Scanning the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scanning the Environment - Essay Example ote focuses on demographics and socio-cultural trends, advertising, strategy and image for the previously mentioned retailers and the strategy that a competitor should adopt. Retailing of grocery items has been a competitive business for some time because a number of large retail chains, online stores and retail shops compete within the market. This means that it is important to try to position the retail brand right so that a maximum attraction for the grocery retail segments within the consumers is possible (Reynolds, 2004, Pp. 12 – 18). Brands tell a lot about price and this means that positioning brands to attract a certain type of customer to maximize profit is important in grocery retailing. Demographic trends for the US consumer suggests that the average consumer is more health and money conscious as a result of the prevailing economic uncertainty and they are only willing to pay a little extra for better fresh fruits and vegetables, food brands (Cook, 2008, Slides 1 – 25). However, quality and price are the most important considerations in selection of grocery items, but pesticide free items are only second in preference to fresh gr ocery items. Thus, organic products are second only to fresh quality products. In addition, the proportion of non – Hispanic Whites as a proportion of the total consumer is declining compared to an increase in the Hispanics and the Asians. Thus, retailers must consider the previously mentioned trends in efforts to position their retail brands. Aldi, the global grocery retailer has tried to benefit from the willingness of the consumer to pay a little more for quality in positioning its brand (Aldi, 2009, â€Å"Grocery Selections†). However, Amazon Grocery appears to have tried to lure the customer by offering established middle-of-the range brands with an emphasis on saving for quality and a concern for the Asian and Hispanic consumers. However, both of the previously mentioned chains emphasize value for money. Although

Extremes of Body Modification in the Aztec and Maori Cultures Research Paper

Extremes of Body Modification in the Aztec and Maori Cultures - Research Paper Example In addition, while some still attribute deeper psychological meaning to the practice, others insist that body modification has become nothing more than a simple fashion accessory, or a matter of preference (Wohlrab et al., 87–88). Body modification is defined as â€Å"the semi-permanent or permanent deliberate alteration of the human body†. The practice of body modification extends all over the globe since the dawn of humankind itself. Even though types of modifications vary wildly by geography and culture, in most cases, historically, there has been a symbolic reason beyond aesthetic preference. A modification could indicate that the bearer underwent some sort of group initiation, joined a particular age bracket or social group, or it could identify personal accomplishments, social status, or religious membership and ordaination (Wohlrab et all, 87–88). In more recent times, body modification was often associated with lower classes of people, not the elite. In Europe and later, America, tattooing was common among sailors, who were not viewed kindly by polite society. The practice traveled to other members of lower classes. Biker culture, punk culture, criminal organizations, and prison culture eventually adopted the practice (Wohlrab et all, 87–88). ... Aztec culture used body modification for the purpose of distinguishing class, societal role, and gender. Gender identity was established in the early teens, when all individuals were classified within three genders: potentially reproductive male, potentially reproductive female, and celibate. Throughout these three genders, body modification would follow a set path based on life events. Astronomers and priests calculated the life calendar and fortune prediction for every individual at birth (Joyce, 475-476) Boys and girls wore their hair identically until the age of 12, in a short crop over the whole head. By 12, girls began growing their hair long. Boys shaved their heads except for one long tuft in the back. A young man was permitted to shave it upon taking his first captive in battle. Afterward, the hair was to the bottom of the ear on the right side, shaving the left. Upon capturing a 4th captive, a man recieved the privilege of wearing his hair any way he liked. After childbirth , a woman usually wore her long hair bound around her head (Joyce, 479-480). Among the Aztecs, nearly every combination of gender and societal role had its own code of dress, appearance, and body modification. Aztec adults began a child’s course of body modification by grabbing children between infancy and 4 years old by the neck, every 4th year, in the month Izcalli, on special feast day. This was believed to make the child taller. The ceremony began with piercing the ears of the children. A cotton string was put in the hole initially, and the holes were slowly stretched over time to allow the child to wear ear ornaments as an adult averaging over 2 centimeters wide Joyce, 477-478). Male noble children 15 and over were admitted to the calmecac, for the training of

Banking Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Banking Comparison - Essay Example First, the institution to be picked must be able to guarantee safety of the deposits made. Further, it should ensure be able to provide both long term and short term investment opportunities. Moreover, with the increasing technological advancement, it must be able to provide online banking services at affordable rates. The choice taken must be able to guarantee ATM services within the area of residence and other locations as well. Interest should also be placed on the checking accounts and the fees that are associated with them. The institution should also be able to ensure access to the services internationally as well as a safe deposit box. The fees charged on the money transfers should also be a point of concern. Finally, the location of the institution should be convenient and the interest earned on the savings program should be considerate. Indeed, a financial institution that guarantees all these will be the best. The methodology that will be adopted in carrying out research to ascertain the most appropriate financial institution to join will include both primary and secondary. Secondary will involve searching the online information available regarding the institution including the website and other articles. Further, there will be primary approach where an in-depth interview will be carried out to ensure that adequate first hand information is gathered from the bank personnel. This will be done through the visiting of the banks as an individual and doing a face to face interview with the institution’s staff on the services offered. Finally, the data collected through both the primary and secondary approach will be compared with the individual needs in order to come up with the very best option. After carrying out research on Bank of America, CITI, and Chase bank, it was clear that the banks offer almost similar services of interest. Indeed, having visited the branches for in-depth interviews, it almost became difficult to

Differences of North and South Korea Essay Example for Free

Differences of North and South Korea Essay South Korea is located on the southern part of Korea and boarders and is bordered by Eastern Asia, the southern half of the Korean Peninsula which borders the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow Sea. South Korea has a boring climate in my opinion. It is temperate, and during the summer months there is heavier rainfall than the rest of the year. The terrain in South Korea is much like that of North Korea. It is mostly hills and has mountains. There are wide coastal plains in the west in the south. These areas have many great harbors for fishing. The only natural disaster South Korea is really prone to are typhoons. The population in South Korea is larger than that in North Korea. There are 48,289,037 people which are mostly located along the coast. Sixty-nine percent of the people work in the services department, twenty-one and a half percent work in industry fields, and nine and half percent work in agriculture. There is a close race in South Korea for the number one religion between Christianity and Buddhist. other religions are Confucianism, Shamanism, and Chindogyo. Most people in South Korea speak Korean but more frequently are learning English. The capital on South Korea is Seoul, and South Korea is a Republic. One of the main reasons it is Republic is due to the US involvement in World War II. The president of South Korea is NO Muh-hyun who was elected in 2003. South Korea gained its independence from Japan in 1945 on August 15th. South Koreas biggest traitor is once again America. Popular exports in South Korea are things such as electronic devices, machinery and equipment, cars, steel, ships, clothing, footwear, and fish. In the agricultural department rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish are the most popular. The currency in South Korea is known as the South Korean won also known as the KRW. One thousand, four hundred and one KRW is equivalent to one American dollar. The GDP in South Korea is nine hundred and thirty one billion dollars for a purchasing party power. Over the past few years, South Korea has gained much power economically. The GDP of South Korea is thirty times that of North Korea. Over the past years economic growth has been impressive. South Korea had come back from a crisis known as the Asian financial crisis of 1997-99. Here debt and legitimacy rations were causes and an effect was South Korea being forced to borrow food and having a very weak economic background. In conclusion it is clear that North Korea and South Korea in some ways are the same but in others are completely different. In my opinion and I am sure in the opinion of many others, South Korea is more successful.

Chemical composition of Ambrette Essential Oil

Chemical composition of Ambrette Essential Oil Chemical composition of the essential oil of ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.) from subtropical region of north India Ram S. Verma*, Rajendra C. Padalia, Amit Chauhan ABSTRACT Abelmoschus moschatus (Family: Malvaceae), popularly known as ambrette or muskdana, is an important aromatic and medicinal plant of India. The plant is widely cultivated in tropical countries for their musk-scented seeds useful in perfumery and medicine. In this study, hydrodistilled ambrette seed essential oil produced in subtropical region of north India was investigated using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 27 constituents, representing 90.4% of the total oil composition were identified. Major constituents of the oil were (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (58.0%), (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (12.1%), decyl acetate (4.8%), (2Z,6E)-farnesyl acetate (3.5%), (Z)-oxacyclopentadec-6-en-2-one (2.4%), dodecyl acetate (2.4%) and (2E,6Z)-farnesol (2.0%). Ambrettolide and its homologues, responsible for the characteristic musk-like odour, constitute 15.8% of oil composition. Keywords: Abelmoschus moschatus, Malvaceae, ambrette seed, essential oil, (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate 1. Introduction Abelmoschus moschatus Medik. (syn. Hibiscus abelmoschus (L.), commonly known as ambrette, is native to India (1). It is cultivated in tropical regions of Asia, Africa and South America for their seeds. The seeds have been used as tonic, stimulant, carminative, diuretic, demulcent, and for stomachic property (2). The essential oil obtained by steam-distillation of ambrette seeds is a valuable material known for a rich, sweet, floral-musky, distinctly wine-like or brandy-like odor, which finds application in flavour and fragrance formulations (3). Moreover, the seed essential oil is used as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antispasmodic drug. It is indicated against cramps and bowel disorders and also useful in the itching caused by insect bites. The leaves and the fruits of the plant are consumed in soups and the seeds are used as a spice (4). In addition to this, A. moschatus shows good antioxidant, antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities (5). The plant has been classified as â€Å"an herb of undefined safety† by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the extracts are classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for their use in baked foods, candies, and alcoholic beverages (6). The chemical composition of essential oil and extracts of ambrette seed have been reported from different countries (7-16). The ambrette seed oil has a much smoother odor than synthetic musk compounds, and the major compounds responsible for the characteristic musky odor include ambrettolide: (Z)-7-hexadecen-16-olide and (Z)-5-tetradecen-14-olide (17). Despite a long history of uses in traditional medicines and in perfumery, information on A. moschatus from subtropical region of India is meager. Therefore, in this study, volatile oil composition of the ambrette seed grown in north India (subtropical condition) has been investigated. 2. Experimental 2.1. Plant material and isolation of essential oil The ambrette seeds were collected from experimental field of CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Research Centre, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) in the month of December (2009–2011). The experimental site is located between coordinates 29.02 °N, 79.31 °E and an altitude of 243 m in foothills of north India. Isolation of the essential oil from ambrette seeds was carried out by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger’s type apparatus for 5 hours. Isolated oil was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and stored at 4 °C until further analyses. 2.2. GC and GC-MS analyses GC analysis of the essential oil was carried out on a Nucon gas chromatograph model 5765 equipped with DB-5 capillary column (30 m Ãâ€" 0.25 mm internal diameter, film thickness 0.25  µm) and flame ionization detector (FID). The oven column temperature ranged from 60–230  °C, programmed at 3  °C/min, using H2 as carrier gas at 1.0 mL/min, a split ratio of 1:35, an injection size of 0.03  µL neat, and injector and detector temperatures were 220  °C and 230  °C, respectively for Nucon gas chromatograph model 5765. GC/MS analysis of the essential oil sample was carried out on a Clarus 680 GC interfaced with a Clarus SQ 8C mass spectrometer of PerkinElmer fitted with Elite-5 MS fused-silica capillary column (30 m Ãâ€" 0.25 mm i.d., film thickness 0.25  µm). The oven temperature program was from 60–240  °C, at 3  °C/min, and programmed to 270  °C at 5  °C /min; injector temperature was 250  °C; transfer line and source temperatures were 220  °C; i njection size 0.03  µL neat; split ratio 1:50; carrier gas He at 1.0 mL/min; ionization energy 70 eV; mass scan range 40-450 amu. Characterization was achieved on the basis of retention index (RI, determined using a homologous series of n-alkanes, C8-C30 hydrocarbons), mass spectra library search (NIST/EPA/NIH version 2.1 and Wiley registry of mass spectral data 7th edition) and by comparing the observed RI and mass spectral data with the literature (18,19). The relative amounts of individual components were calculated based on the relative % peak areas (FID response), without using a correction factor. 2.3. Statistical analysis To compare of the examined essential oil composition of ambrette seed from subtropics with the reported compositions from other regions, seven samples (1: present study and 2-7: other regions) (8,9,11,13,14) were treated as operational taxonomic units. The percentage of nine major components, representing composition up to 82.8-89.0% of ambrette essential oil (decyl acetate, dodecyl acetate, (E)-ÃŽ ²-farnesene, (Z)-oxacyclopentadec-6-en-2-one, (2Z,6E)-farnesyl acetate, (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate, (2E,6E)-farnesol, (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one, and (E)-2,3-dihydrofarnesyl acetate) were used to determine the chemical relationship among the different essential oil samples by hierarchical cluster analysis using the average method (20). This software computes the hierarchical clustering of a multivariate dataset based on dissimilarities. The derived dendrogram depicts the grouping of chemical compositions as per their chemical constituents. 3. Results and discussion The essential oil yield and chemical composition of ambrette seeds observed in subtropics, north India is presented in Table 1. The seeds gave 0.12  ± 0.01% (v/w) of essential oil on hydrodistillation. However, essential oil yield was 0.15–0.20% in ambrette seeds under eastern Indian conditions (12). The resulting essential oil was analysed using GC-FID and GC-MS techniques. Altogether, 27 constituents, representing 90.4% of the total oil composition were identified. Major constituents of the oil were (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (58.0%), (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (12.1%), decyl acetate (4.8%), (2Z,6E)-farnesyl acetate (3.5%), (Z)-oxacyclopentadec-6-en-2-one (2.4%), dodecyl acetate (2.4%), (2E,6Z)-farnesol (2.0%), (Z)-oxacyclononadec-10-en-2-one (1.3%) and (E)-nerolidol (0.7%). The essential oil composition of ambrette seed has been investigated earlier from different countries and mainly five types of compositions are described. Garnero and Buil (1978) identified (2E,6E)-farnesol (39.0%) and (E,E)-farnesyl acetate (35.4%) as the major constituents of ambrette seed oil (13). Dung et al (1999) reported two different compositions, viz. (E)-2,3-dihydrofarnesyl acetate (67.3%) type, and (E,E)-farnesyl acetate (35.5%) and (E)-2,3-dihydrofarnesyl acetate (32.9%) type for ambrette seed oil from Vietnamese (14). However, ambrette seed oils from Ecuador and China are reported to have (E,E)-farnesyl acetate (59.1% and 64.22%) and (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (7.8% and 14.9%) as major constituents (8,9). According to an earlier study from Odisha (eastern India), the main constituents of ambrette seed oil were (E,E)-farnesyl acetate (47.6%), (E)-ÃŽ ²-farnesene (9.6%) and (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (9.0%) (11). Moreover, to compare the examined essential oil com position with earlier reported compositions, the contents (%) of nine major components of different oils were subjected to the hierarchical cluster analysis. The derived dendrogram clearly demonstrate dissimilarity based on the percentages of the constituents present among the different compositions (Figure 1). Thus, composition of the examined oil from subtropical northern India was closer to the oil composition reported from Ecuador (8). However, it was rather different from China (9) and eastern Indian (11) ambrette seed oils due to the content (%) of other constituents, viz. (E)-ÃŽ ²-farnesene and decyl acetate. 4. Conclusions In conclusions, the chemical composition of ambrette seed oil produced in subtropics was rich in (E,E)-farnesyl acetate (58.0%), and ambrettolide and its homologues (15.8%). The ambrette seed oil has a promising value for fragrance and fixative purposes. Based on the results of this study, it can be said that ambrette can also produced good quality essential oil in the subtropical conditions of north India. Acknowledgements Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi is thankfully acknowledged for the financial support to carrying out the work (Project: BSC0203). Authors are also thankful to the Director, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for encouragement and the Central Chemical Facility (CSIR-CIMAP) for providing facility for GC and GC/MS analyses. References Anonymous, The wealth of India: Raw materials; National Institute of Science Communication, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research: New Delhi, Vol. 5, pp 75-77 (1959). R. Sharma and A. Shahzad, Thidiazuran (TDZ) induced regeneration from cotyledonary node explant of Abelmoschus moschatus Medik. L. (A valuable medicinal plant). World J. Agric. Sci., 4(4), 449-452 (2008). S. Arctander, Perfume and flavor materials of natural origin; Arctander: Elizabeth, NJ, pp 58-60 (1960). De La Ripelle, H. F. (2006). Les hiscus, tradition et modernite. Phytotherapie, 3,136–144. M.Z. Gul, L.M. Bhakshu, F. Ahmad, A.K. Kondapi, I.A. Qureshi and I.A. Ghazi, Evaluation of Abelmoschus moschatus extracts for antioxidant, free radical scavenging, antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities using in vitro assays. BMC Complement. Altern. Med., 11(64), 1-12 (2011). J.A. Duke, Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton Florida (1985). J.P. Buil, R. Laurent, J.P. Fournol, D. Joulain and P.Y. Hardy, Composition chimique de lhuile essentielle de graine dambrette. Parfums Cosmetiques Aromes, 10, 95-96 (1989). L. Cravo, F. Perineau, A. Gaset and J.M. Bessiere, Study of the chemical composition of the essential oil, oleoresin and its volatile product obtained from Ambrette (A. moschatus Moench) Seeds. Flav. Fragr. J., 7, 65-67 (1992). Y.J. Tang, T.S. Zhou, J.K. Ding and H.D. Sun, The chemical constituents of the essential oil from Ambrette seeds. Acta Bot. Yunnan, 12(1), 113-114 (1990). D.K. Mishra and S.N. Naik, Cultivation and processing of Abelmoschus moschatus. J. Med. Arom. Plant Sci., 22, 624-628 (2000). P.K. Rout, Y.R. Rao, K.S. Jena, D. Sahoo and B.C. Mishra, Extraction and composition of essential oil of ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus) seeds. J. Essent. Oil Res., 16, 35-37 (2004). P. K. Rout, K. C. Barik, K. S. Jena, D.Sahoo, and Y. R. Rao. 2002. A novel process for the extraction of fragrance components from ambrette (Hibiscus abelmoschus L.) seeds. Organic Process Research Development 2002, 6, 401-404. J. Garnero and P. Buil, Contribution a letude de la composition cbimique de lbuile essentielle concrete de graines d ambrette. Rivista Ital. EPPOS, 60, 606-612 (1978). N.X. Dung, P.V. Khien, D.D. Nhuan, T.M. Hoi, N.K. Ban, P.A. Leclercq, A. Muselli, A. Bighelli and J. Casanova, Composition of the seed oil of Hibiscus abelmoschus L. (Malvaceae) growing in Vietnam. J. Essent. Oil Res., 11(4), 447-452 (1999). T. Bernard, F. Perineau, R. Bravo, M. Delmas and A. Gaset, Extraction des builes essentielles Etude de faisabilite conduite sur l’ambrette. Parfums. Cosmet. Aromes, 84, 77-84 (1988). Molfetta I, Ceccarini L, Macchia M, Flamini G, Cioni PL. 2013. Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench. and Abelmoschus moschatus Medik: Seeds production and analysis of the volatile compounds. Food Chemistry 141, 34–40. B. Maurer and A. Grieder, (Z)-5-tetradecen-14-olide, a new macrocyclic lactone, and two unsaturated straight chain acetates from ambrette seed absolute. Helv. Chim. Acta, 60, 1155-1160 (1977). R.P. Adams, Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography /mass spectrometry. Allured Publishing Corp., Carol Stream, Illinois, USA (2007). http://www.pherobase.com/database/kovats/kovats-detail-Z5-12Ac.php Wessa, P. (2013). Hierarchical clustering (v1.0.3) in free statistics software (v1.1.23-r7), office for research development and education. URL: http://www.wessa.net/ Table 1: Chemical composition of ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.) seed essential oil from north India S. no. Compounda RIb RIc Content (%)d S. no. Compounda RIb RIc Content (%)d 1 ÃŽ ±-Pinene 933 932 0.1  ± 0.09 15 Decyl propanoate 1502 1501 0.2  ± 0.06 2 ÃŽ ²-Pinene 972 974 t 16 (E)-Nerolidol 1560 1562 0.7  ± 0.06 3 6-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one 978 981 0.1  ± 0.04 17 (Z)-5-Dodecenyl acetate 1588 1592* 0.5  ± 0.06 4 ÃŽ ±-Terpinene 1014 1014 t 18 Dodecyl acetate 1609 1607 2.4  ± 0.25 5 p-Cymene 1022 1020 0.2  ± 0.25 19 (2Z,6Z)-Farnesol 1696 1698 0.1  ± 0.00 6 Limonene 1026 1024 0.2  ± 0.16 20 (2E,6Z)-Farnesol 1713 1714 2.0  ± 0.93 7 1,8-Cineole 1028 1026 0.2  ± 0.21 21 (Z)-Oxacyclopentadec-6-en-2-one†  1719 2.4  ± 2.43 8 Linalool 1100 1095 0.4  ± 0.46 22 (2Z,6E)-Farnesyl acetate 1822 1821 3.5  ± 1.15 9 Camphor 1146 1141 t 23 (2E,6E)-Farnesyl acetate 1850 1845 58.0  ± 3.13 10 n-Decanol 1270 1266 0.3  ± 0.35 24 (2E,6E)-Farnesyl propanoate 1919 0.4  ± 0.17 11 Undecanal 1304 1305 t 25 (Z)-Oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one † Ã¢â‚¬   1928 1929 12.1  ± 4.88 12 Decyl acetate 1407 1407 4.8  ± 0.90 26 (Z)-Oxacyclononadec-10-en-2-one 2128 1.3  ± 0.79 13 (E)-ÃŽ ²-Farnesene 1458 1454 0.2  ± 0.33 27 Linoleic acid 2129 2132 t 14 10-Undecenol acetate 1499 1498 0.1  ± 0.10 Total identified (%) 90.4  ± 6.25 aMode of identification: retention index (RI), mass spectral data (GC–MS); RIb: Experimental Retention Index (relative to n-alkane); RIc: Retention Index from literature (18); dMean ( ± standard deviation) of three samples; † also known as (Z)-5-tetradecen-14-olide; † Ã¢â‚¬  also known as (Z)-7-hexadecen-16-olide (= musk ambrette); *KI: Kovat Index (19). Figure 1: Hierarchical cluster analysis of the essential oil compositions of ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.) seed. 1: present study [(2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (58.0%), (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (12.1%)]; 2: [(2E,6E)-farnesol (39.0%), (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (35.4%)] (Garnero and Buil, 1978); 3: China [(2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (64.22%), (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (14.96%)] (Tang et al., 1990); 4: Ecuador [(2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (59.1%), (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one (7.8%)] (Cravo et al., 1992); 5: Vietnam [(E)-2,3-dihydrofarnesyl acetate (67.3%), (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (14.9%)] (Dung et al., 1999); 6: Vietnam [(2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (35.5%), (E)-2,3-dihydrofarnesyl acetate (32.9%)] (Dung et al., 1999); 7: Eastern India [(2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate (47.6%), (E)-ÃŽ ²-farnesene (9.6%)] (Rout et al., 2004). 1

Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame Essay -- Hunchback of Notre D

Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame Viewed from the outside, a more horrific being never lived. Everything he presented to the world: twisted legs, a deformed spine, oversized hands, and a monocled visage crowned by a mane of hair the rust color of autumn leaves, made him a most insufferable man in the eyes of the people. Ostracized from a society who never hesitated to jeer at his ugliness, Quasimodo, the monster of Notre Dame, bore all abuse with unremitting stoicism while taking shelter behind the walls of his refuge&emdash;the cathedral. Seemingly devoid of all feeling, Quasimodo's hardened demeanor only added to his miserable existence as he appeared an even greater aberration from anything human, like one of the hideous gargoyles that rests quietly and defenselessly on the facade of the cathedral as passersby stop to gawk at its grotesque and frightening form. However, once this error of nature experiences the emotions of love and devotion, spawned by the arrival of the beautiful and sympathetic La Esmeralda, Quasimodo's inner fortitude, strength, and benevolence transcend his distorted body, allowing the people to view him not as a helpless cripple, but instead as a real human being with the bearing of a king. Lame and deaf, the one-eyed, misshapen curiosity of Paris, Quasimodo, dwells as a hermit in the Cathedral of Notre Dame during the 15th century. Taken under the care of Jean-Claude Frollo when only an infant, Quasimodo receives the occupation of bell ringer, and thus spends his life in constant devotion to the cold, exacting and insensate Archdeacon, extracting all earthly pleasure from his haven&emdash;the cathedral&emdash;and imparting all his passion to the ringing... ...e citizens, the courts, and the king, leaving them astounded at his "display of prowess" (190). After withdrawing into his den&emdash;Notre Dame&emdash;with his precious gem between his paws, Quasimodo ran to the highest tower "which housed the great bell," and held the girl before the eyes of the city as he "roared savagely...`Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Sanctuary!'" (190). Mounted on the bell tower of Notre Dame, Quasimodo stood before Paris in a regal coat of pride and power, shedding physical imperfection to allow an inner compassion and tenderness to emerge before the jungle of onlookers. After witnessing the valor and warmth of the lordly hunchback, neither the citizens of Paris nor Louis XI himself could deny that, for the moment, this beast truly reigned as king. Hugo, Victor. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. New York: Bantam Books, 1984.

Catholic belief

The story is about the journey of a little boy, Antonio Marez, to manhood as he tries building his person while trying to make sense of the world that he lives in and the people around him. While he was growing up, Antonio, as well as his family, has been learning a lot of life lessons from Ultima. Ultima was known for her supernatural healing powers, magic and wisdom. She has been staying with the Marez family since Antonio was still a little boy. Throughout the story, Ultima has tried to inculcate the lesson of self-sufficiency and independence with regards choices in what to beliefs and morals.Growing up, for Antonio, with his mother and father had been difficult in terms of making decisions and foretelling what the future offers for him. Torn between the choice of being a cowboy or a priest, Antonio often wondered what was in store for him in the future. Antonio’s mother, Maria, who was a devout catholic, wanted Antonio to become a priest. While his father, Gabriel, wanted him to be a cowboy who wanders through the desserts, just as he was when he was still younger. This often led him to wonder what he would grow up to become.As Antonio was growing up, his thoughts were bombarded with several questions about morality, wickedness, and sins that trouble the world. He had several experiences regarding the Catholic ways, his friend’s debunking of the Catholic belief, and the supernatural as he saw in Ultima’s healing powers and other events as such. At one point, Antonio spoke, â€Å"God! Why did Lupito die? Why do you allow the evil of the Trementinas? Why did you allow Narciso to be murdered when he was doing good? . . . A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the Voice within me did not answer.† These questions he asked during his first communion, and these were the same questions that have been bothering him all along. Through all these confusion, Ultima could only teach him one lesson, and that is his control over his d estiny. Regardless of culture, beliefs and morals of the family, religion, etc. who he is, should be what he wants to become. Ultima shows Antonio and his family that there are no limits or boundaries to a person. What’s more important is how good a person one becomes despite all conflicting encounters or experiences.Ultima always told him to take everything that he has learned, whether it be from the Virgin Mary, the Golden Carp, or the magic of supernatural healing, and make a new and better person out of it. He thought, ‘Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp-and make something new,' I said to myself† (Anaya, 247) Antonio has really learned his lesson, as he said, â€Å"I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things† (Anaya, 15)Antonio remembers everything that Ultima has said to him, and eventual ly these things have shaped him into a morally independent person, capable of making decisions and believing in things on his own. He remembers what Ultima has said to him, â€Å"There are so many dreams to be fulfilled, but Ultima says a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it-† (Anaya, 223)