Essay --

3) How France Stacks Up Against Newer Fashion Empires The Global Language Monitor (GLM) is a media-analytics company based out of Texas, which studies language usage from the internet, blogs, news media, and social media platforms to deliver the trending topics from across the globe. Each year, the Global Language Monitor produces a list of the Top Fashion Capitals in the world. According to the 2014 Global Language Monitor survey, New York City is the year’s fashion capital of the world until the stats are reevaluated at next season’s fashion weeks. The difference between New York City and Paris was only five percent, which is the smallest difference GLM has seen. Simply because the 2014 survey shows the top four as New York City, Paris, London, and Los Angeles does not mean that all of these cities are now considered to be part of the esteemed â€Å"Big Four.† The â€Å"Big Four† is a title given to the top fashion empires of the world and has remained consistent for many years. Each of these cities, have strong presences in fashion in the present, and also have rich histories of fashion, but with vastly different and unique qualities. Aside from Paris, the â€Å"Big Four† fashion capitals of the world are comprised of Milan, London and New York City. New York City, United States has the quickest growing fashion scene, with almost 7,000 recognized fashion designers, and annual sales of over $14 billion. The city’s role in fashion can be traced back to the early 20th century with the introduction and growth of the Garment District. This was an area in Manhattan with a very dense concentration of tailors, couturiers, boutiques and departments stores. The small district was where many famous American designers like Halston, Marc Jacobs, Ve... ... historical centers of cutting-edge design and to the large markets, related industries, and global affluence found in these two superstar cities (Florida, R. and Johnson, S).† Although there have been a few years Paris has lost its number one spot as fashion capital, overall it is still considered the Fashion Empire of the world. This is credited to its long history, adaptability, and innovations in the industry. Vanessa Freidman from the Global Language Monitor says, â€Å"Paris, with the Top Haute Couture ranking, of course has a centuries-long heritage, having invented the very concept, also scored highly in the pret-a-porter category.† In addition, French designers are known for creating some of the most iconic and classic designs of all time, styles like the Little Black Dress by Chanel and the pantsuit by Yves Saint Laurent will never cease to be wardrobe staples. Essay -- 3) How France Stacks Up Against Newer Fashion Empires The Global Language Monitor (GLM) is a media-analytics company based out of Texas, which studies language usage from the internet, blogs, news media, and social media platforms to deliver the trending topics from across the globe. Each year, the Global Language Monitor produces a list of the Top Fashion Capitals in the world. According to the 2014 Global Language Monitor survey, New York City is the year’s fashion capital of the world until the stats are reevaluated at next season’s fashion weeks. The difference between New York City and Paris was only five percent, which is the smallest difference GLM has seen. Simply because the 2014 survey shows the top four as New York City, Paris, London, and Los Angeles does not mean that all of these cities are now considered to be part of the esteemed â€Å"Big Four.† The â€Å"Big Four† is a title given to the top fashion empires of the world and has remained consistent for many years. Each of these cities, have strong presences in fashion in the present, and also have rich histories of fashion, but with vastly different and unique qualities. Aside from Paris, the â€Å"Big Four† fashion capitals of the world are comprised of Milan, London and New York City. New York City, United States has the quickest growing fashion scene, with almost 7,000 recognized fashion designers, and annual sales of over $14 billion. The city’s role in fashion can be traced back to the early 20th century with the introduction and growth of the Garment District. This was an area in Manhattan with a very dense concentration of tailors, couturiers, boutiques and departments stores. The small district was where many famous American designers like Halston, Marc Jacobs, Ve... ... historical centers of cutting-edge design and to the large markets, related industries, and global affluence found in these two superstar cities (Florida, R. and Johnson, S).† Although there have been a few years Paris has lost its number one spot as fashion capital, overall it is still considered the Fashion Empire of the world. This is credited to its long history, adaptability, and innovations in the industry. Vanessa Freidman from the Global Language Monitor says, â€Å"Paris, with the Top Haute Couture ranking, of course has a centuries-long heritage, having invented the very concept, also scored highly in the pret-a-porter category.† In addition, French designers are known for creating some of the most iconic and classic designs of all time, styles like the Little Black Dress by Chanel and the pantsuit by Yves Saint Laurent will never cease to be wardrobe staples.

Crane and Human Ideals Essay

Stephen Crane’s short story, â€Å"The Open Boat† (1894) shows a microcosm of social interdependency, which is set against the back-drop of the natural world. The story, at its most basic root, could be considered a â€Å"man vs. nature† story, or an adventure story with the sea as a symbol for nature’s essential neutrality and indifference to human life and human aspiration. Given this central tension in the story, it is important to recognize that Crane, rather than pitting an heroic protagonist against the trial against an indifferent nature, chose to express the heroic capacity of a group of individuals acting in concert for their mutual survival. In this way, the story becomes less about the indifference of nature and more about the ability of human society to function as a â€Å"buffer† against nature and a construct which gives not only a degree of safety, but meaning, to human existence. In order to establish the conflict between humanity and nature, as well as to introduce the persistent idea of communal support, Crane begins the story with the words â€Å"†None of them knew the color of the sky† (Crane, 728); while the opening words convey a sense of mystery and danger, they also convey at the same time, a firm understanding on the reader’s behalf that nature has become alien to the characters in the story and that it is â€Å"them† rather than nay particular individual with whom the story will be concerned. The following description of the men who are banded together in a dinghey after a shipwreck informs the reader that Crane, is in fact, determined to offer a social microcosm in order to represent, as fully as possible within the limited confines of the short-story form, the urgency and importance that the communal identity described in the story extends to all walks of life and all levels of society. By the time the entire story has been studied, the alert reader realizes that not only the makeshift crew of the boat itself, which is comprised of the wounded captain of the sunken ship, an oiler, a cook, and a correspondent, but the cast of the story altogether — represents a typical Western society at all levels: men and women, workers and executives, thinkers and â€Å"doers† as well as the lucky and†¦ unlucky. Both life and death figure prominently in the struggle which is described in the story — with the ability to distinguish between the two an immediate threat which faces the crew of the dinghey. In order to establish the utter despair of being cut-off from the protection of human society (symbolized by the sunken ship) and left to the devices of uncontrolled and unchecked nature (symbolized by the sea and its wildlife), Crane describes the motion of the dinghey, which can be thought of as a makeshift society, in words which can only be interpreted as showing a descent from social order to the chaos and indifference of nature: † A seat in this boat was not unlike a seat upon a bucking broncho[†¦ ]the craft pranced and reared, and plunged like an animal† (Crane, 728). Additionally, Crane offers a description of the men’s view of the sea from atop one of the great waves, just before the corresponding plunge: â€Å"The crest of each of these waves was a hill, from the top of which the men surveyed, for a moment, a broad tumultuous expanse; shining and wind-riven. It was probably splendid. It was probably glorious, this play of the free sea, wild with lights of emerald and white and amber† (Crane, 729). The word â€Å"probably† in this description is the key to injecting the sinister and simultaneously indifferent pose of nature to the men trapped in the dinghey. In order to drive his point regarding the indifference of nature even more fully home, Crane creates an image which is at once ironic and dramatic; an image which fills the reader with dread and a sense of the absurd all at once. By describing the gulls who flew nearby the drifting craft and showing their ease in the very element which threatened to destroy the men aboard the dinghey, Crane creates a genuinely masterful symbol to demonstrate nature’s indifference to humanity when he describes that a gull â€Å"came, and evidently decided to alight on the top of the captain’s head† (Crane, 729). This image is ironic and compelling and is Crane’s most obvious articulation of his theme that is given in the story. Against the backdrop of indifferent nature, none of the men aboard the dinghey as individuals is able to perform a rescue plan or find some heroic solution to their problem. Rather, by increments and by working together, the men eventually begin to regain a sense of determination, which ultimately rises to the level of hope and then — action. The mutual support of the men is the heroic aspect of the story: â€Å"They were a captain, an oiler, a cook, and a correspondent, and they were friends, friends in a more curiously iron-bound degree than may be common† (Crane, 729). This quite optimistic notion is meant to establish human society as a whole (as expressed through the microcosm of the â€Å"open boat†) as both a necessity and a natural outgrowth of human capacity. In other words, the men are out of their element (unlike the gulls) when pitted against the open sea, but in their element — which is human society — they can meet the test which confronts them. Humanity is meant to build mutually sustaining communities and societies just as gulls are meant to float on open ocean waves. In the long run, the tension between nature and man which is created at the beginning of the story finds fulfilling closure in the story’s post-climax where Crane writes â€Å"the white waves paced to and fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters† (Crane, 740). The closure of the story suggests — not a tension or conflict between man and nature — but a resolution through nature — human nature — to the discord offered in the story’s rising action. In other words, man by following his nature to be a social animal, and only by following this impulse, can be as harmoniously at home in the world, despite the indifference of nature, as a seagull which also accepts its rightful place in the natural order. Works Cited Crane, Stephen. â€Å"The Open Boat,† Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library (1999); accessed 2-1-09; http://www2. lib. virginia. edu/etext/index. html

Jessica in Ther Merchant of Venice - 1181 Words

Jessica in The Merchant of Venice In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare introduces his audience to the multi dimensional character of Jessica. Jessica is identified as the daughter of a Jewish Merchant but the audience learns she is much more than that. As the play moves along and Jessica marries a Christian man, Jessica’s identity as a Jewish woman is challenged. Although a minor character in the play, she is important because she makes the audience question what it means to be Jewish and therefore what it means to be Christian. The differences between Judaism and Christianity in the play are shown through Jessica’s relationships with Shylock and Lorenzo. The father daughter relationship that Jessica and Shylock share shows the†¦show more content†¦Her life with Lorenzo is one full of carefree fun and no material possessions. While her life with her father was one full of rules and restrictions. Once Jessica enters into this relationship with Lorenzo, the notion of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a Jew is questioned. Jessica’s two different lives represent the different stereotypes of the two religions. The Jewish people in this play are portrayed through Jessica and Shylock as being an old worldview of life. Shylock’s house is very strict, rule abiding, and oriented in hard work. While on the other hand, Lorenzo represents the New Testament, Christian view of the world where people are much more about living carefree and denouncing material possessions. When Jessica marries Lorenzo and becomes a Christian through marriage she also brings up another question about religion and what makes a person a Jew. Jessica is a Jew by birth but converts to Christianity through marriage. This brings about the question of is it birth or decision that makes a person a certain religion. Lancelot first brings this about when he claims that Jessica is damned because she was born Jewish in that he is referring to the fact that there is nothing she can do to undo being Jewish. The audience also sees many lines where the image of blood is brought up. Shylock refers to his daughter as â€Å"my own flesh and blood† (3.1.32) and Jessica states, â€Å"I am a daughter to his blood† (2.3.18).Show MoreRelatedEvaluation of Shylock as a Tragic Hero1165 Words   |  5 PagesShylock’s humiliation and sufferings can only be measured by someone who has experienced the alienation of a gross minority. From the very beginning of the play Shylock is a lonely man. His wife Leah ,whom he loves dearly ,is dead. His daughter Jessica is not much of a help, and infect adds to his loneliness. She betrays her father by robbing him of all his money after he had bestowed upon her the trust of his house. She not only takes the money but also marries Lorenzo, a Christian boy by changing