Free Essay - Rev. Arthur Dimmesdales Double-talk in The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Dimmesdale's Double-talk in The Scarlet Letter Abstract: Critics of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' are wrong to attribute to Hester the means of persuading Dimmesdale to elope with her and their child. It is Dimmesdale who uses his rhetorical mastery to talk Hester into talking him into eloping. An analysis of his conversation with Hester in the forest in comparison with his sermons shows that he is using the same discursive strategy he employs to convince his parishioners that he is a sinless man. The Reverend Mister Arthur Dimmesdale is usually understood to be guilty of two sins, one of commission (his adultery with Hester) and one of omission (his cowardly and hypocritical failure to confess). This is his state through most of The Scarlet Letter; but when Dimmesdale meets Hester in the forest (Chapters 16-19), he agrees to flee Boston with her, to seek out a new life in the Old World, and, presumably, to live with her in adultery. By the lights of his community and his profession, this resolution is a far more serious sin than any he had committed to date, but most critics have agreed that Dimmesdale is not primarily responsible for his actions in the forest. Both Michael Colacurcio and Terence Martin have written that Hester "seduced" Dimmesdale in the forest,(2) and Darrel Abel argues that "Dimmesdale could not resist Hester," for in entering the forest "Hester means to persuade Dimmesdale to elope with her and Pearl," and Dimmesdale agrees to the elopement "a fter only a feeble show of conscience."(3) The forest scene is crucial in the narrative of The Scarlet Letter, and a proper understanding of what happens in the forest is necessary for any interpretation of Dimmesdale's last days of life and his final "confession." I will argue in this paper that the reading of the forest scene sketched above is mistaken; that in fact it is Arthur Dimmesdale and not Hester Prynne who is the "activating agent"(4) in the forest, increasing Dimmesdale's culpability for his most serious fall. Previous critics seem to think that Dimmesdale's much-vaunted skill as a speaker abandons him when he enters the forest with Hester, but I will show that Dimmesdale talks Hester into talking him into fleeing, and so Dimmesdale's gravest sin cannot be laid at Hester's feet at all.

The Age of European Exploration Essay -- European Europe History

The Age of European Exploration The age of exploration was filled with courageous voyagers and conquistadores from all over Europe, much like today, there was much competition for land rights. The main disputes were between Spain and Portugal. And these are the representatives from not only these two countries, but surrounding ones as well. Christopher Columbus was a sea captain from Genoa. He first tried to convince Portugal, then Spain to sponsor a voyage to Asia across the Atlantic. Columbus thought that the voyage would take two months, others said four months, but he left with enough food and supplies for only two months. He landed in the West Indes (Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba) when the two months of supplies ran out. Their voyage began on August 3, 1492, from Palos, Spain and ended on October 12 when land was sighted at the Americas. Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian that represented the Medici Bank in Spain, chartered the coastline of Central America and described this as the "Mundus Novus", meaning "New World". In 1507, a German carto...

Reitman’s Financial Analysis Essay

Reitmans – Financial Analysis From an analysis of the Company’s ratios over the last three years since 2009, as found in the Appendix: Exhibit _, the quantitative data reveals an unfavourable trend in performance. Liquidity Reitmans has the strongest current ratio when compared to its competitors—The Gap and Le Chateau—at almost double their value. However, the Company’s ratio has been in decline since 2009; at that time, it was at 4. , then fell to 4. 3, and finally, to 4. 1 in 2011. This trend reveals a slight decline in Reitmans’ short-term liquidity; however, even with the decline, the Company has more than enough liquidity to meet their short-term cash requirements. It could even be argued that they are not utilizing their assets to their full potential, as the usual acceptable current ratio is 2:1. Even when inventory is not considered, as with the quick ratio and cash ratio, Reitmans’ ratios are unusually high when compared to their competitors—which adds strength to the argument that they are not utilizing their assets as effectively as they could be if they were to invest their funds instead of leaving them sitting idle within an account. Asset Management As revealed by their inventory turnover of 1. 2, Reitmans sells its inventory more slowly than its competitor, the Gap, does with their ratio of 5. 7 in 2011. However, the Gap may have a higher than normal turnover, as Reitmans is favourable when compared to their other competitor, Le Chateau. The Company’s accounts receivable turnover has remained relatively stable over the past three years, fluctuating slightly but still taking just one day on average to collect from customers. In contrast, Reitmans’ accounts payable turnover has been experiencing an unfavourable decline since 2009; it used to take just 106 days to make payments to suppliers, but now it takes 257 days, over twice the time. Long-term Debt Paying Ability Reitmans’ debt ratio measures the extent of creditor financing and leverage. Their percentage of debt, 22%, is much smaller than their competitors at 63% and 39% and a result, Reitmans’ is much more solvent and more able to maintain their long-run financial viability. Further, when looking at the Company’s times interest earned, we see that Reitmans is considered to be less-risky for lenders as they are able to earn their fixed interest charges ver 3 times per year; this exceeds the general guideline that says creditors are reasonably safe if the company has a times interest earned ratio of two or more times. Profitability Most merchandising companies need sufficient gross profit in order to cover their operating expenses or else they will likely fail. Reitmans, as similar to their competitors, maintains a higher profit ratio of 64% in 2011 and 67% in 2010. Even though the Company’s other measures of profitability are still fa vourable compared with their competitors, Reitmans’ profitability ratios have declined by almost half from 2010 to 2011.

Movie and Book Comparison Essay

Tuesdays With Morrie is both a book and a movie. They are alike and different in so many different ways. The movie is never going to have as much detail as the book did, but they did a good job making the movie as close as possible to the book. The book covered a lot more aspects of the story than the movie did, and the book focused on the bigger more important parts. There were a lot of main points that the book and movie were alike. In both Morrie dies the same way with the same people around him. At the beginning of this story Mitch is so consumed in his job that he doesn’t give any attention to anything else but his column. As the story progresses Morrie starts to lighten up on the job and work towards a relationship with Morrie. By having this relationship with Morrie helps his relationship back home with his girlfriend who is getting tired of Mitch not giving her the attention she deserves. Janine and Morrie both play huge parts in Mitch’s life in both the movie and the book. The movie used a lot of the same lines used in the book such as Morrie’s aphorisms. One last thing that the book and movie had in common was that each time Mitch went to visit Morrie he could tell Morrie was getting worse and worse. Even though the movie did a great job making the book come to life, the movie and book had a couple differences. The movie never brought up Mitch’s brother like they did in the book. Another thing is in the movie they didn’t talk about Mitch as child like they did in the book. In the movie they show Janine giving the proposal ring back to Mitch in the airport, but in the book they never mentioned that. Also in the book they never talked about Mitch’s breakup with Janine and how he went to her studio and tried to fix it. Mitch’s relationship with Janine was way more a part of the movie than the book. The book focused more on the relationship between Morrie and Mitch when the movie focused on both. Some movies that are made from a book are most of the time completely different, but this movie resembled the book perfectly. The movie covered the most important parts of the book, which made it a success.

Fiction and Literature Outdoor Literature Essay

â€Å"When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language. â€Å"- James Earl Jones The major types of literature across the world are English, Greek, Latin, Roman, African, Indian, American, French, Irish, Spain, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Sanskrit, Nepali, Russian and Canadian literature. Literature is a well-considered form of a language that influences the minds of readers of all age. Italian Renaissance is the age of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, whereas Greece Literature mostly comprises the literature of Greek Gods and Goddesses. Romanticism of Wordsworth is the literature which is oriented towards nature and can be considered to be reverse of classicism. Today’s era of Modernism and Post modernism uses artificial language based on ambiguity, satire and parody. Some authors choose long composition methods to link more than one story. Moreover, literature being a part of scientific language is also used to analyze grammar, usage, lexis and semantics. Kinds of Literature Fictional Literature. Drama: Drama is the theatrical dialog performed on stage, it consists of 5 acts. Tragedy, comedy and melodrama are the sub types of drama. e. g William Shakespeare, an Elizabethan dramatist composed the plays Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear that are famous because of its combination of tragedy and comedy. Problem play, farce, fantasy, monologue and comedy of manners are some kinds of drama. Tragedy: It is a story of the major character who faces bad luck. Tragedy, elements of horrors and struggle usually concludes with the death of a person. The Illiad and The Odyssey by Homer are the two famous Greek tragedies. Comedy: The lead character overcomes the conflicts and overall look of the comedy is full of laughter and the issues are handled very lightly. The elements used in the comedy are romanticism, exaggeration, surprises and a comic view of life. Melodrama: Melodrama is a blend of two nouns – ‘melody’ and ‘drama’. It is a musical play most popular by 1840. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of the most popular plays describing cruelty of labor life. It has happy ending like comedy. Tragicomedy: The play that begins with serious mode but has a happy ending is tragicomedy. Prose Literature  History, journalism, philosophy, fiction and fantasy writings, scientific writings, children’s literature authors and writers are included in Prose Literature. Myth Myths are the fairy tales with lots of adventure, magic and it lacks scientific proof. Nursery rhymes, songs and lullabies are forms of myths that strike the interest of children. Creative and nature myth are stories of the stars and moon. Magic tales are wonderful tales of quests and fantasy. Hero myths are ideal heroes of adventure. Short story The small commercial fiction, true or imaginary, smaller than a novel is known as short story. Short stories are well-grouped that followed the sequence of easy and no complexity in beginning, concrete theme, some dialogs and ends with resolution. They are oral and short-lived which have gossip, joke, fable, myth, parable, hearsay and legend. Novel Novel can be based on comic, crime, detective, adventurous, romantic or political story divided into many parts. The major kinds of novels are: Allegory: The symbolic story revolves around two meanings. What the writer says directly is totally different from the conveyed meanings at the end. Political and Historical allegory are two forms of Allegory. Comedy: Satire is very common form in comedy novels and tries to focus on the facts of the society and their desires. Epistolary: The collection of letters or mails is the epistolary novels. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrew are the few examples of Epistolary novels. Feminist: These types of novels are written by women writers around the world to describe the place of women in a male dominated society. E. g Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"A Room of one’s Own†. Gothic: Gothic fiction is the combination of both horror and romance. Melodrama and parody were grouped in the Gothic literature in its early stages. Ironic: Ironic novels are known for excessive use of narrative technique. It is satire on the contemporary society about cultural, social and political issues. Realism: The realistic novels are based on the truths of ordinary society and their problems. It focuses on the plot, structure and the characters of the novel. Romance: Love and relationship topics are handled optimistically in the romantic novels. It originated in western countries; basically the story revolves around love affairs of main characters. Some popular sub categories of romantic novels are paranormal, erotic, suspense, multicultural and inspirational romance. Narration: In narrative style, writer becomes the third person who narrates whole story around the characters. Naturalism: Naturalism is based on the theory of Darwin. Picaresque: It is opposite to romance novels as it involves ideals, themes and principles that refuse the so-called prejudices of the society. Psychological: It’s the psychological prospective of mind with a resolution. Satire: Satirical novels criticize the contemporary society. The most famous novels are Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726), Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim (1954), George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Randell Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution (1954). Stream of Consciousness: James Joyce’s stream of consciousness is all about the thought coming up in the minds of the readers. A novel also constitutes categories on social and political aspects like proletarian, psychological, protest novel, government, didactic, materialist novel, allegorical novel, novel of engagement, naturalistic novel, Marxist novel, radical novel, revolutionary novel, anti-war novel, utopian novel, futuristic novel, anarchist novel, problem novel, social philosophy novel, novel of ideas, problem play and speculative novel. Folk Tale  Folk Tales are traditional stories that have been creating interest since ancient times. The children and old persons like religious story, magic and superstition as well. Fable, tall tales, cumulative, trickster and proverbs are the sub categories of folk tales. Mythology or legend is the ancient religious stories of origin and human civilization such as story of Robin Hood. Types of poetry Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in the tranquility. Greek poetry is found in free verse and we have rhymes in the Persian poem. Are you wondering how to write a poem, here are the followings forms of poem? Sonnet: Sonnet is the short poem of 14 lines grouped into Shakespearean and Italian sonnets. Ballad: The poems that are on the subject matter of love and sung by the poet or group of singers as telling readers a story. Elegy: This type of poem is the lamenting of the death of a person or his near one. Elegy Written in Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray is one of the famous poems marked as sad poems of the ages. Ode: Ode is the formal and long poem serious in nature. Allegory: Allegory is the famous form of poetry and is loved by the readers because of its two symbolic meanings. One is the literal meaning and another is the deep meaning. Epic and Mock epic: Epics are the narrative poems that convey moral and culture of that period. The Odyssey and Iliad are one of the largest philosophical epics written by Samuel Butler. Rape of the Lock is the great mock epic focusing on the minor incident of cutting of a curl. Lyric: It has Greek origin that gives a melody of imagery. It is the direct appeal of a poet to the readers about any incident or historical events. Lyrics are most of the time similar to ode or sonnets in the form. Nonfiction Literature: Nonfiction Literature is opposite to fiction as it is informative and comprises the interesting facts with analysis and illustrations. Main types of Non- fiction literature Autobiography and Biography An autobiography is the story of the author’s own life. ‘Family Life at the White House’ by Bill Clinton is focused on his life and achievements. ‘Wings of fire’ by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Mein kampf of Adolph Hitler are the autobiography books on real life. Essay Generally the authors’ point of view about any particular topic in a detailed way is an essay. Essay has simple way of narrating the main subject; therefore they are descriptive, lengthy, subject oriented and comparative. Different types of essay: Personal essay, expository essay type, response essay, process essay, persuasive essay, argumentative essay, critical essay type, interview essay, reflective essay type, evaluation, observation essay, comparison type of essay, application essay, compare and contrast essay and narrative essay type. Literary criticism It is the critical study of a piece of literature. Here critics apply different theories, evaluation, discussion and explanation to the text or an essay to give total judgments. Plato, Aristotle, T. S. Eliot, Saussure and Frye are some of the famous critics. Travel literature It is the narration of any tour or foreign journey with the description of the events, dates, places, sights and author’s views. Francis Bacon’s natural philosophies in the middle of Seventeenth century is one famous example of travel literature. Diary Diaries are the incidents recorded by the author without any means of publishing them. It is the rough work of one’s daily routine, happenings, memorable days or events in their life. E. g. Anne Frank’s ‘Diary of a Young Girl’ was published by her father in 1940s; it’s a story of a girl trapped during German invade Amsterdam. Diaries consists of business letters, newsletters, weather listing. In today’s world of Internet, writers write in blogs, forums, polls and social networking sites to convey their thoughts. This also is a form of diary writing. Some profound forms of diaries are online diary, travel, sleep, tagebuch, fictional, dream and death diaries. Journal Journal is one of types of diaries that records infinite information. They are of following types: Personal: It is for personal analysis. In this journal one can write his goal, daily thoughts, events and situations. Academic: It is for students who do research or dissertation on particular subjects. Creative journals: Creative journals are the imaginative writing of a story, poem or narrative. Trade: Trade journals are used by industrial purposes where they dictate practical information. Dialectical: This journal is use by students to write on double column notebook. They can write facts, experiments, and observation on the left side and right side can be a series of thoughts and response with an end. Newspaper It is a collection of daily or weekly news of politics, sports, leisure, fashion, movies and business. Magazine Magazines can be the current affairs or opinions well collected covering various content. Frame Narrative The psychoanalysis of human mind is present in a frame narrative. Here we find another story within the main story. Some of the popular narratives are Pegasus, Wuthering Heights, The Flying Horse, The Three Pigs, A Time to keep and the Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays. Outdoor literature Outdoor literature is the literature of adventure that gives whole exploration of an event. Exciting moments of life such as horse riding, fishing, trekking can be a part of literature. Some outdoor books are ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ by Mark Twain, ‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis, ‘Voyages’ by Richard Hakluyt and ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’ by Eric Newby. Narrative form of Literature Today we find movies, audio and video CD’s and Cassettes that present current literature in use. Digital poetry is an upcoming trend too. Comic books, cartoons, eBook and Internet games are the learning methods for children. Literature includes centuries, human nature, cultures and souls. Isn’t it?

“Cousin Kate” and “The Seduction” Essay

Both poems are written by female poets, who express their love by exploring physical and emotional aspects. Both poets imply that men are motivated by the physical side of love while women treasure the emotional side. The female characters in each poem to begin with are naà ¯ve, innocent and vulnerable. However each being mistreated left them both experienced before their time. The Seduction is set in the mid 1970’s when a teenage girl is at a party and is lured by a sleazy boy. Cousin Kate is about a young maiden who is taken advantage of by a lord ho then leaves her for her cousin Kate. Both are left with an experience and a child. The poems were written in very different periods and reflect love and marriage in different social manors through time. ‘Cousin Kate’ was written in the Victorian reign around the 1870s. Love and marriage in the 1870s was very different to present time, as the Victorian citizen’s approach and mind-set was to expect women to provide children especially sons to become an heir, ‘Your father would give lands for one, To wear his coronet.’ This shows that the father would be willing to pay a lot of money (land) to have a grandson. Birth out of marriage was considered wrong; ‘The neighbors call you good and pure, Call me an outcast thing’. Society saw Kate as a good person and a good marriage that they accepted into the community. Whilst they considered the cottage maiden as an outcast for having a child out of wedlock. They were also perceived to have a duty to marry and obey their husband; in the bible it says St.Paul in Ephesians 5:22: ‘Wives, be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Similarly in the Seduction although much more recent, societies view of birth outside marriage especially among teenage pregnancy is still frowned upon. ‘And better, now to turn away, move away, fade away, Than to have the neighbors whisper that ‘you always looked the type.’ The Seduction reflects a more modern attitude to love, where people frequently meet at social gatherings.’ She met him at the party and danced with him all night’. This shows that relationships can be started without knowing each other, when you are drinking. The poem also shows that men and women are now perceived as equal, in that both men and women are at the party and both are drinking alcohol. Messages of love have been interlinked with the environment to help you portray their attitudes towards one another. The setting in the Seduction has been created by using imagery and personification which helps the reader to envisage the scene. ‘Far from the blind windows of the tower blocks.’ This could imply that no one is there to see what could happen or that no one cares. An industrial dock yard is not a nice place to be and most probably not many people go there. ‘Towards the frightening scum on the water’, because this setting is so unromantic it implies that the sleazy boy is only after one thing. ‘She chattered on, and stared at the water, The Mersey, green as a septic wound.’ Here the author has used a simile to help explain nervousness of the girl. These words are effective because it emphasizes her innocents, although it seems to be dark and ery. The opening of ‘Cousin Kate’ tells us that she is just a simple country girl working to live. ‘I was a cottage maiden Hardened by sun and air, Contented with my cottage mates,’. Having this opening shows the emphasis of her innocents and it gives us a small idea of who she is. The author Christina Rossetti has pieced together a small picture of what her life was like but tells you enough for you to finish the scene in you mind. This all changes when later on it contrasts with the mention of her cousin Kate and the new lords. Both poets have used the environment help them create an image and an atmosphere which when added to the dramatic monologue is very effective. Also it transfers the feelings and emotions from the character to the reader. The poets have both used a range of techniques to help present the atmosphere and attitude to love. The atmosphere at the beginning of ‘The Seduction’ is quieting down after leaving a party with a random person who has got her drunk. It slowly turns into a dark and depressing mood but the girl is excited, naà ¯ve and unaware. The poet has used words like ‘she giggled’ and ‘he muttered’. This is successful as it shows the contrast between the innocent girl and the sinister boy. At the end of the poem the atmosphere has changed to a despaired attitude this shows how the poets view has changed. The emphasis of the change is described using poetic techniques like Connotation, Imagery, Oxymoron’s and alliteration. ‘And a bag filled with shimmering, sweet paint thinner.’ This implies that the boy was going off to get high when he is meant to be at school, I have chosen this quote also as an example of imagery and alliteration. Similarly the beginning of ‘Cousin Kate’ is peaceful, illustrated though words such as ‘contended’, ‘care’ and ‘flaxen’. However later on in the poem the narrators’ feelings are mixed; ‘Even so I sit and howl in the dust’ shows that she does feel sorrow and the reader can empathise with her. Also the poet has used dust to create a sad atmosphere. Whereas she perceives her cousin as wealthy and happy; ‘You sit in gold and sing’. This gives contrast from poor and rich, sorrow and joy. The narrator is also angry with the lord, ‘I would have spit in his face’. This illustrates her anger towards him, which creates tension and increases the reader’s knowledge of the narrator. Another way the poets express their attitudes to love and marriage is through the relationships between men and women. ‘Cousin Kate’ suggests the role of the men in the Victorian society were much more superior to women as they are the ‘hunters and gatherers’. By this I mean that the men are the leaders and are loved by women and the women should do as they are told. Conversely the male in the poem is not seen as likeable character, ‘He lured me to his palace home’. The word ‘lured’ projects an image of an ungentlemanly character which has falsely persuaded the victim. This is effective as he treats her as she is an object; ‘He changed me like a glove’. Equally ‘The Seduction’ the male character is perceived as someone who is not a pleasant person and a bad influence, ‘He spat into the river’. This is valuable as it illustrates how shocking and uncouth the boy is. Eileen McAuley has used verbs to convey the actions of the characters in ‘The Seduction’; for example the girl’s movements are submissive toward the strong minded boy. Although the same as ‘Cousin Kate’ the women in that period of time are meant to be submissive to their ‘master’. Consequently both poems are exploring the role of women in relationships and despite the fact that there is over a hundred years between the poems they both seem to be implying that society still criticise young mothers. Although the men are described as sleazy and sinister, this could be a miss conception as these may be the views from a women perspective. These descriptions of the male characters are portrayed as a stereotypical chauvinist male and could be offensive from a mans point of view. Finally the two poets have used the structure to help represent the theme of love. Both poems are written in stanzas and each tells another part of the story. ‘Cousin Kate’ is set out in a very traditional manner which help you to grasp the thoughts and emotions of the narrator. It repeats certain words in the first person like ‘I’, ‘he’ and ‘you’ this is done to show the difference between the characters but mostly cousin Kate and the narrator because ‘Kate’ has stolen the narrators ‘man’ (father); also because of the style it has created the piece of writing to be a dramatic monologue. Similarly ‘The Seduction’ also uses a lot of repetition of words in the third person like ‘she’ and ‘he’ this helps to show that it is a narrative. The poem is almost split into two sections; the fir half concentrates on the build up to when she discovers that she is pregnant and the second half only talks about if only it had not happened; also the first half is showing her innocents forming into an experience. This is successful because she is a young girl who still day dreams and wishes to be out with her friends; ‘Day trips to Blackpool, jumping all the rides?’ McAuley has also used a rhetorical question as if to say should she be out with her friends or does she get what she is deserved; but then it carries on to question what does the girl deserve? I believe that there is a subliminal message beyond the words and technical styles of writing, in both poems which can be related to the present time. The most obvious one is not to be naive and fall for boys tricks. However boy tricks are not always bad and good things may come of it. I consider the most successful technique is not a poetic technique, but more the structure the poets have written them in because it creates the mood, the speed and most of all in my eyes the tension and suspense.

E-Marketing analyzing websites Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-Marketing analyzing websites - Term Paper Example The company was established in the year 1999 by Jack Ma. His aim was to make internet accessible, beneficial and trustworthy for every individual of the society (Alibaba, n.d.). The company is presently headquartered at Hangzhou, China. The primary business of the company is to facilitate online selling and buying from anywhere in the world. Also for the B2B segment it connects organizations with manufacturers and suppliers all over the world. It employs around 24,000 people and has operation in 70 countries of the world. The company claims that as of March 2012, it had 79 million registered online users who are spread across 240 countries of the world (Chinadaily, 2012). ... also sells internet infrastructure services, business management software, export related services, and offers educational services to develop e-commerce and enterprise management professional. The major competitors of the company are eBay Inc., DHgate.com, Bikudo.com, Global Sources Ltd., and HC360.com among others (Crunchbase, 2012). Situation Analysis (SWOT) Strength The company has strong market position Balanced business Model Less exposure to international trade environment The company is earning more revenues from the value added services. Integration of e-commerce Weakness The company finds difficulty in to contradict the selling of forged products. Opportunities Robust growth of Chinese economy Opportunity to foray into the Indian market The company should continue to expand value added service offerings (Marketline, 2011). Threats The biggest threat of the company comes in the form of internet fraud. Problems related to litigation Intense competition Segmentation Targeting Differentiation Segmentation is a major part of marketing. It is about sub-dividing the heterogeneous market into groups of homogenous segments (Allen, Macy and Hutchison, 2009, p.21). Segmentation helps companies to effectively target the customers (Croft, 1994, p.1). Among the available forms of segmentation i.e. psychographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, and behavioural segmentation, alibaba.com segments its market on the basis of demographics. They offer wide range of products and services so that every age group, gender, and occupation gets satisfied. The company targets its customers through the help of its existing customers. It depends heavily on the word of mouth promotion. In addition, customers are also targeted by means of promoting products through popular media.