Procter and Gamble: PEST SWOT Analysis

Procter and Gamble: PEST SWOT Analysis Procter and Gamble Market Environment Central problem Procter and Gamble (PG) started its PuR project as part of selling water purification technology named the PuR sachets. However, entering the market with water purification technology had three major issues all related to brand and product recognition. Thus, with PG facing brand and product difficulties, three major problems were threatening to decapitate the investments that were poured into the PuR project. The very first problem that PuR project as creating awareness for the brand and product that had not been traded before in the market. Thus, in promoting the product, the company faced two secondary problems which included difficulties in establishing ready market for the product and convincing customers that the PuR sachets were relevant in their lives. Secondly, the company developed the project through heavy spending. The problem associated with the investment into the PuR project is that the company’s under per sales did not seem to be sufficient enough to cover the c osts, hence the management was contemplating on dropping the project. Thirdly, while PuR was a reality and that the company was seeking approval from CDC, a major problem involved the lack of public or customer demand for the product regardless of the fact that PG tried to convince customers that dirty water was the cause of diarrhea (Hanson and Karen, 11). Secondary problems that faced PG included the fact that the PuR used preparation method that was very difficult to copy but very expensive as well. Thus, the company could not trade its water purification solution at a price that customers were able to afford. Additionally, the target market probably at a higher risk of contracting diarrhea due to consumption of dirty water was the very one that could not afford to buy the PuR sachets at the high prices. Collectively, finding market was a base and persisting problem that did not favor the PuR project and also did not have the potential to sustain the business projection of the company. Environmental Scanning Political Factors PG targeted various markets with the PuR sachets. Among these were the pioneer market in Pakistan, Guatemala, and Morocco. The political environment in most of these markets favored the marketing of PuR sachets but Morocco was quite problematic as testing at school level was denied. All of the identified markets allowed for village testing of the PuR sachets which meant that the only major problem the company was facing was associated with its approach in working with various major governmental departments and ministries. Like in Morocco, the company could not get approval for testing at the school level but it was able to get approval of the CDC in the US. Economic Factors Among the economic factor that were facing PG included the nature of the market as well as the social class of the potential buyers of the product. Initially, the CDC saw potential in the PuR sachets and encouraged the company to continue with the project. However, the company management had had enough of the under per sales due to lack of sustaining customer base. Additionally, with reference to the existence of other brands and availability of bottled water, PG was not getting as much return on investment as it had hoped for. Finally, multiple tests and commissioning of research and development continued to take more of the company’s financial power thus weakening its promotional power. The company once had to take a desperate stance of signing a contract with nonprofit organization so that it can promote the PuR sachets in developing nations. This approach shows how economically desperate the market was making the company at hand. Social Factors Social factors that most companies are worried about today include the income of their target market and the underlying issues that push the demand for products and services. Among these issues, the target market for PuR sachets were the households that had bottom-of-the-pyramid entities, children. However, the social class of which illness related to dirty water could affect were the low-income families. The problem with the PuR sachet target market is that it had very little experience in using water purification methods and also did not have the financial potential to buy the products that the prices they were traded at. While dirty water was associated with diseases such as diarrhea, the target market had other issues affecting them besides the diseases – the included household income and consideration of other factors besides water treatment. Technological Factors While most of the factors considered under this title played a negative role towards the development and trading of PuR sachets, technology was the only one that had an all-round positive effect to the desperate situation. PG had the required strength to develop research and development approaches aimed at managing most of its projects. However, considering research and development, PG had to invest in technology that both identified the need for water purification. Additionally, the packaging of the PuR was light and could store the contents for over three years. This approach in technology enabled the company- despite the low demand- the products did not go to waste due to their extended life span. SWOT Analysis Strengths Among the strengths of PG include: Financial strength of the company The company is well established worldwide The company is diversified and has numerous other products it trades which contribute to its financial strength The company’s philanthropic tradition connects it with customers as it contributes to various charity events Weaknesses Among the weaknesses of PG include The company is diversified and offers a continuum of products to the market from health products to domestic animal products. This approach makes the company’s strategic approach unfocused. The company is involved in non-effective marketing campaigns that drain the company’s financial stability. Due to poor market feasibility studies, the company’s venture in Morocco, Pakistan, and Guatemala all failed to meet expectations With unfocused research and development, the company had to call back its products for redevelopment wasting more money. Opportunities The company pioneered a product that continued to attract more customers due to health education programs The company’s joint venture with local companies increase its market penetration and spreads risks to create financial security. With reference to Morocco, the company is able to reach out for more customers in need of clean water while in Pakistan developing upper class population providing ready market for the PuR sachets. Increasing cases of waterborne diseases create a larger market for water purification solutions. Threats More companies and brands have ventured into the market and offer far more affordable products as compared to the PuR sachets New entry products have the potential to weaken the current market share. Regulatory agencies in the current target markets prevent the company from saturating the available markets with the PuR sachets. Strategic Alternatives The strategic alternatives that can be used to ensure that the company is able to trade more profitably would be to Hire marketing agency to properly promote the products and manage finances Reduce the product portfolio so that the company focuses better on the most important lines of products Promote products in more dynamic markets rather than slowly developing markets Course of Action The course of action for each of the alternative is as follows: Alternative 1: In hiring suitable marketing agency, the company would invite marketing companies to bid for a one year contract to assess potential markets and to incorporate market segmentation relating to social factors affecting each type of market (Kahn, 76). Alternative 2: Since PG trades numerous products, the company is to select the products that are least profitable to the company and discontinue their production. This would enable the company to invest more funds to meaningful projects while cutting cost in the production of non-value intensive products (Kahn, 78). Alternative 3: The Company is to hire a marketing agency in this case or to conduct research regarding the most favorable markets worth investing in. Additionally, the current markets or nations that the company invests in could be measured in terms of economic stability and the per capita for perceived potential customers. In consideration, the company or the hired marketing agency can investigate the Gini Index of the target population of various potential markets to identify how sustainable the company operations can be in a new environment (Masur, 666). Work Cited Hanson, Margaret and Karen Powell. Procter Gamble PuR Purifier of Water: Developing the Product and Taking it to Market. INSEAD. 2009. Print. Retrieved from: http://www.gwu.edu/~clai/training_programs/UChile_MBA_Programs/uchilemba2010/Griffin_Readings/CSR_PuR_A_case.pdf Kahn, Kenneth. Functional, Multifunctional, and Cross-Functional: Considerations for Marketing Management. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 17, No. 1 2009: pp. 75-84. Print. Masur, Jonathan and Posner, Eric. Against Feasibility Analysis. The University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 77, No. 2: 2010; pp. 657-716. Print.

The Necessity Of The Mobile Phone Today English Language Essay

The Necessity Of The Mobile Phone Today English Language Essay Hand phone, cell phones or handset has been the one of necessity rather than a desirable in our live in this modern day. Nowadays, hand phone has been an affordable gadget for everybody and the parent can effort to buy a hand phone for their children. Even our children also can be seen with hand phone at anywhere they go and even in school. The question begging a genuine answer is whether they are responsible enough to be allowed to be with these communication gadgets in school. Ministry of Education has set a regulation on using hand phone in school which is I strongly oppose with that regulation and proposal. The regulations are to allow student on using hand phone in school but with limitation usage. With this regulation student still can use hand phone in school. Minister of Education should not allow the student to bring and use a hand phone in school at all matters. There are more badness rather than a benefit when student bring their hand phone in school. This is because the technology in the hand phone can cause the student exposes to a bad behavior. There are still young and they are suppose to concentrate on their study first rather than playing or using their hand phone. During the school time they have to spend that valuable time on their study and class. After school time they have a lot of time for playing with their hand phone. The school authorities and the teacher mainly should play a major role to prevent these usages of hand phone among th e students. The parents also strictly have to control their children from misuse the hand phone. In the school also they provide a public telephone for student to use. Even in school office also they have a direct line telephone that the student can use to call their parent in urgencies cases. The parents should trust the school management when their children are in school. There is no need to be worried because the school management can make sure 100% safety on our children, this is fully guarantee by the Ministry of Education and even the Government of Malaysia. Although I have left school 11 years ago, but considering that Ive been in school for 12 years from pre-school to form 5, everyone did just fine without hand phone in school. So we should strongly not allow our children to bring the hand phone in school. 2.0 Statement of the problem. There are too many problems when we allowed the student to use the hand phone. One of the problems is there will be a tendency to show off ones hand phone, especially of the latest model. This will not only bring a beginning to the downfall of human values and becoming a snob of the society, but also cause inferiority of other students who cannot afford the latest models or hand phone. The inferiority will affect the esteem of students and if they are caught with the trend, they might resolve to stealing in whatever means either directly or monetary, or pressure the parents who have been working hard for the children to have good education. This will burden the parent to find extra money to full fit their children necessity. Nowadays the children dont want a cheaper hand phone they only want the sophisticated hand phone such as I phone 4, Blackberry etc. Just because the market price of hand phone are falling fast, it doesnt mean that one should just take their current model for gran ted and if it gets stolen, one will just buy a new one. So what if you or the parents can afford to a new phone, life just doesnt work in such a way that when something goes missing, you just get a replacement. When the stealing happen the criminal cases in school will increase and this will drop the reputation of the school itself. The school can be classified by a school for a bad student and this will make the parent thing they should not let their children to enter the school and find the different school. Other than that, the student has spent the pocket around RM10 to RM40 per month to buy a prepaid. No wonder the pocket money for our student. RM50 per month are never enough for the student nowadays. Some of them even ask their parent to register a postpaid due to insufficient prepaid top-up use per month. With the gadget technology nowadays, hand phone are already built-in with camera, video and even Internet in hands. This is easy to capture or downloading a picture and videos in this case the student can expose on pornographic or sex video with are unsuitable on their age. After that they may distribute them among their schoolmates. This will end up with rape and sexual intercourse among the student and will be bad influences for young children. Camera hand phone is increasingly popular. And you never know when pictures or videos are taken, or where they are taken for what purposes. Sure, all of us will be saying that we wont do such inappropriate thing but you never know about the person next to you. We can never be too careful. By using a hand phone the student also can surf to internet. This will end up they are not concentrate with their lesson in the class but they busy with their hand phone even nowadays face book also can surf through hand phone. The entire student for sure h as a face book account and they surely more focus on face book rather than their education. Although the usage of hand phone is limited to before school and recess time. Instead of students socializing and growing up with schoolmates, hand phone, reputed to be the cannot leave behind companion of individual nowadays, will probably make students pay more attention to the handset instead. All hand phones must be switched off during classes and curricular activities. Lets be real. If we can turn the phone off, we might as well leave it at home. And to expect students to turn it off is one thing that is unlikely to happen. The most theyll do is silent it and set it to vibration mode. You dont have to look into school situation. Even in university lectures, most undergrads dont silent the phone when theyre supposed to. The phone will normally be in the pocket or at least in the bag. The point is, it will never be anywhere far but always in contact since the phone is on silent. With that, theres always a possibility of using phones during lessons to SMS, play games or download. S ome of student will play with their hand phone during their boring subjects. One, this clearly doesnt shows any respect to the teacher. Two, its taking the teacher for granted. Three, just because the person is smart and playing with hand phone wont affect the studies then why are you even in school? School is not just a place to study or speed your time to get into college and university. Its a place where you learn to grow up socially. Furthermore, cell phone should be banned at all because when we allow student to use hand phone in school the teaching and learning process will certainly be disrupted. When teacher enter the classroom they need to spend a lot of time to check and make sure all of their student already switched off the phone. It will be a need for teachers to do so or some of their students may take out the phones and start playing games instead of focusing on the class. Some more students may misuse their hand phone by cheating in examinations by sending the answers using SMS or by write down the notes in the hand phone. Other than that, imagine the situation when every student in a school takes out their hand phone and keeps sending SMS or makes phone calls during recess time. Compare this condition with a situation where every student takes out a book and keeps reading it during recess time. I am very sure that no school would want to see the first situation and all schools are looking forward to see the second situation. Schools would not be the place for students to attain knowledge if hand phone were to be allowed in schools. 3.0 Methodology. As for to support my argumentation or oppose the proposal I have made an interview and discussion with them with three respondents which is two from them are same with me to oppose the proposal and they dont agreed to allowed the students using hand phones in school. Some of the discussion Ive done it at the school and some in their house. The three respondents on my interview which is a parent who have children in school, the first respondents are Mr. Mahmad Bin Abd. Kadir live in Taman Putri Kulai. Work as a clerk in school. He has one child who is still in school. His children are study at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Kota Kulai. Second respondents is Mrs. Norzaila, work as a clerk in school. She lives in Taman Melati Indahpura, Kulai. She has three children who are still in primary school. Her children are study at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Kota Kulai. The third respondents are Mrs. Norzana Mohammed Noor. Shes work as a teacher. Shes has a three children in primary school. Her childre n are study at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Kota Kulai. 4.0 Findings. According to my analysis through these three respondents, two of them are not agreeing with the proposal and they are not allowing the student using hand phone in school. Even though, they have children they still not allowing their children using a hand phone in school. Their reason is children are still young and are not suitable on using hand phone. They also mention in the interview that there is many problems may arise if they using hand phone in school. Furthermore, they cant afford to buy a hand phone for their children. If they have three children it is impossible for them to buy three hand phones for each one of them. This will burden the parents if their children keep pushing them to buy the hand phone for them. They want their children to concentrate more on study rather than playing with hand phone. They dont want their children negligence. They also want their children to success during the examination. So they should start from the beginning to archive their goal and am bition. They want their children to success in study until to University. They also mention that they dont want their children to be a bad boy by against the school rules. So the two respondents are same with me to not agree with the Ministry of Education proposal and strongly not allow the student using hand phone in school. The last respondent are agree with the proposal which is Im not agree with her. She agrees for the student to use the hand phone in school and accept the proposal of Ministry of Education. According to her, the proposal is good. Shes agree because for her children safety in school or outside the school. This is because shes working and their children always alone after the school hours. Shes often to contact their children through phone. This is too easy for her to check on their children while working. Her husband also working and dont have much time to look after their children. They need to communicate through phone to check wheatear their children are straight go back home after school or not. They also worried if their children misuse the hand phone. If not about safety reason she also dont to let their children use hand pone in school. Shes work as a teacher and shes know about good and bad if their children misuse the hand phone. Shes just let their children use the phone for safety purpose and easy to communicate. Shes always reminded their children to not misuse the hand phone and just uses it for important thing only such as emergency call. Shes only bought a simple hand phone for their children, the hand pone without Internet or camera only use for call and SMS. It must be seen that the main reason by parents to let their children continue to use cell phones is because of safety purposes. If they have the phones, it is easier to reach them and even know where they are. It is also beneficial during emergency situations when the child can either call for help or be located in case he or she is gone missing. Even though those parents who do not support this idea say the children are not yet responsible enough to be given the cell phones, they tend to stick to the fact that the youth are likely to abuse the trust bestowed on them by parents. The parents can point to the fact that youth are always seen talking endlessly on phone to their friends. Even the short text technology on phone has been abused but the children see it as a pastime whereas the parents are usually uneasy when they see the youth misusing the privilege given them. Since parents know exactly what their children are like, they would be in the best position to make the decision o n this matter. They are also the ones to decide at what point their children should be allowed to go ahead and own phones. It is advisable to set time limits on the time they can use the phone though as this will show that the parents are in control. 5.0 Suggestions. After made an analysis on these matters, my suggestion is there no need to allow the children to use the hand phones in school. In school, teachers are the ones who take care of our well-being. When we fall sick and really need to be taken home, injured or emergency, the teachers are more than willing to contact parents to inform them. Isnt that what the use of the school having emergency contact numbers for, after all, the use of the office phone is always there when in need. Even public phones in school or outside the school grounds are available. And to say that the phones are frequently not in good condition or not working, that will teach students to take care of public premises. We never know when we are in dire need to use it. The Ministry of Education also needs to add more public phones in school for student needed. The school management also needs to play important roles to take a good care of safety among the student. Having problems and need to call parents, theres always the office for emergency. And public phones for all reasons. And if all means doesnt work, Im very sure teachers are kind enough to lend their own hand phones to use. The question of teachers using the hand phones in school also needs to be given a thought. Teachers should also understand that they are the role model in school and it is not appropriate to show the misuse of the phone. Even worse, give students work and then laugh on a conversation over the call. They will lose the respect of the students and students are not to be blamed for not respecting teachers in this case. I feel that if teachers are expecting an emergency call like if someone is in a hospital, they should inform the class first, rather than disrupt the class in the middle of a lesson and then apologizing And being careful, it is true to say that the society out there is no longer of what it used to be before. Sometimes I wonder, for parents to keep track the whereabouts of their children, how sure are they that the children are not elsewhere from what is said, or perhaps for parents to make sure the kids reach a place safely (school in this case), dont you think that a mere phone call is good enough, we depend on technology too much that personal responsibility is no longer shown. I may not know the worries of a parent and yet it may seem easy for me to say. But as a child of my parents, even they never need to check on me, I feel that its more meaningful and to realize how much my parents cared for me if they can spare some time to check on me other than just a call. Again, most parents are working and time is hardly there. Or the distance is too far between home and school. Hand phones must be banned from school among the student. If there still the stubborn student being the hand phones the school authorities should do spot-check and confiscate hand phones. The discipline teacher should play major roles, ask their prefects to do spot-check before school hour begin. This is to make sure there is no student bring the hand phones to school and then keep their phones at house. On the school banning students from bringing hand phones, the students itself must aware why the school had done so, the students must understand that the kind intention behind the schools decision. They also must accept the reasons. If they want to use the hand phones, use it after school time outside the school. They have more time to play after school hour. School is the place for study not for playing or to show off our wealth. Parents and teacher must monitoring and proper guidance on the students to prevent anything happen. The student must think during their parents childhood there are no hand phones use and there nothing happen during that time. Their parents also should explain to their children there is no issue during their childhood without hand phones. They still can manage to go to school without hand phones. Dont just depend on the technology too much. If there are still the stubborn student bring the hand phones to school, school management must take a serious action by fine the student minimum RM5 per day. This is not to burden the student but to teach them not to bring the gadget to school and left it at home rather than bring to school. The money can use for the improvement purpose and development in school. The school management must assign their teachers to handle this issue. The school management also must implement a motivational class or series of lessons for students to teach them about proper etiquette and ethics that govern the virtual world. Classes are held once a term to teach st udents on what they should look out for when taking a picture or video, such as whether they are infringing upon the privacy of others. The lesson also educates students on the concept of intellectual property law, critical especially when downloading information and music from the Internet.

Intertextuality in Buffy The Vampire Slayer :: Television Shows TV Essays

Intertextuality in Buffy The Vampire Slayer A vivid and 'realistic' subjective experience of TV dramatic fiction is almost axiomatic of viewer enjoyment. To feel a personal engagement with the depicted events, to experience a sense of the fictional space as subjectively real and to become drawn into that space are arguably defining features of enjoyable television viewing, as they are of film and of literature. In this paper, I will argue that certain forms of intertextuality play a key role in producing this experience. In cult TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), these forms of intertextuality are used in abundance, and BtVS is therefore an excellent vehicle for exploring their psychological impact. Krzywinska (2002) notes that BtVS demands a sophisticated level of engagement by viewers, and that this is encouraged by a number of strategies, including intertextual references. She notes that the show makes many references, for example to shows such as Xena and the novels of Anne Rice, and that these are 'Part of a common cultural vocabulary that connects characters to a broader "real" world culture. Such references lend the series a greater sense of meaningfulness, and textual richness, further encouraging discussion between viewers and helping to interlace the Buffyverse with everyday life' (p 190). Other references to the 'real' world (for example the fact that Giles is said to have brought many of his books from the British Library, and the frequent use of the Internet): provide an important way of linking the diegetic world to other texts, to history, and to viewers' cultural knowledge This is important to the series' project of making connections with viewers' lives: the aim of which is to build a cultural vocabulary gleaned from the "real" world that is common to both viewers and characters' (pp 192 3). For Krzywinska, such devices make the audience attentive and make the viewing experience richer and more rewarding. However, the argument presented here will be that such intertextuality has further psychological effects that serve to draw the viewer into the fantasy world of BtVS and to intensify the feeling of involvement. So that the rewards for the viewer go beyond merely 'catching the references'. At this point, it seems necessary to enter into a brief discussion of what I am assuming by the term 'the viewer'. What follows is fundamentally a textual analysis of the positions that BtVS makes available or offers us, and invites us to take up (however, as will become clear, I am in no way suggesting that these subject positions are identificatory in the usual sense.

Is Medical Testing On Animals Ethical :: essays research papers

Every year, nearly one hundred million animals die in research laboratories at the hands of curious scientists who perform outdated and inaccurate tests that prove no benefit to humans or animals. I believe vivisection, medical testing on animals, should be banned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before these animals die they are routinely burned, scalded, poisoned, starved, given electric shocks, and deliberately inflicted with deadly diseases. Their eyes are surgically removed, and their brains and spinal cords are damaged; this is completed without any kind of anesthesia. Despite all of this cruelty, not a single disease has been cured through vivisection in this century. The overall cancer rate has risen in the past forty years, and a fatal heart attack strikes a person every forty-five seconds. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that seventy to eighty percent of the common diseases killing Americans can be prevented by a responsible lifestyle and diet. Drug testing on animals is not accurate and has no advantage to animals or people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Animals including dogs, cats, mice, pigs, monkeys, horses, deer, and cattle are commonly used for these senseless experimentations. The other remaining misfortunate animals come from places a little closer to you and me. Some of them come from animal shelters, some from the “free to a good home'; ads in the newspaper, or, even worse, some have been stolen directly from their own yard. Imagine your pet being crammed into a cage with ten other animals waiting to die in these cruel and heartless experiments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current system of drug testing places consumers in a dangerous predicament. For example, some drugs passed safe in animal experiments but proved tragic consequences in humans. Conversely, many drugs that are beneficial to humans are dangerous or even fatal to animals. This is obvious proof that testing on animals is unreliable, but sadistic tests still go on every day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If animal experimentation was eliminated, it could save up to 6.8 billion dollars. This money could be used for medical assistance programs for low-income individuals, helping the many Americans who can not afford insurance, rather than killing animals or making them sick.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There will be nearly 275 thousand animals dead this time tomorrow that were not dead right now.

Why We Are Lonely :: essays research papers

Intolerance is human nature; people who are different from or weaker than the norm are victims of intolerance and become isolated and lonely. Those who are in the norm are expected to be strong and not show their feelings. In Of Mice And Men, by John Steinbeck, the social power group is the white, male workers on the farm. They are younger men, still useful, reasonably intelligent, and average-sized. They exclude people who do not fit their norm, such as Curley for being short, Lennie for being retarded, Candy for being old, Crooks for being black, and Curley's wife for being a woman. Between themselves, they expect strength, distance and independence, and are uncomfortable with emotions. This intolerance and isolation cause loneliness for all the characters in this novel. This social power group oppresses and isolates Curley, Lennie and Candy because they are different, even though they are white. Lennie is very strong and big but his mind is like a child's, so the men don't respect him as an equal. For example, George explains to Slim that he, "Used to play jokes on [Lennie] cause he was too dumb to take care of 'imself"(p. 40). Lennie does not take part in the activities the workers do in their spare time. Lennie does not go to town with the men. In Weed, Lennie gets in trouble because the people don't understand his problem. They react with anger instead of understanding. George explains to Slim, "Cause he ain't mean....like what happened in Weed-"(p. 40). Candy is afraid that he will have nowhere to go soon because he is old: "I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no jobs." (p. 60) Candy knows that society doesn't value or care about people who can't work. Society ejects them because they are no longer useful. Carlson shows this when he says about Candy's dog, " He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy? (p. 44). Candy knows he is like his dog; an old man is almost useless. He knows how they will discard them he's no longer useful: "They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wish't somebody shoot me." (p. 60) Curley feels excluded from society because he is too short. He hates big men because big men automatically get into the social power group. Candy comments to George that "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys.

This Is My Playes Last Scene

How has Donne used characteristics typical of metaphysical poetry to convey his ideas in â€Å"Holy Sonnet: ‘This is my playes last scene’? † This is my playes last scene is one of Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnets’ embodying spiritual pain and struggling faith in Christianity. Numerous biblical allusions and morbid tone that are typical of metaphysical poetry, convey Donne’s fear of death and religious scepticism. The opening four lines depict the last moments of the speaker’s life through metaphoric comparisons. The comparison â€Å"playes last scene† suggests the speaker is searching for an end that is meaningful and fulfilling.Christian imagery in â€Å"pilgrimage’s last mile† places this envisioned end in religious context, as a pilgrimage to the site of treasured holy relics is representative of Donne’s path to unfaltering devotion, to God. A paradoxical phrase ‘idly, yet quickly run’ expresses t he speaker’s hesitance on the way to achieving this believed end to life. The addition of the comparisons â€Å"span’s last inch† and â€Å"minute’s latest point† enhances the cumulative listing of comparisons and dramatises the speaker’s fear of death.The startling personification â€Å"gluttonous death† portrays Donne’s morbid paranoia of the brief moment when body and soul become â€Å"unjoint†. The speaker’s life is dichotomised; his body shall â€Å"sleep a space†, his soul shall â€Å"see that face†, a Christian image of God’s omnipotence imparting judgement on the speaker. The ninth line witnesses a direct confidence in the speaker’s tone â€Å"as my soul, to heaven her first seat†. More prominently featured â€Å"So, fall my sins†, the immutable tone conveys a false reassurance, whereby the speaker actually pleas helplessly for God’s will and judgement.The i mperative voice in â€Å"Impute me righteous† forcefully channels the persona’s imploration to receive God’s judgement and have so-called righteousness imputed. The precise word â€Å"impute† makes another religious reference to the Christian understanding of attributing unearned qualities in an act of grace. The finality of the sonnet is epitomised by the poetic triplet â€Å"the world, the flesh and devil†, which alludes to the three sinful temptations as it was known in the context of Donne’s time.It enhances the prayer made by the speaker to be purged of sinful thoughts and acts, by godly intervention that would finally allow him to reach a transcendental state. Ultimately, Donne questions the Christian faith, and commands God’s mercy and judgement by Christian imagery and references to Biblical passages. He expresses despair about his salvation, and reveals his fear of death in a sensitive meditation. As such, the poem is an exem plary display of typical metaphysical characteristics.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 35

Elena leaped backward as the phantom caught fire. She was so close that the heat of the flames burned her cheeks, and she could smel her own hair smoking. Shielding her face with her hands, she eased her way forward as silently and sneakily as she could, closer and closer to the phantom. Her legs shook, but she wil ed them stil and steady. She was consciously not letting herself look at or think about Stefan's body crumpled on the floor of the garage, in the same way she had kept herself from looking at Damon and Stefan's fight when she needed to think. Suddenly a burst of flames shot into the air, and for one dazzling second, Elena dared to hope that Damon had done it. The phantom was burning. Surely no creature of ice could withstand that. But then she realized that the phantom was not only burning. She was also laughing. â€Å"You fool,† the phantom said to Damon, in a soft and almost tender voice. â€Å"You think fire can hurt me? Jealousy can burn hotter than fire as wel as colder than ice. You of al people should know that, Damon.† She laughed her strange clinking laugh. â€Å"I can feel the jealousy, the anger that burns in you al the time, Damon, and it burns so hot I can smel the hatred and despair that live in you, and your little petty hurts and rages are meat and drink to me. You clutch them to you and pore over them like treasure. You may have succeeded in casting out a tiny piece of the multitudes of hurts that burden you, but you'l never be free of me.† Around the phantom's feet, tiny blue lines of flame ignited and spread quickly across the floor of the garage. Elena watched in horror: Were these burning traces of oil left by Mrs. Flowers's ancient car? Or was it simply the phantom's maliciousness made solid, spreading fire among them? It didn't real y matter. What mattered was that the garage was on fire, and while the phantom might be impervious to the flames, the rest of them weren't. Smoke fil ed the musty space, and Elena and her friends began to cough. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand. Streaking past Elena, Damon snarled and leaped for the phantom's throat. Even in their current dire situation, Elena couldn't help admiring Damon's speed and grace. He col ided with the phantom and knocked it to the floor, then recoiled, protecting his face with his leather-clad arm. Fire, Elena remembered with a frisson of terror. Fire is one of the few things that can kill a vampire. Her eyes watered from the smoke, but she forced them to stay open as she moved closer, circling around behind the phantom, who was back on its feet. She could hear her friends shouting, but she concentrated on the fight. The phantom was moving more awkwardly than it had been earlier, and did not immediately attack Damon. Through the flames, Elena could see that thick greenish fluid was stil trickling down its solid torso from the wound Meredith had given it. Where the liquid touched the flames, they flickered with a greenish blue tint. Damon lunged for the phantom again, and it flung him off with a shrug. Snarling, they circled each other warily. Elena skittered around behind them, trying to stay out of Damon's way, trying to see how she could help. A crackling from across the room distracted Elena for a second, and she glanced back to see fire climbing the far wal , reaching for the wooden shelves set around the room. She missed seeing what exactly happened next, but suddenly Damon was skidding across the floor on his back, an angry red burn glowing on his cheek. He was up again in a second and prowling back toward the phantom, but his eyes had a slightly wild glint to them that made Elena nervous. Even injured, the phantom was stronger than Damon, and, after his long fight with Stefan, Damon's reserves must be waning. He was growing reckless. Elena gathered her courage and moved closer to the phantom again, as close to the flames as she could stand. The phantom glanced back at her for a second and then away, focusing on the stronger threat. It sprang forward to meet Damon, its fiery arms spread wide and a savagely joyous smile on its face. And suddenly Meredith was there beside Damon. She looked solemn and pale as a young martyr, her lips tight and her eyes wary, but she moved as fast as lightning. Her stave sliced through the air almost too quickly to see, leaving another long cut across the phantom's stomach. The phantom howled, and the flames on its torso hissed as more greenish fluid gushed from the wound. But the phantom remained upright. It snarled and reached for Meredith, who danced rapidly backward, just out of range. Meredith and Damon exchanged a wordless look and moved to flank the phantom, one on either side, so that it couldn't watch both of them at once. Damon cuffed Jealousy, a short, intense blow, and pul ed back a reddish, blistering hand. Meredith swung her stave again, nearly catching the phantom on the arm but instead cleaving only a wisp of smoke. There was a crash as a burning shelf col apsed onto the floor. The smoke grew thicker. Away from the fight, Elena could hear Bonnie and Matt coughing. Elena moved closer stil , again coming toward the phantom from behind, safely out of Meredith and Damon's way. The phantom's heat was like a bonfire. Meredith and Damon were moving in tandem now, as smoothly as if they had rehearsed, dancing in and back, sometimes catching the phantom with a blow, more often passing through a curl of smoke or mist as the phantom transformed its parts from solid to airy shapes. A voice rang out. â€Å"Impera te desistere.† Mrs. Flowers leaned against the supporting arms of Matt and Alaric. But her eyes were clear and her voice was steady. Power crackled in the air around her. The phantom slowed only slightly in its fight, perhaps no more than a half second behind in its thrusts and transformations. But this was enough to make at least a little difference. More of Damon's and Meredith's blows landed, and they were able to dodge a few more of the phantom's. Was it enough, though? The phantom flinched when a punch hit home, and it bled horrible green goo where the stave cut it, but it was stil steady on its feet as Meredith and Damon hacked and choked in the smoke and stumbled away from the flames. The rose in Jealousy's chest pulsed a steady dark red. Elena exhaled in frustration and immediately began to cough again. The phantom wasn't staying in one place long enough for Elena to get a good shot at grabbing the rose-heart. Meredith sliced at it with her fighting stave, and this time the stave slid through smoke, and the phantom grabbed the stave in one hand, swinging Meredith toward Damon. Col iding, they both fel heavily to the ground, and the phantom, stil slightly hobbled by Mrs. Flowers's spel , strained toward them. â€Å"I've envied Meredith for her brains!† shouted Bonnie. Her face was smudged with smoke and tears, and she looked incredibly smal and fragile, but she was standing straight-backed and proud, yel ing at the top of her lungs. â€Å"I know I'l never be as good at school as she is, but that's okay. I cast my jealousy out!† The phantom's rose dimmed to a dark pink for a moment, and it staggered ever so slightly. It glanced at Bonnie and hissed. It was only a tiny pause in the phantom's advance, but it was enough for Damon to spring to his feet. He stepped in front of Meredith, shielding her as she clambered up. Without even looking at each other, Meredith and Damon began circling in opposite directions again. â€Å"I've been jealous that my friends have more money than I do!† Matt shouted, â€Å"but I cast the jealousy out!† â€Å"I envy the way Alaric truly believed in something unproven, and turned out to be right!† Celia yel ed. â€Å"But I cast it out!† â€Å"I've envied Elena's clothes!† Bonnie cried. â€Å"I'm too short to look good in lots of things! But I cast that out!† Damon kicked at the phantom, pul ing his smoldering leg back quickly. Meredith swung her stave. Mrs. Flowers chanted in Latin, and Alaric joined her, his low voice in counterpoint to hers, reinforcing her spel . Bonnie, Celia, and Matt kept shouting: dredging up smal jealousies and hurts that they were probably usual y hardly aware of, casting them out to pepper the phantom with tiny blows. And for the first time, the phantom looked†¦ baffled. It swung its head slowly from one to another of its opponents: Damon stalking toward it, fists raised; Meredith, her stave swinging surely as she watched the phantom with a cool and considering gaze; Alaric and Mrs. Flowers reciting strings of Latin words, hands lifted; Bonnie, Matt, and Celia shouting confessions as if they were throwing rocks at it. Jealousy's glassy eyes passed over Elena without real y seeming to notice her: Standing stil and quiet among the entire hubbub, she was not a threat. This was the best chance Elena was going to get. She nerved herself to move forward, then froze as the phantom turned toward her. Then, miraculously, Stefan was there. He grappled at the phantom's back, throwing one arm around its neck as the flames licked at him. His shirt caught fire. The phantom, briefly, was pul ed backward past Elena, its torso toward her, unprotected. Without hesitation, Elena plunged her hand into the fire. For a moment, she barely felt the flames, just a gentle, almost cool touch against her hand as the flames flickered around her. Not so bad, she had a moment to think, and then she felt the pain. It was pure and agonizing, and dark fireworks of shock went off behind her eyes. She had to fight to overcome the almost irresistible instinct to pul her hand back out of the fire. Instead, she groped at the phantom's torso, searching for the cut Meredith had made just above its rose. It was slippery and smooth, and her hand fumbled. Where is it? Where is it? Damon had thrown himself into the flames alongside Stefan, yanking at the phantom's arms and neck, keeping its torso clear for Elena, preventing the phantom from ripping free and throwing her across the room. Meredith beat at Jealousy's side with her stave. Behind her, her friends' voices rose in a babble of confessions and spel s as they did their part to keep the phantom off balance and disoriented. At last Elena's hand found the cut and she pushed inside. It was icy cold in the phantom's chest, and Elena yelped at the contrast – the cold was excruciating after the heat, and the flames stil licked at her wrist and arm. The freezing liquid inside the phantom's chest was so thick, it was like feeling through gelatin. Elena shoved and reached, and the phantom screamed with pain. It was a horrible sound and, despite al that the phantom had done to her and her friends, Elena could not help flinching in sympathy. A moment later, Elena's hand closed on the rose's stem and a thousand thorns pierced her burned flesh. Ignoring the pain, she pul ed the rose out of the freezing liquid, out of the fire, and staggered backward, away from the phantom. She didn't know what she'd expected to happen, exactly. For the phantom to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West, perhaps, leaving nothing but a puddle of vile greenish water. Instead, the phantom stared at her, its mouth open, its pointed, shining teeth on ful display. The tear in its chest had expanded, and fluid oozed rapidly, like an untended faucet. The flames burned low and green where the liquid tracked down its body and dripped to the floor. â€Å"Give it to me,† Stefan said, appearing at Elena's side. He took the rose from her hand and ripped at its petals, now fading to a lighter pink, and scattered the petals into the fire burning up the sides of the garage. The phantom watched with a stunned expression, and gradual y its blazing fire thinned to smoke, its solid form slowly vaporizing. For a moment, a smoky, malevolent image hung in the air before them, its eyes fixed sul enly upon Elena. And then it was gone.