Reducing Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Costs Essay

Reducing Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Costs Here is the report you requested January 30 on Electrovision’s travel and entertainment costs. Your suspicion was right. We are spending far too much on business travel. Our unwritten policy has been â€Å"anything goes,† leaving us with no real control over T&E expenses. Although this hands-off approach may have been understandable when Electrovision’s profits were high, we can no longer afford the luxury of going first class. The solutions to the problem seem rather clear. We need to have someone with centralized responsibility for travel and entertainment costs, a clear statement of policy, an effective control system, and a business-oriented travel service that can optimize our travel arrangements. We should also investigate alternatives to travel, such as videoconferencing. Perhaps more important, we need to change our attitude. Instead of viewing travel funds as a bottomless supply of money, all traveling employees need to act as though they were paying the bills themselves. Getting people to economize is not going to be easy. In the course of researching this issue, I’ve found that our employees are exceedingly attached to their first-class travel privileges. I think they would almost prefer a cut in pay to a loss in travel moderation. One thing is clear: People will be very bitter if we create a two-class system in which top executives get special privileges while the rest of the employees make the sacrifices. I’m grateful to Mary Lehman and Connie McIlvain for their help in collecting and sorting through five years’ worth of expense reports. Their efforts were truly Herculean. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work on this assignment. It’s been a real education. If you have any questions about the report, please give me a call. This report analyzes Electrovision’s travel and entertainment (T&E) costs and presents recommendations for reducing those costs. Travel and Entertainment Costs Are Too High Travel and Entertainment is a large and growing expense category for Electrovision. The company spends over $16 million per year on business travel, and these costs have been increasing by 12 percent annually. Company employees make roughly 3,390 trips each year at an average cost per trip of $4,720. Airfares are the biggest expense, followed by hotels, meals, and rental cars. The nature of Electrovision’s business does require extensive travel, but the company’s costs appear to be excessive. Every year Electrovision employees spend more than twice as much on T&E as the average business traveler. Although the location of the company’s facilities may partly explain this discrepancy, the main reason for Electrovision’s high costs is the firm’s philosophy and managerial style. Electrovision’s tradition and its hands-off style almost invite employees to go first class and pay relatively little attention to travel costs. Cuts Are Essential Although Electrovision has traditionally been casual about travel and entertainment expenses, management now recognizes the need to gain more control over this element of costs. The company is currently entering a period of declining profits, prompting management to look for every opportunity to reduce spending. At the same time, rising airfares and hotel rates are making travel and entertainment expenses more important to the bottom line. Electrovision Can Save $6 Million per Year  Fortunately, Electrovision has a number of excellent opportunities for reducing its travel and entertainment costs. Savings of up to $6 million should be achievable, judging by the experience of other companies. American Express suggests that a sensible travel-management program can save companies as much as 35 percent a year (Gilligan 39-40). Given that we purchase many more first-class tickets than the average company, we should be able to achieve even greater savings. The first priority should be to hire a director of travel and entertainment to assume overall responsibility for T&E spending. This individual should establish a written travel and entertainment policy and create a budget and a cost-control system. The director should also retain a nationwide travel agency to handle our reservations and should lead an investigation into electronic alternatives to travel. At the same time, Electrovision should make employees aware of the need for moderation in travel and entertainment spending. People should be encouraged to forgo any unnecessary travel and to economize on airline tickets, hotels, meals, rental cars, and other expenses. In addition to economizing on an individual basis, Electrovision should look for ways to reduce costs by negotiating preferential rates with travel providers. Once retained, a travel agency should be able to accomplish this. Finally, we should look into the alternatives to travel. Although we may have to invest money in videoconferencing systems or other equipment, we may be able to recover these costs through decreased travel expenses. I recommend that the new travel director undertake this investigation to make sure it is well integrated with the rest of the travel program. These changes, although necessary, are likely to hurt morale, at least in the short term. Management will need to make a determined effort to explain the rationale for reduced spending. By exercising moderation in their own travel arrangements, Electrovision executives can set a good example and help other employees accept the changes. On the plus side, cutting back on travel with videoconferencing or other alternatives will reduce the travel burden on many employees and help them balance their business and personal lives much better. Electrovision has always encouraged a significant amount of business travel, believing that it is an effective way of operating. To compensate employees for the inconvenience and stress of frequent trips, management has authorized generous travel and entertainment (T&E) allowances. This philosophy has been good for morale, but the company has paid a price. Last year Electrovision spent $16 million on T&E–$7 million more than it spent on research and development. This year the cost of travel and entertainment will have a bigger impact on profits, owing to changes in airfares and hotel rates. The timing of these changes is unfortunate because the company anticipates that profits will be relatively weak for a variety of other reasons. In light of these profit pressures, Dennis McWilliams, Vice President of Operations, has asked the accounting department to take a closer look at the T&E budget. Purpose, Scope, and Limitations The purpose of this report is to analyze the T&E budget, evaluate the impact of recent changes in airfares and hotel costs, and suggest ways to tighten management’s control over T&E expenses. Although the report outlines a number of steps that could reduce Electrovision’s expenses, the precise financial impact of these measures is difficult to project. The estimates presented in the report provide a â€Å"best guess† view of what Electrovision can expect to save. Until the company actually implements these steps, however, we won’t know exactly how much the travel and entertainment budget can be reduced. Sources and Methods In preparing this report, the accounting department analyzed internal expense reports for the past five years to determine how much Electrovision spends on travel and entertainment. These figures were then compared with average statistics compiled by Dow Jones (publisher of The Wall Street Journal) and presented as the Dow Jones Travel Index. We also analyzed trends and suggestions published in a variety of business journal articles to see how other companies are coping with the high cost of business travel. Report Organization This report reviews the size and composition of Electrovision’s travel and entertainment expenses, analyzes trends in travel costs, and recommends steps for reducing the T&E budget. Although many companies view travel and entertainment as an â€Å"incidental† cost of doing business, the dollars add up. At Electrovision the bill for airfares, hotels, rental cars, meals, and entertainment totaled $16 million last year. Our T&E budget has increased by 12 percent per year for the past five years. Compared with the average U.S. Business’s travel expenditures, Electrovision’s expenditures are high, largely because of management’s generous policy on travel benefits. $16 Million per Year Spent on Travel and Entertainment Electrovision’s annual budget for travel and entertainment is only 8 percent of sales. Because this is a relatively small expense category compared with such things as salaries and commissions, it is tempting to dismiss T&E costs as insignificant. However, T&E is Electrovision’s third-largest controllable expense, directly behind salaries and information systems. Last year Electrovision personnel made about 3,390 trips at an average cost per trip of $4,720. The typical trip involved a round-trip flight of 3,000 miles, meals and hotel accommodations for two or three days, and a rental car. Roughly 80 percent of the trips were made by 20 percent of the staff–top management and sales personnel traveled most, averaging 18 trips per year. Figure 1 illustrates how the travel and entertainment budget is spent. The largest categories are airfares and lodging, which together account for $7 out of every $10 that employees spend on travel and entertainment. This spending breakdown has been relatively steady for the past five years and is consistent with the distribution of expenses experienced by other companies. Figure 1 Airfares and Lodging Account for Over Two-Thirds of Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Budget Although the composition of the T&E budget has been consistent, its size has not. As mentioned earlier, these expenditures have increased by about 12 percent per year for the past five years, roughly twice the rate of the company’s growth in sales (see Figure 2). This rate of growth makes T&E Electrovision’s fastest-growing expense item. Figure 2 Travel and Entertainment Expenses Exceed National Averages Electrovision’s Travel Expenses Exceed National Averages Much of our travel budget is justified. Two major factors contribute to Electrovision’s high travel and entertainment budget: †¢With our headquarters on the West Coast and our major customer on the East Coast, we naturally spend a lot on cross-country flights. †¢A great deal of travel takes place between our headquarters here on the West Coast and the manufacturing operations in Detroit, Boston, and Dallas. Corporate managers and division personnel make frequent trips to coordinate these disparate operations. However, even though a good portion of Electrovision’s travel budget is justifiable, our travelers spend considerable more on travel and entertainment than the average business traveler (see Figure 3). Figure 3 Electrovision People Spend Over The Dow Jones Travel Index calculates the average cost per day of business travel in the United States, based on average airfare, hotel rates, and rental car rates. The average fluctuates weekly as travel companies change their rates, but it has been running about $1,000 per day for the last year or so. In contrast, Electrovision’s average daily expense over the past year has been $2,250—125 percent higher than average. This figure is based on the average trip cost of $4,720 listed earlier and an average trip length of 2.1 days. Spending Has Been Encouraged Although a variety of factors may contribute to this differential, Electrovision’s relatively high T&E costs are at least partially attributable to the company’s philosophy and management style. Because many employees do not enjoy business travel, management has tried to make the trips more pleasant by authorizing first-class airfare, luxury hotel accommodations, and full-size rental cars. The sales staff is encouraged to entertain clients at top restaurants and to invite them to cultural and sporting events. The cost of these privileges is easy to overlook, given the weakness of Electrovision’s system for keeping track of T&E expenses: †¢The monthly financial records provided to management do not contain a separate category for travel and entertainment; the information is buried under Cost of Goods Sold and under Selling, General, and Administration Expenses. †¢Each department head is given authority to approve any expense report, regardless of how large it may be. †¢Receipts are not required for expenditures of less than $100. †¢Individuals are allowed to make their own travel arrangements. †¢No one is charged with the responsibility for controlling the company’s total spending on travel and entertainment. During the past three years, the company’s healthy profits have resulted in relatively little pressure to push for tighter controls overall aspects of the business. However, as we all know, the situation is changing. We’re projecting flat to declining profits for the next two years, a situation that has prompted all of us to search for ways to cut costs. At the same time, rising airfares and hotel rates have increased the impact of T&E expenses on the company’s financial results. Lower Profits Underscore the Need for Change The next two years promise to be difficult for Electrovision. After several years of steady increases in spending, the Postal Service is tightening procurement policies for automated mail-handling equipment. Funding for the A-12 optical character reader has been canceled. As a consequence, the marketing department expects sales to drop by 15 percent. Although Electrovision is negotiating several promising R&D contracts with nongovernmental clients, the marketing department does not foresee any major procurements for the next two to three years. At the same time, Electrovision is facing costs increases on several fronts. As we’ve known for several months, the new production facility now under construction in Salt Lake City, Utah, is behind schedule and over budget. labor contracts in Boston and Dallas expire within the next six months, and plant managers there anticipate that significant salary and benefits concessions may be necessary to avoid strikes. Moreover, marketing and advertising costs are expected to increase as we attempt to strengthen these activities to better cope with competitive pressures. Given the expected decline in revenues and increase in costs, the Executive committee’s prediction that profits will fall by 12 percent in the coming fiscal year does not seem overly pessimistic. Airfares and Hotel Rates Are Rising Business travelers have grown accustomed to frequent fare wars and discounting in the travel industry in recent years. Excess capacity and aggressive price competition, particularly in the airline business, made travel a relative bargain. However, that situation has changed, as weaker competitors have been forced out and the remaining players have grown stronger and smarter. Airlines and hotels are better at managing inventory and keeping occupancy rates high, and high occupancy translates into higher prices because suppliers have les reason to compete on price. Last year saw some of the steepest rate hikes in years. Business airfares (tickets most likely to be purchased by business travelers) jumped over 40 percent in many markets. The trend is expected to continue, with rates increasing another 5 to 10 percent overall (Phillips 331; â€Å"Travel Costs Under Pressure† 30; Dahl B6). Given the fact that airfare and hotel costs account for 70 percent of Electrovision’s T& E budget, the trend toward higher prices in these two categories will have serious consequences on the company’s expenses unless management takes action to control these costs. By implementing a number of reforms, management can expect to reduce Electrovision’s T&E budget by as much as 40 percent. This estimate is based on the general assessment made by American Express (Gilligan 130-140) and the fact that we have an opportunity to significantly reduce air travel costs by reducing or eliminating first-class travel. However, these measures are likely to be unpopular with employees. To gain acceptance for such changes, management will need to sell employees on the need for moderation in travel and entertainment allowances. Four Ways to Trim Expenses By researching what other companies are doing to curb travel and entertainment expenses, the accounting department has identified four prominent opportunities that should enable Electrovision to save about $6 million annually in travel-related costs.

Gerald Manley Hopkins` `The Windhover` Essay

Explain: â€Å"he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing.† The word â€Å"rung† used here is an old technical term meaning in this case to rise spirally in flight. The falcon Hopkins describes here circles the air upon the â€Å"rein of a wimpling wing.† His flight is reined like a knight would rein his horse. The wing does the reining, and its feathers wimple, or fold, to produce the graceful spiral in flight. Hopkins’ falcon as described in this poem is at the height of his glory and grace. I can see it as being a traditional Medieval image of Christ as a knight on horseback. The falcon is the Christ performing beautiful and miraculous actions while challenging the writer to follow him to these heroic heights Why is your â€Å"heart in hiding†? The falcon or Christ stirs his heart that was in hiding. Christ awakened his heart and brought his heart back to the light from which it was hid. I see the â€Å"heart in hiding† meaning the poet knows that his heart is not fully committed to God/Christ so therefore it is not fully committed to the purpose of spiritual striving even though he seems to acknowledge that when a person’s entire being is brought into accordance with God’s will they will be at the best place they can be, he knows even he himself isn’t there yet. He acknowledges that something glorious happens to those who relinquish themselves for a higher striving and he draws inspiration from the falcon who is already at that point he hasn’t allowed himself to be at, yet. What is the connection between the `blue-bleak embers` of a fire and a plough (plow)? The blue-bleak embers gash, fall and break apart and let out a gold glow when they fall or crack open—radiates in destruction before death, like the heart becomes radiant in sacrifice and death. The soil reveals its beauty also when that wound is ripped into by the plow. It can be seen as the striving to serve God brings out one’s inner glow just as for example, by using a plow one is actually polishing it as it is serving its finest purpose, the purpose it is made for. Simply by doing the work it, the plow and we, the creation was put here to do, causes us to shine. The poet is telling us there is a luminous core to every single individual which when living a life close to God/Christ it is seen or exposed. Why does Hopkins compare the Falcon to a skate, bows bend, and a plow? How are these metaphors for Christ? The ice skater and the falcon glide atop their support and control it in a supreme, artistic fashion. Because the poet uses the word, â€Å"dauphin,† the falcon is the ruler of the day or dawn. The falcon serves as an image of Christ. To me, I feel the metaphors for Christ are apparent when one thinks of all the grace and effortless majesty displayed by the falcon and the skater, how much greater is the reward of one moment’s communion with God.

College degree Essay

Like almost everyone already asked this question when they have finished high school. Where will I be in about 10, 20 or even more 40 years? . I do not think anyone would like to be a waiter or taxi driver the rest of life; hence, going to college is a good way to know what you will be. It will help you to develop your abilities, your skills, accomplish your goals. People with a higher education can make a difference in the world. My reason for going to college is because I want a better life for myself and it will open many doors in my future life. I graduated from high school in 2007, when I was 17 years old in Peru. My family always encouraged me to get higher education so I started thinking about what would I want to be? . I went to see many universities around my town in order to get more information about majors. I was confused between Hospitality Management and International Business but I decided to study Hospitality Management. It caught my attention because it deals with tourism and I love traveling. Besides hotels, I can get a job in many other places such restaurants, casinos, resorts and hospitals. I enrolled at San Ignacio de Loyola University because they have the best program in my major. It is  located an hour and a half from my house. When I was studying there, I learned a lot; especially, when I can deal for myself without my mom’s help because she did everything for me when I was at school. In Peru, there are many cases of delinquency and a few times robbers attacked me. The first occasion was a week of starting classes. I could remember that I spent a whole day at the college doing my assignment. It was a lot and I was very tired that day. When I was on my way home and got off the bus, someone stole my handbag. My first reaction was to go running after him because he had all my work with my effort in it, my new purchased  books. That was horrible. The other times, robbers just stole my phone. It was because of these facts that gradually I did not want to go anymore. I was very scared on the streets, looking around; I could not take out my phone from my pockets. Because of that, I decided to leave the university. One the day, I talked with my grandmother who lives in the USA. We were discussing about my life and I told her that I wanted to continue studying, so she asked me to move in with her. It was a very difficult decision for me because I would go to another country, starting a new life away from my  parents and friends, and also I was afraid because I did not speak English fluently. However, I had to think about my future so I decided to move to the USA, but the problem was that my parents disagreed about coming here illegal. I went to the University to see if they have any program to study outside the country. They have it but one of the requirements is to have 60 credits. Unfortunately, I did not have that amount. I checked on internet any other possibilities and I found out about the student visa. I did everything I needed to process the visa, such as translating my documents from high  school, filling some papers, looking for my sponsor, and medical examination. A few days later, I went to the USA embassy with my parents, I was so nervous because my dream of keep studying was depending of their answer. The counselor looked my documents and approved my student visa. I was so happy that day. In the first days of arriving in USA, I enrolled at Union County College. At the beginning, I took ESL classes since level 4th. Now, I am almost done with it. Moreover, I am taking other courses in the fields of hotel management. Therefore, I’m pretty sure that I will graduate in two  more years and get my associate degree in Applied Science Program in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management. However, getting a degree in USA and go back to my country will help me to get a more job opportunities since I’m bilingual. According to the article The Benefits of Earning a College Degree states, â€Å"One of the most important and obvious reasons to earn a college degree is to increase your earning potential†. Therefore, a good salary since people that have achieved a college degree are hired in at a higher pay and are considered to be much more employable. For the reason that I want  my own family, I would like to give them a good quality of life, and also provide inspiration to my children. In conclusion, I strongly believe that people should go to college. I feel good going to college because every time I learn something new. I am satisfied with every step I’m taking to get more knowledge and grow as a person. Also, see my parents feel proud of me is priceless. In fact, I recommend going to college is worth and it is not a waste of time because college will give a person the tools to succeed in the field of their choice. By graduating from college, everyone can get a dream job and start to make those dreams come true.

Website Migration Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Website Migration Project - Term Paper Example To ensure the success of this project, the execution of the project is done by strictly following the system development life cycle (SDLC). System development life cycles ensures that the user and functional requirements of any project are met. Using the system development life cycle, there is standardization and structuring of all process involved in the system development. Using these standardized and structured processes, the development of any given system in stages which follow the route of feasibility study, planning of the system, development of concept, designing, development of the system, system integration, system testing, and finally system deployment and maintenance are achieved. This paper is aimed at providing a viable solution that will facilitate moving a website from external servers to internal servers with minimum downtime, redesigning of the existing website to incorporate more functionalities, designing a viable plan that can be used as a disaster recovery solution in cases of future failures. The process employs all the phases of system development life cycle to ensure efficient execution of the project. System development life cycle phases’ use is to facilitate execution of the project in the shortest time possible using a structured manner, despite the fact that web development process is unstructured. The project will focus on the legibility and coherence of the website. Coherence ensures users of the website are able to navigate through the site with ease, and also, the users are able to understand the content of the website, i.e. understandability. The websites legibility focus on making the website distinctive and memorable to the users. Moreover, the systems scalability, robustness and modifiability are addressed. Putting together all design purposes and the above stated factors, the structured development process will follow a defined route as outlined below. From the description given

Case Assignment (Business Ethics) Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assignment (Business Ethics) - Case Study Example However in that process, they engaged themselves into practices which may not be termed as ethical in nature. The various issues which have been discussed in the article points towards various ethical lapses in the organization on systematic, organization and individual level. From the information provided in the Case study, there are various ethical issues involved in this case. A closer look at the facts would suggest that the company has a good past record where the employee relationship, cleanliness, good work practices were dominating forces within the organization however, the consolidation in the industry coupled with recession saw the tide turning as most of the meat processors in the country focused on improving their profitability which eventually resulted into cost cutting and a compromises on the quality of the meat produced as well as the internal work practices within those organizations. Further the whole situation with specific regard to the company changed when the ownership of the company changed forcing it to go through a change which was really painful not for the employees only but for the overall health of the organization also. The systems and procedures put in place within the organization suggest that there is a more stress on ensuring that the meat processing plants meet the targets of processing meat every day. In order to achieve the same, the systems and procedures within the organization was horrible as the processing of meat was done according to the standards. The health standards were not meet. This violation has further deteriorated the systems and procedures within the organization to a point where no proper standard operating procedures were put in place in terms of better work procedures. Blood usually were not been washed away every day. The assembly line was stuffed with lot of work to process i.e. approximately 400 cows per hour which greatly hampered the quality as more toxin materials were used to be split over the meat or piercing of other toxic organs of the cows resulting into their splitting over the meat seriously points towards the fact that on systematic level, there were lot of et hical issues which needed to be addressed. In order to correct the issues related with the systematic ethics, organization need to revamp its procedures. The assembly lines should be widened in order to lessen the work load on the existing employees so that the procedures can be performed efficiently, effectively by taking into account all the health related measures. One of the biggest disadvantages with the company is the fact its procedures do not allow the element of health of the consumers of its products to take precedence in deciding how the meat should be processed. Rather the focus is on generating volumes at the cost of health of the consumers. The operating procedures therefore need to revise in order to make them more ethical. Apart from that the overall hiring standards, employee relationships , the attitude of the line managers suggest that too much stress is being laid on unethical procedures where most of the time, migrants are

Product Reliability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Product Reliability - Essay Example 56)†. In today’s development of industrial products, reliability concerns are not addressed properly in the prior steps of the process (Prabhakar and Osteras 121). The reliability of the products also depends on two manufacturing items: the technical decisions made in the early stages and the consequence of commercial results in the final stages. An engineer can employ effective methodology for reliable performance and specification in order to make a better decision. Product reliability develops a structure that joins reliable specifications, both design and materials, and product performance in the manufacture of new product products (Prabhakar and Osteras 81). Product reliability depends on the design, material used for a product and the manufacturing process. Design refers to the  act  of creating a layout or convention for constructing an object or system as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawing, business process and circuit diagrams. It may also be d efined as a strategy employed to achieve a unique goal or expectation. Potential Stages for Design Reviews (â€Å"Blueprints for Product Reliability†) ... The term is sometimes used to refer to components with specific physical properties that are used as inputs in manufacturing of products. In this context, materials are the components used to make product – computers, cars, buildings etc. Some applications require a product to have specific types of material properties such as load resistant steels for bridges, cranes or buildings. Cars, for instance, use aluminum as it is light, so the car consumes less fuel, corrosion resistance and aluminum alloys are easier to manufacture and use. Polystyrene with the recycling code 6 or Styrofoam cups, plates, carryout containers is petroleum-based plastics. They can release potentially toxic breakdown products, particularly when heated. Ceramic, glass, paper or safer plastics like numbers 1, 2 or 5 are a better alternative. Using the wrong material can result in a catastrophic failure that can harm life or environment (Chitale 154). Product Life Cycle Cost Impact. (â€Å"Blueprints for Product Reliability†) Manufacturing is the process of producing goods for use sale using machinery, labor and tools. This term may refer to a series of human activity such as handicraft, or high tech, but is most used in reference to industrial production, where raw materials are turned into finished products on a large scale. The finished products can be used  to make  more complex products such as household appliances, aircraft or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers who then sell them to end users. Manufacturing has many categories such as casting for engine blocks, molding for beams, forming as in press for panels, machining for drilling and

IT Infrastructure and IT Sourcing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

IT Infrastructure and IT Sourcing - Case Study Example has been operating since 2001. The main service provided by Anime International is an online retailer of Japanese Animation related products to customers worldwide from orders placed online at http://store.animeinternational.com. Products distributed include: Dvds and Music; Manga and Books; Toys and Figures; Art Work; Cards and Games; and other merchandise such as accessories, calendars and even kitchenware. The company sells over 10,000 diverse products in the anime genre. Anime International caters to the multimedia consumer, offering specialised downloads such as wallpapers and avatars (used in Internet forums, emails and online gaming). This diversity in product, design and orientation allows Anime International to offer consumers a wide variety of the most popular anime titles through E-commerce purchases. Operating largely as a business-to-consumer (B2C) online retailer, Anime International forms a part of the supply chain in the growing Japanese animation merchandising industry, typically second or third tier. IT Infrastructure and IT sourcing is a strategic issue for the growth and expansion of the Anime International in this competitive global market scenario. ... This diversity in product, design and orientation allows Anime International to offer consumers a wide variety of the most popular anime titles through E-commerce purchases. Operating largely as a business-to-consumer (B2C) online retailer, Anime International forms a part of the supply chain in the growing Japanese animation merchandising industry, typically second or third tier. IT Infrastructure and IT sourcing is a strategic issue for the growth and expansion of the Anime International in this competitive global market scenario. A comprehensive and appropriate strategic initiative at the right time can be very valuable for the business performance of the company. It is very necessary in the context of Anime International to maintain a standardized infrastructure and balanced IT sourcing strategy. This would ascertain the efficiency and the effectiveness of the company in this competitive world. There is also need for well managed and adaptable infrastructure which provides push for strategic goals, organizational competitiveness and overall performance of the company. The strategic decision to allocate funds and encourage development of IT infrastructure and IT sourcing will add great value to the existing business of Anime International. In this paper I am going to examine the positive potential benefits which can be estimated under extensive study of th e role of IT infrastructure and IT sourcing, under well planned and calculated scientific methodology to assess the performance level of Anime Inc. the findings are based on case study based on questionnaire approach and qualitative analysis. Topic 1-IT Infrastructure: The IT consideration needs to take fresh approach with regard to infrastructure in evolving a strategic

Branding Kony2012 case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Branding Kony2012 case study - Essay Example The main objective of this study is to answer the question how does self branding influence consumer behavior in relation to how they respond to advertisements. Successful branding occurs when a particular product, company name or symbol is easily identifiable and common among the target group to the extent that they relate to it. Successful brands influence consumer decisions in terms of what they wear, what they eat and what they associate themselves with (Fan, 2002). This is because of the role brand advertising plays in encouraging individuals to identify with a particular company and its brands. Different approaches are often employed by companies and organizations to bring out their messages to the masses through various media and try as much as possible to appeal to their emotions and impact on their actions and decisions regarding the brand. Each person has their own natural desire to express their own feelings and identify with the things they like. With this proposition in mind, companies have learned to position themselves and their brands in a manner that they can be relied upon by the people to express their character and identity (Fan, 2002). This research study aims at examining the reasons behind self branding and the impact it has had on consumer behavior across the globe. This study makes use of the ‘KONY 2012’ campaign as the main case study from which reliable observations can be drawn and analyzed. KONY 2012 is a short film produced by Invisible Children Inc to create awareness about Joseph Kony, an African militia and cult leader who is an international criminal and a fugitive of the International Criminal Court. By creating this awareness, the Invisible Children Inc would bring to light the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony in Central Africa in relation to kidnapping children and using them as child soldiers and sexual objects. The organization would then sensitize people to come together and stop Kony’s operations i n Central Africa and bring him to justice. The video achieved unprecedented success having had over 97 million views on the video sharing website, YouTube and over 21.9 thousand likes on Vimeo. The KONY 2012 short video has been dubbed as the most viral video clip of all time. The video was released to the internet on March 5th 2012. It is one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever and largely helped invisible Children to further its mission. At the end of the campaign, about 3.7 million people across the globe had identified with KONY 2012 and the company behind the campaign and about 3.7 million people pledged their support for the campaign by purchasing action kits sold by the company. From this case study, this research observes and identifies a powerful strategy deployed by advertisers to position their brand in a way that it can be used by people who want to express certain aspects of their identity through the brand. When KONY 2012 set out to establish their brand they began by grabbing the viewers attention with an emotionally gripping story directed by Jason Russell who introduced a boy name Jacob from Uganda, Africa. He describes what he went through when the rebel group L.R.A (Lord’s Resistance Army), lead by Joseph Kony, kidnapped him and like many other children, boys and girls are captured and forced into the rebel army to

Narration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Narration - Essay Example Try though it might, the flower could not determine from any of the sunbeams arriving outside its door when this ‘summer’ should arrive. In the way that nature speaks to itself, the sunlight sang a welcome to the flower until it opened itself up completely, revealing the special green stripes on white petals that made it unique, but not too proud. The sunbeam celebrated the arrival of the flower because it was the first and therefore symbolized the earliest beginning of summer, but quickly told the flower about the dreams of the summer and the many companion flowers it would have then. This enthusiastic welcome and sense of singularity gave the flower a psychological boost that gave it the fortitude to continue standing when the sunlight disappeared behind a cloud and the wind and weather returned. As had the sunlight, the words of the children again provided the flower with a psychological boost. This boost was so touching that the pain of being broken at the stem did not register in its awareness. Any residual pain it might have felt was erased by the warm hands and the pressing of soft lips against its petals. There was a young girl of indeterminate age living in the house who decided upon a specific boy to be her summer romance. However, this boy was engaged in his studies far away. To convey to him her feelings, the girl wrapped the flower up in some pieces of wood fiber on which were written several verses presumably of romantic sentiment. The flower experienced the darkness as if it was again within the seed. This was not an agreeable experience for the flower as it traversed through the postal system, but the journey was not long and soon, the letter in which the flower was enclosed was opened by the boy. The next time the flower saw the light of day, the boy was no longer happy but was angry. He grabbed up the verses that had enclosed the flower and burned them. The flower could not understand why it

Pharmacology Population Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmacology Population - Assignment Example In a study by Bartelink, Rademaker, Schobben, et al. (2006), population pk was found to be a very important approach through which not just pharmacokinetic information is obtained from sparse data sets but also pharmacodynamic information obtained from this same sparse data set. Leeder (2004) also observed that there stages in the drug development process where the very large population may be needed but with only a few observations per patient so as to determine the exact and unique differences with drug behavior in each patient based on special characteristics. To achieve this, population pk is employed or used to obtain information at both the phase II and phase III clinical trials among patients. It is not surprising that Ernest, Elder, Martini, et al. (2007) identified population pk as a practice associated with several pharmaceutical companies in the course of their drug development process. Certainly, population pk comes as a single most reliable mechanism by which dosage dete rmination to drugs can be done due to the size of the population used in the sparse data sets, each of whom is observed for very specific outcomes based on their demographic and pathophysiology characteristics. Also writing on the contribution of population pk to drug development, Roosmarijn et al. (2011) found that there are instances when intensive blood sampling can be attained. Meanwhile, Hsieh and Korfmacher (2006) noted that where intensive blood sampling is possible, there is the benefit of replicating the outcomes with particular blood samples for a larger population size. This means that where intensive blood sampling is not possible an alternative is needed to ensure that almost all populations are catered for. Typical situations in drug development where intensive blood sampling has not been attainable include drug development processes for children, cancer, and AIDS.

Tobacco advertising should be banned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tobacco advertising should be banned - Essay Example â€Å"Each year smoking kills some 431 000 people in the community, 110  000 of them in Britain† – such lamentable statistics is suggested by Vickers (p. 1995). Hence, addiction to cigarettes remains to be an important and relevant problem for people in Europe and this problem may be straightforwardly related to tobacco advertising. It is definite fact that tobacco advertising should be banned and such kind of publicity for product which kills people’s lungs and takes away its lives should be prohibited. Actually, â€Å"in 1999, the European Parliament approved a ban on all forms of advertising for tobacco products† (K.M. Lancaster and A.R. Lancaster, 41). This decision is considered to be appropriate and wholesome. There are some straightforward reasons for such an idea and they are absolutely logical and reasonable. The essential point which is worse to mention is stopping children to become addicted to the cigarettes. It is suggested that five of six adult smokers commence this horrible addiction at the age of sixteen (Vickers, p. 1995). This is the time of rebellion and adolescent extremist orientations. Children in that age do not realize all consequences and harmfulness of cigarette addiction. And three influential factors which induce young people to smoking addiction due to Nelson (808) are: They all are connected and presuppose young person to harmful habits like smoking for example. Advertisements itself is related to social environment sphere as we can observe them everywhere in the streets, on television or newspapers. We are a consuming generation, so advertisements are considered to be our environment. At the same time an appealing advertisement may attract attention of young generation and encourage them to buy a pack of cigarettes. Such advertising compose a wrong perception of what cigarettes are and what implications their usage may cause. Moreover, advertising campaigns create false

A sociological investigation into cohabitation in Britain today Essay Example for Free

A sociological investigation into cohabitation in Britain today Essay In my coursework I shall conduct a sociological investigation into cohabitation in Britain today. This is expanded from my previous coursework, which updated past research into the stigmas attached to cohabitation. It interests me to investigate whether facts and opinions of cohabitation have changed over time. To achieve this aim I shall look at the following questions throughout my research: 1. Why has cohabitation increased? 2. Does cohabitation have an effect on children? 3. What advantages and disadvantages are there to cohabitation? 4. Is there still a stigma attached to cohabitation? 5. Do cohabiting couples ever wish to marry or is it a permanent status? I believe that cohabitation is increasingly replacing marriage. I intend to research cohabitation using a questionnaire, which will be given to both cohabiting and married couples to complete. 133 Words Context Cohabitation has doubled since 1981 to around 25% and is greatly increasing. It is defined as when two people live together in a relationship without being married. This can be either a short-term arrangement or a permanent status in which the couple do not see the need to be legally married. Sociologists have researched into many areas of cohabitation and the family. However, more recently the main focus has been on the increase in cohabitation. It is argued that marriage is becoming less popular and so people are developing alternatives to conventional married life. Also, there are increasing numbers of marital breakdown, which are reflected in rises in the divorce rates. The General Household Survey from Social Trends (2000) found that in Great Britain between 1998 and 1999, 26% of males and 25% of females, between the ages of 16 and 59, were in a cohabiting relationship. This is relevant as it show evidence of the large numbers of cohabiting couples in society today. Chester (1980) has argued that cohabitation is only a temporary situation that often leads to marriage. Chester said that in many cases it is not possible for a couple to marry, due to one or both partners being married. Also, many couples see cohabitation as a trial period, which often determines whether they choose to marry. Chester concluded that around 2% of single women aged 18-49 are living and bearing children in constitutional unions which may be permanent. However, Chandler argues against this theory, seeing the increase in cohabitation as more significant. Chandler says that couples appear to be spending lengthening amounts of time cohabiting and seem to be choosing cohabitation as a permanent replacement for marriage. Chandler (1993) supports this by noting that 28% of children were born to unmarried mothers, 70% of which were registered by both parents. These arguments show the conflicting opinions, between sociologists, regarding the status that cohabitation appears to now have. Approximately 15% of one-parent families are created through the break-up of cohabiting unions, showing that cohabitations with children are even more likely to break-up than childless ones. Today, more than 20% of children are born to cohabiting couples, although around only a third of these children will remain with both parents throughout their childhood. This means that children born to cohabiting parents are more likely to experience a series of disruptions in their family life, which can have negative consequences for their emotional and educational development. Berthoud and Gershuny found, in seven years in the lives of British families, that 70% of children born to married parents are likely to live their entire childhood with both parents whereas only 36% of children born to cohabiting parents remain with both parents. It has also been shown that children living in cohabiting stepfamilies are at a significantly higher risk of child abuse, showing that these informal cohabiting families are the most unsafe environments for children. This is interesting as it shows an insight into the effects that cohabitation can have on children. There have been many theories as to why cohabitation has increased, alongside the simple and more obvious explanations. Marriage is seen as a more risky choice in a relationship due to the divorce rates and expense of marriage, along with the decline in religious influence and growing economic and employment insecurity worries. Single parenthood has been a partial explanation as to why cohabitation has increased as many women choose to cohabit in a relationship, rather than having the irresponsibility of raising a child outside of a stable relationship. Cohabitation has greatly occurred from the great rise in divorce rates, which may also have the effect if children, from divorced parents, being wary of marriage. However, the decline in childbirth and the conscious decision to not have children may have made it less necessary for couples to marry. Past research conducted into sociology appears to indicate that the once prominent stigma attached to cohabitation has greatly declined in society. Th decline in the negative view to cohabitation, in society, has been shown in the Social Trends Survey (1996). The results from people who feel cohabitation is wrong: by gender, 1994 show that between 1960 and 1978, 7% of males and 6% of females felt that cohabitation is wrong. This has greatly decreased from 40% of males and 37% of females in 1930. These statistics could also imply that these numbers are still decreasing in society today. Ronald Fletchers (1988) theory shows an inclination as to why this social stigma has decreased. He suggests that cohabitation is a form of marriage, which is similar to that of a nuclear family, rather than a different relationship form altogether. He argued that cohabiting couples are concealed nuclear families that are not legalised through marriage. This theory not only suggests reasons for cohabitation but also indicates that it could continue to increase in society. 810 Words Methodology feelings towards discussing such information. Using a questionnaire will allow me to get results in a short period of time, which will be easy for both me and my participants as it will take into account any individual variables, such as the participant being in a rush etc. Questionnaires will be the best method of data collection for my study as I can then easily quantify and analyse the results in relation to my rationale. I shall conduct my study by In sociology, structionalists and interactionists have each used different methods of attempting to research areas of sociology. Structuralists are positivists and so use scientific, quantitative methods if collecting data. Common methods used by structuralists are laboratory experiments, which isolate the variables to find a relationship between them and field experiments, which, attempt to control variables in a natural situation. Also used by structuralists are questionnaires, structural interviews and the analysis of official statistics. Interactionists, however, are anti-positivists and reject scientific research methods, using qualitative methods of collecting data. Common methods used by interactionists are informal/unstructured interviews, where the subject directs the interview, and participant observation, where the participants are observed during their daily activities. For my research I shall be using the quantitative research methods of questionnaires. I considered using formal interviews to collect my data as I would have been able to get more in-depth and personal results, but decided that this would be more difficult to conduct and a suitable sized sample may be harder to find for reasons such as time difficulties and personal handling out questionnaires to randomly aged cohabiting, married and non-cohabiting couples. I shall use 25 questionnaires to complete my study as I feel that this is a relatively suitable sized sample to gain reliable results with. I have chosen this sample in the hope that I will gain a wide variety of couples and ages, without attempting to manipulate who participates. The gender of my participants shall also be randomly selected, rather than pre-determined. I shall also distribute my questionnaires in a variety of places sixth form college, workplace, public areas) to aid my aim of getting a varied sample and ensure that my results are representative. I shall ensure that I am ethical in my approach of this by gaining their consent before handing them the questionnaire. The questionnaires shall also have details of the nature of the study written above the questions and they shall be verbally informed that it is not required of them to answer any questions that they do not wish to. The questionnaires shall also be confidential and so will not require a name or contact details from the participant, which may increase the validity of my results as they may be less likely to lie or refuse to disclose information. When constructing my questionnaire I ensured that I considered all of my aims, stated in my rationale. I included questions which required both written answers and a choice of pre-selected answers, depending on the nature of the question. For two of my questions, the answer choices were given in ranges, rather than individual answers (e. g. are you, 26-35 etc). I did this with ages to male the question less personal as the participant may be uncomfortable disclosing their exact age. It has also been done when asking how many cohabiting couples they know of, as it is unlikely that they would consider the exact amount accurately. I constructed the questionnaire in a form that is suitable for both married and cohabiting/non cohabiting couples to complete, and based all of my questions on a more personal form of my aims, which will hopefully result in valid results. Before conducting my final study, I completed a pilot study of four questionnaires to find any area of improvement which could better my final study. I conducted and distributed these questionnaires in exactly the same way as planned for the final study. I feel that my pilot study was successful and without any major problems. I shall, however, change some minor aspects of the questionnaire. I found that the question regarding benefits of cohabiting couples may have been misinterpreted as financial benefits only, and so I shall change the structure of that question. I also found that people were writing more, for their answers, than the allocated space and so I shall add more lines per question on my final questionnaires. The remainder of my questionnaire shall stay the same. 741 Words Evidence To present the results of my questionnaire I shall display and discuss each question individually, in the order which they appear in on the questionnaire itself. 1. Are you: Male Female I decided to first gain some knowledge of the participant so that any relations could be made between the results and their personal details, if necessary. For my research, however, I am looking at the overall current opinions of the public and so am not looking for any direct relationships related to gender. Due to my random sample it was not expected that an equal number of males and females would be used, and this is shown in the above table.

Specific Injury Treatment Ankle Sprain Health And Social Care Essay

Specific Injury Treatment Ankle Sprain Health And Social Care Essay An injury can be defined as a physical damage or harm on an animal or human being. It affects the structure or function of the body and is caused by force either chemically or physically. Injuries are classified according to their cause like traumatic injury, infection, toxin, metabolic; the location like wound, nerve injury, cell damage, brain injury; and the activity like sports injury, occupational injury. They cause deaths and many of those who survive them incur temporary or permanent disabilities. They can be prevented and if they happen, their consequences can be mitigated (Alan Melvin, 2002). Under the class of location, it can be found on an ankle with an example of sprained ankle. Ankle, being a complex supporting structure, if injured, it causes disability and absence from work. The ligaments in tibio-fibular joint in the foot enable to stabilize the forward motion. Basically, if they are damaged, their treatment will depend on how severe the injury is. This means that ankles are very useful in human body and there are many forms of treatment incase of damage but prevention is always the best. Their complications can cause arthritis, loose body formation and instability. In severe cases, that have to undergo surgery, 85% are successful and showed excellent results (Alan Melvin, 2002). Ankle sprain is very common in sports and normal activities like work. It is the damage of the soft tissues around the ankle especially ligaments which can be torn or partially torn. It is also known as rolled ankle, ankle sprain or ankle ligament injury. It happens when there are abnormal motions like sporting activities, stepping on uneven surfaces, from a jump, falling, running, etc. It can include effects such as pain, swelling, and inability to walk. It can be prevented by wearing good shoes, focusing on the way we walk and run and paying attention to both internal and external warnings (Icon Health Publications 2002). Ankle sprain can be classified in three grades depending on the force involved in causing it. In grade 1, it is a slight stretching which causes damage to the fibers and there is minimal swelling, joint stiffness, and mild pain which can be treated through isometric exercises and weight bearing. In grade 2, there is moderate tenderness, minor bruises, difficulty walking and possible instability which can be treated through therapy (physical). In grade 3, there is instability, ligament rapture, severe swelling and pain and can be treated through long physical therapy, surgery, reconstruction (Alan Melvin, 2002). It consists of inversion which occurs when there is too much inversion of the foot. It is rated to be 90% of all the sprains that happen and the most involved ligament is the anterior talofibular. Pain is more concentrated on the outside than inside of the ankle joint. The second type of sprain is eversion where the foot is twisted outwards hence the deltoid ligament is stretched too far. It causes pain inside the ankle. High ankle sprains an injury of ligaments like tibia and fibula. It occurs due to forced and sudden twisting of the foot (Icon Health Publications 2002). Ankle sprains are associated with sports like soccer, football, volleyball and sprint racing. They both do vigorous exercises involving the ankles and sometimes jumping like in volleyball and basketball. In soccer, there is a chance that at least a player must suffer an injury especially, ankle sprain. According to FIFA ratings (2005-2010), the risk rate is 10% in soccer for an ankle sprain. The rate is not verifiable due to victims in different games; sometimes, 3 players suffer in a game while in other games none suffers. Actually, determining the risk rate at which people suffer may be difficult due to intervals, the severity and there causes. Many players have undergone surgery and others have had to take rest due to the sprains. The conservative measure is most used as players get injured, treated in the field and either get substituted or resume their positions (Alan Melvin, 2002). Some of symptoms of this injury are pain caused by sensitivity of the nerves and severe tenderness. There is warmth caused by increased blood flow and little ability or difficulty in moving the injured leg. Severe bruising and swelling can also be experienced and can be diagnosed through physical exam and x-ray. Physical exam shows laxity of the joint while x-ray shows instability. It can be confused for an ankle fracture which is caused by the same mechanisms. Mostly, in children, growth plates are mistaken for sprains. Over time, ligaments that get damaged as a result of injury heal. This can only be possible to the minor injuries hence whenever there are cases of serious injuries; you should consult the doctor for diagnosis. He/she is to tell on the mode of treatment depending on the examination. Use of physical examination may be painful due to different twists in order to know the state of the ankle. A magnetic resonance imaging can be done to determine the severity of ligament injury, bone chip, fracture, joint surface injury or any other problem. It gives a correct diagnosis and can be done immediately at the point of injury or after swelling and bruising resolves (Icon Health Publications 2002). The recovery is through treatment which aims at minimizing swelling, pain and inflammation while enabling recovery. Use of nonsurgical methods or conservative measures is advisable. If the injury was a grade 1, use of PRICE (takes between 48- 72 hours) is applicable which means Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Protection is from any more danger or further injury. Rest means not involving the injured ankle in strenuous activities hence one can use crutches incase of making any movement. The recommended rest is between 48-72 hours. Ice, although it can damage the skin if applied for long, helps in decreasing the blood flow to the damaged ligament. It is applied immediately or soonest possible after an injury for 20-30 minutes. It should be wrapped in a plastic bag, before pressing it on the skin else it will cause ice-burn and should not be left on while asleep. The time should not be less than 10 minutes because it will have no effect and not more than 30 minutes because it will damage the skin. Compression is with a bandage to limit swelling and should not be too tight to stop flow of blood. It should not be left on during sleep and should be removed as advised to allow free movement of the joint. Elevation is placing the injured leg at a strategic position, e.g. on cushions while lying on a sofa or on pillow while sleeping on bed to limit and reduce swelling and help recovery (Alan Melvin, 2002). It is also advisable to avoid HARM (takes 72 hours), meaning Heat, Alcohol, Running and Massage. Heat speeds blood flow hence should be avoided as long as there is inflammation after which, it can be used for soothing. Alcohol decreases healing and cause increased bleeding. Running can cause more harm to the injury while massage may increase bleeding. Gentle massage after 72 hours is recommended while running is only advisable after full recovery to strengthen the joint (Icon Health Publications 2002). Doctors also advise on constant gentle movement of the joint by doing exercises every day which help it to regain its normal functions and prevent stiffness. Secondly, physiotherapy helps to improve proprioception which is the ability if the brain in connection to movement and position. In our normal activities, the ankle should be supported with a rigid sort with to help in healing of the damaged ankle. Finally, doctors warn against getting involved in vigorous exercises but encourage on allowing movement of ankle to a certain degree. It gives support to the joint (Icon Health Publications 2002). All of the above can be done even without the help of a doctor but it is always advisable to see one incase the pain is so severe that it restricts movement, a ligament ruptured or on suspicion of a bone breakage. Also, if swelling and symptoms do not settle because in most cases, they take short time to ease and if there were severe bruises suffered. With assess of the doctor and use of x-ray, he /she can recommend the nonsurgical methods of treatment or surgical (Hammer, 2007). Mostly, medicine may not be needed if pain can be tolerated but sometimes, nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs may be used to control inflammation and pain. Some of the pain killers include: Paracetamol and codeine, anti- inflammatory painkillers. Paracetamol is used to relieve pain but incase it does not help, codeine is used which is stronger and can cause drowsiness and constipation. Anti-inflammatory include aspirin and ibuprofen which relieve pain and limit inflammation. Others are rub on which are similar to the tablets. Anti-inflammatory are not very advisable because they have severe side effects especially to people with high blood pressure, kidney failure, heart attack and asthma. We need to consult our doctors or pharmacists before taking these medicines (Alan Melvin, 2002). There are arguments that some inflammation necessitates healing. This is the reason why many doctors do not recommend use of anti-inflammatory painkillers within the first 48 hours of injury, they delay healing. It may only be theoretical because no one has proven this point. Only arguments and contradictions arise hence research is needed to prove it. Rehabilitation helps to decrease swelling and pain and ensure that joint problems do not lead to chronic pain. To help pain and swelling, you can use ultrasound and electrical stimulation. It starts with simple exercises then extremity when and other exercises are added when you are pain free. It aims at improved balance thus proprioception training is important and increase in strength and range of motion. The recovery depends on three phases: Phase 1- resting reducing swelling. Phase2 à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ restoring strength, flexibility and range of motion. Phase 3- doing the less simple activities followed by vigorous and sudden activities. In time course, 1-4 weeks is based on stabilized walking, 4-8 weeks, immobilization of ankles, 8-12 weeks, embrace of high level activities and 12 weeks onward, performance without external mobilization (Lewin, 2008). Wearing of good costume for the purpose like boots during across country hike or when walking on uneven grounds or when rambling mountains would prevent or reduce ankle sprains. This is because they give support to the ankle as compared to other shoes. By visiting a physiotherapist, he/she can advise on the exercises to do so as to build muscles in order to prevent sprains. If it involved surgery, it should be resistant to nonsurgical. Surgical options include arthroscopy where the surgeon tries to figure whether there is any loose cartilage, ligament caught in the joint. The second option is reconstruction where the surgeon by use of stitches and other ligaments to repair the torn ones (Alan Melvin, 2002). Care should be taken on the way we treat or attend to an ankle sprain. This is because even a minor injury can turn chronic if not well dealt with. Most of the treatments of this injury are just conservative than medicinal. We should always seek doctorà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s diagnosis before taking painkillers. We can suffer injuries anytime any place thus we should always try and prevent it if possible and if it happens, we seek for the right recovery and rehabilitation.

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