A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin Essay Example for Free

A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin Essay In the short story A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin, we see a great example of realism in the daily life of an average woman after the civil war. Mrs. Sommers lived her early life with a decent amount of luxury, but after getting married and having several kids, she has become quite cautious with her money. She is known to make her careful calculations and bargain her way to a better price. This can be considered foreshadowing for the experience to come, as Mrs. Sommers loses herself to the greed and desire to have a life filled with opulence and pleasure once again. Due to her financial standing, Mrs. Sommers is very frugal and definitely knows the value of bargaining. She is also known for her unselfishness towards her children Theyre on the top of her priority list, and wants to give them the very best. Just like any normal mother during that time period. When fate decides to set the 15 dollars in front of the caring mom, she immediately decides to spend it on her beloved children. She lays awake during the night and comes up with a specific plan for what she would use the money for; with everyone gaining from it. What a clever plan! This far into the story, its very realistic and plausible for a mother to be this caring and loving towards her family, especially during this time period. The next day however, she makes a couple mistakes even before she starts shopping. First, she is â€Å"faint and tired†. Two things result from this. Firstly, she sits down on a stool, resulting in her hand brushing against the silk stockings. Secondly, because of her fatigue, she is more likely to not have the energy to think properly or have the gumption to bargain like she usually does. Her second mistake was to go shopping on an empty stomach. This will come back to haunt her later, and aid in her frivolous spending. As Mrs. Sommers sits down on the stool and brushes against the silk stockings, she gives in to their â€Å"siren call†, and breaks down and purchases them. But it gets worse, she then goes to the shoe department and tried to find some matching shoes for her newly found stockings. She buys a very stylish pair of boots, but they too cost a little more than your standard foot covering. She then continues to buy a pair of gloves and a couple magazines; completing her breakdown of personal responsibility and self control in the clothing department. She then continues on to a cute little restaurant, and continues to splurge there, because of course, she hadnt eaten before leaving home. She then gets in a cable car, and heads for home, wishing that it would continue on forever, never taking a stop. This whole encounter is a realistic view on how those who are not used to having riches, or those who used to have riches, and wish to return to their old life, are apt to become irresponsible with the money to which they have been blessed. It can certainly be easy to lose oneself to the worldly pleasures, especially if they arent thinking clearly due to fatigue or hunger. Especially during this time period, the people lived very frugally, since they didnt have a high income, and this could be very grinding on those who are used to living in high opulence. Its so important to remember that with great wealth comes great responsibility. And this is very apparent in A Pair of Silk Stockings.

Benedicks Changing views on Love in Much Ado about Nothing :: essays research papers

Throughout Act one and two, Benedick repeatedly says that he will never love a woman or get married. At some stage in the duration of the play his mindset changes. In the end he is head over heels in love for Beatrice whom he once quarreled with habitually. The turnabout in his behavior was brought about by the deceiving Claudio and Pedro who indirectly told Benedick that Beatrice loved him. At the beginning, Benedick’s attitude is negative towards women in general. He swears he will never marry, as he is very critical of women and does not trust any of them not to cheat on him. He seems to oppose with Beatrice in a competition to outwit, outsmart, and out-insult each other. Obviously he has been in some sort of past relationship with Beatrice because when he meets her at the masked ball, she describes him as a selfish pig. We can infer that Benedick has some kind of deep feelings for her because after she insults him he is hurt and says, â€Å"Will your grace command me any service to the world’s end? I will go on the slightest errand now to the Antipodes that you can devise to send me on. I will fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia . . . do you any embassage to the pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference with this harpy† (II.i.229–235). This blatantly means that he does not wish to talk to her. When Benedick hears that Claudio has fallen in love for Hero, he is enraged. He thought that Claudio would live a bachelor’s life like him. Benedick tells him that men who are in love are not masculine. Near the end of Act IV, Benedick’s complete change is evident when Benedick chooses love over friendship. Benedick challenges Claudio, previously his closest friend in the world, to duel to the death over Claudio’s accusation as to Hero’s unethical behavior. After Beatrice complains to him about Claudio’s mistake, Benedick gives in, â€Å"Enough, I am engaged. I will challenge him.† At this point, there is no doubt that Benedick has switched his allegiances entirely over to Beatrice. But then again, Benedick was relieved that Hero was proved guilty so he would not have to fight his close friend Claudio. On the â€Å"second† wedding day of Hero and Claudio, Benedick showed maturity by not fighting Pedro and Claudio when they teased him about loving Beatrice.

Analysis of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Essay

Introduction Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, was founded in 1981 by Bob Stiller (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters [GMCR], n. d.). From a small cafà © to a company listed on NASDAQ and then to a company with more than $2.6 billion net sales revenue by Sep 24 2011 (GMCR, 2011), GMCR enjoyed great financial successes. Besides, it has been recognized consistently as a socially responsible company. Key Factors in GRMC’s Success After studying GMCR case, several key points are identified which together contribute to the success of GMCR as both corporation and corporate citizen. First, GMCR convenes members from all parts of its system for important company activities. In many companies, most of the staff in the lowest level of organizational structure are excluded from company activities. But representatives from GMCR’s whole system get together in its annual summit meetings (Mary 2008). The get together is useful in helping its participants better understand their importance within the organization and realize they can do more to better serve the system. People from all parts of GMCR also go to training programs (Mary 2008). These programs are a platform for staff to learn necessary knowledge with which they can better serve the customers. Including members from all parts of the system gives them a sense of personal involvement which encourages them to align their own interest with that of company. When employees feel that they are truly part of the organization, they tend to internalize the needs of the company rather than just treat their jobs as externally imposed obligations. They may also find their job meaningful and pleasant, have a stronger feeling of belonging and eventually are likely to work harder and exhibit increased labor productivity. In a nutshell, Bob Stiller makes all members truly participate in his venture and sparkles their potentials to better serve GMCR. Bob Stiller also take employees from different parts of the company to coffee farms(Mary 2008). Therefore employees can have personal experience about coffee farming which may increase their awareness and attention. For example, roasters may learn that lots of hard working is needed to harvest organic coffee bean and hence may pay more attention when roasting coffee bean which cause less waste of bean. Second, GMCR’s decision making process is based on the interest of all stakeholders rather than the company itself. For example, GMCR works to add social value by engaging in education programs for the children from farming families and communities (Mary 2008). Assisting these children builds stronger relations between GMCR and its farming families. GMCR also provides interest free financial resources to the farmers (Mary 2008), which eventually results in smooth supply of high quality bean. By taking all members’ interest into account, Bob Stiller builds a strong, desirable and sustainable network with all members within the system, which in turn supports the growth of GMCR. Third, GMCR has committed to organic coffee and creates social value by offering a much healthier lifestyle. Besides, GMCR’s success sets an example for other companies want to join organic market. GMCR improves environment by protecting coffee farm from the bad impact of chemicals and assuring the future generations a viable farm (Mary 2008). It is difficult for farm owners to keep coffee trees alive as long as possible (Mary 2008) and the support from GMCR makes it possible. Therefore farmers are able to make a living out of coffee beans, and more importantly, they have a higher satisfaction because they can preserve and pass the farm to their future generations(Mary 2008). GMCR’s partnership with its farmers not only guarantees a smooth bean supply but also increases farmers’ spiritual wealth and again strengthens their relations. For trade-off problems, Bob Stiller always adhere to â€Å"future thinking† (Collins & Porras, 2002), making decisions based on long term benefits for the whole interconnected system rather than GMCR itself. Besides, Bob Stiller has committed to creating wealth which not only incorporates financial value but anything brings value to the whole system and the whole society. References Collins, J., and Porras, J. I. (2002). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York: Harper Business Essentials. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. (n. d.). Corporate review. Available at http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html, accessed August 24, 2012. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. (2011). Consolidated Statements of Operations. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. Form 10-K. Available at

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