rotted in guilt, f) it cannot escape from the final situation of death (185). These tenets of existentialism have been widely reflected in the literature of the world since the advent of Sartre who established an interaction between literature and philosophy in his writings. John Macquarrie sums up the essence of existentialism as, â€Å"On the whole, it has been the tragic sense of life†¦ that has been prevalent among the existentialists† (Macquarrie 164). Almost all great writers of the present generation have handled the doctrines of existentialism in their works. This is the main reason why â€Å"man’s alienation, dread, absurdity, bad faith, responsibility, commitment to freedom, anguish are the very hallmarks of 20th century literature† (Ahmad 5). As a novelist, Anita Desai exhibits a strong inclination towards the existentialist interpretation of the human predicament. In particular, she voices â€Å"the mute miseries and helplessness of married women tormented by existentialist problems and predicaments† (Prasad 139). A woman novelist, Desai has won a niche by exploring the emotional world of women, bringing to light the various deeper forces at work in feminine sensibility as well as psychology. This predilection leads her to examine the psyche of her women protagonists when they are confronted with the absurdity of life. This draws her attention to the darker side of life. She projects a tragic vision in her novels by placing her female protagonists in hostile situations. Desai further examines her women protagonists as individuals who find themselves forced into uncongenial environments, fighting against the odds. This problem of the The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 tragic tension between the individual and their unfavourable environment acquires the dimensions of existential angst. Starting from her first novel Cry the Peacock to the latest Baumgartner’s Bombay, all her novels highlight the existentialist’s predilection for portraying the predicament of man. Many critics have traced shades of existentialist thought in the novel of Anita Desai. Time and again her themes and characters have been interpreted in the light of existential philosophy. In this regard it has been pointed out: Desai’s chief concern is human relationship. Her central theme is she existential predicament of an individual, which she projects through incompatible couples- very sensitive wives and ill matched husbands. She is a minute observer and perceives everything mutely, minutely and delicately. Whenever she creates a poetical situation, she gives it a perfect poetic treatment to every detail (Singh 12) Anita Desai’s characters are self-conscious of the reality around them and they carry a sense of loneliness, alienation and pessimism. She adds a new dimension turning inward into the realities of life and plunges into the deep-depths of the human psyche to score out its mysteries and chaos in the minds of characters. Particularly Fire on the Mountain has been identified as â€Å"the lyrical fictionalization of the quintessence of existentialism† (Gupta 185). A close study of the texture and theme of the novel in relation to the tenets of existentialism justifies the above observation. It has been noted that â€Å"Fire on the Mountain displays skillful dramatisation of experiences of certain women embroiled by the cross way of life† (Choudhury 77). This novel deals with the existential angst experienced by the female protagonist Nanda Kaul, an old lady living in isolation. It also projects the inner turmoil of a small girl, Raka, who is haunted by a sense of futility. Thirdly, it presents the plight of a helpless woman, Ila Das who is in conflict with forces that are too powerful to be encountered, resulting in her tragic death. Thus, the existential themes of solitude, alienation, the futility of human existence and struggle for survival form the major themes of the novel. Fire on the Mountain falls into three sections, each further divided into several short chapters of unequal length. The first section titled â€Å"Nand Kaul at Carignano† runs into ten chapters. This section deals with Nanda Kaul, the main protagonist’s lonely life in Kasauli. â€Å"Raka comes to Carignano† forms the second section and it contains twenty one chapters. It portrays Nanda Kaul’s change of attitude towards Raka, her great granddaughter. The final section â€Å"Ila Das leaves Carignano† is divided into thirteen chapters. This section presents the tragic end of Ila Da, Nanda Kaul’s childhood friend. In all, the book runs to 145 pages. The structural unity, as suggested by the section captions is offered by Carignano, Nanda Kaul and Raka, running counter to one another complemented by that of Ila Das also provide unity of structure. Like the other works of Anita Desai, the present novel contains neither any story value nor events that are interesting by themselves. The entire novel revolves round the existential angst experienced by the women protagonists. In this novel, â€Å"the story element is very thin and there is practically no action except for the tragic end† (Indira 96). The story revolves round the inner lives of the two female protagonists, Nand Kaul and Raka. Nanda Kaul is the wife of Mr. Kaul, the Vice-Chancellor of the Punjab University. When the novel begins, Nanda The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 Kaul is living in Carignano, far from the madding crowd. She is leading a life of isolation and introspection. She shuns all human company. Even the postman’s arrival to deliver the letter is frowned upon by her. But this seeming quietude does not last long. Raka arrives at Carignano to convalesce after her typhoid attack. The old woman and the young girl live in double singleness. But as days pass by, Nanda Kaul finds herself drawn towards Raka, something she had not expected. But the little girl refuses to be befriended and escapes into the hills looking for company in solitude. Ila Das, Nanda Kaul’s childhood friend visits Carignano to meet Raka. A one time lecture in the Punjab University, Ila Das had lost her job subsequent to Mr. Kaul’s retirement. She has come to Kasauli now in her new capacity as an officer in the social welfare department. She fights against child marriage by enlightening the local people about the evils of this practice. This invites the wrath of many of the villagers of whom Preet Singh is one. His attempts to barter his little daughter for a tiny piece of land and a few goats have been successfully thwarted by Ila Das. He is lying in wait to settle his score with her. One evening, when Ila Das returns late from Carignano to her humble house in the valleys, he waylays her, rapes and murders her. When the news of Ila Das’s death is conveyed to Nand Kaul over the phone, she is rudely shocked and falls dead. Raka unaware of her great grandmother’s death, rushes into the house proclaiming wildly that she has set the forest of fire. Nanda Kaul, Raka and to some extent Ila Das, are embodiments of the existential predicament experienced by the individual in an un-understanding and even hostile universe. A detailed examination of the characters of these protagonists brings to light how Anita Desai has succeeded in giving expression to her existentialist world-view through these characters and by a subtle use of imagery and symbols. When the novel begins, Nand Kaul is presented as a recluse. Living all alone, except for the company of the servants who dare not disturb her privacy, she brooks no human presence. â€Å"She wanted no one and nothing else. Whatever else came, or happened here, would be unwelcome intrusion and distraction†(FM 3). She spends her days in isolation, musing about her past and experiencing the existential ennui. â€Å"From the musings of her agitated mind it appears that as the wife of the vicechancellor for the Punjab University and the mother of several children, she has lived a very busy and tiring life â€Å"(Raizada 44). Anita Desai unfurls her past in the form of long interior monologues punctuated by authorial interruptions, Nanda Kaul had witnessed only betrayals and demands in life before her retirement to Kasauli. She had lived a monotonous life receiving and treating the endless stream of visitors who used to call on her vice-chancellor husband. Her husband had carried on a life-long affair with his mathematics mistress Miss David, whom he would have married, had she not been a Christian. Again, the memories of her children make Nanda Kaul shudder at the very thought of her past. As a mother of several children, all demanding and unaccommodative, she had been given too many anxious moments. Now all alone in Carignano, a house associated with many weird stories, Nanda Kaul feels that loneliness is the only essential condition of human life. Whenever she looks at the tall pine trees that stand out from among the underwood, she is reminded of her own alienation. Not exactly conscious of what she is waiting for, nonetheless, she is awaiting the inevitable end to all human existence: death. She is haunted by the existential angst which has led her to conclude that human life is basically a lonely struggle against the odds of life. In her case the odds have manifested themselves in the form of an adulterous husband and cantankerous children. Strongly convinced The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 that life and dealt a raw deal to her, she has resolved to find the meaning, if any, of her existence in isolation. â€Å"She treasures her freedom, her privacy, glad her responsibilities towards her family are over, glad she needs nobody and nobody now needs her† (Krishnaswamy 260). This has coloured her outlook on life to a large extent. Her reaction to the arrival of the postman and Raka, her invalid great granddaughter, makes it appear that she has become a misanthrope. But the truth seems to be that she is a sensitive person preoccupied with the real nature of her existence as opposed to the illusory life of her past as a vice-chancellor’s wife and mother to children. â€Å"If Nanda Kaul was a recluse out of vengeance for a long life of duty and obligation, her great grand daughter was a recluse by nature, by instinct. She had not arrived at this condition by a long route of rejection and sacrifice [like Nanda Kaul], she was born to it, simply â€Å"(FM 48). Desai’s above observation about Raka’s character at once brings out the similarity and difference with that of Nanda Kaul’s in their mental make up. Raks’s characters has been introduced by the novelist as a foil to Nanda Kaul’s. If Nanda Kaul symbolises a particular aspect of existentialism, which is examined elsewhere in this chapter, Raka epitomises another aspect of the existential predicament: the influence of her parents on her life. Anita Desai makes Raka both young temperamentally and solitude-loving. When Raka is first introduced, the reader is informed that she is the granddaughter of Asha, the most problematic of Nanda Kaul’s daughters. That she is an unwelcome intruder into Nanda Kaul’s life is suggested by an image. As Nanda Kaul first looks at her greatgrand daughter who is walking towards her, she reminds the old lady of an insect: Raka slowed down, dragged her foot, then came towards her great grandmother with something despairing in her attitude.. She turned a pair of extravagantly large and somewhat bulging eyes about in a way that made the old lady feel more than ever her resemblance to an insect. (FM 39). However, the old lady is shocked to see the pale and gaunt little girl and is moved to pity. But â€Å"to Nanda Kaul she was still an intruder, an outsider, a mosquito flown up from the plains to tease and worry† (FM 40). Raka herself does not bother much about the â€Å"blatant lack of warmth†(FM 40) exhibited by her great grandmother. She prefers to stay away from company. Like a wild animal newly caged, she keeps prowling barefoot in her room, looking at the stone heaps. She is not interested in flowers or playing as children of her age normally tend to do. By using two reptile images successively in a span of two pages, and by a suggestive hint about Raka’s lack of interest in play and flowers, Desai impliedly establishes that there is something weird about her. Soon through several interior monologues enacted in Raka’s subconscious mind, the reason for the abnormality in her is unfolded. The daughter of an ill-matched couple, Raka has been witness to the brutality and futility of human existence. She is haunted by the recollections of the nightmarish nights that have made her almost a child-stoic. Somewhere behind them, behind it all was her father, home from a party, stumbling and crashing through the curtains of the night, his mouth opening to let out a flood of rotten stench, beating at her mother with hammers and fists of abuse-harsh, filthy abuse that made Raka cower under her bedclothes and wet her mattress in fright, feeling the stream of urine warm and weakening between her legs like a stream of blood, and her mother lay down on the floor and shut her eyes and wept. Under her The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 feet, in the dark, Raka felt that flat, wet jelly of her mother’s being squelching and quivering, so that she didn’t know where to put her feet and wept as she tried to get free of it. Ahead of her,no longer on the ground but at some distance now, her mother was crying. Then it was a jackal crying. (FM 72) The sudden shift from the interior monologue about her bitter past to the present observation of the jackal crying, the latter superimposed on the former brings out Raka’s predicament. By doing this, the novelist likens the haunting memories to the crying jackals. So Raka’s life is a close encounter with things that are wild and frightful- be it the memories of her mother beaten to pulp by a drunkard father or the chilling cry of the jackals. Instead of trying to escape from this harsh and unnerving experiences and memories, Raka goes farther and deeper into them as if to fathom the bottom of such wild realities. After some initial hesitation, she ventures deep down the ravine to the Monkey Point- a place not frequented by others and from where the cries of the jackals are heard: No one ever came here but Raka and the cuckoos that sand invisibly. These [the cuckoos]were not the dutiful domestic birds that called Nanda Kaul to attention at Carignano. They were the demented birds that raved and beckoned Raka on to a land where there was no sound, only silence, no light, only shade, and skeletons kept in beds of ash on which the footprints of jackals flowered in gray. (FM 90) This passage effectively coveys Raka’s plight and significance. She is at once a little girl with a splintered psyche and an unmistakable symbol of the individual’s quest for meaning. The jackals are symbols of the mystery of life and Raka’s walk to the Monkey Point is symbolic of her search for something unknown, yet inevitable and indispensable. Not all children would dare to brave the rough terrains of the ravines and impending menace of the jackals. Similarly, not all human beings are conscious of the futility of human existence nor are they in search of newer values. The existential theme of quest for meaning undertaken by those who refuse to remain merely as members of the multitude is well brought out in the lonely and mystified wanderings of Raka. In this respect it has been pointed out by Shantha Krishnaswamy: Her [Raka’s] childhood has hardened her into a little core of solitary self-sufficiency and now, a young girl up here in the mountains.. her spirit is defiant enough to go chanting ‘I don’t care, I don’t care, I can’t care of anything’ (FM 73). The conventional sweet smells and sounds of girlhood are ignored, she feels drawn by scenes of devastation and failure. The forest fires tingle her and she bursts from the shell of Carignano like a sharp, keen edged explosive to set fire to the mountainside. (Krishnaswamy 261, 262) The concluding part of the foregoing observation concerning Raka’s predilection for the forest fires needs elaborate analysis for it has symbolic overtones. Ever since her arrival at Carignano, Raka evinces a keen interest in wild fire. This obsession with the forest fire provides yet another dimension with the forest fire provides to her existentialist preoccupations. Immediately after her arrival at Carignano, on witnessing a fire in the forest she becomes obsessed with forest fires for they seem to her the empirical manifestation of her inner conflict: whether to continue with her mediocre and painful and aimless existence imposed upon her by heredity and environment or to revolt against their dictates and attempt to create her own values. The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 By an elaborate expression of her free will and demonstration of her ability to choose and act, she sets the forest on fire towards the end of the novel. The fire created by her is the result and manifestation of her existential angst to destroy the old and meaningless to make room for the new and significant. It is an affirmation of her search for values in an otherwise futile existence. Ila Das is the third female protagonist of the novel. Unlike Nanda Kaul and Raka who are central to the story, her role is only marginal. Nonetheless, Anita Desai has projected yet another aspect of the existentialist philosophy through her character. â€Å"Her life suggests another dimension of misery and meaningless existence† (Jena 30). She is first introduced to the readers, when she calls Nanda Kaul on the phone and informs her of her intended visit to Kasauli to meet Raka. She speaks in a â€Å"hideous voice† (FM 21) and is rather plain in her looks. Through a long interior monologue in Nanda Kaul’s mind, the readers are informed of her past. She was Nanda Kaul’s childhood friend. She had also served in the university as a lecturer, thanks to Nanda Kaul’s good offices. But soon after the death of Mr. Kaul she had been ousted and had struggled a lot before finding the present employment as a social welfare officer. A poverty stricken loner of aristocratic of child marriage, a practice rampant among the tribals. This lands her in an unenviable situation. She finds herself fighting a lonely battle against a mindless multitude. But she is not cowed down by adversity. She remains steadfast in her conviction and refuses to make any compromises. Though she is aware of the dire consequences that she might be forced to encounter, she remains faithful to her cause. She succeeds in stooping several such child-marriage, the prominent one being the marriage of Preet Singh’s seven year old daughter. Sustaining herself on a meagre pay and putting up with the inevitable condition of loneliness, she wages a valiant battle against the dictates of the society. Finally, she pays a dear price for her convictions and refusal to compromise. She is raped and murdered by Preet Singh who has been dying for revenge. Though Ila Das plays a minor role in the novel, she is also an allegorical figure. She not only lives in isolation but also braves the brute majority with conviction and commitment as her tools. True, she meets with a tragic end but has made her existence significant in exhibiting courage and determination in the face of stiff resistance and threat to life. †Her real involvement in people’s welfare assumes tremendous symbolic significance â€Å"(Jena 30). She epitomises the existentialist concept of struggle against the odds of life. â€Å"For the existentialist, man is never just part of the cosmos but always stands to it in a relationship of tension with possibilities of tragic conflict† (Macquarrie 17). She stands for the thinking individual who dares to exercise her free will and act according to her choice rather than submit meekly to the odds of life. The mindless tribal society in general, and Preet Singh in particular, represent the malevolent aspect to human existence-forces that are bent upon thwarting the individual’s purpose and undoing her. â€Å"One of the many ways of defining tragedy sees it as a clash between the aspiration of human freedom and creativity with a cosmic order that is stronger and defeats man â€Å"(Macquarrie 189). Though Ila Das loses her chastity and life in the process of her struggle with such brute forces, her life has nonetheless become meaningful by virtue of the fact that she chooses a cause, fights for it and sacrifices herself in trying to accomplish her task. An examination of the use of symbolism and imagery in the novel proves beyond doubt the novelist’s existential concern. She portrays a tragic world where no compromises are made, no epiphanies are exploded, to be totally destroyed, as the The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 sensitive, the visionary suffer nothing but suffocation and oppression. So, the content of the novel is sheer violence. The lives of the principal characters are ‘unloved’ and ‘unlived’. (Indira 95,96). In keeping with this concept, Anita Desai resorts to the effective employment of imagery and symbolism in Fire on the Mountain. Her predilection for prey-predator imagery abounds in this novel also. Images of ugliness, loneliness, destruction and annihilation are consistently used in order to reflect the existential tone of the novel. An atmosphere of solitary introspection is created with the help of several images. For example, when she receives a call from Ila Das, Nanda Kual â€Å"turned her head this way and that in an escape. She watched the white hen drag out a worm inch by resisting inch from the ground till it snapped in two. She felt like the worm herself, she winced at its mutilation â€Å"(FM 21). The same is continued in the next page also: â€Å"Still starting at the hen which was greedily gulping down bits of worm, she thought of her husband’s face and the way he would plait his fingers across his stomach†¦ â€Å"(FM 22). This prey-predator image of hen pecking at a worm is suggestive of Nanda Kaul’s present inner turmoil. Her past suffering at the hands of the adulterous husband and her present awareness about the harsh realities of life are both successfully established by this image. Another important image employed recurrently is that of the pine tree that stands burnt and alone, which is often an object of attraction for Nanda Kaul: â€Å"She was grey, tall and thin †¦ she fancied she could merge with the pine tree and be mistaken for one. To be a tree, no more and no less, was prepared to undertake†(FM 4). Again, this image also contributes to the existentialist theme of the novel. â€Å"Nanda’s sense of identification with the pine trees suggests her desire for absolute stillness and withdrawal from life†(Indra 97). The image of the charred pine tree is repeatedly employed in the novel. Raka is reminded of the futility of existence while she looks at the lonely hills and charred pine trees: â€Å"This hill, with its one destroyed house and one unbuilt one, on the ridge under the fire-singed pines, appealed to Raka†¦ There was something about it- illegitimate, uncompromising and lawless†¦. The sense of devastation and failure drew her, inspired her â€Å" (FM 90). Images of insects like lizards, birds like eagles and parrots, and â€Å"the thematic image of the ‘fire’ with its connotations of violence and urgency occur at regular intervals, warning the reader of the impending tragedy† (Indira 96). The critic S. Indira sums up the significance of imagery in Fire on the Mountain quoting D. H. Lawrence and the novelist herself:It is the charming mosaic of imagery woven so skillfully by the novelist that makes the Novel a work of art. Quoting D. H. Lawrence who said ‘If I eat an apple, I like to eat it with my senses,’ Anita Desai herself stated that the novel in which she attempted this closeness of man and beast, earth and vegetable was Fire on the Mountain. Imagery alone makes it possible and, in the process, the novel gains a richer texture and greater depth. As a critic says, â€Å"this novel deprived of its imagery, would be an ugly skeleton, chilling the reader† †¦ The significant house imagery, the images of plants, colour, atmosphere and moon- all contribute to the textual density and symbolic centrality of the novel. (Indira 96) Another important aspect of this novel’s narrative technique is its symbolism. There are several symbols that deepen the philosophic implications of The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 the novel. To start with, Carignano, Nanda Kaul’s present abode, is symbolic of the loneliness and barrenness of human life in general and Nanda Kual in particular: What pleased and satisfied her so, here at Carignano, was its barrenness. This was the chief virtue of Kasauli, of course- its starkness†¦Occasionally an eagle swam through this clear undoubted mass of light and air . (FM 4) The lonely house is symbolic of the lonely life of Nanda Kual and Raka. The barrenness and starkness associated with its symbolise an essential human condition –alienation which is the key note of all existential philosophy. The eagle symbol, like the house symbol, is repeatedly used in the course of the novel to highlight another aspect of existential philosophy, namely quest. The sight of the eagle flying high, makes Nanda long to be able to soar like the bird: â€Å"An eagle swept over†¦. its wings outspread, gliding on currents of air without once moving its great muscular wings which remained in repose, in control, She [Nanda Kaul]. had wished, it occurred to her, to imitate the eagle-gliding, with eyes closed† (FM 19). This longing for soaring above the reach of deterministic confines is the hall mark of Raks’s characters. To emphasise this aspect, the novelist employs the eagle symbol while describing Raka’s walk to the Monkey Point. â€Å"She was higher than the eagles, higher than Kasauli and Sanwar and all the other hills†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (FM 61). Thus Nanda Kaul’s wish and Raka’s attempt merge in the eagle-symbol, which denoted their existential angst and quest for values. The forest fire scene has symbolic overtones. Like the â€Å"The Fire Sermon† in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, the fire in Fire on the Mountain â€Å" †¦ is a destroyer. It is also a purifier† (Brown 557). By making use of the universal fire symbol. Anita Desai endows Raka’s character with allegorical implications. Raka, the invalid restless little girl who is the product of a broken home, becomes the symbol of the existentialist’s perception of the individual who finds herself in this hostile and futile world. Yet out of compulsion, she strives to find or create values and significance for her existence. In this regard it has been observed that the symbolic implication of the forest fire is reinforced by the title of the novel, Fire on the Mountain is highly significant from the thematic point of view. The mountain symbolises Nanda Kaul and the fire is symbolic of Raka’s wild nature. â€Å"Nanda is the ‘rocky belt’, dry, hardened by time and age. Raka is silent, swift and threatening like forest fire†¦ The novel, thus [sic] may be noted as a story of inabilities of human beings to ignore the world, to place oneself in another’s position†(Choudhury 79). Another factor that adds to the philosophical implications of the novel is the frequent allusions to books and poems. As in other novels in Fire on the Mountain too Anita Desai uses poetry, and this time it is a poem by Hopkins: I have desired to go Where springs not fail To fields where files no sharp and sided hail And a few lilies below And I have asked to be The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 Where no storms come, Where the green swell is in the havens dumb, And out of the swing to the sea. (FM 87). This poem has some connection with he character of Nanda Kaul who quotes it and the poem signifies her desire to be away from the humdrum of life, to a heaven of nature far from the madding crowd. By introducing this poignant stanza from Hopkin’s poem, Anita Desai highlights the theme of alienation which is the central theme of the novel. The same effect is achieved by introducing an allusion to a passage from The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon which begins with a title ‘When a Woman lives Alone’ and through the image of a dilapidated house â€Å"with a poignantly desolate look â€Å"(FM 27). This image has symbolic overtones as it suggests the lonely and desolate life of Nanda Kaul herself. Again, when Nanda Kaul is in the company of Raka, there is an allusion to The Travels of Macro Polo (FM 87). The reference to this book reminds the ‘Cape of Good Hope’. This also adds to the symbolism of the novel. This is miniature adventure like the one Marco Polo undertook in search of something new and promising. Thus, the characters of Nanda Kaul, Raka and Ila Das are studies of women in isolation. Essentially a writer of existential inclinations, Anita Desai examines three important aspects of this school of thought through her protagonists. The predominant traits of existentialism are alienation, quest and conflict. These three aspects are epitomised in the lives of three female protagonists. Nanda Kaul is a study in alienation and existential angst. Raka symbolises the individual’s quest for meaning in an otherwise futile life. Ila Das stands for the eternal conflict enacted in the human drama between the individual and the forces of determinism. One common ground for these three characters is that they are women who live in isolation both out if choice and compulsion. Desai has examined the predicament of women in wilderness by placing these three characters Kasauli, a place surrounded by hills and valleys, for removed from civilisation. She has consciously done it to examine the predicament and psyche of women in isolation. By placing her female protagonists with nature herself as the backdrop, Anita Desai has endowed a symbolic and universal significance to the plight of her protagonists. In this regard it has been pointed out: Essentially, Desai is a novelist of existentialist concerns, chiefly considering what F. H. Heinaman described as ‘the enduring human condition. ’ In her novels, she has ably dwelt upon such existentialist themes as maladjustment, alienation, absurdity of human existence, quest for the ultimate meaning in life, decision, detachment, isolation and time as the fourth dimension, focussing on how women in the contemporary urban milieu are bravely struggling against or helplessly submitting to the relentless forces of absurd life (Prasad 140). To sum up, Fire on the Mountain invites comparison with Shakespeare’s King Lear. In this great tragedy, when he dramatises the agony of betrayed father, Shakespeare removes Lear from the palace and places him in the wild heath- a hostile place- to suggest that the plight of Lear is identical with the suffering of every wronged father. Shakespeare employs animal imagery to indicate the rotten and corrupt world of the dramatis personae of King Lear. Images of ugly and evil animals like jackals and wolves are recurrently used creating an animal imagery that reinforces the thematic concern of the play, namely the tragedy of human life, The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol. 1, No. I – Jan, 2005 personified in the life of Lear, a victim of indifference in old age. Anita Desai’s use of imagery of King Lea.