Harlem Renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example Supported by the African American Church and even more so by the African American writers, playwrights, artists, and musicians; the expression of African American resentment and the new grown self- confidence was demonstrated in their protests of American entry into the First World War in 1917. The Harlem Renaissance was very vocal against what they believed was a capitalist war that was not in their interests, and so exhorted the African American brought into New York from the South to support the war effort, to join the trade unions instead of being involved in the actual fighting in the war. Yet, many of the African Americans did go to war, expecting to get full citizenship. The denial of citizenship along with the segregation faced by them in the army, caused the returning soldiers to be involved in the expression demanding more rights for the African Americans (Williams, p.1-20). The newly found prosperity of the African Americans disappeared with the Great Depression in 1929. This was to have a profound impact on the survival of the Harlem Renaissance. In the beginning, the Great Depression had little impact on the fortunes of Harlem. Life went on as usual and the great writers continued to churn out inspirational works that expressed the African American desire of greater freedom and social expression. Yet, the era of the great days of Harlem were over. Erosion of the new found prosperity gradually reduced the importance of Harlem, as people strived to face the challenges of the Great Depression. The final nail in the coffin was the repeal of Prohibition by the government in 1933. The nightlife of Harlem disappeared, with the population of Manhattan preferring to remain in Manhattan, as they could drink legally in Manhattan. Many of the Harlem residents lost their jobs and were forced to eke out a living in penury, leading to racial riots (Worth, p. 92-98) . Yet, to view the impact of the Harlem Renaissance as limited to

Strategic Financial Management(business report) Essay

Strategic Financial Management(business report) - Essay Example Barclaycard provides the following products / services in the UK: According to the latest company estimates2, nearly 10.1 million people in the UK carry Barclaycards, of which 565,000 are Barclaycard Business corporate card holders and currently the number of Barclaycard International cards in issue totals 7.6 million. The company has business relationships with close to 93000 retailers and merchants and 24 million outlets that accept Barclaycards globally. The detailed resource analysis involves an analysis of financial, marketing, operations and HRM policies of the company so as to provide an insight into the company’s strategic positioning and overall business performance in the above mentioned key areas. The Barclays group showed significant performance during the financial year 2007 in spite of adverse market conditions. The reduction of 1% in profit before tax was well compensated by the 3% rise in the profit before business disposals. The overall profit growth exceeded that of the previous year with a continuous development in its UK businesses as well as substantial investments in the international branches. The strategic decision of diversifying its business portfolio paid off well in terms of generating good shareholder value, which led to a declaration of an annual dividend amounting to 22.5p per share totaling 34p during the year, amounting to a total 10% increase. A sharp reduction of 11% in the retail impairment charges on loans and advances was observed during the year which fell from  £1,809m in 2006 to  £1,605m in 2007. There was a marked improvement in the Barclaycard impairment charges to an astonishing 21% which fell from  £1,067m in 2006 to  £838m in 2007. This reduction could mainly be attributed to the factors such as reduced flows into delinquency, reduction in the levels of arrears and lower charge – offs in UK

Walmart-success story in india

Walmart-success story in india Executive Summary The retail sector had driven a major economic boom in various parts of the world. The impact of the booming retail was most visible in Developed and Developing countries of the world. The Asian regions were also witnessing an economic boost backed by the retail sector. By 2005, retailing was worth US $7 trillion. Walmart was the worlds largest retailer when it extricated oil giant Exxon Mobil as the worlds largest company by posting US $219 billion in sales for fiscal 2001. Walmarts success had been the result of its ability to leverage size, market clout, and efficiency. Walmart topped Fortune magazines list of top 500 companies in the world, successively for three years till 2004. In the early 1990s, Walmart announced that it planned to go global. It wanted to look for international markets for many reasons like; the competition from domestic market was becoming stiff. Although Walmart had the scope of expansion in the domestic market, it was becoming difficult to maintain double digit growth as it was suffering from soft sales and rising inventories. During the first five years, Walmart concentrated on Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Brazil which were close to its domestic market geographically. Walmart expanded its international operations through acquisitions, joint ventures, Greenfield operations and wholly owned subsidiaries. The liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991 had opened up the market for consumer goods. Soon, new retailing formats emerged to complement the traditional Kirana (mom and pop) stores. Rising incomes coupled with infrastructure improvements were increasing consumer markets and accelerated consumer tastes and preferences. Economic Researches has highlighted that half of the Indian population as low income group in the year of 1994-95. By 2006 -07 it was estimated that less than 20% of the overall Indian population will be below the low income group Internet revolution has helped the consumers in India to know more about multinational or international products and services. It is estimated that by 2015 more than half of the India population will be between the age group of 20-25. All this estimates makes India as one of the most attractive place to invest in retails sector. After years of controversy and opposition from local retailers and political parties Walmart was successful in opening business in India. Their success is keenly watched and observed by retail giants to make the move in India, which is a highly potential market for retail. The purpose of this study is to understand the barriers of entries that are faced by a multinational giant like Walmart and how this company overcomes such barriers to establish their first wholesale shop in India. The business entry by Walmart will be the first reference for any other multinationals who are trying to penetrate into Indian market. Introduction In the year 2009, Walmart opened its first outlet in Amritsar. As a first step, Walmart is involved in selling of vegetable to vendors, hospitals, restaurants and other companies. Over the next 2 years the company has planned to open 10 more big outlets in the potential Cities of India. One of the interesting facts to notice is that the Walmart outlet doesnt carry the traditional â€Å"Walmart† logo. Instead it is known as â€Å"Best Price†. This strategy is purely to avoid political protest against multinational retailers entering into market. Main focus of the study is to understand the barriers of entry that are faced by the Multinational retailers while inflowing into Indian retail market. How the political and legal conditions in India favor such an entry and also how the sentiments and social behavior of the people are influenced are the key part of the study This Bharti-Walmart joint venture would enhance the ongoing retail industry revolution and also will elevate Indian shoppers experience. Thats not all, how the small Kirana stores will oppose such kind of threat or competition is worth observing. There could either be more resistance from local traders or could this be the end of local traders existence and beginning of franchised local shops. Not clear at this moment. India a land of Opportunity Traditionally, the whole fragmented retail industry consisted of 15 million entities which were considered as the largest in the world. There were various attempts made to scale up the size of the industry. The models which were successful in west were adopted. Majority of the players found it difficult to size up except because of the huge investment in infrastructure. Key domestic major players like Pantaloon Retail (India) and the Food World Supermarkets Limited were successful in adapting the scale up process. By 2006, Not only considering India having the largest population of ‘under 25 years in the world and a 400-million middle and upper middle classes, India became one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Its gross domestic product (GDP) reached 8.1 per cent in 2005-06. The retails sector will be the next big thing in India as predicted by analyst .The firms Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index (FDICI) indicated that India and China are the worlds most favored destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI). Increase in shopping malls reflected the boom in retail industry, leading to a new kind of shopping called â€Å"Shoppertainment† (A blend of shopping and entertainment). Evolution of Indian retail Walmarts Dilemma- Challenges For retailing industry its a long way to travel. India has all the right compositions for retail growth; it had been treated as a protected industry. The government did not allow FDI in retail sector, the Protectionism nature of Indian government is very visible through the control of FDI. In case of companies who dealt in single brand, the government in February 2006 allowed 51% of equity partnership through a joint venture with a domestic player. Various controls that are imposed by government have reserved the rights of well organized multinational retailers. Infrastructure has been one of the key concerns and also various levels of taxation by the government have created barriers of entry for the retail industry. Government of India is trying their best to remove such kind of obstacles, but some of the key issues still remain open. Experts opined that the developed and developing countries experiences had proved that performance of organized retail was strongly linked to the performance of the economy as a whole. This was mainly on account of the reach and penetration of this business and its scientific approach in dealing with customers and their needs. The RD division of Walmart had good Global commerce knowledge about different markets. This could be one of the reason why Walmart one of the largest retailer opted India, which is the second largest populous country and the fourth largest retail market in the world. Legal and political Challenges Despite India being an attractive market, the predicament Walmart faced was Indias complex Foreign Direct Investment regulations which is currently the biggest obstacle for global retailers from inflowing into the Indian market. Many international retailers had set up their shops in India either through franchising deals with local partners or joint-venture partnerships with Indian companies. Experts had opined that Walmart would attempt to bypass the rules on FDI by opening a cash-and-carry outlet either in Bangalore or Haryana state as foreign-owned such stores are permitted in India. In August 2005, Walmart had requested permission from the Indian government to open two experimental stores in Kolkata. Under the proposals, Walmart would buy locally produced food and general merchandise and transport it for sale in its outlets. But Walmart was not allowed to go ahead as the Indian government did not open the retail sector. Certain political parties in India believe that entry of Walmart would destroy rather than create employment.† This was against what Walmart has projected. They believe that FDI in Indian retail sector would lead to job losses as big retailers like Walmart, backed by huge finances, would pursue a predatory strategy and eliminate their immediate competition, eventually increasing unemployment. Another reason of opposition against Walmart includes the abandonment of trade unions by the giant retailer. It is opined that Walmarts business strategy entails a â€Å"trade union free company† and dismissing employees who try to form trade unions. Besides, cutting costs to offer products to consumers with lowest prices is believed to be a part of strategy. However, Walmart is alleged of pursuing cost cuts in the form of employee wages and therefore is estimated to harm the interests of the workers. By referring to the above points, it is not sure whether Walmart has studied properly the Political and Legal Environment aspects of India. Its been quite obvious that the government policy and political parties are not in favor of multinational retail giants entering to India. To avoid such kind of protest and consequence the company should have taken a more â€Å"friendly† approach towards entry into Indian market. May be by projecting more social and economical benefit to the country by way of supply chain retailing would have made the entry much more peaceful. On the other side, it was a good publicity for the people of India to know about Walmart giant and their entry into India. Religious and Language Barriers Even though the Walmart hasnt had an impact on the religious sentiments of India compared to the food service corporations of the world Like McDonalds. For Example; before setting up the first restaurant in India McDonalds has spend eight years in studying Indian culture and adaptation strategies. The theory of Degree of Adaptation has been taken care of by Walmart RD Division. India being a multi religious country religious sentiment should be kept in mind while designing and promoting the Company. We had enough and more studies related to religious sentiments and barriers in India and the same has been very well utilized to make sure such barriers of entry are mitigated. After starting the Operation in India Bharti and Walmart venture, so far has not faced any religious barrier in their operation, which means it should not be taken lightly or ignored because hurting religious sentiments can completely dismantle the operations of the company. There was no Language barrier faced by Wal-Mart, but the interesting fact to note is that, the entry of the Multinational giant is opposed by people of different language and religion. It was a mix of culture and emotion that fought against the entry of Walmart to India. If we separate language and Religion out of this mixture then there is hardly any significance about their resistance. It looks like Walmart has taken care of Ethical and Social Responsibility in a much more serious way, due to which I believe there was no stand alone fight from a religious or linguistic section of the society. Recommendations and Conclusions Despite India being an attractive market, the dilemma faced is Indias complex FDI and retail regulations which is currently stopping international retail companies from directly entering the Indian market. Many international retailers had set up their operations in India through franchising deals with local partners or entered in as a joint-venture partnerships with Indian companies Walmart sourcing strategies encompass building direct relationship with farmers and manufacturers and encouraging them to develop products of international standards, plan production schedules and predict their demands with the help of high-end technology that would be provided by Wal-Mart. Whether the Bharti-Walmart venture would be successful in India and whether Walmart would be able to bring a second revolution of retail in India remain to be seen. Walmart India President and Bharti Walmart managing director CEO Raj Jain say â€Å"it is still early days to discuss performance†. But a clear strategy of the company has started emerging; and Walmart is ready to take the early advantage of the market segment related to prices, supply chain, real estate and human resource.

Sarkar-Singer Hypothesis Essay -- International Trade

Sarkar-Singer Hypothesis Introduction Since terms of trade deterioration hypothesis was proposed by Prebisch and Singer in 1950, comparative advantage was doubted. Due to the export structure of developing countries (DCs) is dominated by primary products, and the export structure of industrialised countries (ICs) dominated by manufactured products; they compared primary products export of DCs and manufactured products export of ICs, and indicated that the terms of trade trend to deteriorate over time. This hypothesis is supported by many studies, such as Grilli and Yang (1998) and Spraos (1980); therefore the widening gap like existed. This hypothesis is confronted the traditional view, international trade and specialisation may not be better off. The Prebisch-Singer hypothesis also impacts on the trade policy of the majority of DCs to become inward looking. However, many studies appeal that the defected of Prebisch-Singer hypothesis, Sarkar and Singer analysis is the important appeal. Due to Singer (1958) views that the export structure of the DCs was dominated by primary products; export structure of the ICs by the manufactured products. Therefore, theearly studies use the terms of trade between primary products and manufactures as a proxy. Sarkar (1986) express that the growth of manufactured sectors, however, Singer (1987) proposes that even the change in the commodity composition of exports, the disadvantages in DCs lead the deterioration be continuous. Sarkar and Singer (1991) focuses on this subject, examines the impact of the shift in the commodity composition of exports of DCs. They proposed that the changes in commodity composition of exports are the important factor, as the primary sectors of DCs have a lower rat... ...ent, Vol. 19, No. 4, Page 333-340 Singer, H. W. (1950) The distribution of gains between investing and borrowing countries, American Economic Review, Vol. 40, No. 2, Page 473-485 Singer, H. W. (1958) Comment, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 40, Page87-88 Singer, H. W. (1987) Terms of trade in John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman (Eds), The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, London: Macmillan, Page 626-628 Singer H. W. (1998) The Terms of Trade Fifty Years Later – Convergence and Divergence, The South Letter (30) Sproas, J. (1980) The Statistical Debate on the Net Barter Terms of Trade Between Primary Commodities and Manufactures, Economic Journal, Vol. 90, Page 107-128 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2005) Trade and Development Report Chapter III: Evolution of the Terms of Trade and its Impact on Developing Countries

Elsewhere: Life and Curtis Jest

The novel Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is spectacular. Throughout the book there are many characters that diserve to be mentioned. Elizabeth Marie Hall, also know as Liz or Lizzie is the main character. Owen Welles is her boyfriend. Thandi is her best friend that she meets on the boat. Aldous Ghent is her mentor and friend. Betty is Liz's grandmother. Emily Welles is Owen's â€Å"wife†. Alvy is Liz's brother. Curtis Jest is the rock star she met on the boat. Lucy is Liz's pug, Jen is Owen's dog and Sadie is Liz's dog. Amadou Bonamy is the man who hit Liz, and Zooey, Liz's best friend on Earth. Liz is fifteen, looking forward to turning sixteen and getting her driver's license, when everything changes. She's riding her bike, only three months from driving a car instead of using her bike as her main mode of transportation, when she is hit by a car. She wakes up on a ship, sharing a room with a girl named Thandi who has what looks like a bullethole in the back of her head. Liz doesn't look like she normally does, either; she doesn't have any hair. In this â€Å"dream,† as she thinks it is, things are a little weird. There are no modern electronic devices on the ship, and everyone with the exceptions of herself, Thandi, and Liz's favorite singer, Curtis Jest, is over 80. After watching her own funeral (used by her high school principal as an opportunity to lecture on traffic safety), Liz realizes that this is no dream. Nor is it exactly her â€Å"life. † Liz is dead. She was killed in a car crash, and, in the world skillfully created by Gabrielle Zevin, this is where people go once they die. On a ship. Of course, boats have to go somewhere, and this one finally lands in Elsewhere. The afterlife, though not as anyone on earth imagined it. In Elsewhere, for one thing, people age backwards. Liz will never turn sixteen (but they'll still let her get a driver's license); instead, she'll be turning fourteen again, under the care of her dead grandmother, who is surprisingly young (about the same age as Liz's mother). Elsewhere, though the people grow younger rather than older, is a lot like earth. Some artists continue their work here (you can see new paintings by Picasso! ), just as they did on earth. Marilyn Monroe is a psychiatrist. Everything you can find on Earth–music, books, artwork–you can find Elsewhere. Elsewhere, Liz thinks, â€Å"could have been a walk to the next town or an hour's ride in the car or an overnight plane trip. † It shouldn't be too hard adjusting to this†¦ right? Betty helps her to resolve these feelings by convincing her to take a new job as a counsellor in the division of domestic animals, at which point Lizzie begins to slowly leave her routine of watching her family and instead is given a new motivation to her new life. However, Lizzie is still plagued by the anger she feels towards the driver responsible for her death, â€Å"he is a murderer, he is my murderer. Here Zevin uses repetition to emphasize this anger. Lizzie becomes strongly determined to make him pay for what he has done, and she manages to find a restricted portal known as â€Å"The Well,† to contact her family and tell them who it was that were responsible for her death. how far are you? it depends on what you mean by ending†¦ sorry if this is a spoiler to others! but yeah the book pretty much ends how you'd expect, liz and owen grow younger together, forget to read, lose teeth, and live a very happy childhood together. it ends with liz being shipped back across the ocean as a baby, and her rebirth. wen is cared for by his ex when he's a baby, and betty and curtis are happy together. the end. Well, it's been a while, but, basically, she decides that she can't adjust to life on Elsewhere so she wants to go back to Earth with that one year plan(I can't remember what they called the plan). Once they release her she decides at the last minute that she doesn't want to g o back to Earth, that she'll miss all of her friends from Elsewhere. She wiggles free of the wrappings and then gets lost for a couple of days at the bottom of the ocean. Owen refuses to give up on looking for her and he finds her eventually and they live happily ever after†¦ haha!! I think that's what happens, but I'm not for sure!! Like I said, it's been a while. In the beginning of the novel, a dog is telling us that her owner, Liz, has died. I think the dog explains that the girl was on her bike and was killed by a hit-and-run taxi driver, but we may get that information later. She goes down the river to be sent back to earth after she is done aging backwards. The guy that she was seeing was like 2. Anyway, the story shifts to the dead girl, Liz, who wakes up on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. She does not have hair and does not really know how she got there. She finds another girl, Thandi, who claims she was shot in the head before waking up on the ship. Liz also recognizes and befriends a man named Curtis, who was a famous musician. Most of the others on the ship are old people, and all of them are in pajamas all of the time. That's all Liz knows until later, when Thandi and Curtis tell her they're all dead. Liz refuses to accept this for a long time, even though she watches her own funeral through binoculars on the ship. Anyway, the ship docks in a place called Elsewhere. Liz finds that there is no God, but her grandmother, whom she'd never met, comes to meet her. Liz goes to live with her, and she learns that in Elsewhere, people age backwards until they become babies again, at which point they're reborn. For a long time, Liz spends all of her time watching her loved ones back on earth. She tries to contact them, at one point diving to the bottom of the ocean to use some sort of underwater well to speak with her brother. The officer in charge of catching people who do that saves her (not her life, as she can't die, but saves her all the same) and eventually helps her contact her brother. Through the brother, she is able to tell her father about the birthday gift she'd hidden under the floorboards. This is enough to give her peace, and she's able to adjust. She and the officer, Owen, basically fall in love. Liz also goes to work helping pets who have died learn to adjust (she can speak to them), while Thandi takes a job as an announcer. There are more snags: Owen's wife dies and creates a brief love triangle, though Owen eventually chooses Liz, as he died young and he no longer has much in common with his wife. Anyway, Curtis ends up marrying Liz's grandmother, Liz becomes happy. She becomes the director of her department, is happy to welcome her dog when she finally dies, and even forgives the man who'd killed her when he arrives in Elsewhere years later. She also spends a good decade or more with Owen before the both of them become too young and have to get ready to be reborn. The book ends on a sad note–Liz' grandmother (who was older when she died and thus has longer to spend in Elsewhere), has been caring for baby Liz and gets her ready for rebirth. The group goes to the shore (they put the babies in the ocean, and the current carries them to earth), Owen not really caring until the end, after Liz is gone and he has a brief flash of memory of what she meant to him. He starts crying but quickly forgets again (he's only two at this point and is being cared for by his wife). The novel ends with Liz being born to another mother and feeling eager to start another life. very one else on the boat was over 80 EXCEPT Curtis Jest, Thandi, and Liz! CONFLICT/PROBLEM The conflict or problem encountered would be that, first of all, she is dead. Second of all she can't get over the fact that she hates that she is in Elsewhere. The third problem is that she is aging backwards everyday. Back to the day she was born. SETTING: The setting or place this book took pl ace is first on a cruise ship. That's where she woke up. Then the cruise ship takes her to elsewhere and that is where the biggest part of the book takes place. THEMES: I think there are a couple themes of this book. The first one is that eventually you have to accept who you are or where you are. It gets harder and more miserable if you don't. Lizzie had trouble coming to terms with things. She hated elsewhere but she finally accepted the fact she was dead. Number two would be that things can be bad but in the end everything will be alright. Lizzie didn't like that she ended up in elsewhere but realized that being happy is the best thing that she could do for herself. The third theme for me would be forgiveness. Liz hates the cab driver for killing her but notices that her hate for him won't make things better for anyone. Forgiveness is very important in life. Elsewhere tells the story of a fifteen year old girl, Elizabeth ‘Liz' Hall, who dies in a bicycle accident and wakes up to find herself traveling on a boat called the SS Nile. There, she meets a girl who had been shot and a famous person who had died of a drug overdose. After watching her own funeral, Liz realizes that she is truly dead. Soon afterwards, she and the other passengers arrive in what is known as â€Å"Elsewhere†. She meets her grandmother, who had died before Liz was born, and Liz begins to live with her. In Elsewhere, Liz learns, everyone ages backwards from the day they died to the day they turn zero, and then they are sent back to Earth to be reincarnated as a baby. Liz misses her life on Earth, and becomes obsessed with watching her family and friends through Observation Decks, she tried to talk to her family a few times, which she gets caught and meets Owen. She is depressed, and sees no reason to do anything since she is dead, but in time she makes new friends in Elsewhere who help her come to terms with the fact that she has died. She can talk in canine, which she at first was unaware of. Gradually, she learns that a life lived backwards is not much different to a life lived forwards. Elsewhere is an original, interesting view of things that is somewhere between the heaven and hell spoken of by most religions; as has been said, this afterlife is a lot like an extension of life on earth, only backwards. It seems like a nice place, a happy place to be–except for what it takes for people to get there.

Why Is Xenia Such an Important Theme in the Odyssey?

Why is Xenia such an important theme in the Odyssey? Explain your views and support them with details from the poem. (45 marks) The concept of guest hospitality was extremely important in ancient Greece. Evidence that Xenia was integral to Greek society can be found in the fact that Zeus, the king of the Gods, was also portrayed as the God of Xenia. Xenia created an obligation for the host to be hospitable to their guests, and conversely, the guests had their own responsibilities too. If either the host or the guest was to break a Xenia rule, there would be severe penalties dealt by Zeus and also by society.Some basic Xenia rules were that the guest could not insult the host, make demands, or refuse xenia. Additionally, the host could not insult the guest, fail to protect the guest, or fail to be as hospitable as possible. It was also customary for gifts to be given to the guest, or for a gift exchange to be conducted between guest-friends. The host-guest relationship was very compli cated and placed equal burden on both. This custom of xenia also held a burden of trust, where both the guest and host would have to rely on custom in regards to personal safety.This trust was reinforced by both fear of word getting out that the host had provided improper xenia, and fear of retribution by the gods, since one never knew when a traveller might actually be a god in disguise (for example, in book 1 when Athene disguises herself as Mentes and receives hospitality from Telemachus), come to test the level of your xenia. All travellers were seen as sent by Zeus and under his protection, so giving proper xenia was also a way of showing respect for the gods, especially Zeus in the form of Xenios. Xenia offers a moral ground in the Odyssey.Greek religion did not have strict moral regulations like modern Catholicism etc, and the Gods possessed a level of humanity and humility (for example, they had flaws, such as Achilles heel). Xenia imposed moral regulations in ancient Greece . It also allows Homer to convey whether characters are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, characters that show bad Xenia are almost portrayed as amoral. An example of poor Xenia in the Odyssey is Penelope’s Suitors. The suitors steal and plunder Odysseus' hall, feast on his food, take his maids to bed and all the while, each trying to take Penelope's hand in marriage.When Odysseus returns, he knows all about the suitors, and schematically kills all of them with no mercy. As the suitors showed bad Xenia, Odysseus is considered heroic for killing them. This is also an example of retribution for bad Xenia. Homer also uses Xenia as a literary device in the Odyssey. Without Xenia, much of the plot would be invalidated; Xenia customs explain many events in the Odyssey. For example, Xenia explains why Penelope and Telemachus didn’t just ask the suitors to leave rather than putting up with them.Xenia also explains why, during the battle of Troy, Glaucus and Diomedes r efuse to fight: they discover their ancestors had a Xenia bond. Traveling in Homer’s time was much more extensive and lengthier than in modern times. The less advanced methods of transportation used in Homeric times, such as by boat or by foot, were much slower than modern forms of transportation. Because of this, many more nights were spent away from home in many different locations. Also, there were not hotels or inns where travellers could pay and stay the night.Even if there were, travellers probably could not afford to pay for every night they were gone. Because of this, travellers had to rely on the hospitality of others for shelter, food, and protection. Without Xenia, Odysseus wouldn’t have been able to return home to Penelope. Xenia was also a universal way for Homer to state character’s status and wealth in the Odyssey. As it was frowned upon for aristocrats to engage in trade or commerce, Xenia was one of the only ways for Homeric heroes to acquire we alth. All hosts are obligated to provide their guests with the best food, accommodation and comfort they can.For example, Menelaus’ guests are offered water from a golden jug into a silver basin and wine served in golden cups. The xenia gifts characters give are also a statement of wealth, as well as a way of acquiring wealth, for example, when Telemachus acquires a silver krater, a wedding dress, a golden cup and other elaborate gifts from his stay in Sparta. In the Odyssey, Xenia is also shown to be one of the hallmarks of a civilised society, allowing us to judge the societies that Odysseus visits by their attitudes to xenia.For example, the Cyclopes are well informed about Xenia, yet disregard it because they have no fear of the God’s retribution. This tells us that the Cyclopes live in a formidable and amoral society. Even the Gods are shown to respect Xenia rules, for example in Book 5 when Calypso gives hospitality to Hermes. Good xenia is shown to have good rep ercussions for both the guest and the host: for example, Odysseus’ stay on the island of Calypso, where he is met with exceptional hospitality. Odysseus received this hospitality well and continued to please Calypso.Only at the end did he ever try to refuse her hospitality and leave, and even this caused no serious problems. Here we have an example of the guest-host relationship working well. Calypso is provided with a companion, even if it was not permanent, and Odysseus was provided with shelter, provisions, and protection for his men. In the end it proves to be a beneficial situation for them both. Xenia also provides a system of retribution in the Odyssey. Those shown to disregard the rules of Xenia often meet violent ends, and in turn, those shown to show good Xenia reap the benefits of this.An example of retribution for bad Xenia is when the Cyclops decides to eat rather than welcome Odysseus and his crew, and the men respond by poking his eye out. This event does not b other the gods at all. The father of the Cyclops, Poseidon, is only upset by the event because it was his son who was hurt. Zeus even praises Odysseus after the event by claiming that, â€Å"There is no mortal half so wise† (Homer, p. 3). This statement proves that violence was an acceptable answer when a host was not gracious. It also shows how the Gods justified violence as a result of bad Xenia.Overall, Xenia is a majorly important theme in the Odyssey. Not only is it used as a literary device by Homer, as it provides an explanation for many aspects of the plot and provides the poem with continuity as well as a way for Homer to portray characters as heroes and villains. Xenia also tells us a lot about ancient Greek society, as it provided a moral grounding and allowed travellers to go from place to place. Examples of Xenia in the Odyssey allow us to judge which characters are wealthy, famous, good, bad, monstrous and evil.