E marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E marketing - Assignment Example eting is used for sending email messages in order to the relationship of a merchant both with its previous and current customers in order to repeat business and encourage customer loyalty. E-marketing can also be used to send email messages in order to convince current customers or acquire new customers to purchase products or services of the business immediately. A merchant may also use email messages to add advertisements that are sent to their customers by other companies. This paper seeks to discuss the concept of e-marketing (Doyle and Stern, 2006). E-Marketing harmonizes the overall strategy of marketing perfectly, and provides advertising campaign with proven results that are measurable, which can take the company’s current marketing campaign to a higher level. For example, where e-marketing involves product promotion, query responses, event invitations, and newsletters, an all in one solution is provided by emails (Doyle and Stern, 2006). E-Marketing provides an easily customized and efficient form of marketing to advertising organizations and other businesses that complements their current strategies of advertisement and close in on the interactive and profitable market. In addition, e-marketing is beneficial to such organizations and other businesses because it allows them to target particular group of recipients and reach out to an engaged and defined audience. E-marketing also penetrates and overcomes any geographical parameters that may be a constraint to the other methods of communication. Efficiency is high in e-marketing. This is because the messages can be sent and distributed to many recipients by just one click. E-marketing is also cost effective and requires minimal investment in order to have an appropriate system set up to function. In addition, e-marketing is fast and the commercial messages are delivered to the inboxes of the recipients straight away and instantly (Tapp, 2005). E-marketing can be regarded as a form of e-commerce since

Park Tea Room Essay Example for Free

Park Tea Room Essay Master â€Å"Hally† Harold is the seventeen year old lead of Athol Fugard’s work, a white boy of South African descent, son of his mentor Sam’s employer. Sam is one of two black waiters employed by his family’s business, the St. George’s Park Tea Room. The focus of the play is of the two men’s mutual educating of the other. The younger of the two, Hally takes great pride in his â€Å"educating† Sam on book knowledge, the things that he has learned in reading or the classroom, whereas the elder Sam spends his days educating Hally on the ways of life and the world, showing him how important it is to take pride in oneself and the things that can be accomplished by your own hands. Hally has been caught in a dastardly position being a young man desperately in search of his place in this world as he rapidly approaches manhood, and being the only son of an immensely racist drunkard in the face of South African apartheid. Hally has found himself stuck between the ideologies of his inadequate father and the teachings of his gifted mentor. He battles himself for both loving and being ashamed of his white South African roots and alcoholic father. This play is about the corrosive power and denunciation of racism, ignorance and hatred in a society where those elements are all that surround you. Hally is a very bright young lad torn by his implied societal position and his loyalties to the man whom he feels has afforded him life’s greatest lessons, a black waiter who works for his father, Sam. Hally is a tortured and tormented soul; even the title of the play denotes the societal position of these individuals-Hally is referred to as Master Harold, a seventeen year old boy while Sam and Willie are grown men referred to as boys. The division between the races is clear, there is no â€Å"distortion of the political significance† (Jordan pp. 461) of the setting in which this work takes place, white is better than black and can in no socially significant way be mixed without ill regard. The only comfort to be found in the underlying premise of this work is the fact that Harold does not initially feed into the views of his father and society. He, in the beginning sees what great things he can learn from these black African men and chooses to err on the opposing side of his father’s views of race relations. It is not until Hally begins to feel trapped and cornered by his father’s impending release from the drunkard ward of the local hospital that he slips into the standard ideology of a white male finding his path during South African apartheid. He turns on his mentor, spits in his face and throws a total tantrum because he has not learned how to deal with all the scrapes and cuts that can come of being a man in this world. The introduction of Hally’s drunkard father back into the home is the unadulterated reason for his abruptly abusive and racist behavior toward â€Å"the boys†. His underlying fear is that he won’t be able to stand up for himself and his true beliefs if his father is present. Deep down I don’t feel that Hally believes himself to be any greater or more important than Sam or Willie but he is aware that society feels him to be superior to these two men and that he has yet to find it within him to give his own personal ideals a voice. He has spent all of his life under foot of one of the most racist men in South Africa, yet in the face of that socially and paternally enforced racism Hally has, for the most part, allowed himself to remain open-minded to the gifts and understandings of others, realizing that everyone has something to offer. His father’s hospital stay afforded Hally the time he needed to reflect on his own thoughts to determine what his outlook on this world would be. He was able to live without the weight of race long enough to become comfortable with himself as an individual and the other individuals surrounding him without regard to race or social standing. Being the intelligent lad that he is, he realizes that his father coming home means a lot for the way that he has been living his life, he is inevitably going to have to make some changes; he will either have to change the way that he views the world and begin fully subscribing to his father’s way of thinking, or he will have to find his own manhood and let his father know how he really feels. Hally is a clay chameleon being molded to fit whatever situation he finds himself in; he harbors an immense amount of disgust and disdain for his father and it is apparent at every turn except when he is speaking to his father. When engaging with the patriarch of his family Hally appears loving, caring and compassionate. He does not allow his hatred for his father’s world views to be seen by the man who gave him life, instead he hunts for the underlying love and respect that a son should have for his father as a man, and harnesses that love long enough to engage in an empathetic exchange. The fact that this young man has named the cycle of life the â€Å"principle of perpetual disappointment† speaks volumes of his outlook on the daily affairs of this world. He feels that having his father present in the home will just complicate the lives of everyone else around without justification; his father is just an impediment of unnecessary worth, a hurdle to be overcome if Hally ever desires to see himself find true happiness. As far as Hally is concerned, where reference is made to life being a dance as discussed in the play, it is his thought that no one knows the moves, no one man has all of the steps in order because no one can fully hear the music; as such the voluntary reality that these men discuss throughout the play could never exist. Just the thought of his father coming home changes Harold for the worse. Even in remembering the night that Sam strapped Harold’s father to his back and carried him home from the bar in the rain or the day that Sam took Harold under his wing and taught him not only to ‘fly a kite’ literally but symbolically by spreading his wings as a man and learning to fly on his own. The kite was merely a symbol to teach Harold how important it is to find his own way in this world, not to follow his father’s mind or anyone else’s other than his own. Yet where Sam felt that all these things made he and Harold closer, forging a bond that could not be broken, Hally instead turns on Sam stressing that he no longer refer to him as Hally but as Master Harold, signifying the social position and difference between the two. He does the one thing that Sam would have never expected him to do; he takes the position of the superior being and reduces Sam to a â€Å"nigger† thereby inflicting upon his former mentor an irreversible wound. Hally took his opportunity to put Sam in his place and let him know that no matter what Sam has been to him or done for him and his family over the years that he is not immune to the underlying hatred that erodes the human conscience in instances such as the time period in which this play has been set. Sam tries to make clear the implications of Harold’s actions and stresses the significance of what he has done to him, and their relationship, until the young lad comes to his senses and admits the effect that his love for his father has on him and his behaviors. Hally is fully dependent upon Sam for his understanding of this world because Hally can’t even understand himself. He lashes out at Sam because Sam is the closest person to him and sometimes it’s just easier to hurt the ones you love because you know better what will hurt them than a stranger, but I feel that another reason why he lashed out at Sam in such a way was because beneath it all he knew that Sam could always see his heart and his true intentions. Sam was able to discern and decipher the complex feelings that Hally had for his father and the emotions provoked by the idea of his father’s return. I understand the impressionable minds of youth but this young man is seventeen years old, it is time for him to stop relying on things like his relationship with Sam and to start making a way for himself. In a world full of adults you can’t just act out whenever you want to lashing out at those around you and always expecting people to be as forgiving as Sam was in this instance because it is my thought that the fact of the matter is-Hally was releasing some pinned up thoughts and emotions that he has been harboring, waiting for the day that he could release that portion of his father’s essence which he holds within him. There is no doubt that the relationship previously held between the two has forever been changed. Because he is seventeen years old the world says that it is time for this young lad to become a man, but he is not ready. He’s still relying upon others to tell him what he thinks and how he really feels. If he can’t handle the complexity of his thoughts and emotions for his father how could he ever hope to handle a life out in the world on his own. Harold knows that racism and hatred are wrong, both a lose thread eroding the fabric of life, but that makes no difference to him, when put in a position of discomfort he lashed out at Sam and Willie in the same manner that one would expect of a small child. In his article Boehmer makes it clear how often Fugard uses his main character to bring about the realization of conditions of separateness by shining a light on the trappings of historical pains, that his inevitable alienation has given representation to ordinary lives and not necessarily unique and therefore ‘dramatic’ situations† (Boehmer pp. 165). That is the point which commands emphasis in our analysis because there is nothing particularly special or significant about the setting of this play other than the backdrop of the apartheid era. Without knowledge of this story having taken place during the apartheid era these events could have taken place in any part of the world at any time throughout history. ‘Master Harold’ was no special case; he was a seventeen year old boy like any other seventeen year old boy enthralled in the decision to either follow in his fathers footsteps or to tread his own path. Cummings piece says that Fugards’ work â€Å"dramatizes the racial situation in South Africa† (Cummings pg. 2), this is true insofar as Fugard has taken the apartheid struggle and turned it into a dramatic work, as have many other artists, but not in such a way as for the thoughts or ideas of the characters within the play to have been exaggerated because just like I said, Hally was no special case. There was no need of exaggeration because we see young men like Hally everyday, unsure of themselves or their place in this world, worried that if they make a decision for their life that it may be the wrong one so they choose to sit idly in their comfort zone too afraid to venture into any unfamiliar territory. For Hally it would have been widely unfamiliar for him to stand up to his father and say, ‘thank you father, for giving me life, but my thoughts of this world should be formed of my own volition, not handed down from generation to generation’ and it is until just such young men can do that very thing that the older ideals of racism and hatred will begin to falter. Cummings is right about one thing though, the simplicity of the setting does largely contradict the complexity of the characters (Cummings pg. 2) but I think that it must be understood that if the setting and characters would otherwise be in constant competition with each other and no one would be able to follow the play. The characters are what carry the work. If Hally had no minutiae to set his character apart and was just another seventeen year old lead, there would be nothing pivotal to hold this play together. All the little details are what make these characters so profound and the work of such high quality; it would be a detriment to the production if anyone was to ever tamper with the formula. References Fugard, Athol. â€Å"Master Harold †¦ and the Boys†. New York: Penguin Plays (1982). Boehmer, Elleke. â€Å"Review: Speaking from the Periphery†. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan. , 1989), pp. 161-166. Cummings, Mark. â€Å"Reclaiming the Canon: A World Without Collisions: â€Å" â€Å"Master Harold†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and the Boys† in the Classroom†. The English Journal, Vol. 78, No. 6 (Oct. , 1989), pp. 71-73. Jordan, John O. â€Å"Life in the Theatre: Autobiography, Politics, and Romance in â€Å"Master Harold†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and the Boys†. Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 39, No. 4, Athol Fugard Issue (Winter, 1993), pp. 461-472. Solomon, Alisa. â€Å"Review: [untitled]-Reviewed work(s): †¦Master Harold†¦and the Boys by Athol Fugard†. Performing Arts Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1 (1983), pp. 78-83.

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller :: essays research papers

Dangerous Ground of Illusion Relations between fathers and the younger generation have been and continue to be an important theme for various literary genres (King Lear, Shakespeare; Fathers and Sons, Turgenev). For many famous writers the significance of fathers’ influence on their children forms a subject of particular interest. . In the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller shows in a very striking manner that the father's influence can be either positive or fatal. The dispiriting story of the three generations of the Lomans family contrasts with the happy account of the life of their neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard. The author details father-and-son relations in the Lomans family over a long period of time. He effortlessly demonstrates that a younger generation both inherits the father's way of life and assimilates his best or worst features. He tells us almost nothing about Willy Loman’s, the main character's, father. All we know is that he played a flute. Also he was a handy man, because he invented a gadget to make flutes. He was making and selling flutes, traveling across the country in a wagon. He took his family with him wherever he went. When Willy was about four years old, his father went to Alaska seeking to earn a fortune and disappeared amidst Alaska's expanses. Though the period when his sons Ben and Willy were with him was short, it left an indelible impression on the boys’ memory. Later, each of them inherited a part of this way of life: the older son Ben got a passion for adventure and travel, and the younger son Willy got a profession of salesmen and an interest to work with wood. Though the father's influence was quite indirect; he mostly figured in their afterglow and rather idealistic fancies, both of them became decent and hard-working people. At the age of seventeen, Ben left his home for Alaska, but soon found himself in Africa and at twenty-one he was already rich. He spent the rest of his life in Africa where he died. He was a wealthy, influential and successful man and fathered seven children. He preferred to be brutal but effective, as befits the jungles of life. On one of his brief visits to Willy's home he admonished Biff, his nephew: "Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way." Unlike his elder brother, Willy did not have enough strength to be aggressive and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by life.

Amathophobia :: Eliot Wasteland Maddy Future Present Past Essays

Amathophobia Death is the great equalizer. We all have unique experiences in life, but we each succumb to the same final fate. Rich or poor, strong or weak, exalted or scorned; everyone is humbled when faced with his own mortality. Death does not play favorites, and Death will find everyone. Though often frightening, some argue that the thought of death also heightens appreciation of life. British novelist EM Forster wrote, "Death destroys a man, the idea of Death saves him." Indeed, knowing that time on earth is limited can motivate people to take risks. The term "carpe diem" implies that life is short, and every moment must be captured before it expires. The urgency of this phrase stems from the common fear of leaving things unfinished or unattempted. Fear is a powerful motivator, and death is the ultimate fear. Death is the primary theme in TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. Written just four years after the conclusion of World War I, The Wasteland mirrors the despair felt by much of the post-war generation. The poem begins with a section titled "Burial of the Dead." In this section Eliot deems April "the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." With these lines, Eliot suggests that springtime’s regeneration of life only causes people to remember what was lost in the past. Eliot again addresses death in the very next stanza: What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust. This stanza is teeming with biblical allusions. The speaker is talking to Jesus, "the Son of man," about a "dead tree [that] gives no shelter," thereby hinting that Christ’s death on the cross (or "dead tree") yields little comfort. Eliot also mentions a "dry stone" with "no sound of water." In John 4:7-26, Jesus tells a Samaritan woman that whomever drinks the living water he provides will never thirst again.

Compensation: Limousine Business Operators

Market Evaluation Limousines are an elegant and comfortable means of transport, and are far more preferred than plain rent-a-car arrangements. The car rental business, however, has diversified from the classic black stretch limo to a more diversified and modern vehicle fleet ranging from sedans, limo buses, and even stretch SUV's with huge seating capacities. According to latest data, some 400 million Americans make limousine reservations from car rental firms each year for a variety of reasons: among them airport pick ups and transfers, entertaining business and corporate clients, as well momentous occasions such as weddings, proms and other social gatherings. The huge traffic and short wait for a return on investment has caused more than a few hundred new limousine businesses to emerge every year.Although competition in the limo market is currently stiff, there will always be room for limousine business operators whose aim is to provide top-notch service that give clients value for their money. The average salary for a limousine driver in Austin, Texas, for 2012 was $23,550 or $11.33 per hour. The 50th percentile of pay for a limousine driver in Austin, Texas, was $22,140 or $10.64 per hour. The average limousine company allocates 25% of its budget for salary and benefits.The recent economic recovery and increased consumer demand for limousine service resulted in 61% of limousine services increasing revenue in 2012. Business and professional clients comprise 61% of the customer base for limousine services and should be the target customer base for the company.Compensation Structure Mr. Stonefield compensation structure should reflect the company business plan and goals by placing a priority on customer service, repeat business,  new client referrals, and safety. What the company can afford to pay and implementing programs to reward performance that align employee compensation with the success of the company should be the basis of the compensation structure The compensation structure should keep fixed labor costs low and place emphasis on benefits, incentives, and merit based-pay.

Free Essays on Seperation Of State And Religion

Separation of church and state is a very sensitive topic in today’s society. Most people see the phrase â€Å"separation of church and state† and think it is concrete, constitutional, proof that nothing religious should set foot in anything relating to government. The intent of this paper is to present an alternate view of separation between church and state. Through exploring this controversial issue, this paper will touch on the history of separation of church and state, the principles of separation of church and state, and the elementary solution to church and state relations. Today’s Laws Concerning Separation of Church and State Today’s laws concerning church and state relations are very strict. The laws today treat religious morals as if they are harmful, and are going to severely detract from whatever they come in contact with. The notion that religion should be excluded from almost all facets of government related an issue is a very new thought. Th e very first Supreme Court case taking any form of religion out of schools, (and therefore government,) was in 1962. In the Engel v. Vital Supreme Court case, prayer was taken out of schools. A year after this case, Bible reading was taken out of schools in the Murray v Curlett Supreme Court case. Seventeen years later, in 1980, the Ten Commandments were taken out of schools in the Stone v Graham Supreme Court case. (Hall, â€Å"United States Supreme Court Decisions†) I have mentioned these court cases to show how recent this â€Å"new† view of separation of church and state re is. This new view of separation of church and state is called pluralism. The definition of pluralism is: law being decided by the majority or by the ruling group or individual apart from an objective morals. Today’s view is that the government should be tot neutral, and have no religious or moral prejudices when making laws. (Coyle, â€Å"Separation of Church and State†) Founding F athers View of Separation o... Free Essays on Seperation Of State And Religion Free Essays on Seperation Of State And Religion Separation of church and state is a very sensitive topic in today’s society. Most people see the phrase â€Å"separation of church and state† and think it is concrete, constitutional, proof that nothing religious should set foot in anything relating to government. The intent of this paper is to present an alternate view of separation between church and state. Through exploring this controversial issue, this paper will touch on the history of separation of church and state, the principles of separation of church and state, and the elementary solution to church and state relations. Today’s Laws Concerning Separation of Church and State Today’s laws concerning church and state relations are very strict. The laws today treat religious morals as if they are harmful, and are going to severely detract from whatever they come in contact with. The notion that religion should be excluded from almost all facets of government related an issue is a very new thought. Th e very first Supreme Court case taking any form of religion out of schools, (and therefore government,) was in 1962. In the Engel v. Vital Supreme Court case, prayer was taken out of schools. A year after this case, Bible reading was taken out of schools in the Murray v Curlett Supreme Court case. Seventeen years later, in 1980, the Ten Commandments were taken out of schools in the Stone v Graham Supreme Court case. (Hall, â€Å"United States Supreme Court Decisions†) I have mentioned these court cases to show how recent this â€Å"new† view of separation of church and state re is. This new view of separation of church and state is called pluralism. The definition of pluralism is: law being decided by the majority or by the ruling group or individual apart from an objective morals. Today’s view is that the government should be tot neutral, and have no religious or moral prejudices when making laws. (Coyle, â€Å"Separation of Church and State†) Founding F athers View of Separation o...

22 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels For Aspiring Sci-Fi Authors

22 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels For Aspiring Sci-Fi Authors Science fiction is a genre that has evolved in unpredictable and exciting ways. From The Burroughsian Period (named after Edgar Rice Burroughs and beginning in 1901) to todays bestsellers, the genre has moved from hard science to Space Age exploration to a new interest in self-actualization, the dark side of technology, and what it means to be human.If youre an aspiring science fiction writer, here are some novels- both newly published and classic- that you should add to your reading list. In them, youll discover how the genre has evolved and where it is heading, both of which will be invaluable to your writing and planning.Below are some must-read science fiction novels for aspiring sci-fi writers. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.Newly publishedInfinite Detail by Tim Maughan (March 5, 2019)Infinite Detail is a fast-pasted thriller in which an act of cyberterrorism creates a techno-apocalypse and the Internet crashes, shutting everything as we know it down. Seeking answers for how to live , lost, unplugged souls head to the Croft, an area of Bristol where people who have already unplugged live. The Croft is a digital no-mans-land, without surveillance and Big Data dependence. As a center of creative counterculture, a young woman there named Mary claims she has found other ways of connecting with others without the use of technology. Its the end of the world as we know it, but does the world fare better after the Internets demise?Finder by Suzanne Palmer (April 2, 2019)Finder is an action-packed science fiction caper story that won a Hugo Award and is the debut novel from Suzanne Palmer. Its protagonist is Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder (a name he prefers to con artist or thief). His latest job entails finding the spacecraft Venetias Sword and stealing it back from an ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. He finds the ship in the farthest corner of space, in a deep space colon called Cernee. There, he learns that the enemy of my e nemy is my friend, and must navigate a field of space mines, a small army of hostile mercenaries, and an alien species he once through to be only myth. He thought it would be a simple job- like the others- but its becoming more apparent that it isnt.The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (February 6, 2018)Advertised as Inception meets True Detective, The Gone World follows a NCIS special agent on a murder case that involves the fate of mankind. When tasked with uncovering the truth of the murder of a Navy SEAL and the disappearance of his family, Shannon Moss learns that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra- a ship assumed lost to the currents of Deep Time. In her search, she encounters Terminus, a mysterious world-destroying event discovered by a top-secret team of government time travelers.In her search for the SEALs missing teenage daughter, Moss travels to the future to explore possible versions of what might be in order to solve the present-day case. There, she witnesses the cataclysmic end of humanity itself and is left to determine how to stop it.The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (July 3, 2018)In this alternate history science fiction story, The Calculating Stars imagines an alternate history in which a meteorite falls to Earth in 1952, destroying much of the East Coast, including Washington, D.C. Following the event, space exploration becomes a necessity, as the Earth heads at breakneck speed toward becoming uninhabitable due to the events impact on the planets climate. Enter mathematician and World War II pilot Elma York, who sets her sight on flying into the stars to search for humanitys next great hope.Winner 2018 Nebula for Best Novel, Hugo Finalist for Best Novel, 2019 Campbell Memorial Award Finalist, and 2019 Locus Finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel- The Calculating Stars has a long list of accolades and spots on bestselling lists since it was published in 2018.Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton (April 23, 2019)Emily Eternal is about Emily, is an A.I. designed by scientists to help people cope with trauma. She has been designed to solve advanced mathematical problems and unlock the deepest secrets of the human mind, including its capacity for empathy. Her work and purpose take on a deeper meaning when it is discovered that the sun will explode 5 billion years before it was originally expected.With the human race at an existential crossroads, she does the unthinkable and determines a way to solve the problem. However, not everyone trusts her intentions, so her servers are destroyed, leaving Emily and her friends with limited hope- but hope nonetheless- that they can race against time and save humanity.Famous Men who Never Lived by K. Chess (March 5, 2019)Noted as a Most Anticipated Book of 2019 at The Verge, Barnes Noble Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog, and more, K. Chesss debut novel, Famous Men Who Never Lived gives readers a glimpse of an alternate history in which nuclear war sends 156,000 r efugees into modern-day New York City. Among them is Hel, a doctor who has difficulty adapting to the new reality shes facing, so she creates a museum to preserve the memories and stories that would otherwise be forever lost. In the midst of her work to preserve her lost past, she faces anti-immigrant attitudes and hostility. Then, when the only copy of a science fiction story from her world, The Pyronauts, goes missing, she is forced to face what has been lost and determine just how far she should go to recover it.Within a world that is foreign to her, and as she seeks to assimilate while grieving what has been lost, Hels character offers a fresh perspective on what it means to be an immigrant facing the end of ones culture. In this important debut novel, readers will find parallels with todays news in a world that is both different and familiar.Vigilance by Robert Jackson Bennett (January 29, 2019)Robert Jackson Bennetts Vigilance takes readers on a dark and twisting ride in what can only be classified as a science fiction action parable of an America that has accepted gun violence as the norm. Its satire at its best and spins the idea of Hunger Games in an even darker direction.Set in 2030, the story follows the life of executive producer John McDean, who produces Vigilance, a reality game show designed to ensure American citizens remain alert and vigilant to all threats, both foreign and domestic. In the reality game environment, an active shooter is introduced to public spaces and prize money is given to anyone who is armed and ready to take down the shooter. Then, McDean ends up on the other side of the camera, and his whole reasoning for the show is seen through new eyes.Much like the worlds depicted in the stories, the science fiction genre has evolved significantly, from the classics to modern bestsellers. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.The Classics1984 by George OrwellNominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs The Great American Read, 1984 is a chilling, dystopian tale that will ring strangely familiar in modern times, despite having been written in 1948. It is the story of Winston Smith, who works for the Ministry of Truth and lives in one of the three totalitarian super-states that rule the world. At first, Winston does what hes told and tows the Party line; however, he begins to see through the lies built around government surveillance, controlled narrative, and serious loss of civil rights. Meanwhile, Big Brother is always watching, so he must hide the fact that he is beginning to think for himself.From revised dictionaries attempting to control human thought through language, to the concept of using perpetual war to keep citizens in their place, this story has become a manual of sorts for describing the course of modern political movements getting dangerously close to the dystopian world that Orwell foretold.Altered Carbon by Richard K. MorganAlthough written in 2003, Altered Carbon has already found its place amon g the classics and has been reimagined into a popular Netflix series, created by Laeta Kalogridis. It shows a world in the 25th century, where humankind lives throughout the galaxy and is monitored by the U.N. There is also an expensive procedure available where one can store his or her consciousness in a cortical stack at the base of the brain, which can then be downloaded into a new body (called a sleeve), thus escaping death itself.The main character is ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs, who has been dispatched 180 light-years from his home into another body living in Bay City, in what was once San Francisco. In the shady underbelly of the city, in a decidedly cyberpunk world, he discovers how existence can be bought and sold as he attempts to solve a rich mans murder.Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyWritten in the 1930s and influenced by political fascism, Aldous Huxleys Brave New World offers dystopian world that is both prophetic and terrifying. While addressing 21st-century issues such as the domination of mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, and elitism, it offers a glimpse into a future world where humans are genetically bred and indoctrinated into castes chosen for them before birth by an authoritarian government.With heavy references to Shakespeares work, it is sometimes a biting criticism on capitalism, and often a glimpse of the potential horrors that come with the power of genetic engineering getting into the wrong hands. Its a must-read for anyone wanting to see how modern political movements can inspire classic science fiction bestsellers.A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter MillerFirst published in 1959, A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel depicting a planet ravaged by nuclear war razed the Earth, as its survivors return to a type of dark age where science is hated and books are destroyed. In this setting, a small order of Catholic monks seeks to fight against the ignorance and barbarism that n ow faces humanity. Having won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel, it explores the themes of religion and church versus state in a world where civilization has severely decayed.The Children of Men by P. D. JamesAlso released as in a film adaptation, The Children of Men is a dystopian novel published in 1992 set in a time of mass infertility. The story takes place in the United Kingdom, which is under autocratic rule, and explores themes of human frailty in a narrative voice that alternates between first and third person points of view.While the beginning is set in the year 2021, the narrator reveals events that occurred in 1995, which is referred to as Year Omega, where the sperm count of males fell to zero and a feminist civil war broke out, threatening the mass extinction of humanity. There is an elite class known as the Omegas, who are young and the last-born humans on earth, but they are both spoiled and violent. They treat their elders, the non-Omegas, with conte mpt, and live in a world where newborn animals are treated like infants, dressed in infant clothing, and pushed around in strollers.Theo, the protagonist, who is known as a dissident, encounters a revolutionary group known as The Five Fishes, who task him with helping to protect a woman who is an anomaly because she is pregnant. Beautifully written with poignant characterization, Children of Men explores themes of politics and power in times when the fate of humanity is grim.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. DickFirst published in 1968 and the inspiration for the 1982 film Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where nuclear global war has severely damaged the planet and humanitys way of life. Those who are able have already fled the planet, ravaged by war and pollution, and those who remain exist in a world that is nearly uninhabitable.The protagonist, Rick Deckard, is one of the not-so-fortunate. He makes his living as a government-sanctioned bounty hunter destroying renegade androids, which have been built in the dearth of living creatures (along with realistic animals). The androids are so life-like and sophisticated, that they are indistinguishable from real humans, prompting the Earths government to distrust them. However, Ricks interaction with one android in particular forces him to question what it means to be a human.Dune by Frank HerbertPublished in 1965, Frank Herberts Dune tied with Roger Zelaznys This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It imagines a feudal interstellar society of planetary fiefs controlled by noble houses and tells the story Paul Atreides, whose family are stewards of the planet Arrakis.Despite the planet being a desert wasteland that is mostly inhospitable, it is the only source of mà ©lange, commonly known as the spice- a drug that enhances mental abilities and can extend life. With themes of politics, re ligion, ecology, and technology, Dune explores common topics within a very uncommon place and is often considered to be one of the best and imaginative science fiction books ever written.Foundation by Isaac AsimovFirst published in 1951 and nominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs The Great American Read, Foundation contains five interrelated short stories and is often considered to be one of the most important works in hard science fiction. Within the five stories- The Psychohistorians, The Encyclopedists, The Mayors, The Traders, and The Merchant Princes- Asimov reimagines the fall of the Roman Empire taking place on a galactic scale. With themes focusing on economics and history, and a notoriously tough read, it is considered to be one of Asimovs best works.Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyPublished in 1823, Frankenstein is one of the earliest examples of science fiction and allegedly was written in a contest of sorts among some of the literary greats of the Romantic per iod to see who could write the most horrific tale. Considered to be a classic in Gothic and Romantic literature, it tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, whose efforts to cheat death lead him to the creation of monstrosities. Its narrative framework consists of letters written by Captain Robert Walton, who details the events taking place at an unspecified time in the 18th century and the story, as told to him by Victor Frankenstein himself.The Handmaids Tale by Margaret AtwoodOriginally published in 1985, The Handmaids Tale is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It won the 1985 Governor Generals Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987, and was nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It has also been adapted into a film, an opera, and a TV series on Hulu.Set in the near future the Republic of Gilead, a fundamentalist theocratic state with a low birth rate, the men in charge enslave fertile women known as handmaids and force them to have their children. As a seminal work of feminist literature, it explores the subjugation of women in a patriarchal society, and is told through the point of view of Offred, a handmaid for a Commander who is suspected to be infertile.The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsPublished in 1979, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy follows the misadventures of the last surviving man, Arthur Dent, after the Earth has been destroyed by a Vogon constructor fleet to make way for a hyperspace bypass. It was first broadcast as a radio series on BBC radio in 1978, and later became known as a trilogy in five parts.The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is absurdist, bombastic, and a lot of fun. It is a wildly imaginative adventure building off multiple science fiction tropes, but retains enough cynicism to be appreciated as a work that is much deeper than it initially appears on the surface. Simply put, it is a must-read for any science fiction ent husiast, and has been adapted into comic books and stage shows, and earned Douglas Adams a spot as Guest of Honour at the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention, held in Brighton, England.Neuromancer by William GibsonPublished in 1984, Neuromancer, one of the best-known works in the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, was written by American-Canadian writer William Gibson as his debut novel. It was the first novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award.Its protagonist is Henry Case, a washed-up computer hacker and hustler surviving in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City, Japan. The story imagines a world where hackers and cyborgs work together to against massive, nefarious corporations, and is a must-read for fans of the more recent Ready Player One.Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt VonnegutPublished in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five is a novel containing equal amounts of science fiction and anti-war sentiment. Its protagonist is Billy Pilgrim, a soldier who has become unstuck in time, and bounces back and forth in a nonlinear fashion on his personal timeline in a time-traveling narrative that explores the horrors of war through an unreliable narrator. Billy believes he was held in an alien zoo on the fictional planet Tralfamadore as he experiences post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences as a soldier. With extensive use of irony, black humor, and didacticism, Vonneguts signature simplistic style of writing makes Slaughterhouse-Five one of his best-loved works.Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. HeinleinWritten in 1961, Stranger in a Strange Land is speculative fiction set in a post-Third World War United States, where organized religions control politics. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians, only to come to Earth as a young adult. He must learn what it means to be a man, while simultaneously teaching Earthlings about Martian concepts such as grokk ing and water-sharing.It won the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 1987 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.The War of the Worlds by H. G. WellsPublished in 1898 and first serialized in 1897 by Pearsons Magazine in the UK and by Cosmopolitan magazine in the US, The War of the Worlds is a classic tale of alien invasion. As one of the earliest stories depicting conflict between humanity and an extraterrestrial race, it is told via first-person narration by an unknown protagonist living in Surrey, and his younger brother living in London as Martians invade the Southern part of England.The War of the Worlds is a seminal work in the science fiction classic canon, and has been reimagined for feature films, radio, comic books, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories written by other authors.