Supervalu Company Analysis Essay Example for Free

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay One company that may provide investors such an opportunity is Supervalu, Inc. Supervalu is an Eden Prairie, Minnesota based retail supermarket chain that has experienced sharp drop in the value of their share over the past several years. The company has committed itself to a turn-around by replacing Wayne Sales with Sam Duncan as CEO. Duncan followed his appointment as CEO by shuffling the top management deck and bringing in a new president in charge of Save-A-Lot, the companies most important subsidiary. All this was done with the ultimate aim of speeding up the turnaround. The company is also trimming down with layoffs and selling some of its well known brand to investment group Cerberus Capital (Anderson, 2013). 2. Overview of Supervalu Supervalu is an American retail giant. It has been in business for more than a century. With over 130,000 employees, it is the third largest food retail company in the United States (after Kroger and Safeway), and ranks number seventy five on the 2012 Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies (Forbes, 2012). On June 2nd 2006, the company announced the purchase of Boise, Idaho based Albertsons, Inc and all of its 1,124 stores. The Supermarket News magazine’s ranking of â€Å"Top Wholesalers for 2008† put Supervalu at the very top of the list (Supermarket News, 2008). The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967. The company’s mission is served by operations consisting principally of grocery and pharmacy operations with a total of 2,432 stores with the firm also offering supply chain services for smaller retailers, serving over 4,300 retailers (Supervalu, 2012). The retail operations are supported by 22 distribution centers, and the wholesale distribution is supported by nine distribution centers, the latter of which also supply company owned stores. The company benefits from a solid level of diversification with a number of different brands targeting different markets, including Acme, Albertsons and Shop ‘n Save brands. The company owns 1,102 traditional food retail stores, as well as 397 hard discount stores trading under the Save-A-Lot brand name (Supervalu, 2012). In addition the company also licenses the Save-A-Lot brand to 935 independent operators. With what seems to be a successful operation, the company however still faces a number of uphill battles with the last three years reporting significant losses and extreme pressure from competitors. In 2012 CEO Craig Hackert in charge since 2009 was replaced by company chairman Wayne Sales. A move that saw a sharp drop in share prices was met eight months later with Sales’ own firing and replacement with newcomer Sam Duncan in January of this year with the aim of accelerating the company’s turnaround. There have been significant problems including massive losses and decline in revenue production. Measures are now being taken to limit losses, slash cost and regain sales, including the sale of non-profitable brands as well as a shakeup in top management as discussed earlier. However, issues such as high levels of debt, a low level of equity and difficult trading conditions may persist for some time. In order to assess the organization as a potential investment, it is necessary to look at the financial analysis. 3. Financial Analysis Companies produce annual reports designed with the shareholder as the primary audience. The annual reports which are published using the standard format present the performance of the organization in the preceding 12 month period. The annual reports the 10-K in the United States – are overseen by an auditor to ensure that they reflect a true and honest picture of the company and are compiled in line with the required account standards. It should however be noted that financial reports may sometimes be rife with misleading information as was the case in recent years with Enron and WorldCom. However, for the purpose of this project, it is assumed that there are no potential misstatements. 4. 1 Summary of Statements All figures presented will be in millions of US dollars when examining the different financial statements – unless otherwise specified with the exception of per-share numbers. All figures for Supervalu, Inc. , have been extracted from the 10-k for the financial year ending February 2011 and 2012. Where industry comparisons are made, these have been taken from relevant ratio pages on MSN Money. 4. 2. 1 Income Statement The income statement, which can be found in appendix 1 is also called the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and shows that the financial year which ended on February 25th 2012 (a 52-week year) saw net sales of $36,100. This represented a deep in revenues on the previous two years as the 2011 net sales was $37,534 and the 2010 net sales was $40,597. Since 2010 the company has seen an 11. 0 percentage point decline in revenues. Some downward movement in revenue was however expected as a result of the divestments that occurred in mid to late 2011. The gross profit for the year 2012 was $8,019 which is a gross profit margin of 22. 1%. However the company saw a loss in operating profit of $519, primarily the result of high cost on intangible assets. 2012’s operating profit was still a lower loss in operating profit compared to 2011 when it was $976 and a gain of $1,201 in 2010. Net earnings are shown on the income statement. For the sake of accounting, net earnings may be presente d before or after taxes. Since Supervalu is experiencing an adverse financial climate and took advantage of a negative tax payment in 2010 and 2011, this paper will utilize the definition of net earnings as being earnings after tax. After provisions for income taxes were factored in, the company showed a loss of $1,040 or -2. 88% in net earnings in 2012. It must however be noted that this number represents an improvement on the previous year when net earnings registered a -4. 02% loss at $1,510. In 2012 there was a loss of $43. 91 per share in net earnings. This number is however an improvement from 2011 when the net loss per share was $7. 13 . It should be noted that these changes are not influences by the weighted average of outstanding share which stood at 212 million (Supervalu, 2012). The income statement highlights a company in some serious difficulties; however the numbers show encouraging signs of a rebound to better times in 2010. 3. 1. 2Balance Sheet The balance sheet referenced in Appendix 2 defines the company’s position in terms of assets and liabilities. The company experienced a drop in the value of its assets in 2012, however there was also a decrease in total liabilities overall. Current assets generally calculated as having an economic shelf life of 12 months or less fell steadily from 2010 ($3,711) to 2011 ($3,420) and 2012 ($3,225). This decline can be seen across all asset categories. Long-term assets also declined to $12,053 representing a 12. 39% drop in value. Measures to cut cost and control debt are starting to take hold as the level of current liabilities has declined year to year since 2010. The long term liabilities of the companies on the other hand have seen an upward tick with total liabilities rising from $11,524 in 2011 to $12,032 in 2012. Important to investors is the decline in the level of equity within the organization. This has gone down from $2,887 in 2010 to $1,340 in 2011 and just $21 in 2012. The balance sheet continues to paint a picture of current gloom face the organization in the near term. 3. 1. 3 Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement in Appendix 3 shows $157 in cash and cash equivalents in hand at the end of 2012. This represented a decline in the previous two years of $211 in 2010 and $172 in 2011. This represents a gradual but consistent drop in cash and cash equivalents of the company. Significant impacts are the losses carried over into cash flow which amounted to $1,040 for 2012 and $1,510 for 2011. The net effect is a reduction in the amount of cash provided for operating activities. It is important to make note of the fact that while the company has engaged in disposing of some assets, there have also been new investment resulting in overall net investing of $484 in 2012 and $227 in 2011. Cash flow from financing activities was also negative with $291 raised from the issuance of long-term debt, but this is counteracted with $798 payment of long-term debt and capital lease obligations. This results in net cash outflow from financing activities of $587. However, this is a decline on the previous year of $975. 3. 1. 4Statement of Owners Equity The consolidated statement of stockholders equity found in Appendix 4shows the balance of equity over a period of four years, 2009-2012. The statement shows that the position of common stock has not changed, with a total of $230. The capital in excess of par has only change very slightly from $2,853 in 2009 to $2,855 in 2012. The major factor of the equity level is a deficit which resulted in a negative balance of -$1,892 at the end of 2012. When added with other accumulated losses results in a total shareholder equity in the firm of $21. This is a notable change compared to 2009 when the total balance of equity was $2,581. . 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis can be used here to explore the financial position of the firm and the way in which it is performing by analyzing internal performance as well as providing a benchmark for comparison with the industry. This section puts forward some ratio analysis calculations and makes comparisons with industry averages where available. 3. 2. 1 L iquidity Liquidity is an important measure companies facing hard times. It measures the firm’s ability to survive in the short term and meet its current financial obligations (Libby et al, 2010). The current ratio and the quick ratio are the two main measure of liquidity also known as the acid test. The current ratio measures the firm’s ability to use current assets to settle current liabilities. In the case of Supervalu, there are insufficient assets available to pay current liabilities. This is however not unusual as like in many industries with rapid cash flow, a relatively low current ratio may be acceptable based on expected cash flow. Supervalu is therefore not necessarily showing any signs of mounting distress with the current ratio at 0. 0 as shown in table 1. The industry average is slightly higher, however this difference may be indicative of better use of capital – although it could also indicate cash flow issues. Table [ 1 ]: Current ratio Current ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Current ratio| 0. 89| 0. 90| 0. 90| 1. 1| (Supervalu figures are extracted from Supervalu Inc. 10-K. Industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012). The quick ratio is another way to evaluate liquidity within a company. The idea behind this is that an organization may not be able to realize the full value of its inventory if they are required to liquidate inventory in order to pay current liabilities. Calculations for the quick ratio are similar to the current ratio minus inventory value which is deducted from the total current assets as can be seen in Table 2. Table 2: Quick ratio Quick ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Inventory| 2,342| 2,270| 2,150|   | Net current assets| 1,369| 1,150| 1,075|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Quick ratio| 0. 3| 0. 30| 0. 30| 0. 7| (Supervalu figures are taken from Supervalu, Inc. 10K. Industry figures are taken from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 2Asset Management The company’s ability to manage assets will be a key deciding factor in its return to profitability. Measures of asset management include return on assets and return on equity. For Supervalu, the return on assets shows a sligh t improvement in 2012 at -8. 06% compared to -10. 00% in 2011. Table [ 3 ]: Return on assets Return on Assets| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1510| -1040|   | Total assets| 16436| 13758| 12053|   | Return on assets| 2. 31%| -10. 00%| -8. 06%| 6. 80%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity is poor. While the actual loss has declined in 2012, the phenomenal change in the return on equity showing large losses is the results of adjustments that followed the steep decline in the level of equity. Table [ 4 ]: Return on equity Return on Equity| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Equity| 2,887| 1,340| 21|   | Return on equity| 13. 60%| -112. 69%| -4952. 38%| 15. 5%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity may not be enough to make an assessment of management’s use of assets. An alternative measure will be asset turnover (Libby et al, 2010). This analyzes the way in which assets are used to generate revenue. It will show how many times assets have been turned over in a given year. Supervalu seems to be improving efficiency in terms of utilization. They turned over assets equivalent to 2. 8 times in 2012 which was an increase from the previous two years (2. 9 times in 2011 and 2. 39 times in 2010). Looking at this in terms of industry context where the average is 2. 4 times, Supervalu appears to be improving efficiency which is positive for recovery. 3. 2. 3Debt Management The company’s debt equity ratio seems to spell doom for the future. This ratio measures the proportion of debt to equity. Compared to the industry average of 1. 03 shown in table 5 Table 5: Return on equity Debt to equity ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Total debt|   | 11,524| 12,032|   | Total equity|   | 1,340| 21|   | Debt/Equity|   | 8. 6| 572. 95| 1. 03| Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) Another measurement of debt management is the debt ratio. Supervalu’s debt ratio show s that it is in a delicate position with the majority of assets being funded by debt. Many companies have gone through similar issues due to losses in equity but have rebounded as was the case with auto maker General Motors. These numbers do not therefore signify an inability for Supervalu to rebound. 3. 2. 4 Profitability An important measure of viability is the profitability of the organization. There are various measures of profit, however in this report I shall focus on net profit margin. This is the level of profit that remains after all cost has been deducted. In this report, I shall utilize the measure after interest and taxes. As can be seen on table 6, the company is slowly digging itself out of a low point in 2011 when the net profit margin was negative 4. 02%. However in an industry where the average is 3. 24%, it is obvious the organization has a long way to go. Table 5: Return on equity Net profit margin| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Revenue (Net sales)| 40,597| 37,534| 36,100|   | Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Net profit margin| 0. 96%| -4. 02%| -2. 88%| 3. 24%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 5Market Value There are a number of different measures of market value, the most common of which is the price earnings ratio. This is a measure that assesses Harold company will take to earn is total capitalization. However, as Supervalu is making a loss this ratio is not relevant and cannot be calculated. To assess market value a measure which may be utilized are the earnings per share. The earnings per share are shown in table 10, and are a measure of the profit, or loss, the company makes attributed to each share outstanding. As expected, this is in line with the net profit margin in table 5, with the earnings per share being -$4. 91 in 2012 falling from -$7. 12 in 2011. Table 6: Return on equity Earnings per share| 2010| 2011| 2012| Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040| Average share out| 213| 212| 212| Net profit margin| 1. 84%| -7. 12%| -4. 91%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K 3. Competitors Supervalu is widely considered the third largest supermarket chain in the country. Its main industry peers are  Safeway, Kroger, and  Whole Food Market. Supervalu generated a steady gross margin of 22. 21% in 2012 and 22. 41% in 2011. However, the company is a loss-maker and it produced negative earnings in the previous year. Safeway, Kroger and Whole Food Market generated operating margins of 2. 37%, 1. 61%, and 6. 36%, respectively. It is clear from these gross margin numbers that the grocery industry has very slim operating margins on sales. Table 7: Competitor Analysis Figure in Million| Net Income| Long term D/E| Operating Margin %| Supervalu| -1244| Very High| -2. 1| Kroger| 728| 1. 8| 1. 61| Whole Food Market| 465| 0. 001| 6. 36| Safeway| 523| 2. 3| 2. 37| (Competitor results taken from Finviz. com) It also seems that Supervalu continued to struggle with insufficient growth in its operating activities in the last quarter of 2012. The corporations operating income fell for fiscal 2012. Furthermore, Supervalu is susceptible to financial leverage as it took on a new $2. 5 billion of debt in the third quarter of 2012 (Boehme, 2012). Supervalu needs to continue to reduce its operational cost in order to record positive results. 4. Conclusion The shedding of 877 grocery stores in a $3. 3 billion dollar deal with Cerberus Management LP in the first quarter of this year seems to have been a sign of a new and positive beginning (Dezember, 2013). The company’s stock has been one of the top performers this year; contradictory for a company still drowning in debt and declining sales. However the market has a positive outlook on the company. Since January 1st this year, shared of the company have gained a solid 133%. Supervalu closed the first day of trading this year at $2. 60 and ended the last week trading at $5. 26. Thanks to these positive numbers, both Fitch and Moody’s have upgraded their ratings on the company from negative to stable which has been a boost to investor confidence. The reduction in non-performing assets is expected to continue to improve the stability of the company. With less exposure to market volatility, the company should be able to rebound and even thrive. Decreasing the debt level will boost the balance sheet and future net revenues. 5. Recommendation Although the bullish run of Supervalu which started early this year continues, the company still has a long way to go in its quest to recover. Therefore the subjective recommendation of this report will be to hold. Based on the company’s current trend, it is very likely that within the next year the company will show even more positive signs of improvement and therefore warrant a change to a buy recommendation. If the organization is able to make a recovery it will be in a very strong position in the market as the number three grocer that also benefits from a large wholesaler and supply chain management operation. References Anderson, Jake, (January 10th 2013), Supervalu to Sell 5 Chains in $3. 3B Deal, Replace CEO. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://tcbmag. om/News/Recent-News/2013/January/Supervalu-to-Sell-5-Chains-in-$3-3B-Deal,-Replace Patton, Leslie, (July 30th 2012), Supervalu Names Wayne Sales CEO Amid Strategic Review. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2012-07-30/supervalu-names-sales-chief-executive-officer-to-replace-herkert. html Forbes Inc. (2012), Fortune 500 List of Best Companies (2012). Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/ Supermarket News (2008, SN Top Wholesalers for 2008. Retrieved April 17th 2013 from http://supermarketnews. om/top-75-retailers-amp-wholesalers/sn-top-wholesalers-2008 Supervalu, (2012). About Supervalu. retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. supervalu. com/sv-webapp/about/about. jsp Boehme, Kate, (September 16th 2012), Can Supervalu Survive Its Debt? Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://seekingalpha. com/article/869491-can-supervalu-survive-its-debt Dezember, Ryan and Hudson, Kris (January 10th 2012), Property Is Plum in Supervalu Deal. Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424127887324581504578233411904827872. html

Comparing HD-DVD and Blu-ray Technology Essay example -- Compare Contr

Comparing HD-DVD and Blu-ray Since 1997, DVD has been the #1 top selling format for home entertainment, crushing VHS within a five year time frame. But technology is forever changing and it’s only a matter of time before DVD’s go the way of VHS. With two new formats (High Definition-DVD and Blu-ray) on the horizon, which one will win the race? Both formats use blue laser technology, which has a shorter wavelength than red (DVD), allowing it to read the smaller digital data "spots" packed a lot more densely onto a standard-size disc. In other words, they hold a lot more memory than your standard DVD’s. â€Å"The comparison chart shows that HD-DVD and Blu-ray disks will be pretty similar. Both should be able to fit a high definition movie onto one side of one disk, and both HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will play old DVD movies.†(Boutin, Paul) it’s still too early to call the race with both technologies about a year away, but my money is on Blu-ray.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HD-DVD is more user friendly in terms of its name, with the title holding a name closer to DVD. (Carnoy, David) â€Å"Toshiba, NEC, and a couple of other upstarts will be pushing for HD-DVD.† HD-DVD is capable of holding 30GB or a full-length high-definition movie, plus extras, on a prerecorded double-layer disc (compare that to today's limit of 9GB for standard double-layer DVDs). Plus the cost of making a HD-DVD is on par with the cost of today’s DVD’s, making it a smoother transition for the big companies to deal with. Toshib...

Don Juan by Gorge Gordon Byron

English poetry offers us an astonishing variety of plots and scenes. Their impressive scope and sophistication attract the reader’s attention from the first words. It’s possible to find anything in this poetry- it answers even the most demanding taste. In an engaging and accessible style English poems show different events or feelings which the authors are expressing. It depicts many astonishing scenes which help us to develop our imagination and give us an extraordinary basis for further intellectual development.There are many outstanding English poets whose works have very much attracted my attention but I was the most overwhelmed by Gorge Gordon Byron’s works. His poems all appear masterpieces which strike us by their creative thought and meaning. George Gordon Byron’s epic poem â€Å"Don Juan† has a very complicated plot, and there are very many issues which are raised by the poem. In order to get a full grasp of the poem, it’s very impor tant to stop at all the main themes. It’s impossible to narrow the scope of all the issues raised by the poem into a few of them because there are plenty of them.Even though many investigations of â€Å"Don Juan† have been made, we are still incapable of answering what main meaning the poem carries in itself- whether it’s a poem about love and romance, or it’s an attack upon Lake poets against whom Byron was always fighting, or this poem is primarily a social commentary. Some critics argue that this poem may very well be the description of the Fall of the Man, or Byron’s own attempt of self-therapy because some scenes depicted by Byron is Don Juan turn out to have analogy with scenes from Byron’s own life.Don Juan in many aspects shows Byron’s existentialist views. He goes away from Calvinist philosophical view of things and goes to a much more complex existentialist view which includes studying of a man’s consciousness, his fe elings and emotions, among which there is always alienation, anxiety, and angst. However, unlike all the existentialist philosophers who are going to follow Byron in some time, his philosophy in Don Juan is expressed in a different way.If Sartre, Kierkegaard and other existentialists argue that there is no God because belief for him has died in people’s minds, that people are totally lonely in this cruel world, Byron’s existentialist vision is a theistic one and he is encompassing a compassion for humanity as a greater whole. Byron also deals with themes of alienation and angst which all humans are experiencing but he is not mad at the whole world for that, unlike other existentialists. The poem also deals very much with literature critics of Byron’s times, and through his own creative work Byron does his best to show his attitude to some poets.Byron’s satire helps him to hit the target of the necessary poets very easily. Don Juan is a â€Å"literary man ifesto† to Byron’s age in which he â€Å"vigorously attacks the literary pretensions† of Romantic poets of his time. According to Jerome J. McGann, â€Å"The point of Don Juan is to clarify the nature of poetry in an age where obscurity on the subject, both in theory and practice, was becoming rampant and†¦ developed from the increasing emphasis upon privacy and individual talent in Romantic verse† (McGann, 78).In the â€Å"Dedication† in which Byron provides all the attacks on the Lake poets, he shows lots dissatisfaction by the works of Bob Southey whom he considers very insolent and untalented, unable to create any outstanding works: Bob Southey! You're a poet–Poet-laureate, And representative of all the race; Although 'tis true that you turn'd out a Tory at Last-yours has lately been a common case; And now, my Epic Renegade! what are ye at? With all the Lakers, in and out of place? A nest of tuneful persons, to my eye Like â€Å"fou r and twenty Blackbirds in a pye†¦ (Byron, â€Å"Dedication†) Bob Southey is not the only poet on who Byron performs an attack.He stands against all the principles on which the Lake poets’ poetry is based and argues that their creative work is useless: I would not imitate the petty thought, Nor coin my self-love to so base a vice, For all the glory your conversion brought, Since gold alone should not have been its price. You have your salary; was't for that you wrought? And Wordsworth has his place in the Excise. You're shabby fellows–true–but poets still, And duly seated on the Immortal Hill. (Byron, â€Å"Dedication†) One of the reasons of Byron’s attacks upon Lake poets is that his Romantic contemporaries didn’t not give credit to Pope who was Byron’s idol.This attitude to Pope, according to Byron, showed those poets’ â€Å"neglect of the rules of proprietary in verse, a neglect which carried over to the debasem ent of political and ethical ideas† (Bloom, 1). Byron’s ideal was traditional poetry and was fighting against any imagination which appeared in the poems of romantic Lake poets. He stood against depiction of romantic feelings in the poems and brining imagination into it. The satire turns out a very effective weapon in the hands of Byron because it serves as Byron’s qualifying device for his theme of appearance versus reality, which is the opposite to the outlook Lake poets were expressing.The idea that things not always appear what they seem is central in Byron’s outlook. This view of reality is shared by Kant, too, who was arguing that things were actually things-in-themselves, and we could see only the reflection of them. Byron agrees in that with Kant and shows in Don Juan that we cannot grasp the true meaning of reality, we don’t know what the things are originally. This outlook which Byron represents gives us an idea that the alleged cynicism i n Don Juan is only a facade which is covering a much more important issue.The idea that Byron’s Don Juan is Byron himself and thus the poem turns out autobiographical, can be proved by some factors. In a letter to his publisher Byron said the following: â€Å"The truth is that [the poem] is TOO TRUE†. Byron’s childhood is very similar to the childhood of his character Don Juan. Even the characters in the poem are very similar to some people with whom Byron was connected- Byron’s Father, Captain John Byron turns out Don Jose, while Donna Inez, like Byron’s mother, becomes â€Å"repression personified† (Tate, 90-1).This leads to the conclusion that all the feelings which Byron was depicting in the poem as the feelings of Don Juan, can be considered his own feelings, as well as all the events which were going in the life of Don Juan. We can see Byron himself talking to us through the character of Don Juan. The hero of the poem is introduced in the Canto the First in the following way: I want a hero: an uncommon want, When every year and month sends forth a new one, Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, The age discovers he is not the true one;Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, I'll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan, We all have seen him, in the pantomime, Sent to the Devil somewhat ere his time. (Byron, ‘‘Dedication†) However, that is how Byron represents himself and what his perception of his own self is. He certainly takes the plot from the pantomime which is claimed to have appeared earlier than Byron wrote his Don Juan. At the same time, the resemblance of characters which we were talking about above is impossible to be argued about.In Don Juan Byron, according to Tate’s view, â€Å"depicts the formative events of his life, his experiences as son and husband, but so thoroughfully rearranged as to raise a private past into a public fiction† (Tate, 94-5). The impu lses behind some rearrangement of facts which Byron has in Don Juan are the key to the poem because in such a manner he is doing his best to do 2 things at a time: first of all, show the events from his childhood and marriage, but at the same construct a kind of an ideal, make all the events which happened to him more perfect than they originally were.Byron is trying to show the events not in the way they were happening in reality but in the way which he would like them to happen. This peculiar approach can be explained very easily- in such a manner Byron is trying to prove to himself that he is the master of his own life, that he can decide what is going to happen in his life and what he doesn’t want in it. Instead of giving the story of Don Juan as a myth about which everybody knows, Byron makes a completely different attempt because his goal is to give a psychological sketch of the effects of environment on character.If Byron just decided to write a poem simply based in th e famous plot which everybody knows, there would be nothing outstanding in that. On the contrary, his poem is a masterpiece because he has managed to show a complicated character which is influenced by outside environment. Don Juan appears to be manipulated by women and his tragedy is that he moves from the figure of one mother to another. Just like Inez was a social and psychological peer for Don Juan, Julia becomes a parental substitute for him.Julia embodied the hatred of Byron’s mother for her husband, and the hated husband is very willingly replaced by the more easily dominated son. â€Å"Alfonso’s relationship with Inez and the chance of his being Juan’s actual father, or at least old enough to substitute as the father symbol in the exclusive ‘only mother’, ‘only son’ affliction, sets up an oedipal configuration between these three characters, which is further complicated by the possibility that Julia is ‘sister-mother to J uan† (Tate, 94-5).All the complications which happen in Juan’s life, when he is unable to understand what he is doing right and what wrong make him escape from the motherly manipulations of both women. Their attitude to Juan represents an external threat to his sexuality, so the only thing which is left for him to do is escape. The scenes of Canto 1 enable us to make a very important conclusion: in Byron’s poem Don Juan appears as an innocent man despite the traditional vision of Don Juan’s character which is depicted in myths.If in the other versions of Don Juan plot the general idea about Don Juan is that he is the one causing troubles for women and making their lives miserable, Byron’s Don Juan appears as a different image. He is the victim in the process, not the women depicted. He is the one who suffers and is forced to escape in order to find a happier future.

10th (or 11th) Grade Reading List

Summer reading is a great way to  maintain fluency and reading level. The right book can also encourage independent reading. But finding the elusive book your teen or students will enjoy can be tricky. While many teachers rely on the classics when choosing books there are many contemporary YA titles that are perfect for the classroom. Using contemporary YA novels can also help foster a love of reading in teens who may have trouble relating to the more adult themes and antiquated language in some classics. Many teachers have begun to incorporate novels aimed at their students age level into their lessons to great success. When assigning summer reading it can be a good idea to allow students to choose from a list of different titles. This allows the student to have some control over their assignment and the opportunity to pick a book they are truly interested in. These are a sampling of the titles that often appear on high-school reading lists for 10th (or 11th) grade. Regardless of your age or skill, the books on this list are great introductions to literature.  These are a sampling of the titles that often appear on high-school reading lists for 10th (or 11th) grade. Regardless of your age or skill, the books on this list are great introductions to literature.   Reading List Animal Farm - George OrwellBrave New World - Aldous HuxleyCanterbury Tales - Geoffrey ChaucerGullivers Travels - Jonathan SwiftHeart of Darkness - Joseph ConradJane Eyre - Charlotte BronteLord Jim - Joseph ConradHarry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - J.K. Rowling  The Color Purple - Alice Walker1984 - George OrwellPride and Prejudice - Jane AustenReturn of the Native - Thomas HardyThe Martian - Andy WeirNever Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro100 Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquà ©zSaint Joan - George Bernard ShawDune - Frank HerbertTheir Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale HurstonSilas Marner - George EliotInterpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa LahiriThe House on Mango Street - Sandra CisnerosTale of Two Cities - Charles DickensTurn of the Screw - Henry JamesTo the Lighthouse - Virginia WoolfWuthering Heights - Elizabeth BronteTo Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper LeeThings Fall Apart - Chinua AchebeThe Handmaids Tale - Margaret AtwoodThe Absolutely  True Diary of a Part-Time  Indian - S herman AlexieLord of the Flies - William Golding  Persepolis - Marjane SatrapiSlaughter-House Five - Kurt VonnegutA Rasin in the Sun - Lorraine HansberryThe Book Thief - Mark ZusakFools Crow - James WelchThe Hunger Games - Suzanne CollinsThe Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen ChboskySpeak - Laurie Halse AndersonNative Son - Richard WrightThe Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas AdamsThe Catcher in the Rye - J.D. SalingerLittle Brother - Cory DoctorowThe Bell Jar - Sylvia PlathThe Outsiders - S.E. HintonThe Fire Next Time - James BaldwinBeloved - Toni Morrison