Issue of Certainty in a Contract

Issue of Certainty in a Contract â€Å"The cases provide many examples of judicial awareness of the danger that too strict an application of the requirement of certainty could result in the striking down of agreements intended by businessmen to have binding force† – Treitel. Critically evaluate this statement in light of case law and consider in your answer whether the extent to which the parties have acted on an agreement influences the judges. Introduction In looking to critically evaluate the above statement in view of the case law that has been decided in this area, so as to also be able to consider the extent to which parties have acted on a business agreement serves to influence any judge, this essay will first look to consider the importance of certainty in agreements by recognising the significance where there is a lack thereof. Then, this essay will also look to reflect upon how a contract is generally formed and as to how the issue of certainty relates specifically to a contract’s formation in this regard for when it is said to come into being. Following on from this, this essay will look to determine the issues that a court will look to consider in evaluating as to whether a particular agreement before them is sufficiently certain to be considered a legally binding contract, whilst also looking to consider the extent to which the parties have acted on an agreement serves to influence the judges in coming to their decisi ons in relation to these matters, before finally looking to conclude with a summary of the key points that have been derived from an understanding of this discussion. The significance of certainty On this basis, to begin with it must be appreciated that the issue of certainty in any business agreement is generally considered to be paramount to the formation of a formal contract because it has been a long-held maxim of the law that that which is certain is that which can be made so leading to a binding contract being formed that is enforceable by the courts[1]. Consequently, a lack of certainty increases the costs of disputes because the ability to avoid, manage and/or resolve any dispute early, and on a reasonable commercial basis, is clearly negated where there is a lack of accurate documentation, whilst the lack of certainty also serves to create risks for those involved where there is a lack of a formally recognised agreement in place. Therefore, by way of illustration, it was recognised in Montreal Gas Company v. Vasey[2] that where the company in question made a contract with the other party to this case with the promise that, if it was ‘satisfied’ with them as a customer, the company would then look ‘favourably’ on an application for renewal of their contract with them, this was not considered sufficiently certain to create a legal obligation because of the indefinite or unsettled nature of such a term. Nevertheless, it is also important to appreciate a transaction that may otherwise be considered to have left some essential term of their agreement undetermined may provide some method of determination other than what is considered to be a future agreement. The formation of a contract – Where do the problems lie? Ostensibly, it is commonly understood that a contract is effectively formed where there is an offer, consideration and acceptance that is sufficiently certain so that it is then for the courts to determine whether the required elements are present in any business arrangement[3]. This is because the offer refers to a proposal that is expressed orally or in writing from one party (the ‘offeror’) to another (the ‘offeree’) to do or give something for remuneration with a view to forming an agreement that is usually legally binding on the basis of the conduct the parties. Such a view arises from the fact it was recognised in Adams v. Lindsell[4] the rules in relation to the recognition of a valid offer states that thus will be so where it is (a) made to definite person, class, or the world; (b) it is effectively communicated; and (c) it reaches the offeree. Then, with regards to the element of consideration required, this consists of a â€Å"right, interest, pro fit or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss, or responsibility given, suffered or undertaken by the other†, in keeping with the decision in Currie v. Misa[5], that must be legal, not past, and move from the promisee to the promisor[6]. However, the problem with certainty in business agreements arguably arises most commonly in relation to the issue of acceptance of an offer to formalise the agreement between the parties in the prescribed manner. This is because it was recognised in Hyde v. Wrench[7] that the offeree must accept the offer made by the offeror unequivocally without qualification in words or through conduct in conformation with the indicated or prescribed terms of the offer. But then, in the decision in Chillingworth v. Esche[8], it was effectively understood that it is possible to have an acceptance of terms that are ‘subject to contract’ where the parties will only be bound by a formal contract. Moreover, where the terms of an offer are not accepted by the offeree without alteration, then it could be argued that negotiations will continue because anything that the offeree then proposes may be considered to be a counter-offer so that the positions of the respective parties change (i.e. off eror becomes offeree and vice versa). Therefore, this effectively means that there is only likely to be an agreement on terms that are substantially different from those originally put forward by the parties in such circumstances[9]. Buying and selling More specifically, where there is an unequivocal desire to buy and sell, but a lack of certainty as to terms of the agreement, the courts will look to consider the nature of the transaction for themselves that may be determined by the standard of reasonableness (i.e. what is considered reasonable) in the specific circumstances of the case. Such a view is effectively illustrated by the examples of the decisions in Brown v. Gould[10], where what was considered the ‘market value’ of the goods was determined by the courts, and Didymi Corporation v. Atlantic Lines Navigation Company Ltd[11], where the idea that an agreement regarding a hire was to be ‘equitably decreased’ was also determined by the courts. But, in the case of price of goods and services in such cases, this has largely been governed by section 8 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979[12] which effectively means that the courts are able to allow actions for the recovery of reasonable sums of the value of t he goods or services in question[13] so long as the contract itself is silent as to the issue of price[14]. Therefore, by way of illustration, in May Butcher v. The King[15] when the supplicants agreed to purchase all of the Crown’s old tentage for a price â€Å"agreed upon †¦ as the quantities of the said old tentage become available and are offered to the purchasers† it was held there was no concluded contract because the price would be agreed subsequently for the transference of the goods in question. The influence of parties to an agreement upon the courts However, more generally, the function of any court is to put a fair construction on what the parties have said and done because Lord Wright in Hillas Co v. Arcos Ltd[16] said â€Å"Business men often record the most important agreements in crude and summary fashion†, that are â€Å"far from complete or precise† to those unfamiliar so that it is arguable that the parties to such agreements may be considered to have some influence over the approach that the courts may take in such cases. On this basis, this means that it is â€Å"the duty of the court to construe such documents fairly and broadly†[17] because the courts need to be satisfied that parties to an agreement have concluded a contract, whilst also still considering what has been said and done in its context, the relative importance of the unsettled matter and whether the parties have provided machinery within the terms of their agreement for settling any dispute. By way of further illustration, in the decision in Hillas Co v. Arcos Ltd[18] the court decided that the terms of the contract in this case were based on previous transactions (the original contract) between the parties and the custom of the timber trade because it was determined that in view of their previous agreements there was still sufficient intention to be bound in the future. Therefore, with this in mind, in view of the influence of the parties in acting on the same basis as under their previous transaction, clearly, in such circumstances it will be extremely difficult for the courts to say that a â€Å"contract is void for vagueness or uncertainty†, where it has been either or wholly or partially performed, since this serves to make it easier to imply a term into an agreement to resolve such problems[19]. However, as well as the influence acceded to the parties to agreements by the courts, it is also important to appreciate that a court will not commonly allow a contract to fail for uncertainty more generally if the contract also provides the means to acquire the level of certainty required for the particular contract. For example, in cases including Foley v. Classique Coaches Ltd[20], it was recognised that if the contract in question provides parties are to agree a price or quantities for delivery, but also contains an arbitration clause in this regard, the courts will imply a reasonable price will be paid where there is otherwise default on the part of the parties to the agreement determined by arbitration so that parties to the agreement still retain a level of influence even where they are in dispute. Moreover, matters in this regard may actually only be further complicated by the fact that parties in business often act on their informal agreements – even their version of events – pending the formalising of their agreement into a contract[21]. Then, where a contract is formalised, the courts may allow this contract to take on a retrospective effect to cover the work done during the period when the parties were working on the basis of an informal agreement[22]. But where there is no formalisation of an agreement between parties, work that is done, or goods that are delivered, under a letter of intent may lead to a restitutionary obligation to pay a reasionable sum by way of remuneration for this[23] so that the parties actions continue to have an effect on any decision that is reached. The problem with documentation In spite of the influence of the parties themselves on the decisions reached by the courts, however, in looking to consider how the courts deal with the issue of certainty (or lack thereof) in business contracts, it is important to appreciate that matters are also complicated somewhat by the use of other documents in the build up to the recognition of a formal agreement. Such a view is effectively illustrated by the use of letters of intent in the construction industry with a view to formalising a contract at a later date. This is because whilst, in the past, in decisions including British Steel Corporation v. Cleveland Engineering Co[24], such a document may have been considered akin to a conditional contract by the courts since it is effectively looked upon as a sign that one party is likely to want to contract with another, in Regalian Properties Plc v. London Dockland Development Corporation[25] there was an unsuccessful action for reimbursement of expenses incurred by a property developer regarding preparatory work regarding a contract that also never materialised in spite of the presence of a letter of intent since it is a matter of interpretation. Consequently, it is important to appreciate that the courts have become prone to taking a differing view from case to casxe because they do not consider cases decided in this area to be analogous in the circumstances. Such a view is reflected in the fact that whilst one party, in British Steel Corporation v. Cleveland Bridge Engineering Co[26], requested the other to perform services and supply goods needed under the expected contract, the costs Regalian Properties Plc v. London Dockland Development Corporation[27] sought reimbursements for what it did in an effort to put itself in a position to obtain and then perform the contract that was unsuccessful. This is largely because the court in such cases may be unwilling to imply a contract on the basis of a letter of intent because the language used is often uncertain and, in view of previous negotiations, it may also be argued that all that is assumed is a moral responsibility and not something that is contractual but, again, that is something for the courts to determine on the facts as they arise as a matter of interpretation[28]. Nevertheless, matters in this regard are also not helped in relation to the recognition of certainty in business agreements where the contract between the parties is considered incomplete because of a failure to cover all of the pertinent points that are considered significant by the parties so that one party asserts that a contract has been formalised and the other claims that it has not. Therefore, it is important to appreciate that in such cases the courts will need to consider whether an agreement is reached by the parties to a contract at a particular time, or as to whether there are other terms of the intended contract without the settlement of which the parties to the agreement have no hope of formalising a contract[29]. But where documentation produced in correspondence between the parties in dispute shows the parties have definitely come to terms – despite having some material points left open – a subsequent revival of negotiations will not affect the contract that is believed to have been made in the eyes of the court without the consent of the parties to the agreement that has been made so that they retain some influence over the courts that look to resolve their disputes[30]. More specifically, Justice Parker recognised in the decision in Von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg v. Alexander[31] that if â€Å"documents or letters relied on as constituting a contract contemplate the execution of a further contract †¦ it is a question of construction whether the execution of the further contract is a condition or term of the bargain or whether it is a mere expression of the desire of the parties as to the manner in which the transaction already agreed to will in fact go through†[32]. Con sequently, it is matter upon which the courts could arguably go either way on in looking to interpret because it is really something to be decided upon on the facts of each individual case. Negotiations However, even where negotiations are successful, it was recognised in practice, as long ago as the decision in Kennedy v. Lee[33] that it may prove difficult to say with certainty when an agreement has been reached. This is because of the fact that it was recognised in this case that negotiations can often be long and complex with significant variations derived from offers and counter offers that may serve to detract or embellish the original basis of attempted agreement between the parties. Nevertheless, in the dcecision in Davies v. Sweet[34] it was understood that in spite of a prolonged period of negotiations courts may still find a concluded bargain by the conduct of the parties – thus seemingly bypassing the need for certainty so that any continuance of the negotiations will not necessarily serve to terminate an agreement between the parties. Such a need largely arises from the fact it is important to look to give effect to the reasonable expectations of business people that is an important object of the law of contract to facilitate in relation to their ongoing relations[35]. But, in the context of negotiations, a ‘lock out’ has also come to be considered to be unenforceable where it does not specify a time limit for its duration because it would indirectly impose a duty to negotiate in good faith which could not be considered a contract[36] – although such an agreement may be considered thuse if it is for a fixed period[37] – regardless of this it has been argued that certainty should have been resolveable in the interests of the parties through the recognition of the standard of reasonableness alluded to earlier in this discussion. Moreover, the courts have also felt at liberty to ‘strike out’ indefinite, but subsidiary, provisions as being insignificant so as to be able to give effect to the rest of the agreement[38]. Furthermore, with regards to an agreement to negotiate, the House of Lords recognised in Walford v. Miles[39] that such an agreement was effectively an agreement to agree so it was considered unenfo rceable because â€Å"it lacks the necessary certainty†[40]. Such a view has arisen because negotiations are, by their very nature, adversarial and allowed them to pursue their own interests, so long as they do not make misrepresentations, and withdraw where they see fit[41], whilst damages were also out of the question because no can tell whether the negotiations would be successful and what the result would be[42]. Conclusion In conclusion, in looking to critically evaluate the aforementioned statement so as to also be able to consider the extent to which parties have acted on a business agreement serves to influence any judge, it must be recognised that certainty within any agreement perpetrated by a business is extremely important. This is because certainty in relation to the agreements that are formed between parties clearly goes some way to limit and even negate the need to go to seek the resolution of their disputes. However, by its very nature, business negotiations are somewhat adversarial. Everyone involved with business wants to get ahead so it is perhaps little wonder that disputes do arise. But just because a dispute arises does not mean that the parties want to end the relationship that they have built up just because there is a lack of certainty in some aspect of the agreement that has been formed. Therefore, whilst the courts may look to resolve issues of certainty between the parties on the basis of the law as it stands and the understanding of what is considered reasonable in the circumstances, the parties themselves can and do retain an element of influence over proceedings between them. Consequently, the respective parties intentions when forming an agreement must be taken into account when determining the binding nature of any agreement. However, that is not meant to assuage the role that the courts do play in the resolution of disputes. It is just that the area is actually somewhat complicated by the lack of certainty in aspects of an agreement that is formed that need to be effectively resolved and, in view of the close proximity of the parties to their dispute, it is sometimes considered best for the parties to accede to the resolution of their dispute to the courts where they cannot otherwise be resolved between the parties themselves despite the influence that the co urts will still allow their dealings to have on their decisions in most cases. - (i) Research Strategy To begin with it is necessary to decide what the question set is asking – i.e. in this case, determining the need for something different to rectify a problem that apparently exists. This effectively means that any research carried out is required to seek to facilitate a ‘discussion’ involving the specific terms identified within the question so as to effectively determine and incorporate the academic and legal opinions of authorities to support the pertinent issues that have been derived from the research that has been carried out here for the purposes of answering the question. (ii) Materials Therefore, on this basis, it is particularly important to look to include case law in particular, in view of the stated requirement in the scope of the question, throughout the writing of this essay before listing them all in the bibliography for ease of further reference. As a result, both ‘Lexis Nexis Professional’ and ‘Halsbury’s Laws of England’ are websites that serve as significant research aids for writing this kind of work in view of the fact that they offer the most contemporary accounts of all legal subjects. (iii) Search Terms Legal professor David Stott’s work on legal research[43] has recognised the best approach to researching an essay is to look to take the title/question that you have been given and then highlight what you think are the key words and phrases so that, in this case, the following search terms are recognised – ‘Business’ ‘Contract’ ‘Buying’ ‘Selling’ ‘Legislation’ ‘Dispute Resolution’ ‘Certainty’. Then, having identified search terms for the purposes of research, combinations of these terms must be uses, whilst also looking to appreciate the fact that certain terms (i.e. ‘legislation’) will offer very little in view of the specifics elsewhere within the question without looking at more specific aspects. As a result, in view of the fact that the focal point of this essay’s discussion is the issue of certainty within, a particular context (i.e. business agreements), then it is clear that this must be recognised so as to be able to effectively achieve the required results to lead to further research into judicial decisions and other paper based sources outlined in the bibliography by looking at combinations of the aforementioned search terms (e.g. ‘contract’, ‘certainty’, ‘business’ and ‘agreement’). (iv) Review of Results In looking to effectively be able to evaluate the academic value of the research that has been carried out here, it is abundantly clear that, whilst the initial materials uncovered were excellent in view of their relevance, a true understanding of as to how successful the research actually was is only possible where we look to consider the content of what has been written in the essay itself. But then it is also necessary to look to consider as to how the answer to the question set looks to show an effective appreciation of how the materials that have been identified in the bibliography have been used. Therefore, it would seem that the results of this research have served to effectively facilitate a broad discussion of various areas in relation to the recognition of certainty within the context of business agreements and as to how the courts have dealt with the resolution of disputes, whilst also recognising the influence that the parties themselves can have in relation to the courts resolution, that have put been together in this paper so as to present an effective answer to the question that has been posed here. - Beatson. J ‘Anson’s Law of Contract’ 27th Edition, Oxford University Press (1998) Fridman. D. F ‘Construing, without constructing, a contract’ (1960) 76 LQR 521 ‘Halsbury’s Laws of England’ Lexis Nexis, Butterworths (2007) Lexis Nexis Professional (2007) (www.lexisnexis.com) Stott. D ‘Legal Research’ Cavendish Publishing Ltd (1998) Adams v. Lindsell (1818) 1 B Ald. 681 Bishop Baxter v. Anglo-Eastern Trading Co Industrial Ltd [1944] KB 12 British Steel Corporation v. Cleveland Bridge Engineering Co [1984] 1 All ER 504 Brown v. Gould [1972] Ch 53 Butler Machine Tool Co v. Ex-Cell-O Corp [1979] 1 WLR 401 Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256 Chillingworth v. Esche [1924] 1 Ch 97 Courtney Fairbairn Ltd v. Tolaini Brothers (Hotel) Ltd [1975] 1 WLR 297 Currie v. Misa (1875) LR 10 Ex 153 Davies v. Sweet [1962] 2 QB 300 Didymi Corporation v. Atlantic Lines Navigation Company Ltd [1988] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 108 Foley v. Classique Coaches Ltd [1934] 2 KB 1 G. Percy Trentham Ltd v. Arhital Luxfer Ltd [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 25 G. Scammell Nephews Ltd v. Ouston [1941] AC 251 Hillas Co v. Arcos Ltd (1932) 147 LT 503 Hussey v. Horne Payne (1879) 4 App Cas 311 Hyde v. Wrench (1840) 3 Beav 334 Kennedy v. Lee (1817) 3 Mer 441 Kleinwort Benson Ltd v. Malaysia Mining Corporation Bdh [1989] 1 WLR 379 at Lipkin Gorman v. Karpnale [1991] 3 WLR 10 May Butcher v. The King [1934] 2 KB 17n Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd v. John Brown Engineering Ltd (1996) 51 Con LR 129 Montreal Gas Company v. Vasey [1900] AC 595 Nicolene Ltd v. Simmonds [1953] 1 QB 543 Pitt v. PHH Asset Management Ltd [1994] 1 WLR 327 Queensland Electricity Generating Board v. New Hope Collieries Property Ltd [1989] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 205 Regalian Properties Plc v. London Dockland Development Corporation [1995] 1 WLR 212 Trollope Colls Ltd v. Atomic Power Construction Ltd [1963] 1 WLR 333 Von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg v. Alexander [1912] 1 Ch 284 Vosper Thornycroft Ltd v. Ministry of Defence [1976] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 58 Walford v. Miles [1992] 2 AC 128 Sale of Goods Act 1979 1 Footnotes [1] Fridman. D. F ‘Construing, without constructing, a contract’ (1960) 76 LQR 521. [2] [1900] AC 595. [3] See also the decisions in G. Scammell Nephews Ltd v. Ouston [1941] AC 251 (hire purchase terms) Bishop Baxter v. Anglo-Eastern Trading Co Industrial Ltd [1944] KB 12 (war clause) for further examples of indefinite contract terms. [4] (1818) 1 B Ald. 681 – see also Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256. [5] (1875) LR 10 Ex 153. [6] See, for example, the decision in Lipkin Gorman v. Karpnale [1991] 3 WLR 10. [7] (1840) 3 Beav 334. [8] [1924] 1 Ch 97. [9] See, for example, the decision in Butler Machine Tool Co v. Ex-Cell-O Corp [1979] 1 WLR 401. [10] [1972] Ch 53. [11] [1988] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 108. [12] Although see also the Supply of Goods Services Act 1982 at section 15(1). [13] See, for example, British Bank for Foreign Trade Ltd v. Novinex [1949] 1 KB 623. [14] Sale of Goods Act 1979 at section 8(2). [15] [1934] 2 KB 17n. [16] (1932) 147 LT 503. [17] Ibid at p.514. [18] (1932) 147 LT 503. [19] See G. Percy Trentham Ltd v. Arhital Luxfer Ltd [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 25 at p.27 per Steyn LJ. [20] [1934] 2 KB 1 – see also Vosper Thornycroft Ltd v. Ministry of Defence [1976] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 58 Queensland Electricity Generating Board v. New Hope Collieries Property Ltd [1989] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 205. [21] See, for example, Regalian Properties Plc v. London Dockland Development Corporation [1995] 1 WLR 212. [22] See, for example, Trollope Colls Ltd v. Atomic Power Construction Ltd [1963] 1 WLR 333. [23] See, for example, British Steel Corporation v. Cleveland Bridge Engineering Co [1984] 1 All ER 504. [24] [1984] 1 All ER 504. [25] [1995] 1 WLR 212. [26] [1984] 1 All ER 504. [27] [1995] 1 WLR 212. [28] See Kleinwort Benson Ltd v. Malaysia Mining Corporation Bdh [1989] 1 WLR 379 at pp.388, 391 393. [29] See, for example, Hussey v. Horne Payne (1879) 4 App Cas 311. [30] See, for example, Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd v. John Brown Engineering Ltd (1996) 51 Con LR 129 at pp.167, 175 179. [31] [1912] 1 Ch 284. [32] Ibid at p.288. [33] (1817) 3 Mer 441. [34] [1962] 2 QB 300. [35] Beatson. J ‘Anson’s Law of Contract’ 27th Edition, Oxford University Press (1998) at pp.62-68 [36] See, for example, Walford v

Love, Death and Transformation in Ginger Snaps Essay -- Film Movie Gi

Love, Death and Transformation in Ginger Snaps On the surface, Ginger Snaps can be easily dismissed by critics as a typical B-rated teen-turned-werewolf movie. What distinguishes this movie from other horror films, however, is its subversion of the traditional perspective of its genre. The transformation in the film is suffered by Ginger Fitzgerald, a sixteen-year-old girl. This lycanthropy coincides with Ginger's first menstrual period, making the subject matter metaphorical for the often fearful transition into the sexuality and identity formation of adulthood. Moreover, the relationship between Ginger and her sister Brigitte deteriorates in such a way that is also emblematic of the human psyche's conflicts. As their paths diverge in the film, each sister is confronted with the instincts of love and death or aggression; Eros and Thanatos in Freud's terms. The focus here will be to view these salient themes in Ginger Snaps through the lens of Freudian analysis. More specifically, this paper will analyze the psychical conflict du e to complications of the instinct toward love or aggression, as represented in the metaphorical transition into adolescence and the relationship between the two sisters. The Sisters Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald share a close relationship that becomes challenged as the narrative progresses. Ginger, who is a year older, is the more dominant, while Brigitte takes a more subordinate role. Both girls are late bloomers, and in Freudian terms, their outlooks and relationship with one another can be seen as the result of an extension of their latency periods. The girls do not deal well with their transition into adolescence—they recognize the budding sexuality of their peers and are th... ...emale sexuality or the "castration" undertones. Female viewers, on the other hand, could be angered by the characterization of female sexuality as being something monstrous and almost inhuman. This is the kind of response, however, that can bring into a dialogue contemporary society's prevailing notions of sexuality. BIBLIOGRAPHY Class Reader, Glossary. "Freud and the Literary Imagination." Compiled by Professor Richard Gray, 2006. Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1989. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and its Discontents. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1989. Ginger Snaps. Dir. John Fawcett. Story: Karen Walton & John Fawcett. Perf. Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle. Lions Gate International, 2000. Love, Death and Transformation in Ginger Snaps Essay -- Film Movie Gi Love, Death and Transformation in Ginger Snaps On the surface, Ginger Snaps can be easily dismissed by critics as a typical B-rated teen-turned-werewolf movie. What distinguishes this movie from other horror films, however, is its subversion of the traditional perspective of its genre. The transformation in the film is suffered by Ginger Fitzgerald, a sixteen-year-old girl. This lycanthropy coincides with Ginger's first menstrual period, making the subject matter metaphorical for the often fearful transition into the sexuality and identity formation of adulthood. Moreover, the relationship between Ginger and her sister Brigitte deteriorates in such a way that is also emblematic of the human psyche's conflicts. As their paths diverge in the film, each sister is confronted with the instincts of love and death or aggression; Eros and Thanatos in Freud's terms. The focus here will be to view these salient themes in Ginger Snaps through the lens of Freudian analysis. More specifically, this paper will analyze the psychical conflict du e to complications of the instinct toward love or aggression, as represented in the metaphorical transition into adolescence and the relationship between the two sisters. The Sisters Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald share a close relationship that becomes challenged as the narrative progresses. Ginger, who is a year older, is the more dominant, while Brigitte takes a more subordinate role. Both girls are late bloomers, and in Freudian terms, their outlooks and relationship with one another can be seen as the result of an extension of their latency periods. The girls do not deal well with their transition into adolescence—they recognize the budding sexuality of their peers and are th... ...emale sexuality or the "castration" undertones. Female viewers, on the other hand, could be angered by the characterization of female sexuality as being something monstrous and almost inhuman. This is the kind of response, however, that can bring into a dialogue contemporary society's prevailing notions of sexuality. BIBLIOGRAPHY Class Reader, Glossary. "Freud and the Literary Imagination." Compiled by Professor Richard Gray, 2006. Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1989. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and its Discontents. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1989. Ginger Snaps. Dir. John Fawcett. Story: Karen Walton & John Fawcett. Perf. Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle. Lions Gate International, 2000.

Essay on Toni Morrisons Beloved - Sethes Act of Filicide

Sethe's Act of Filicide in Beloved      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shortly after the publication of Beloved, Toni Morrison commented in an interview that Sethe's murder of Beloved "was the right thing to do, but she had no right to do it.... It was the only thing to do, but it was the wrong thing to do."1[1]   Does this remark prove the moral ambiguity of the infanticide, as Terry Otten argues?2[2]   Yes, it was right but wrong, and wrong but right.   However, the most important thing is that "It was the only thing to do."   Sethe had no choice.   If there is anything wrong, it must be either, in Paul D's words, her "too thick" love, or the inhumane institution of slavery.   However, as Sethe answers back to Paul D, for her, "Thin love ain't love at all" (164).   For Sethe, there is no such thing as "thin" love, and it is true.   Her love is not "too" thick but "so" thick that she would kill her own child rather than see the baby live as a slave.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another interview in 1994 makes it even clearer that Toni Morrison has been sympathetic to Sethe from the start.   She talks about Margaret Garner, whose story gave Morrison the inspiration to write this novel.   Sethe's story is almost identical with Margaret Garner's.       I had an idea that I didn't know was a book idea.... One was a newspaper clipping about a woman named Margaret Garner in 1851....   she had escaped from Kentucky with her four children.   She had run off into a little woodshed right outside her house to kill them because she had been caught as a fugitive.   And she had made up her mind that they would not suffer the way that she had and it was better to die.   She succeeded in killing one; she tried to kill two others....   That the woman who killed her children love... ...she was able to keep the longest.   Twenty years.... Her two girls, neither of whom had their adult teeth, were sold and gone and she had not been able to wave goodbye.   To make up for coupling with a straw boss for four months in exchange for keeping her their child, a boy, with her - only to have him traded for lumber in the spring of the next year and to find herself pregnant by the man who promised not to and did.   The child that she could not love and the rest she would not. (23) She could not claim any child as hers.   Being someone's property, she could not and would not love her children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   7[7]   Eric Jerome Bauer, "Beloved: The Paradox of Freedom," <http://www.viconet.com/~ejb/belovedweb.htm >   It is almost annoying to read such a naà ¯ve opinion based on "too abstract" humanism, but it is worth thinking of what makes the opinion possible.   

Succubus Shadows Chapter 6

I awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon. For a moment, I had the strangest sense of d? ¦j? ¤ vu. When Seth and I were first getting to know each other, I'd crashed at his place after too much to drink. When I had woken up, I'd discovered a full breakfast spread in his kitchen. A few moments later, reality sunk in. There was no desk or bulletin board of book notes, no teddy bear in a University of Chicago shirt. It was my own dresser that looked back at me, my own tangled pale blue sheets wrapped around my legs. With a sigh, I clambered out of bed and walked out to the kitchen, wondering what was going on. To my astonishment, it was Roman playing chef at my stove, both cats sitting at his feet – no doubt hoping for a bit of dropped bacon. â€Å"You cook?† I asked, pouring a cup of coffee. â€Å"I cook all the time. You just don't notice.† â€Å"I notice you heating up a lot of frozen food. What's all this?† He shrugged. â€Å"I'm starving. You don't get a lot of time to eat when you're on stalking duty.† I eyed the eggs, bacon, and pancakes. â€Å"Well, I think you'll be good to go for the rest of the day. Maybe the next two days. You sure did make a lot,† I added hopefully. â€Å"No need to be coy,† he said, trying to hide a smile. â€Å"You can have some.† This was the best news I'd heard all day. Of course, I'd only been up for five minutes. Then, last night's events came slamming into me. â€Å"Oh, shit.† Roman glanced up from where he was flipping a pancake. â€Å"Hmm?† â€Å"A funny thing happened last night†¦.† I frowned. â€Å"Well, not so funny†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I explained that mystery force's reappearance last night, as well as my unexpected swim from the other day. Roman listened quietly, the earlier levity rapidly disappearing from his face. When I finished, he dumped his skillet of eggs into a bowl so hard that the bowl shattered. I took an uneasy step back. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† he growled. â€Å"Whoa, hey,† I said. An angry nephilim was nothing I wanted around. â€Å"That's part of a matched set.† He glared at me, but I knew the anger wasn't toward me, exactly. â€Å"Three times, Georgina. This has happened three fucking times, and I wasn't around.† â€Å"Why should you be?† I asked in surprise. My surprise then took an odd turn into outrage. â€Å"You aren't my keeper.† â€Å"No, but some entity is invading my home.† I decided not to point out that it was my home. â€Å"I should be dealing with that, not chasing some boring succubus for Jerome.† â€Å"Ask, and ye shall receive,† a familiar voice suddenly said. Jerome's aura washed over us as he materialized by the kitchen table. â€Å"About time,† snapped Roman, that dark look still on his face. â€Å"I've been waiting forever for you to show up.† Jerome arched an eyebrow and lit a cigarette. â€Å"Forever, huh? It hasn't even been a week.† â€Å"Feels like it,† said Roman. He handed me a plate of food, and I sat quietly at the table, deciding I should wait for this status report to unfold before delivering my latest problems to Jerome. â€Å"You guys should add following Simone to your list of punishments for the eternally damned.† Jerome smiled and flicked his ashes into a vase of gerbera daisies on my table. I wasn't thrilled about that, but at least it wasn't on my floor. â€Å"I take it you've seen no noteworthy activities? Mei reported the same thing.† Roman sat down beside me with his own food, setting the plate down with more force than he needed. I winced, but it didn't break. â€Å"She's done nothing but shop and take victims. Oh, and hit on Mortensen.† Both of Jerome's eyebrows rose this time. â€Å"Seth Mortensen?† I started to ask how many Mortensens he knew, but Roman's next words cut me off. â€Å"Yeah, she's shown up a couple times, attempting some sort of lame seduction.† My anger started to kindle again and then – â€Å"Wait. A couple times?† I exclaimed. â€Å"More than the coffee shop?† Roman looked at me, a brief glint of apology showing through his angry expression. â€Å"Yeah, I didn't have a chance to tell you. She came to the bookstore while you were out with Maddie yesterday. Very nicely timed with your absence.† I slammed my fork down on my plate. Really, it was a wonder I had any dishes left. â€Å"Why the hell didn't you tell me?† â€Å"Because I kind of didn't have the chance, seeing as we had bigger problems!† Jerome had stiffened when Roman mentioned Simone attempting to seduce Seth. The reaction was weird, like he'd been caught by surprise. That was rare for a demon, rarer still for one to show it. Several moments later, he regained his composure, turning his attention to Roman's comment. â€Å"Bigger problems?† â€Å"Georgina's being stalked,† declared Roman. â€Å"Georgina's always being stalked.† Jerome sighed. â€Å"What is it this time?† He kept his features neutral, but as we explained the situation, I saw something spark in his eyes†¦some sort of interest. At the very least, speculation. Silence fell when Roman and I finished our story. I glanced at him, both of us waiting for my overlord to offer some sort of explanation. â€Å"Your job with Simone is done,† Jerome said at last. â€Å"Thank God,† said Roman. â€Å"You're going to follow Georgie instead.† â€Å"What?† Roman and I exclaimed in unison. â€Å"Same deal,† added Jerome. â€Å"Invisible, no signature. Except when you're here, of course. Most know you two are roommates. It'd be odd if you disappeared off the face of the earth.† The last couple times that siren song had shown up, I'd desperately wanted Roman. I should have been glad to have him now, which is why the outrage that followed next was completely irrational. â€Å"But he needs to follow Simone!† â€Å"Oh?† asked Jerome. â€Å"Pray tell why? She's made no contact with anyone from Hell. Either she is here for innocent reasons, or she's too good at hiding her reports.† â€Å"But†¦but†¦she's following Seth. We need to figure out why!† â€Å"I don't think it takes a genius to deduce why,† said Jerome dryly. â€Å"We have to stop her, though.† The demon snorted. â€Å"Georgina, do you have any idea how much I don't care about your ex-boyfriend? There's more in this universe than your absurd love life – or lack of one.† I flinched. â€Å"Especially since he's sleeping with someone else now. If he's so in love with her now, Simone shouldn't be an issue. And don't glare at me like that,† he added. â€Å"You already screwed his soul over when you fucked him last spring. Simone won't make any difference.† I gritted my teeth. â€Å"I still don't think – â€Å" â€Å"No.† Jerome's voice was hard, and he was using that tone you didn't argue with. He turned his attention to Roman. â€Å"You're done with Simone. You're with Georgie now. Understood?† Roman nodded, not sharing my outrage. â€Å"Understood. Do you know what this is? What's happening to Georgina?† â€Å"I've got a few ideas,† Jerome growled. And like that, he vanished. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I said. Roman swallowed a bite of egg and looked remarkably relaxed, compared to his earlier state. â€Å"Was that a general statement of frustration or a slander on Jerome?† â€Å"Both. Why do you look so pleased all of a sudden? You were ready to go on a rampage earlier.† â€Å"Because I'm done with Simone. And I get to chase better prey now.† â€Å"And because you don't care about Seth at all.† â€Å"That too.† I stared at my food without really seeing it. My appetite was gone. â€Å"I need to see him. I need to see her and find out if she's following him.† â€Å"No good can come of that,† warned Roman. I didn't answer. My mood had crashed. I was grateful for Roman's protection now, but in a lot of ways†¦well, I wanted to put Seth before myself. I wanted to defend him from†¦what? Having his life shortened by a succubus? Having his soul further darkened? Or were my motives more selfish†¦did I just not want him to sleep with another woman? Accepting him and Maddie was hard enough†¦and yet, if Simone did woo him, would that break up the impending marriage? No, I decided, Seth would stay true to Maddie. He wouldn't cheat on her. Wouldn't he? a nasty voice in my head asked. He cheated with you†¦. â€Å"Damn it. I wish you wouldn't look like that.† I glanced up at Roman. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"That pathetic look on your face is killing me.† He turned his gaze downward, moving eggs around his plate. With a sigh, he looked back up. â€Å"I know where Seth will be today. But I don't know if Simone will be there.† My eyes widened. â€Å"Where?† Roman hesitated only a moment later. â€Å"The art museum. He mentioned it to Maddie yesterday†¦. Some exhibit he wanted to see that she doesn't. He was going to swing by there today. I'm not sure of the time, but Simone might have overheard. If so, it'd be the perfect time.† I stood up, and my appearance instantly shifted, ready to go. Hair styled long and wavy. Jeans and a T-shirt. Makeup perfect. â€Å"Well, let's go. We need to stake the place out.† â€Å"Whoa there, speedy. Some of us can't get ready that fast. And some of us aren't done eating.† I sat back down, not bothering to hide my impatience. He ate on, pointedly ignoring me and chewing every bite with care. A thought popped up. â€Å"Can you hide my signature? I'll go invisible. Lure her in.† Roman shook his head in exasperation. â€Å"I was hoping you wouldn't think of that.† I expected him to refuse me, but to my surprise, he did indeed hide my immortal signature when we finally set out to the museum. After shifting invisible, I was as incognito as he was by my side. It was a pretty day to be out in downtown Seattle. The morning clouds had burned off, and the sun had nothing to hold it back. It was deceptive, though. The sky was a clear radiant blue, but fall's chill was starting to finally take its grip. So while the weather looked gorgeous through windows, a coat was required once outside. The Seattle Art Museum – or, as it was affectionately know by locals, SAM – was massive, and its regular collection held exhibits from every place and period imaginable. Roman had told me the exhibit Seth wanted to see was a special one, only in town for a few weeks. It was a display of Late Antiquity jewelry, and I would have wagered good money that Seth was there to do research for Cady and O'Neill. But when we arrived, there was no sign of Seth. Plenty of tourists – even on a weekday – filled the place, wandering aimlessly and pausing to study or read about the pieces. This period of time was near and dear to me, and I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. It was the era I'd grown up in, the era I'd spent my mortal days in. Seeing those items – rings, bracelets, and necklaces – was surreal. Many were from the Mediterranean region of the Roman Empire. Sometimes, when I thought about my past, it would make my heart burn. Other times, I felt removed, like I was watching a movie about someone else's life. I'd been studying each piece in detail, intrigued at how some had been polished to brightness and others were corroded with time. A gentle nudge at my shoulder made me look up. I saw no one near me and realized it had been Roman. Turning around, I surveyed the gallery and found what – or rather who – he'd spotted. Seth stood on the opposite side of the room, face thoughtful and inquisitive as he studied one of the cases. A notebook and pen were in his hands. He'd come for research, as I suspected. I studied him with equal fascination. As far as I was concerned, he was as rare and precious to me as any of the jewelry surrounding us. Shit, I thought. I was an idiot if I thought I was over him. Just standing there in the same room, I felt more drawn to him than ever. I backed up to a wall near me, staying out of the way of patrons and simply keeping an eye on Seth, wondering if Simone would show her traitorous face. After a half-hour went by, my impatience grew. It was stupid, I knew. Seth would likely be here all afternoon, and she might arrive later. But†¦suddenly, talking to him seemed more important. I knew it was foolish, knew it was wrong†¦but, well, I'd done more idiotic things in the past. I stepped out of the gallery and into a stairwell that was momentarily empty. It only took a second to go visible again. In my ear, I heard Roman's voice hiss, â€Å"Are you crazy?† â€Å"Keep my signature hidden,† I snapped back. â€Å"If she shows, we'll sense her before she sees me.† An elderly couple came down the stairs just as I finished my words, giving me an odd look. I smiled winningly and held the door open for them. They scurried through. Seth was at a display of Byzantine diadems when I touched his arm. He flinched and turned around, though his shock immediately turned to pleasure when he saw me. Shit, I thought again. Far better if he'd looked dismayed. â€Å"Let me guess,† I said. â€Å"You're planning the perfect heist for Cady and O'Neill.† He smiled. â€Å"They're the good guys.† â€Å"They've been known to break the law,† I pointed out. â€Å"I like to think of it as bending the law. What are you doing here?† I gestured around. â€Å"Revisiting my youth – or what's left of it. The sands of time bury most things, but a few remain.† â€Å"I never thought of that,† said Seth, clearly intrigued. â€Å"This is your era. I should have been coming to you for research.† A vision of us having private study sessions came to mind. I immediately squashed it. â€Å"Better visual aids here. Anything catch your eye?† He pointed at the case of diadems beside him. â€Å"I like these. It's a shame we don't wear stuff like this anymore.† I followed his gaze. â€Å"Not enough bling in the hair nowadays?† He gave me one of those half-smiles. â€Å"No. There's just†¦I don't know. There's a beauty and skill we don't use. Look at that.† He gestured toward one diadem, meant to resemble a crown of gold coins. Little strings of small gold circles hung down, draping through the hair. â€Å"Look at the imperfections. That was handmade, each one of those.† â€Å"Some would call that flawed.† I loved it when Seth got caught up in these philosophical musings. â€Å"That's what makes it great. And anyway, I kind of like the idea of adorning women in crowns and jewels. Call me sexist, but I think the fair sex should be worshipped.† He paused. â€Å"And perfectly entitled to all the rights and opportunities of men.† I laughed and stepped away so that others could approach the case. â€Å"I think you're romantic, not sexist.† A troubling thought came to me, recalling how Maddie had admired pearl tiaras and headbands at the bridal stores yesterday. Modern-day diadems. Would Seth like that? â€Å"Call it what you want,† he said, â€Å"but I just think our civilization has declined when scrunchies have become the prevalent form of hair ornamentation.† We wandered around the exhibits after that, commenting on and analyzing them. I tried not to overthink the situation. I didn't delude myself about whether we could be friends. I didn't wallow in guilt over carrying a torch. I just tried to enjoy the moment. During none of our time together did I feel Simone. Since Roman's senses were stronger, I had to assume he hadn't either. I also suspected he was rolling his eyes over my time with Seth. Seth and I finally reached the last of the exhibit: Byzantine wedding rings. When I saw them, the warm, comfortable feelings that had wrapped around me suddenly turned to ice. I felt the change in Seth too. Most of the rings were of similar design, with a flat circle lying on top of the ring, the circle surface then engraved with some image. My troubled feelings had nothing to do with weddings or any other associations with Maddie. Last Christmas, Seth had had a ring made for me in this style. He hadn't intended it as a wedding or engagement ring. He'd just done it as a gift, knowing the style was part of my past. It was beautiful, and I still had it. It was locked away in a box of treasures I'd kept over the centuries – items too precious to throw out and too painful to look at. Neither of us said anything, and I wondered what he thought about. Was it just the awkward discomfort from memories of an ex-girlfriend? Was it stirring bittersweet feelings similar to the ones churning in me? When he and Maddie had gotten involved, I'd been convinced he'd moved on. Then, after our brief affair in the spring, I'd reconsidered. There were too many times now that he looked at me strangely, too many times that reminded me of when I was his girlfriend and the times he told me he loved me. But his wedding was still moving forward, with no sign of doubt on his part. I didn't know what to think. I'm not sure how long we stood in silence, but Seth broke it. â€Å"Well†¦I guess that's it for the exhibit, huh?† I glanced around as though attempting to determine if we'd seen it all. I already knew we had. â€Å"Yeah, I guess that's it.† He wouldn't meet my eyes, and his whole body radiated nervousness. â€Å"Thanks for the research help. I should get back to the store and put this to good use.† â€Å"Good luck.† His eyes lifted, and I offered a small smile that he returned. â€Å"Thanks.† We parted, and I left the museum, not sure where I was going – only that I had to go someplace where he wasn't. For an hour or so, I'd played make-believe with him, keeping that familiar depression away and allowing myself a small joy. Now, that darkness descended on me†¦and uneasily, I recalled how that mystery force always showed up when I was troubled. That was its lure: comfort when I felt desperate and alone. Roman might be my offense, but I decided then to go for a good defense. I needed distraction. â€Å"You aren't going to like this,† I murmured, assuming Roman was close enough to hear. Distraction wasn't the only thing I needed. I needed a good energy fix. I was sleeping with enough men regularly that I had a pretty consistent supply of energy. Still, being at full power, so to speak, would keep my strength up – which hopefully would increase my mental resolve. Not that sleeping with random men was always cheering. I was in no mood to go hunting for victims in a bar. I needed something slightly easier, something a little less sleazy. Normally those two were mutually exclusive, but I'd come up with an idea while driving home that might accomplish both. There was a twenty-something guy named Gavin who lived in a condo down the hall from me. He was nice enough and had a serious crush on me. He never said or did anything overtly, but it was obvious. He alternated between nervousness and poorly done jokes whenever I was around. He always seemed unwilling to part when we ran into each other in the garage or lobby or whatever. His gaze also spent more time on my cleavage than my eyes. The beauty of it all was that he also had a girlfriend. I didn't know if he'd cheated on her before or just wanted to. That wasn't important at the moment. What was important was that when I showed up at his door after the museum, his girlfriend wasn't around. â€Å"Georgina,† he said, taken aback. â€Å"How†¦how's it going?† â€Å"Not great,† I said, forcing distress into my voice. â€Å"I got locked out of my place and have to wait for my friend to show up with a spare set of keys. Can I wait here for her? I'm afraid if I go outside, it'll rain again.† It was then that Gavin seemed to notice my drenched state, particularly the now transparent white sundress I'd shape-shifted into without a bra. His eyes bugged out, and then he glanced quickly behind him before turning back to the wet, clinging fabric encasing my breasts and their hardened nipples. â€Å"It†¦it rained? But it's so nice out.† That brisk fall sunshine was pouring in through his windows. â€Å"I know,† I said glibly. â€Å"I was kind of surprised too. It was this really fast freak thing that came out of nowhere.† This was apparently so unbelievable that Gavin actually managed to tear himself away from me to once more scrutinize the brilliantly blue sky outside. Finally, deciding not to fight this, he beckoned for me to come in. â€Å"Do you have a T-shirt or anything I can wear?† I asked sweetly. â€Å"I'm freezing in this.† His scrutiny had shifted from my breasts to the very noticeable black thong underneath the dress. I think changing out of the dress was a huge disappointment for him, but he wasn't so socially inept as to refuse me. â€Å"Sure, come on.† I followed him to his bedroom where he dug out an oversized Seattle Mariners T-shirt and a pair of green flannel boxers. He handed them over. â€Å"See if these work,† he said, backing out of the room to give me privacy. â€Å"Thanks,† I said, giving him a winning smile. He managed a nervous one in return just before shutting the door. I crossed my arms and waited a minute, during which an invisible Roman said: â€Å"This is ridiculous. You should have just shown up as a pizza delivery girl.† â€Å"Hey, the wet dress technique is tried and true. Works every time.† Roman sighed. â€Å"Wait in the other room then,† I said. â€Å"This shouldn't take long.† I opened the door and shouted down the hall, â€Å"Hey, Gavin? Can you come help me?† He popped back in, and I couldn't help but notice his dark brown hair was a lot neater than it had been earlier. He'd probably dashed off to the bathroom in a quick grooming attempt to impress me. â€Å"What's wrong?† he asked. I turned around and pushed my hair over one shoulder, showing where the straps of my dress's halter top were tied behind my neck. â€Å"There's a knot here I can't get undone. Can you give it a shot?† He hesitated for only a moment before moving forward to assist. I'd shape-shifted a pretty good knot, and it took him some time to work through it, during which I backed up against him as close as I could. At last, he managed to undo it, pulling the straps apart and releasing them so that I could grab them. I missed, of course, and as the straps fell, so did most of the dress. It went against the laws of physics, seeing as how clingy that wet fabric had been. I caught the dress in a weak attempt at modesty, but not before it almost entirely fell off. Nearby, I heard another exasperated sigh from Roman. I turned to face Gavin, holding the dress against me in a way that completely exposed my chest. His eyes were naturally fixed on it, and I glanced down too, as though trying to figure out what he was looking at. â€Å"Oh, man. I'm wet all over. Do you have a towel? I don't want to get the shirt wet.† â€Å"Uh†¦what? Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In record speed, he raced to the bathroom and returned with a small hand towel. I decided then not to bother with any more convenient excuses and simply stepped forward, hoping he was smart enough to accept the invitation. He was. Hesitant at first, he slowly ran the towel over my breasts, lingering when it was obvious they were dry. He moved down to my stomach – which he dried pretty quickly – and then to my hips and thighs. I'd long since let my soggy dress fall to the floor and helpfully pulled off my thong so that he could reach every part. He had to kneel to do my inner thighs, and I heard him mutter, â€Å"Oh my God.† I wasn't sure if that was simply because of the situation he was in or because his girlfriend hadn't gone Brazilian. â€Å"You have great hands,† I purred. â€Å"Th-thanks,† he said inanely. He'd just finished my legs and stood up. I took the towel and tossed it on the bed. Catching hold of his hand, I gently stroked it and brought it between my thighs. â€Å"Really great,† I said in an even lower voice. â€Å"Long fingers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I guided a couple of those fingers into me, and I swear, he gasped louder than I did. After a little more urging, he no longer needed my assistance and began rapidly thrusting his fingers on his own. I pressed to him, moaning as though it were the most amazing experience of my life. I was wetter on the inside than out, and the only resistance he encountered was in how tight I'd made myself. Reaching around his arm, I unfastened his pants and pulled them off in one motion. His erection pointed out at me long and hard and ready. It had probably been that way the moment I showed up at the door. Gripping his shirt I pulled him toward the bed. â€Å"The rest,† I gasped, spreading myself in front of him. â€Å"Let me see how the rest feels.† The hand that had been in me left as he laid himself on top of me. He pushed my thighs apart and thrust in with a force that contradicted his earlier shyness. In fact, his face showed no nervousness whatsoever anymore. He was all eagerness and desire, emitting small grunts each time he shoved himself into me. â€Å"Harder,† I told him, giving him big, passionate eyes. â€Å"I want it harder.† He obliged, increasing the speed and force. After about a minute of this, he shifted up so that he was kneeling. Holding my thighs just below my knees, he spread my legs far apart and leaned in. The new position allowed him to get deeper, and I exclaimed my approval, urging him again to do it harder and harder. Steadily, I felt his life energy begin to flow into me. It was a decent amount, and it felt glorious, spreading through my being and reinvigorating me. With it came his thoughts and feelings, at which point I learned he never had actually cheated on his girlfriend before – but, oh, he'd wanted to plenty of times. She barely crossed his mind at the moment. He was too consumed by me to feel much guilt. The only brief concern he had was that he should have used a condom. That was a regret, but it wasn't strong enough for him to stop, not when I felt this good. I let my cries escalate into small screams and felt him grow closer and closer to coming. My head was getting dangerously close to the headboard, but the roughness of it all was really turning him on. He'd never had the opportunity to just go so wild. Harder and harder he went, thrusting himself in all the way each time. The energy increased by leaps and bounds, and just before the big moment came, I decided to drive home the guilt a little. It made me feel some guilt in return, but at the end of the day, guilt marked the soul, and that was what Hell employed me for. â€Å"Can she do this?† I panted. He was half a second from coming. â€Å"Can your girlfriend take it like this?† The orgasm exploded – and so did he. He pulled out at the last second, not because of what I'd said but because this was his solution to the condom problem. Withdrawal was a horrible safe sex method, but whatever. His body spasmed and he came on my stomach. It was warm against my flesh, and he watched with a perverse fascination. Yet, just before it had happened, I'd felt my dagger hit. He'd been so consumed by lust that he'd been able to block his girlfriend out earlier. My comment had pushed her to the fore-front, but there had been no way he could stop what he was doing by that point. I'd felt the spike of guilt, just as the last burst of life energy sparkled through me. He fell back against the covers, gasping and exhausted. Losing some of your life will do that to you. Whatever thoughts of guilt or satisfaction he felt now were his alone. The towel was still conveniently on the bed, and I used it to clean myself up. I stood up and walked over to the window while he still tried to catch his breath. He'd probably fall asleep in a few minutes. â€Å"Oh, hey,† I said cheerfully. â€Å"My friend's out there with the key.† I picked up the sodden dress and headed for the door. â€Å"Thanks for letting me hang out.†

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 16

â€Å"Georgina.† My name came to me from far away, from far down a tunnel without an end. It echoed off the walls of my mind, loud at first and eventually fading to nothing. â€Å"Georgina. Look at me, sweetie.† â€Å"Let her sleep, Hugh.† â€Å"No, I need to talk to her and make sure she doesn't have a concussion. Georgina, come on. Open your eyes for me.† Through a mist of black fog, my brain parsed the words and slowly found meaning in them. Some basic response in me wanted to comply, but my eyelids felt like they were stuck together. Thinking-let alone answering-was too hard, but more words came to encourage me. â€Å"There you go, sweetie. Try it again. You almost had it.† With much effort, I finally managed to open my eyes. It was excruciating. My lids felt like they were made of lead. At first, I could only perceive one thing: light. I winced, wanting to sink back into that oblivion I'd been pulled from. And with this slight stirring of consciousness, all the pain I'd escaped from before suddenly returned. My head throbbed. My back burned. The clich? ¦ about breaking every bone in the body seemed like a very real possibility all of a sudden, and I was pretty sure I'd broken a few that weren't in my body. Sure, that didn't make sense, but with as bad as I felt, little did. â€Å"Oh God.† At least, that's what I tried to say. It came out as more of an indistinct moan. â€Å"Easy there. You don't have to say anything.† I opened my eyes again, this time making out a figure leaning over me. I knew his voice so well that I didn't need to see his face, which was a blur anyway. â€Å"Hugh,† I croaked. â€Å"Hey, ask her what-â€Å" â€Å"Shut up,† Hugh snapped. The jerky movement of his head made me think he'd glanced behind him, but I couldn't be certain. He moved his face closer to mine, bringing his features into sharper relief. He was paler than I'd ever seen him, his face filled with lines of worry and fear I'd never thought him capable of. He looked even more upset than when he'd come to tell us about Jerome's summoning. Reaching out, Hugh held the lids of one of my eyes open and shone a small light into it. I squirmed at the brightness-or at least I tried-but he was fast and did it to the other eye before it caused too much discomfort. When he finished, he moved his finger around in the air and studied my eyes as I followed it. â€Å"What's your name?† he asked. The voice behind him piped up. â€Å"You already said her name.† Hugh sighed and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. â€Å"What's his name?† â€Å"Cody,† I said. It was getting easier to speak, but the pain was going up the more conscious I became. Cody's voice was as familiar to me as Hugh's, and I felt certain Peter was here too. Hugh asked me a few other factual questions, like the current year and the location, and also if I was nauseous. â€Å"It all hurts,† I said, voice still slurred. I couldn't even move, let alone distinguish nausea from the rest of my pain. â€Å"Yeah, but do you feel like you're going to throw up? Right here? Right now?† I thought about it. My stomach hurt, but it was less of a queasy discomfort and more of a someone-just-kicked-me-with-stilettos discomfort. â€Å"No,† I said. Hugh sat back, and I heard him sigh in relief. â€Å"It all hurts,† I repeated. â€Å"Can you†¦make it stop?† He hesitated, and a moment later, Cody appeared beside him. â€Å"What's the matter? You've gotta give her something. Look at her. She's suffering.† â€Å"Understatement,† I mumbled. Hugh's face was still drawn. â€Å"I'm not gonna knock her out if she's got a concussion.† â€Å"She passed your tests.† â€Å"Those are field tests. They're not one hundred percent accurate.† â€Å"Please,† I said, feeling tears well in my eyes. â€Å"Anything.† â€Å"We know it won't kill her,† I heard Peter say. I'd been right about him being here. Hugh hesitated only a little longer. â€Å"Go get some water.† Cody disappeared, and Peter replaced him by Hugh's side. Hugh's expression was still grim. â€Å"Sweetie, I've got to clean up your back, and it's going to hurt.† â€Å"Worse?† â€Å"A different kind of hurt. But this has to be cleaned up so you don't get an infection, and then I need to shift you to check out the rest of you. The drugs'll help, but it's all going to hurt at first.† â€Å"Go for it,† I said, steeling myself. At this point, I couldn't really imagine worse pain. Besides, Hugh was a doctor. Everything was going to be okay now. Cody returned with a glass of water. Hugh made me drink some first, just to make sure I could keep it down. When I did, he gave me two pills to take with the rest of the water. I nearly choked on them-my throat felt raw and swollen, maybe from screaming-but I got them down. I wanted to ask what I'd just taken, but it seemed like too much work. â€Å"Should kick in in about twenty minutes,† Hugh said. I could see him fumbling with something in his lap. Standing up, he leaned over my back. Something wet touched my skin. â€Å"Son of a bitch!† Again, my words were slightly incoherent, but I think he caught my meaning. Stinging pain-a â€Å"different† pain, indeed-raced across my skin where he'd touched it. It was electric, sharp where the rest of my body throbbed. My desire to get away from that horrible stinging was so strong that I actually managed to move a little, but all that did was trigger the hurt in the rest of my body. The world blurred once more. â€Å"You're making it worse,† he warned. â€Å"Stay still.† Easy for him to say. I bit my lip as he continued. He was using antiseptic to clean the places Nanette had cut me. Necessary, as he'd said, but God, did it hurt. â€Å"Talk to her,† Hugh said to no one in particular. â€Å"Distract her.† â€Å"What happened?† asked Peter. â€Å"Who did this to you?† â€Å"Nice distraction,† said Hugh. â€Å"Nanette,† I said. Saying her name made my stomach turn, and I hoped I wouldn't have to go back on what I'd said to Hugh about throwing up. â€Å"She was†¦mad.† â€Å"I guess,† said Peter. â€Å"Mad I told Cedric about her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Doesn't this kind of confirm your suspicions, then?† asked Cody. Yeah, if beating up the person who'd ratted out your secret plans didn't sound suspicious, I didn't know what did. But if Nanette really was behind Jerome's summoning, why not just kill me outright and leave no witnesses? Explaining that would take too many words and too much effort, so I just said, â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"There,† said Hugh, straightening. â€Å"That wasn't so bad, was it?† I tried to glare, but I don't think he noticed. He rummaged in his kit once more and then leaned back over to start bandaging up the wounds. With as much as he was piling on me, I had the feeling I was going to look like a mummy. â€Å"Why didn't Dante stick around?† asked Cody. â€Å"Huh? Dante?† The bandage pressure wasn't as bad as the cleaning, but it was still uncomfortable. I wondered when those goddamned drugs were going to kick in. â€Å"He was here,† said Cody. â€Å"He called Hugh and told him to come over.† Some of the exact details of what had happened with Nanette were foggy, but I felt pretty confident, head trauma or no, that I would have remembered Dante being around. â€Å"Dante wasn't here,† I said. Hugh paused and looked me in the eye. â€Å"Then who called me? It was a guy, from your cell phone. Said to get over here and bring medical supplies-that you'd been hurt.† I frowned, and it came back to me, a shadow in the pain-filled haze of my memory. The strong arms and gentle voice. â€Å"There was someone here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I began slowly. â€Å"Not Dante. Someone else. He put me to bed.† Silence fell. A slight fuzziness was starting to tingle the edges of my senses, which I took as a good sign. It was more of a pleasant, dreamlike fuzziness-not the I-can't-handle-this-pain-anymore kind. There was still a fair amount of that, though. The guys exchanged puzzled looks. â€Å"Are you sure it wasn't him?† asked Cody. â€Å"Why would Dante leave her, though?† asked Peter. Hugh snorted. â€Å"No telling with him.† â€Å"Stop,† I mumbled. â€Å"It wasn't him.† â€Å"You can't remember a face or anything?† Peter asked. â€Å"Was it even someone you knew?† I thought again, desperately trying to dig out the memory. There was nothing, though. Only that he'd been someone familiar. â€Å"I knew him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That pleasant drowsiness was growing stronger. I wished it would hurry up. â€Å"There,† said Hugh. â€Å"All bandaged up. Help me move her so I can look at her ribs.† That was not fun, and the discomfort of the three of them turning me over-no matter how gentle they tried to be-was enough to momentarily break me out of the drug's soothing embrace. They managed to flip me over, putting moderate pressure on my back when I rested back against the bed, but allowing Hugh to examine the rest of me. He poked and prodded and had me take deep breaths. His final analysis was that I had a couple of broken ribs and a lot of bruising and pain that would just go away with time. â€Å"Great,† I said. I was so loopy by that point that I didn't even know if I was being sarcastic or not. Cody was still unable to give up my benefactor. â€Å"But who was here?† â€Å"The man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said. â€Å"You aren't going to get anything else out of her,† said Hugh wearily. â€Å"Not for a while. She's going to be in Dreamland any minute now.† â€Å"Dreamland. The man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I repeated. Suddenly, I giggled. â€Å"The man in the dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I saw them exchange pitying looks, just before my eyelids drooped closed. They thought I was talking nonsense. None of them knew about the story of the man in the dream, of that alluring and improbable alternate life that Nyx had shown me. But as I drifted off to Dreamland, it wasn't Nyx's vision I saw. It was more of that same, painless black†¦at least, it was until I got jolted by a million volts of electricity. I let out a small cry of surprise, my eyes popping open. It felt like hundreds of icy needles were dancing along my body, piercing every nerve. The room's details, as well as my friends, came to me in sharp, crystalline detail. No more fuzziness. Turning my head slightly, I saw a fourth person. Mei. She stood beside my bed, face blank and emotionless, arms crossed across her black silk blouse. â€Å"What happened?† I asked. My words were still thick, but my speech capabilities had improved by leaps and bounds. â€Å"I healed you,† she said flatly. â€Å"Inasmuch as I can. You're still going to hurt.† Demons, though once angels, didn't possess that power to heal that their heavenly counterparts had. They could do it in small bursts, however, and in expanding my senses to assess my body, I could feel how she'd gotten rid of the worst of my pain. I still ached in some places, and even bandaged, my back still stung. I no longer wanted to die, however, so that was definitely an improvement. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. Mei didn't look particularly compassionate or benevolent. Her expression darkened. â€Å"They say Nanette did this?† I hesitated. I'd already gotten in enough trouble with the archdemoness for telling on her. Of course, my friends had undoubtedly already told Mei the truth, and anyway, she was the closest I currently had to a boss. I wasn't entirely sure if I could trust her, but if I had to place my money on the demon most likely to have my back right now (no pun intended), it was her. â€Å"Yeah,† I admitted. â€Å"I told Cedric that Nanette had met with Jerome. She'd met with Cedric too, so it seemed kind of like she was manipulating both of them.† Mei's face grew harder still. Whether she agreed with me or not, she didn't reveal. â€Å"Nanette won't bother you again.† And with no more than that, the demoness vanished. â€Å"Girl fight,† said Hugh, looking the happiest I'd seen him today. â€Å"I don't think it's going to be in creamed corn or anything like that,† I remarked dryly. â€Å"Her sense of humor returns,† said Peter. â€Å"Definitely on the road to recovery.† I tried to sit up and winced. â€Å"Or not.† â€Å"Don't push it,† warned Hugh. â€Å"Mei can only do so much-â€Å" â€Å"What the hell's going on?† We all turned. Dante stood in the doorway to my bedroom. His face was a mixture of incredulity and utter confusion. Without waiting for an answer, he hurried over to the bed and knelt down so that he was at my level. â€Å"Are you okay? What happened?† His expression was so tender, so full of concern that I was momentarily taken aback. Dante was indeed selfish and arrogant, but he did care about me, no matter what my friends thought. And in dire situations-like now-that bitter faà §ade of his fell, revealing someone whose soul hadn't turned completely black yet. He tried hard to hide this side of himself, but I knew it was there. â€Å"I had a run-in with a demon,† I said. I gave him a brief explanation of what had happened. He grew more and more incredulous as I spoke. When I finished, he glanced around the room, studying everyone accusatorily. â€Å"How does something like this happen? I thought demons couldn't go around roughing people up. Aren't you under some kind of protection?† â€Å"Technically Jerome's,† I said. â€Å"But he's kind of busy right now.† â€Å"Maybe you're under Grace and Mei's protection now,† mused Cody. â€Å"Mei looked pissed.† â€Å"She always looks pissed,† said Hugh. â€Å"I should hope so,† snapped Dante. â€Å"Are they going to go kick this other demon's ass?† â€Å"She's not likely to smite her, if that's what you mean,† said Hugh. â€Å"Grace and Mei are under the same scrutiny as everyone else, but I bet Mei'll bitch Nanette out.† â€Å"Great,† said Dante. â€Å"A stern talking-to. That'll show her.† â€Å"It's unlikely Nanette'll do anything else. If she was going to kill Georgina, she would have already.† There was an almost gentle tone in Peter's voice. I think Dante's outrage and concern had convinced the vampire that Dante might not be the complete and total bastard he'd always believed. My immortal (or not so immortal) friends finally decided I was in reasonable enough condition to leave me in Dante's care. Hugh promised to check on me tomorrow, and I thanked him again for his help. He and the others looked like they wanted to hug me, but with my back, they knew better. When they were gone, Dante went out to the kitchen and came back with a bowl of ice cream. â€Å"Good for what ails you,† he said. I was surprised to discover I had a considerable appetite. Judging from the time, I'd been out quite awhile before Mei had shown up. It had only felt like a few seconds. â€Å"Careful,† I teased. â€Å"People are going to think you're a nice guy.† â€Å"Well, I'll have to go rob some orphans to save my reputation.† He lay in bed beside me, curled on his side so that he could gently keep his hand on my arm and talk to me. As the evening passed, our conversation mostly touched on inconsequential things, topics to distract me from Seattle's increasingly dangerous situation. Finally, when it came time for both of us to sleep, Dante brought up the attack again. â€Å"Succubus†¦who was here earlier?† I knew he didn't mean Hugh and the vampires. I frowned. Even with Mei's healing, my memories were sketchy. â€Å"I don't know. But I think†¦I think it might have been Carter.† â€Å"Really? I still can't believe that angel hangs out with you guys. But if it was him, why didn't he heal you? He could have fixed everything.† Through the fog of that ordeal, I recalled my rescuer's words. I can't heal you . â€Å"Because he's not supposed to interfere,† I said slowly, remembering my earlier rumination on whether blowing up a stove was interference. â€Å"Heaven's supposed to stay out of this. He probably shouldn't have even carried me to bed-which is why he would have then gotten out of here and left it to Hugh to patch me up.† â€Å"An angel breaking the rules and a demon healing the sick,† Dante said. â€Å"You and your associates just get more and more fucked up.† I shifted slightly, cautious of my back, and rested my head against him. â€Å"That's for damned sure.†

Philosophies of Religion Essay

This Essay portrays the basic philosophies of religion particularly Christianity. This will be helpful for Christians to refresh or enhance their faith or take the challenge in strengthening their beliefs. Among the important and basic Christian philosophies to be discussed include; the true religion, real and false churches, minds and soul, heaven and heal, life after death, love and forgiveness, perfect marriage, miracles, Trinity, the challenging questions about the Da Vinci Code, Christians and Muslims, perfect marriage, etc. The discussions presented in this article are focused on indepth reflections of my previous work entitled, Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself. This further simplify the understanding of mysterious things concerning Christian faith and the challenges that shaken or strengthen the beliefs of a Christian. Introduction Many people (Christians and non-Christians) are in a great religious confusion with tough questions about faith, life, death and many other challenging concerns that will most likely affect the faith or belief of the people. Most are searching for answers through reading literatures, the holy bible or the Koran, discussions with peers, religious institutions, and even through prayers. This essay will attempt to offer explanations of the many questions that challenge the beliefs of Christians and non-Christians. Some inputs of this essay are generated from my article, â€Å"Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself† that aim to enhance man’s relation with God. What is Soul? Soul is the energy that God places within a human body so it would receive life. It is in the form of spirit which is invisible to human eyes. It does not reside in one part of the body but keeps on moving throughout the blood. It can leave the body, go to another place or world, and come back into it as long as it remains connected. It happens so fast because it can move at the speed of light. It has the ability to travel into the future and tell how the future will be, that is a vision. Soul gives light and lives in the body and also prevents the body from decaying, and once the soul is unconscious or leaves the body, the body has no life, and therefore it starts decaying. The soul is the body’s life giving spiritual thing which is separate and distinct from the body. They are inseparable in any way when the body is conscious, but the soul could be away from the body when the latter is unconscious. How do minds and soul communicate? Soul has no language barriers. There is only one language understood by all souls, or perhaps the soul has the ability to understand all languages. It has unlimited power and the ability to perform anything. When God created man, He granted this power and authority where the soul operates in human flesh in which the latter is ruled by a human mind. Human minds are limited in terms of power, their ability to perform, language, and mobility, among other things. Mind’s desire is for material or physical things while the soul desires for the things that are spiritual. The soul has the ability to see beyond what the naked eye cannot see and has the ability to gather information from different places in an instant. It is stated that even the absence of language, the soul still communicate with mind in harmony. Soul is therefore, considered as master over mind. A gap is identified between the human level and the spiritual level where either the spirit of God resides or the spirit of the Devil. The soul provides information to the mind. The spirit of God empowers the soul to act at its fullness, but the evil spirit empowers the mind or the flesh. The mind has the ability to process and store information or idea communicated from the soul which can be destructive or creative, depending on its source. What is a true religion? A true religion is the one that follow God’s guidance by building a good relationship with God. God is interested in having a good relationship with people; this is the true religion, knowing what God wants and knowing that we are doing what pleases Him. Likewise, the ISLAM HERALD (2003) stated that a true religion is teaching true concepts like the existence of God, that He is powerful and loving, He is aware of us and wishes to help us, and that certain things are required of us in return. It is therefore imperative that everyone should think that religion is just a vehicle to let people know that there is God and that He wants all the people to follow what He wants. Hence, the issue on true religion should not be argued. People who argue and claim that their religion is the true religion are those who did not follow what God wants them to do, hence, they are fools influenced by the thoughts of the devil. What is death, and how do people feel when dying? Death is the state when the soul has completely left the body and has no connection, or the soul is still in the body but unconscious. When a person meets an accident, the flesh may completely fail to function but the soul is fully conscious, preoccupied with many things, without expecting in meeting death. In this situation, the death of accident victim is declared but remains fully conscious within the body in which souls are looking for mercy, and they can talk. However, after some days, the soul gives up and became unconscious because they can no longer gain strength. What happens when one dies? When some people die, their souls remain unconscious within their bodies; others get out of their body and begin roaming around while the holy ones go to paradise, led by angels. The death of the holy ones will open the gate to a bright world where the angels are waiting to take them home (paradise), but those who remain in the grave are surrounded by darkness; they are not warm or cold. The latter’s case will be determined during the Day of Judgment. The rebellious ones still go on roaming the world and their souls are fully dedicated to the Devil. Are heaven and hell real? The Holy Bible tells everyone that there is heaven and hell. This contention can be read in some passages of the Bible, and among them are the book of Revelation and the gospel of Mathew which can be read below. Heaven Revelation 21:1-4 reads: â€Å"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Hell Jesus used different images to describe hell. He used the images of torment (Matthew 25:46), a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12), a place of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), and a place of fire (Matthew 3:12). Revelation 21:8 describes it as â€Å"the lake which burns with fire and brimstone†¦ † To demonstrate that hell is a place of continual and eternal torment, Revelation 14:11 states that â€Å"the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worships the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. This is the biblical teaching on hell. Those who try to dilute it are only hurting people; hell is real, and everyone who does not submit to the gospel of Christ will go there. However, Rev. Douglas Taylor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, argue that Hell, like Heaven, is essentially a state of mind although the very opposite state of mind to heaven. If hell is within us, it will be seen outside of us as a place ( a hideous place), reflecting the hideousness of the evil within†. Is there life after death? Yes, there is life after death. This is supported by the Bible’s passage particularly in John 11:25-26 where God said â€Å"There is only one way – through faith and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, â€Å"I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Furthermore, this can also be read in the book of Mathew 25:46 which states that â€Å"Those who have been made righteous will go into eternal life in heaven, but unbelievers will be sent to eternal punishment or hell†. Who is right, Christians or Muslims? Christians and Muslims believe in the same God, and their faith is based on the Old Testament. These believers are both believe in the Day of Judgment and the coming of Jesus Christ for the second time. Many are amazed that the Koran talked more about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in regards to the birth of Christ than the Bible itself. Both groups of believers believe in the living God, the Most High King, and the God of the universe. At that high level, both groups have no difference. Those who called by His name are given the power and authority to rule and judge the world. God was just using different messengers for the Christians and the Muslims; Christ Jesus for the Christians, and Mohammad for the Muslims. But, they the same believed the old testament of the Holy Bible. In the eyes of God, the righteous are those who believe that there is God; obey His commands, and those who recognize that He is the most powerful and merciful God. What is a perfect marriage? A perfect marriage is a marriage that put God in the center. A perfect marriage is bound with open communication, faith and trust with each other. In Ephesians 5:23-33 of the Holy Bible, God describes that perfect marriage is based on love. He commands the husband to love his wife more than he loves himself, and to nourish and cherish her. A man should provide for his wife’s needs and consider her a precious possession. The most important part of a good marriage is LOVE, not just a physical attraction, but true love and concern for each other before God. Marriages that last are built on love (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The wise man Solomon said that enjoying life’s blessings with a loving companion is a great reward. Love’s endurance knows no limits, its trust no end, its hope no fading; it can outlast anything. If, we will but follow God’s pattern for the marriage relationship, we can find the happiness that God intended when He ordained it. The pleasure and happiness are there when the husband and the wife have the proper love for each other and for God. These explanations about perfect marriage are anchored on LOVE. What is the secret behind miracles? The secret behind miracles is faith. Many scriptures in the Holy Bible (in the New Testament) tell how Jesus shown that faith makes miracles. However, in some cases, miracles are used by the devil to mislead the people of God and forget the true miracle from God which is the miracle of forgiveness of sins. Do all miracles come from God? Not all miracles come from God. Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach reveals that miracles come from two sources that is God and devil. The book of Exodus that â€Å"some of God’s miracles were duplicated by Satan’s power channeled through the Egyptian magicians: a wooden staff became a snake† (7:10, 11); â€Å"water was changed into blood† (7:20-22)† and frogs came out of the water and covered the land† (8:6, 7)! † Demons can and do perform miraculous signs† (Rev. 16:14, p. 142). In the Holy Bible (New Testament) Jesus Christ made many miracles of healing the sick people, giving life again to the declared dead person, calming storms, etc. All the miracles performed by Jesus came from God. Are all churches real? Not all churches are real. Elephant shared in his article that the real churches are those where the worshippers are singing with the same voice, moving in the same direction, without confusion, and seek God for salvation. Real churches are those with true worshippers. True worshippers of God are poor in hearts seeking God and left everything behind just to follow God with one purpose, salvation. Is there any false church or prophet? There are so many false churches and prophets even during the time of Jesus Christ. False church is look like a market place where there are lots of confusions; people are seeking God for material things not salvation. Yes, there were false prophets as supported by Ezekiel 13, even God warn the people against false prophets and said to Ezekiel â€Å"These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions. Christians of today, your prophets are as useless as foxes living among the ruins of the city. They do not guard the places where the walls have crumbled, nor do they build the walls, and so the churches cannot be defended when war comes on the day of the Lord. Their visions are false, and their predictions are lies. They claim that they are speaking my message, but I have not sent them. Yet they expect their words to come true! I tell them: Those visions you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You say that they are my words, but I have not spoken to you†. Jeremiah was told by God to â€Å"Tell my people not to listen to what those false prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said. To the people who refuse to listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never touch him. † Is man a complicated creature? Why and why not? Man is a complicated creature because God has provided them everything, the life, the trees that produces foods they need. In Genesis 2:15-16, God even give man a companion in the presence of Eve. With a condition that he should not eat the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and bad because the punishment of death will be accorded to him by God. Man’s complication started when he disobey God. The complication continue when God give different languages to human beings and scattered them all over the world. It is hard to understand man because something else that God had no intention to create was created after eating the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. Man became a complicated creature and that is why we suffer, because we need to prove to God that we can be faithful and trusted once more. Our first parent chose to follow or listen to a stranger, the devil. He ignored the instruction of God, despite or everything provided to him by God.

Enager Industries Ltd Essay

Introduction Enager Industries Ltd (Enager) was a relatively young company whom manufactured and produced products/services within three divisions- Consumer Products, Industrial Products and Professional Services. Consumer Products, the oldest among the three divisions in Enager, designed, manufactured and marketed a line of houseware items. Industrial Products built one -of -a- kind machine tools to customer specifications. Professional Services, the newest among the three, provided several kinds of engineering services and this division had grown rapidly because of its capability to perform â€Å"environmental impact† studies. Each division was treated as an essentially independent company but all new project proposals requiring investment in excess of $1,500,000 had to be reviewed by the Chief Financial Officer, Henry Hubbard. Analysis Carl Randall, Enager’s president, had transformed the three distinctly separate divisions from being treated as profit centers into investment centers in 1992 at the urging of Henry Hubbard. The change enabled the three divisions to use ROA (Return on Assets) as a performance measure of the success of each division. The ROA was defined to be the division’s net income divided by its total assets the division used to generate its profits. The net income for a division was calculated by taking the division’s â€Å"direct income before taxes†, subtracting the division’s share of corporate administrative expenses and its share of income tax expenses. On the other hand, the total assets of a division was calculated by taking the division’s assets, including receivables and the allocated corporate-office assets, including the centrally controlled cash account, based on the basis of divisional revenues. In addition, all fixed assets were recorded at their balance sheet values- original cost less accumulated straight line depreciation. Based on these calculation techniques, the sum of divisional net income and assets were equal to the corporate net income and assets respectively. Hubbard believed that a company like Enager should have a gross return on assets, defined as equal to earnings before interest and taxes divided by assets, of at least 12 percent, given the interest rates the company had had to pay on its debt. He told each division manager that  the division was to try to earn a gross return of 12 percent and new investment proposals would have to show a return of at least 15 percent in order to be approved. The company had managed to increase its ROA from 5.2 percent to 5.7 percent and its gross return from 9.3 percent to 9.5 percent from 1991 to 1992. However, several issues arose with regard to this new method. First, there was a problem occurred between Sarah McNeils, the product development manager of Consumer Products Division, and Hubbard while her new proposal demonstrated a return of thirteen percent (calculated in Exhibit 1) at different point of selling prices and units, however, it was rejected by Hubbard because it did not meet the 15 percent return he had set for all divisions. Another problem that arose within Enager was between the Industrial Products Division, and the president. The problem occurred when the president was unsatisfied with the ROA of Industrial Products Division and tried to put pressure on the general manager of the division. A conflict arose between them when the division manager argued that the division could have achieved a better ROA if they had a lot of old assets as Consumer Products Division did. Furthermore, in 1993, ROA fell from 5.7 percent to 5.4 percent and gross return dropped from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent. However, at the same time, return on sales rose from 5.1 percent to 5.5 percent and return on owners’ equity also increased from 9.1 percent to 9.2 percent. Comparing the performance based on ROA in this year, Professional Services Division exceeded the 12 percent gross return target; Consumer Products Division’s gross ROA was 10.8 percent; the Industrial Products Division’s gross ROA was only 6.9 percent. The president was disappointed and puzzled about the results of ROA in 1993. I recognize that these problems were mainly resulted from inefficient use of ROA (Return on Assets) as a performance measurement method in Enager. Firstly, the president and the CFO should not set a target gross ROA rate of  15 percent for three different divisions that were obviously operating in different industries–Consumer Products Division produced a line of high volume low cost houseware items; Industrial Products Division was a large â€Å"job shop† who built one-of- kind machine tools to customer specifications, and Professional Services mainly provided engineering services. The three divisions had different amount of assets, nature of business and profitability and it is unreasonable to compare them with a fixed target rate of ROA. Second, the executives were making a mistake by using balance sheet values when calculating the fixed assets of each division. This had disadvantaged the divisions that contained more new assets with lesser depreciation values since ROA would be reduced due to a larger denominator resulted from higher values in assets. The president did not understand the comment from the manager of Industrial Products Division about the older a division’s assets would result in a higher ROA. And it was unfair to measure a division’s success based on the age of a division’s assets, and consequently, this would frustrate the manager in a division with a lot of new assets. Third, it was unreasonable to allocate corporation’s assets and expenses to divisional assets and net income based on revenue generated by the division. For example, if Professional Services Division was earning more than other two divisions, Professional Services’ return would be reduced by this inaccurate allocation method while more allocated corporate expenses would decrease the numerator and more allocated corporate assets would increase the denominator of the ROA calculation, subsequently, the ROA would not fully reflect division’s true performance. Recommendation and ImplementationCurrently, Enager is using ROA as a method of performance evaluation of the three divisions. As previously illustrated, this is an inefficient use of ROA since total divisional assets and net income are influenced by varying components. ROA in its current form does not paint an accurate picture of the overall performance of the company. For example, division contains more assets is obviously disadvantaged since their ROA would be subsided by a larger amount of denominator. In addition,  the company could not yield the highest revenues by setting a benchmark ROA rate in which all divisions are encouraged to attain. For example, McNeils’ proposal was rejected because it did not meet the 15 percent return required by Hubbard. However, McNeil’s proposal demonstrates a return of 13 percent, and favourable residual income at any point under the 13 percent Weighted Average Capital Cost. Enager had missed the opportunity to increase the earnin gs per share of the company due to incorrectly setting a target rate for all three divisions. The company could choose an alternative measure of divisional performance such as Balanced Scorecard. Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement system which measures a division’s activities in terms of its goals and strategies rather than a ratio like ROA. The management could obtain a broad-based view of the performance of a division from both divisional financial and non financial elements. In establishing the Balanced Scorecard, executives must choose a mix of measurements that accurately reflect the important factors that will determine the success of the divisional strategy; show the relationships among the individual measures in a cause-and-effect manner; and provide a comprehensive view of the current condition of the division. The Balanced Scorecard promotes a balance among different strategic measures in an effort to achieve goal congruence, thus fostering employees to act in the organization’s best interest. If Enager were to use Balanced Scorecard, divisions would be able to have the same profit objectives by focusing on the same goals of the company but not just focusing on a fixed target return rate. For example, by introducing Balanced Scorecard, this would allow McNeils to carry out her proposal that would benefit the company as a whole but may have a lowering impact on her divisional ROA. Another advantage of Balanced Scorecard, unlike ROA, is that the comprehensive value of the division is reflected in this method. This allows executives of Enager to better compare between divisions operated in different industries since the performance measurement system takes different perspectives such as financial, customer, internal business and innovation of the division into account. After analyzing the two alternatives I recommend that Enager implement  Balanced Scorecard method for their division performance measures. I feel that ROA reduces the comparability between divisions, limits expansion for the company and the individual divisions, and consequently it does not provide fair performance measurements for divisions and the company. For example, ROA fell from 5.7 percent to 5.4 percent from 1992 to 1993 but at the same time, return on sales rose from 5.1 percent to 5.5 percent and return on owners’ equity also increased from 9.1 percent to 9.2 percent. This suggests that ROA does not fully depict the true performance of the company. Balanced Scorecard, on the other hand, is a better method for Enager for assessing divisional performance because it effectively depicts performance from financial and non-financial perspectives. This is a better measurement method for Enager especially its divisions were operating in different industries. Furthermore, Balanced Scorecard promotes goal congruence because divisions will not only be working to better themselves, but the decisions that are made will benefit the company as a whole. ConclusionEnager Industries Ltd was a relatively young company whom manufactured and produced products/services within three divisions. The company was using ROA method in assessing divisional performance. There were a few problems and conflicts arose within the company due to inefficient use of ROA. Switching to Balanced Scorecard will help Enager obtain stronger goal congruency while alleviating some inefficiency in performance measure created by ROA. Robert N. (2007). â€Å"Management Control Systems†. McGraw-Hill: New York. American Accounting Association Financial Accounting Standards Committee. (2003, June). Implications of Accounting Research for the FASB’s Initatives on Disclosure of Information about Intangible Assets. Accounting Horizons, 17, 175-185. Retrieved January 19, 2007 from ABI-Inform. http://0-proquest.umi.com.darius.uleth.ca:80/pqdweb?did=356893801&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=12304&RQT=309&VName=PQDUpton, W.S. (2001, April). Business and Financial Reporting: Challenges from the New Economy. FASB Financial Accounting Series Special Report No. 219-A. Retrieved September 6, 2006 from