Heredity in a Dolls House free essay sample

One major topic incorperated in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House is the influence of heredity on a person. Ibsen seems to think that heredity is responsible for all faults in a person’s existence. Even what modern-day scientists would classify as environemental factors are ocnsidered heredity in Ibsen’s play. The first discussion of inheretid traits comes barely a dozen pages into the play. Helmer is telling Nora how she is a spendthrift: HELMER. You’re an odd little one. Exactly the way your father was. . . . It’s deep in your blood. Yes, those things are hereditary, Nora. Most of the discussions having to do with heredity seem to be accusing the person of inheriting an ill-suited trait. This could be because in general people want to appear as though everything good that happens to them is a direct result of something they themselves did. Anything bad that happens is always someone else’s fault. We will write a custom essay sample on Heredity in a Dolls House or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Also, characters in the story place such credence upon the concept of heredity that one does not want to give his sons a bad start in life due ot his bad genes. Krogstad is an example: My boys are growing up. For their sakes, I’ll have to win back as much respect as possible here in town. Helmer, perhaps more than any other character, puts much faith into this system. He remarks, Because that kind of atmosphere of lies infects the whole life of a home. Every breath the children take in is filled with the germs of something degenerate. Further, Oh, I’ve seen it often enough as a lawyer. Almost everyone who goes bad early in life has a mother who’s a chronic liar. Heredity plays a large part in setting up the belief systems of the characters such that the background provided in the first act carries through to its eventual conclusion in the final act. The power of heredity ot shape the play is shown by the last line of the first act, uttered by Nora: Hurt my chi ldren—! Poison my home? That’s not true. Never. Never in all the world.

Cross cultural management

Cross cultural management IntroductionCommunication is the process which people can share their meaning or transmitting message to each other through several media such as words, behavior, or material artifacts. In the case given to us, there are a few examples to describe kinds of communication across cultures and some negotiation blunders. Different countries have their own kinds of culture and it behooves those people doing the business in a country that is foreign to them to do some cultural homework. In cross-cultural communication, the spoken language is not the only thing that can affect the whole negotiation process but also the body language.1. What were some of the cross-cultural communication and negotiation blunders and experiences of a business abroad?There are many different forms of cross-cultural communication, and all these cultural variables can influence a person's perceptions. These communication variables includeattitudes, thought patterns, roles and language either spoken or written. Eac h variable may cause negotiation blunders if the people had not practice on it or understand it before having a business deal.English: A woman and a man performing a high five.From the book of international management, attitudes refer to the way in which individuals behave and interpret communications. There are some of the problems that people may assume that every people in the society or subcultures has the same characteristics or traits. This problem called stereotyping. It is the common cause of misunderstanding in intercultural communication. It can also lead people to disinterest and even contempt for the culture of other groups. For example, Chinese. Some people may think that all the Indian eat curry, but not.A thought pattern is the other variable of cross-cultural communication. The thinking methods of people in the world or society are very different because of cultural and non- verbal communication. For example, a Canadian expatriate's car was hit by a Thai motorist in Thailand...

Rising caesarean section rates in the developed world- what needs to Scholarship Essay

Rising caesarean section rates in the developed world- what needs to be done - Scholarship Essay Example These include: maternal health, age, education, marital status, ethnic background and socio-economic perspectives. Women in the developed world are generally career oriented, and therefore, usually delay child birth. Thus the age and the health factors have impeded the natural process of giving birth in such women. Elective C-section is also opted for by such women because they find it easier to get an appointment for a C-section rather than waiting for their water to break, or for the labour to begin unexpectedly. The fear of labour pains forces many women to choose elective C-section. Education of pregnant women is essential, so as to encourage them to go through the natural process of child birth. Media can play an important role in advocating vaginal birth and in preventing unnecessary C-sections in the developed world. The socio-economic factor of the women in the developed world is pushing the rates even higher. The cost of a C-section is higher than a vaginal delivery- no wonder how private hospitals pay hefty fees to their surgeons! Insurance coverage is a compelling factor for the physicians to opt for C-section because the majority of the litigation cases are based on the claim that a timely C-section was not performed. The health insurance policies in the developed countries deal strictly with cases of head injuries or cerebral palsy that may occur during vaginal birth. ‘But fear of malpractice and complications on the part of physicians also has increased the use caesareans unnecessarily, Flamm says. On average, 90% of breach-babies are delivered by C-section, as are half of twins. C-section rates also are higher among women with any history of sexually transmitted disease. But the single greatest factor in rising rates, Flamm says, is fear of malpractice suits.’ (Lowers, 37) The rise in the C-section rates in the developed world has become a cause of concern. To a certain extent, abdominal birth, or C-section birth is taking over the

Human Resource Management and the Internal Environment Essay

Human Resource Management and the Internal Environment - Essay Example HRM of one form or another are a necessary part of any company as it serves many important needs. HRM management in organisations has an increasing impact on individuals, other organisations and the community. It is important, therefore, to understand how HRM function and the pervasive influences which they exercise over the behaviour of people and organisation. Ulrich and Lake in their book "Organizational Capability: Competing from the inside out" (1990) wrote: Specifically, HRM is concerned with achieving objectives in the areas summarized below. HRM is generally identified therefore as an element or support concept. In certain organisations, however, such as employment agencies, personnel is very much part of the productive process and will be a task function. In other organisations, noticeably in service industries, the role of HRM can also be closely associated with a task function. For example, in the hotel and catering industry many members of the workforce are in direct contact with the customer and are seen as being involved in achieving the objectives of the organisation. People are part of the finished product for which the customer is paying. Customer satisfaction is likely to be affected as much by the courtesy, helpfulness and personal qualities of the staff as by the standard of food and beverage, accommodation or other facilities. This places particular importance on the personnel function. So, different organisations need t o employ different concepts of HRM in order to achieve their goals. In general, Human Resource Management is concerned more with: a long-term rather than a short-term perspective; the psychological contract based on commitment rather than compliance; self-control rather than external controls; an Unitarian rather than a pluralist perspective; an organic rather than a bureaucratic structure; integration with line management rather than specialist or professional roles; and maximum utilisation rather than cost-minimisation. HRM uses different concept providing different models of employees' treatment according to the organizational interests. The hard and soft models of HRM were introduced by John Storey in 1989. He supposes that HRM can be regarded as a "set of interrelated policies with an ideological and philosophical underpinning" (Storey 1989, p.31). The four aspects he underlines are: beliefs and assumptions; a strategic thrust; involvement of line managers; a set of techniques to improve the relationship. John Storey (1989) expresses this as follows: In stereotyped form HRM appears capable of making good each of the main shortcomings of personnel management. Its performance and delivery are integrated into line management: the aim shifts from merely securing compliance to the more ambitious one of winning commitment (Storey 1989, p. 33). Hard and soft approaches are concerned with the business-oriented and human-oriented aspects within an organisational

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

Rome - Essay Example Plagues and floods took their toll. More crucially, the aqueducts which had formed the backbone of the efficient and complex water supply system that served most of Rome fell into disrepair after barbarian raids, leading to the population shrinking towards the river Tiber and around the Campus Martius, and falling to less than 50,000 people. Into this situation the popes of Rome stepped in, creating a serviceable network of churches and ecclesiastical institutions in order to govern the city. The city was thus introduced to Christianity and soon laid claims to being the most important Christian spiritual center. But the Church was not alone in wanting to govern Rome. By 552CE, Rome came to be occupied by the Byzantine empire, and thus began a conflict of interest between the church and the Byzantine regime that was to last for the next few centuries. Under the Byzantine rule, trade, commerce and administration deteriorated, and Rome became a shadow of its former self. The Byzantine emperor Constans II visited Rome in 663 CE, only to strip the city of all its metal from buildings and statues in order to make armaments. The Byzantine city of Constantinople soon emerged to usurp all the commercial successes of Rome, and its former influence in trade in Europe and Asia. With the decimation of the aristocratic class of Rome, a huge market of luxurious goods eventually disappeared taking away prosperity from the common people of Rome, many of whom had found jobs in the trade or manufacture of luxury items. A lot of the famous Roman skills in artisanship also disappeared due this lack of market. More and more people began leaving Rome. Trade in Rome also suffered due to insecure road and maritime travel at the mercy of Germanic and barbarian tribes in what was left of the mighty Roman empire. After Pope Gregory I took over in the 6th century and began to exert more influence than the Byzantine imperial exarchs, the populace of Rome got divided into the clergy, nobility, soldiers, and the lowest class, thus introducing a sphere of Christian influence in socio-political scenario in Rome. But the Church and its members that wanted to govern Rome along with the Byzantian empire were more interested in self-aggrandizement than in the benefit of the city itself, having become too used to the luxurious ways of the erstwhile Roman elite. Even before the fall of Rome, the popes had concentrated their energies in developing their own domain at the eastern edge of the city far away from other Roman habitations, called the Lateran. It is to Lateran that the church limited most of its activities in Rome largely ignoring the disrepair to which the city gradually fell. The pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Peter, where the saint's holy remains were supposed to have been interred, became a sort of commercial activity around which a suburb developed after a fashion, but even the visiting pilgrims who came to pay their homage failed to make any difference to the state of Rome and its gradual decline. Even after the suzerainty of Rome to the Byzantine empire was formally over in the 800CE with the crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III, the papacy was not able to consolidate its hold over the city, and the Arabs sacked

Outsourcing in the Automotive Industry

Outsourcing in the Automotive Industry The global automotive industry continues to grow worldwide at about 2.5% annually, driven by increasing car ownership in the developing economies. In the mature economies, including the UK, growth is much lower or even absent (NGAIT, 2008). Because of market proximity and local content restrictions imposed by the Governments of many developing nations who wish to encourage the establishment of local automotive sectors, the vast majority of new manufacturing capacity in the last 6 years to support this growth has been in the BRIC countries and within the EU, in Eastern Europe. Lower labour costs in these developing automotive economies have also stimulated a shift of production eastwards, but this has to date mainly affected the automotive supply base and less so vehicle assembly sites. The UK automotive industry has transformed itself in the last decade from a sector with turbulent labour relations and a poor reputation for quality and productivity to one that is fully competitive. Independent external reliability surveys put UK built cars at the top of the rankings, and productivity and labour relations are among the best in the world. Until the impact of the global financial crisis, the industry was profitable and self-sustaining in Europe and in the UK. Technology and modern management practices have transformed the shop floor environment, and product technology embraces lightweight materials, cutting edge design analysis and visualisation tools and the extensive use of integrated electronic systems to extend digital control to most functions of the car. The climate change agenda is accelerating technological change at an unprecedented rate, and the industry in Europe and the UK has embraced the CO2 challenge and is investing heavily in people and technology to provide innovative solutions while continuing to offer exciting, safe and satisfying products that people want to buy. In 2008, 1.65 million vehicles and 3 million engines were built in the UK, by a diverse range of manufacturers in car, commercial vehicle, off-road and premium vehicle sectors. The vehicle production levels (until the present recession beg an) were relatively stable for some years, but employment has been declining as productivity improved and there has been severe hollowing out of the supply chain. This is important because about 75% of the value of material in a new vehicle is added by the supply chain (NGAIT, 2008). Literature review: Manufacturing outsourcing continuum: There is much debate in the management literature on defining outsourcing (Gilley and Rasheed, 2000; Harland et al., 2005). The definitions of outsourcing relevant to supply chain management emerge from these elements: Outsourcing implies a business relationship between two parties: the outsourcing subject (also called the principal or the client) who makes the decision of whether to outsource or not; and an external outsourcing firm (Arnold, 2000). The objects of outsourcing are general business processes or processes results which might be outsourced (Arnold, 2000; Kimura, 2002). This can include core (e.g. manufacturing, marketing, RD) as well as support (e.g. maintenance, accounting, IT, logistics) processes (Gilley et al., 2004). Outsourcing is not simply a purchasing decision. While all firms purchase elements of their operations, outsourcing is less common and represents the fundamental decision to reject the internalization of an activity (Gilley and Rasheed, 2000). Thus, outsourcing occurs in two situations. First, is when the client outsources objects that were originally sourced internally, resulting from a vertical disintegration decision (Gilley and Rasheed, 2000). Second, when the client sources objects that, although they have not been completed in-house in the past, are within the clients capabilities and hence could have been sourced internally notwithstanding the decision to go outside (Gilley and Rasheed, 2000; Van Mieghem, 1999). The outsourced objects are specific to the client. That is, the outsourced activities are performed according to a plan, specification, form, or design, of varying detail, provided by the client (Kimura, 2002; Van Mieghem, 1999; Webster et al., 1997). Hence, a firm buying an off-the-shelf, standardized component or a suppliers proprietary part is not considered outsourcing, because no customization is performed for the buyer. The client may outsource all or part of a process or process result (Gilley et al., 2004). For example, the outsourcing of manufacturing processes may take the form of a part, component, or a finished product (Harland et al., 2005). Manufacturing outsourcing: Throughout the 1990s a remarkable increase of outsourcing activities by firms has been observed. It has been hypothesized that this increase results from the decline in transaction costs in connection with the intensified use of information technology (Abraham and Taylor, 1996). Today, activities that used to be performed in-house (e.g. auditing, maintenance, repair, transportation, janitorial and legal services) are usually outsourced to firms in the business service sector. Consequently, outsourcing has contributed significantly to the growth of business-related services during the last decade (Fixler and Siegel, 1999). Moreover, manufacturing firms are outsourcing not only services but also internal production. One prominent example is the automotive industry, where some large car manufacturers only perform the final assemblage of major parts whose production is outsourced to external suppliers. Since this type of outsourcing quite often occurs at an international level, it is als o closely entwined with the globalization process (Feenstra and Hanson, 1996). Various aspects of the trend to outsource have been discussed in the academic literature. A large literature starting with the seminal paper by Coase (1937) and papers by Grossman and Hart (1986), Bolton and Whinston (1993) and Grossman and Helpman (2002) examines theoretically a firms decision of whether to produce in-house or to outsource. At the heart of this literature are issues concerned with transaction costs and, in particular, incomplete contracts leading to either vertical integration or specialisation. Lyons (1995) provides an empirical application to evaluate the importance of transaction costs theory for firms outsourcing decisions. The trade related aspects of outsourcing have also attracted increasing attention in the literature. Trade theoretic models such as Deardorff (2001), Jones and Kierzkowski (2001) and Kohler (2001) examine the effects of trade in fragmented products on countries patterns of specialisation and resulting implications for factor prices. On the empirical side recent papers by Feenstra and Hanson (1996, 1999) and Gorg et al. (2001) have analysed the effect of international outsourcing (or fragmentation) on relative wages and labour demand using industry level data for the US and UK respectively. In line with traditional HOS trade theory these papers find that international outsourcing (moving low skill intensive production to low skill abundant countries) leads to increased demand and increases in the wage premium for high skilled workers in the US and UK. Egger and Egger (2001) investigate the effect of outsourcing on the productivity of low skilled labour in the EU using industry level d ata. They find that increases in outsourcing have a negative effect on low skilled labour productivity in the short run, but a positive effect in the long run. Drivers of manufacturing outsourcing: There have been several studies that have examined the motivations for and benefits of outsourcing. Abraham and Taylor (1996) identified three reasons for outsourcing: Savings on wage and benefit payments, Transfer of demand uncertainty to the outside contractor Access to specialized skills and inputs that the organization cannot itself possess. Kakabadse and Kakabadse (2000) report that the main reasons for outsourcing are: Economic: greater specialization in the provision of services, as outsourcing allows economies of scale and the longevity of demand for the activity; Quality: access to skills, the competency and focus of potential suppliers and geographical coverage is increased; and Innovation: improvements in quality through innovation, and the development of new service products, can lead to new demands. Bendor-Samuel (1998) also asserts that outsourcing provides certain power that is not available within an organizations internal departments. This power can have many dimensions: economies of scale, process expertise, access to capital, access to expensive technology, etc. The combination of these dimensions creates the cost savings inherent in outsourcing, because the outsourcing supplier (the organization specializing in a particular business function) has the economy of scale, the expertise and the capital investments in leading technology to perform the same tasks more efficiently and effectively than the internal departments of the outsourcing buyer . Another possible benefit is that outsourcing provides companies with greater capacity for flexibility, especially in the purchase of rapidly developing new technologies, fashion goods, or the myriad components of complex systems (Carlson, 1989; Harrison, 1994). Companies can buy technology from a supplier that would be too expensive to replicate internally. A network of suppliers could provide an organization with the ability to adjust the scale and scope of their production capability upward or downward, at a lower cost, in response to changing demand conditions and at a rapid rate. As such, outsourcing claims to provide greater flexibility than the vertically integrated organization (Carlson, 1989; Harrison, 1994; Domberger, 1998). Furthermore, outsourcing can decrease the product/process design cycle time, if the client uses multiple best-in-class suppliers, who work simultaneously on individual components of the process (Quinn and Hilmer, 1994). Issues in manufacturing outsourcing: The case against outsourcing is based on arguments such as loss of management control, reduction in flexibility and increased costs. For instance, competitive outsourcing requires a high standard of supplier management to avoid the pitfalls of transferring critical functionality, or becoming too dependent on a supplier for day-today performance of vital business functions. In addition, outsourcing can generate new risks, such as the loss of critical skills, developing the wrong skills, the loss of cross-functional skills, and the loss of control over suppliers (Domberger, 1998; Quinn and Hilmer, 1994). The possible loss of flexibility is connected to the typical long-term contractual relationship that is formed as part of an outsourcing agreement, and that during the contract term, the customers business, the available technology, and the competitive and regulatory environment may change dramatically. Thus, this inflexibility is mostly linked to an unyielding and inappropriate contra ct. Although outsourcing is undertaken by many organizations to control or reduce costs, there is some evidence that it does not decrease costs as expected, and in some cases, costs increase. For instance, when an item is outsourced, the assumption is that the suppliers costs and required contribution is less and will continue to be less than the cost of internal provision. A survey based on 1000 managers worldwide by the PA Consulting Group (PACG) revealed that only 5% of organizations gained high levels of economic benefit from outsourcing (PA ConsultingGroup (PACG), 1996) and that 39% of organizations admitted mediocre economic benefit. Also, as outsourcing leads to a re-definition of organizational boundaries and, by implication, structural adjustments involving human resources, these changes incur social as well as financial costs. Although the social costs are transitory and can be mitigated by facilitating the adjustments through the re-training and redeployment of staff with in the organization, their transfer to the supplier organization and ensuing redundancy payouts can still be considerable (Domberger, 1998; Hall and Domberger, 1995). Also, outsourcing can lead to industrial disputes between employers and employees, which in turn can damage morale, trust and productivity. Experts maintain that global supply chains are more difficult to manage than domestic supply chains (Dornier et al., 1998; Wood et al., 2002; MacCarthy and Atthirawong, 2003). Substantial geographical distances in these global situations not only increase transportation costs, but complicate decisions because of inventory cost tradeoffs due to increased lead-time in the supply chain. Different local cultures, languages, and practices diminish the effectiveness of business processes such as demand forecasting and material planning. Similarly, infrastructural deficiencies in developing countries in transportation and telecommunications, as well as inadequate worker skills, supplier availability, supplier quality, equipment and technology provide challenges normally not experienced in developed countries. These difficulties inhibit the degree to which a global supply chain provides a competitive advantage. Cost benefits of manufacturing outsourcing: In the absence of transaction costs, a firm will decide to outsource when the market price for an outsourced activity is lower than internal marginal cost for that activity (Fixler and Siegel, 1999). It is an unresolved empirical issue whether outsourcing actually has a positive influence on a firms performance as is expected a priori. Some case studies have reported that firms tend to underestimate the transaction costs associated with outsourcing. For instance, it has been documented that some firm have again in-sourced activities that were previously performed by external firms, because they were dissatisfied with the quality or because they have underestimated the amount of asset specific investments (Benson, 1999; Gornig and Ring, 2000; Young and Macneil, 2000). A few studies have analysed the impact of outsourcing on firm efficiency (Heshmati, 2002). Although efficiency is certainly an important aspect of firm performance, it neglects the product market performance of firms. Fo r instance, even if efficiency of firms remains unchanged after outsourcing of internal production, higher quality of intermediate inputs might result in higher quality of final products and hence higher sales and higher margins. The lack of empirical studies on the link between outsourcing and firm performance might be also due to a limited availability of suitable micro data for analysing this subject. Theoretical considerations for manufacturing outsourcing: In theory, efficient firms will allocate their resources within the value chain to those activities that give them a comparative advantage (Shank and Govindarajan, 1992). Other activities that do not offer such advantages will be outsourced to external suppliers. When firms engage in outsourcing, they assess the productivity of their in-house service functions and decide to outsource if others can provide comparable services cheaper. Basically, when firms outsource activities and functions related to producing their products and services, they move towards a business strategy based on core competencies, a set of skills and knowledge that helps maintain their competitive advantage in serving customers (Porter, 1985; Sharpe, 1997). Thus outsourcing is expected to imply cost savings relative to internal production or internal service functions. This will be the case if outside suppliers benefit from specialized knowledge and/or economies of scale (Heshmati, 2002). However, recent work by Grossman and Helpman (2002) shows that the choice between continued internal production or an outsourcing decision means taking into consideration more than just production cost differences. According to transaction cost economics, outsourcing is desirable only when transaction costs incurring from asset specificity, incomplete contracting and search efforts are lower than the production cost advantage (Williamson, 1971). In addition, the attractiveness of outsourcing to a certain producer may well depend on how many firms can potentially provide the inputs it needs. As mentioned above, some case studies have also reported that benefits from outsourcing are quite often not derived immediately and that managers tend to overestimate the resulting benefits and underestimate the involved transaction costs (Benson, 1999; Gornig and Ring, 2000; Young and Macneil, 2000). Earlier works: Wasner (1999) presents a state-of-the-art view on the outsourcing process by combining a thorough literature review with two independent case studies of the Swedish aircraft industry (Saab AB) and the electronics industry (Ericsson Radio Systems AB and one key supplier Swedform Metall AB). The first case concentrates on outsourcing of aircraft sub-systems and subsequent in-sourcing of related software activities, whereas the second case deals with outsourcing of radio base station production. However, he argues that the process of carrying out the transfer of an activity from being internally controlled to becoming externally managed is equally difficult because of interdependencies at the operational level. The effects of outsourcing are far reaching in terms of physical, temporal and organisational reach. Physically, because there is an inherent complication of losing control as an activity is turned over to an external supplier. Temporally, because it is difficult to estimate how conditions will change over time. Organisationally, because outsourcing involves converting decisions at the strategic level into actions at the operational level and transferring functions from one organisation to another.

Essay --

This book honestly kind of is kind of weird. The reason behind this is the fact that the novel is really instable and its theme and setting, because at one point where one point in time in a certain setting, and it literally the blink of an eye you are another in time and in another setting. Basically the first part of the novel is talking about how fond good got the idea of writing this book that we are about to read. And it talks about his education and his time in Dresden as a prisoner of war. We realize that it's taken him long time to come up with this book because of all of the imagery that he can't seem to portray his writing. Spurts I missed of the story is Billy Pilgrim, here is an optometrist who was later drafted into world war two. Before Billy shipped overseas, his dad dies in a hunting accident. He begins his war career in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, where he is immediately taken prisoner behind German lines. Just before he is captured, he experiences what he calls â€Å"time shifting† and he sees his entire life from beginning to end, all in one big sweep. The lead is then sent through aware railway car to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Billy has a breakdown and is sent into his time shifting again. He and the other prisoners of war are sent to the city of Dresden, and their Presentment is one of the former slaughterhouses. Then the firestorm of Dresden begins when the allies carpet bomb the city of Dresden with incendiary bombs. This caused most buildings to be caught on fire and all of the oxygen sucked out into the fire's that were blazing. This caused about 130,000 people to be suffocated to death. The only way that Billy and the other prisoners of war survived is by hiding in an airtight meat locker i... ...p of what I was reading. He is a very different kind of author and it's hard to explain but I just really feel like I wouldn't want to read another one of his books. 19. As I stressed throughout these multiple questions I feel like the most important phrase that he has said in the book is â€Å"so it goes†. The reason why I feel as if it is most important is because it explains his life out of how dying is a fact of life and we can't do anything to stop it. This really asked the entire gloominess of the novel because we realize his indifference to death. If I had to make a T-shirt slogan for this book I think you have to be 99 problems but, so it goes. My reason behind this is that there is a popular song out there were talks about he has 99 problems but a cheating girlfriend is not one of them, I added the fact that even if you have 99 problems that's just the way life Essay -- This book honestly kind of is kind of weird. The reason behind this is the fact that the novel is really instable and its theme and setting, because at one point where one point in time in a certain setting, and it literally the blink of an eye you are another in time and in another setting. Basically the first part of the novel is talking about how fond good got the idea of writing this book that we are about to read. And it talks about his education and his time in Dresden as a prisoner of war. We realize that it's taken him long time to come up with this book because of all of the imagery that he can't seem to portray his writing. Spurts I missed of the story is Billy Pilgrim, here is an optometrist who was later drafted into world war two. Before Billy shipped overseas, his dad dies in a hunting accident. He begins his war career in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, where he is immediately taken prisoner behind German lines. Just before he is captured, he experiences what he calls â€Å"time shifting† and he sees his entire life from beginning to end, all in one big sweep. The lead is then sent through aware railway car to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Billy has a breakdown and is sent into his time shifting again. He and the other prisoners of war are sent to the city of Dresden, and their Presentment is one of the former slaughterhouses. Then the firestorm of Dresden begins when the allies carpet bomb the city of Dresden with incendiary bombs. This caused most buildings to be caught on fire and all of the oxygen sucked out into the fire's that were blazing. This caused about 130,000 people to be suffocated to death. The only way that Billy and the other prisoners of war survived is by hiding in an airtight meat locker i... ...p of what I was reading. He is a very different kind of author and it's hard to explain but I just really feel like I wouldn't want to read another one of his books. 19. As I stressed throughout these multiple questions I feel like the most important phrase that he has said in the book is â€Å"so it goes†. The reason why I feel as if it is most important is because it explains his life out of how dying is a fact of life and we can't do anything to stop it. This really asked the entire gloominess of the novel because we realize his indifference to death. If I had to make a T-shirt slogan for this book I think you have to be 99 problems but, so it goes. My reason behind this is that there is a popular song out there were talks about he has 99 problems but a cheating girlfriend is not one of them, I added the fact that even if you have 99 problems that's just the way life