Two Wheeler Market free essay sample

The Indian two wheeler market has a size of over Rs 100,000 million. The Indian two wheeler segment contributes the largest volumes amongst all the segments in automobile industry. Though the segment can be broadly categorized into 3 sub-segments viz; scooters, motorcycles and mopeds; some categories introduced in the market are a combination of two or more segments e. g. scooterettes and step thru’s. The market primarily comprises five players in the two wheeler segment with most of the companies having foreign collaborations with well-known Japanese firms earlier. But most of the companies are now planning 100% subsidiaries in India. In the last four to five years, the two-wheeler market has witnessed a marked shift towards motorcycles at the expense of scooters. In the rural areas, consumers have come to prefer sturdier bikes to withstand the bad road conditions. In the process the share of motorcycle segment has grown from 48% to 58%, the share of scooters declined drastically from 33% to 25%, while that of mopeds declined by 2% from 19% to 17% during the year 2000-01. We will write a custom essay sample on Two Wheeler Market or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Euro emission norms led the existing players in the two stroke segment to install catalytic converters. The current share of the leading three companies is shown in the pie chart. And this clearly shows that hero Honda is the current market leader with a 49% market share. Hero Honda has been an early entrant in the 4 stroke segment of the two wheeler industry. With a right mix of product styling and pricing the company helped garner a larger market chunk of the 4-stroke market as compared to Bajaj Auto. A shifting consumer preference towards motorcycles also enabled the fast growth of the company in the last few years. Hero Honda motorcycle sales jumped 40. 6% in April at 135,961 units from 96,672 units it sold in the corresponding month last year. The change in product mix in favor of higher value products has resulted in improved realization for the company the growing popularity of the passion model appears to be the key factor behind improvement in unit realization. Taking into account the recent trend in performance, the company appears well positioned to retain its top position in the motorcycle market and also sustain the recent rate of growth. Bajaj auto ltd is the second biggest manufacturer of motorcycles. The companies recent indigenous launch in 4-stroke segment viz; the 150 / 180 cc pulsar which has practically snatched the market share of the bikes like Hero Honda CBZ, Suzuki Fiero, Lml adreno etc, and it appears that pulsar would rule this segment till the time there are some new launches in this segment by other manufacturers, for bajaj pulsar has been the major contributor for the rise in its motorcycle sales along with its other popular models such as boxer, caliber croma etc. ell coming to the third largest share holder in the motorcycle segment which is the tvs motors, which has emerged as a ‘victor’ after the Suzuki break up, riding high on the success, of it’s motorbike by the same name. Tvs victor is the first indigenously produced motorcycle from tvs motors. Infact with a six week waiting period, even six months after its launch, tvs motors plans to double its production capacity. The mo torcycle market can be further segmented on the basis of the price tags which are the economy, executive and the premium segments.

Los Angeles and the American Dream an Example by

Los Angeles and the American Dream by Expert Marvellous | 08 Dec 2016 Los Angeles and the American Dream: transformation and reinvention Need essay sample on "Los Angeles and the American Dream" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The modern Los Angeles is a specimen of culturally and racially perse metropolis, where the ambitions for financial stability are nurtured in the west and inhibited in the east. The present paper argues that both the topography and the nature of the American Dream has substantially changed over the last century, given that the pre-1960 immigrants tend to move to more prestigious communities and undergo ideological assimilation into the more influential groups appear replaced by newcomers whose American Dream is reduced to the achievement of the desirable quality of life. At the same time, the general framework of the Dream-management remains dominated by the followers of the white dogma at the level of social policy, which prescribes minimal government interference with economic inequality. In the present day, the abstractive urban has become the major worldview-shaper, given that this term is associated mainly with new employment opportunities, like those African Americans were seeking when moving to the industrial areas to fill workplaces of factory workers in the first two decades of the 20th century (Fulton, 2001, p.6). In her novel Southland Revoyr sheds light onto the racial tensions, which actually take place when two ethnic groups coexisting in the adjacent quarters evolve in distinct directions and with drastically differing speed and effectiveness. East Asians, namely Japanese immigrant groups, were composed of external migrants (as opposed to African Americans and Latinos wandering around the country), who had the definite goals of small business ownership and in the United States: But instead of averting his eyes and scurrying as the other men had done, he bent over, picked up a dung cake, and threw it right back (Revoyr, 2003, p.93). Furthermore, given that Los Angeles of the first part of the 20th century was a relatively small city (Hise, p.547), centralization was a vital matter of public concerns, as the industries, situated in the downtown and owned by the racial majority, required cheap workforce (Gottlieb, 2007, p. 254). At that time, most foreigners were lured to the city by the white pattern of lifestyle, which included allegedly high productivity of the effort invested (high profits of enterprises), affordable housing, education facilities and the seemingly lenient classism. Those more nave believed it was easy to become affluent in Los Angeles soon and viewed success as the matter of good luck and circumstances. In his comprehensive research, Fulton recognizes this illusion of spontaneity and points to the actual organization of power, where all decisions were pre-planned and carefully developed through covert political negotiations on different issues like rent control in Santa Monica, road construction, taxation and property distribution (Fulton, 2001, p.9). Furthermore, as the racial majority was dissatisfied with the growth of criminality rates, associated with the clash of multiple cultures, the so-called urban sprawl was introduced in the 1930s: Mexicans quiescently fading away, like the old dilapidated landmarks, the adobe structure of Sonoratown. It is a trope both cultural and spatial (Hise, p.547). The atmosphere in the above specified community was not conductive for social advancement, given the underdevelopment of the local infrastructure and the original criminality prejudice against the inpiduals of Mexican descent. As a result, the 1930s-1940s were marked with scandalous trials and executions of the local chicanos. A related coordinate can be observed in the common use of east as a referent for the low (Hise, p.550). In fact, poverty has been cultivated in the Latino neighborhoods until the present day, with regard to the initial topographic social distance from the privileged group. East Asians, as the readings show, were similarly oppressed group (Revoyr, 2003, p.98; Dear et al, 1996, p. 8). After the Pearl Harbor attacks, Japanese Americans were practically deprived of their property and located in the concentration camps (internment), where they needed to re-build their lives from the very beginning in the 1950s. Chinese immigrants, however, voluntarily segregated in Chinatown in the 19th century and managed to resist the efforts, based upon the social distance increase. Given that the roots of their experience of cross-racial relations could be traced back to the 1850s, they were capable of arranging the parallel infrastructure progress; whereas the white-privilege policy implied transportation networks improvement and technological innovation exceptionally in several Western topographic areas (Fulton, 2001, p.29). Nina Revoyr, who skillfully portrays the major distinctive features of East Asian mentality, alleges that this complex of ethnic groups is characterized by concrete goal-orientation and patience, i.e. ability to wait and bear economic disadvantage for the future benefits. As a result, Chinatown, San Gabriel and Gardena, predominantly Japanese community, have been substantially adjusted to the American Dream pattern. In fact, most Asians, even those who moved to the wealthiest white suburbs on the West, avoided all-inclusive acculturation and preserved the key features of their lifestyle like clan households, age-based authority and close ties between generations. Mexican immigrants, on the contrary, followed a distinct residential pattern, which involves the emphasis upon moving into a more affluent environment instead of facilitating the institutional and economic progress within their original community, as East Asians have been doing (Dear et al, 1996, p. 82). However, Revoyr depicts a entirely Americanized Japanese (with Western-styled names) and extremely authentic Latinos, but a more comprehensive and broader research provides different information (Sanchez, p.647). The route of Latinos journey was often complicated, as they might have left the peer neighborhood for a basically Jew community like Boyle Heights, where the two cultural dimensions necessarily diffused, and migrated to an upper middle class region in the subsequent generation given their overall poor access to education and human service facilities. Therefore, each inpidual member of this ethnic group experienced several dramatic identity transformations in their life, but gradually abandoned the cognitive matrix of the mother culture. Similarly, African Americans have been long struggling against their inferiority label, but the notable progress occurred only in the 1970s: The city had recently experienced a highly charged and pisive mayoral election that pitted a popular African American candidate, City Council member Tom Bradley, against Sam Yorty [] (Gottlieb, 2007, p.6). However, it was too early to recognize triumph, as Dears counterargument shows that the specified tendency was associated with the de-industrialization and the departure of white Americans from the downtown to the suburbs, so African Americans settled and gained control over the already polluted center. They had been prevented from penetrating the realm of the white lifestyle that more financially secure African Americans were even more willing to dissolve their working-class identity within the white; at the same time, the emergence of the Black Power concept and movement, initiated by Malcolm X, attracted those inpiduals of color who were not covered by social care systems (Dear et al, 1996, p.85). violent efforts in 1965 and 1992 brought no improvement beyond the surprising crystallization of identity and racial pride amongst the lower-class African Americans. According to Fulton, all public policies were either directly or indirectly safeguarding and conserving the interests of the racial majority, e.g., outsourcing and removal of the major manufactures was closely followed by the seizure of the most convenient spots: Rents doubled and tripled, and in many cases tenants were simply pushed out the door to make way for new buildings and condominums (Fulton, 2001, p.30). Thus, the new wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe and other countries is dealing virtually the same obstacles of separation (Vincent, 2008, A1) in the neighborhoods left by their predecessors for the higher economic stage. As Kneale observes, secondary worlds are necessarily created in fiction literature. The scholar identifies three forms of representation: writing that claims to represent the world objectively; writing that represents the world of fiction, but in a realistic way []; and writing that represents a coherent world, but one that cannot claim to be realistic (Kneale, 2003, p. 40). Another valuable idea expressed is the recognition of the fact that fiction writers tend to construct textual landscapes and textual geographies through the lens of different cultural ideologies; as one can understand, the emotional attitude and the focus on the point of view in Revoyrs book can not serve as a substantial basis for scientific research, as the author does not position her writing as historically precise and representative or applicable to the real-life settings. At the same time, Fulton, Gottlieb and Dear et al as urban sociologists operate figures and reveal the information deriving from archival documents and chronicles. Fiction novels definitely need a well-developed illusory dimension, which is depicted in the here and now settings and contrasted to a more plausible world. However, scientists might also provide biased reports due to the fact that absolute objectivity is not attainable. To sum up, the major problem lies in the fact that even when race-based inequality is gradually vanishing, self-made members of Hispanic and African American minority groups (who often enter political circles and become the administration members) have a tendency to adopting the white ideology declaring the governments minimal intervention into social and infrastructural problems and neglecting the striking concentration of public policy effort on meeting the majoritys interests. Although the modern newcomers live in more comfortable conditions, they are struggling with the time-honored obstacles in the identically segregated territorial units, whereas the positive changes can be identified in the fixed collectivist communities like Gardena, where migrant adaptation is approached from multiple sides. Works cited Revoyr, N. Southland. Akashic Books, 2003. Fulton, W. The Reluctant Metropolis. JHU Press, 2001. Gottlieb, R. Reinventing Los Angeles. MIT Press, 2007. Dear, M., Schockman, E. and Hise, G. Rethinking Los Angeles. Sage Publication, Inc, 1996. Kneale, James, Secondary worlds: reading novels as geographical research. In Alison Blunt (ed), Cultural Geography in Practice. New York and London: Arnold Publishers, 2003, pp.39-51. Vincent, R. Eastside now the hot spot. Los Angeles Times, 11 January 2008, A1. Sanchez, G. Whats Good for Boyle Heights Is Good for the Jews : Creating multiculturalism on the Eastside during the 1950s. American Quarterly, pp. 633-661. Hise, G. Race and Social Distance in Los Angeles. American Quarterly, pp. 545-558.

European Nationalism in Africa

European Nationalism in Africa Free Online Research Papers A careful examination of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost shows the fascinating ways in which fact and fiction intertwine. Hochschild describes the nature of Belgian King Leopold the II’s acquisition and enslavement of the Congo, one of the most violent examples of Colonialism. This is in turn the central theme of Heart of Darkness, as Conrad observed its effects first-hand. Just as Hothschild relates that the reign of Leopold cost the lives of millions of Congolese, so too does Conrad portray the devastation that his â€Å"Company† has created in the Congo. There are interesting similarities in the perceptions that the novelist and the historian have on the subject. Both books point to an arrogant, racially motivated air of superiority that illustrates the way that Europeans chose to advance their nationalistic colonial aims. The egotistic perspective of European colonialists is embodied by the racial prejudices they had toward the natives of the African continent. In Heart of Darkness, this sentiment is pervasive; the way in which the natives are summarily dismissed as being unworthy of consideration is complete throughout the novel. The narrator, Marlow, is shown to be more contemplative and sensitive than the rest of the Company, yet he continually shows a disregard for the lives and well being of the native people. When Marlow first reaches the Outer Station, he notices a number of natives lying among the trees, waiting to die. There is no great sense of compassion in Marlow as he describes these â€Å"black shadows of disease and starvation† (Conrad 14). In fact, all of his descriptions seem to dehumanize the people in this passage, using such descriptions as â€Å"moribund shapes,† â€Å"black shapes† and â€Å"bundles of acute angles.† These descriptions give the reader a sense of the way in which the natives are devalued by the European traders, as even the man who the reader will regard as the conscience of the novel dismisses the plight of these enslaved people. For Marlow, and in turn for all of the men of the Company, the natives become part of the background, as Marlow struggles to refute the â€Å"suspicions of their not being inhuman† (Conrad 32). The attitude toward the native Africans that pervades the European men in Heart of Darkness is also prevalent in King Leopold’s Ghost. Hochschild first draws the overlap between the fictional characters in Conrad’s fiction with real people and events, showing that the fiction accurately mirrors the historical events. Hochschild recounts the story of George Washington William, an early proponent of sovereign rights. His argument that the Congo state was guilty of â€Å"crimes against humanity† (Hochschild 112) was rebuffed by King Leopold, and his untimely death brought an end to this movement. In fact, the conceit of European colonialists led them to feel that they were actually suffering more than the enslaved natives. Hochschild gives an example of this in the form of Raoul de Premorel, who ran a Congo rubber-collecting post. In his memoirs, de Premorel describes punishing the leader of a mutiny, concluding ultimately that â€Å"sometimes I think it is I w ho have suffered most† (Hochschild 295) for having to mete out punishment against men struggling to free themselves from enslavement. In a sense, European arrogance allowed the oppressors to perceive themselves as victims. The disregard for African life was perpetuated by Imperialist greed for the natural resources of the region. Foremost among these was, at least initially, the lust for ivory. Conrad writes, â€Å"The word ivory rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.† (20), Hochschild refers this notion to a historical perspective. He describes the trickery King Leopold perpetrated to gain a foothold in the Congo- the false threat of Arab slavers- that allowed him to exert his influence to harvest ivory, and later rubber. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz becomes the evolutionary conclusion to this greed and plundering. Conrad alludes to this with the physical movement of the story, from the Outer Station to the Central Station to the Inner Station, where Kurtz is located. It is a symbolic movement as well, as the Company members espouse more genteel descriptions of their business in Africa as â€Å"trade;† this notion become harsher, more brutal as the reader travels into the Inner Station, to Kurtz’s world. Even dying, Kurtz cries out, â€Å"Oh, but I’ll wring your heart yet† (Conrad 63), suggestive of the utter completeness of the devestation of the land and people of the Congo. Kurtz embodies the core of the Belgian endeavor in Africa laid bare, a pure exploitation that doesn’t care about preservation of a people and their culture. Hochschild expresses Conrad’s rendering of the individual and cultural destruction in the Congo through a sense of the legacy of colonialism in Africa. He describes in great detail the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Brussels. However, as he writes, â€Å"in none of the museum’s twenty large exhibition galleries is there the slightest hint that millions of Congolese met unnatural deaths† (Hochschild 293). Hochschild also relates that this omission is not unique to Brussels, as other European capitals have forgotten this chapter in their history as well. Hochschild clearly illustrates the way in which European Colonialism has purposely forgotten the havoc it wrought. Hochschild also alludes to this in an alternative way, describing how Belgium went from oppressor to victim in the eyes of the world when Germany invaded them, precipitating the events of World War I. The utter arrogance and complete disregard for African life is shown in the fact that there is no acknowledgement of the devastation, in terms of human loss, on the Congo in specific or Africa as a whole. The other aspect of this legacy is the way that violence and exploitation has survived in Africa. Hochschild recounts the way in which school textbooks selectively erased the horrors of the rubber trade by omitting them from the curriculum. He also shows that western interference also prevented sovereign rule from establishing itself in the Congo, as colonial forces opposed Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister after Belgium ceded control, ultimately aiding in his assassination by supporting rebel forces. Hochschild then asserts that the CIA aided in establishing the regime of Joseph Mobutu, who would not oppose the perpetuation of a colonial economy, as Lumumba did. This shows how the colonial arrogance of the west was perpetuated even after rule of the Congo was returned to Africans. There is a clear overlap in both of these books in the way the authors describe the conceit of European colonialism in Africa, both in scope and meaning of the destruction it brought to Africa. In both books, the reader gets a sense of a basis for this exploitation, which clearly stemmed from the notion of the natives being â€Å"inhuman.† Conrad details this directly, and Hochschild alludes to it in the way the history of this exploitation has been erased from African history. In the end, it is apparent that Belgium and the other European colonial exploiters cannot look at their actions, as Kurtz does, and unflinchingly acknowledge them. It is easier to deny this dark legacy. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover, 1990. Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Research Papers on European Nationalism in AfricaMind TravelBringing Democracy to AfricaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoCapital PunishmentThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Changes In Concepts Of Childhood 19th Century Sociology Essay

Changes In Concepts Of Childhood 19th Century Sociology Essay Discuss how childhood has changed since the 19th century. How do concepts from this period continue to influence current attitudes to childhood? Childhood, the early years of a person’s life, between birth to about 8 years, is also considered most beautiful, most meaningful and most important part of life for a human being. The importance of childhood can be understood by observing the fact that though many scientists have different theories to define the process of human development they all agree on the importance of childhood and experiences in that time having a profound affect on an individual’s life. Many researches have been made on the process of human development and tough there are many proposed theories the actual difference between them is about how complex the relation really is between the stages and not what the stages really are. The differences are intrinsic not extrinsic. They all agree that childhood is a time when a person is moving from concrete to abstract thought. Man did learn sciences such as astrology, numerology, mathematics etc but the concept of schooling was deficient. People only knew as much as was required to trade and earn a living. A study conducted on child development concluded that in the year 1750 about 33 percent of infants and new born babies were left on doorsteps or social care homes by parents.(Malcolm Watson) Poor children were also made to work in land mines and other industries by their parents to earn a living. Efforts to eradicate child labor have been made over centuries by the responsible government bodies in different countries and social welfare organizations in the world. But it seems that despite the changing perceptions towards childhood, statistical data proves otherwise. The commencement of specific child development theories and acknowledgment of these theories only date back to some 200 years ago, in the 17th and 18th century. An acclaimed name, in this regard is of Professor Malcolm W. Watson. He researched on Human Development and formed theories that are still studied and followed. Results of his findings emphasized on six major theories by different people in different times. These theories focus on different stages man goes through from infancy to adulthood. Details of how environment and other factors affect childhood are also underscored. The theories encompass effects and behavioral changes in man and what we opine about our own selves, be it scientists, researchers or a common man. Psychodynamic theory-Sigmund Freud(Mack Lemouse from healthguidance.org): This theory says that human psychology can be broken down in to three separate parts. These are namely â€Å"the id, the ego and the superego†. Id is the childish part of our personality and its driving force is food, warmth and appreciation and the sexual drive. This side of every being is then balanced by the other two parts i.e. ego and superego. The superego is contradictory to id. It is that pa rt of human personality which enables us to control one self. Through this one acts in a socially acceptable manner. The ego is some where in the middle of these two extremes. Most of our troubles arise from balancing between the id and the superego.

Business strategy in financila services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business strategy in financila services - Essay Example A host of modern pharmaceutical companies all started out as Rhine-based family dyestuff and chemical companies e.g. Hoffman-La Roche, Sandoz, Ciba-Geigy (the product of a merger between Ciba and Geigy), and Novartis1 etc. Most are still going strong today2. Over time many of these chemical companies moved into the production of pharmaceuticals and other synthetic chemicals and they gradually evolved into global players. There are certain factors like the introduction of the penicillin during the late 1940s, its success and relative success of many other innovative drugs which actually institutionalized the efforts of research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry expanded rapidly in the sixties, benefiting from new discoveries and a lax regulatory environment. During this period healthcare spending boomed as global economies prospered. The industry witnessed major developments in the seventies with the introduction of tighter regulatory controls, especially with the introduction of regulations governing the manufacture of 'generics'3. The new regulations revoked permanent patents and established fixed periods on patent protection for branded products, a result of which the market for 'branded generics'4 emerged. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the "big picture" of the environment, in which you are operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding the environment in which you operate (external to your company or department), you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats (RAPIDBI). Specifically the PEST or PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business or organization. Technological advancements, tighter regulatory-compliance overheads, rafts of patent expiries and volatile investor confidence have made the modern pharmaceutical industry an increasingly tough and competitive environment. An analysis of the structure of the pharmaceutical industry using the PEST (political, economic, social and technological) model (Susanne, 2004) is given below. Increasing Political Attention Over the years, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed increased political attention due to the increased recognition of the economic importance of healthcare as a component of social welfare. Political interest has also been generated because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare. Examples are the UK's National Health Service debate and Medicare in the US. Increased Economic Value During the year 2003, there were many high value mergers and acquisitions which were witnessed by the global pharmaceutical industry. With a projected stock value growth rate of 10.5% (2003-2010) and Health Care growth rate of 12.5% (2003-2010), the audited value of the global pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach a huge 500 billion dollars by 2004. Only information technology has a higher expected growth rate of 12.6%. Majority of

ENG C249 Tunneling and Underground Excavations ( Curriculum BACHELOR Essay

ENG C249 Tunneling and Underground Excavations ( Curriculum BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL) - Essay Example Rock mechanics is a discipline of applied science. It is recognized as one of the most logical and rational engineering disciplines. It is the knowledge and understanding of the mechanical properties of rock, different methods for the study of rock-stress under some specific circumstances, various principles that express the rock mass response to load, and some coherent schemes for the application of rock-stress analysis methods to actual physical problems. Several factors have significantly contributed to the recognition of rock mechanics as a science of mining. If we talk about major causes for its recognition as a mining science, we can say that it is due to the increased development and advancement in underground mining activities. Krishnan, et al., (2000) found that underground mining operations act as one of the greatest motivating sources for the advancement in the field of rock mechanics. Rocks are used for two basic engineering purposes that include building construction and preparation of foundations. Understanding of the basic properties of rocks is very important for the professionals of the field of civil engineering because it allows the structures to be founded in an appropriate manner. In order to derive the analytical data on the physical characteristics of rock mass, the engineers use two basic measures. These measures include field-scale measures and laboratory measures. Field-scale measures are also known as rock mass properties and they are descriptions of the rock mass’s bulk strength properties. Whereas laboratory measures of rocks are analyzed in laboratory settings and are known as rock properties. They are obtained using field site’s samples. There are two types of mining openings, which are service openings and production openings. Brady and Brown (1992, p.197) state that service openings

Childhood Presented in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and The Blu

Childhood Presented in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Childhood should be a time of great learning, curiosity, joy, playfulness and guiltlessness. The reality is that it can be a time of extreme vulnerability and dependency. The innocence and fragility of a child is easily manipulated and abused if not nurtured and developed. Family relationships are crucial in the flourishing of young minds, but other childhood associations are important too. These include school life, friends, play and peer-group. Both novels portray these factors and their effects on the character formation of their subjects, to some extent and, show that growing up can be a painful process greatly accelerated by the events that the children encounter. Scout and Jem are the daughter and son of Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer based in Maycomb, twenty miles from Finch's Landing the family plot. They are a white, middle class family who have a black cook/housekeeper. Their story is written in To Kill a Mocking Bird, which was published in 1960. It's author, Harper Lee, was a white woman who incorporated many of her own childhood experiences into the book. She too came from a small, sleepy town in Alabama, her own father was a lawyer and her childhood friend was Trueman Capote, from whom she drew inspiration for Scout and Jem's friend Dill. Perhaps the most influential of the events that occurred during Lee's childhood was the Scottsboro Trials, where nine innocent young black men were accused of raping two white women. This was undoubtedly the inspiration for the climax of the novel, the rape trial of Tom Robinson. Lee wrote the novel in the late 1950's at the beginning of the Civil Rights Move... ...nced, and easy to read way. The character of the narrator Scout is infused with wit and humour and she paints pictures of lazy summer days at play, while still managing to deal with the rape trial and its aftermath. Her characters develop throughout the novel by a series of moralistic encounters with neighbours and family, until by the end of the novel Scout realises that they have learnt so much and remarks: "As I made my way home, I though Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly algebra." (To Kill a Mocking Bird, P308) Lee certainly gets her point across but does so in a gentler, less harrowing way. BIBLIOGRAPHY To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee, William Heinemann Ltd, 1960. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison, Picador, 1990. - OTHER RESOURCES USED www.sparknotes.com www.pinkmonkey.com