Mule Guitars free essay sample

We are a guitar manufacturing company. Currently, we are going to produce one guitar, ‘THE MULE’. We are marketing to sell a one of a kind steel bodied, cone resonator, 6-string acoustic guitar. We are custom making each guitar by hand in our machine shop in Michigan. The fully customized finished guitar will be delivered to the customer’s home in 10 weeks from the time the deposit is confirmed. If the customer chooses, they will have full access to promote their upcoming band performances via our social media outlets. We have a vision of expanding into making many different styles of guitars in the future. Vision Statement We believe that we can make a significant contribution to the music industry by creating sounds that cannot be replicated, leaving a positive impression on everybody who hears our instruments. Mission Statement To help people enjoy life through music, we are on a journey to create the highest quality instruments to share with the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Mule Guitars or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We want everyone to enjoy the opportunity and to participate in creating, playing, and listening to the sounds our instruments make. Target Markets (Segmentation) We understand that our product is a niche market and we are going to market it to specific consumers. We are looking for guitars players who already own at least one guitar and are looking to add another guitar to their collection. We are going to divide our market of guitar players into different subsets: those who are professional guitar players and those who are casual guitar players. The professional and aspiring professional, since this player is already in a band, they own at least one guitar; we are going to focus on this group the most. We will suggest that our ‘Mule’ will offer a whole new sound to the band. We will concentrate our marketing campaign on the segment of bands that play mostly Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Folk, Country, and Jazz. The sound of the ’Mule’ will complement the tonal layers of these music styles. Our other market segment is the casual guitar player, also known as a hobbyist. Since our product is more expensive than a standard factory made, we must focus on players in the middle to upper income level, they have expendable money for a luxury item. We will look for players who currently own at least one guitar. As for a geographic segment, we will concentrate on players throughout the United States. We will target out marketing campaigns to various festivals and concerts in the South and Southwestern United States. The steel guitar sound is very popular in the Country Music and Folk Music scene. Positioning Strategy We are positioning ourselves as a one of a kind luxury item. The customer will receive a superior quality guitar, excellent performance and style, with a sound that cannot be replicated. Since each guitar is hand-made and built to order, you will customize your guitar as to the neck height, bridge-height, engravings, color (patina), fret amount, scale length, neck wood, inlays, etc. We are offering the most unique combination of a steel body with the cone resonator. We are offering a 10 year warranty against craftsman defects. You send it back to us and our master luthiers will fix it or replace it. Industry Analysis A study by Guitar Center estimates that the guitar sales in North America were $1. 4 Billion in 2011. 1 Guitar Center classifies their guitar customers as:2 6% Professionals 43% Aspiring Professionals 41% Hobbyists A National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) poll showed that 43% of adults (aged 18 – 55) can play a musical instrument. 3 The same poll from NAMM showed that 13% of adults are able to play a guitar. The gender breakdown is 17% males and 9% females. 4 This poll estimates that there are over 20 million guitar players in the U. S. P rofessionals 2. 6 Million Aspiring Professionals 8. 6 Million Hobbyists 8. 2 Million Data compiled from Musictrades. com5 shows that there is a continual increase in guitar sales. We can see that there was a decline in sales during the 1996-1997 economic downturns, with a very strong rebound in the years following. We believe this same cycle is repeated after the 2008 recession. Total Guitar Sales Year| Units| %Change| $Retail| Change| Average Price| 2000| 1,648,595| 23. 3%| $923,552,000| 21. 2%| $560| 1999| 1,337,347| 15. 9%| $762,185,000| 9. 6%| $569| 1998| 1,153,915| 5. 8%| $694,883,000| -2. 2%| $579| 1997| 1,090,329| -. 33%| $710,769,000| . 63%| $652| 1996| 1,093,944| -1. 1%| $706,290,000| 1. 4%| $645| 1995| 1,105,914| 16%| $696,276,000| 23%| $629| 1994| 951,226| 10%| $564,480,000| 10%| $593| 993| 861,268| 26%| $511,605,000| 31%| $594| 1992| 681,762| 7%| $389,816,000| 9%| $571| This is the most recent data available to the general public. In order to access more recent data, we must be a member of the trade groups or pay a large subscription price for the proprietary information. From an informal poll, which we administered ourselves, given to a group of 2 0 guitar players, with the following questions: What attracts you to a specific guitar? How important is style? How important is quality of the sound? How important is scarcity of a guitar? Do you like the ability to have a guitar customized? Highlights from our research include: 1. Looking great on stage, ergonomics for playability and acoustical sound when performing and recording are priorities. 2. Which performers use the guitar and are they are great at what they do. Is the featured artist playing the same style of music that I do. 3. Scarcity is special to the artist. Everybody owns a Fender Stratocaster but not everybody owns an exclusive hand-made instrument. External Environment Assessment Demographics: Our target market of adult guitar players aged 18 to 55 is increasing. Electric and bass guitar usage is very male dominated. We predict an increased interest from female customers. Our acoustic guitar is customized for the proper fit for any sized hand. Economy: This is a positive for us. The economy is moving out of recession of 2008 and the stock market is booming. Our target customers have more expendable cash. Politics: We will struggle with the possibility that states will soon have to collect sales tax on internet sales. This could increase the price paid by the customer. We are not too worried because our product is in a prestige pricing category. If import regulations change our competitors will have to adapt their business models. We will benefit because we are produced in the USA with all domestic parts. Social/Cultural: The trend is that County, Western, and Folk music is the most popular style of music. Stars like Blake Shelton, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, and Miranda Lambert have consistently been in the Top 25 downloaded songs on ITunes. 6 Technology: The internet is where people conduct business. We will market our product through all social media available. We are aware of our competition and can adapt our marketing and sales accordingly. Used guitars are a competitive issue. On eBay right now there are 7,000 electric guitars and 3,000 acoustic guitars listed, and a large percentage of these are over $1,000. 7 Global: The quality of guitars produced in China is getting better. We believe that the quality of our sound cannot be replicated on machine produced instruments. We will heavily promote the fact that we are made in the U. S. A.

Free Essays on Bill Gates

Bill Gates: Biography William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington on October 28th, 1955. Bills father Bill Gates Jr. worked for a Seattle law firm and Bills mother Mary, taught school until they started their family. Bills parents were married in 1951 and two years later gave birth to their first child, Bills older sister, Kristanne. Two years after that Bill was born and in 1964 the third and final Gates was born, her name is Libby. As a child Bill enjoyed rocking back and forth, today he still has a habit of rocking when he is thinking about something. Bill was very bored at school and his parents knew it so they were always trying to feed him more information to keep him busy. Bills parents finally decided to put him in a private school where he would be challenged more. The Lakeside private school had just bought a new computer when Bill arrived and he was immediately hooked. Within a week he had surpassed the knowledge of the computer teacher at Lakeside. Learning the BASIC programming la nguage was a breeze for Bill and he was soon writing his own programs. Bills love for computers and math led him to a new place around his neighborhood that was renting computer time. He got an arrangement with the owners that he would get free computer time if he found things that would make the computer crash. During this time Bill met Paul Allen his business partner for the rest of his life. Together they started a small company called Traf-O-Data, they sold a small computer outfitted with their program. This company wasn't a big success but it did earn the two boys some money as well as good business skills. Bill also wrote a schedule program for his school which he modified a bit to put little Bill Gates in a class full of the prettiest girls in the school. Bill was deemed by his peers and his teachers as the smartest kid on campus. Upon graduating from Lakeside Bill enrolled in Harvard University in 1973, one of the best univer... Free Essays on Bill Gates Free Essays on Bill Gates Bill Gates By: Nick Huff E-mail: ngh101@psu.edu ENCONIUM OF WILLIAM H. GATES III Nicholas G. Huff English 15 Essay #3 William H. Gates III Bill Gates? When most people hear that name they think of money, power, and computers. These thoughts aren’t necessarily incorrect, but rather insufficient. Sure, Bill Gates has money, thirty-two billion and growing to be exact, and yes he has power, being the CEO of Microsoft as well as the wealthiest man in the country. But people can’t look through their jealousy and envy to see what Mr. Gates actually stands for. He has influences the way businesses, schools, and organizations operate, with the creations his programs, and operating systems (Windows). As well Bill along with his wife, Melinda; have spent numerous hours in press conferences and funding campaigns. Together they have founded educational charity organizations. Nevertheless, hard work and dedication led him to his wealthy state, and positive effects. Bill, his full name: William H. Gates III, was born on October 28, 1955, and grew up in Seattle Washington. His father, William H. Gates II, was a prominent lawyer and was rather wealthy. His mother, Mary Gates was a schoolteacher, and served on many charitable boards, and also, was chairwoman of United Way International. Bill showed a lot of talent for math and logic. Bill Gates’ accomplishments began when he was at the age of 13. His father enrolled him in the private Lakeside school. This is where his career in personal computer software started. Having an interest in computers was extremely rare, especially for a young teenage boy. For computers back then were still the size of a room, and only run by sophisticated scientists. Bill met Paul Allen, a fellow classmate with an interest in computers also. These two along with others formed a group called the Lakeside Programmers. Paul and Bill became very close friends, as well as programmers. They created a scheduling progra... Free Essays on Bill Gates Bill Gates: Biography William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington on October 28th, 1955. Bills father Bill Gates Jr. worked for a Seattle law firm and Bills mother Mary, taught school until they started their family. Bills parents were married in 1951 and two years later gave birth to their first child, Bills older sister, Kristanne. Two years after that Bill was born and in 1964 the third and final Gates was born, her name is Libby. As a child Bill enjoyed rocking back and forth, today he still has a habit of rocking when he is thinking about something. Bill was very bored at school and his parents knew it so they were always trying to feed him more information to keep him busy. Bills parents finally decided to put him in a private school where he would be challenged more. The Lakeside private school had just bought a new computer when Bill arrived and he was immediately hooked. Within a week he had surpassed the knowledge of the computer teacher at Lakeside. Learning the BASIC programming la nguage was a breeze for Bill and he was soon writing his own programs. Bills love for computers and math led him to a new place around his neighborhood that was renting computer time. He got an arrangement with the owners that he would get free computer time if he found things that would make the computer crash. During this time Bill met Paul Allen his business partner for the rest of his life. Together they started a small company called Traf-O-Data, they sold a small computer outfitted with their program. This company wasn't a big success but it did earn the two boys some money as well as good business skills. Bill also wrote a schedule program for his school which he modified a bit to put little Bill Gates in a class full of the prettiest girls in the school. Bill was deemed by his peers and his teachers as the smartest kid on campus. Upon graduating from Lakeside Bill enrolled in Harvard University in 1973, one of the best univer... Free Essays on Bill Gates Bill Gates When most people hear that name they think of money, power, and computers. These thoughts aren’t necessarily incorrect, but rather insufficient. Sure, Bill Gates have money, fifty-two billion and growing to be exact, and yes he has power, being the CEO of Microsoft as well as the wealthiest man in the country. But people can’t look through their jealousy and envy to see what Bill Gates actually stands for. He has influences the way businesses, schools, and organizations operate, with the creations his programs, and operating systems (Windows). As well Bill along with his wife, Melinda; have spent numerous hours in press conferences and funding campaigns. Together they have founded educational charity organizations. Nevertheless, hard work and dedication led him to his wealthy state, and positive effects. William H. Gates III, was born on October 28, 1955, and grew up in Seattle Washington. His father, William H. Gates II, was a prominent lawyer and was rather wealthy. His mother, Mary Gates was a schoolteacher, and served on many charitable boards, and also, was chairwoman of United Way International. Bill showed a lot of talent for math and logic. Bill Gates’ accomplishments began when he was at the age of 13. His father enrolled him in the private Lakeside school. This is where his career in personal computer software started. Having an interest in computers was extremely rare, especially for a young teenage boy. For computers back then were still the size of a room, and only run by sophisticated scientists. Bill met Paul Allen, a fellow classmate with an interest in computers also. These two, along with others, formed a group called the Lakeside Programmers. Paul and Bill became very close friends, as well as programmers. They created a scheduling program for the school. This aided the administration in filling slots for classes each semester. Then a couple months afterwards, the duo founded a company called Tra...

Article Review 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Review 1 - Essay Example The study by The Employment Policies Institute, a nonprofit research organization, proves that for every 10 per cent increase, the unemployment among minorities like the Hispanics, teenagers and African Americans has increased considerably. Moreover, low-skilled unemployment among high school drop-outs has also grown. Studies by Dr. David Neumark, a University of California, Irvine economist, support these findings and states that the law has â€Å"the largest negative effects on low-skilled employees, such as teens and minority teens†. By destroying the opportunities of entry-level jobs for many, the law robs them of the right to learn skills and develop good work habits which would help them develop a career. James Sherk, a labour policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, points out that the law also has the negative effect of reducing many workers’ job opportunities and working hours. He observes that â€Å"wage hikes cause businesses to reduce the number of workers they hire and the hours they ask their employees to work†. Though there are some workers who initially earned near the minimum wage experience gains, the general impact would be a negative one for those who seek entry-level jobs, as Neumark’s study suggests. According to the Hoover institution, 20 per cent could lose their jobs unless there are offsetting tax cuts for small businesses. Lambro points out that there is an increasing tendency among industries to replace workers with machines, computers and the internet facility, to avoid the extra expenses they would have to meet by paying the minimum wages to a large number of people. Such job reduction will accelerate if the law continues to impose burde n on small businesses. Moreover, Sherk’s study also points out that the general benefactors of the law are not poor, dispossessed people, but teenagers from affluent families. This again reduces the

School based occupational therapy interventions in handwriting for Essay

School based occupational therapy interventions in handwriting for kindergarten and key stage one children - Essay Example OccupÐ °tionÐ °l therÐ °pists view the occupÐ °tionÐ °l performÐ °nce of children to be self-cÐ °re, work, Ð °nd plÐ °y Ð °ctivities. One common Ð °cÐ °demic Ð °ctivity is writing, required when children Ð °nd Ð °dolescents compose stories, complete written exÐ °minÐ °tions (Benbow, HÐ °nft, & MÐ °rsh, 2002), copy numbers for cÐ °lculÐ °tions (HÐ °gin, 1983), dictÐ °te telephone messÐ °ges Ð °nd numbers Ð °t home, Ð °nd write messÐ °ges to friends Ð °nd fÐ °mily members (Ð mundson, 1998). The functionÐ °l skill of hÐ °ndwriting supports the Ð °cÐ °demic tÐ °sk of writing Ð °nd Ð °llows students to convey writ ten informÐ °tion legibly Ð °nd efficiently, while Ð °ccomplishing written school Ð °ssignments in Ð ° timely mÐ °nner. HÐ °ndwriting consumes much of Ð ° students school dÐ °y. McHÐ °le Ð °nd CermÐ °k (2002) exÐ °mined the Ð °mount of time Ð °llocÐ °ted to fine-motor Ð °ctivities Ð °nd the type of fine-motor Ð °ctivities thÐ °t school-Ð °ged children were expected to perform in the clÐ °ssroom. In their study of six clÐ °sses, consisting of two clÐ °sses from grÐ °des 2, 4, Ð °nd 6 in middle-income public schools, they found thÐ °t 31% to 60% of the childrens school dÐ °y consisted of fine-motor Ð °ctivities. Of those fine-motor tÐ °sks, 85% of the time consisted of pÐ °per Ð °nd pencil tÐ °sks, indicÐ °ting thÐ °t students mÐ °y possibly spend up to one quÐ °rter to one hÐ °lf of their clÐ °ssroom time engÐ °ged in pÐ °per Ð °nd pencil tÐ °sks. OccupÐ °tionÐ °l therÐ °pists Ð °re frequently Ð °sked to evÐ °luÐ °te hÐ °ndwriting when it interferes with Ð ° students performÐ °nce of written Ð °ssignments. In fÐ °ct, poor hÐ °ndwriting is one of the most common reÐ °sons for referring school-Ð °ged children for occupÐ °tionÐ °l therÐ °py (CermÐ °k, 1991; ChÐ °ndler, 1994; Oliver, 2002; ReismÐ °n, 1991). The role of the occupÐ °tionÐ °l therÐ °pist is to view the students performÐ °nce, in this cÐ °se hÐ °ndwriting, by focusing on the interÐ °ction of the student, the school environment, Ð °nd

Globalisation Causes Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Globalisation Causes Poverty - Research Paper Example There is a continuous discourse on the fight against poverty of international financial organizations and there are political elements in this debate, as well. Arguments against Poverty caused by Globalization According to Basu (2006) globalization and poverty are two different concepts. Globalization has almost become an indefinable term due to its ubiquity while the world poverty is a reality, the real causes of which are still hidden in large part. Basu (2006) argues that poverty does not come from globalization. Globalization only increases the degree of integration between countries. The policies adopted by governments of these countries causes poverty. Collier and Dollar (2002) supports the view by pointing out that European Union is also a form of globalization, which has not increased incidences of poverty among member countries, rather decreased it. According to Collier and Dollar (2002), it is agreed by economists that governments must eliminate barriers to free trade and o vercome protectionism of the past. The real cause of poverty within the third world countries is above all the overpopulation phenomena (Collier and Dollar, 2002). Collier and Dollar (2002) argues that causation of poverty is the fact that contraceptive devices are denied to the masses in these countries. Rather than holding globalization accountable, funds in these countries should primarily be used to create family planning centers to enable these people to have only maximum two children as is the case in Western countries (Cline, 2010).  According to Cline (2010), barring globalization or resorting to philanthropy cannot solve this problem of poverty in third-world countries. The other phenomenon which has... According to Basu (2006), globalization and poverty are two different concepts. Globalization has almost become an indefinable term due to its ubiquity while the world poverty is a reality, the real causes of which are still hidden in large part. Basu (2006) argues that poverty does not come from globalization. Globalization only increases the degree of integration between countries. The policies adopted by governments of these countries causes poverty. Collier and Dollar (2002) supports the view by pointing out that the European Union is also a form of globalization, which has not increased incidences of poverty among member countries, rather decreased it. According to Collier and Dollar (2002), it is agreed by economists that governments must eliminate barriers to free trade and overcome protectionism of the past. The real cause of poverty within the third world countries is above all the overpopulation phenomena (Collier and Dollar, 2002). Collier and Dollar (2002) argues that causation of poverty is the fact that contraceptive devices are denied to the masses in these countries. Rather than holding globalization accountable, funds in these countries should primarily be used to create family planning centers to enable these people to have only maximum two children as is the case in Western countries. According to Cline, barring globalization or resorting to philanthropy cannot solve this problem of poverty in third-world countries. The other phenomenon which has increased with the globalization is world population.

Queer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian Gray

Queer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian Gray Aestheticism dictates that life should be lived by an ideal of beauty and a movement embodied by the phrase of art for arts sake. There is perhaps no greater advocate of such beliefs as Oscar Wilde, and the characteristics of aestheticism run through much of his work, both plays and stories, particularly in the character of the dandy. It would be difficult to analyse any of Wildes work without considering his own personal life and consequently, almost impossible to analyse his use of aesthetics without tackling the elements of homoeroticism. Living in a society largely intolerant to homosexuality, Wilde was obviously restricted to some extent with regard to what he could write about explicitly and as a result secrecy becomes an important influence over Wildes work. This makes for an extremely interesting relationship between aestheticism and homoeroticism, and it is this relationship that will form the main focus of this essay. What are the forms and techniques that Wilde uses to aestheticise homosexuality, and why? And how by doing this his literary works reveal aspects of his own life and sexuality, ultimately creating the figure of Wilde the aesthete, dandy, and campy witticist who has become a public icon forhomosexual men in Britain and America. It will focus primarily on The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Happy Prince and Other Stories. The Portrait of Mr. W.H portrays Shakespeare as being a slave to beauty – that is the condition of the artist! This concept of theartist as worshipper of beauty is a recurring characteristic of Wildes literature and will be dealt with later in this chapter. Firstly, itis necessary to look at the ideal of beauty that Wilde presents as worthy of worship. There is an overwhelming resemblance between Wildes portrayal ofbeauty and the concept of beauty in the Greek era. As Summers observesin his book Gay Fictions: Studies in a Male Homosexual Literary Tradition, both The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Portrait of Mr.W.H focus heavily on portraits of androgynous young men bothstories allude to famous homosexual artists and lovers in history andthey both assume a significant connection between homosexual Eros andart. Same-sex desire is referenced heavily throughout Greek literature, for example, during the sixth century, the poet Sappho wrote numerous homoerotic verses concerning young women, with the term lesbian derived from the name of her island home of Lesbos. Platoalso referred to same-sex desires and relations, even forming his own theory on the pre-determined nature of different sexualities. In words taken from The Portrait of Mr. W.H, the ideal of beauty is a beauty that seemed to combine the charm of both sexes, and to have we dded, as the Sonnets tell us, the grace of Adonis and the loveliness ofHelen. Wilde uses this Greek ideal of beauty as a means of adding authority to his allusions to homoeroticism, to make the content of the two aforementioned works more acceptable to a Victorian audience. Itis important to note that there is a marked difference of public attitude towards homosexuality and homoeroticism between Greek and Victorian society. Donald Hall observes that during the Greek eraadult male sexuality, had much more to do with power status and social positioning than it did with any expression of identity-determining desire for the same or other sex. Wildes ideal of beauty also overlaps with the Greek concept of the muse. The Portrait of Dorian Gray presents us with Dorian, the muse topainter Basil Hallward, and The Portrait of Mr. W.H provides us withan insight into the life of one of the most famous muses of all, the young man who Shakespeare addressed many of his sonnets to Who was he whose physical beauty was such that it became the very corner-stone of Shakespeares art; the very source of Shakespeares inspiration; the very incarnation of Shakespeares dreams. The muse, defined as asource of inspiration especially for a creative artist succeeds in objectifying the subject, transforming a human presence into aesthetic fodder to fuel the creative mind, as well as something far superior tothe person beholding the muse. With regard to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Summers suggests that, the implied link between homosexual Erosand creativity is clear in Dorians effect on Basils art. Dorians beauty and the ideal that he represents ca use Basil to see the world afresh and inspire him to his greatest work as an artist. This is where the idea of worshipping beauty comes into play. TheHappy Prince, for example, is distinctly removed from everyday lifeand is admired from afar in a quite literal sense. However, Dorian isperhaps the best illustration of Wildes fascination with the worshipof beauty. The novel suggests that to other young men Dorian seemedto be of the company of those whom Dante describes as having sought toâ€Å"make themselves perfect by the worship of beauty.† Like Gautier, hewas one for whom the visible world existed. At the same time,Dorian is presented to us as the worshipped, with regard to hisrelationship with Basil Hallward. The experience of the muse in the manner of Basil and Shakespeare (asportrayed by Wilde) seems to present something of a double-edged sword,producing feelings of such passion that joy and despair becomeintertwined. The narrator of The Portrait of Mr. W.H suggests thatShakespeares muse was a particular young man whose personality forsome reason seems to have filled the soul of Shakespeare with terriblejoy and no less terrible despair. In a similar vein, Basil hasominous feelings on meeting Dorian for the first time, I knew that Ihad come face to face with someone whose mere personality was sofascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my wholenature, my whole soul, my very art itself. The effect of beauty canbe seen as both gift and curse – in the same way that Wilde perhapsregarded homosexuality in Victorian society. The importance that Wilde places on the worship of beauty is closelyrelated to his strong beliefs in aestheticism. The distance that Wildeseeks to construct between the observer and the object of beauty can beread as a mechanism of aestheticism whereby he aims to eliminate anyattachment to moral and wider societal concerns. The following chapterwill analyse the relation of aesthetics to Wildes literary works, andhow far he is able to separate the appreciation of art from moralvalues. Mary Blanchard, in Oscar Wildes America suggests that the personaof the invert or male homosexual was an emerging concept during the1880s, and the connections between aesthetic style and a homosexualsubculture cannot be overlooked. And with other critics referring toWilde as the high priest of aestheticism, its clear that Oscar is noexception to this rule. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle, flitting as asocial butterfly from one experience of art and beauty to the next. InVictorian times the male dandy soon became a symbol of this aestheticage, with no finer literary examples than Dorian and Lord Henry of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, and Algernon and Jack of The Importance ofBeing Earnest. Lord Henry declares that pleasure is the only thingworth having a theory about and it is this preoccupation withmaterial things and surface-level emotions that characterises thedandy, a choice of style over substance. As a result Dorian becomesfascinated with acquiring commodities such as perfumes, je wels andmusic. Wilde dedicates pages of description to this search forsensations that would be at once new and possess that element ofstrangeness that is so essential to romance. The concept of dandyism is closely linked to that of Victoriandecadence. Goldfarb, in his essay on Late Victorian Decadenceprovides us with a useful definition of decadence, highlighting itsresemblance to aestheticism – the value to be gained from experienceof all sorts and from indulgence in a life of sensation. Because ofthis emphasis, decadent literature is animated by the exploration ofimmoral and evil experiences; never does it preach morality, nor doesit strongly insist upon ethical responsibilities. This separationbetween decadence and morality is also a characteristic common toaestheticism. Glick studies the concepts of dandyism at length in her essay onThe Dialectics of Dandyism, identifying an opposition betweencritical thought on dandyism and arguing that two different modelslocate dandyism at the opposite poles of modernity, simultaneouslypositioning the queer subject as a privileged emblem of the modern andas a dissident in revolt against society. Therefore, on the one handthe reader can accept the dandy as person who embraces the aestheticsof culture and celebrates beauty – as a preoccupation with surfacetrends to conceive of gay identity solely or primarily in terms ofartifice, aesthetics, commodity fetishism and style. Or, beneath thesurface, we can read a protest against the commodification of modernlife and a rejection of common values and aspirations. Goldfarb note asimilar contempt for modern society in the movement of decadence, aself-conscious contempt for social conventions such as truth andmarriage, by an acceptance of Beauty as a basis for life. Bothaestheticism and decadence seek to remove beauty from the confines ofmodern society and use it to their own ends in a self-created sensualand fantastical lifestyle. Wildes use of aestheticism can be read as an attempt to showhomosexuality as a sign of refined culture, as a means to his desiredend where such a topic becomes more acceptable. In the same way thatWilde alludes to the Greek ideal of beauty to disguise what couldotherwise be seen as a direct and possibly offensive portrayal ofhomosexual desire, by adhering to the rules of aestheticism Wilde isable to divert attention from any moral attack on his writing. Themovement of aestheticism shuns any notion that art can be connectedwith morality and passionately encourages individual freedom and socialtheatricality. Ironically, whilst it can largely be seen as arebellion against Victorian sensibilities, it is simultaneously amethod of retaining a covert nature to the expression of homoeroticdesire. In the case of Basil Hallward, he finds art an outlet for suchdesires, there is nothing that Art cannot express. Through Dorian,Basil is able to discover a new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style not just when he is painting Dorian, but when he is merelypresent. It allows him a new way of looking at life, having realisedthe power of homoeroticism In presenting homosexuality through the lens of aestheticism andconsequently presenting it as a refined culture with close links to theidealised and romantic image of the Greek age, Wilde also separates thelifestyle of the homosexual man from the classes of heterosexualsociety. As Elisa Glick suggests in her essay on the dialectics ofdandyism, Wilde depicts Dorians seemingly endless appetite forexotic, luxury objects as the exterior manifestation of his innerintellectual and artistic superiority. This presents Doriansdesires and those of other aetheticism advocates as elitist andultimately superior to other classes. Through the use of aestheticism,it can be argued that Wilde attempts to give homoeroticism the power totranscend class. By describing such episodes in this romantic andfantastical manner, he places homosexuality in a highly refined classof its own, in a position out of reach from the realities of theworking class and bourgeoisie. To take this concept one step further, Wilde can also be seen toreject the realities of common society entirely, as an aesthetepreferring to lose himself in sensual experiences and ultimatelydreaming of an escape from reality to a place where such experience canbe fully realised. Glick goes on to note that Dorians acquisition ofluxuries and curios not only seems to affirm his â€Å"aristocratic†distinction, but also aims to build a self-created world byaestheticizing experience itself. Gray yearns not so much for theenjoyment provided by an individual object, but for the aestheticpleasure provided by its reincarnation of part of his collection.Indeed, Dorian does become obsessed with creating his own desiredversion of reality, in which worshipping beauty and living by thesenses is the priority. Having embarked on this aesthetic journey-largely instigated by Lord Henry –Dorians passion to adhere to theseideals becomes clear, It was the creation of such worlds as these th atseemed to Dorian Gray to be the true object, or amongst the trueobjects of life. Early in the novel Wilde even goes so far as toassociate reality directly with the lower classes and as therefore,something ranked below the aspirations and lifestyle of those likeDorian; in this extract no sooner is Dorian overcome by fascinationwith Lord Henry than he is brought down to earth by the entrance of aservant: Dorian Gray never took his gaze off him, but sat like one under aspell, smiles chasing each other over his lips, and wonder growinggrave in his darkening eyes. At last, liveried in the costume of the age, Reality entered the roomin the shape of a servant to tell the Duchess that her carriage waswaiting. By personifying Reality Wilde presents it as something that can bedefeated, beaten by those who have enough desire and strength of mindto do so. In the same way Wilde often capitalises and personifiesArt to add character to the subject and emphasise his position onthat subject. Although in one respect this separation of the dandy or aesthetefrom reality may seem to alienate him from others in society, thecontent of Wildes narration does not necessarily isolate him from amoral standpoint. It is interesting to note that we are given verylittle information on the uglier types of experience that Dorianseeks. As readers, we understand the influences and transition thatthe protagonist is going through as his soul darkens, but we are noteducated in the exact nature of the experiences. This allows lessopportunity for concentrating on the moral aspects of his lifestylechoices, and more opportunity for pondering on the nature ofaestheticism; we focus more on the influences on Dorian and theconsequences, rather than on judging his actions and decisions. Whenone delves deeper to find a moral standpoint on Wildes part, it isdifficult to do so, and consequently, easier to assume that the absenceof analysis in this area suggests ambiguity on his part. Summer seeks to find an answer to this moral ambiguity in the worldof Oscar Wilde himself, and in relation to The Portrait of Dorian Grayfound that Wilde summarised the moral as â€Å"all excess, as well as allrenunciation, brings its own punishment. The painter, Basil Hallward,worshipping physical beauty far too much, as most painters do, dies bythe hand of one in whose soul he has created a monstrous and absurdvanity. Dorian Gray, having led a life of mere sensation and pleasure,tries to kill conscience, and at that moment kills himself. Thiscomment of Wildes confirms the notion that becoming a slave to beautyis a condition of art, illustrated by the tone of the inevitable thataccompanies the phrase as most painters do, an observation that wecan easily transfer to the experience of other artists as well. Wildegoes on to explain that Lord Henry Wotton seeks to be merely thespectator of life. He finds that those who reject the battle are moredeeply wounded than those who take part i n it. In this respect bothBasil and Henry are ultimately doomed, thus suggesting no clear moralpath that the reader need follow for salvation. Moral ambivalenceoccurs frequently as a result of the narrators attitude; the narratoris sympathetic towards whichever character he is describing, and inparticular, often seems just as seduced by the strong and influentialcharacter of Lord Henry as Dorian is. With this in mind, Summersconcludes that notwithstanding the retributive ending of the book, theFaustian dream of an escape from human limitation and moral stricturesultimately triumphs over the condemnation of excess and therebysubverts the apparent moralism. To summarise, he argues that theFaustian dream is rendered more appealingly than the superimposedlesson of dangers of narcissism. However, if we accept Summersreading, it still remains impossible to read the novel withoutquestioning the relationship between aestheticism and morality.Whether we believe Wilde to subvert or strengthen common moral values,their presence within the narration is undeniable and invites furtherthought from the reader. To conclude this chapter on aestheticism, we can see that Wildesliterature aestheticism and homosexuality exist co dependently. Thisobviously has an effect on the publics reading of his works, and howreadily and comfortably they associate these two aspects. As Summerssuggests it is interesting to note that The Picture of Dorian Gray wasamong the first novels in the language to feature (though blurred andinexactly) a homosexual subculture Summers wrote that homosexualreaders would certainly have responded to the books undercurrent ofgay feeling, and may have found the very name â€Å"Dorian† suggestive ofGreek homosexuality, since it was Dorian tribesmen who allegedlyintroduced homosexuality into Greece as part of their militaryregimen. In contrast, Mary Blanchard notes a negative consequenceconcerning heterosexual readers during the Victorian era – Allyingaesthetic style with the masculine self provoked attacks from someVictorian men unsure of their own gender orientati on. This raisesthe issue of how a heterosexual readership can be seen to react to theundertone of homosexuality, and how a readers interpretation canchange when fuelled by more knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life.Before looking at the effect of the writer on what is ultimately afictional narrator, this essay will look at the importance of secrecyin the life of the homosexual man. Todays society is obviously more accepting of Wildes sexuality andits effect on his art, Summers illustrates this point by suggestingthat Wildes demise meant that he ultimately functioned as Saint Oscar,the homosexual martyr. But of course it was not until some timeafter the late nineteenth century that Wilde was fully appreciated by awider audience. Miller and Adams in Sexualities in Victorian Britainobserve that the Victorians were notorious as the great enemies ofsexuality: indeed in Freuds representative account, sexualitysometimes seems to be whatever it was that the middle-class Victorianmind attempted to hide, evade, repress, deny. In this respect thehomosexual man had a double secrecy to adhere to – that of sexuality,as well as homosexuality. In Victorian society there was very much aclear-cut idea of what was natural and unnatural, of what was normaland abnormal. Consequently, Wilde set himself up as a figure to beattacked by the press as unnatural and abnormal the V ictorian presspublicized in wildly inflammatory ways Wildes eccentric dress,effeminate, and haughty demeanour, all held up as important signifiersof his unnatural sexuality and the threat he posed to â€Å"normal,†middle-class values. Being such an extravagant and extrovertedcharacter, Wildes sexuality was not particularly covert and eventuallyprovided Victorian society with a case by which to lay down the law asto what was acceptable in terms of sexuality. As Ed Cohen suggests inhis essay, Writing Gone Wild: Homoerotic Desire in the Closet ofRepresentation, the court proceedings against Wilde provided aperfect opportunity to define publicly the authorized and legal limitswithin which a man could â€Å"naturally† enjoy the pleasures of his bodywith another man. Despite the fact that it was Wildes indiscrete homosexual behaviourand demeanour that led to his downfall, aspects of secrecy featureheavily in his literary works and certain narrative techniques aid tothe covert nature in which homoeroticism is often presented. To recap,by relating same-sex friendships to aestheticism and ideals of beauty,Wilde is able to divert attention from aspects of homosexuality thatwould be otherwise be interpreted as immoral by Victorian society.Also, Wilde omits any direct reference or description of same-sexphysical relations and hardly even alludes to such activities. Thecontent of the narration and emphasis on aestheticism means that ahomoerotic reading of Dorian Gray is not immediately obvious – at leastnot to a heterosexual readership. Therefore, homosexual love becomesthe love that cannot be spoken of and is fundamentally secretive. The secret language of homosexuality is particularly evident in TheImportance of Being Earnest, a play riddled with code words alluding tohomosexual behaviour. Karl Beckson argues that the title of the playis not only a pun on the name of Earnest, but is also a representationof same-sex love since the term Urning (a variant of the more commonlyused Uranian) referred to same-sex desire in fin-de-siecle London.Beckson also argues that Wildes use of the term bunburying as ameans for Algernon to escape responsibility also has Uranianimplications. With the action of bunburying being such a focal pointof The Importance of Being Earnest, this reading of the play suggest aserious preoccupation with the secret world of the homosexual. It isalso interesting to note that an unnamed critic in Time suggests thatâ€Å"Bunburying was shorthand for a visit to a fashionable London malewhorehouse† (2 February 1979, 73), an opinion reaffirmed by JoelFineman in 1980. Understandably, after the suc cess of play thephrase bunburying became a commonly used term as same-sex slang.John Franceschina notes other code words used in the play as musical,effeminate, and aunty, all of them Victorian expressions for same-sexactivity. Yet, again Wilde diverts attention from a moral reading bywriting in a style that is based on farce and euphemism, a style thatrejects an immediate analytical reading. In her essay Dialectics of Dandyism, Elisa Glick observes theissue of secrecy within both modern and Victorian society and suggeststhat modern gay identity is pervaded by the trope of the secret.She pays particular interest to the dichotomy of appearance and whatlies beneath, in her words the opposition between outward appearanceand inner essence. This split between appearance and essence of apersons character and desires is central to Wildes portrayal ofhomosexuality, as illustrated by the character of Dorian Gray. Dorianis a contradiction of appearance and essence, with the portrait beingan omnipresent reminder of this. And to return to The Importance ofBeing Earnest, the very act of bunburying on Algernon Moncrieffs partsuggests a web of deceit where appearances are never compatible withreality. One might think that such a heavy reliance on secrecy might lead tosome resentment by those forced to hide their sexuality from anintolerant society, but in the case of Wildes dandies, this does notseem to be the case. In fact, such characters appear to activelyembrace a world of secrecy. If we equate Dorians portrait withhomosexuality, then we can read his response to the secrecy that isforced upon him as something of a guilty pleasure pride ofindividualism that is half fascination of sin, and smiling with secretpleasure at the misshapen shadow that had to bear the burden thatshould have been his own. This seems to suggest that throughsecrecy, a homosexual man can avoid all the negative consequences thatwould be thrust upon him by an offended Victorian society. Glickobserves that it the portrait is not just related to the secret worldof Dorian, but that it also functions on a wider scale, Wilde makes itclear that the portrait does not exhibit a single secret; rather it isthe site f or a circulation of secrecy in which all these characters –Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry – are implicated. The portraittherefore, becomes a symbol of the secrecy of the homosexual man, whichis simultaneously associated with issues of aestheticism. Glick goeson to suggest that Basil expresses the sense of homosexuality as bothknown and unknowable – the double bind of gay identity – when hedeclares, â€Å"I have come to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thingthat can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. Thecommonest thing is delightful if only one hides it. But just how realistically can homosexuality exist by these secretcodes of conduct? Just as Wilde suffers at the hands of an intolerantsociety, so does Dorian Gray struggle to live a life of doubleidentity. By the end of the novel it becomes clear that he issuspended between two worlds, with no lasting way of marrying the two.To return to the essay of Elisa Glick, Dorian must die when he stabsthe portrait because he can only exist in the relation between thepublic and the private, a relation that Wilde literalizes in theportrait and its subject. Right from the outset of The Picture ofDorian Gray we are presented with the concept of that part of anartists inspiration that remains secret and personal to them.Therefore, the portrait of Dorian Gray does not merely conceal thesecrets of Dorian, but also the secrets of the painter of the subject -the portrait is a â€Å"mysterious form† because its outward appearanceconceals its inner essence. – it reveals the essence of both painterand painted. The secret desire hidden within the painting is broughtto our attention by Henrys shallow comment that the painting looksnothing like Basil; the fact that his retort misses the point entirelymerely succeeds in enhancing our understanding that there is much moreof Basils desires and passion in the painting than is immediatelyobvious from its surface attributes. Interestingly, this revelationcontradicts the concept of appreciating art purely for its appearanceand with no relation to moral values. In many cases living by thesenses reveals much about the person, and experiences cannot be soeasily detached from emotion and personal feeling. For example, whenDorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, Henry observes that out of itssecret hiding place had crept his Soul, and Desire had come to meet iton the way. Within the stereotypical lifestyles of the aesthetes,inner feeling will inevitably show its face and with it, bring at leasta fleeting ponder on moral values. Having analysed The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture ofDorian Gray with regard to elements of secrecy, both positive andnegative consequences of such an influence on homosexual lifestyle areapparent. But it is the story of The Happy Prince that puts Wildesfinal and definitive seal of opinion on the issue of secrecy. Once theswallow has sacrificed his life for the statue of the Prince, the twoTown Councillors far from understand the relationship between theswallow and prince, becoming preoccupied with the trivial matter of whoshould be the subject of the next statue. However, there is ultimatelya happy ending with the swallow and Prince receiving recognition andacceptance from God, for in my garden of Paradise this little birdshall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shallpraise me. The relationship between Prince and Swallow does havehomoerotic undertones, with the Swallow often read as the dandycharacter, in this case fascinated by the beauty of the statue. Thehomoerotic aspect of the tale culminates in a kiss between the two,but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you. If we are toaccept a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince then accordingly wecan read the ending as Wilde voicing his opinion of homosexuality asnatural and literally giving such a lifestyle the blessing of God. InThe Portrait of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses a similar technique whereby hepresents the character who can most easily be classified as homosexual,as the very character who is the most morally sensitive. However, a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince, indeed of anyof Wildes literary works, relies on and is substantially influenced byour knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life. This brings us to thefinal chapter of this dissertation, a chapter that will analyse therelationship between the writer and the narrator, and the effect ofthis relationship on aesthetic and homoerotic readings of Wildesfiction. Chapter 5 -Wilde the storyteller So far we have looked mainly at The Importance of Being Earnest andThe Picture of Dorian Gray and we have touched upon the fact that it isoften difficult to read such works without considering the personallife of Oscar Wilde. A Victorian audience would have held someknowledge of Wilde, considering that he was an extremely sociablecharacter with social critiques often published in Reviews of thetime. And of course, his two years imprisonment would have beenwidely publicised and consequently common knowledge. There is no doubtthat it was around this time that heterosexual readers would havestruggled to accept the links that Wilde makes between aestheticism andhomosexuality, fearing a similar fate merely for sharing thecharacteristics of aestheticism. Reading in the twenty-first centurywe now have the privilege of even further information on Wildesprivate life. The nineteenth century novel largely focused on the third person,omnipresent narrator, and in doing so inevitably drew attention to thepersona of the narrator and subsequently to the author himself. Wildeis no exception to this rule and it is difficult not to see his owncharacter or what we believe to be his own character shinethrough. As suggested in the previous chapter, it is not just thecondition of the artist to worship beauty, but also to allow his owncharacter and desires to become a part of his art. In the case of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, our knowledge of Wilde as a dandy and aesthetecolours our interpretation of characters such as Lord Henry andDorian. Knowing what we do about Wildes extravagant social life andturbulent relationship with the press, lines such as You dont wantpeople to talk of you as something vile and degraded spoken to Dorianby Basil, begin to take on more significant meaning. With this quotein mind, it is possible to read between the lines and observ e a feelingin Wilde that he wishes somehow, outside of his literature not to belooked upon as vile and degraded. This desire for acceptance isoffset by the more typical tongue in cheek wit of Wilde, the use ofwhich diverts attention from serious emotions. This type of humour canbe seen in Dorians retort to Basil on hearing gossip, I love scandalsabout other people, but scandals about myself dont interest me. Theyhave not got the charm of novelty. It seems that Wilde isdeliberately poking fun at himself and joining in with the popularridicule that was present in Victorian society about the life of theaesthetic gentleman. Many cartoons and caricatures were in circulationat the time that sought to make fun of the extravagances of theaesthetic lifestyle. Numerous satirical works were also released,worth particular mention is Robert Hitchens Green Carnation, asatirical novel on decadence influenced by the authors beliefs inaestheticism as unconventional and exhibitionist. The Importance ofBeing Earnest also has a farcical tone throughout, which often servesto allow the reader to question Wildes authority, whilst also allyingthe comments of certain characters with Oscar himself. For example, aline of Gwendolen appears to point directly at Wildes personal life,And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties hebecomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I dont like that. Itmakes men so very attractive. However, many critics would argue that the very definition of fictiondictates that the reader should accept that there need not necessarilybe a connection between narrator and author. In the same way that anactor does not need to have experienced a similar history and lifestyleto the character they play, so too should we allow the writer to assumedifferent characters. This very point crops up in the story of ThePortrait of Mr W.H whereby the narrator argues that To say that only awoman can portray the passions of a woman, and that therefore no boycan play Rosalind, is to rob the Queer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian Gray Queer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian Gray Aestheticism dictates that life should be lived by an ideal of beauty and a movement embodied by the phrase of art for arts sake. There is perhaps no greater advocate of such beliefs as Oscar Wilde, and the characteristics of aestheticism run through much of his work, both plays and stories, particularly in the character of the dandy. It would be difficult to analyse any of Wildes work without considering his own personal life and consequently, almost impossible to analyse his use of aesthetics without tackling the elements of homoeroticism. Living in a society largely intolerant to homosexuality, Wilde was obviously restricted to some extent with regard to what he could write about explicitly and as a result secrecy becomes an important influence over Wildes work. This makes for an extremely interesting relationship between aestheticism and homoeroticism, and it is this relationship that will form the main focus of this essay. What are the forms and techniques that Wilde uses to aestheticise homosexuality, and why? And how by doing this his literary works reveal aspects of his own life and sexuality, ultimately creating the figure of Wilde the aesthete, dandy, and campy witticist who has become a public icon forhomosexual men in Britain and America. It will focus primarily on The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Happy Prince and Other Stories. The Portrait of Mr. W.H portrays Shakespeare as being a slave to beauty – that is the condition of the artist! This concept of theartist as worshipper of beauty is a recurring characteristic of Wildes literature and will be dealt with later in this chapter. Firstly, itis necessary to look at the ideal of beauty that Wilde presents as worthy of worship. There is an overwhelming resemblance between Wildes portrayal ofbeauty and the concept of beauty in the Greek era. As Summers observesin his book Gay Fictions: Studies in a Male Homosexual Literary Tradition, both The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Portrait of Mr.W.H focus heavily on portraits of androgynous young men bothstories allude to famous homosexual artists and lovers in history andthey both assume a significant connection between homosexual Eros andart. Same-sex desire is referenced heavily throughout Greek literature, for example, during the sixth century, the poet Sappho wrote numerous homoerotic verses concerning young women, with the term lesbian derived from the name of her island home of Lesbos. Platoalso referred to same-sex desires and relations, even forming his own theory on the pre-determined nature of different sexualities. In words taken from The Portrait of Mr. W.H, the ideal of beauty is a beauty that seemed to combine the charm of both sexes, and to have we dded, as the Sonnets tell us, the grace of Adonis and the loveliness ofHelen. Wilde uses this Greek ideal of beauty as a means of adding authority to his allusions to homoeroticism, to make the content of the two aforementioned works more acceptable to a Victorian audience. Itis important to note that there is a marked difference of public attitude towards homosexuality and homoeroticism between Greek and Victorian society. Donald Hall observes that during the Greek eraadult male sexuality, had much more to do with power status and social positioning than it did with any expression of identity-determining desire for the same or other sex. Wildes ideal of beauty also overlaps with the Greek concept of the muse. The Portrait of Dorian Gray presents us with Dorian, the muse topainter Basil Hallward, and The Portrait of Mr. W.H provides us withan insight into the life of one of the most famous muses of all, the young man who Shakespeare addressed many of his sonnets to Who was he whose physical beauty was such that it became the very corner-stone of Shakespeares art; the very source of Shakespeares inspiration; the very incarnation of Shakespeares dreams. The muse, defined as asource of inspiration especially for a creative artist succeeds in objectifying the subject, transforming a human presence into aesthetic fodder to fuel the creative mind, as well as something far superior tothe person beholding the muse. With regard to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Summers suggests that, the implied link between homosexual Erosand creativity is clear in Dorians effect on Basils art. Dorians beauty and the ideal that he represents ca use Basil to see the world afresh and inspire him to his greatest work as an artist. This is where the idea of worshipping beauty comes into play. TheHappy Prince, for example, is distinctly removed from everyday lifeand is admired from afar in a quite literal sense. However, Dorian isperhaps the best illustration of Wildes fascination with the worshipof beauty. The novel suggests that to other young men Dorian seemedto be of the company of those whom Dante describes as having sought toâ€Å"make themselves perfect by the worship of beauty.† Like Gautier, hewas one for whom the visible world existed. At the same time,Dorian is presented to us as the worshipped, with regard to hisrelationship with Basil Hallward. The experience of the muse in the manner of Basil and Shakespeare (asportrayed by Wilde) seems to present something of a double-edged sword,producing feelings of such passion that joy and despair becomeintertwined. The narrator of The Portrait of Mr. W.H suggests thatShakespeares muse was a particular young man whose personality forsome reason seems to have filled the soul of Shakespeare with terriblejoy and no less terrible despair. In a similar vein, Basil hasominous feelings on meeting Dorian for the first time, I knew that Ihad come face to face with someone whose mere personality was sofascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my wholenature, my whole soul, my very art itself. The effect of beauty canbe seen as both gift and curse – in the same way that Wilde perhapsregarded homosexuality in Victorian society. The importance that Wilde places on the worship of beauty is closelyrelated to his strong beliefs in aestheticism. The distance that Wildeseeks to construct between the observer and the object of beauty can beread as a mechanism of aestheticism whereby he aims to eliminate anyattachment to moral and wider societal concerns. The following chapterwill analyse the relation of aesthetics to Wildes literary works, andhow far he is able to separate the appreciation of art from moralvalues. Mary Blanchard, in Oscar Wildes America suggests that the personaof the invert or male homosexual was an emerging concept during the1880s, and the connections between aesthetic style and a homosexualsubculture cannot be overlooked. And with other critics referring toWilde as the high priest of aestheticism, its clear that Oscar is noexception to this rule. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle, flitting as asocial butterfly from one experience of art and beauty to the next. InVictorian times the male dandy soon became a symbol of this aestheticage, with no finer literary examples than Dorian and Lord Henry of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, and Algernon and Jack of The Importance ofBeing Earnest. Lord Henry declares that pleasure is the only thingworth having a theory about and it is this preoccupation withmaterial things and surface-level emotions that characterises thedandy, a choice of style over substance. As a result Dorian becomesfascinated with acquiring commodities such as perfumes, je wels andmusic. Wilde dedicates pages of description to this search forsensations that would be at once new and possess that element ofstrangeness that is so essential to romance. The concept of dandyism is closely linked to that of Victoriandecadence. Goldfarb, in his essay on Late Victorian Decadenceprovides us with a useful definition of decadence, highlighting itsresemblance to aestheticism – the value to be gained from experienceof all sorts and from indulgence in a life of sensation. Because ofthis emphasis, decadent literature is animated by the exploration ofimmoral and evil experiences; never does it preach morality, nor doesit strongly insist upon ethical responsibilities. This separationbetween decadence and morality is also a characteristic common toaestheticism. Glick studies the concepts of dandyism at length in her essay onThe Dialectics of Dandyism, identifying an opposition betweencritical thought on dandyism and arguing that two different modelslocate dandyism at the opposite poles of modernity, simultaneouslypositioning the queer subject as a privileged emblem of the modern andas a dissident in revolt against society. Therefore, on the one handthe reader can accept the dandy as person who embraces the aestheticsof culture and celebrates beauty – as a preoccupation with surfacetrends to conceive of gay identity solely or primarily in terms ofartifice, aesthetics, commodity fetishism and style. Or, beneath thesurface, we can read a protest against the commodification of modernlife and a rejection of common values and aspirations. Goldfarb note asimilar contempt for modern society in the movement of decadence, aself-conscious contempt for social conventions such as truth andmarriage, by an acceptance of Beauty as a basis for life. Bothaestheticism and decadence seek to remove beauty from the confines ofmodern society and use it to their own ends in a self-created sensualand fantastical lifestyle. Wildes use of aestheticism can be read as an attempt to showhomosexuality as a sign of refined culture, as a means to his desiredend where such a topic becomes more acceptable. In the same way thatWilde alludes to the Greek ideal of beauty to disguise what couldotherwise be seen as a direct and possibly offensive portrayal ofhomosexual desire, by adhering to the rules of aestheticism Wilde isable to divert attention from any moral attack on his writing. Themovement of aestheticism shuns any notion that art can be connectedwith morality and passionately encourages individual freedom and socialtheatricality. Ironically, whilst it can largely be seen as arebellion against Victorian sensibilities, it is simultaneously amethod of retaining a covert nature to the expression of homoeroticdesire. In the case of Basil Hallward, he finds art an outlet for suchdesires, there is nothing that Art cannot express. Through Dorian,Basil is able to discover a new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style not just when he is painting Dorian, but when he is merelypresent. It allows him a new way of looking at life, having realisedthe power of homoeroticism In presenting homosexuality through the lens of aestheticism andconsequently presenting it as a refined culture with close links to theidealised and romantic image of the Greek age, Wilde also separates thelifestyle of the homosexual man from the classes of heterosexualsociety. As Elisa Glick suggests in her essay on the dialectics ofdandyism, Wilde depicts Dorians seemingly endless appetite forexotic, luxury objects as the exterior manifestation of his innerintellectual and artistic superiority. This presents Doriansdesires and those of other aetheticism advocates as elitist andultimately superior to other classes. Through the use of aestheticism,it can be argued that Wilde attempts to give homoeroticism the power totranscend class. By describing such episodes in this romantic andfantastical manner, he places homosexuality in a highly refined classof its own, in a position out of reach from the realities of theworking class and bourgeoisie. To take this concept one step further, Wilde can also be seen toreject the realities of common society entirely, as an aesthetepreferring to lose himself in sensual experiences and ultimatelydreaming of an escape from reality to a place where such experience canbe fully realised. Glick goes on to note that Dorians acquisition ofluxuries and curios not only seems to affirm his â€Å"aristocratic†distinction, but also aims to build a self-created world byaestheticizing experience itself. Gray yearns not so much for theenjoyment provided by an individual object, but for the aestheticpleasure provided by its reincarnation of part of his collection.Indeed, Dorian does become obsessed with creating his own desiredversion of reality, in which worshipping beauty and living by thesenses is the priority. Having embarked on this aesthetic journey-largely instigated by Lord Henry –Dorians passion to adhere to theseideals becomes clear, It was the creation of such worlds as these th atseemed to Dorian Gray to be the true object, or amongst the trueobjects of life. Early in the novel Wilde even goes so far as toassociate reality directly with the lower classes and as therefore,something ranked below the aspirations and lifestyle of those likeDorian; in this extract no sooner is Dorian overcome by fascinationwith Lord Henry than he is brought down to earth by the entrance of aservant: Dorian Gray never took his gaze off him, but sat like one under aspell, smiles chasing each other over his lips, and wonder growinggrave in his darkening eyes. At last, liveried in the costume of the age, Reality entered the roomin the shape of a servant to tell the Duchess that her carriage waswaiting. By personifying Reality Wilde presents it as something that can bedefeated, beaten by those who have enough desire and strength of mindto do so. In the same way Wilde often capitalises and personifiesArt to add character to the subject and emphasise his position onthat subject. Although in one respect this separation of the dandy or aesthetefrom reality may seem to alienate him from others in society, thecontent of Wildes narration does not necessarily isolate him from amoral standpoint. It is interesting to note that we are given verylittle information on the uglier types of experience that Dorianseeks. As readers, we understand the influences and transition thatthe protagonist is going through as his soul darkens, but we are noteducated in the exact nature of the experiences. This allows lessopportunity for concentrating on the moral aspects of his lifestylechoices, and more opportunity for pondering on the nature ofaestheticism; we focus more on the influences on Dorian and theconsequences, rather than on judging his actions and decisions. Whenone delves deeper to find a moral standpoint on Wildes part, it isdifficult to do so, and consequently, easier to assume that the absenceof analysis in this area suggests ambiguity on his part. Summer seeks to find an answer to this moral ambiguity in the worldof Oscar Wilde himself, and in relation to The Portrait of Dorian Grayfound that Wilde summarised the moral as â€Å"all excess, as well as allrenunciation, brings its own punishment. The painter, Basil Hallward,worshipping physical beauty far too much, as most painters do, dies bythe hand of one in whose soul he has created a monstrous and absurdvanity. Dorian Gray, having led a life of mere sensation and pleasure,tries to kill conscience, and at that moment kills himself. Thiscomment of Wildes confirms the notion that becoming a slave to beautyis a condition of art, illustrated by the tone of the inevitable thataccompanies the phrase as most painters do, an observation that wecan easily transfer to the experience of other artists as well. Wildegoes on to explain that Lord Henry Wotton seeks to be merely thespectator of life. He finds that those who reject the battle are moredeeply wounded than those who take part i n it. In this respect bothBasil and Henry are ultimately doomed, thus suggesting no clear moralpath that the reader need follow for salvation. Moral ambivalenceoccurs frequently as a result of the narrators attitude; the narratoris sympathetic towards whichever character he is describing, and inparticular, often seems just as seduced by the strong and influentialcharacter of Lord Henry as Dorian is. With this in mind, Summersconcludes that notwithstanding the retributive ending of the book, theFaustian dream of an escape from human limitation and moral stricturesultimately triumphs over the condemnation of excess and therebysubverts the apparent moralism. To summarise, he argues that theFaustian dream is rendered more appealingly than the superimposedlesson of dangers of narcissism. However, if we accept Summersreading, it still remains impossible to read the novel withoutquestioning the relationship between aestheticism and morality.Whether we believe Wilde to subvert or strengthen common moral values,their presence within the narration is undeniable and invites furtherthought from the reader. To conclude this chapter on aestheticism, we can see that Wildesliterature aestheticism and homosexuality exist co dependently. Thisobviously has an effect on the publics reading of his works, and howreadily and comfortably they associate these two aspects. As Summerssuggests it is interesting to note that The Picture of Dorian Gray wasamong the first novels in the language to feature (though blurred andinexactly) a homosexual subculture Summers wrote that homosexualreaders would certainly have responded to the books undercurrent ofgay feeling, and may have found the very name â€Å"Dorian† suggestive ofGreek homosexuality, since it was Dorian tribesmen who allegedlyintroduced homosexuality into Greece as part of their militaryregimen. In contrast, Mary Blanchard notes a negative consequenceconcerning heterosexual readers during the Victorian era – Allyingaesthetic style with the masculine self provoked attacks from someVictorian men unsure of their own gender orientati on. This raisesthe issue of how a heterosexual readership can be seen to react to theundertone of homosexuality, and how a readers interpretation canchange when fuelled by more knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life.Before looking at the effect of the writer on what is ultimately afictional narrator, this essay will look at the importance of secrecyin the life of the homosexual man. Todays society is obviously more accepting of Wildes sexuality andits effect on his art, Summers illustrates this point by suggestingthat Wildes demise meant that he ultimately functioned as Saint Oscar,the homosexual martyr. But of course it was not until some timeafter the late nineteenth century that Wilde was fully appreciated by awider audience. Miller and Adams in Sexualities in Victorian Britainobserve that the Victorians were notorious as the great enemies ofsexuality: indeed in Freuds representative account, sexualitysometimes seems to be whatever it was that the middle-class Victorianmind attempted to hide, evade, repress, deny. In this respect thehomosexual man had a double secrecy to adhere to – that of sexuality,as well as homosexuality. In Victorian society there was very much aclear-cut idea of what was natural and unnatural, of what was normaland abnormal. Consequently, Wilde set himself up as a figure to beattacked by the press as unnatural and abnormal the V ictorian presspublicized in wildly inflammatory ways Wildes eccentric dress,effeminate, and haughty demeanour, all held up as important signifiersof his unnatural sexuality and the threat he posed to â€Å"normal,†middle-class values. Being such an extravagant and extrovertedcharacter, Wildes sexuality was not particularly covert and eventuallyprovided Victorian society with a case by which to lay down the law asto what was acceptable in terms of sexuality. As Ed Cohen suggests inhis essay, Writing Gone Wild: Homoerotic Desire in the Closet ofRepresentation, the court proceedings against Wilde provided aperfect opportunity to define publicly the authorized and legal limitswithin which a man could â€Å"naturally† enjoy the pleasures of his bodywith another man. Despite the fact that it was Wildes indiscrete homosexual behaviourand demeanour that led to his downfall, aspects of secrecy featureheavily in his literary works and certain narrative techniques aid tothe covert nature in which homoeroticism is often presented. To recap,by relating same-sex friendships to aestheticism and ideals of beauty,Wilde is able to divert attention from aspects of homosexuality thatwould be otherwise be interpreted as immoral by Victorian society.Also, Wilde omits any direct reference or description of same-sexphysical relations and hardly even alludes to such activities. Thecontent of the narration and emphasis on aestheticism means that ahomoerotic reading of Dorian Gray is not immediately obvious – at leastnot to a heterosexual readership. Therefore, homosexual love becomesthe love that cannot be spoken of and is fundamentally secretive. The secret language of homosexuality is particularly evident in TheImportance of Being Earnest, a play riddled with code words alluding tohomosexual behaviour. Karl Beckson argues that the title of the playis not only a pun on the name of Earnest, but is also a representationof same-sex love since the term Urning (a variant of the more commonlyused Uranian) referred to same-sex desire in fin-de-siecle London.Beckson also argues that Wildes use of the term bunburying as ameans for Algernon to escape responsibility also has Uranianimplications. With the action of bunburying being such a focal pointof The Importance of Being Earnest, this reading of the play suggest aserious preoccupation with the secret world of the homosexual. It isalso interesting to note that an unnamed critic in Time suggests thatâ€Å"Bunburying was shorthand for a visit to a fashionable London malewhorehouse† (2 February 1979, 73), an opinion reaffirmed by JoelFineman in 1980. Understandably, after the suc cess of play thephrase bunburying became a commonly used term as same-sex slang.John Franceschina notes other code words used in the play as musical,effeminate, and aunty, all of them Victorian expressions for same-sexactivity. Yet, again Wilde diverts attention from a moral reading bywriting in a style that is based on farce and euphemism, a style thatrejects an immediate analytical reading. In her essay Dialectics of Dandyism, Elisa Glick observes theissue of secrecy within both modern and Victorian society and suggeststhat modern gay identity is pervaded by the trope of the secret.She pays particular interest to the dichotomy of appearance and whatlies beneath, in her words the opposition between outward appearanceand inner essence. This split between appearance and essence of apersons character and desires is central to Wildes portrayal ofhomosexuality, as illustrated by the character of Dorian Gray. Dorianis a contradiction of appearance and essence, with the portrait beingan omnipresent reminder of this. And to return to The Importance ofBeing Earnest, the very act of bunburying on Algernon Moncrieffs partsuggests a web of deceit where appearances are never compatible withreality. One might think that such a heavy reliance on secrecy might lead tosome resentment by those forced to hide their sexuality from anintolerant society, but in the case of Wildes dandies, this does notseem to be the case. In fact, such characters appear to activelyembrace a world of secrecy. If we equate Dorians portrait withhomosexuality, then we can read his response to the secrecy that isforced upon him as something of a guilty pleasure pride ofindividualism that is half fascination of sin, and smiling with secretpleasure at the misshapen shadow that had to bear the burden thatshould have been his own. This seems to suggest that throughsecrecy, a homosexual man can avoid all the negative consequences thatwould be thrust upon him by an offended Victorian society. Glickobserves that it the portrait is not just related to the secret worldof Dorian, but that it also functions on a wider scale, Wilde makes itclear that the portrait does not exhibit a single secret; rather it isthe site f or a circulation of secrecy in which all these characters –Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry – are implicated. The portraittherefore, becomes a symbol of the secrecy of the homosexual man, whichis simultaneously associated with issues of aestheticism. Glick goeson to suggest that Basil expresses the sense of homosexuality as bothknown and unknowable – the double bind of gay identity – when hedeclares, â€Å"I have come to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thingthat can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. Thecommonest thing is delightful if only one hides it. But just how realistically can homosexuality exist by these secretcodes of conduct? Just as Wilde suffers at the hands of an intolerantsociety, so does Dorian Gray struggle to live a life of doubleidentity. By the end of the novel it becomes clear that he issuspended between two worlds, with no lasting way of marrying the two.To return to the essay of Elisa Glick, Dorian must die when he stabsthe portrait because he can only exist in the relation between thepublic and the private, a relation that Wilde literalizes in theportrait and its subject. Right from the outset of The Picture ofDorian Gray we are presented with the concept of that part of anartists inspiration that remains secret and personal to them.Therefore, the portrait of Dorian Gray does not merely conceal thesecrets of Dorian, but also the secrets of the painter of the subject -the portrait is a â€Å"mysterious form† because its outward appearanceconceals its inner essence. – it reveals the essence of both painterand painted. The secret desire hidden within the painting is broughtto our attention by Henrys shallow comment that the painting looksnothing like Basil; the fact that his retort misses the point entirelymerely succeeds in enhancing our understanding that there is much moreof Basils desires and passion in the painting than is immediatelyobvious from its surface attributes. Interestingly, this revelationcontradicts the concept of appreciating art purely for its appearanceand with no relation to moral values. In many cases living by thesenses reveals much about the person, and experiences cannot be soeasily detached from emotion and personal feeling. For example, whenDorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, Henry observes that out of itssecret hiding place had crept his Soul, and Desire had come to meet iton the way. Within the stereotypical lifestyles of the aesthetes,inner feeling will inevitably show its face and with it, bring at leasta fleeting ponder on moral values. Having analysed The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture ofDorian Gray with regard to elements of secrecy, both positive andnegative consequences of such an influence on homosexual lifestyle areapparent. But it is the story of The Happy Prince that puts Wildesfinal and definitive seal of opinion on the issue of secrecy. Once theswallow has sacrificed his life for the statue of the Prince, the twoTown Councillors far from understand the relationship between theswallow and prince, becoming preoccupied with the trivial matter of whoshould be the subject of the next statue. However, there is ultimatelya happy ending with the swallow and Prince receiving recognition andacceptance from God, for in my garden of Paradise this little birdshall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shallpraise me. The relationship between Prince and Swallow does havehomoerotic undertones, with the Swallow often read as the dandycharacter, in this case fascinated by the beauty of the statue. Thehomoerotic aspect of the tale culminates in a kiss between the two,but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you. If we are toaccept a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince then accordingly wecan read the ending as Wilde voicing his opinion of homosexuality asnatural and literally giving such a lifestyle the blessing of God. InThe Portrait of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses a similar technique whereby hepresents the character who can most easily be classified as homosexual,as the very character who is the most morally sensitive. However, a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince, indeed of anyof Wildes literary works, relies on and is substantially influenced byour knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life. This brings us to thefinal chapter of this dissertation, a chapter that will analyse therelationship between the writer and the narrator, and the effect ofthis relationship on aesthetic and homoerotic readings of Wildesfiction. Chapter 5 -Wilde the storyteller So far we have looked mainly at The Importance of Being Earnest andThe Picture of Dorian Gray and we have touched upon the fact that it isoften difficult to read such works without considering the personallife of Oscar Wilde. A Victorian audience would have held someknowledge of Wilde, considering that he was an extremely sociablecharacter with social critiques often published in Reviews of thetime. And of course, his two years imprisonment would have beenwidely publicised and consequently common knowledge. There is no doubtthat it was around this time that heterosexual readers would havestruggled to accept the links that Wilde makes between aestheticism andhomosexuality, fearing a similar fate merely for sharing thecharacteristics of aestheticism. Reading in the twenty-first centurywe now have the privilege of even further information on Wildesprivate life. The nineteenth century novel largely focused on the third person,omnipresent narrator, and in doing so inevitably drew attention to thepersona of the narrator and subsequently to the author himself. Wildeis no exception to this rule and it is difficult not to see his owncharacter or what we believe to be his own character shinethrough. As suggested in the previous chapter, it is not just thecondition of the artist to worship beauty, but also to allow his owncharacter and desires to become a part of his art. In the case of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, our knowledge of Wilde as a dandy and aesthetecolours our interpretation of characters such as Lord Henry andDorian. Knowing what we do about Wildes extravagant social life andturbulent relationship with the press, lines such as You dont wantpeople to talk of you as something vile and degraded spoken to Dorianby Basil, begin to take on more significant meaning. With this quotein mind, it is possible to read between the lines and observ e a feelingin Wilde that he wishes somehow, outside of his literature not to belooked upon as vile and degraded. This desire for acceptance isoffset by the more typical tongue in cheek wit of Wilde, the use ofwhich diverts attention from serious emotions. This type of humour canbe seen in Dorians retort to Basil on hearing gossip, I love scandalsabout other people, but scandals about myself dont interest me. Theyhave not got the charm of novelty. It seems that Wilde isdeliberately poking fun at himself and joining in with the popularridicule that was present in Victorian society about the life of theaesthetic gentleman. Many cartoons and caricatures were in circulationat the time that sought to make fun of the extravagances of theaesthetic lifestyle. Numerous satirical works were also released,worth particular mention is Robert Hitchens Green Carnation, asatirical novel on decadence influenced by the authors beliefs inaestheticism as unconventional and exhibitionist. The Importance ofBeing Earnest also has a farcical tone throughout, which often servesto allow the reader to question Wildes authority, whilst also allyingthe comments of certain characters with Oscar himself. For example, aline of Gwendolen appears to point directly at Wildes personal life,And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties hebecomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I dont like that. Itmakes men so very attractive. However, many critics would argue that the very definition of fictiondictates that the reader should accept that there need not necessarilybe a connection between narrator and author. In the same way that anactor does not need to have experienced a similar history and lifestyleto the character they play, so too should we allow the writer to assumedifferent characters. This very point crops up in the story of ThePortrait of Mr W.H whereby the narrator argues that To say that only awoman can portray the passions of a woman, and that therefore no boycan play Rosalind, is to rob the

Landcare Revegetation :: essays research papers

Rehabilitation is the process of reclaiming land for economical or conservation purposes. This process usually involves re-vegetation. The main aim in rehabilitation is to either return the land to a self-sustaining ecosystem or prepare the land for human use, i.e. crops, pastures and plantations. Rehabilitation should take place at a rate that is significantly higher than natural succession. Several principles are implemented for successful rehabilitation. Of these principles includes the need for preventing disasters and anticipating problems before they arise, if this is taken to consideration then rehabilitation will be less costly and trouble free. When rehabilitating a site, all the components making up the ecosystem need to be looked at individually. They include soil, climate, vegetation, time and animals. These components need to interact at certain rates in order for the desired effect to be achieved and so might need to be altered. There are other principles of rehabilitation, which will be discussed, in greater detail. There are many methods and strategies involved in rehabilitation which, are specific to a site. In this case, surface mine reclamation and farmland will be looked at. A step by step illustration of the processes involved will be covered. When rehabilitating mine land, it is important to first prepare a plan before mining takes place. Researching and obtaining data on the floral and faunal elements of the ecosystem by conducting surveys of the upper, mid and under-story species present. If the aim is to restore the land to its original ecological balance and to conserve the species present, then further studies should be conducted on the ecology of the native species, i.e. seed biology of all species. Propagation techniques and the order of re-establishing species should be studied. When rehabilitation work was conducted on the bauxite mines in the southwest of W.A., special research was conducted on the germination requirements of sown seed. The aim in this case was to re-establish a self-sustaining forest, which maintains water, timber and all the valued qualities of forest. The timing component was carefully considered when removing topsoil in summer to ensure maximum seed store this was achieved when the forest was cleared after seed set took place. Hand seeding was done soon after ripping in order to ensured that the seeds other propagules were well established before germination. When conducting mining operations it is generally desirable that rehabilitation work takes place at the same rate as mining occurs. The soil component in this case needs to be removed in layers (topsoil and overburden) and stock piled during the mining process. The topsoil is very important because is contains most of the seed, propagules and micro-organisms which are needed for

Assignment on Brand Building Nike Marketing

Assignment On Brand Building Nike Marketing Essay History Nike is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of $18. 6 billion USD in its fiscal year 2008. It employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. The company was founded in January 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. The company takes its name from Nike the Greek goddess of victory.Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of â€Å"Just do it† and the Swoosh logo.By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the United States athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year. Its growth was due largely to ‘word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April 1982.Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television ads and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan â€Å"Just Do It† for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th ce ntury, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first â€Å"Just Do It† advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988.Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to â€Å"Let’s do it†, the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world. What does the brand stand for? Nike stands for VICTORY. In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who embodied triumph. She assumed the role of the divine charioteer when Zeus was assembling allies for the Titan War; she flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame.And the whole brand has been build around it, to convey one and only message, the one of the Victory, with a big V. While Nike started up its business selling sneakers, it reasonably hit the tipping point when the strong and sticky message which has dir ects impact on human's subconscious worn by top athletes and runners. The Nike logo  «Ã‚  swoosh  Ã‚ » was not only developed from the wing of the Greek Goddess Nike, it was also developed to impact again the subconscious of the consumer as well. How?Nike logo has the shape of a tick, and through life and education we get some automatism with tick which means right and the cross which means wrong. Nike,  «Ã‚  Just Do It  Ã‚ » happens to be the stickiest tagline ever. It wins over the hearts of hundred of millions of Nike fans, psychologically, subconsciously, imperceptibly, deadly. So the Nike brand stands for victory, and more precisely: Competency: as we used to quote the Nike co-founder Bill Bower mane who made this observation  «Ã‚  If you have a body, you are an athlete. High performance : Nike promotes its products by sponsorship agreements with celebrity athlete, professional and athletic teams, they sponsor Cricket in India an Football in France for example, the mo st popular sports > they focus only on winners Achievement : the message is pretty clear when you see champion in Olympics wearing Nike > it's just like the Nike sneakers brought him or her to achievement thanks to the spirit of the Victory Godess of Greek Never say Die attitude : the mission statement of Nike that the 30 000 employees across 6 continents make their own contribution to fulfill is > to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world Nike’s changing Logo The Nike ‘Swoosh' embodies the spirit of the winged goddess, which the legend says inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. The first shoe to wear the swoosh logo was launched in 1972. In 2006, Nike has also experimented in its advertisements by removing the woosh altogether & Nike written in a new font, and this the old swoosh was toned down a bit. Nike Logo history Products by Nike Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first product s were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers etc. for a wide range of sports including track & field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, Association football, lacrosse, basketball and cricket. Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6. 0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'.In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind. Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities for men, women, and children. Nike is well known and popular in youth culture, chav culture and hip hop culture as they supply urban fashion clothing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product which monitors a runner's performa nce via a radio device in the shoe which links to the iPod nano. While the product generates useful statistics, it has been criticized by researchers who were able to identify users' RFID devices from 18 m away using small, concealable intelligence motes in a wireless sensor network.Brand personality Nike has staked out a stylish, high-performance, innovative position in contrast to its competitors. It conveys the ideas of victory, puissance, sport attitude and masculinity. All these elements are emphasised by famous and successful sportive endorsement. With â€Å"Just do it Nike has promised its audience that the company is committed to the competitive spirit. Nike proposes that it will help people feel empowered, successful and best equipped to tackle the challenges of athletics. The company uses shades of gray and blue, which gives the brand a casual, unpretentious feeling. Nike’s famous swoosh creates feelings of movement and speed.Nike, the brand name itself, was once b etter known in Greek mythology as the goddess of victory. All these things and more give Nike its brand personality. How Does Nike maintain/communicate it’s intended brand image We shall concentrate on the marketing strategy of Nike by studying it’s 7 P model. Also, in the model itself we shall consider the integrated marketing communication adopted by Nike to enhance brand equity. Product Nike mainly concentrates on sportswear. The main product categories sold under Nike brand name include:http://gallery. clickthecity. com/albums/userpics/10006/pic56012. jpg Sports Footwear http://norcalsaversnest. com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cole-haan-coupons-discounts. jpg ApparelsBags (Handbags and bagpacks) Sports accessories Sports equipment In other words, all product categories sold under the Nike brand name are directly or indirectly related to sports and athleticism which in turn is the core brand image/ identity of Nike. Other Nike Brands include Cole Haan which is into casual footwear & dresses, Nike Team Sports which sells headgear &Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. which specializes in hockey and skating equipment. Hence, Nike sells unrelated categories under other brand names thus preventing confusion in the minds of the consumer Tune Your Run: The recent venture between Apple and Nike integrates your iPod and running shoes.The main innovation is that your speed & distance data can be recorded in your iPod and then synchronized with your PC to keep a tab on your progress Nike has always strived for innovation which inturn shows in their product research and development. Strategic partnerships and alliances with the most innovative partners ensure Nike is the global leader when it comes to sportswear innovations. Some of the famous innovations include: 2. House of Hoops : Partnership with Footlocker to promote the basketball line of Nike productshttp://blog. luon. com/public/Nike. JPG 3. Mass customization: Use of flexible computer-aided manufactu ring systems to produce custom output.Those systems combine the low unit costs of  mass production  processes with the flexibility of individual  customization. Price Nike’s pricing is designed to be competitive to the other fashion shoe retailers. The pricing is based on the basis of premium segment as target customers. Nike as a brand commands high premiums. Nike’s pricing strategy makes use of vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at differing channel levels or take part in more than one channel level operations. This can control costs and influence product pricing. Promotion Promotion is largely dependent on finding accessible store locations. It also avails of targeted advertising in the newspaper and creating strategic alliances.Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand ambassadors such as the Brazilian Soccer Team (especially Ronaldino, Renaldo, and Roberto Carlos), Lebron James and Jermane O’Neal for basketbal l, Lance Armstrong for cycling, and Tiger Woods for Golf. Nike also sponsors events such as Hoop It Up and The Golden West Invitational. Nike’s brand images, the Nike name and the trademark swoosh, make it one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Nike’s brand power is one reason for its high revenues. Nike’s quality products, loyal customer base and its great marketing techniques all contribute to make the shoe empire a huge success. Place Nike shoes are carried by multi-brand stores and the exclusive Nike stores across the globe. Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in the U. S. and in almost 200 countries around the world.In the international markets, Nike sells its products through independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries. Independent distributors need not adapt to local pressures because the 4Ps of marketing are managed by distributors. In terms of product differentiation, NIKE is also leading the market. The only compe titor nearly has an identical business is Adidas-Solomon. Product differentiation is healthy in the footwear industry and allows the company to increase its profits through the sale of different products. Another advantage of manufacturing a number of product lines is the reduction of risk in that if one product fails there are numerous other products to compensate for this loss.Companies in the apparel and footwear industry that concentrate on manufacturing a single product are at a great disadvantage since their revenues depend exclusively on the sales of only one type of product, therefore, increasing the potential default risk. NIKE designs most of its footwear for athletic use; however, in order to diversify its products, a large percentage of their products come from sales of footwear, apparel, and accessories for casual and leisure purposes. The company segments its products in variety of ways. First of all, it manufactures sports goods and accessories for three different gro ups of people: men, women and children. Each segment is carefully examined in terms of physical capabilities, sociological needs, and design preference.Another type of segmentation used by NIKE that helps to increase product diversification is achieved by offering footwear, apparel, accessories, such as NIKE watches or gym bags, as well as performance equipment, including sport balls, timepieces, eyewear, skates, bats, gloves, and others in virtually every type of sport: running, basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking, fencing, and others. Besides the two segmentations described above, NIKE also has agreements for licensees to produce and sell NIKE brand items aside from athletic footwear and apparel. In part, this product differentiation is accomplished through strategic management planning by having the company sell NIKE brand timepieces, children’s clothing, school supplies, electroni c media devices, and other items. NIKE subsidiaries, such as Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc. , are yet another way the company segments its product lines.Specifically, the Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc. subsidiary manufactures and distributes ice skates, skate blades, in-line roller skates, protective gear, hockey sticks and many other licensed apparel and accessories that make NIKE stand out in its industry. Communication Gaps in Branding of Nike Nike brand stands for: Competency Achievement High performance Never say Die attitude Nike was present in India since 1996 but didn’t rezlied the Indian potential till 2005. In Dec 2005, Nike was tied up with BCCI & then later went on to become the official kit sponsor of Indian Cricket Team. In 2007, Nike released its first Cricket related advertisement in India(1).Globally Nike is a sports brand targeted to youth (mainly 15-35 yrs of age), but in India the brand is not restricted to youth or sports enthusiasts only. The brand is seen as a daily we ar brand & the customers ranging from youth who like to wear it to college to the old people who may just wear it when they are going out of their homes. The future roadmap for Nike – To Increase their Brand Equity Nike has faced a lot of international criticism due to its Sweatshops in 3rd world countries like Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh etc. So, to convert this into an opportunity Nike should act as a socially responsible company & devise certain rules & regulations about the working conditions of their subcontractors.And if possible then Nike can also go for backward integration, and buy some of these subcontractors to increase their ownership & reduce their costs. The competition in the market in terms of Athletic goods is very high with major players like Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Fila etc. all growing their importance. To hedge its risk, Nike can also expand on its clothing line like currently in India Nike cotton T-shirts are available but they are available in very limi ted designs. So, Nike can grow a sports apparel maker to a fashion brand. The apparels division is the cash cow (according to BCG matrix) for Nike and thus, diversifying in this area will help Nike increase its bottomline. Thus, Nike can expand their business by expanding & adding a Daily wear clothes line to their portfolio.Nike can also sell the sports related product items which also have attributes like style & cool, something like Nike sunglasses, which are available in some countries but not in India. Nike is also under a lot of fad because of the plastics & other materials used in their shoes. So, rather than spending huge chunks on the celebrities, they can divert a small part of this advertising fund into R&D to produce green shoes i. e. environment friendly shoes. This would given them a heads up in the market in terms of innovation, would also give them a unique position in the minds of the responsible consumer, and of course an opportunity for free PR.Indian market being the world’s second largest (2) footwear manufacturer of the world has a huge opportunity of footwear sales. Thus, Nike can attack the middle & the lower end market by buying a current brand like Columbus or Welcome shoes and then manufacturing & marketing them in India. They can also, launch a complete new brand for the country & thus cater to the middle & lower segment. This way they can also cater to the vastly growing rural market of India. They have used the similar strategy by entering Walmart by buying the Starter brand, which is an apt brand for the value end of retail business. Read more:  http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/assignment-on-brand-building-nike-marketing-essay. php#ixzz2O0SDwz7o