Current Situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia Essay Example for Free

Current Situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia Essay Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are apparently the central player of most economies, mostly in terms of generating micro employment and largely due to their contributions and development impacts as quantified by increasing growth potentials towards sustainable development. The perception that the significant collaboration of SMEs within the supply chain or pipeline industry of larger companies has engaged the consensus for social responsibility that links with corporate governance. The performance of SMEs in Western and Asian countries could have revolutionized the flow of investments that lead to emergence of new industries. In this paper, the patterns of SMEs’ performance â€Å"to propel the engine of economy† will be discussed in relation with its current situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Collective situational indicators This section of the paper aims to collectively situate the key economic development of Saudi Arabia as a brief indicator that can link to the current situation of SMEs. As recent information, we cite Saudi Arabia as one of the worlds top reformers and the â€Å"easiest† countries to conduct business that raised 15 places to rank 23rd out of 178 countries. The World Bank quoted, â€Å"Saudi Arabia to be belonging from the global top ten most competitive countries by 2010† (World Bank, 2008). In similar report from prominent online business magazine, it cited that Saudi Arabia is â€Å"even ahead† to other Middle Eastern countries and can be compared to European economies like France and Austria (AME info, 2008). Meanwhile, Switzerland’s World Economic Forum (WEF) observed that Saudi Arabia must realign its educational system to adequately develop the foreseen potentials of the private sector, contingent to boost the economic diversification process as a strategic procedure of â€Å"weaning† from the Kingdom’s mother-industry of petroleum products. To cite, adequate skilled-labor are needed to totally ensure continuing employment and to be self-reliant from being dependent with foreign-owned companies that represents about one-third of the industry (WEF, 2007). Critical consideration The SMEs in Saudi Arabia comprise about 93% of total enterprise units that absorbs an estimated employment of 24. 7% Saudis. The study conducted by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has accounted the primary problem of small-medium entrepreneurs as â€Å"deficient in credit-finance-capital facilitation†. (SIDF, 2008) Realizing the SMEs’ role The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) has established a â€Å"loan guarantee scheme† aim to facilitate the SMEs application for commercial bank loans. To avail commercial bank loans, the SMEs’ applicants must be under the category of â€Å"small company† that has â€Å"lesser asset† of SR. 50 million and required to employ 250 workers, and to generate annual revenues of SR. 10 million. (SIDF, 2008) As cited, the loan guarantee scheme has specifically outlined the guidelines, such as (1) initial infusion of SR. 200 million representing equities of 50% from 10 commercial banks and another 50% from the government; (2) guarantee fees for SIDF handling charges or facilitation of 175 basis points; (3) guarantee maximum amount of SR. 1. 5 million and 75% of the outstanding or current loan; (4) loan period from 7 years for fixed assets and 4 years for working capital; and (5) proposed imposition of bank loan rates at 400 â€Å"basis points† above the Saudi Interbank Offer Rate (CSCCI, 2008). The â€Å"divestment† of the financing scheme has been proposed to future investments by SIDF to access more funding support and produce substantial returns on investments. (CSCCI, 2008) On the other hand, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has proposed ruling on â€Å"collateral loans† to exclude fixed assets on owner-occupied-residential housing which is under the SIDF. Whereas, shall effect the collateral in pursuance with the Public Collections Act that implement accelerated collateral enforcement procedure with no restrictions of the Shariah (law of Koran) Islamic court. The lending bank shall collect 75% from lent amount upon failure to pay in 3 consecutive months. (SAGIA, 2008) A multilateral capital investment to SMEs in Saudi Arabia has been proposed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Venture Capital Bank of Bahrain and the Global Emerging Markets (GEM) investment-operations in New York, London and Paris. The multi-entity investment is a partnership aim to venture-out an â€Å"independent† $100 million dollar capital budget to develop opportunity-growth of SMEs. To cite, the opportunity-growth is envisioned to establish the SMEs’ market direction, micro-macro business-economic environment and strategic market-values. (CSCCI, 2008) SWOT Analysis and general perceptions The Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis depicting in this section of the paper is based upon the initially indicated findings on the current situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Strength One of the indicated strength of the SMEs in Saudi Arabia is its capability to contribute employment of 24. 7%, as indicated by Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI). The composition of SMEs to represent 93% of enterprise units is an added strength of capable performance. In support to this perception, an earlier claim on the performance of SMEs has been cited that 90% of â€Å"diverse† business from the small entrepreneurs of public sector basically operates in trade and manufacturing of petroleum by-products that is expected to contribute 50% of local industrial production (Bundagji, 2005). Weakness Like most common issues confronted by SMEs worldwide, the â€Å"private volunteerism† to industry development has yet to convey â€Å"popular† performance prior to government’s intervention. The foreign entities recognition to industry-wide participation of the private sector rekindles the Saudi government to focus on human development. The domestic competition on labor skills as attributed by emerging foreign-based companies could weaken the SMEs’ performance relating to technology advancement, in which translated into production output. Opportunity According to SDIF and CSCCI, a clearer vision for SMEs’ growth-opportunities is underway since the guarantee loans schemes would comprehensively address the industry issues pertaining to accelerate the private sector’s initiative. The comprehensive program is consistent with the financing-support-scheme, subsidies, training and technology innovation, and flexible micro-macro business-policy environment. This â€Å"growth-opportunities† could be deduced as referring to â€Å"tangible† opportunity for local and international partnership, wherein the abovementioned multilateral capital investments to SMEs can be deduced as â€Å"availing† such an opportunity. In which case, the SMEs creation of growth-opportunities could be a continuing â€Å"pipeline† or business linkage of investment. Threat It can be perceived that the prevailing â€Å"assimilation† of SMEs to industry-based economy of Saudi Arabia, as a result of comprehensive growth-opportunity scheme, could pave the way for strategic industry-market positioning of foreign investors. The effect of highly competitive domestic production could draw impact to the world economy, considering that Saudi Arabia is a major supplier of petroleum products to the world market. In addition, an â€Å"economic glut† may be a phenomenon in the production performance affecting the economic activities, in which when supply is high demand is low, and vice-versa. The control or monopoly in foreign trading on oil and its by-products may subsequently occur at the global distribution while â€Å"shrinking value† or total reduction of prices is thrown at the feet of local producers. The threat in foreign trading may only subsist by major stakeholders (wholesalers) and rich consumers like the European countries, US and Japan, to exemplify a few. However, generally the poor economies may end up into recession as a result of decelerated spending due high cost of commodities related to energy-dependent industries on manufacturing of goods. To sum up, the SWOT analysis aim to â€Å"explore the gaps† of the small business sector in Saudi Arabia, in which the gaps could be used as a derivative to reach out in understanding the critical role of SMEs in the general and specific perspectives of the industry. The perceptions may lead to â€Å"measures of undertaking† an assertive and extensive method of studies. Findings and conclusion The SMEs in Saudi Arabia could achieve substantial growth opportunities through intensive institutional support. It is critically viewed that the business environment policy must totally establish a prime-fund-facility that facilitates the crediting scheme, wherein sound financial management accountability would be reflective of governmental fiscal administration to account the financial needs of the private sector. As briefly reviewed, Director Fatin Yousef Bundagji of Women Empowerment and Research at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has found that the SDIF and CSCCI guideline is burdensome and highly extensive that results lesser applications. Bundagji implied that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Saudi Arabian SME Development Authority (SASMEDA) are not officially a functional authority to provide overall facilitation to the SMEs (Bundagji, 2005). Thus, the earlier finding of Bundagji addresses the current issue of SMEs that must be unified or organized as a coalition to promote its national identity, role and legal representation to the industry. It may be then concluded that the unification process of the SMEs may create â€Å"decentralized† corporate governance to empower the industry sector in Saudi Arabia. This perspective may totally supplant the â€Å"foreign archetype† with ingenuity of locally-generated development-framework of SMEs, to propel the sustainable technological-economic restructuring of the Kingdom from its â€Å"keepers† that amass the wealth of the desert and dwarfed the socio-economic-cultural autonomy of future population. References AME Info (2008). ‘Saudi economic reform to accelerate in 2008’. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. ameinfo. com/144599. html. Bundagji, F. Y. (2005). ‘Small Business and Market Growth in Saudi Arabia’. Arab News. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. benadorassociates. com/article/18663. CSCCI (2008). ‘40 Billion Riyals Funding For the National Industrial Strategy Programs’. Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. saudichambers. org. sa/index_en_6341_ENU_HTML. htm. SAGIA (2008). ‘Why Invest in Saudi Arabia? ’. Saudi Arabian Investment Authority. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. sagia. gov. sa/english/index. php? page=why-invest-in-saudi-arabia. SIDF (2008). ‘Saudi Industrial Development Fund’. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. saudinf. com/main/e32. htm. SIDF (2008). ‘Progress in Industrial Investment’. Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. sidf. gov. sa/english/Saudi-Indu/Industrial/Progress-i/index. htm. WEF (2007). ‘Assessing Competitiveness in the Arab World: Strategies for Sustaining the Growth Momentum’. The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007. http://www. weforum. org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/chapters/1_1. pdf.

Al Capone Essay -- essays research papers

Al Capone, probably the most notorious and well known gangster in history, was born in 1887 in Naples, Italy. His father, Gabriel Caponi, immigrated to Brooklyn from the slums of Naples in 1910. After he came here he changed his last name too Capone too blend in more. Al Capone’s gang activities started out when he was young. He was in the Five Points Gang, who were known for their violence. The gang’s tradition was to scar their victims with a knife cut from the outside corners of their eyes to their ears. At the time, Johnny Torrio was a major mob boss and his uncle, Jim Colosimo (AKA "Big Jim"), hired Capone as a bouncer. Al Capone was a large man, did his job well, and soon he came to recognition in Torrio’s gang. During his stint as a bouncer, Capone one time made a disrespectful comment to Frank Galluccio’s (a member of the Brooklynite gang) sister. Galluccio pulled out his pocket knife and went for Al’s face. When it was over, Capone had 3 big scars on his face. This earned him the nick name Scar Face. He hated the name, and whoever said it to his face would not live to regret it. After his recovery, he forgave Galluccio and because of this gesture he was hired as a body guard for Torrio at $100 a week. Capone eventually told the public that his scars were old war wounds received in France. Al Capone married Mae Coughlin in 1918 and together they had a son, Albert Francis, and chose Johnny Torrio as his Godfather. Torrio gave his godson $5000 a year. Shortly after, facing possible murder charges, they fled to Chicago. When Colosimo died, Capone became the right hand man of Torrio’s gang. Together, Capone and Torrio expanded the gang’s territories by taking out the their leaders. On one occasion there were Sicilians in the Sicilian Mafia and Al for a dinner in their "honor." After they had finished their lavish meal and drank as much wine as there hearts desired, he killed the unsuspecting visitors. They also tightened there political control over the city. Capone boasted "I own the police." He actually did own the police. This was most prominent during the November elections of 1929 when a lawyer by the name of Frank Lowsch persuaded Capone to have the elections be fair. He asked to have the police arrest any gangsters or hoodlums , and they did. There was not one incident of interventio... ... lavish meal and drank as much wine as there hearts desired, the smile that had been on Capone’s face disappeared and now silence fell over the table and the unsuspecting guests looked up nervously at Capone. Then Capone said "You thought that I didn’t know, huh? Well there is one offense that I never forgive that is disloyalty." Even though Capone was ruthless, he still carried out the old custom of hospitality before execution. With saying that, his bodyguards leaped on the men and started to strangle them. Al came out with a base ball bat in hand. He beat all of them to death and, to make sure they were dead, they also shot them in the back of the head. Something else that surprised me was the competition between the gangs, who could give the most flowers and give the most lavish funerals to the men they killed from the opposite side of town. Al Capone was a very ruthless killer but he still had style, a certain classy air about him. We all know of Al Capone as a gangster but in his time he actually gave to a lot of charities and organizations. Some people thought of him as hero. To the upper class people he was an outlaw but, to the poor people, he was Santa Clause.

What Can Businesses Learn from Text Mining

Case StudyWhat Can Businesses Learn From Text Mining? Text mining is the discovery of patterns and relationships from large sets of unstructured data – the kind of data we generate in e-mails, phone conversations, blog postings, online customer surveys, and tweets. The mobile digital platform has amplified the explosion in digital information, with hundreds of millions of people calling, texting, searching, â€Å"apping† (using applications), buying goods and writing billions of e-mails on the go.Consumers today are more than just consumers: they have more ways to collaborate, share information, and influence the opinions of their friends and peers; and the data that they create in doing so have significant value to businesses. Unlike structured data, which are generated from events such as completing a purchase transaction, unstructured data have no distinct form. Nevertheless, managers believe such data may offer unique insights into customer behaviour and attitudes t hat were much more difficult to determine years ago.For example, in 2007 JetBlue (the American Airline) experienced unprecedented levels of customer discontent in the wake of a February ice storm that resulted in widespread flight cancellations and planes stranded on Kennedy Airport runways. The airline received 15,000 emails per day from customers during the storm and immediately afterwards, up from its usual daily volume of 400. The volume was so much larger than usual that JetBlue had no simple way to read everything that its customers were saying.Fortunately, the company had recently contracted with Attensity, a leading vendor of text analytics software, and was able to use the software to analyze all of the e-mail it had received within two days. According to JetBlue research analyst Bryan Jeppsen, Attensity Analyze for Voice of the Customer (VoC) enabled JetBlue to rapidly extract customer sentiments, preferences, and requests it couldn’t find any other way.This tool us es a proprietary technology to automatically identify facts, opinions, requests, trends, and trouble spots from the unstructured text of survey responses, survey notes, e-mail messages, Web forums, blog entries, news articles, and other customer communications. The technology is able to accurately and automatically identify and many different â€Å"voices† customers use to express their feedback (such as a negative voice, positive voice, or conditional voice) which helps organisations pinpoint key events and relationships, such as intent to buy, intent to leave, or customer â€Å"wish† vents. It can reveal specific product and service issues, reactions to marketing and public relations efforts, and even buying signals. Attensity’s software integrated with JetBlue’s other customer analysis tools, such as Satmetrix’s Net Promoter metrics, which classifies customers into groups that are generating positive, negative, or no feedback about the company. Using Attensity’s text analytics in tandem with these tools, JetBlue developed a customer bill of rights that addressed the major issues customers had with the company.Hotel chains like Gaylord Hotels and Choice Hotels are using text mining software to glean insights from thousands of customer satisfaction surveys provided by their guests. Gaylord Hotels is using Clarabridge’s text analytics solution delivered via the Internet as a hosted software service to gather and analyze customer feedback from surveys, e-mail, chat messaging, staffed call centres, and online forums associated with guests’ and meeting planners’ experiences at the company’s convention resorts.The Clarabridge software sorts through the hotel chain’s customer surveys and gathers positive and negative comments, organizing them into a variety of categories to reveal less obvious insights. For example, guests complained about many things more frequently than noisy rooms, but complaints about noisy rooms were most frequently correlated with surveys indicating an unwillingness to return to the hotel for another stay. Analyzing customer surveys used to take weeks, but now takes only days, thanks to the Clarabridge software.Location managers and corporate executives have also used findings from text mining to influence decisions on building improvements. Wendy’s International adopted Clarabridge software to analyze nearly 500,000 messages it collects each year from its Web-based feedback forum, call centre notes, e-mail messages, receipt-based surveys, and social media. The chain’s customer satisfaction team had previously used spreadsheets and keyword searches to review customer comments; a very slow manual approach.Wendy’s management was looking for a better tool to speed analysis, detect emerging issues, and pinpoint troubled areas of the business at the store, regional or corporate level. The Clarabridge technology enables Wendyâ₠¬â„¢s to track customer experiences down to the store level within minutes. This timely information helps store, regional and corporate managers spot and address problems related to meal quality, cleanliness, and speed of service. Text analytics software caught on first ith government agencies and larger companies with information systems departments that had the means to properly use the complicated software, but Clarabridge is now offering a version of its product geared toward small businesses. The technology has already caught on with law enforcement, search tool interfaces, and â€Å"listening platforms† like Nielsen Online. Listening platforms are text mining tools that focus on brand management, allowing companies to determine how consumers feel about their brand and take steps to respond to negative sentiment.Structured data analysis won’t be rendered obsolete by text analytics, but companies that are able to use both methods to develop a clearer picture of the ir customer’s attitudes will have an easier time establishing and building their brand and gleaning insights that will enhance profitability. ENDCase Study Questions: 1. What challenges does the increase in unstructured data present for businesses? 2. How does text mining improve decision-making? 3. What kinds of companies are most likely to benefit from text mining software?Explain your answer. 4. In what ways could text mining potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy? Explain. 5. Visit a website such as TripAdvisor. com (or high street retailer ) detailing products or services that have customer reviews. Pick a product, hotel, or other service with at least several customer reviews and read those reviews, both positive and negative. How could Web content mining help the offering company improve or better market this product or service?What pieces of information should be highlighted| What can businesses learn from text mining? 1. What challenges does the increase in unstructured data present for businesses? The increase in unstructured data, such as that generated from e-mails, phone conversations, blog postings, online customer surveys and tweets, presents challenges for businesses as it has no distinct form, unlike structured data, which is generated from events such as completing a purchase transaction.The challenge of having unstructured data means that it can be difficult to interpret a large quantity of data in a short time as there are so many differing pieces of data rather than just a few structured pieces. The need to use tools such as text mining to interpret unstructured data adds extra challenges specifically those related to finance. The cost of implementing such tools can be great; not only does the technology need purchasing; the rate at which technology evolves means there will be costs in the upkeep with regards to updating new software.Other costs will include staff training; this will have an initial outlay a s well as a continuous financial impact as new technologies will require new training. 2. How does text-mining improve decision making? Using text mining improves decision making as it can analyse a vast quantity of data, condense the results into specific categories and reveal information that would have been less obvious otherwise. It can show correlations between many different factors more easily than without the text mining analysis.Using these less obvious insights gleaned from the information it is possible for a business to make better informed decisions that may never have been thought of if it was not used. Using text mining tools allows companies to build predictive models to gain insight into both their structured and unstructured data. Using these tools it is possible to recognise patterns and common themes amongst unstructured data, particularly those gained from things such as focus groups and blogs. Identifying these themes allows better decisions as it can show corr elations between data that otherwise would not have been visible.An example of this practice is the use of listening platforms such as Nielson Online which can determine the feelings of consumers and allow a company to better make decisions based upon their customers’ wants and needs. 3. What kinds of companies are most likely to benefit from text mining software? Large companies that have information system departments will benefit mostly from text mining software as it will enable them to speed up processes that they are already concentrating on. The text mining software will allow these companies to analyse large amounts of data that would normally take weeks to work through in just days.Other companies will benefit from smaller packages of the text mining software, particularly those that incorporate ‘listening platforms’. This will allow companies to more easily gauge how they are perceived by their consumers in terms of brand satisfaction and highlight any improvements that need to be rendered. Financial and communications provider companies can benefit from using text mining software by using it to identify their customers’ needs from their customer feedback to interpret better ways in which to retain their most profitable clients.Marketing companies can benefit from using text mining software to implement predictive modelling to improve marketing and promotions to their target audience and retailers can benefit from text mining software to quickly identify any major issues that occur on store level to better help managers improve their stores. 4. In what ways could text mining potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy? Text mining could potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy as it gives such an increased insight into the movements and habits of the public.Although text mining can help make improvements in the services being offered, it also gains a large amount of information abo ut an individual. This insight into one’s personal information further adds to the ever growing ‘big brother society’ or ‘surveillance society’. With the introduction of things such as increased CCTV monitoring the streets and larger quantities of data constantly being stored by companies there is much speculation that personal privacy is quickly being eradicated. Text mining tools may be another way in which this is apparent.An example of this is text mining tools used on holiday purchases; such a simple task can give an insight into the financial circumstances of an individual from the cost of the holiday to any extras purchased with it, as well as spending habits of that individual and other preferences. One way this information could infringe privacy is if it is then used to market other products specifically to that individual based on their prior purchases. 5. How could Web content mining help the offering company improve or better market this product or service?What pieces of information should be highlighted? Using Tripadvisor. com to read reviews on a hotel in London it has been possible to see the differing opinions of guests staying there. The hotel needs to utilise these reviews in order to better promote their services and to eradicate any problems. Using web content mining could be the most efficient way to do this. The hotel has 736 reviews of which 630 are positive and 106 are negative. It would be inefficient to manually read hrough this amount of text and cross reference specific points that need addressing. Using web mining tools the hotel could easily find which points they can use to market their services, some which appear to be the accessibility to amenities, particularly the tube station, and which points they need to improve on, particularly apparent is the attitude of the staff. Not only will web mining easily flag up these points it will easily show trends in the feelings of the guests, which could be missed if the reviews were to be analysed manually.The hotel would also save time and money by allowing the use of web mining as it eradicates most man power and human error. Bibliography Books Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon (2012). Management Information Systems: Managing The Digital Firm. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Online Sources Daily Mail Online (2010) Big Brother society is bigger than ever: New technology is ‘undermining privacy by stealth’. Available at: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/news/article-1328445/Big-Brother-society-bigger-New-technology-undermining-privacy-stealth. tml#ixzz1s9qMFfIg (Accessed 10/04/2012) JISC (2012) The Value and Benefit of Text Mining to UK Further and Higher Education. Digital Infrastructure. Available at: http://bit. ly/jisc-textm (Accessed 10/04/2012) Nucleus Research (2007) SPSS Text Mining. Available at: http://www. spss. ch/eupload/File/PDF/Guidebook%20–%20SPSS%20Text%20Mining. pdf (Accessed 10/04/2012) World Ac ademy of Science, Engineering and Technology (2005) Powerful Tool to Expand Business Intelligence: Text Mining. Available at: http://www. waset. org/journals/waset/v8/v8-21. pdf (Accessed 10/04/2012)

Fahrenheit 451 Characters Descriptions, Significance

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s classic work of science fiction, remains relevant in the 21st century thanks in part to the subtle symbolism tied to its characters. Each character in the novel struggles with the concept of knowledge in a different way. While some of the characters embrace knowledge and take on the responsibility of protecting it, others reject knowledge in an effort to protect themselves and their own comfort—none more so than the novel’s protagonist, who spends much of the novel attempting to remain ignorant even as he willfully seeks out knowledge in a struggle against himself. Guy Montag Guy Montag, a fireman, is the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. In the universe of the novel, the traditional role of the fireman is subverted: buildings are largely made from fireproof materials, and the job of a fireman is to burn books. Instead of preserving the past, a fireman now destroys it. Montag is initially presented as a content citizen of a world where books are treated as dangerous. The famous opening line of the novel, â€Å"It was a pleasure to burn,† is written from Montag’s perspective. Montag revels in his work and is a respected member of society because of it. However, when he meets Clarisse McClellan and she asks him if he is happy, he experiences a sudden crisis, suddenly imagining that he is splitting into two people. This moment of splitting comes to define Montag. Until the end of the story, Montag indulges in the idea that he is not responsible for his own increasingly dangerous acts. He imagines that he is controlled by Faber or Beatty, that his hands move independently of his will when he steals and hides books, and that Clarisse is somehow speaking through him. Montag has been trained by society not to think or question, and he attempts to maintain his ignorance by separating his inner life from his actions. It is not until the end of the novel, when Montag attacks Beatty, that he finally accepts his active role in his own life. Mildred Montag Mildred is Guy’s wife. Although Guy cares very deeply for her, she has evolved into a person he finds alien and horrifying. Mildred has no ambitions beyond watching television and listening to her ‛Seashell ear-thimbles,’ constantly immersed in entertainment and distraction that requires no thought or mental effort on her part. She represents society as a whole: seemingly superficially happy, deeply unhappy inside, and unable to articulate or cope with that unhappiness. Mildred’s capacity for self-reliance and introspection has been burned out of her. At the beginning of the novel, Mildred takes more than 30 pills and almost dies. Guy rescues her, and Mildred insists that it was an accident. The ‛plumbers’ who pump her stomach, however, comment that they routinely deal with ten such cases every evening, implying that this was a suicide attempt. Unlike her husband, Mildred flees from any sort of knowledge or admission of unhappiness; where her husband imagines himself splitting into two people in order to deal with the guilt that knowledge brings, Mildred buries herself in fantasy in order to maintain her ignorance. When the consequences of her husband’s rebellion destroys her home and fantasy world, Mildred has no reaction. She simply stands in the street, incapable of independent thought—much like society at large, which stands idly by as destruction looms. Captain Beatty Captain Beatty is the most well-read and highly educated character in the book. Nevertheless, he has devoted his life to destroying books and maintaining societys ignorance. Unlike the other characters, Beatty has embraced his own guilt and chooses to utilize the knowledge that he has attained. Beatty is motivated by his own desire to return to a state of ignorance. He was once a rebel who read and learned in defiance of society, but knowledge brought him fear and doubt. He sought answers—the sort of simple, rock solid answers that could guide him to the right decisions—and instead he found questions, which led in turn to more questions. He began to feel despair and helplessness, and ultimately decided that he was wrong to seek knowledge in the first place. As a Fireman, Beatty brings the passion of the converted to his work. He despises books because they failed him, and he embraces his work because it is simple and comprehensible. He uses his knowledge in the service of ignorance. This makes him a dangerous antagonist, because unlike other truly passive and ignorant characters, Beatty is intelligent, and he uses his intelligence to keep society ignorant. Clarisse McClellan A teenage girl living near Guy and Mildred, Clarisse rejects ignorance with childlike honesty and courage. Not yet broken by society, Clarisse still has a youthful curiosity about everything around her, demonstrated by her constant questioning of Guy—questioning that spurs his identity crisis. Unlike those around her, Clarisse seeks knowledge for knowledge’s sake. She does not seek knowledge to use it as a weapon like Beatty, she doesn’t seek knowledge as a cure to an internal crisis like Montag, nor does she seek knowledge as a way of saving society like the exiles do. Clarisse simply wants to know things. Her ignorance is the natural, beautiful ignorance that marks the beginning of life, and her instinctive efforts to answer questions represent the best of humanity’s instincts. The character of Clarisse offers a thread of hope that society might be saved. As long as people like Clarisse exist, Bradbury seems to imply, things can always get better. Clarisse disappears from the story very early on, but her impact is large. Not only does she push Montag closer to open rebellion, she lingers in his thoughts. The memory of Clarisse helps him organize his anger into opposition against the society that he serves. Professor Faber Professor Faber is an elderly man who was once a teacher of literature. He has seen society’s intellectual decline in his own lifetime. He is positioned as the polar opposite of Beatty in some ways: he despises society and believes strongly in the power of reading and independent thought, but unlike Beatty he is fearful and does not use his knowledge in any way, instead opting to hide in obscurity. When Montag forces Faber to assist him, Faber is easily intimidated into doing so, as he fears losing the little he has left. Faber represents the triumph of ignorance, which often comes in the form of blunt practicality, over intellectualism, which often comes in the form of weightless ideas with no practical application. Granger Granger is the leader of the drifters Montag meets when he flees the city. Granger has rejected ignorance, and with it the society built on that ignorance. Granger knows that society goes through cycles of light and dark, and that they are at the tail end of a Dark Age. He has taught his followers to preserve knowledge using only their minds, with plans to rebuild society after it has destroyed itself. Old Woman The old woman appears early in the story as Montag and his fellow firemen discover a cache of books in her home. Rather than surrender her library, the old woman sets herself on fire and dies with her books. Montag steals a copy of the Bible from her home. The Old Woman’s hopeful act of defiance against the consequences of ignorance stays with Montag. He can’t help but wonder what books might contain that would inspire such an act.