Hardships in Birches by Robert Frost Essay -- Birches Robert Frost Lit

Hardships in Birches by Robert Frost In any life, one must endure hardship to enjoy the good times. According to Robert Frost, the author of "Birches", enduring life's hardships can be made easier by finding a sane balance between one's imagination and reality. The poem is divided into four parts: an introduction, a scientific analysis of the bending of birch trees, an imaginatively false analysis of the phenomenon involving a New England farm boy, and a reflective wish Frost makes, wanting to return to his childhood. All of these sections have strong underlying philosophical meanings. Personification, alliteration, and other sound devices support these meanings and themes. Frost supports the theme by using language to seem literal, yet if one visualizes the setting and relates it to life, the literal and figurative viewpoints can be nearly identical. Take this example: "Life is too much like a pathless wood". This simile describes how one can be brought down by the repetitive routine of day-to-day life, but only if one processes the barren, repetitive forest scene that Frost paints in that sentence. Sound devices also add to the effect of the poem. Frost gives the image of the morning after an ice storm, as the ice cracks on the birch trees: "They click upon themselves / As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored / As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. / Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells / Scattering and avalanching on the snow crust--" The repeating /s/, /z/, and /k/, sounds in this passage are strong examples of alliteration, and sound devices are crucial in the image presented; calm, reflecting, and romanticizing, like a quiet walk in the woods. The /k/ sound is the sound... ...cs implies that the upper thrust of birch swinging gives a taste of heaven, as was stated earlier involving ice storms: " Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away / You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen." The speaker finds that swinging on a birch tree gives one a piece of heaven. The ups and downs of the birch trees offer various contrasting experiences that the speaker uses to keep himself sane. These rises and falls represent heaven and earth, the difference of truth and realism, rigidity and reckless enjoyment, adulthood and childhood, and flight and return. These ups and downs are what Frost strives for. He lives as a poet to constantly ride these birch trees, so he can find the compromise between these figurative pleasures and pains, and according to him, there is no better occupation: "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

Dimensional Fund Advisors Essay

This case uses DFA as a setting to introduce you to the latest research in academic finance, as well as to show you how you can turn new findings into productive investment strategies. This case pays particular attention to the cornerstones of the DFA approach: the â€Å"size effect† and the â€Å"value-growth effect.† To this end, the case presents detailed information on recent research in capital markets (particularly the stock market), as well as on DFA’s history and operations. The case also explores the effect of recent research innovations on the firm, and considers DFA’s new (as of 2002) product: tax-managed passive funds. Start by reading carefully the Case Study HBS 9-203-026, â€Å"Dimensional Fund Advisors.† Next, prepare a comprehensive report on this case, covering the questions suggested below, as well as other issues that you might find pertinent. 1. What is DFA’s business strategy? What do you think of the firm? Are the DFA people really believers in efficient markets? How does DFA add value for investors? What are the pros and cons of the passive approach? 2. What are the Fama-French findings? Do they make sense? Should we expect small stocks to outperform large stocks in the future? And, should we expect value stocks to outperform growth stocks? What did Fama and French discover about the CAPM and beta? How do you reconcile the empirical findings with the CAPM theory? 3. Discuss DFA’s trading strategy. How does it work, and what are the costs and benefits? Can DFA keep the competitive advantage in the future? Why don’t competitors emulate DFA’s approach? 4. What are DFA’s products? How does DFA’s new tax-managed strategies work? Is the tax-managed fund family likely to be successful on a broad scale, or is it just for a small niche  market? What is the expected gain from DFA’s tax management strategy, and what is the increase in volatility that results from it? 5. What should be the firm’s strategy going forward? Does the company need to modify its basic strategy if it wants to grow assets and/or profits? Enjoy the team work!

Analytical Exposition in Response to Literature Death of...

The two texts that this essay will compare and contrast are the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald and the play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller. Both works are based around the central topic of ‘the American Dream’ and the unceremonious death of it. However, the journeys that the protagonists take to meet their tragic ends are very different though the motives involved are accused murder and adultery. This essay’s aim is to determine whether the novel or the play best is more successful in engaging and provoking the reader. This will be done by analysing characters, plot lines and the main/recurring themes throughout. â€Å"I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little†¦show more content†¦The lavish parties he holds (though he rarely shows his face); his ownership of several enviable motor vehicles, and his ludicrously large mansion that he resides in add to his ‘image’. Though he does have a large fortune which he can spend without care, Gatsby’s wealth is ‘new money’. ‘New money’ is recently acquired wealth and can be earned through business deals, illegalities, gambling and the like. As opposed to ‘old money’ which is inherited wealth as shown in the character Tom Buchanan of East Egg whose family is extremely rich and goes back many generations. In Gatsby’s case, it was the selling of alcohol which was illegal in the Twenties – also known as bootlegging, which earned him his fortune. This, in comparison to the discourse of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman is slightly different. Willy is trying to achieve the American Dream by becoming successful, thus ensuring him popularity. To be well-liked is what he is aiming for, and he is living through his eldest son, Biff, in order to do so. â€Å"Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground† (Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 2). Willy’s quote is further proof that he believes his life and its doings have been failures, and he has nothing left, nothing constant or permanent. The horticulture reference suggests that his ‘garden’ is a final effort to make up for his failed career and