French and Indian War Essay

The French and Indian War altered the political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and American colonies. Ideologically, this War brought up resentment toward Britain this changed the political relationship between Britain and its colonists because the British were forced to unfairly tax them due to their debt. The French and Indian war transformed North America by only leaving the British and the colonists left in their region. Greedy as the British were they did not treat the colonists fair by taxing them lead to resentment that lead to the American Revolution. After the French and Indian War, North America completely changed. Before 1754 English, French, Spanish, and the Russians had a portion of North America that they had power over. After 1763 the French were completely left out and had no land at all. (Document A) This impacted Britain and American colonists politically because it lead to the Proclamation of 1763 where Native Americans believed that the white people were not allowed to settle in their land that they had inhabited for hundreds of years. (Document .B) Britain thought that with the proclamation everything would turn out great, but it did not it just angered the colonists. They were angry because they believed they had no freedom. After the French and Indian War, England had to pay off a huge debt that had been accumulating over the years. The only way they saw to pay this was to regulate trade meaning that they would have fully control and know who and what they are trading with, and to tax everything. Britain made these changes and angered the colonists even more because the colonists felt it was not fair that all of a sudden they started taxing everything. (Document F) Taxation had a huge impact on the economic relationship between the colonists and their mother country because many of these acts forced the Americans to ship their raw materials to Britain, only to later buy the finished products from them. Mercantilism was soon abandoned when the colonists rebelled. An act that really angered the colonists was the Stamp act. Colonists furious of these taxations used boycotting as their weapon, they practiced non-importation and non-consumption. Although hurting the colonists and the British, the British soon came to realize that they were not messing around.(Document G) Colonists coming together and boycotting these acts had a huge impact on the British ideological values. The colonists felt that taxation was another thing that they should be mad at the British for. It added more stuff to what was already going on. The colonists were already mad about the Proclomation and just taxing everything did not make colonists happier. The colonists soon came to understand that they had little to no freedom which lead to the idea of becoming independent. Thinking that they could stand on their own. They don’t need the British. (Document D) The French and Indian war brought up resentment toward the british this changed the political relationship between Britain and the colonists because of the taxation that the British put on everything. Colonists began to change their mindset from being one whole colony to believing that they could stand on their own and become independent thus leading to the Revolution.

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writers of literature, especially those in the genre of stories, used different types of themes and symbolisms to represent an idea and concept that is not directly mentioned by the writer. Most themes especially about life, human nature and society are implied rather than explicitly stated. It’s the writer’s choice if he or she would want to use figures, objects or characters to illustrate an abstract idea to create various realizations on the part of the readers. The aesthetics of literature depends on how the writer seamlessly and creatively associates symbolisms to the themes of the story. In the story Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he used the title as a symbol itself, the characters, and the Biblical allusions as a point of comparison to the consequences of sins happened in the story. The Scarlet letter is used as a significant symbolism of shame that often identify the main protagonist, Hester. The â€Å"letter† word in the story functions as the reminder of her sin. Hester’s adultery receives harsh judgment and retaliation from the self righteous Puritan community. Her sin excludes her in the society or in a pattern known as unity versus exclusion in literature. Hester single mistake in the past made her an outcast who automatically separated her from ordinary social interaction. In the beginning of the story in the episode of the marketplace, the â€Å"scarlet letter† â€Å"was so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of the spell, taking her out in the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself† (Robinson 104). Here, Hawthorne already revealed how the scarlet letter symbolizes Hester’s authenticity as a character and fate. The letter becomes â€Å"the object of severe and universal observation† in the Puritan community (Robinson 114). Moreover, Hester’s presence in the â€Å"crowd had been of such deep social interest† not because of her as a character but because of what the scarlet letter says about her past (Robinson 138). The Scarlet Letter symbolizes the community’s system of judgment and punishment that greatly used symbols and externals to question one’s morality. The scarlet letter in the story is a figurative thing intended to represent sin and a mark of shame. This figurative object went to her after the adultery she committed with Dimmesdale. The setting of the story belonged to a Puritan community who strictly follows the standard of morality. Hester’s adultery from this kind of society received harsh judgment and retaliation from the Puritan community. Despite the painful judgment, Hester chose to stay in the community because running away would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her. Scarlet Letter embodies Hester’s identity that was determined to create her own individuality rather than allowing others to determine it for her. She chose not to conform to the society’s rules and standard. She knows deep inside that she is more than her sins. Her sins were all part of her but the journey of life still continues. Scarlet Letter illustrates Hester’s acceptance of her sins. She admitted though that the letter is a mark of shame but removing the letter or running away would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her. Hester was a symbol for hope, restoration and transformation. The judgmental community unconsciously transformed and challenged her character to be compassionate and capable woman. Her pains made humble. Her innate good nature was fully expressed from her challenging yet sorrowful faith. The scarlet letter as a symbolism is all in connection to the twists and turns of the story as well as to the character. Pearl, Hester’s daughter also noticed that, her mother wear a scarlet letter among all the grown up women in the community. â€Å"Mother†, said the little Pearl, â€Å"the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom†¦ It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet! â€Å"Nor ever will my child, I hope†, said Hester. â€Å"And why not mother? † asked Pearl, stopping short†¦ â€Å"Will it not come of its accord, when I am a grown woman? † (Robinson). In this conversation, it highlights the reality that the scarlet letter is intended to represent sin and Pearl as a child doesn’t fully comprehend her mother’s peculiar situation. Pearl’s innocent and pointed questions create suspense since it makes the characters feel uncomfortable. Moreover her character illustrates perception and honesty that separates her from the corrupt minds of the adulthood. Pearl’s innocent questions motivated those people around her to think and to reflect on the truths that are often overlooked. Pearl herself is the embodiment of the scarlet letter and Hester accordingly clothes her in a â€Å"beautiful dress of scarlet, embroidered with gold thread, just like the scarlet letter upon Hester's bosom† (Robinson). Pearl illegitimacy in the story and as a product of sin mysteriously takes the consequences of her parents’ guilt. The story of the â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† can be compared to some of the stories mentioned in the Old Testament. The plot depicting the extreme portrayal of Puritanism can be compared to the way old people from the Bible regard shame, rules and order. Just like Adam and Eve, Hester and Dimmesdale’s sins particularly adultery separated them from the divine and community (the way Puritan community perceives it). Sins excluded and alienated them in the society. Dimmesdale and Hester’s state of sinfulness led them to personal growth, sympathy and speculation about human nature and larger moral questions. At the end, the inner wisdom that Hester accumulated from the judgmental community greatly benefited her character and sense of individuality. The scarlet letter for Hester according to Nathaniel Hawthorne in one of his interviews after the creation of this wonderful story â€Å"was her passport into regions where other women dared not to tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers—stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss†. Though the setting happened during Puritan community but the themes are timeless- judgmental society, personal responsibility and unconformity.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy

He strapped his roll to the saddle, his scarred fingers stiff and clumsy. â€Å"Ghost,† he called softly, â€Å"to me.† And the wolf was there, eyes like embers. â€Å"Jon, please. You must not do this.† He mounted, the reins in his hand, and wheeled the horse around to face the night. Samwell Tarly stood in the stable door, a full moon peering over his shoulder. He threw a giant’s shadow, immense and black. â€Å"Get out of my way, Sam.† â€Å"Jon, you can’t,† Sam said. â€Å"I won’t let you.† â€Å"I would sooner not hurt you,† Jon told him. â€Å"Move aside, Sam, or I’ll ride you down.† â€Å"You won’t. You have to listen to me. Please . . . â€Å" Jon put his spurs to horseflesh, and the mare bolted for the door. For an instant Sam stood his ground, his face as round and pale as the moon behind him, his mouth a widening O of surprise. At the last moment, when they were almost on him, he jumped aside as Jon had known he would, stumbled, and fell. The mare leapt over him, out into the night. Jon raised the hood of his heavy cloak and gave the horse her head. Castle Black was silent and still as he rode out, with Ghost racing at his side. Men watched from the Wall behind him, he knew, but their eyes were turned north, not south. No one would see him go, no one but Sam Tarly, struggling back to his feet in the dust of the old stables. He hoped Sam hadn’t hurt himself, falling like that. He was so heavy and so ungainly, it would be just like him to break a wrist or twist his ankle getting out of the way. â€Å"I warned him,† Jon said aloud. â€Å"It was nothing to do with him, anyway.† He flexed his burned hand as he rode, opening and closing the scarred fingers. They still pained him, but it felt good to have the wrappings off. Moonlight silvered the hills as he followed the twisting ribbon of the kingsroad. He needed to get as far from the Wall as he could before they realized he was gone. On the morrow he would leave the road and strike out overland through field and bush and stream to throw off pursuit, but for the moment speed was more important than deception. It was not as though they would not guess where he was going. The Old Bear was accustomed to rise at first light, so Jon had until dawn to put as many leagues as he could between him and the Wall . . . if Sam Tarly did not betray him. The fat boy was dutiful and easily frightened, but he loved Jon like a brother. If questioned, Sam would doubtless tell them the truth, but Jon could not imagine him braving the guards in front of the King’s Tower to wake Mormont from sleep. When Jon did not appear to fetch the Old Bear’s breakfast from the kitchen, they’d look in his cell and find Longclaw on the bed. It had been hard to abandon it, but Jon was not so lost to honor as to take it with him. Even Jorah Mormont had not done that, when he fled in disgrace. Doubtless Lord Mormont would find someone more worthy of the blade. Jon felt bad when he thought of the old man. He knew his desertion would be salt in the still-raw wound of his son’s disgrace. That seemed a poor way to repay him for his trust, but it couldn’t be helped. No matter what he did, Jon felt as though he were betraying someone. Even now, he did not know if he was doing the honorable thing. The southron had it easier. They had their septons to talk to, someone to tell them the gods’ will and help sort out right from wrong. But the Starks worshiped the old gods, the nameless gods, and if the heart trees heard, they did not speak. When the last lights of Castle Black vanished behind him, Jon slowed his mare to a walk. He had a long journey ahead and only the one horse to see him through. There were holdfasts and farming villages along the road south where he might be able to trade the mare for a fresh mount when he needed one, but not if she were injured or blown. He would need to find new clothes soon; most like, he’d need to steal them. He was clad in black from head to heel; high leather riding boots, roughspun breeches and tunic, sleeveless leather jerkin, and heavy wool cloak. His longsword and dagger were sheathed in black moleskin, and the hauberk and coif in his saddlebag were black ringmail. Any bit of it could mean his death if he were taken. A stranger wearing black was viewed with cold suspicion in every village and holdfast north of the Neck, and men would soon be watching for him. Once Maester Aemon’s ravens took flight, Jon knew he would find no safe haven. Not even at Winterfell. Bran might want to let him in, but Maester Luwin had better sense. He would bar the gates and send Jon away, as he should. Better not to call there at all. Yet he saw the castle clear in his mind’s eye, as if he had left it only yesterday; the towering granite walls, the Great Hall with its smells of smoke and dog and roasting meat, his father’s solar, the turret room where he had slept. Part of him wanted nothing so much as to hear Bran laugh again, to sup on one of Gage’s beef-and-bacon pies, to listen to Old Nan tell her tales of the children of the forest and Florian the Fool. But he had not left the Wall for that; he had left because he was after all his father’s son, and Robb’s brother. The gift of a sword, even a sword as fine as Longclaw, did not make him a Mormont. Nor was he Aemon Targaryen. Three times the old man had chosen, and three times he had chosen honor, but that was him. Even now, Jon could not decide whether the maester had stayed because he was weak and craven, or because he was strong and true. Yet he understood what the old man had meant, about the pain of choosing; he understood that all too well. Tyrion Lannister had claimed that most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it, but Jon was done with denials. He was who he was; Jon Snow, bastard and oathbreaker, motherless, friendless, and damned. For the rest of his life—however long that might be—he would be condemned to be an outsider, the silent man standing in the shadows who dares not speak his true name. Wherever he might go throughout the Seven Kingdoms, he would need to live a lie, lest every man’s hand be raised against him. But it made no matter, so long as he lived long enough to take his place by his brother’s side and help avenge his father. He remembered Robb as he had last seen him, standing in the yard with snow melting in his auburn hair. Jon would have to come to him in secret, disguised. He tried to imagine the look on Robb’s face when he revealed himself. His brother would shake his head and smile, and he’d say . . . he’d say . . . He could not see the smile. Hard as he tried, he could not see it. He found himself thinking of the deserter his father had beheaded the day they’d found the direwolves. â€Å"You said the words,† Lord Eddard had told him. â€Å"You took a vow, before your brothers, before the old gods and the new.† Desmond and Fat Tom had dragged the man to the stump. Bran’s eyes had been wide as saucers, and Jon had to remind him to keep his pony in hand. He remembered the look on Father’s face when Theon Greyjoy brought forth Ice, the spray of blood on the snow, the way Theon had kicked the head when it came rolling at his feet. He wondered what Lord Eddard might have done if the deserter had been his brother Benjen instead of that ragged stranger. Would it have been any different? It must, surely, surely . . . and Robb would welcome him, for a certainty. He had to, or else . . . It did not bear thinking about. Pain throbbed, deep in his fingers, as he clutched the reins. Jon put his heels into his horse and broke into a gallop, racing down the kingsroad, as if to outrun his doubts. Jon was not afraid of death, but he did not want to die like that, trussed and bound and beheaded like a common brigand. If he must perish, let it be with a sword in his hand, fighting his father’s killers. He was no true Stark, had never been one . . . but he could die like one. Let them say that Eddard Stark had fathered four sons, not three. Ghost kept pace with them for almost half a mile, red tongue lolling from his mouth. Man and horse alike lowered their heads as he asked the mare for more speed. The wolf slowed, stopped, watching, his eyes glowing red in the moonlight. He vanished behind, but Jon knew he would follow, at his own pace. Scattered lights flickered through the trees ahead of him, on both sides of the road: Mole’s Town. A dog barked as he rode through, and he heard a mule’s raucous haw from the stable, but otherwise the village was still. Here and there the glow of hearth fires shone through shuttered windows, leaking between wooden slats, but only a few. Mole’s Town was bigger than it seemed, but three quarters of it was under the ground, in deep warm cellars connected by a maze of tunnels. Even the whorehouse was down there, nothing on the surface but a wooden shack no bigger than a privy, with a red lantern hung over the door. On the Wall, he’d heard men call the whores â€Å"buried treasures.† He wondered whether any of his brothers in black were down there tonight, mining. That was oathbreaking too, yet no one seemed to care. Not until he was well beyond the village did Jon slow again. By then both he and the mare were damp with sweat. He dismounted, shivering, his burned hand aching. A bank of melting snow lay under the trees, bright in the moonlight, water trickling off to form small shallow pools. Jon squatted and brought his hands together, cupping the runoff between his fingers. The snowmelt was icy cold. He drank, and splashed some on his face, until his cheeks tingled. His fingers were throbbing worse than they had in days, and his head was pounding too. I am doing the right thing, he told himself, so why do I feel so bad? The horse was well lathered, so Jon took the lead and walked her for a while. The road was scarcely wide enough for two riders to pass abreast, its surface cut by tiny streams and littered with stone. That run had been truly stupid, an invitation to a broken neck. Jon wondered what had gotten into him. Was he in such a great rush to die? Off in the trees, the distant scream of some frightened animal made him look up. His mare whinnied nervously. Had his wolf found some prey? He cupped his hands around his mouth. â€Å"Ghost!† he shouted. â€Å"Ghost, to me.† The only answer was a rush of wings behind him as an owl took flight. Frowning, Jon continued on his way. He led the mare for half an hour, until she was dry. Ghost did not appear. Jon wanted to mount up and ride again, but he was concerned about his missing wolf. â€Å"Ghost,† he called again. â€Å"Where are you? To me! Ghost!† Nothing in these woods could trouble a direwolf, even a half-grown direwolf, unless . . . no, Ghost was too smart to attack a bear, and if there was a wolf pack anywhere close Jon would have surely heard them howling. He should eat, he decided. Food would settle his stomach and give Ghost the chance to catch up. There was no danger yet; Castle Black still slept. In his saddlebag, he found a biscuit, a piece of cheese, and a small withered brown apple. He’d brought salt beef as well, and a rasher of bacon he’d filched from the kitchens, but he would save the meat for the morrow. After it was gone he’d need to hunt, and that would slow him. Jon sat under the trees and ate his biscuit and cheese while his mare grazed along the kingsroad. He kept the apple for last. It had gone a little soft, but the flesh was still tart and juicy. He was down to the core when he heard the sounds: horses, and from the north. Quickly Jon leapt up and strode to his mare. Could he outrun them? No, they were too close, they’d hear him for a certainty, and if they were from Castle Black . . . He led the mare off the road, behind a thick stand of grey-green sentinels. â€Å"Ouiet now,† he said in a hushed voice, crouching down to peer through the branches. If the gods were kind, the riders would pass by. Likely as not, they were only smallfolk from Mole’s Town, farmers on their way to their fields, although what they were doing out in the middle of the night . . . He listened to the sound of hooves growing steadily louder as they trotted briskly down the kingsroad. From the sound, there were five or six of them at the least. Their voices drifted through the trees. † . . . certain he came this way?† â€Å"We can’t be certain.† â€Å"He could have ridden east, for all you know. Or left the road to cut through the woods. That’s what I’d do.† â€Å"In the dark? Stupid. If you didn’t fall off your horse and break your neck, you’d get lost and wind up back at the Wall when the sun came up.† â€Å"I would not.† Grenn sounded peeved. â€Å"I’d just ride south, you can tell south by the stars.† â€Å"What if the sky was cloudy?† Pyp asked. â€Å"Then I wouldn’t go.† Another voice broke in. â€Å"You know where I’d be if it was me? I’d be in Mole’s Town, digging for buried treasure.† Toad’s shrill laughter boomed through the trees. Jon’s mare snorted. â€Å"Keep quiet, all of you,† Haider said. â€Å"I thought I heard something.† â€Å"Where? I didn’t hear anything.† The horses stopped. â€Å"You can’t hear yourself fart.† â€Å"I can too,† Grenn insisted. â€Å"Quiet!† They all fell silent, listening. Jon found himself holding his breath. Sam, he thought. He hadn’t gone to the Old Bear, but he hadn’t gone to bed either, he’d woken the other boys. Damn them all. Come dawn, if they were not in their beds, they’d be named deserters too. What did they think they were doing? The hushed silence seemed to stretch on and on. From where Jon crouched, he could see the legs of their horses through the branches. Finally Pyp spoke up. â€Å"What did you hear?† â€Å"I don’t know,† Haider admitted. â€Å"A sound, I thought it might have been a horse but . . . â€Å" â€Å"There’s nothing here.† Out of the corner of his eye, Jon glimpsed a pale shape moving through the trees. Leaves rustled, and Ghost came bounding out of the shadows, so suddenly that Jon’s mare started and gave a whinny. â€Å"There!† Halder shouted. â€Å"I heard it too!† â€Å"Traitor,† Jon told the direwolf as he swung up into the saddle. He turned the mare’s head to slide off through the trees, but they were on him before he had gone ten feet. â€Å"Jon!† Pyp shouted after him. â€Å"Pull up,† Grenn said. â€Å"You can’t outrun us all.† Jon wheeled around to face them, drawing his sword. â€Å"Get back. I don’t wish to hurt you, but I will if I have to.† â€Å"One against seven?† Halder gave a signal. The boys spread out, surrounding him. â€Å"What do you want with me?† Jon demanded. â€Å"We want to take you back where you belong,† Pyp said. â€Å"I belong with my brother.† â€Å"We’re your brothers now,† Grenn said. â€Å"They’ll cut off your head if they catch you, you know,† Toad put in with a nervous laugh. â€Å"This is so stupid, it’s like something the Aurochs would do.† â€Å"I would not,† Grenn said. â€Å"I’m no oathbreaker. I said the words and I meant them.† â€Å"So did I,† Jon told them. â€Å"Don’t you understand? They murdered my father. It’s war, my brother Robb is fighting in the riverlands—† â€Å"We know,† said Pyp solemnly. â€Å"Sam told us everything.† â€Å"We’re sorry about your father,† Grenn said, â€Å"but it doesn’t matter. Once you say the words, you can’t leave, no matter what.† â€Å"I have to,† Jon said fervently. â€Å"You said the words,† Pyp reminded him. â€Å"Now my watch begins, you said it. It shall not end until my death.† â€Å"I shall live and die at my post,† Grenn added, nodding. â€Å"You don’t have to tell me the words, I know them as well as you do.† He was angry now. Why couldn’t they let him go in peace? They were only making it harder. â€Å"I am the sword in the darkness,† Halder intoned. â€Å"The watcher on the walls,† piped Toad. Jon cursed them all to their faces. They took no notice. Pyp spurred his horse closer, reciting, â€Å"I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.† â€Å"Stay back,† Jon warned him, brandishing his sword. â€Å"I mean it, Pyp.† They weren’t even wearing armor, he could cut them to pieces if he had to. Matthar had circled behind him. He joined the chorus. â€Å"I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch.† Jon kicked his mare, spinning her in a circle. The boys were all around him now, closing from every side. â€Å"For this night . . . † Halder trotted in from the left. † . . . and all the nights to come,† finished Pyp. He reached over for Jon’s reins. â€Å"So here are your choices. Kill me, or come back with me.† Jon lifted his sword . . . and lowered it, helpless. â€Å"Damn you,† he said. â€Å"Damn you all.† â€Å"Do we have to bind your hands, or will you give us your word you’ll ride back peaceful?† asked Halder. â€Å"I won’t run, if that’s what you mean.† Ghost moved out from under the trees and Jon glared at him. â€Å"Small help you were,† he said. The deep red eyes looked at him knowingly. â€Å"We had best hurry,† Pyp said. â€Å"If we’re not back before first light, the Old Bear will have all our heads.† Of the ride back, Jon Snow remembered little. It seemed shorter than the journey south, perhaps because his mind was elsewhere. Pyp set the pace, galloping, walking, trotting, and then breaking into another gallop. Mole’s Town came and went, the red lantern over the brothel long extinguished. They made good time. Dawn was still an hour off when Jon glimpsed the towers of Castle Black ahead of them, dark against the pale immensity of the Wall. It did not seem like home this time. They could take him back, Jon told himself, but they could not make him stay. The war would not end on the morrow, or the day after, and his friends could not watch him day and night. He would bide his time, make them think he was content to remain here . . . and then, when they had grown lax, he would be off again. Next time he would avoid the kingsroad. He could follow the Wall east, perhaps all the way to the sea, a longer route but a safer one. Or even west, to the mountains, and then south over the high passes. That was the wildling’s way, hard and perilous, but at least no one wouid follow him. He wouldn’t stray within a hundred leagues of Winterfell or the kingsroad. Samwell Tarly awaited them in the old stables, slumped on the ground against a bale of hay, too anxious to sleep. He rose and brushed himself off. â€Å"I . . . I’m glad they found you, Jon.† â€Å"I’m not,† Jon said, dismounting. Pyp hopped off his horse and looked at the lightening sky with disgust. â€Å"Give us a hand bedding down the horses, Sam,† the small boy said. â€Å"We have a long day before us, and no sleep to face it on, thanks to Lord Snow.† When day broke, Jon walked to the kitchens as he did every dawn. Three-Finger Hobb said nothing as he gave him the Old Bear’s breakfast. Today it was three brown eggs boiled hard, with fried bread and ham steak and a bowl of wrinkled plums. Jon carried the food back to the King’s Tower. He found Mormont at the window seat, writing. His raven was walking back and forth across his shoulders, muttering, â€Å"Corn, corn, corn.† The bird shrieked when Jon entered. â€Å"Put the food on the table,† the Old Bear said, glancing up. â€Å"I’ll have some beer.† Jon opened a shuttered window, took the flagon of beer off the outside ledge, and filled a horn. Hobb had given him a lemon, still cold from the Wall. Jon crushed it in his fist. The juice trickled through his fingers. Mormont drank lemon in his beer every day, and claimed that was why he still had his own teeth. â€Å"Doubtless you loved your father,† Mormont said when Jon brought him his horn. â€Å"The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember when I told you that?† â€Å"I remember,† Jon said sullenly. He did not care to talk of his father’s death, not even to Mormont. â€Å"See that you never forget it. The hard truths are the ones to hold tight. Fetch me my plate. Is it ham again? So be it. You look weary. Was your moonlight ride so tiring?† Jon’s throat was dry. â€Å"You know?† â€Å"Know,† the raven echoed from Mormont’s shoulder. â€Å"Know.† The Old Bear snorted. â€Å"Do you think they chose me Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch because I’m dumb as a stump, Snow? Aemon told me you’d go. I told him you’d be back. I know my men . . . and my boys too. Honor set you on the kingsroad . . . and honor brought you back.† â€Å"My friends brought me back,† Jon said. â€Å"Did I say it was your honor?† Mormont inspected his plate. â€Å"They killed my father. Did you expect me to do nothing?† â€Å"If truth be told, we expected you to do just as you did.† Mormont tried a plum, spit out the pit. â€Å"I ordered a watch kept over you., You were seen leaving. If your brothers had not fetched you back, you would have been taken along the way, and not by friends. Unless you have a horse with wings like a raven. Do you?† â€Å"No.† Jon felt like a fool. â€Å"Pity, we could use a horse like that.† Jon stood tall. He told himself that he would die well; that much he could do, at the least. â€Å"I know the penalty for desertion, my lord. I’m not afraid to die.† â€Å"Die!† the raven cried. â€Å"Nor live, I hope,† Mormont said, cutting his ham with a dagger and feeding a bite to the bird. â€Å"You have not deserted—yet. Here you stand. If we beheaded every boy who rode to Mole’s Town in the night, only ghosts would guard the Wall. Yet maybe you mean to flee again on the morrow, or a fortnight from now. Is that it? Is that your hope, boy?† Jon kept silent. â€Å"I thought so.† Mormont peeled the shell off a boiled egg. â€Å"Your father is dead, lad. Do you think you can bring him back?† â€Å"No,† he answered, sullen. â€Å"Good,† Mormont said. â€Å"We’ve seen the dead come back, you and me, and it’s not something I care to see again.† He ate the egg in two bites and flicked a bit of shell out from between his teeth. â€Å"Your brother is in the field with all the power of the north behind him. Any one of his lords bannermen commands more swords than you’ll find in all the Night’s Watch. Why do you imagine that they need your help? Are you such a mighty warrior, or do you carry a grumkin in your pocket to magic up your sword?† Jon had no answer for him. The raven was pecking at an egg, breaking the shell. Pushing his beak through the hole, he pulled out morsels of white and yoke. The Old Bear sighed. â€Å"You are not the only one touched by this war. Like as not, my sister is marching in your brother’s host, her and those daughters of hers, dressed in men’s mail. Maege is a hoary old snark, stubborn, short-tempered, and willful. Truth be told, I can hardly stand to be around the wretched woman, but that does not mean my love for her is any less than the love you bear your half sisters.† Frowning, Mormont took his last egg and squeezed it in his fist until the shell crunched. â€Å"Or perhaps it does. Be that as it may, I’d still grieve if she were slain, yet you don’t see me running off. I said the words, just as you did. My place is here . . . where is yours, boy?† I have no place, Jon wanted to say, I’m a bastard, I have no rights, no name, no mother, and now not even a father. The words would not come. â€Å"I don’t know.† â€Å"I do,† said Lord Commander Mormont. â€Å"The cold winds are rising, Snow. Beyond the Wall, the shadows lengthen. Cotter Pyke writes of vast herds of elk, streaming south and east toward the sea, and mammoths as well. He says one of his men discovered huge, misshapen footprints not three leagues from Eastwatch. Rangers from the Shadow Tower have found whole villages abandoned, and at night Ser Denys says they see fires in the mountains, huge blazes that burn from dusk till dawn. Quorin Halfhand took a captive in the depths of the Gorge, and the man swears that Mance Rayder is massing all his people in some new, secret stronghold he’s found, to what end the gods only know. Do you think your uncle Benjen was the only ranger we’ve lost this past year?† â€Å"Ben Jen,† the raven squawked, bobbing its head, bits of egg dribbling from its beak. â€Å"Ben Jen. Ben Jen.† â€Å"No,† Jon said. There had been others. Too many. â€Å"Do you think your brother’s war is more important than ours?† the old man barked. Jon chewed his lip. The raven flapped its wings at him. â€Å"War, war, war, war,† it sang. â€Å"It’s not,† Mormont told him. â€Å"Gods save us, boy, you’re not blind and you’re not stupid. When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?† â€Å"No.† Jon had not thought of it that way. â€Å"Your lord father sent you to us, Jon. Why, who can say?† â€Å"Why? Why? Why?† the raven called. â€Å"All I know is that the blood of the First Men flows in the veins of the Starks. The First Men built the Wall, and it’s said they remember things otherwise forgotten. And that beast of yours . . . he led us to the wights, warned you of the dead man on the steps. Ser Jaremy would doubtless call that happenstance, yet Ser Jaremy is dead and I’m not.† Lord Mormont stabbed a chunk of ham with the point of his dagger. â€Å"I think you were meant to be here, and I want you and that wolf of yours with us when we go beyond the Wall.† His words sent a chill of excitement down Jon’s back. â€Å"Beyond the Wall?† â€Å"You heard me. I mean to find Ben Stark, alive or dead.† He chewed and swallowed. â€Å"I will not sit here meekly and wait for the snows and the ice winds. We must know what is happening. This time the Night’s Watch will ride in force, against the King-beyond-the-Wall, the Others, and anything else that may be out there. I mean to command them myself.† He pointed his dagger at Jon’s chest. â€Å"By custom, the Lord Commander’s steward is his squire as well . . . but I do not care to wake every dawn wondering if you’ve run off again. So I will have an answer from you, Lord Snow, and I will have it now. Are you a brother of the Night’s Watch . . . or only a bastard boy who wants to play at war?† Jon Snow straightened himself and took a long deep breath. Forgive me, Father. Robb, Arya, Bran . . . forgive me, I cannot help you. He has the truth of it. This is my place. â€Å"I am . . . yours, my lord. Your man. I swear it. I will not run again.† The Old Bear snorted. â€Å"Good. Now go put on your sword.† A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy He strapped his roll to the saddle, his scarred fingers stiff and clumsy. â€Å"Ghost,† he called softly, â€Å"to me.† And the wolf was there, eyes like embers. â€Å"Jon, please. You must not do this.† He mounted, the reins in his hand, and wheeled the horse around to face the night. Samwell Tarly stood in the stable door, a full moon peering over his shoulder. He threw a giant’s shadow, immense and black. â€Å"Get out of my way, Sam.† â€Å"Jon, you can’t,† Sam said. â€Å"I won’t let you.† â€Å"I would sooner not hurt you,† Jon told him. â€Å"Move aside, Sam, or I’ll ride you down.† â€Å"You won’t. You have to listen to me. Please . . . â€Å" Jon put his spurs to horseflesh, and the mare bolted for the door. For an instant Sam stood his ground, his face as round and pale as the moon behind him, his mouth a widening O of surprise. At the last moment, when they were almost on him, he jumped aside as Jon had known he would, stumbled, and fell. The mare leapt over him, out into the night. Jon raised the hood of his heavy cloak and gave the horse her head. Castle Black was silent and still as he rode out, with Ghost racing at his side. Men watched from the Wall behind him, he knew, but their eyes were turned north, not south. No one would see him go, no one but Sam Tarly, struggling back to his feet in the dust of the old stables. He hoped Sam hadn’t hurt himself, falling like that. He was so heavy and so ungainly, it would be just like him to break a wrist or twist his ankle getting out of the way. â€Å"I warned him,† Jon said aloud. â€Å"It was nothing to do with him, anyway.† He flexed his burned hand as he rode, opening and closing the scarred fingers. They still pained him, but it felt good to have the wrappings off. Moonlight silvered the hills as he followed the twisting ribbon of the kingsroad. He needed to get as far from the Wall as he could before they realized he was gone. On the morrow he would leave the road and strike out overland through field and bush and stream to throw off pursuit, but for the moment speed was more important than deception. It was not as though they would not guess where he was going. The Old Bear was accustomed to rise at first light, so Jon had until dawn to put as many leagues as he could between him and the Wall . . . if Sam Tarly did not betray him. The fat boy was dutiful and easily frightened, but he loved Jon like a brother. If questioned, Sam would doubtless tell them the truth, but Jon could not imagine him braving the guards in front of the King’s Tower to wake Mormont from sleep. When Jon did not appear to fetch the Old Bear’s breakfast from the kitchen, they’d look in his cell and find Longclaw on the bed. It had been hard to abandon it, but Jon was not so lost to honor as to take it with him. Even Jorah Mormont had not done that, when he fled in disgrace. Doubtless Lord Mormont would find someone more worthy of the blade. Jon felt bad when he thought of the old man. He knew his desertion would be salt in the still-raw wound of his son’s disgrace. That seemed a poor way to repay him for his trust, but it couldn’t be helped. No matter what he did, Jon felt as though he were betraying someone. Even now, he did not know if he was doing the honorable thing. The southron had it easier. They had their septons to talk to, someone to tell them the gods’ will and help sort out right from wrong. But the Starks worshiped the old gods, the nameless gods, and if the heart trees heard, they did not speak. When the last lights of Castle Black vanished behind him, Jon slowed his mare to a walk. He had a long journey ahead and only the one horse to see him through. There were holdfasts and farming villages along the road south where he might be able to trade the mare for a fresh mount when he needed one, but not if she were injured or blown. He would need to find new clothes soon; most like, he’d need to steal them. He was clad in black from head to heel; high leather riding boots, roughspun breeches and tunic, sleeveless leather jerkin, and heavy wool cloak. His longsword and dagger were sheathed in black moleskin, and the hauberk and coif in his saddlebag were black ringmail. Any bit of it could mean his death if he were taken. A stranger wearing black was viewed with cold suspicion in every village and holdfast north of the Neck, and men would soon be watching for him. Once Maester Aemon’s ravens took flight, Jon knew he would find no safe haven. Not even at Winterfell. Bran might want to let him in, but Maester Luwin had better sense. He would bar the gates and send Jon away, as he should. Better not to call there at all. Yet he saw the castle clear in his mind’s eye, as if he had left it only yesterday; the towering granite walls, the Great Hall with its smells of smoke and dog and roasting meat, his father’s solar, the turret room where he had slept. Part of him wanted nothing so much as to hear Bran laugh again, to sup on one of Gage’s beef-and-bacon pies, to listen to Old Nan tell her tales of the children of the forest and Florian the Fool. But he had not left the Wall for that; he had left because he was after all his father’s son, and Robb’s brother. The gift of a sword, even a sword as fine as Longclaw, did not make him a Mormont. Nor was he Aemon Targaryen. Three times the old man had chosen, and three times he had chosen honor, but that was him. Even now, Jon could not decide whether the maester had stayed because he was weak and craven, or because he was strong and true. Yet he understood what the old man had meant, about the pain of choosing; he understood that all too well. Tyrion Lannister had claimed that most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it, but Jon was done with denials. He was who he was; Jon Snow, bastard and oathbreaker, motherless, friendless, and damned. For the rest of his life—however long that might be—he would be condemned to be an outsider, the silent man standing in the shadows who dares not speak his true name. Wherever he might go throughout the Seven Kingdoms, he would need to live a lie, lest every man’s hand be raised against him. But it made no matter, so long as he lived long enough to take his place by his brother’s side and help avenge his father. He remembered Robb as he had last seen him, standing in the yard with snow melting in his auburn hair. Jon would have to come to him in secret, disguised. He tried to imagine the look on Robb’s face when he revealed himself. His brother would shake his head and smile, and he’d say . . . he’d say . . . He could not see the smile. Hard as he tried, he could not see it. He found himself thinking of the deserter his father had beheaded the day they’d found the direwolves. â€Å"You said the words,† Lord Eddard had told him. â€Å"You took a vow, before your brothers, before the old gods and the new.† Desmond and Fat Tom had dragged the man to the stump. Bran’s eyes had been wide as saucers, and Jon had to remind him to keep his pony in hand. He remembered the look on Father’s face when Theon Greyjoy brought forth Ice, the spray of blood on the snow, the way Theon had kicked the head when it came rolling at his feet. He wondered what Lord Eddard might have done if the deserter had been his brother Benjen instead of that ragged stranger. Would it have been any different? It must, surely, surely . . . and Robb would welcome him, for a certainty. He had to, or else . . . It did not bear thinking about. Pain throbbed, deep in his fingers, as he clutched the reins. Jon put his heels into his horse and broke into a gallop, racing down the kingsroad, as if to outrun his doubts. Jon was not afraid of death, but he did not want to die like that, trussed and bound and beheaded like a common brigand. If he must perish, let it be with a sword in his hand, fighting his father’s killers. He was no true Stark, had never been one . . . but he could die like one. Let them say that Eddard Stark had fathered four sons, not three. Ghost kept pace with them for almost half a mile, red tongue lolling from his mouth. Man and horse alike lowered their heads as he asked the mare for more speed. The wolf slowed, stopped, watching, his eyes glowing red in the moonlight. He vanished behind, but Jon knew he would follow, at his own pace. Scattered lights flickered through the trees ahead of him, on both sides of the road: Mole’s Town. A dog barked as he rode through, and he heard a mule’s raucous haw from the stable, but otherwise the village was still. Here and there the glow of hearth fires shone through shuttered windows, leaking between wooden slats, but only a few. Mole’s Town was bigger than it seemed, but three quarters of it was under the ground, in deep warm cellars connected by a maze of tunnels. Even the whorehouse was down there, nothing on the surface but a wooden shack no bigger than a privy, with a red lantern hung over the door. On the Wall, he’d heard men call the whores â€Å"buried treasures.† He wondered whether any of his brothers in black were down there tonight, mining. That was oathbreaking too, yet no one seemed to care. Not until he was well beyond the village did Jon slow again. By then both he and the mare were damp with sweat. He dismounted, shivering, his burned hand aching. A bank of melting snow lay under the trees, bright in the moonlight, water trickling off to form small shallow pools. Jon squatted and brought his hands together, cupping the runoff between his fingers. The snowmelt was icy cold. He drank, and splashed some on his face, until his cheeks tingled. His fingers were throbbing worse than they had in days, and his head was pounding too. I am doing the right thing, he told himself, so why do I feel so bad? The horse was well lathered, so Jon took the lead and walked her for a while. The road was scarcely wide enough for two riders to pass abreast, its surface cut by tiny streams and littered with stone. That run had been truly stupid, an invitation to a broken neck. Jon wondered what had gotten into him. Was he in such a great rush to die? Off in the trees, the distant scream of some frightened animal made him look up. His mare whinnied nervously. Had his wolf found some prey? He cupped his hands around his mouth. â€Å"Ghost!† he shouted. â€Å"Ghost, to me.† The only answer was a rush of wings behind him as an owl took flight. Frowning, Jon continued on his way. He led the mare for half an hour, until she was dry. Ghost did not appear. Jon wanted to mount up and ride again, but he was concerned about his missing wolf. â€Å"Ghost,† he called again. â€Å"Where are you? To me! Ghost!† Nothing in these woods could trouble a direwolf, even a half-grown direwolf, unless . . . no, Ghost was too smart to attack a bear, and if there was a wolf pack anywhere close Jon would have surely heard them howling. He should eat, he decided. Food would settle his stomach and give Ghost the chance to catch up. There was no danger yet; Castle Black still slept. In his saddlebag, he found a biscuit, a piece of cheese, and a small withered brown apple. He’d brought salt beef as well, and a rasher of bacon he’d filched from the kitchens, but he would save the meat for the morrow. After it was gone he’d need to hunt, and that would slow him. Jon sat under the trees and ate his biscuit and cheese while his mare grazed along the kingsroad. He kept the apple for last. It had gone a little soft, but the flesh was still tart and juicy. He was down to the core when he heard the sounds: horses, and from the north. Quickly Jon leapt up and strode to his mare. Could he outrun them? No, they were too close, they’d hear him for a certainty, and if they were from Castle Black . . . He led the mare off the road, behind a thick stand of grey-green sentinels. â€Å"Ouiet now,† he said in a hushed voice, crouching down to peer through the branches. If the gods were kind, the riders would pass by. Likely as not, they were only smallfolk from Mole’s Town, farmers on their way to their fields, although what they were doing out in the middle of the night . . . He listened to the sound of hooves growing steadily louder as they trotted briskly down the kingsroad. From the sound, there were five or six of them at the least. Their voices drifted through the trees. † . . . certain he came this way?† â€Å"We can’t be certain.† â€Å"He could have ridden east, for all you know. Or left the road to cut through the woods. That’s what I’d do.† â€Å"In the dark? Stupid. If you didn’t fall off your horse and break your neck, you’d get lost and wind up back at the Wall when the sun came up.† â€Å"I would not.† Grenn sounded peeved. â€Å"I’d just ride south, you can tell south by the stars.† â€Å"What if the sky was cloudy?† Pyp asked. â€Å"Then I wouldn’t go.† Another voice broke in. â€Å"You know where I’d be if it was me? I’d be in Mole’s Town, digging for buried treasure.† Toad’s shrill laughter boomed through the trees. Jon’s mare snorted. â€Å"Keep quiet, all of you,† Haider said. â€Å"I thought I heard something.† â€Å"Where? I didn’t hear anything.† The horses stopped. â€Å"You can’t hear yourself fart.† â€Å"I can too,† Grenn insisted. â€Å"Quiet!† They all fell silent, listening. Jon found himself holding his breath. Sam, he thought. He hadn’t gone to the Old Bear, but he hadn’t gone to bed either, he’d woken the other boys. Damn them all. Come dawn, if they were not in their beds, they’d be named deserters too. What did they think they were doing? The hushed silence seemed to stretch on and on. From where Jon crouched, he could see the legs of their horses through the branches. Finally Pyp spoke up. â€Å"What did you hear?† â€Å"I don’t know,† Haider admitted. â€Å"A sound, I thought it might have been a horse but . . . â€Å" â€Å"There’s nothing here.† Out of the corner of his eye, Jon glimpsed a pale shape moving through the trees. Leaves rustled, and Ghost came bounding out of the shadows, so suddenly that Jon’s mare started and gave a whinny. â€Å"There!† Halder shouted. â€Å"I heard it too!† â€Å"Traitor,† Jon told the direwolf as he swung up into the saddle. He turned the mare’s head to slide off through the trees, but they were on him before he had gone ten feet. â€Å"Jon!† Pyp shouted after him. â€Å"Pull up,† Grenn said. â€Å"You can’t outrun us all.† Jon wheeled around to face them, drawing his sword. â€Å"Get back. I don’t wish to hurt you, but I will if I have to.† â€Å"One against seven?† Halder gave a signal. The boys spread out, surrounding him. â€Å"What do you want with me?† Jon demanded. â€Å"We want to take you back where you belong,† Pyp said. â€Å"I belong with my brother.† â€Å"We’re your brothers now,† Grenn said. â€Å"They’ll cut off your head if they catch you, you know,† Toad put in with a nervous laugh. â€Å"This is so stupid, it’s like something the Aurochs would do.† â€Å"I would not,† Grenn said. â€Å"I’m no oathbreaker. I said the words and I meant them.† â€Å"So did I,† Jon told them. â€Å"Don’t you understand? They murdered my father. It’s war, my brother Robb is fighting in the riverlands—† â€Å"We know,† said Pyp solemnly. â€Å"Sam told us everything.† â€Å"We’re sorry about your father,† Grenn said, â€Å"but it doesn’t matter. Once you say the words, you can’t leave, no matter what.† â€Å"I have to,† Jon said fervently. â€Å"You said the words,† Pyp reminded him. â€Å"Now my watch begins, you said it. It shall not end until my death.† â€Å"I shall live and die at my post,† Grenn added, nodding. â€Å"You don’t have to tell me the words, I know them as well as you do.† He was angry now. Why couldn’t they let him go in peace? They were only making it harder. â€Å"I am the sword in the darkness,† Halder intoned. â€Å"The watcher on the walls,† piped Toad. Jon cursed them all to their faces. They took no notice. Pyp spurred his horse closer, reciting, â€Å"I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.† â€Å"Stay back,† Jon warned him, brandishing his sword. â€Å"I mean it, Pyp.† They weren’t even wearing armor, he could cut them to pieces if he had to. Matthar had circled behind him. He joined the chorus. â€Å"I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch.† Jon kicked his mare, spinning her in a circle. The boys were all around him now, closing from every side. â€Å"For this night . . . † Halder trotted in from the left. † . . . and all the nights to come,† finished Pyp. He reached over for Jon’s reins. â€Å"So here are your choices. Kill me, or come back with me.† Jon lifted his sword . . . and lowered it, helpless. â€Å"Damn you,† he said. â€Å"Damn you all.† â€Å"Do we have to bind your hands, or will you give us your word you’ll ride back peaceful?† asked Halder. â€Å"I won’t run, if that’s what you mean.† Ghost moved out from under the trees and Jon glared at him. â€Å"Small help you were,† he said. The deep red eyes looked at him knowingly. â€Å"We had best hurry,† Pyp said. â€Å"If we’re not back before first light, the Old Bear will have all our heads.† Of the ride back, Jon Snow remembered little. It seemed shorter than the journey south, perhaps because his mind was elsewhere. Pyp set the pace, galloping, walking, trotting, and then breaking into another gallop. Mole’s Town came and went, the red lantern over the brothel long extinguished. They made good time. Dawn was still an hour off when Jon glimpsed the towers of Castle Black ahead of them, dark against the pale immensity of the Wall. It did not seem like home this time. They could take him back, Jon told himself, but they could not make him stay. The war would not end on the morrow, or the day after, and his friends could not watch him day and night. He would bide his time, make them think he was content to remain here . . . and then, when they had grown lax, he would be off again. Next time he would avoid the kingsroad. He could follow the Wall east, perhaps all the way to the sea, a longer route but a safer one. Or even west, to the mountains, and then south over the high passes. That was the wildling’s way, hard and perilous, but at least no one wouid follow him. He wouldn’t stray within a hundred leagues of Winterfell or the kingsroad. Samwell Tarly awaited them in the old stables, slumped on the ground against a bale of hay, too anxious to sleep. He rose and brushed himself off. â€Å"I . . . I’m glad they found you, Jon.† â€Å"I’m not,† Jon said, dismounting. Pyp hopped off his horse and looked at the lightening sky with disgust. â€Å"Give us a hand bedding down the horses, Sam,† the small boy said. â€Å"We have a long day before us, and no sleep to face it on, thanks to Lord Snow.† When day broke, Jon walked to the kitchens as he did every dawn. Three-Finger Hobb said nothing as he gave him the Old Bear’s breakfast. Today it was three brown eggs boiled hard, with fried bread and ham steak and a bowl of wrinkled plums. Jon carried the food back to the King’s Tower. He found Mormont at the window seat, writing. His raven was walking back and forth across his shoulders, muttering, â€Å"Corn, corn, corn.† The bird shrieked when Jon entered. â€Å"Put the food on the table,† the Old Bear said, glancing up. â€Å"I’ll have some beer.† Jon opened a shuttered window, took the flagon of beer off the outside ledge, and filled a horn. Hobb had given him a lemon, still cold from the Wall. Jon crushed it in his fist. The juice trickled through his fingers. Mormont drank lemon in his beer every day, and claimed that was why he still had his own teeth. â€Å"Doubtless you loved your father,† Mormont said when Jon brought him his horn. â€Å"The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember when I told you that?† â€Å"I remember,† Jon said sullenly. He did not care to talk of his father’s death, not even to Mormont. â€Å"See that you never forget it. The hard truths are the ones to hold tight. Fetch me my plate. Is it ham again? So be it. You look weary. Was your moonlight ride so tiring?† Jon’s throat was dry. â€Å"You know?† â€Å"Know,† the raven echoed from Mormont’s shoulder. â€Å"Know.† The Old Bear snorted. â€Å"Do you think they chose me Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch because I’m dumb as a stump, Snow? Aemon told me you’d go. I told him you’d be back. I know my men . . . and my boys too. Honor set you on the kingsroad . . . and honor brought you back.† â€Å"My friends brought me back,† Jon said. â€Å"Did I say it was your honor?† Mormont inspected his plate. â€Å"They killed my father. Did you expect me to do nothing?† â€Å"If truth be told, we expected you to do just as you did.† Mormont tried a plum, spit out the pit. â€Å"I ordered a watch kept over you., You were seen leaving. If your brothers had not fetched you back, you would have been taken along the way, and not by friends. Unless you have a horse with wings like a raven. Do you?† â€Å"No.† Jon felt like a fool. â€Å"Pity, we could use a horse like that.† Jon stood tall. He told himself that he would die well; that much he could do, at the least. â€Å"I know the penalty for desertion, my lord. I’m not afraid to die.† â€Å"Die!† the raven cried. â€Å"Nor live, I hope,† Mormont said, cutting his ham with a dagger and feeding a bite to the bird. â€Å"You have not deserted—yet. Here you stand. If we beheaded every boy who rode to Mole’s Town in the night, only ghosts would guard the Wall. Yet maybe you mean to flee again on the morrow, or a fortnight from now. Is that it? Is that your hope, boy?† Jon kept silent. â€Å"I thought so.† Mormont peeled the shell off a boiled egg. â€Å"Your father is dead, lad. Do you think you can bring him back?† â€Å"No,† he answered, sullen. â€Å"Good,† Mormont said. â€Å"We’ve seen the dead come back, you and me, and it’s not something I care to see again.† He ate the egg in two bites and flicked a bit of shell out from between his teeth. â€Å"Your brother is in the field with all the power of the north behind him. Any one of his lords bannermen commands more swords than you’ll find in all the Night’s Watch. Why do you imagine that they need your help? Are you such a mighty warrior, or do you carry a grumkin in your pocket to magic up your sword?† Jon had no answer for him. The raven was pecking at an egg, breaking the shell. Pushing his beak through the hole, he pulled out morsels of white and yoke. The Old Bear sighed. â€Å"You are not the only one touched by this war. Like as not, my sister is marching in your brother’s host, her and those daughters of hers, dressed in men’s mail. Maege is a hoary old snark, stubborn, short-tempered, and willful. Truth be told, I can hardly stand to be around the wretched woman, but that does not mean my love for her is any less than the love you bear your half sisters.† Frowning, Mormont took his last egg and squeezed it in his fist until the shell crunched. â€Å"Or perhaps it does. Be that as it may, I’d still grieve if she were slain, yet you don’t see me running off. I said the words, just as you did. My place is here . . . where is yours, boy?† I have no place, Jon wanted to say, I’m a bastard, I have no rights, no name, no mother, and now not even a father. The words would not come. â€Å"I don’t know.† â€Å"I do,† said Lord Commander Mormont. â€Å"The cold winds are rising, Snow. Beyond the Wall, the shadows lengthen. Cotter Pyke writes of vast herds of elk, streaming south and east toward the sea, and mammoths as well. He says one of his men discovered huge, misshapen footprints not three leagues from Eastwatch. Rangers from the Shadow Tower have found whole villages abandoned, and at night Ser Denys says they see fires in the mountains, huge blazes that burn from dusk till dawn. Quorin Halfhand took a captive in the depths of the Gorge, and the man swears that Mance Rayder is massing all his people in some new, secret stronghold he’s found, to what end the gods only know. Do you think your uncle Benjen was the only ranger we’ve lost this past year?† â€Å"Ben Jen,† the raven squawked, bobbing its head, bits of egg dribbling from its beak. â€Å"Ben Jen. Ben Jen.† â€Å"No,† Jon said. There had been others. Too many. â€Å"Do you think your brother’s war is more important than ours?† the old man barked. Jon chewed his lip. The raven flapped its wings at him. â€Å"War, war, war, war,† it sang. â€Å"It’s not,† Mormont told him. â€Å"Gods save us, boy, you’re not blind and you’re not stupid. When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?† â€Å"No.† Jon had not thought of it that way. â€Å"Your lord father sent you to us, Jon. Why, who can say?† â€Å"Why? Why? Why?† the raven called. â€Å"All I know is that the blood of the First Men flows in the veins of the Starks. The First Men built the Wall, and it’s said they remember things otherwise forgotten. And that beast of yours . . . he led us to the wights, warned you of the dead man on the steps. Ser Jaremy would doubtless call that happenstance, yet Ser Jaremy is dead and I’m not.† Lord Mormont stabbed a chunk of ham with the point of his dagger. â€Å"I think you were meant to be here, and I want you and that wolf of yours with us when we go beyond the Wall.† His words sent a chill of excitement down Jon’s back. â€Å"Beyond the Wall?† â€Å"You heard me. I mean to find Ben Stark, alive or dead.† He chewed and swallowed. â€Å"I will not sit here meekly and wait for the snows and the ice winds. We must know what is happening. This time the Night’s Watch will ride in force, against the King-beyond-the-Wall, the Others, and anything else that may be out there. I mean to command them myself.† He pointed his dagger at Jon’s chest. â€Å"By custom, the Lord Commander’s steward is his squire as well . . . but I do not care to wake every dawn wondering if you’ve run off again. So I will have an answer from you, Lord Snow, and I will have it now. Are you a brother of the Night’s Watch . . . or only a bastard boy who wants to play at war?† Jon Snow straightened himself and took a long deep breath. Forgive me, Father. Robb, Arya, Bran . . . forgive me, I cannot help you. He has the truth of it. This is my place. â€Å"I am . . . yours, my lord. Your man. I swear it. I will not run again.† The Old Bear snorted. â€Å"Good. Now go put on your sword.†

Tennessee Williams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tennessee Williams - Research Paper Example In 1939, he became the youngest playwright to receive the $1,000 Rockefeller Grant. In 1944, his play The Glass Menagerie had a very successful run in Chicago and a year later in Broadway. This first major critical success was followed by many other Broadway hits such as plays like A Streetcar Named Desire, Summer and Smoke, and A Rose Tattoo. In 1948 he received his first Pulitzer Prize for A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1955, his Cat on a Hot Tin Roof earned him his second Pulitzer Prize. In 1950 and 1951 his works The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire were made into motion pictures. This made him reach out to a worldwide audience. His association with movie legends, according to, Darryl E. Haley, â€Å"establishes the playwright as one of the most important figures in the twentieth-century drama†. Tennessee Williams fell in love with Frank Merlo in 1947. She was a steadying influence in Williams rather disordered life. However, in 1961, she died of lung cancer and Williams went into a deep depression that lasted for ten years. According to Mel Gussow (1983), â€Å"it, was 1955, and after Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, there was a noticeable decline in his work. To keep going, he began relying on a ritualistic combination of ingredients -strong coffee, cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol†. In 1983, on February 24, Tennessee Williams choked to death. According to reports he choked on an eye drop bottle cap at the Hotel Elysee in New York. However, the police report suggested that it was his use of drugs and alcohol that contributed to his death. He was buried in St. Louis, Missouri. On his death, Marlon Brando said, ‘‘I always felt like Tennessee and I were compatriots. He told the truth as best he perceived it and never turned away from things that beset or frightened him. We are all diminished by his death. Williams in his lifetime wrote twenty-five full-length plays, dozens of short plays and screenplays, sixty short stories, more than hundred poems, two novels, a novella and an autobiography.

Manage Factoring and invoice Discounting Agreements Assignment

Manage Factoring and invoice Discounting Agreements - Assignment Example With the (personal property security act) PPSA, there could be an interest in the assurance of ABC PTY Company to pay Azure PTY Company in the supplies it made to them. In addition, that could be like an interest in the trade registrar for the supplies that could be paid for by the ABC PTY Company although there were delays in the government agency to offer the invoice payment in time. Incase the collateral is transferred, the first company to have the financial statement (Factorific) will take the position of the collateral of ABC PTY Company and it will have the first priority. For the creditors in the company whose credit has been solved the priority is given to the first holder of the interest then followed by the holder of the second interest. For the people who purchase negotiable instruments, chattel paper and negotiable documents the priority will first on the purchaser’s interest to have the priority in relation to the security interest in the goods and services negotiated. For the execution creditors, they always have the first chance to have the interest than the unperfected interests. This is only excepted when the same collateral has no the perfect time which subsection does not cover. If ABC PTY Company follows the right procedure and use the right security agency the issue will be solves and the business between ABC PTY Company and Azure PTY Company will be

Capstone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 3

Capstone - Research Paper Example To put it briefly, study intends to illustrate the impact of the company’s mission, vision, and primary stakeholders on its overall success. In addition, the study conducts SWOT analysis for the company to determine its major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In the subsequent phase, the study discusses the various levels and types of strategies the firm may use to maximize its competitiveness and profitability. The study further outlines the communication plan for the company for devising strategies as well as it attempts to evaluate the managerial action based on the two corporate governance mechanism. Finally, the study presents recommendations for improving leadership within the company and assesses the impact of the company as a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen on bottom line supported with specific examples. The statement of mission and vision of the company are the core value that gives an idea about the identity and the reasons for its existence in the market. The company has established a clear statement that communicates its goals and objectives to stakeholders. It also supports the decision making process of the company (Alter, 2000). The mission statement of the company delineates the fundamental purpose for its existence. The impact of the company’s mission and vision is clearly apparent in its operations and decisions made by the top-level managers. The company in alignment with its mission and vision focuses on the demand of the consumers so that the highest customer’s satisfaction is delivered. The company aims to provide best stories according to the customer’s need and expectation to ensure growth and increase its profitability while producing films and news coverage that are widely appreciated by the customers. At the same time, the primary stakeholders of the company are constantly engaged in decision-making process with the aim of ensuring financial stability and enduring innovation necessary for operating

Globalization & Multinational Corporation Term Paper

Globalization & Multinational Corporation - Term Paper Example In the first paper, for instance, the author looks deep into the key features that characterized both the Industrial Revolution and the Great Divergence. The author considers the divergence that occurred in the 19th century. By constructing a trade/growth model. The paper compares the trade styles, technology and industrial growth between the north and south regions in this era of divergence. The second paper on the other hand significantly presents a multi-country theory of economic growth. This growth is related to how different countries are connected in terms of trade and exchanges. Since the stated growth is directly related to the human practice and knowledge accumulation, the paper revisits The Great divergence in relation to how specific countries connect to the rest of the world and how these networks contributed to the phenomenon. The third paper is rather specific, focusing on the issue of transportation cost as a factor that affected The Great Divergence. The paper focuses directly on the effects of transportation cost in different trade sectors. In an inquiry fashion, the paper specifically addresses how the reduction in transportation costs of industrial goods. The paper recognizes that such a reduction is related to an enhanced convergence of economic growth rates. The papers relate directly to the issues affecting economic growth in many countries in the world. Currently, economic growth is directly related to trade and the costs of movement. In addition, these costs and trade depends on the connections and the networks that exist between the specific country and the rest of the world. Globalization and multinational corporations are a direct expression of this network. Since this is a current issue in business, the papers therefore bring out an interesting relationship between The Great Divergence and the current status of economy and globalization. My motivation for choosing the papers is therefore

Prevention and Management of Unstable Angina Essay

Prevention and Management of Unstable Angina - Essay Example (NIH, 2011) Unstable angina additionally can happen with or without physical effort, and rest or pharmaceutical may not alleviate the agony. (NIH, 2011)Unstable angina is exceptionally hazardous and obliges crisis medicine. (NIH, 2011) This kind of angina is a sign that a heart assault may happen soon. (NIH, 2011) â€Å"Coronary artery disease due to atherosclerosis is by far the most common cause of unstable angina† (Dugdale, 2012) Atherosclerosis is the development of greasy material called plaque along the dividers of the arteries. This makes the arteries which are the supply routes to get limited and less adaptable. (Dugdale, 2012)The narrowing interferes with blood flow to the heart, bringing on chest pains and discomfort. Individuals with precarious angina are at expanded danger of having a heart attack. (Dugdale, 2012) In the most recent decade, a great deal of data has been aggregated on the measurements of the issue of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and its hazard calculates in Spain. (Marrugat et al, 2002) IHD keeps on being the essential driver of death in men and the third most critical reason for death in ladies, being in charge of 11% and 10% of passing in men and ladies, individually, in 1997. (Marrugat et al, 2002)The frequency of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (number of new cases/100 000 occupants and year) in the Spanish population age 35 to 64 years is among the most reduced in the world and appears to have settled in the last 10-15 years. (Marrugat et al, 2002) This information appears differently in relation to the observation imparted by numerous doctors that the amount of patients being seen for IHD in hospitals is expanding. (Marrugat et al, 2002) This impression is affirmed by the discoveries of hospital dreariness detail, which demonstrate that the amount of patients released alive or perished with the diagnosis of IHD passed from 30 032 in 1977 to 94 124 in 1993. (Marrugat et al, 2002) Hemingway et

Careers & Career Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Careers & Career Management - Term Paper Example The purpose of career management is to support the people in achieving their aims and goals. Career management program involves a number of human resource management concepts which assist individuals in enhancing their performance through reviews and feedbacks. It enables individuals in identifying their skills and implementing them for their benefit along with the progression of the organization at large. This will assist them in developing a correct career path as per their capability and knowledge. The success of the individuals depends on the selection of the correct principles and guidelines which would enrich their skills. It is often observed that career success and career failure depends on certain decisive factors within the career path of an individual that ultimately create the difference (Public Service Commission, â€Å"Defining Career Management†). Correspondingly, the objective of the paper is to understand the reason behind the success and the failure of a pers on depending on the career management aspects. The importance of career management and the positive outcome are also evaluated in this paper. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUCCESS STORY OF ALAN MULALLY Alan Mulally is the present Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ford Motor Company. He is as an American engineer by education who has attained unparalleled success in his careers in Ford Motors and the Boeing Company. He became the CEO and the President of the Ford Motor Company in the year 2006. Before his career with Ford Motors, he was the President and CEO of Boeing from September 1998 to September 5, 2006. He was responsible for the working and service deliverance by Boeing (Bloomberg Business Week, â€Å"Alan R. Mulally†). Alan Mulally is a graduate from the University of Kansas. He had a degree in the aeronautical and astronautical engineering and is also a management degree holder which he completed in 1982. He started his professional career in Boeing just immediately after he was out from his college as an engineer. He contributed in the progress of the company through his ideas and hard work. He demonstrated his hard work through making designs which were benefiting the company. Through his dedication, attitude and thoughtfulness, he soon became the Vice President for his project work on 777. In a little while, he was promoted as the Senior Vice President as he displayed his skills and knowledge of engineering in his work. His interests, focus towards the company, along with depiction of knowledge and skills had been driving him towards success. Subsequently, through his entrepreneurship, values and communication skills, he became the CEO of the company. The objective of the company and his individual skills were allowing him to flourish as the key decision maker within the organization. Through his perception and a clear mind-set, he has always remained aware of the needs and wants from his professional life (Bloomberg Business Week, â€Å"Alan R. Mul ally†). The contribution of Alan Mulally in Boeing through his efficiency and storing vision acted as key factor in bestowing him with the role of CEO in Ford Motors in the year 2006. He was appointed as the CEO to save the company from the financial crunch it was facing. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his contribution along with leadership style, and for which he has been awarded with the â€Å"

Aviation Exploratory Essay Where is really the Safest Place to Sit and

Aviation Exploratory Where is really the Safest Place to Sit and Why - Essay Example Inevitably, I believe that in the event I am on a plane that crashes, I guess it really won't matter where I'm sitting. So why does the thought always come to my mind I have to admit I have never really set out to research the topic. It seems I fly, arrive and return safely, and like probably the majority of the population, do not consider it at any other time. We all, I believe, assume that safety is present and take for granted that the likelihood that it 'will happen to me'. I know I am not alone in this question. We have all heard friends and family talk about it. The front is safest or the back or over the wings. How do people really know And for that matter is there really any place on a plane that is safe. If you are 40,000 feet in the air and the plane loses power will sitting in the front seat or the last seat really make a difference I would assume probably not. We have all heard about the terrible plane crashes with no survivors. I think that is what probably scares us the most - the sheer number of people that are killed as a result of a single accident. When reading one of those stories, inevitably, it is mentioned that flying is safer than driving. That statistically is easy enough to determine, but it still does not answer my question. The question that has baffled me though is where on the plane to sit. I allow all of the possible scenarios of what could happen to run through my mind. I have just about convinced myself that in the case of a plane at cruising altitude crashing, there is really not much hope of anyone being able to survive. However, all these theories make it apparent that people do survive crashes and the events leading up to the crash must play a part in whether one survives or not. Take offs and landings, in thinking about the question, probably would be the two main situations where your seat placement would be most critical in the event of a crash. Logic is telling me that being in the front in a crash landing is probably the most dangerous place to be, but again that most likely depends on each individual event. However, if speaking in generalities, the back sounds like the safest place to be sitting. Take-offs have me more baffled although if the plane makes it off the ground, again, the fro nt would probably be the most dangerous place to be sitting If I really intend to find the answer to the question sitting here and debating with myself is going to get me no closer to finding the answer to my question. So where do I begin The first place that comes to my mind is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The government agency that investigates all the plane crashes seems the logical place to start. I have never been to their website, and, truthfully, do not think they will have the answer to my question posted there, but reading through the pages will hopefully, give me ideas on where to look next. I have already considered the possibility of doing a general search online for airplane safety, and that is what I will do if I do not find useful information or links at the FAA site. However, the thought of such a broad search will probably leave me with millions of sites to sift through. Starting at a known, credible source makes more sense to me, and, if nothing else may shed some light on ways, at least, I can limit a general search. With that I am off to the FAA website. Hopefully, searching FAA will give me their link; and twenty seconds later it did. The first thing I did when I arrived at the FAA home page was to look at how it was set up. Several of the main pages look promising - Data and

How Cases Should Be Decided Essay Example for Free

How Cases Should Be Decided Essay From the discussions and court observations, it is my considered view that decisions of cases filed in court should be best determined by the application of judicially defined principles and legislative enactments and should not merely depend on ad hoc decisions made by juries. The concept of jury trial is as old as humanity. It is basically a proceeding in which decisions and findings of facts of a given case are determined by a jury. Juries, upon the other hand are selected to represent the cross-sections of the community (Hale Star V, McCormick, 2000, p. 20-21). Thus, juries are often regarded as â€Å"peers of the accused† because they belong to the same community where the accused also lives. Jury trial are designed to provide a means of interjecting community norms and values to the judicial proceedings by providing opportunities for the members of the community to validate and test the applicability of the communities statute. However, in today’s generation, taking into consideration the major changes in our society and including its emerging complexities, I posit that the jury system failed to catch up to the judicial needs of cases filed before the courts of justice. It is my considered view that decisions arrived by juries are no longer that applicable in today’s generation because I believe that the justice system should be composed of people who have deep knowledge and experience in the field of law. By using the jury system we are in fact placing the burden of judgment on the mind of an average and untrained citizen. Often times, persons selected as jurors have no legal expertise. In my visit to courts, I observed that the jurors are average citizens and I doubt if they really have an in depth knowledge in law and jurisprudence. Thus, having no sufficient legal knowledge, they can get easily swayed and persuaded by clever lawyers who trained themselves to confuse and mislead the jurors through their colorful languages and speeches. Another reason why I aver that decisions should no longer be placed to the hands of a jury is that, jurors have the tendency to be swayed by prejudice through application of racial considerations, gender orientations and biases. In the court trial I saw, I observed that the jurors are not at all diverse in race, sex or age. Thus, the fate of an accused or the person in court is left to the hands of a layman that is often guided by his own personal biases and beliefs regarding his own creed, religion, sex, age and race. Lastly, I believe that the jury system is no longer viable in today’s courts because of the realities that are present in the system, which is the picking of the jury is no longer as objective as it were before. Thus, more often we end up with jurors, just like the juries I have seen in my visit to courts, to be bored, without interest and just sitting there. Worthy taking note that the integrity of judiciary rests not only upon the fact that it is able to administer justice but also upon the perception and confidence of the community that the people who run the system have done justice. At times, the strict application of law may in fact, do justice but it may not necessarily create confidence among the people that justice indeed is served. Hence, in order to create such confidence, the people who run the judiciary, particularly the person or the people who will hear and decide the case, must not only be proficient in both the substantive and procedural aspects of the law but most importantly, they must possess the highest integrity, probity and unquestionable moral uprightness, both in their public and private lives. Then and only then, can the people, including the writer, be reassured that the wheels of justice in our country run with fairness and equity, thus, creating confidence in the judicial system. Reference Hale Star V, McCormick, 2000, Jury Selection, p. 20-21.

Five Pillars of Islam Essay Example for Free

Five Pillars of Islam Essay What are the central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the Five Pillars† (McInerney, 2003)? Which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be easiest to fulfill, and which would be the most challenging (McInerney, 2003)? Monotheism is one of the main central beliefs of Islam. This is the belief that there is only one God and that God is Allah. The Islam’s believe that their purpose for humanity is to only serve their God Allah and to construct a moral lifestyle. The five pillars are considered obligatory for all Muslims to follow. The five pillars can be found within the Qur’an which is Islam’s holy book. The first pillar is the shahadah. The Shahadah is the accepting that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Islamic culture believes that the prophet Muhammad is the founder of Islam’s faith. The second pillar is the daily prayers. In order to do this a Muslim must be in a state of ritual purity. One must prayer at least five times within a day. Muslims believe that doing so will bring them closer to God and they will be able to learn more about him. The third pillar is the fasting during Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the Islamic month for fasting. Muslims have to avoid any type of drinking, eating and sexual relations from dawn until sunset. This is done in order for Muslims to learn about patience, humanity, and spirituality. The fourth pillar is called alms giving which is the giving of 2. 5 percent of one’s annual earnings to the poor and needy. Lastly, the fifth pillar is the pilgrimage to Mecca. This is a core practice and must be carried out at least once in a Muslims lifetime. The fourth pillar which consists of giving 2. percent of one’s annual pay to the poor and needy would be one of the easiest pillars for me to follow. I think everyone should do this. I’m a Christian and every Sunday that I go to church I always give to the needy whether its five dollars or two dollars that I have on me at the time. My religion believes that by giving we will receive blessings from our God. The pillar that would be difficult for me to follow would have to be pillar number three which is fasting. This would be difficult for me because I always have to be drinking water. I am also anemic and if I don’t eat after a while I tend to black out.

The importance of employer branding

The importance of employer branding Terms of references This report highlights the rising awareness for the development of Employer Branding concept and its benefits for the organisations in present competitive labour market. The conflict between effective employer branding and employees rights and satisfaction toward organization has been examined in this report with specific focus on the unethical and controlling effect. Introduction: Employer branding is the perception of employees about an organization as a place to work. Its designed for motivating and securing employees alignment with the vision and values of the organizations. From the HR perspective the concept was subsumed the older term INTERNAL BRANDING that was essentially the process of communicating an organizations brand value to its employee. Employer branding The concept of EMPLOYER BRANDING was created in the 1990s by Simon Barrow, who founded People in Business (now part of TMP Worldwide) and was the co-author of The Employer Brand. 1 In the past, Barrow had been a consumer goods brand manager and headed up an advertising agency in London, but later became the chief executive of a recruitment agency. He was immediately struck by the similarities between the challenges faced in promoting consumer goods and in publicising the strengths of an organisations employee proposition. Both, he recognised, required a strong brand, and so the concept of employer branding was conceived. He defined employer branding as a set of attributes which make the employees feel more close to the company and take pride of being associated with the company they work for. Employer branding is in essence the mental setup of an employee where he or she receives mental satisfaction in the same manner as when he or she uses a product of a preferred brand. Employer branding is therefore a set of attitudes, as well as an array of activities and features enabling the process of branding to be more effective. They could be psychological (behaviour of superiors), economic (compensation package, benefits) or functional (potential to grow, job assigned according to capability). These definitions indicate that employer branding means promoting and building an identity and a clear view of what makes an organization different and desirable as an employer. It has similarities with product and corporate branding but the key difference is its more employment specific. Recruitment and employer branding Developing an employer brand is a combination of adopting vision, values, and behaviours, and delivering a service that shows commitment to best practice and service excellence. It begins with the recruitment process that offers number of tools that can be used to create perceptions of an employing organization, these tools are: Job advertisement and description Interview process Offer letters Information pack for new recruiters Employee handbooks Induction and training. The recruitment process is an important way to build a positive relationship between the organization and employee. Throughout the procedure, the organization can create a strong and positive view about them; even it can be extended to unsuccessful candidates as well. When employees have accepted the sincerity and accuracy of the employer brand, they will carry it forward, actively promoting the brand to colleagues and customers. However, employer branding which is basically untruthful will not work and is likely to be counter-productive. Benefits of Employer Branding Long-term impact: Successful employer brand can have a positive impact on recruiting for a considerable amount of time while considering any Major PR issues. Increased volume of spontaneous candidates: The number of applicants tends to increase each year as the employer branding gets stronger. Cases of a 500% increase of applications have also been observed. Increase in quality of the applicants: The quality of candidates will also improve dramatically; individuals who never would have considered in the past will start applying. Higher offer-acceptance rates: The rate of acceptance increase proportionately with the increase of image and goodwill of the company. Higher Employee Motivation: Employees can be easily motivated, or will stay motivated longer in the company because of the perceived pride in working for the company, and better management practices (generally) that is tied-in with the companys brand image, thus making it a company people work for because they chose. A stronger corporate culture: Employment branding can help strengthen firms corporate culture because of the inertia it gains from the very essence of employer branding; making a company desirable to work for. Diminished negative publicity and image: Effective branding can pinpoint problems by dealing with negative comments and preparing effective counter measurers. Increased manager satisfaction: As a direct result of increased interest from more able and proficient applicants, the managers will have more time for managerial functions as the demand to devote more time to recruitment process will decrease with the quality of the applicant group. Healthy competition: Employer branding is similar to product branding. Hence to keep a company desirable, it has to update its UPS and keep up with its promise of delivery. This increases healthy competition and also makes the companies better by the minute. Increased shareholder value: The ripple effect of the companys goodwill via employer branding can also positively impact a firms stock price. Support for the product brand: If a company has a brilliant brand image, it is more likely that its product will reap the benefits of it and be branded automatically. This helps especially when the company launches a new product. The brand essence should summarize what the brand stands for, becoming the nucleus for product development, all communications and even HR initiatives for employees. Its definition should also be consistent with the corporate vision/mission and values. For example, Volvo is a good example of a brand description is Volvo â€Å"Style, driving pleasure and superior ownership experience while celebrating human values and respecting the environment.† Volvos values and associations reflecting this brand identity are what are considered to be typically Scandinavian e.g. â€Å"nature, security and health, human values, elegant simplicity, creative engineeringand the spirit of stylish/innovative functionality†. For Volvo, this description not only mirrors the psycho-graphic profile of the ideal customer for their cars, but also summarizes what Volvo as a company means to all its workers its employer brand. These are intrinsic values that Volvo workers can relate to, what they believe in and why they feel comfortable making a commitment to their jobs. One can easily visualize the types of HR programs that would inspire a sense of pride and re-enforce these intangibles e.g. nature, health, security and other meaningful human values. ‘Living the brand LIVING THE BRAND is identifying with an organizations brand value to such an extent that employees behaviours fit exactly to the image that the business is trying to portray to its customers (Alan Price 2007). The alignment between employees behaviour and value of organizations brand image is very important. It is suggested that organisations need to ensure that there is no gap between what the organisation is saying in the outside world and what people believe inside the business. The employees should be perceived as Brand ambassador and brand marketing would only be successful if they LIVE THE BRAND. From this perspective: Organizations have encouraged employees to â€Å"buy in† to the business vision and values. They have to ensure that everyone in the organization clearly understand the purpose of the common set of values. According to Ind (2004), the themes discussed are likely to be of interest to HR and marketing practitioners as well as those involved in internal communications within organisations. Employees themselves are expected to internalise features and aspects of the organisations brand to ensure that they become brand champions, thus helping to represent to organisations brand to the outside customers. Such an approach immediately raises some interesting problems relating to equality and diversity as it expects each employee to share a particular set of values and act in accordance with these values. The employee branding approach being recommended by Ind raises a number of challenges for those interested in an equality and diversity agenda. An organisation that aims to ensure that employees are living the brand will specifically aim to attract and recruit employees who already share the values of the corporate brand. Furthermore, those already employed within the organisation will be encouraged to internalise the values of the organisation. Clearly, there are problems for encouraging diversity here, with one of the principles of diversity management being an acceptance and recognition that people are different and individual differences (especially of values) should be welcomed. Inherently, a living the brand focus is likely to go against such a principle. Ind makes the point that encouraging employee identification and commitment to the organisations brand values might deny an expression of individuality. However, Ind suggests that internal branding combined with allowing emplo yees to be empowered will enable freedom with order. Denial of individuality (dress code policy) When it comes to professional image, many employers are realising that Standards of dress and personal presentation are essential thus having a policy on dress code can be important. Where the employees meet customers, they act as the shop window for the company and the benefits of presentable appearance are obvious. However, even where the employees work is internal, there are less tangible benefits such as: Creating a team atmosphere, Engendering standards of professionalism, and Creating a corporate image. As employers are realising this, they are paying more attention to the appearance of their employees and the image and perception of the business dress, grooming and personal hygiene are all part and parcel of this. However, the issue of work place dress codes can be highly controversial. It is vital that employers are aware of the discrimination issues that dress codes can create. Issues with work place dress codes In organisations with uniforms, the issues can be more wide ranging. For instance, at the Greater Manchester Police Force, bureaucracy and unwillingness to accept change has hampered the introduction of hijabs for Muslim women. At Inchcape Fleet Solutions where all 140 non-senior staffs are provided with polo shirts or blouses branded with the company logo the style of the uniform does not suit all staff and most do not like wearing it. This would affect their moods at work and consequently affect their performance. Complaints of discrimination Furthermore, a complaint was raised informally by the staff forum of child trust fund provider Family Investments and relates to the fact that women can wear trousers that are not full length, while men cannot. Employees have requested that the company allows shorts to be worn, as long as they are below the knee Also, in September 2006, a British Airways worker has been suspended and attended an appeal over wearing a cross at work at Heathrow Airport. She claims the suspension is discriminatory, especially since the airline allows Sikh employees to wear traditional iron bangles and Muslim workers to wear headscarves.BA has said it will review its uniform policy in light of the media storm the story has provoked.Employer branding and discrimination law There are three areas of discrimination relevant to dress code policy: Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Religious or Belief Regulations 2003 Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Sex discrimination and dress codes There is the obvious potential for sex discrimination in any dress code, which sets different requirements for men and women. Past claims have challenged policies that: women must wear skirts men should not have long hair Men must wear a collar and tie. The case of Matthew Thompson who objected to the dress code imposed by the Department for Work Pensions at his place of work, a job centre in Stockport, can also be a good example. Mr Thompson claimed that the dress code discriminated against male employees as they were forced to wear a collar and tie whereas female employees could wear T-shirts to work. The Employment Tribunal found in favour of Mr Thompson stating that the dress code was discriminatory as the requirement to wear a collar and tie was gender based and there were no items of clothing that were imposed on women in the same office. From the Thompson case, it became clear that employers should be careful in the way that they draft their dress codes. Employers are not prevented from imposing dress codes that require employees to wear specified items of clothing as long as the code is drafted in such a way as to be even-handed between men and women. For example, jobs in the City, the current convention is for both men and women to wear suits. The convention is that a man should wear a tie with a suit but the same does not apply to a woman. A dress code requiring a smart suit could apply to both sexes but be enforced in a non-discriminatory manner appropriate for each sex. Religion/belief discrimination and dress codes A dress code that requires employees to act in a way contrary to their religious beliefs, risks being indirectly discriminatory. Thus, a dress code forbidding headgear will be discriminatory to male Sikhs, who must wear a turban. The best way to avoid these problems is to be as non-specific as possible. A widely worded dress code requiring smart appearance, with non-binding examples of suitable dress, cannot fall foul of specific clothing-related beliefs. To cross-check your dress code against the main religions clothing beliefs, refer to Acas Guide on Religion and Belief which has a useful chart at Appendix 2 (pages 40-50). It may be possible for employers to objectively justify a dress code contrary to any of these beliefs, if it can be done so objectively. For example, employees at a chocolate factory were successfully prohibited from having beards for health and safety reasons. However, employers should be very wary of relying on objective justification as the courts are reluctant to accept it. There may be a question mark in some cases whether a persons views are beliefs. According to Acas, Rastafarianism (which requires the wearing of a hat) is a belief system. Certain political beliefs or powerful sentiments such as patriotism (the wearing of an American flag badge) may or may not be regarded as beliefs. Employers should respect beliefs that are strongly held whether or not they are religious in nature. Disability discrimination and dress codes Disabled employees may not be able to comply with a dress code, for example, an employee with a neck injury unable to wear a tie. However, by and large, this need not affect the way the code is drafted; instead, employers should be sensitive in the enforcement of the dress code. In summary, employers should be quite a bit flexible when writing a policy on employee dress or appearance. Reasonable flexibility and sensitivity to the employees racial differences should be allowed in the dress code to make employees comfortable and any conflict and law suits, while meeting the Trust standard of Dress code. This view is echoed by organisations such as Broker Network, which believes that employees should be able to make their own judgments on what is best to wear. Many companies are now turning their backs on the concept of dress-down Fridays, opting instead to ditch smart business-wear every day of the week. A survey of 560 organisations has found that four out of five employers believe a more relaxed dress code leads to greater productivity. Nine out of 10 organisations that replied to the poll by the Peninsula employment law consultancy had declared ties an unnecessary part of their dress code. Conclusion The issues discussed above create a challenge for HR professionals involved in employee focused branding projects, especially those where employees are expected to share a specific set of values. That is that such initiatives will undoubtedly create a tension and potentially conflict with principles underlying an equality and diversity agenda. Inds suggestion that inside-out branding allows freedom and order remains unconvincing even when the employees are involved in constructing the brand values. An organisation that dictates a set of values for employees to internalise is still a homogenising force. Organisations that genuinely take diversity programmes seriously will have to tackle this tension. One possible way out of this conundrum is to include equality and diversity awareness as a key value included in the internal brand proposition. Recommendations Any guidelines should be carefully drafted, and employers are advised to treat any requests to dress contrary to the company code for religious or racial reasons with respect. Employers should consult the employee in question and discuss how to accommodate reasonable requests, and try to find a favourable solution. A tribunal will be more likely to be sympathetic to the employer where a policy is required for health and safety purposes, rather than simply to maintain a corporate image. Decide what restrictions on employees appearance are necessary and why. For example, teachers are expected to wear sensible footwear, suitable for the activities their job involves. Restrictions should not be excessive or unreasonable, for instance insisting on suits or ties in the office when employees are not customer-facing. Set out the guidelines clearly, and include the rationale behind any restrictions. Explain why restrictions may be placed on some employees but not others (for example, no body piercing for those operating heavy machinery for health and safety purposes, and those working within a cafà © of a supermarket may have stricter codes enforced on them than those who work in the same store, but dont come into direct contact with food). Give employees notice of when the policy will come into force. Allow employees a grace period before disciplining for non-compliance. Explain what will happen if employees are found to be in persistent breach of the policy (disciplinary action and, potentially, dismissal). Give the name of an individual that employees can talk to if they feel they cannot comply with the policy. Current legislation on issues that could lead to discrimination should be reviewed from time to time, and staff handbook should be read by employment lawyers to ensure compliance. Guidelines should also be updated to accommodate the legislation. Base the policy on business-related reasons. Explain your reasons in the policy so employees understand the rationale behind the restrictions. Common business-related reasons include maintaining the organizations public image, promoting a productive work environment, or complying with health and safety standards. Require employees to have an appropriate, well-groomed appearance. Even casual dress policies should specify what clothing is inappropriate (such as sweat suits, shorts, and jeans) and any special requirements for employees who deal with the public. Communicate the policy. Use employee handbooks or memos to alert employees to the new policy, any revisions, and the penalties for noncompliance. In addition, explain the policy to job candidates.Apply the dress code policy uniformly to all employees. This can prevent claims that the policy adversely affects women or minorities. However, you may have to make exceptions if required by law. (See next suggestion.) Make reasonable accommodation when the situation requires an exception. Be prepared to accommodate requests for religious practices and disabilities, such as head coverings and facial hair.Apply consistent discipline for dress code violations. When disciplining violators, point out why their attire does not comply with the code and what they can do to comply REFERENCES: Edwards, M. R. 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