Self-Service Technologies Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2529 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Essay any type Did you like this example? Introduction In the modern world, self-service technologies (SST) have been implemented in the service industry. There are various types of SST services such as telephone-based technologies, online banking, internet-based interfaces etc. (Yen, 2005). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Self-Service Technologies Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order Despite this huge rise in SST, it cannot be simply assumed that SSTs are always better than traditional services. As any other service, SST comes with its failures and disappointments (Shamdasani et al, 2008, Dimitriadis Kyrezis, 2011, Dabholkar Spaid, 2012). Service failures may occur in all services, as well as SST. It is known that service failure recoveries (SFR) are extremely important for organisations in order to retain existing customers and to keep up good image of the business. SFR systems are also a vital part of SSTs (Buell et al, 2010; Oghazi et al, 2012; Beatson et al, 2006; Yen, 2005; Beatson et al, 2007). This paper examines SFR within SST context and how it related to overall customers satisfaction in any business. It is important to understand the issues that are raised about SST and get managers of organisations who provide SST to help customers by providing various failure recoveries. The Role of Customer Complaints in SST One of the topics that have been focused on by multiple researchers is the role of customer complaints in SFR while using SST. Meuter et al (2000), Girman et al (2009), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) explore the relationship between customer complaints in SFR while using SST. The four studies examine the relationships that influence customers likelihood of voice in SST context. The authors look at the following issue within different industries who use SST. Meuter et al (2000), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) do empirical studies in order to obtain their data and analysis while Girman et al (2009) only rely on other researchers data to obtain their conclusion. All of the researchers hypothesise that there is a positive relationship between having customer complaints while undergoing service failures in SST and customers perceptions of SST. The findings of Meuter et al (2000), Girman et al (2009), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) show that there is a significant relationship between customer complaints while experiencing a service failure in using STT and customers satisfaction with the following SST. Robertson Shaw (2009) and Meuter at al (2000) also found that ease of voice mediates the relationship between customers perceptions of likelihood of voice success and their likelihood of voice behaviour. Meuter et al (2000), Girman et al (2009), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) found that having customers complain during a service failure while using SST can contribute to better SFR and therefore increase customers satisfaction with SST and organisation as a whole. The Role of Customers Emotions in SST A second issue that was found in the articles studied is the role of customers emotions in experiencing service failures while using SST. Gelbrich (2009), Dabholkar Bagozzi (2002), Yen (2005), and Johnson et al (2008) examine the relationship between customers emotions in service failures while using SST and customers overall satisfaction with SST. Their research aims to distinguish the importance of customers behaviours and their emotions while experiencing service failures in STT. While Johnson et al (2008) and Yen (2005) hypothesise that there is a general relationship between the customers emotions in SF while using STT, Gelbrich (2009) hypothesises that anger and helplessness are negatively related to overall customer satisfaction. Furthermore, Dabholkar Bagozzi (2002) hypothesise that its the anxiety and stress in using SST that are negatively related to overall customer satisfaction. All four academic articles are empirical studies that look at the following issue withi n SST in general, not focusing on specific industries or specific types of SST. Gelbrich (2009), Dabholkar Bagozzi (2002), Yen (2005), and Johnsons et al (2008) findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between customers emotions in service failures while using SST and overall customer satisfaction. It was found that emotions impact on customer reactions occurred directly and indirectly through overall customer satisfaction. The conceptual frameworks used in all four studies can be applied to future research on any service experience. Analysis of The Role of Customer Complaints in SST An issue that may be raised is the role of customer complaints in SST. Meuter et al (2000), Girman et al (2009), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) explore the relationship between customer complaints in SFR while using STT and satisfaction with using SST. The findings of all four studies reveal that there is a significant relationship between customer complaints while experiencing a service failure in using STT and customers satisfaction with the following SST. It is argued that the role of customer complaints plays a vital role in SFR in SST, and therefore contributes to the overall customers satisfaction. Authors argue that if customers do not make a complaint or if a timely response to these complaints are impossible the certain faults do not get fixed and therefore may lead to further failures. However, it also needs to be understood that SST providers should not count on failure reports by users and be proactive because it is better to correct faults before they lead to failure (Girman et al, 2009, p. 47). It is also suggested by various researchers (e.g., Girman et al, 2009; Robertson et al, 2011; Roberson Shaw, 2009) minor failures can end up discouraging first time users that look for perfect performance and are not familiar with SST and as for returning users, if these minor failures are repeated for some time it may demolish their trust in SST or even in the organisation who provides the following services. On the down side, there are certain limitations to the following studies. The focus solely on customer complaints within this field can be argued to be the main one. Even though it is important to look at this issue, other researchers argue that there are far more important attributes that should be concentrated on. For example, Elliot et al (2013) argue that readiness for use of technology is a very important factor that should be looked at. They focus on customers technology readiness and argue that it also has a direct a nd positive influence on customers overall satisfaction and is an important factor that should be examined while looking at SFR in SST. It can be implied that role of customer complaints in SST is an important factor, however other issues should also be examined, but not necessary taken in count for. All four studies draw a relationship and show the importance of customer complaints in SST when undergoing a service failure and Meuter et al (2000), Robertson et al (2011), and Roberson Shaw (2009) studies have sufficient amount of empirical evidence to prove the following issue. Therefore, it can be argued that it is an important issue and it should be looked upon when constructing a research within the field of service failures in SST. It is also an issue that should be addressed by managers of organisations who provide SST in order to make sure their customers are satisfied and prevent them from stopping to use SST and leaving to their competitors. Analysis of The Role of Customers Emotions in SST Gelbrich (2009), Dabholkar Bagozzi (2002), Yen (2005), and Johnson et al (2008) examine the relationship between customers emotions in service failures while using SST and customers overall satisfaction with SST. They found that there is significant positive relationship between customers emotions in service failures while using SST and overall customer satisfaction. Gelbrich (2009), Yen (2005), and Johnson et al (2008) argue that customers emotions have a very strong link with SFR in SST and also with their overall perceived satisfaction. Gelbrich (2009) focuses on customers emotions such as anger and helplessness and suggests that they are negatively related to overall customer satisfaction, while Dabholkar Bagozzi (2002) concentrated on emotions such as anxiety and stress in using SST and argues that they are negatively related to overall customer satisfaction as well. Yen (2005) and Johnson et al (2008) however, do not focus on any emotions in specific, on the other hand, they focus on situational factors and suggest that they affect customers emotions and emotions in turn effect their overall satisfaction with SFR and SST. The main limitation of these studies is that those results only account for behavioural instincts and patterns that customers have, yet they do not account for emotions of the employees who might deal with SST recoveries and therefore it does not take in count how that may affect the overall customer satisfaction. Another limitation is the focus on the certain issue. As mentioned above, other researchers argue that its the other issues that should be looked upon, such as complaints, perceived control and fun (eg. Oghazi et al, 2012 ; Dimitriadis Kyrezis, 2011; Zhu et al, 2007; Robertson et al, 2011; Elliot et al, 2013). Also, Anitsal Paige (2006) argue that customers in general are happy to use SST, and prefer to encounter service failures in SST than normal services with employees because they feel more in control and the y think they are less likely to cause mistakes than employees. Therefore, they argue that customers emotions as well as the other two issues are irrelevant in this filed. Overall, in the light of these limitations it can be understood that the role of customers emotions is very important factor and should be examined by researchers and managers of organisations that provide SST services, however, it is not the only issue that should be addressed. This issue may be addressed by identifying the various emotions customers have and combining them with various situational factors to examine more in depth what actually needs to be changed and used as a guide to how managers precede with recoveries in different situations according to how customers react. Conclusion Service recovery is an important factor when it comes to SST, in order to keep customers satisfied and prevent them from leaving to competitors or stopping them from using SST in general. This paper suggests that there are two critical factors that play a vital role and have a great impact on SFR in SST and customers perceived satisfaction: the role of customer complaints in SST and the role of customers emotion in SST. SFR in SST is vital and the mentioned above two key components should be looked upon and examined by managers of organisations that provide SST as well as organisations that are planning to introduce SST. This paper suggests that those key issues should be examined in order to keep customers satisfied and loyal to organisations, making SST act as a proper asset to the organisations and trying to gain as much advantage from it as possible. Although, it is argued that there are more factors that should be examined that may also influence SFR in SST and customers overall perceived satisfaction. Many of those factors are not discussed and investigated in this paper. However, ideally those factors should also be addressed and looked upon when contrasting a further research within this context. Furthermore, this paper has a number of limitations. There was a word restriction set and due to the voluminous research made on this topic unfortunately only a few issues could be drawn from all the literature. Furthermore, the literature that has been examined and compared had their research carried out in different fields of SST and in different countries. Therefore, it can be concluded that it is hard to generalise the findings for all industries and also for a specific industry. This is because not every single one was examined. This leaves the comparison of the key issues and applicability of findings open for discussion. Due to the following limitations mentioned, it needs to be understood that the conclusions drawn from studied papers shou ld be interpreted in the light of these limitations. It can be identified as a guideline or as issues that should be examined by managers of businesses that provide SST services and organisations that are planning on introducing SSTs. In conclusion, looking at the research with the limitations that have been drawn, it can be said that SFR plays a vital role in SST and it is important to have in order to keep customers satisfied. References Core Papers Anitsal, I. and Paige, R. C. 2006. An exploratory study on consumer perceptions of service quality in technology-based self-service. Services Marketing Quarterly, 27 (3), pp. 5367. Beatson, A., Coote, L. V. and Rudd, J. M. 2006. Determining consumer satisfaction and commitment through self-service technology and personal service usage. Journal of Marketing Management, 22 (7-8), pp. 853882. Beatson, A., Lee, N. and Coote, L. V. 2007. Self-service technology and the service encounter. The Service Industries Journal, 27 (1), pp. 7589. Buell, R. W., Campbell, D. and Frei, F. X. 2010. Are Self-Service Customers Satisfied or Stuck?. Production and Operations Management, 19 (6), pp. 679697. Dabholkar, P. A. and Bagozzi, R. P. 2002. An attitudinal model of technology-based self-service: moderating effects of consumer traits and situational factors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30 (3), pp. 184201. Dabholkar, P. A. and Spaid, B. I. 2012. Service failure and rec overy in using technology-based self-service: effects on user attributions and satisfaction. The Service Industries Journal, 32 (9), pp. 14151432. Dimitriadis, S. and Kyrezis, N. 2011. The effect of trust, channel technology, and transaction type on the adoption of self-service bank channels. The Service Industries Journal, 31 (8), pp. 12931310. Elliott, K. M., Hall, M. C. and Meng, J. G. 2013. Consumers intention to use self-scanning technology: the role of technology readiness and perceptions toward self-service technology. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 17 (1). Gelbrich, K. 2009. Beyond just being dissatisfied: how angry and helpless customers react to failures when using self-service technologies. Schmalenbach Business Review (SBR), 61 (1). Girman, M., Keusch, P., Kmec, P. 2009. Faults, failures and availability in self-service technology. Management Services, 53(4), pp.44-47. Johnson, D. S., Bardhi, F. and Dunn, D. T. 2008. Understanding how technology pa radoxes affect customer satisfaction with self-service technology: The role of performance ambiguity and trust in technology. Psychology Marketing, 25 (5), pp. 416443. Meuter, M. L., Ostrom, A. L., Roundtree, R. I. and Bitner, M. J. 2000. Self-service technologies: understanding customer satisfaction with technology-based service encounters. Journal of marketing, 64 (3), pp. 5064. Oghazi, P., Mostaghel, R., Hultman, M. and Parida, V. 2012. Antecedents of technology-based self-service acceptance: a proposed model. Services Marketing Quarterly, 33 (3), pp. 195210. Robertson, N. and Shaw, R. N. 2009. Predicting the likelihood of voiced complaints in the self-service technology context. Journal of Service Research, 12 (1), pp. 100116. Robertson, N., Mcquilken, L., K and Ampully, J. 2012. Consumer complaints and recovery through guaranteeing self-service technology. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 11 (1), pp. 2130. Shamdasani, P., Mukherjee, A. and Malhotra, N. 2008. Antec edents and consequences of service quality in consumer evaluation of self-service internet technologies. The Service Industries Journal, 28 (1), pp. 117138. Yen, H. R. 2005. An attribute-based model of quality satisfaction for internet self-service technology. The Service Industries Journal, 25 (5), pp. 641659. Zhu, Z., Nakata, C., Sivakumar, K. and Grewal, D. 2007. Self-service technology effectiveness: the role of design features and individual traits. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35 (4), pp. 492506. Additional Sources Anselmsson, J. 2001. Customer-perceived service quality and technology-based self service (Doctoral dissertation). Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Bateson, J. E. G. 1985. Self-service consumer: An exploratory study. Journal of Retailing, 61(3), pp.49-76. Dabholkar, P. A. 1996. Consumer evaluations of new technology-based self-service options: An investigation of alternative models of service quality. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13(1), pp. 29-51. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., Warshaw, P. R. (1989). User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35, pp.982-1002.

Character Analysis Of The Movie Claire Standish

Claire Standish is the typical popular, mainstream, and rich prom ruler at her high school. When she decided to ditch school and instead go to the mall she got served a Saturday Detention . Claire’s parents also dont have the best relationship and they mostly use Claire as an excuse to get at each others throats. Claire is stuck up, snooty, and has clearly stated that she will not hang out with you if your so called not popular at school. In the movie she also states that she her decisions mostly are not based on her own feelings, but her peers and parents feelings or so called, peer pressure. Abraham Maslow’s meaning of self actualization is one to reach his full potential or of one’s true self. From a humanistic standpoint, Claire’s†¦show more content†¦The id basically just wants pleasure and to avoid pain. The id focuses on the pleasure principle, or a desire to reduce tensions and to gain immediate satisfaction without counting the cost. For example, when John Bender leaves to go smoke his bag of marijuana, Claire is seen going with him without any hesitation. Claire doesnt at all think about the consequences or punishments she would receive from her parents or even the school. She decides to do it for pleasure and in order to avoid pain throughout her detention. It seems as though Claire had no ego or superego at all during this scene. In Erik Eriksons stages of development, the identity vs role confusion theory coincides with Claire’s life tremendously. The identity vs role confusion is a theory where basically the question, â€Å"Who am I?† pops up to the teens head many times in order for them to find out what type of person are they. The teens usually hang out with many social groups or act a certain way in order to fit in with the norm or to feel at all comfortable with who they are. The identity vs role confusion usually involves teens who go through the ages of twelve through eighteen. In Claire’s perspective she experiences she experiences this theory in a way that she just tries to go with the flow. She just suppresses feelings just because she has no real friends or parents in her life. She has no grip on her personalityShow MoreRelatedThe Princess By Claire Standish1455 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Claire Standish or â€Å"the princess† portrays the stereotypical popular teenage girl in The Breakfast Club. She is in detention with everyone else because she decided to skip class and go shopping, which also plays into the stereotypical teen girl image. It can also be assumed that she is spoiled and rich since her father tried to get her out of detention but failed, and she mentions to the group that her parents only use her to get back at the other one. She brings a fancy lunch of sushi

The Host Chapter 13 Sentenced Free Essays

string(22) " what they did to me\." Are they here?† We choked out the words-they burst from us like the water in our lungs had, expelled. After water, this question was all that mattered. â€Å"Did they make it?† Uncle Jeb’s face was impossible to read in the darkness. We will write a custom essay sample on The Host Chapter 13: Sentenced or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Who?† he asked. â€Å"Jamie, Jared!† Our whisper burned like a shout. â€Å"Jared was with Jamie. Our brother! Are they here? Did they come? Did you find them, too?† There was barely a pause. â€Å"No.† His answer was forceful, and there was no pity in it, no feeling at all. â€Å"No,† we whispered. We were not echoing him, we were protesting against getting our life back. What was the point? We closed our eyes again and listened to the pain in our body. We let that drown out the pain in our mind. â€Å"Look,† Uncle Jeb said after a moment. â€Å"I, uh, have something to take care of. You rest for a bit, and I’ll be back for you.† We didn’t hear the meaning in his words, just the sounds. Our eyes stayed closed. His footsteps crunched quietly away from us. We couldn’t tell which direction he went. We didn’t care anyway. They were gone. There was no way to find them, no hope. Jared and Jamie had disappeared, something they knew well how to do, and we would never see them again. The water and the cooler night air were making us lucid, something we did not want. We rolled over, to bury our face against the sand again. We were so tired, past the point of exhaustion and into some deeper, more painful state. Surely we could sleep. All we had to do was not think. We could do that. We did. When we woke, it was still night, but dawn was threatening on the eastern horizon-the mountains were lined with dull red. Our mouth tasted of dust, and at first we were sure that we had dreamed Uncle Jeb’s appearance. Of course we had. Our head was clearer this morning, and we noticed quickly the strange shape near our right cheek-something that was not a rock or a cactus. We touched it, and it was hard and smooth. We nudged it, and the delicious sound of sloshing water came from inside. Uncle Jeb was real, and he’d left us a canteen. We sat up carefully, surprised when we didn’t break in two like a withered stick. Actually, we felt better. The water must have had time to work its way through some of our body. The pain was dull, and for the first time in a long while, we felt hungry again. Our fingers were stiff and clumsy as we twisted the cap from the top of the canteen. It wasn’t all the way full, but there was enough water to stretch the walls of our belly again-it must have shrunk. We drank it all; we were done with rationing. We dropped the metal canteen to the sand, where it made a dull thud in the predawn silence. We felt wide awake now. We sighed, preferring unconsciousness, and let our head fall into our hands. What now? â€Å"Why did you give it water, Jeb?† an angry voice demanded, close behind our back. We whirled, twisting onto our knees. What we saw made our heart falter and our awareness splinter apart. There were eight humans half-circled around where I knelt under the tree. There was no question they were humans, all of them. I’d never seen faces contorted into such expressions-not on my kind. These lips twisted with hatred, pulled back over clenched teeth like wild animals. These brows pulled low over eyes that burned with fury. Six men and two women, some of them very big, most of them bigger than me. I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized why they held their hands so oddly-gripped tightly in front of them, each balancing an object. They held weapons. Some held blades-a few short ones like those I had kept in my kitchen, and some longer, one huge and menacing. This knife had no purpose in a kitchen. Melanie supplied the name: a machete. Others held long bars, some metal, some wooden. Clubs. I recognized Uncle Jeb in their midst. Held loosely in his hands was an object I’d never seen in person, only in Melanie’s memories, like the big knife. It was a rifle. I saw horror, but Melanie saw all this with wonder, her mind boggling at their numbers. Eight human survivors. She’d thought Jeb was alone or, in the best case scenario, with only two others. To see so many of her kind alive filled her with joy. You’re an idiot, I told her. Look at them. See them. I forced her to see it from my perspective: to see the threatening shapes inside the dirty jeans and light cotton shirts, brown with dust. They might have been human-as she thought of the word-once, but at this moment they were something else. They were barbarians, monsters. They hung over us, slavering for blood. There was a death sentence in every pair of eyes. Melanie saw all this and, though grudgingly, she had to admit that I was right. At this moment, her beloved humans were at their worst-like the newspaper stories we’d seen in the abandoned shack. We were looking at killers. We should have been wiser; we should have died yesterday. Why would Uncle Jeb keep us alive for this? A shiver passed through me at the thought. I’d skimmed through the histories of human atrocities. I’d had no stomach for them. Perhaps I should have concentrated better. I knew there were reasons why humans let their enemies live, for a little while. Things they wanted from their minds or their bodies†¦ Of course it sprang into my head immediately-the one secret they would want from me. The one I could never, never tell them. No matter what they did to me. You read "The Host Chapter 13: Sentenced" in category "Essay examples" I would have to kill myself first. I did not let Melanie see the secret I protected. I used her own defenses against her and threw up a wall in my head to hide behind while I thought of the information for the first time since implantation. There had been no reason to think of it before. Melanie was hardly even curious on the other side of the wall; she made no effort to break through it. There were much more immediate concerns than the fact that she had not been the only one keeping information in reserve. Did it matter that I protected my secret from her? I wasn’t as strong as Melanie; I had no doubt she could endure torture. How much pain could I stand before I gave them anything they wanted? My stomach heaved. Suicide was a repugnant option-worse because it would be murder, too. Melanie would be part of either torture or death. I would wait for that until I had absolutely no other choice. No, they can’t. Uncle Jeb would never let them hurt me. Uncle Jeb doesn’t know you’re here, I reminded her. Tell him! I focused on the old man’s face. The thick white beard kept me from seeing the set of his mouth, but his eyes did not seem to burn like the others’. From the corner of my eye, I could see a few of the men shift their gaze from me to him. They were waiting for him to answer the question that had alerted me to their presence. Uncle Jeb stared at me, ignoring them. I can’t tell him, Melanie. He won’t believe me. And if they think I’m lying to them, they’ll think I’m a Seeker. They must have experience enough to know that only a Seeker would come out here with a lie, a story designed for infiltration. Melanie recognized the truth of my thought at once. The very word Seeker made her recoil with hatred, and she knew these strangers would have the same reaction. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m a soul-that’s enough for them. The one with the machete-the biggest man there, black-haired with oddly fair skin and vivid blue eyes-made a sound of disgust and spit on the ground. He took a step forward, slowly raising the long blade. Better fast than slow. Better that it was this brutal hand and not mine that killed us. Better that I didn’t die a creature of violence, accountable for Melanie’s blood as well as my own. â€Å"Hold it, Kyle.† Jeb’s words were unhurried, almost casual, but the big man stopped. He grimaced and turned to face Melanie’s uncle. â€Å"Why? You said you made sure. It’s one of them.† I recognized the voice-he was the same one who’d asked Jeb why he’d given me water. â€Å"Well, yes, she surely is. But it’s a little complicated.† â€Å"How?† A different man asked the question. He stood next to the big, dark-haired Kyle, and they looked so much alike that they had to be brothers. â€Å"See, this here is my niece, too.† â€Å"Not anymore she’s not,† Kyle said flatly. He spit again and took another deliberate step in my direction, knife ready. I could see from the way his shoulders leaned into the action that words would not stop him again. I closed my eyes. There were two sharp metallic clicks, and someone gasped. My eyes flew open again. â€Å"I said hold it, Kyle.† Uncle Jeb’s voice was still relaxed, but the long rifle was gripped tightly in his hands now, and the barrels were pointed at Kyle’s back. Kyle was frozen just steps from me; his machete hung motionless in the air above his shoulder. â€Å"Jeb,† the brother said, horrified, â€Å"what are you doing?† â€Å"Step away from the girl, Kyle.† Kyle turned his back to us, whirling on Jeb in fury. â€Å"It’s not a girl, Jeb!† Jeb shrugged; the gun stayed steady in his hands, pointed at Kyle. â€Å"There are things to be discussed.† â€Å"The doctor might be able to learn something from it,† a female voice offered gruffly. I cringed at the words, hearing in them my worst fears. When Jeb had called me his niece just now, I’d foolishly let a spark of hope flame to life-perhaps there would be pity. I’d been stupid to think that, even for a second. Death would be the only pity I could hope for from these creatures. I looked at the woman who’d spoken, surprised to see that she was as old as Jeb, maybe older. Her hair was dark gray rather than white, which is why I hadn’t noticed her age before. Her face was a mass of wrinkles, all of them turning down into angry lines. But there was something familiar about the features behind the lines. Melanie made the connection between this ancient face and another, smoother face in her memory. â€Å"Aunt Maggie? You’re here? How? Is Sharon -† The words were all Melanie, but they gushed from my mouth, and I was unable to stop them. Sharing for so long in the desert had made her stronger, or me weaker. Or maybe it was just that I was concentrating on which direction the deathblow was going to fall from. I was bracing for our murder, and she was having a family reunion. Melanie got only halfway through her surprised exclamation. The much-aged woman named Maggie lunged forward with a speed that belied her brittle exterior. She didn’t raise the hand that held the black crowbar. That was the hand I was watching, so I didn’t see her free hand swing out to slap me hard across the face. My head snapped back and then forward. She slapped me again. â€Å"You won’t fool us, you parasite. We know how you work. We know how well you can mimic us.† I tasted blood inside my cheek. Don’t do that again, I scolded Melanie. I told you what they’d think. Melanie was too shocked to answer. â€Å"Now, Maggie,† Jeb began in a soothing tone. â€Å"Don’t you Now, Maggie’ me, you old fool! She’s probably led a legion of them down on us.† She backed away from me, her eyes measuring my stillness as if I were a coiled snake. She stopped beside her brother. â€Å"I don’t see anyone,† Jeb retorted. â€Å"Hey!† he yelled, and I flinched in surprise. I wasn’t the only one. Jeb waved his left hand over his head, the gun still clenched in the right. â€Å"Over here!† â€Å"Shut up,† Maggie growled, shoving his chest. Though I had good reason to know she was strong, Jeb didn’t wobble. â€Å"She’s alone, Mag. She was pretty much dead when I found her-she’s not in such great shape now. The centipedes don’t sacrifice their own that way. They would have come for her much sooner than I did. Whatever else she is, she’s alone.† I saw the image of the long, many-legged insect in my head, but I didn’t make the connection. He’s talking about you, Melanie translated. She placed the picture of the ugly bug next to my memory of a bright silver soul. I didn’t see a resemblance. I wonder how he knows what you look like, Melanie wondered absently. My memories of a soul’s true appearance had been new to her in the beginning. I didn’t have time to wonder with her. Jeb was walking toward me, and the others were close behind. Kyle’s hand hovered at Jeb’s shoulder, ready to restrain him or throw him out of the way, I couldn’t tell. Jeb put his gun in his left hand and extended the right to me. I eyed it warily, waiting for it to hit me. â€Å"C’mon,† he urged gently. â€Å"If I could carry you that far, I woulda brought you home last night. You’re gonna have to walk some more.† â€Å"No!† Kyle grunted. â€Å"I’m takin’ her back,† Jeb said, and for the first time there was a harsher tone to his voice. Under his beard, his jaw flexed into a stubborn line. â€Å"Jeb!† Maggie protested. â€Å"‘S my place, Mag. I’ll do what I want.† â€Å"Old fool!† she snapped again. Jeb reached down and grabbed my hand from where it lay curled into a fist against my thigh. He yanked me to my feet. It was not cruelty; it was merely as if he was in a hurry. Yet was it not the very worst form of cruelty to prolong my life for the reasons he had? I rocked unsteadily. I couldn’t feel my legs very well-just prickles like needle points as the blood flowed down. There was a hiss of disapproval behind him. It came from more than one mouth. â€Å"Okay, whoever you are,† he said to me, his voice still kind. â€Å"Let’s get out of here before it heats up.† The one who must have been Kyle’s brother put his hand on Jeb’s arm. â€Å"You can’t just show it where we live, Jeb.† â€Å"I suppose it doesn’t matter,† Maggie said harshly. â€Å"It won’t get a chance to tell tales.† Jeb sighed and pulled a bandanna-all but hidden by his beard-from around his neck. â€Å"This is silly,† he muttered, but he rolled the dirty fabric, stiff with dry sweat, into a blindfold. I kept perfectly still as he tied it over my eyes, fighting the panic that increased when I couldn’t see my enemies. I couldn’t see, but I knew it was Jeb who put one hand on my back and guided me; none of the others would have been so gentle. We started forward, toward the north, I thought. No one spoke at first-there was just the sound of sand grinding under many feet. The ground was even, but I stumbled on my numb legs again and again. Jeb was patient; his guiding hand was almost chivalrous. I felt the sun rise as we walked. Some of the footsteps were faster than others. They moved ahead of us until they were hard to hear. It sounded like it was the minority that stayed with Jeb and me. I must not have looked like I needed many guards-I was faint with hunger, and I swayed with every step; my head felt dizzy and hollow. â€Å"You aren’t planning to tell him, are you?† It was Maggie’s voice; it came from a few feet behind me, and it sounded like an accusation. â€Å"He’s got a right to know,† Jeb replied. The stubborn note was back in his voice. â€Å"It’s an unkind thing you are doing, Jebediah.† â€Å"Life is unkind, Magnolia.† It was hard to decide who was the more terrifying of the two. Was it Jeb, who seemed so intent on keeping me alive? Or Maggie, who had first suggested the doctor-an appellation that filled me with instinctive, nauseated dread-but who seemed more worried about cruelty than her brother? We walked in silence again for a few hours. When my legs buckled, Jeb lowered me to the ground and held a canteen to my lips as he had in the night. â€Å"Let me know when you’re ready,† Jeb told me. His voice sounded kind, though I knew that was a false interpretation. Someone sighed impatiently. â€Å"Why are you doing this, Jeb?† a man asked. I’d heard the voice before; it was one of the brothers. â€Å"For Doc? You could have just told Kyle that. You didn’t have to pull a gun on him.† â€Å"Kyle needs a gun pulled on him more often,† Jeb muttered. â€Å"Please tell me this wasn’t about sympathy,† the man continued. â€Å"After all you’ve seen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"After all I’ve seen, if I hadn’t learned compassion, I wouldn’t be worth much. But no, it was not about sympathy. If I had enough sympathy for this poor creature, I would have let her die.† I shivered in the oven-hot air. â€Å"What, then?† Kyle’s brother demanded. There was a long silence, and then Jeb’s hand touched mine. I grasped it, needing the help to get back on my feet. His other hand pressed against my back, and I started forward again. â€Å"Curiosity,† Jeb said in a low voice. No one replied. As we walked, I considered a few sure facts. One, I was not the first soul they’d captured. There was already a set routine here. This â€Å"Doc† had tried to get his answer from others before me. Two, he had tried unsuccessfully. If any soul had forgone suicide only to crack under the humans’ torture, they would not need me now. My death would have been mercifully swift. Oddly, I couldn’t bring myself to hope for a quick end, though, or to try to effect that outcome. It would be easy to do, even without doing the deed myself. I would only have to tell them a lie-pretend to be a Seeker, tell them my colleagues were tracking me right now, bluster and threaten. Or tell them the truth-that Melanie lived on inside me, and that she had brought me here. They would see another lie, and one so richly irresistible-the idea that the human could live on after implantation-so tempting to believe from their perspective, so insidious, that they would believe I was a Seeker more surely than if I claimed it. They would assume a trap, get rid of me quickly, and find a new place to hide, far away from here. You’re probably right, Melanie agreed. It’s what I would do. But I wasn’t in pain yet, and so either form of suicide was hard to embrace; my instinct for survival sealed my lips. The memory of my last session with my Comforter-a time so civilized it seemed to belong to a different planet-flashed through my head. Melanie challenging me to have her removed, a seemingly suicidal impulse, but only a bluff. I remembered thinking how hard it was to contemplate death from a comfortable chair. Last night Melanie and I had wished for death, but death had been only inches away at the time. It was different now that I was on my feet again. I don’t want to die, either, Melanie whispered. But maybe you’re wrong. Maybe that’s not why they’re keeping us alive. I don’t understand why they would†¦ She didn’t want to imagine the things they might do to us-I was sure she could come up with worse than I. What answer would they want from you that bad? I’ll never tell. Not you, not any human. A bold declaration. But then, I wasn’t in pain yet†¦ Another hour had passed-the sun was directly overhead, the heat of it like a crown of fire on my hair-when the sound changed. The grinding steps that I barely heard anymore turned to echoes ahead of me. Jeb’s feet still crunched against the sand like mine, but someone in front of us had reached a new terrain. â€Å"Careful, now,† Jeb warned me. â€Å"Watch your head.† I hesitated, not sure what I was watching for, or how to watch with no eyes. His hand left my back and pressed down on my head, telling me to duck. I bent forward. My neck was stiff. He guided me forward again, and I heard our footsteps make the same echoing sound. The ground didn’t give like sand, didn’t feel loose like rock. It was flat and solid beneath my feet. The sun was gone-I could no longer feel it burn my skin or scorch my hair. I took another step, and a new air touched my face. It was not a breeze. This was stagnant-I moved into it. The dry desert wind was gone. This air was still and cooler. There was the faintest hint of moisture to it, a mustiness that I could both smell and taste. There were so many questions in my mind, and in Melanie’s. She wanted to ask hers, but I kept silent. There was nothing either of us could say that would help us now. â€Å"Okay, you can straighten up,† Jeb told me. I raised my head slowly. Even with the blindfold, I could tell that there was no light. It was utterly black around the edges of the bandanna. I could hear the others behind me, shuffling their feet impatiently, waiting for us to move forward. â€Å"This way,† Jeb said, and he was guiding me again. Our footsteps echoed back from close by-the space we were in must have been quite small. I found myself ducking my head instinctively. We went a few steps farther, and then we rounded a sharp curve that seemed to turn us back the way we’d come. The ground started to slant downward. The angle got steeper with every step, and Jeb gave me his rough hand to keep me from falling. I don’t know how long I slipped and skidded my way through the darkness. The hike probably felt longer than it was with each minute slowed by my terror. We took another turn, and then the floor started to climb upward. My legs were so numb and wooden that as the path got steeper, Jeb had to half drag me up the incline. The air got mustier and moister the farther we went, but the blackness didn’t change. The only sounds were our footsteps and their nearby echoes. The pathway flattened out and began to turn and twist like a serpent. Finally, finally, there was a brightness around the top and bottom of my blindfold. I wished that it would slip, as I was too frightened to pull it off myself. It seemed to me that I wouldn’t be so terrified if I could just see where I was and who was with me. With the light came noise. Strange noise, a low murmuring babble. It sounded almost like a waterfall. The babble got louder as we moved forward, and the closer it got, the less it sounded like water. It was too varied, low and high pitches mingling and echoing. If it had not been so discordant, it might have sounded like an uglier version of the constant music I’d heard and sung on the Singing World. The darkness of the blindfold suited that memory, the memory of blindness. Melanie understood the cacophony before I did. I’d never heard the sound because I’d never been with humans before. It’s an argument, she realized. It sounds like so many people arguing. She was drawn by the sound. Were there more people here, then? That there were even eight had surprised us both. What was this place? Hands touched the back of my neck, and I shied away from them. â€Å"Easy now,† Jeb said. He pulled the blindfold off my eyes. I blinked slowly, and the shadows around me settled into shapes I could understand: rough, uneven walls; a pocked ceiling; a worn, dusty floor. We were underground somewhere in a natural cave formation. We couldn’t be that deep. I thought we’d hiked upward longer than we’d slid downward. The rock walls and ceiling were a dark purpley brown, and they were riddled with shallow holes like Swiss cheese. The edges of the lower holes were worn down, but over my head the circles were more defined, and their rims looked sharp. The light came from a round hole ahead of us, its shape not unlike the holes that peppered the cavern, but larger. This was an entrance, a doorway to a brighter place. Melanie was eager, fascinated by the concept of more humans. I held back, suddenly worried that blindness might be better than sight. Jeb sighed. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered, so low that I was certainly the only one to hear. I tried to swallow and could not. My head started to spin, but that might have been from hunger. My hands were trembling like leaves in a stiff breeze as Jeb prodded me through the big hole. The tunnel opened into a chamber so vast that at first I couldn’t accept what my eyes told me. The ceiling was too bright and too high-it was like an artificial sky. I tried to see what brightened it, but it sent down sharp lances of light that hurt my eyes. I was expecting the babble to get louder, but it was abruptly dead quiet in the huge cavern. The floor was dim compared to the brilliant ceiling so far above. It took a moment for my eyes to make sense of all the shapes. A crowd. There was no other word for it-there was a crowd of humans standing stock-still and silent, all staring at me with the same burning, hate-filled expressions I’d seen at dawn. Melanie was too stunned to do anything more than count. Ten, fifteen, twenty†¦ twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven†¦ I didn’t care how many there were. I tried to tell her how little it mattered. It wouldn’t take twenty of them to kill me. To kill us. I tried to make her see how precarious our position was, but she was beyond my warnings at the moment, lost in this human world she’d never dreamed was here. One man stepped forward from the crowd, and my eyes darted first to his hands, looking for the weapon they would carry. His hands were clenched in fists but empty of any other threat. My eyes, adjusting to the dazzling light, made out the sun-gilded tint of his skin and then recognized it. Choking on the sudden hope that dizzied me, I lifted my eyes to the man’s face. How to cite The Host Chapter 13: Sentenced, Essay examples

Literary Synoptic and New Testament †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Literary Synoptic and New Testament. Answer: Introduction: The nature of the epistolary genre was revealed to me: a form of writing devoted to another person. Novels, poems, and so on, were texts into which others were free to enter, or not. Letters, on the other hand, did not exist without the other person, and their very mission, their significance, was the epiphany of the recipient. The above quoted lines of Amlie Nothomb from the book Life Form reveals the value of the Gospels and other Synoptic texts. It is to be noted that the various Synoptic texts form the core values of the Christian world and contribute significantly towards the Christian based education of the individuals[1]. However, it is to be noted that the Synoptic in the present times have been subjected to various kinds of modern interpretation and therefore different people give different interpretation of the same text. Moreover, it is to be noted that there are some discrepancy between the incidents as well as the events which are narrated in the texts related to Synoptic and the Gospel of John. It is here that the major problem of interpretation lies as all the texts belonging to the New Testament and the Holy Bible do not give the same interpretation of the same stories as well as events. It is interesting to note that the major problem arises when the scholars as well as the researchers try to interpret the various gospels related to the genre of Synoptic in terms of the literary traditions. This paper intends to shed light on the Synoptic, the various Synoptic issues and the solutions to the issues or the problems. The three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are often grouped together as the Synoptic[2]. It is to be noted that all the three gospels more or less narrate the same incidents as well as events and therefore they are often grouped together under the category of Synoptic[3]. However, it is to be noted that these gospels stand in stark contrast to the Gospel of John which was written much later and is often considered to be a much more original work. The three gospels which form the core of the Synoptic narrate almost similar incidents as well as events and therefore drive home almost similar message. Therefore, it is often said that the three gospels belonging to the genre of Synoptic give an account of the events from the same point of view or under the same general aspect"[4]. It is to be noted that the all these three gospels are similar to the Gospel of John in terms of their composition as all of them have been written or composed in the Koine Greek[5]. Therefore, it is interesti ng to note that they have similar length and all of them were composed within a century of Jesus death. It is also interesting to note that they differ from the other non-canonical sources, such as the Gospel of Thomas, in that they belong to the ancient genre of biography, collecting not only Jesus' teachings, but recounting in an orderly way his origins, his ministry and miracles, and his passion and resurrection[6]. Another interesting point to note is that the Synoptic and the Gospel of John use almost the same of language and therefore they are grouped together. It is to be noted that the majority of Mark and roughly half of Matthew and Luke coincide in content, in much the same sequence, often nearly verbatim and thus they are often called by the name of triple tradition because of the similarity in terms of content as well as language[7]. The aim of the gospels whether it be the Synoptic or the Gospel of John is clearly indicated in the prologue to the gospel of St. Luke, Sin ce many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed[8]. It is to be noted that various sources have been cited as the authentic source of the various gospels related to the Synoptic and the Gospel of John. However, the most authentic source for the Synoptic is considered to be the M Source or more commonly known as the "Matthean material"[9]. It is considered to be the hypothetical textual source for the Gospel of Matthew. According to the "The Criticism of the Synoptic Gospels", published in the Church Quarterly Review, there are two major sources for the gospels form the basis of the Synoptic. According to the criticism, One of these sources is Mark's gospel, which, if not written by the disciple of Peter, yet dates from the third quarter of the first century, and comes to us accredited with the assent and trust and employment of the church of that early period. The second is a collection of discourses which may very possibly be a translation of the apostolic work mentioned by Papias[10]. It is to be noted that the various scholars beli eve that the source of the gospels of Matthew and Luke is the gospel of Mark and the majority of the incidents as well as the events which are described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are simply taken from the gospel of Mark. Thus many scholars believe that the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke have used the gospel of Mark as a frame work for their gospels and have incorporated several sayings in their work from the book Logia[11]. It is interesting to note that the church has always recognized the human element in the composition of the books of the New Testament, and the preface to Luke's gospel tells us quite clearly that that gospel was composed by the author out of materials partly written, partly oral[12]. Therefore, when the scholars undertake to investigate the sources for the various gospels a historical research inevitably entails the process. It is to be noted that the divine element of the texts as well as divine inspiration is taken into consideration by th e various scholars while trying to find the sources for the gospels. Therefore, the divine character of the gospel is not diminished because the personality of the gospel writers asserts itself, just as the divine origin of the gospel was not obscured because it was presented colored by the individuality of Peter, or Paul, or John[13]. The Synoptic problem can be defined as the problem of the literary relationships among the first three Synoptic Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels because they can be seen together (syn-optic) and displayed in three parallel columns[14]. It is to be noted that the meaning of the term Synoptic is to see together with a common view[15]. Therefore, the three gospels belonging to the Synoptic are often grouped together as all three of them represent almost similar incidents as well as events. According to the opinion of Matthew Williams articulated in the book Two Gospels From One: A Comprehensive Text-Critical Analysis of the Synoptic Gospels, About 90 percent of Mark's material is found in Matthew, while about 50 percent of Mark is found in Luke. In addition, nearly 235 verses in Matthew and Luke are similar to one another. In those places where agreement appears, incredible similarities can extend even to identical tense and mood for every word in an entire verse (or more). It is to be noted that the similarities between the various gospels have lead the scholars to wonder whether the authors of the gospels had a common source for their work and a different version of the accounts related to the life, history, death, ministry as well as the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the accounts of the life and the activities of Christ which they depict is different from the ones portrayed by the Gospel of John or for that matter the Bible itself. However in the opinion of Dennis Bratcher articulated in the work The Gospels and The Synoptic Problem, The Synoptic Problem is not really a "problem" in the normal sense of the term. It is simply a way to refer to questions and possible explanations about the literary relationships between the first three New Testament Gospels. It is to be noted that the incidents as w ell as the events narrated in the three gospels are so similar to each other that the scholars often argue that they might have a common source for the purpose of writing their gospels. Scholars have named this particular source as the Q Source from the German word quelle[16]. However, it is interesting to note that none of the scholars have mention any Q Source or any other source for that matter as the source of their work. Therefore, the Q is the invention of liberal scholars who deny the inspiration of the Bible. Thus, this particular school of scholars believes that the Bible as well as the New Testament are just like the other literary works and therefore subjected to the same kind of interpretation as the other literary works are liable to[17]. However, it is interesting to note that there is no evidence whatsoever for a Q documentbiblically, theologically, or historically[18]. In this particular the argument of Robert H. Stein articulated in his work The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction is important to note One of the most persuasive arguments for the literary interdependence of the synoptic Gospels is the presence of identical parenthetical material, for i t is highly unlikely that two or three writers would by coincidence insert into their accounts exactly the same editorial comment at exactly the same place. It is to be noted that the scholars have given various reasons for the Synoptic problem and have tried to solve the problem by giving various reasons for the problem. One common argument for the problem is the oral nature of the traditional Christian texts. Therefore, in the opinion of D.M. Murdock articulated in the book The Origins of Christianity and the Quest for the Historical Jesus Christ, For centuries after obtaining power during the reign of Constantine, Christians went on a censorship rampage that led to the virtual illiteracy of the ancient Western world and ensured that their secret would be hidden from the masses.Nonetheless, the Christians preserved the contentions of their detractors through their own refutations. Thus, the oral nature of the gospels can account for the similarity in the nature of the incidents as well as the events which they depict. Another plausible explanation is found in the Two-source hypothesis which states that the one of the gospels was compos ed at an earlier date and the rest of the three were composed after that[19]. Therefore, the other authors having access to that particular gospel used it as a source for their own composition. This particular school of scholars as well as researchers gives preference to the Gospel of Mark as the source from which the other gospels have been written. However, there are other schools of scholars as well as researchers who give preference to the other gospels like Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of Luke as the source from which the other ones have been written. It is interesting to note that there is a third interpretation which uses the concept of divine inspiration or the influence of the Holy Spirit as the plausible factor[20]. Thus, they argue that The Gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew the apostle, one of the twelve who followed Jesus and were commissioned by Him. The Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, a close associate of the apostle Peter, another one of the twelve. The Gospel of Luke was written by Luke, a close associate of the apostle Paul[21]. This particular school of scholars argues that as the source of inspiration for the composition of the three gospels was the same therefore the nature of the incidents as well as the events which they depict are almost similar to each other. It is interesting to note that authors like Dennis Bratcher have tried to solve the Synoptic problem in their works like The Gospels and The Synoptic Problem according to a simple principle that grew out of the Protestant reformation, the principle of sola scriptura, only Scripture. This principle, as one of the cornerstones of the Reformation, held that Scripture should be the first and final authority for the faith and practice of the Church, and that it should be allowed to stand in judgment over all human creeds, doctrines, and traditions. Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the Synoptic problem is one of the major ones which the various interpreters of the New Testament as well as the Holy Bible face. It is to be noted that many of the incidents as well as events narrated in all the three gospels are almost similar in nature. It is this phenomenon which gives rise to the problem of Synoptic problem. The various scholars as well as researchers have tried to solve this particular problem with various hypothesis and theories. It is interesting to note that none of the scholars as well as the researchers had been able to derive any significant reason for the similarity in the nature of the incidents and the events narrated in the three gospels. References "A Synoptic History Of Classical Rhetoric".Google Books. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=mWoqAAAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PP2dq=synopticots=BTPbfqST9xsig=suZTRcyur21lZyBNKtL "A Theology Of The New Testament".Google Books. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://books.google.ad/books?id=eIdkM00EdlACprintsec=frontcoverdq=A+Theology+of+the+New+Testament%27+by+George+Eldonhl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjStKSO3ffZAhUVUI8KHbZmA7AQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepageq=A%20Theology%20of%20the%20New%20Testament'%20by%20George%20Eldonf=false. "The Sources Of The Synoptic Gospels.".Journals.Uchicago.Edu. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/473218. "The Synoptic Problem Proposed Solutions".Catholic-Resources.Org. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Synoptic_Problem.htm. "The Synoptic Problem And Q - Study Resources".Blue Letter Bible. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/q.cfm. "The Synoptic Problem: The Literary Relationship Of Matthew, Mark, And Luke".Crivoice.Org. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://www.crivoice.org/synoptic.html. Bultmann, Rudolf.Theology of the New Testament. Vol. 1. Baylor University Press, 1951. Morris, Leon.New Testament Theology. Harper Collins, 1990.