Death as a Theme in Out, Out- Literature Essay Samples

Death is all around, yet very few people notice it. The poem â€Å"Out, Out–†, by Robert Frost, is about a boy that is cutting wood and due to a momentary concentration lapse, chops off his hand and bleeds to death. The people around him are at first startled by what had happened, but immediately continue with their daily lives. Robert Frost uses illusion, structure, and imagery to make his poem convey criticism to how little humans pay attention to the dead. Robert Frost cleverly named the poem â€Å"Out, Out–† as an illusion to the verse in Shakespeares play, Macbeth, â€Å"Out, out brief candle† (5.5.23). The poem reflects the mood of the Macbeth’s quote. In the play, Macbeth hears about the death of his wife and responds coldly, â€Å"She should have died hereafter./ There would have been a time for such a word† (5.5.17-18). Robert Frost writes this poem in reaction to that uncaring response. He portrays the onlookers of the boy as uncaring, â€Å"[] And they, since they/ Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs† (31, 33-34). This paints them in a very negative light. The onlookers should have been more concerned with what happened to this boy, just as Macbeth should have cared more about what had happened to his wife. This poem also sets up a very similar scenario to that of Macbeth. In both pieces of literature, the victims are seen as innocent and their deaths not truly their fault. I n Macbeth, the wife becomes crazy and in the poem, the boy plays with tools that he really should not be using. The poem describes the action as â€Å"[] big boy/ Doing man’s work, though a child at heart–† (23-24). The boy was not old enough to be using the saw. He was not a man yet. Robert Frost’s illusion to the Macbeth story creates a dynamic twist to his criticism of human carelessness to death. Robert Frost structures his poem using a blank verse form and placing punctuation throughout the poem in key points to enhance the way the criticism is transferred to the reader. The poem is blank verse since the vast majority of the verses are ten syllables long and follows an iambic pattern. This can be seen very clearly in the verse, â€Å"Call it a day, I wish they might have said† (9). This verse has both 10 syllables and every other one is accented. This poem uses blank verse structure since it sounds the most to regular speech and gives the poet more freedom to express his ideas to the reader. Robert Frost also uses punctuation to stop the reader at certain points to stress specific ideas and to create suspense. A main example from the text where Robert Frost both stresses an idea and creates suspense through punctuation is right after the hand is chopped off, â€Å"[] But the hand!/ The boy’s first outcry† (18). The exclamation mark after â€Å"hand† makes the reader both understand that the boy’s hand was severed from the arm as well as creates a sense of suspense as to how the boy will react. If Robert Frost had not places an exclamation mark there, the reader would have moves straight to the next verse without comprehending and feeling the severity of the situation. Towards the end of the poem, when the boy is dying, the situation is shown is fragments, â€Å"And then – the watcher at his pulse took fright./ No one believed. They listened to his heart./ Little – less – nothing! – and that ended it† (30-32). The en dashes create much suspense within this section of the poem. Although there is not much emotion, the stress is still there. This helps engage the reader and lets the reader understand the criticism this poem is bringing against the uncaring ways of our society. The imagery is a key component of â€Å"Out, Out–†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s criticism how people react to a death, since it is used to foreshadow the future, personify the saw, and set the tone. Towards the beginning of the poem, imagery is used as a method of foreshadowing the future. As the boy is chopping wood, â€Å"[] those that lifted eyes can count/ Five mountain ranges one behind the other† (4-5). At first glance, this verse seems to be discussing the chopped wood, yet a closer reading will show otherwise. This verse is paralleled later, â€Å"[] Then the boy saw all–† (22). The beginning of the poem foreshadows the boy’s hand being chopped off. The person â€Å"lifting his eyes to count† is that of the boy’s (4). The five mountain ranges are the boy’s fingers, with the knuckles forming the peak of the mountains (5). The poem continues by describing the scenery as a â€Å"[] sunset far into Vermont† (6). The author uses a sunset since sunsets symbolize the end of the day and this event is going to be the end of this boy’s life. By foreshadowing the horrible event through beautiful scenery, Robert Frost creates irony to make the reader care more about this innocent young boy. Throughout the poem, the saw is personified as having a mind of its own. When the sister tells them to come eat supper, â€Å"[the saw,/ as if to prove saws knew what supper meant,/ leaped out of the boy’s hand,† (14-160). The saw is portrayed as a hungry being that feels as if no one understands him and therefore wants to prove himself. The fact that the saw leaped out, seemingly to eat dinner, shows that the saw is hungry. This is interesting since the saw just â€Å"ate’ wood, which one would assume is a saw’s diet, yet this shows that a saw’s food is really body parts. This paints the saw in a very sinister and evil light and makes the reader want to blame the saw for what happened. The tone within the poem is emotionless and disrespectful to the dead due to the lack of imagery that the poem uses. After the boy’s hand is severed from his arm, â€Å"The doctor put him in the dark of ether† (28). Robert Frost uses very basic and simple diction to show minimal emotion from the onlookers. The doctor seems to be acting robotically, doing what should be done to boy, but not actually caring about him. Moreover, moment the child dies, the onlookers respond, â€Å"No one believed†, but they stop to care right afterwards, â€Å"[]And they, since they/ Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs† (31,33-34). This does not only convey an emotionless feeling to the dead boy, but also shows disrespect. At first the onlookers are startled, just as most people are when such news is discovered, but that feeling does not last long, and the people continue with their day-to-day lives without caring an iota about what happened. They are portrayed as walking away from the problem since â€Å"[] they/ Were not the ones dead,† and therefore it was not there problem to deal with (33-34). The tone of the poem allows the poem to more strongly criticizes the fact that when a death happens, people only care for the first few moments, but after a while, it becomes old news, and people forget about it. Robert Frost expresses his criticism of human’s reaction to death expertly in his poem â€Å"Out, Out–† though his use of illusion, structure, and imagery. The poem brings the reader to understand how little humans remember or care about the dead, by giving the poem very little emotion, but much suspense. Robert Frost wants the reader not to react to deaths the same way Macbeth reacted to his wife when he said, â€Å"Out, out brief candle† (5.5.23). Works Cited: Crowther, John, ed. â€Å"No Fear Macbeth.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 2 Sept.2014. Frost, Robert. â€Å"Out, Out–†. Mountain Interval. New York: H. Holt, 1916. N. pag. Print.

Marketing Research Proposal Walmart Stores Incorporated - 2475 Words

Marketing Research Proposal: Walmart Stores Incorporated (Research Proposal Sample) Content: ACCOUNTINGStudents NameInstitutionIntroductionWalmart Stores Incorporated is an American retail corporation. The corporation owns grocery stores, hypermarkets, and discount department stores. It operates as a multinational corporation with business in about thirty countries around the world. This paper will analyze the financial statements of the corporation based on the annual reports of the year 2014, 2015 and 2016. The basis of deferred tax assets and liabilities will be analyzed. The financial analysis will also look at the tax provisions in the most recent years. The policy framework used in the tax provision together with the financial factors will be looked at in this financial analysis.The Amount of Deferred Tax Assets or Deferred Tax Liabilities on the Balance Sheet 2014-2016As of the year ended 2016 in its balance sheet, Walmart had US$7.321 billion in deferred income tax. This was a reduction from the previous year, 2015 of US$8.805 billion. Walmart used th e balance sheet method in the presentation of all its income taxes. In its consolidated statement of income, the company made current provision for income tax of US$7.584 billion. The deferred provision in the same period amounted to US$1.026 billion. For the previous year ended 2015, the current provision for income tax amounted to US$8.504 billion and US$519 in the deferred provision for deferred income tax. Similarly for the year ended 2014 the provisions for deferred income tax were US$8.619 billion and US$514 million for current and deferred respectively (Annual report, 2015).The deferred tax asset and liabilities arise from the taxable temporary difference. The taxable temporary difference is the difference between the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and their tax base. This amount also relates to the period the revenue and expenses were recognized in the book value and the tax return. It reflects the future tax implication of the same. Deferred tax asset is a p repaid tax expense. Any overpayment in tax expenses is refundable to the company. A deferred tax liability is the payable future tax expense based on the current transactions. This liability arises from the taxable temporary differences.The Temporary and Permanent Differences Disclosed By the Company in the FootnotesTemporary differences arise when expenses and revenues are recognized at different accounting period in the book and tax returns. Temporary differences are applicable in tax assessment. It is the deferred tax liability or asset which will arise in the future (Fabozzi Peterson, 1999, p.25). This is the difference between the tax estimates obtained based on the carrying amount of the asset or the liability and the tax base used by the authorities to calculate the tax liability of the company. The company measures the deferred tax assets and liabilities using the prevailing tax rates related to the relevant year. Recent cumulative earning and carry forward periods are some of the aspects in ascertaining the accuracy of the estimates.The permanent difference occurs when the revenue and expenses recognized in the books of account cannot be adjusted in the tax returns. Depreciation of company assets can bring about temporary differences. Accounting for prepaid expense give rise to the temporary difference. Examples of permanent differences include fines and tax penalties. These expenses are not deducted in the tax expenses. Insurance premiums paid by the company cannot be adjusted in the tax return and therefore are the example of permanent difference as well. For the three years 2016, 2015 and 2014 under analysis, Walmart Stores Incorporated did not have any entries for the permanent difference in its financial statements.The Amount of Income Tax Provisions in the Two Most Recent Years on the Income StatementIn its consolidated statement of income, Walmart had US$7.584 billion as the current provision for income taxes for the year ended 2016. The defer red provision for income tax in the same year was US$1.026 billion. The total provision for income tax in the same year, therefore, was US$6.558 billion. As of the year ended 2015, the company had US$8.504 billion in the current provision for income tax and US$519 million in the deferred provisions for income taxes. The net provision for income taxes in the same year was US$7.985 billion. For the year ended 2014, the current provision for income taxes amounted to US$8.619 billion and US$514 billion in the deferred provisions for income taxes. The net provision for the same year was US$8.105 billion.The balance sheet method is used in accounting for income tax at Walmart. The method recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities. This is done to assess the impact of the expenses of the company. The deferred tax liabilities in the books of the company have been estimated using the tax rates related to the relevant financial year. A valuation allowance is used in the evaluation to asce rtain the accuracy of the deferred tax assets and liabilities. Forecasted operating earnings, the reversal of taxable temporary differences and other tax planning strategies are used by the company in the assessment of deferred tax assets and the deferred tax liabilities.The provisions for tax income uses effective income tax rate. This rate is based on the annual income. Another basis for the same is the tax regulators rates and the permanent difference in financial statements and the tax returns. Any policy change is accounted for in the application of this policy framework (Dunn Rogers, 2008, p.63). Walmart Stores Incorporated did not have a net operating loss carry-forwards or carry-backs in its financial statements. The elements of net operating loss carry forwards and the net operating loss carry-backs are usually reflected in the consolidated income statements. The difference in this expense relates to the accounting periods used.As To Whether the Company Has a Defined Benef it or Defined Contribution PlanWalmart runs a defined contribution plan as well as a defined benefit plan. Under the plan, the employees who are also referred to as associates can start contributing to the defined contribution plan immediately after they are hired in the workforce of the company. The 401(k) plan offered by the company to its employees in the US is exercisable immediately after recruitment. There is also another plan offered in the Puerto Rico operations of the company. Under this 401(k) plan, the employees can start contributing after a year of employment. The defined benefit plan related to the year ended 2016 in the international operations amounted to US$6 million (Annual report, 2016).For both plans, matching of 100% of employee contribution to 6% annual earning is done. Both plans allow the employee to contribute up to 50% of their earning before tax. The plan, however, does not allow contribution beyond the statutory provided limits. The company also has plans which cover employees in the markets outside the US. These plans are run based on the regulatory and tax framework in the relevant country. For the year ended 2016, the expense for the defined contribution plan in the US amounted to US$967 million. The expense for the same plan in the international market amounted to US$179 million (Annual report, 2016).The Earnings per Share Amounts Disclosed On the Income Statement for the Most Recent YearIn the income statement of the company, the basic income per common share from continuing operations attributable to Walmart for the year ended 2016 US$4.58. This was a decrease as compared to that of the previous year which was US$5.01. Similarly, in the year ended 2014, the basic income per common share from continuing operations amounted to US$4.87. There was no basic income per common share from discontinued operations attributable to Walmart for the year ended 2016. In 2015 and 2014 it was US$0.006 and 0.03 respectively. The dilutive securi ties were the stock options and share awards. These dilutive securities have an overall effect of reducing the earning per share.The diluted income per common share from continuing operations attributable to Walmart for the year ended 2016 was US$4.57 and the same for the year 2015 was US$4.99. In the year 2014, the diluted income per share was US$4.85. For the discontinued operations, the diluted income per common share attributable to Walmart US$0.06 in 2016 and US$0.03 respectively. There was no diluted income per common share in discontinued operations for the year 2016. The dilutive securities include stock options and share awards as disclosed in the notes of the company. The effect of the dilutive securities, the stock options, and share awards has the effect of reducing the earning per share for the relevant financial year.Dilutive securities by definition are securities apart from common stock. These securities have an effect on the common stock when exercised by the holder . The effect of dilutive securities is that it reduces the earning per share of common stock in a particular financial year. Examples of these securities include stock options, convertible preferred stocks, convertible debentures and share awards. Stock options offer give the employee of the company the right price to purchase the shares of common stock at a fixed price. They are to gain from exercising it when the price has risen. It is an incentive meant to align the interests of the employees with that of the shareholders which is wealth maximization.The Kind Of Share-Based Compensation in the CompanyWalmart Stores Incorporated has a share based compensation for its employees and the non-executive members of its board. For the year 2016, the corporation spent US$448 million in the plan. Similarly for the two years 2015 and 2014, Walmart spent US$462 million and US$388 million respectively in their share ba...