Roman Empire

Tuberous and Gauss Gracious When Tuberous and Gallus Gracious became an authority, Rome was no longer a Republic, being controlled by the nobles throughout the empire. A reformation was desperately needed. But who would lead it? Tuberous Gracious would, a man of noble blood. Also, being the Great Nephew of the remarkable general, Gossip Africans, and the son of a noble Censor, he would have an influence and great effect upon the people of Rome and the world.

Throughout the lives of Tuberous and Gauss Gracious, the Karachi brothers brought In many ideas that changed Rome and future enervation. At the time, Rome had been corrupt; enough that It would even affect the military itself. Rome was at constant war and the people of Italy were being drafted into the armies of the Roman Empire. To have war, one must have men. The drafting of men was quite common at the time considering that a large mass of men was needed to convey the actions of Rome. If one was to serve in the army, one must have owned land.

When the men had left to war, which would watch over their land or run their farms? The Nobles took this Law to their advantage by acquiring the land of the oldie’s enlisted in the armies of Rome. When soldiers returned home, they had nothing. A man of great influence was needed, one with a background of great authority and noble blood; to lead the reformation of a corrupt and unbalanced Roman Society. But to lead the revolution, one must take authority while not being seen as a king; which the Romans absolutely despised. Land being acquired by noble men was making many homeless and shifted the Roman economy.

A boundary was clearly made between the upper class and the lower classes; the power was no longer in the hands of the people but in the hands of the nobles. As the country continued its downfall “thoughtful Romans began to realize the need to attempt some alleviation of the economic Those in high positions saw the corruption throughout the empire that would eventually drive Rome into the ground. The Illegal actions throughout the empire did not go unseen; though few realized the situation, which Included the leader of the Revolution, Tuberous Semipro’s Gracious.

The goal of the revolution was to reform the land laws of Rome, creating a once again stable society and economy. Tuberous Gracious “a noble tribune in an influential position” (Plutarch) had a task of reorganizing and stabilizing the Roman economy. Everything was continuing to be affected because of the loss of land experienced by the Roman peoples; and something needed to be done. A bill by Tuberous Gracious would be the first step Into the reformation. It was called the Leg Grain, a bill that put a limit on the acres that one could own.

Which helped soldiers gain their land back and to provide homes for returning war veterans. This bill was absolutely necessary and if shut down; Rome would continue to downfall. Many said if only because it affected Romeos Military strength”(Richardson). The armies were having shortages of men; because almost none owned land due to the noble theft of property. To have an army, men must be a well-supplied resource. If an army Is conquer. Therefore, by creating stable economy, Rome would not only strengthen its military, but alleviate its struggling economy.

After taking veto after veto by the tribune, Marcus Octavo’s, the senate was sidestepped and defeated by a popular vote. His reformations were carried out and funded by the government of Rome; his influences upon many were broad. According to Plutarch, Octavo’s himself was a possessor of a large amount of public land and was thus liable to the provisions of the Leg Grain” (Richardson). Many of the senators were bound to this law and were affected by it, and hatred for Tuberous was brewing in the hearts of many.

His reformations would have to be passed on to his younger sibling after the physical outrage of the Senate and the death of Tuberous Compromise Gracious himself. His reformations were broadly welcomed by those of the middle and lower classes but hated by those of noble families, land was distributed and Rome was slowly turning to a stable economic situation. In the Event of the death of the political leader, Tuberous Gracious, of the reformation, Gauss Gracious took over the cause of the once living Tuberous Gracious.

Having a partial failure, Tuberous Gracious’ currently unsuccessful operation due to the political biases against him and his reformation, “failure is in itself no sign of lack of spirit and ability’ (Riddle). The idea of equality and reformation was in the air, and the reformation had been far from over. Gauss Gracious; being the younger brother of Tuberous Gracious had been a strong supporter of him and had a good political aground making him the best fit to take charge in the reformation. Continuing in the reformation “Gauss then turned to further economic reform. He re-enacted his brother’s Agrarian Bill (Seculars, 32). He had the bill of his brother enforced throughout Italy and “much of the land available had no doubt been distributed by this time, Gauss supplemented this bill with a plan to establish some colonies in Italy, some were to come from the lower and middle classes in order to provide some capital for the promotion of industries in the colonies” (Seculars 33). ” Gauss had a Lana to raise the status by establishing a system that would uplift the Republic and create an idea of fairness and equality in Rome. Using the Bill of his brother Tuberous, Gauss was able to bring ideas into Rome that would change it for the better.

Taking position of Tribune in the Senate (like Tuberous before him) Gauss was considerably more successful than his brother Tuberous by gaining the support of the equestrian class and many high political leaders. Gauss had brought forward the ideas of citizenship for all Italians, economic competition, continuation of land reformations, an age limit for those to be drafted in the army, topping Judicial bribery, expanding Francine to the Latinist, and slowly began to give power back to the people. But many of these ideas were vulnerable from the attack of senators, which opposed the Karachi. During Gauss’ second tribune the senate at last moved to the attack but at first by an indirect method (Seculars, 35). Another Tribune sent by the Senate had the assignment of winning over the supporters of Gauss through attractive proposals. “Gauss’ position simply was to be undermined by others and his ideas shut down” (Seculars, 35). Gauss went through the same trials and fire that his brother had to endure. Through the deaths of other consuls and threats of Gauss’ life his ideas still remained and were recognized by the people of decrease in popularity and support. The Karachi was in true sense martyrs: they had witnessed to their belief in the need for reform and they had suffered for their faith” (Seculars, 37). ” The two men; Tuberous and Gauss Gracious had brought in ideas that had not only shaped the Republic, but took the dominant power out of the hands of the Senate and put it back in the hands of the people. At least this was a realization of what Rome truly was and why reformations were necessary and essential to the Roman Empire. Though problems were still within the armies and economy, the Karachi created a realization and example for the people of Rome to follow.

The reality of the Karachi reformations were that they were short lived, for many of these laws and reformations only lasted for a short period of time and not throughout all of the Roman Empire. “The Karachi received some direct results, though many of the economic difficulties remained, they at least helped to relieve, those main problems in Rome” (Seculars, 38). The corrupt Roman Empire, suffering by economic and social decay, had alleviation by two Tribunes of the time, who was Tuberous and Gauss Gracious. Their reformations and ideas helped the people of Rome realize the corruption of Rome.

The ideas and events of the time had been the sign of a great awakening. Though their relief of the economic and social conditions was short-lived, the dominant power no longer rested in the hands of the Senate as it once did, but now, in the hands of the people. Works cited Richardson, Keith. Daggers in the Forum: The Revolutionary Lives and Violent Deaths of the Gracious Brothers. London: Classes and Company Limited, 1976. Seculars, H. H. From the Karachi to Nero: A history of Room 133 B. C. To A. D. 68. London and New York: Methuen and Co.

Ltd, 1959. Riddle, John. Tuberous Gracious: Destroyer or Reformer of the Republic. Massachusetts: D. C. Health and Company,1970. “When Tuberous and Gauss Gracious sought to establish the liberty of the common people and expose the crimes of the oligarchs, the guilty nobles took fright and opposed their proceedings by every means at their disposal” – Cicero. The Karachi brothers were clearly well intentioned men who had the interests of Rome at heart, instead of their own, which was a common attitude amongst the other senators.

The reforms of the Karachi were long over-due and their programs were genuine attempts to deal with Romeos problems. During the Graphics existence, Rome was facing a number of social, selfishness of the oligarchy and so adopted methods which threatened the balance between the senate, the magistrates and the people which had existed for a very long time – in this way they can be regarded as revolutionary. It is likely that they interpreted the problems far too simply, and they failed to see Thurman society had changed.

The Senate also failed to see these changes and reacted to the Graphics actions in the only way they could – violence. The senate felt threatened by the Graphics methods, and as a result violence was used for the first time in Roman politics. In order to understand why the Karachi attempted to solve these problems, one must examine the circumstances of Rome at the time, as well as the background of the two brothers. After the Second Punic War, the Senate became the supreme power and as a result, many changes occurred throughout Rome.

Most notably, the ruling Oligarchy (specifically the nobles) abused their power, caring more for their own eternal interests and Gloria than the welfare of the republic. As a result major problems occurred throughout Rome. Serious economic social problems occurred, both rural and urban, causing grave distress among many Roman citizens. There was a military crisis, with lack of eligible recruits for the legions, aggravated by the Spanish and Sicilian wars. There was tension in the oligarchy between leading factions (Claudia / Compression and the Copies) as they struggled for political superiority.

And amongst all these problems was the failure of the ruling nobility within the senate to deal with these problems. In order to determine the significance of both Karachi, one must examine both Tuberous’ and Gauss’ actions and the effects they had at the time. In 133, Tuberous Gracious attempted to solve Romeos problems, specifically the land crisis. He introduced the Leg Agrarian, a bill for land reform, which proposed that a commission of three people should allocate small holdings of land owned by the state (eager publics) to landless citizens.

The bill was met with great controversy, however, it wasn’t the content of the bill that provoked the reaction, rather the means with which it was proposed. As Stockton notes “It ceased to be a struggle about the rights and wrongs of a particular land bill and became a fundamental question about the true nature of Roman politics”. Tuberous met great opposition to the bill itself because the ruling Nobles were those benefiting the most from the current situation. Therefore, Tuberous used his tribune in an unprecedented manner, and in proposing his bill, bypassed the senate going directly to the continuum plebes.

Whilst technically legal, this action threatened the senate’s guitarists and dignities, and their superiority with regards to legislation and matters concerning the state. Tuberous also went further in his provocation of the senate by deposing Octavo’s after the senate attempted to use Octavo’s to veto Tuberous’ land bill. Again, Tuberous was perfectly within legal constraints, claiming that since the Job of a tribune was to represent the people, he had done nothing illegal, and was Justified in deposing Octavo’s because Tuberous believes he failed to do so.

Previously, Tribunes such as which Tuberous proposed his bill (as well as Gauss’ services), it became possible to use tribunes as instruments of change, undermining the traditional powers of the senate s well as providing potential for ambitious men to promote their own political careers. As Seculars notes, “the original function of the tribunes had been to protect the people against patrician domination, but this need had long passed and they had become useful agents for the nobility, often using their veto to check the popular assemblies”.

Whilst Tuberous was eventually killed by the senate before he could pass his three other revolutionary reforms, Tuberous was an incredibly powerful tribune, and as Cicero notes “was not a mere plaything of oligarchic government”. As stated y Cicero, “Tuberous Gracious shattered the stability of the state”. It is also important to note that Tuberous Gracious laid the groundwork for his brother Gauss to achieve considerable success. In the year 123, Gauss Gracious became tribune, and took over his brother’s quest to solve the problems that plagued Rome at the time.

However, Gauss learned from his brother’s mistakes in releasing that in order to overcome the senate’s opposition, he would have to gain far more support than his brother Tuberous did, appealing to the classes of the equities, allies and plebs. Gauss was also a superb orator, which is articulacy pertinent in the example of his speech to the senate, where as Plutarch notes, “he roused the people’s emotions with sentiments and he possessed a powerful voice and spoke with overwhelming conviction”.

Gauss Gracious covered a broader area than his brother did, dealing with the subject of the Italian and Latin allies. Gauss attempted to further the Agrarian settlements initiated by Tuberous, to relieve the suffering of the urban unemployed and poor, to reduce the power of the ruling nobility and to resolve the increasing discontent of the Latin and Italian allies y offering them Roman citizenship. All the above-mentioned laws in one way or another, weakened or undermined the power of the senate.

The harshest law in this respect was the Leg Cilia, which highlighted the Senate’s corruption and incompetence. According to Plutarch the law “more than any other reduced the power of the senate” and formed the basis for the struggle over law courts which was to continue in future years. Gauss also introduced the Equestrian class as a third political force, which would further balance the government and weaken the power f the senate, and within ten years of the Graphics death they would ally themselves with either the senate or the people for their own political gain.

Gauss also dealt with the increasing discontent of the Italian and Latin Allies by offering them Roman citizenship. This proposal was vetoed by Lives Drugs (a tribune who was used by the senate to outbid Gauss for the support of the people) and opposed by a large section of society; the Nobles feared that this would jeopardize their control of the assemblies, whilst the equities wanted to avoid giving any advantages to their Italian commercial rivals.

Although this law ended up unsuccessful in the short term, the long term effects of this resulted in the Allies becoming more aware of their rights which would then lead to a war in which the outcome had Latin and Italian Allies receiving Roman citizenship. Measures, the passing of the USC (senates consult ultimatum) which was the first time violence was officially used as a political weapon. This became the start of violence in Roman politics, being used more frequently by the senate when they had no other means to resort to, and would drastically change the nature of Roman politics for the years to come.

After Tuberous’ and Gauss’ deaths, the consequences of their actions were still in effect, most notable in the example of Marcus and Usual. The lowering of property qualifications in Gauss’ reforms led to the rise of a professional army creating a nexus between the land, army and the commander. Soldiers no longer became dependent on the state for land grants, but on their commander. This led to commanders such as Marcus and Usual commanding powerful armies with political weight.

Marcus however can be considered a better example as Marcus used the precedent set by the Karachi to initiate his own reforms, particularly once again awakening the hold of senatorial aristocracy on Roman politics. By examining the Karachi and their accomplishments, it becomes apparent that the Graphics most significant contribution to Rome was recognizing the flaws in the Republic, particularly the senate and its reliance on the notions of Moms Moratorium.

The Karachi set out to expose these weaknesses, as well as attempting to solve many of Romeos largest problems, as a result of the senate’s inactivity, selfishness and negligence. This resulted in the Senate’s hostile reaction to the Karachi, which therefore allowed the Karachi to make revolutionary changes to the face of Roman elitist, as a direct and indirect result of their actions, including the notion of a tribune as an instrument of initiative and reform, and more importantly, the introduction of violence in Roman politics.

How accurate a portrayal of Roman gladiatorial games and culture is the movie “Gladiator’? In society today historical films are merely valuable to society as a form of entertainment. Historical events have become another form of stimulus for directors when creating an engaging film for audience’s . Len the creation of a film many historical Inaccuracies occur as seen In the film Gladiator.

This film Instead of being a historical recreation of the Roman culture and gladiatorial games tends to embody the idea of certain characters and events. They reflect 21st century ideals onto these historical events to create a film that will appeal to the masses. Ultimately these inaccuracies are in insignificant in detracting from the purpose of these films which is to entertain. Historical films are merely a form of entertainment that is used to engage the masses but this is the extent of its value to society.

Unlike a documentary, films are supposed to be “aesthetic Journeys” and historical events are merely another form of stimulus for a director trying to create an Individual storyline. On the release of the “historical film” 300, Warner Pros issued a statement Insisting that it “developed this film purely as a fictional work with the sole purpose of entertaining audiences’ ‘ . In order to entertain audiences film makers must use these historical events , edit where necessary ,to create an film for a 21st century audience.

Gladiator Is a key example of where an aspect of a culture has been reworked into a blockbuster film. The writer for Gladiator started to develop the story after reading “those who are about to die” by Daniel P Manic . The sinking f the titanic is an important historical event but in order to pitch this event to a current audience it was mixed with “a Romeo and Juliet love story” . David Benison summed up precisely the method in which accuracy in a historical film is undertaken “as for being absolutely faithful to the source material, I’m always going to pick the project” .

The accuracy of these film’s depictions are compromised so that it can be “guided by the Inner logic of capitalism”. Gladiator through this guidance made $457, 640,427 at the box office a very tricky task If you do not appeal to the audience. As seen In the film Gladiator, historical films tend to embody the Idea of a culture In order to appeal to the wider audience. While the film makers attempt to portray the emperor as the antagonist of the story, they however remove or add material where they see necessary.

In the film Gladiator Marcus Aurelia’s describes his son Commodes as an “immoral man” and thus is unable to present him with emperors but this is contradictory as Commodes was a joint ruler with his father Marcus Aurelia . While ancient historian Did Cassias refers to Commodes as a greater curse to the Romans” the production team have excluded facts such as his self-portrayal as Hercules , his left handedness and the “conspicuous growth on his groin ” as these weren’t necessary to the plot line and catered to the needs of the actors.

This sense of recognition is further seen In how the film Gladiator portrays ancient Rome to be a grand city full of white buildings. The Coliseum was recreated as Riddle Scott felt that the real Coliseum was “too small” so Instead the CGI team created a grand “Rome of the Imagination” with a much larger coliseum ND fully white buildings as such to relate with the modern perception of this many colored building but today modern society can only view these structure without the color and in less grandeur.

Gladiator’s historical inaccuracies are further seen in its depiction of gladiatorial games as they aim to heighten the action within the film. The central character of Maximum is not a historical figure but is merely a personification of the traits that create a gladiator. Russet’s Crow’s depiction off brave, fearless, skilled gladiator mirror many historical sources such s Valerian Maximum’ who references the bravery skill and passion that are common among the great gladiators. These characteristics are cited by Cicero who describes the gladiators to be incredible well disciplined.

Although they have avoided they have used historical figures as stimulus for the central character and as part of the story line. There was indeed a General Maximum who was an advisor to Marcus Aurelia’s , and Commodes was killed by a gladiator named Narcissus . These however are two different people but their storyline have been merged to increase the excitement of he games which is further seen where Maximum a Protractor gladiator fights multiple different gladiators and animals.

This contrasts to ancient gladiatorial games where he would have only been able to fight another Protractor rather than the Retailers (gladiators fighting with nets), Estuaries (gladiators on chariots) and Tigris . The warping of facts can further been seen in the death of Commodes in the arena. Although Commodes did fight in the arena , he always fought as a Sector and therefore Maximum should have faced him as a Retailers but instead both men ought as no particular gladiator type. This battle did not result in his death but rather Commodes was strangled in his home .

While the death rate in the film is over 50% Professor David Potter believes the death rate to be 5-10% as too much time and money had been invested into them. Therefore gladiatorial games were to first blood . All of these inaccuracies are created to increase the entertainment value and appeal to a 21st century audience. In the film industry and especially to a 21st century audience the inaccuracies of these films become irrelevant because they increase the entertainment value of the film. The problem however is when these films are described as being historically accurate.

Historical films are unreliable for a historian studying the time period but are still useful for discerning the 21st century western perception of Roman society. Gladiator is guilty of false advertising as Peter Russell, art director, states that the film is “based factually on the events of the time” . Though we can assume this is merely a marketing ploy as the majority of society is uneducated . As one review of the film dutifully states “there was no alternative odder audiences would have accepted or recognized” and this is true for many of the inaccuracies within the film.

Oliver Reed Justifies these inaccuracies when he states “we are not making a documentary’ and anyway if they were to make a historically accurate film it would be too long. Jean Shaw further states that films “need to appeal to their audience by having an exciting plot, a lot of drama ” in order to become successful. As George Lucas was quoted “the secret to film is that it’s an illusion” and this illusion allows millions all over the world to and gain an insight into past civilization.

In our modern 21st century society today, historical films are merely an individual’s recreation of a culture. The have incredible value to the entertainment industry in providing stimulus for films, however the creation of these the goal off film. The film Gladiator clearly shows how the reliability of a film’s portrayal of culture and in these particular case gladiatorial games is warped based on the decisions of the production team. Historical information is better suited to historians and lets leave film makers to cater for the rest of society.

Rome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent. There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall.

Another theory lays the blame at the feet of the Emperor, that the happiness of the people and the functioning of the government was directly correlated with the personal merit and management skills of the reigning authorityRome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent. There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall. Another theory lays the blame at the feet of the Emperor, that the happiness of the people and the functioning of the government was directly correlated with the personal merit and management skills of the reigning authority Rome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent.

There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall.

The Roman Empire was once one of the biggest and most powerful empires in the lands. The empire owned most of the Mediterranean after conquering Carthage, and was immensely powerful. Huge military, very cultured, and massive area, the Roman Empire is the symbol of early, ancient civilizations. But like all powerful and great entities, Rome fell. There were multiple reasons for the fall, economic troubles, the rise of Christianity, and attacks by barbarians. There were other factors of course, but these three things brought the Roman Empire down, starting a new age.

Rome had many economic problems that divided the rich and poor. Many emperors debased the currency to supply more coinage, but this had unintended consequences. The coin now only represented gold and silver instead of actual gold and silver. Near the end of the empire, coins meant little to nothing, having little to no silver or gold.

Taxes were a big player as well, as Rome had taxed it’s citizens too much. The military and imperial guard were absolutely essential, the empire couldn’t survive without them. The taxes were so much, that people often sold themselves into slavery, saying that being free from taxes was better than personal liberty. Slavery was the last big player. Rome had a slave issue, relying on slave labor too much. But when territorial gain was halted, slaves and other war treasures stopped as well.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Back in the age of Rome, it was almost just as massive and fast spreading as it is today. This helped pull Rome into decline. The leader of Rome was seen as divine, chosen by the gods to lead. So when another Godly figure took over, which demanded worship to only him and no other gods before him, the emperor suddenly had fewer supporters. Adding the pope and bishops playing a part in political affairs, the government became more and more confusing and leaning away from the emperor.

Introduction

This marketing plan analyses the key success factors of the company and our current market position in order to set the next market objectives and plans a one year plan strategy to reach those objectives. In the second part, this marketing plan outlines the issues that need to be considered to implement Caffe Nero overseas by analysing of international marketing of the company. Caffe Nero Group Plc Caffe Nero Group Plc was founded 1977 and currently owns 290 stores from Brighton to Glasgow with ? 0,7 million as turnover. We provide Italian coffee in European style coffee houses. Our philosophy consists on serving the best quality coffees and food in a friendly way in a pleasant atmosphere.

Corporate Objectives

• Increase our market share in UK in order to be the leader.
• Starting international expansion in the Western Europe

Overview

Market segmentation

The coffee shop market in UK is estimated at ? 540 million in 2006 and had increased by 109% between 1999 and 2004 (Mintel, 2005). This market has emerged in 1990.

It is dominated by single-site and independent coffee stores which account for 35% in terms of outlets numbers. However, branded coffee shop companies have grown significantly. In 2004, the top four branded coffee shops, which include Starbucks, Costa, Caffe Nero and Puccino’s, accounted for 23% of the whole market and were expected to keep expanding. Caffe Nero Group Plc is the last entrance between the top fives competitors in the UK coffee shop’s market. We currently own 290 stores with a turnover of ? 90,7 million.

This is due to an aggressive expansion strategy that we have conducted from 1999. Indeed, we were ranked 20th on the annual listing that gather rapidly growing European companies in the 2004 and 2005 Europe’s 500. Figure 2 shows how the market shares were split between the top five competitors in 2004. 2. Marketing Audit This section shows external and internal factors that characterize the coffee shop market. It is essential to determine them in order to have a better understanding of the market characteristics.

PEST analysis

Political & Legal Environment Fair trade coffee is becoming an important issue in UK since Starbuck introduced it in 2002. It appeared first in 2000 in the US where activists pressured Starbuck to carry fair-trade coffee in their outlets. Mintel found that 25% of adults who have been to coffee shop agreed that more coffee shop should sell Fairtrade products (Mintel, 2005). This is certainly a significant figure that coffee shop and other outlets selling coffee cannot afford to ignore. The smoking-ban in the UK will be enforced in summer 2007.

This means that smoking will be prohibited in all pubs, clubs, restaurants, coffee shops and other public places. This may have both positive and negative impact on the coffee shop market. As happened in Ireland and Scotland where the ban has already been adopted for several years, people are likely to eat more in coffee shop since they will be no longer bothered by smoke when eating. However, coffee shops that do not provide an outside smoking area are likely to observe a decline of their visiting as smokers enjoy having cigarettes when drinking coffees.

Economic environment

There are signs that boom in the UK coffee shop market is over. Store opening has declined from 2002 as well as year-on-year growth that has declined from the peak of 23% in 2001 to 9% in 2005. Social Environment UK population is about 60. 2 million with 48 million people living in urban area, where coffee shops tend to be concentrated. Mintel carried out a survey that reveals that the most typical user is in the 25-34 brackets.

More precisely, the 20-24 age groups and the wealthy achievers category are the biggest clientele of branded coffee shops. They are forecast to continue rising until 2009 according to UK National Statistics. As mentioned above, coffee shop market seems to approach the maturity. Thus, coffee shop companies focus more on how increase spends by head. Thereby, the rise of Personal Disposal Income (PDI) has become an important factor for companies. In fact, the coffee shop market has taken advantage of the PDI that has been rising since 1999.

This should continue until 2009 at least, since PDI is set for similar growth. Allegra’s survey, based on 7500 coffee shoppers’, sample points out that the most important reason for visiting coffee shop is to relax and to meet friends and colleagues. Mintel’s survey makes clear that there is no gender bias in coffee shop consumers which is of such importance for the outlets since this makes coffee shops places ideal for couple as well as suitable venues for single men and women to socialise in mixed company.

According to Allegra’s survey, coffee bar loyalty is increasing, with significantly more than half of consumers surveyed in 2005 mentioning that they mainly visit their favourite coffee shop. However, this survey shows that “convenience of location” is the most important reason consumers select a given coffee shop. Thus, the number of outlets is a critical element. Coffee suffers from its image as it contains caffeine which can produce coffee addiction. This may lead people to fear the caffeine dependency.

Therefore, Starbuck has communicated that coffee has high level of antioxidants which have been shown to help prevent cancer, heart disease and other conditions. Technological Environment There is a general direction to transform outlets into media and community area centre. Thus, coffee shops develop Wireless Internet Hotspot and coffee book store. For instance Starbuck, has developed high-speed wireless Internet access through a deal with T-Mobile. Besides, Costa and Starbuck have developed electronic card that allows customers to get points when purchasing coffee shops’ products.

Customers can use those points to get free products and use this as debit card.

Market Analysis Market Shares There is an intense competition between the top three companies. The following picture shows the market shares of the three main competitors by the number of outlets.

Market trends

There is a general trend for branded coffee shops to increase spends by head. This required to create interest and stimulate demand by introducing new drinks and patenting them or wider selection of gourmet food.

Thus, a general strategic trend for the top four coffee shop companies consists to emphasize on developing new products and pushing larger cup size. Food has become essential for them since it really helps to increase spend by head and allow to infringe on the fast-food market as well. Therefore, coffee shops have added into their menu hot and cold meals such as pizzas, paninis, salads, sandwiches, etc. Even though the market is approaching maturity, there are still high consumer demands and opportunities identified in the UK, according to Allegra (Allegra Strategies, 2006).

Thus, the top five companies emphasize on keeping on expanding with different methods. They purchase and implant new outlets and have started to move into provincial region. Despite the fact that those provincial stores are less lucrative than stores in city-centre, they offer opportunities, allowing companies to secure higher levels of brand recognition as well as market share. Franchising and licensing have become important keys to growth as well. This allows companies to avoid paying extortionate retail rents and limit their risk.

Besides, companies use partnerships with retailers and other consumer services such as banks, bookshops or supermarkets to increase their market share. Both Starbuck and Costa adhere to Fairtrade label and have launched their own Fairtrade coffee certified by the Fairtrade Foundation. We do not serve coffee certified Fairtrade. We adhere to self-imposed guidelines to ensure that growers receive a fair price. Thus, we are not allowed to call our coffees ‘Fairtrade’ as that is a commercial trademark. However, we are committed to purchasing coffee beans that meet the International Coffee Organisation’s (ICO) standards.

This consists in paying a fair and decent price to farmer as well as to trade only in quality coffee as proposed by the ICO Coffee price does not seem to be a determinant factor. Indeed, Starbuck charges quarter more than most other shops and raises prices in line with shifts in coffee prices, which suggest their consumers are not affected by their pricing (www. morningstar. com). Moreover, despite operator price increase, the market has increased of 9% in the past 18 months. In fact, since coffee is more of a luxury product than a necessity, it is a kind of price inelastic product to some degrees.

Micro environment consumers analysis

The survey carried out by Mintel specified that customer of Caffe Nero are slightly younger than other coffee shops. Indeed, 60% of Caffe Nero’s customers are under 34 years old. Furthermore, UK National Statistics forecast that the 20-24 age group, which is our biggest clientele, is going to increase (UK National Statistic, 2006). (For more detail, see appendix 1) According to Mintel’s findings, our customers are more likely to flit between brands than Starbuck or Costa’s customer (Mintel, 2005). We do not believe that our clientele is disloyal.

This is explained by the fact that we have less outlets than Starbuck or Costa and so their clientele does not need to flit between brands as they find their favourite branded coffee shops everywhere. Competitors Analysis Starbucks Corporation Created in 1971 in Seattle, Starbuck is the world’s largest coffee shop company and the UK leader since 2002. Starbuck has currently 10 000 stores across the globe and 532 in UK. Its brand awareness is high despite increasing criticism from the anti-globalisation lobby. Generating $7. 8 billion as revenue in 2005, Starbucks has a real important investment capacity.

Costa Coffee Ltd Founded in 1978 and acquired in 1995 by Whitbread Group, Costa Coffee used to be the largest coffee shop in UK before Starbucks came. Costa Coffee owns 500 stores across UK and has started international expansion in the Middle East, in India and in Cyprus. As Costa is part of the Whitbread which owns hotels, restaurants and many other businesses, it has an important investment capacity. Puccino’s Puccino’s is a private company created in 1996. It has about 110 stores but does not own them, as the outlets are franchised. Thus, Puccino’s does not have a real power. Its turnover is about ? 0 million. Coffee Republic Coffee Republic was created in 1995. It became one of the largest independent espresso bar brands of the UK. However, since 2003, Coffee Republic has started to reduce the number of its stores as is currently in the midst of converting its portfolio to the Republic Deli concept. Therefore, Coffee Republic’s turnover has more than halved and we can consider that it is not a competitor anymore. Channel Analysis The coffee shop market has the advantage of having a huge number of suppliers who are actually farmers. Thus, the bargain power of those suppliers is very low.

However, several organisations such as the International Coffee Organisation denounce the abuse of coffee shop brands’ power. The retailers are either franchisees or stores that the coffee shops companies own. 2. 4 Internal Analysis Cafe Nero has been ranked first by British coffee drinkers in the last six years. According to the consumer research organization, Allegra, the 2005 poll put Cafe Nero first, Costa second, and Starbucks third in terms of coffee quality, atmosphere, service quality and price value (Allegra Consumer Report 2005 – Major Coffee Brands).

Our emphasis on the quality of our products and services are gainful and gives us a good corporate image. We support an image of Italian coffee bar which is reflected through our Italian and Mediterranean deli-style meals. This has allowed us to be rated as “The best espresso this side of Milan” by Tatler and labelled “The traditional Italian cafe” by Egon Ronay We have tried to create a range of natural, fresh foods, avoiding all additives, artificial flavours and colorants. Our menu consists of Italian and Mediterranean food. Most ingredients we used are imported from Italy

For more detail about where we are in term of offers and services, we have analysed our position and strategy with the 4P analysis in appendix

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Products and services quality (coffee and food), seen as the best by customer for 6 years (Allegra Strategies, 2005)
• Our image of Continental and Italian style and atmosphere supported by sponsoring art events.

Weakness

• Not enough number of outlets. Our clientele has to flit between brands • 60% of our existing clientele is under 34 years old
• We cannot call our coffee Fairtrade even if we follow the fair-trade philosophy as Fairtrade is a trademark.

Opportunities

• Expand our clientele in targeting people older than 34 years old
• Opening new outlets in three ways:

1. Continue to acquire new stores
2. Continue to develop new partnerships with mega stores o Develop franchise

• Develop in smaller cities
• Develop new products
• Make available Wireless Internet Hotspot and books into all our stores
• Coffee’s virtue : high level of antioxidant

Threats

• The Market is approaching the maturity
• Fast food selling coffee e. g. Mc Donald, Pret a manger
• Adverts showing caffeine effect on health can reduce the sales
• The smoking ban may affect on customers’ visiting

Assumptions

• From the marketing audit and with respect to the coffee market’s climate, it is assumed that:
• Competitors will carry on their expansion in term of outlets to make sure that their customers will not have difficulties to find their stores, avoiding them to flit between brands.
• The market is forecast to reach the maturity in 2009 and so the liability of expansion for coffee shops will be reduced due to the saturation in high street in the UK’s main cities.
• Food is becoming an important aspect for the top five competitors since it allows to take market share from fast-food market and generate an important source of income.
• Thus, coffee shops will have to focus on developing wider range of food to increase their market share.
• The smoking ban may affect the coffee shop market. In order to avoid any risk of decline it will be essential to provide outside smoking area.
• There is a rise in fair trade coffee demand. Coffee shops that do not emphasize on fair trade coffee will be criticised.

Caffe Nero’s objectives

The analyses of the current market as well as the analysts’ forecasts for Caffe Nero have led to the following three years marketing objective. Then, we have extrapolated this long term objective into year objectives. Increase our market share up to 30% between the top three competitors before the market reaches the maturity in 2009 in terms of turnover and outlets. o This means that we will have 600 outlets across UK. o All stores should reach at least ? 350 000 as turnover.

For the year 2007:

1. Increase the number of outlets by 38% to reach 400 stores by the end of 2007 (36% in 2006; 32% in 2005; 34% in 2004).
2. Increase our sales by 35% for 2007 (? 129,8 million) compare to 29% realised in 2006 (? 90,7 million). To see our objectives for 2008 and 2009, refer to appendix
3. To see the analysts’ forecasts for Caffe Nero, refer to appendix
4. Strategy Choices Here, we have developed strategies to achieve our objectives. We also did a planning gap in appendix
5. Ansoff’s product – Market expansion Products/Services ExistingNew

Marketing strategies

To establish strategies that will allow us to achieve our objectives, we have used the 4 p marketing mix.

Places

Our objective consists in opening 110 new stores. This requires a huge investment. However, there are three different way to expand.

First of all, expand in acquiring new outlets. We opened 76 stores last year. This year, we should be able to acquire 85 stores. We need to purchase stores in high street in order to avoid our existing clientele to flit between brands. Another opportunity consists on going in some smaller cities where there is no competitors. However, those cities must have more than 150 000 habitants to be considered. Secondly, we should develop a franchise system to support our expansion. Indeed this system allows us to expand with a small investment. (for more details, refer to appendix 6. 1).

Thirdly, we also need to develop more partnership with mega stores since it allows to reduce the price of the coffee shop’s rent. We could develop partnership with Virgin and some others book stores. As response to the smoking ban, we need to develop outside smoking area in most coffee shops we are able to. These areas could attract customers of our competitors if they do not have smoking area. They required heaters as well as outside furniture. Furthermore, we need to equip all our stores with wireless Internet access in order to satisfy and retain our clientele since competitors develop wireless Internet access as well.

Products

To increase spend by head we need to develop new products. Our clientele enjoys our soups. Indeed, there are healthy and practical with our take-away packaging. Moreover, they fit well with our image of quality and healthy food. Furthermore, it is still a kind of new product since only Starbuck serve soups as well. Therefore, we should develop more soups as we have got only four different soups. 10 different tastes would be enough. We also need to add ice-creams in our menu. This product may attract new customers who will go to our coffee to have a dessert.

Indeed, ice-cream match well coffee shop’s spirit in the sense of having a break time with friends or family. Everyone finds something he really likes in our stores (hot or cold drink, salty food or sweetened, frozen, cold or hot food). We will propose some light ice-creams as well. Furthermore, ice-cream may help to attract parents who can go with their kids to get them an ice cream. Finally, to keep our Italian branding way, we will serve only Italian ice-cream and will prepare the cream as Italians do. However the machine required is too big to take place in every store.

So we have to find a smaller one.

Prices

We should keep our prices as they allow our coffee to be perceived as worth (Allegra Strategies, 2006). However, the price for our food is a bit higher as we server only quality food. Thus, our Italian ice-creams and soups will be a bit more expensive than every where else. The cru bourgeois costs more than the table wine! To attract people beyond 34 years, we should consider family as part of potential clients. To do so, we should create a child menu which will include a hot chocolate, some cakes and a toy for a reasonable price.

Promotions

In order to consolidate our brand awareness, we should advertise on television. Despite of the expensive cost, it is the support which reaches the most people. We need to make people aware of our new products such as ice-cream. This would consolidate our brand awareness. However, we need to develop adverts that fit our sophisticated Italian image. This advert should emphasize on the friendly Italian atmosphere of our stores and the quality of our products. We also should advertise on newspapers such as the guardian or the independent who are more likely to be red by people beyond 34 years old.

We must carry on our sponsorship of art events as it matches well with our Italian sophisticated image. To attract parents we should organised children events in our stores as Mc Donald’s is used to do. For example, we can have a Santa Claus for Christmas and some animations for Halloween. However, we need to be aware of the risk of developing family clientele since they may bother our existing clientele.

Control and evaluation

This section aims to produce a system of control and evaluation of the proposed marketing plan and its realisation.

Expansion

We need to open 110 stores, so we can establish that nine stores should open every month at least. The full-term aim is to reach 30% of the branded coffee shops market. So we also need to look at competitors’ expansion. This will be realised every six months as companies produces interim reports. We may need to adapt our expansion strategy according to competitors’ growth to reach 30% of market share in 2009.

Success of new products and targeting operations In January we will conduct a survey into all our stores. This survey will include questions about:

• Define sample questions (age, sex, married, children, frequency, etc.
• How much our clientele like our food product (their satisfactions)
• What think customers about introducing Italian ice-cream in our menu.
• How many Caffe Nero’s adverts they have seen
• Use of services (Wi-Fi, smoking area)
• What they think of Caffe Nero’s atmosphere The same survey will be conducted in December.

Thus we will be able to compare the results and so determinate the success of our new products. Moreover, this survey will check if we have increased our 35-years-old-and-more clientele. In parallel, we will look every trimester at the ice-creams and soups’ sale volumes.

We expect the same success for the Italian ice-cream than we had with soups.

Brand awareness

Allegra Strategies conducts every year a serious survey on the coffee shop market and the customer’s satisfaction. This constitutes an useful tool for us as we can see the evolution in customer’s mind of our brand awareness and satisfaction concerning our products and services. Introduction to international expansion We are thinking of international expansion. Indeed, since the coffee shop market is approaching the maturity in England, we should develop our company overseas.

This could help to reduce the risk for our company if we do a successful international implantation. Starbucks has shown that international expansion is a real opportunity for branded coffee shops in setting up more than 7000 international outlets in 9 years. However, an international expansion implies to decide which market to enter, how to enter in, what marketing strategies need to be used within which organisation. Here, we will answer those questions. Which country? First of all, it is essential to go in a country where the competitiveness is low.

Furthermore, the population and their income size must be high, enabling potential customers to devote a large proportion of their discretionary spend on leisure activities. France could be an appropriate place for us. Indeed, it is in the “triad market” that includes the United States, Western Europe and the Far East which account for a large percentage of all international trade. There are already two branded coffee chains in France (Starbuck and Colombus Cafe) which ensure that there are possibilities for the coffee shop market. They are implanted only in Paris with 18 stores for Colombus Cafe and 26 stores for Starbucks.

Colombus Cafe’s philosophy is quiet close from ours. Indeed, they serve Italian coffees in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere and emphasize on the welcoming services. However, those two chains are not implanted in the south cities of France such as Marseille (2nd biggest city, 1,4 million habitants) and Montpellier (0,5 million habitants). Furthermore, according to the French tourism department, 10 % of English people go to the south of France for holydays (Ministere Delegue au Tourisme, 2006). This is an opportunity to increase our brand awareness due to the global mobility of our customers.

Therefore, it seems that those cities could be great for success abroad. How to enter? Since we are not the first one to go in France and as the competitiveness is low, we should expand cautiously. Indeed, two approaches can be used when planning an international expansion:

• A Waterfall approach, in which a country is gradually entered sequentially
• A Sprinkler approach, in which many countries are simultaneously entered within a limited period of time.

We have better to use a waterfall approach, in opening few stores in order to limit the risk of financial lost if we are not to success.

Two ways of opening stores are possible:

• Franchising, which allows to gain entry at little risk but limit the profit for the company
• Direct investment, which is the most risked but allows the company to retain a full control of its investment.

It seems that we should rather purchase few stores since we need to set up distribution and logistics that generate costs to provide those stores with our products. Thus the acquisition of two stores in Marseille and Montpellier could be good to start as it limits the risk. We will be able to see after a year time if those stores are profitable.

What marketing strategies? It is essential when planning for success abroad to think how much products and promotions need to be adapted to the local market. Thus we need to focus on cultural differences as well as French’s customs and inspirations. Despite the fact that French are proud of their food and drinks, they believe than Italians are better for some specialities such as pasta and coffee. Indeed, several coffee beans companies in France such as Lavazza, San Marco and Segafredo market their coffee as traditional Italian coffee. Besides, French support a kind of passion for Italy as English people do.

However, the coffee was introduced first in France in Marseille. Thus, there is a very famous French roaster company which produces the traditional French south coffee called Henry Blanc. This is an important emblem for French. In order to adapt our strategy to the French market we have used the 4 P marketing mix.

• Place: Montpellier has a big commercial place in the centre called Place de la Comedie. There is a very famous high street in Marseille which is called Cannebiere. Those places could be great to implant stores since they have big activities.
• Products: We will be the first coffee shop in the south of France. So we should keep our coffee menu that is likely to seduce French as it would be new for them. This should seduce the young population first who will then bring others. Futhermore, French like Provencal food which is quiet close from Italian one. So our Italian gourmet food should correspond to their expectations. However, we should introduce the traditional French coffee Henry Blanc in order to meet French taste. Furthermore, this will seduce local people as we will support the local economy.
• Price: French are known to like good quality. According to Emarketing, French associate quality with high price (A. Michalowska, Marketing Magazine, 2002). Besides, the American magazine Travelers has conducted a survey in 2005 which reveals that the average price for coffee in France is 4€ when we sale our espresso in England at ? 1,25 (2,7€) (Le Chiffre du Jour, 2006). Thus, we should keep the same prices of our products.
• Promotion: We need to advert a lot to generate awareness of our company. First, we will put big adverts on our stores when they will be under construction.

Secondly, we will organise a celebration for the opening day. Finally, we will advert on local newspapers such as La Provence and Midi-Libre which covers all the south population.

References

1. Allegra Strategies, (2006), Market Overview and Key Statistics: Project Cafe6, [online], London, Available from : ; http://www. allegra. co. uk/project-cafe6-keyfindings. html; [Accessed 20 December 2006]
2. Bremner C. , (2005), Coffee Shops in the UK, [online], Euromonitor International, Available from : ; http://www. euromonitor. com/Coffee_Shops_in_the_UK; [Accessed 23 December 2006]
3. Caffe Nero, (2006), Caffe Nero, [online], Available from : [Accessed 20 December 2006]
4. Kotler P. and Keller K. L. , (2006) Marketing Management, 12th Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Prentice Hall Le Ministere Delegue au Toourisme, (2003), Les principales clienteles europeennes de la France, [online], Paris, Available from : [Accessed 28 December 2006]
5. McDonald, M. , (2006), Marketing Plans, 5th Edition, Oxford : Butterworth-Heinemann Michalowska, A. , (2002), Qualite : les Francais prets a en payer le prix, [online], Marketing Magazine N°71, Available from : [Accessed 27 December 2006]
6. Mintel Reports, (2005), Coffee Shop UK, [online], Available from: [Accessed 3 January 2007] National Statistics, (2006), National Projection, [online], Available from : [Accessed 22 December 2006] Vacances Pratiques, (2006), Le chiffre du jour : 8,30€, [online], Available from : [Accessed 30 December 2006]

The reason why roman republic collapsed Roman republic began with the over throw of the roman monarchy and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elect annually by the citizens and advised by senate. During the first two centuries of its existence the Roman republic expanded rapidly through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. Then republic continues to conquest new land such as North Africa, Greece, Southern France and Spain. For about 500 years, the Roman republic exists and has many significant achievements in many fields.

However, the republic finally collapsed and reformed as participate. Octavian becomes the first Augustus which was the first Roman emperor. There are some reasons why republic collapsed and reformed to empire. In this project, I’m going to discuss what reason leads to the collapse of republic from the internal view and external point of view. The problem within the government system is one internal weakness of roman republic. The government od Roman republic had three major supports, which offset and balanced on another. (textbook 91) The supreme civil and ilitary offices were two men called consuls.

In later the Romans appointed a man as dictator, whose authority surpassed that of the consuls, but dictator cannot hold their office more six months. The second part was an advisory body of elder stateman, the senate. The last part of government system were assemblies that included all adult male citizens. In their government system, province is one of causes that Roman republic collapsed. Roman republic is a history of conquest. As Roman republic expanding, they conquer and captured a lot of new land. Now they need to manage hose lands.

Province is the method they manage the lands. Province means to denote the various regions that they acquired through conquest in Latin word. The senate choose the governors for the various provinces and often give then the title proconsul(in place of consul). These governors had absolute power to rule their provinces. The only thing they can’t do is violate Roman law or act illegally against Roman citizen. (textbook 102) This is a good way to manage the lands that they conquered. From roman view, the advantage of the system was its efficiency:

Rebellions were not common, and troops stationed in the provinces could maintain control without resorting massacres. However, as Roman republic conquered more land, they have so many provinces that need to govern. Some provincial governors ruled fairly, but others were notorious for their corruption. In addition, Roman republic combined Macedonia and Greece in to a province. But the domination came at a price. Without the need for unity against outside enemies, roman society began to lose its cohesiveness. (Textbook 100)This in turn led to the decline of the republic.

Another weakness that led Roman republic collapses also come from conquest. There is the social change that happened in Italy. The cause is the war that call Hannibal’s legacy. For the ravages of years of fighting up and down, Italy had brought many farmers to the point of ruin. There had been a great increase in the slave population on Italian soil from prisoners of war, and these slaves depressed the wages paid to private works. (Textbook 102) Wealthy citizens had enriched themselves with booty land or willing to sell it to these newly wealthy men.

They have no choice to Join the ranks of permanently unemployed. Those people who still have some money to buy their armor could be drafted into the army. For those who could no longer find work lost the spirit of cohesion and loyalty to their society. They become prey to demagogues and many become supporters of that warlord. This cause a unstable in Roman republic society. The gap between upper classes and lower class has significant increased. One other weakness is the power of warlords. In Roman republic, generals have strong power. They have army and these army more like a rivate army.

These army usually fght enemies far away from Rome. They all support their general. Some powerful generals can even use army to seize political power. (Textbook 104) The one first general to do so was Gaius Marius. Marius gained much reputation by winning a war and defeated an invasion by some Germanic tribes. Marius abolished the old requirement that a soldier had to own at least a modest amount of property, and he also accepted volunteers instead of Just drafting men for service Finally he converted the army in to an instrument for ambitious commanders uring the remaining years of the republic.

For Sulla the dictator, he is and later general. He invaded the city of Rome with his supports. Sulla did have some political program to re shape the Roman republic. He enforce the dictator ship and reduce the power of senate. He forced a law that blocked tribune from holding any other office, they also had to wait ten years to be reelected. These discourage those ambitious politicians from seeking this office. (Textbook 104)And even for the later Caesar, he did a series of rapid reforms in many areas of Roman life.

He reduce the power of Senate by raising the membership of the Senate to about nine hundred, picking it with many of his veteran offices. He even make dictator for his whole life. However, he showed too little respect for the Senate and republican from once he become dictator, and for this he paid with his life. Many people think about the death of Caesar ends Roman republic. However, the collapse of Roman Republic is the accumulation the weakness. Whether Caesar dead or not, what he done rose to the absolute summit of roman politics and destroy Roman republic.

‘Answers to question on prose fiction should address relevantly the central concern(s)/theme(s) of the text and be supported by reference to appropriate techniques of prose fiction such as: Characterisation, setting, key incident(s), narrative technique, symbolism, structure, climax, plot, atmosphere, dialogue, imagery. Choose a novel or short story with a central character you consider to be heroic, Show how the heroic qualities are revealed and discuss how this portrayal of the character enhances your understanding of the text as a whole.

ANSWER: Many complaints recently have revolved around the strong targeting the weak. In Alan Bolds short story ‘The Vandals’ we hear the story of Gordon Miller. A retired Civil Servant whom is a quiet gentle man. He could have been considered heroic when he stood up to a ground of youths – The Vandals of the story. Bold uses numerous techniques such as setting, imagery and foreshadowing to highlight Gordon Millers transition from hero to villain. The Vandals by Alan Bold is set in a small fictional Scottish town called Marshend.

Gordon Miller moves into a small cottage here looking for peace and quiet. This is soon disrupted by a local group of youths who call him names and vandalise his property. After trying to confront these youths to reason with them he soon realises that he is trying to reason with people who know no limits, he soon takes things into his own hands. In the opening of the story Bold refers to the Roman invasion of Marshend and to the Roman General Agricola. However the Roman’s failed to completely conquer Marshend.

From the beginning of the story Bold juxtaposes Miller against the Romans. Bold does this by giving the imagery of Miller being the Inhabitants of Marshend and the vandals being the Roman army. First Miller tries to reason with the vandals, however after multiple reoccurring attacks on his house Miller declares what would be classed as war on the vandals. Through numerous applications of word choice Bold manages to foreshadow the fact that Gordon Miller may not be as calm and tolerable person as he seems to be. ‘Gordon Miller decided he would keep calm’

This is after the first attack on his home. By having to decide to stay calm this shows that it is almost like he is forcing himself to do so and this is doubting that he isn’t as calm a person as he seems. In the others formed an opinion on Gordon Millers ‘mental stability’ from this it was reflected back to him to make an opinion on himself. This tells the reader that apart from what we have read Gordon Miller may act very differently as well. Bold seems to keep Gordon Miller personality close to his chest revealing only what he has too.

It triggers a reaction in the readers mind wondering as to why the other villagers have been commenting on his mental stability. It also would make Miller question his actions, if he has been acting a certain way and villagers were starting to question and talk about his actions then it would possibly make him take notice and try to change the way he acts around others. Nearing the end of the story Bold uses a lot of imagery linked in with Gordon Miller and the theme of the Romans.

When the vandals come back for the last time Bold describes Miller as standing at the ‘summit of the hill, on the top terrace. ’ This is similar to the idea of the Roman General waiting and observing his territory. Gordon Miller is standing and observing the youths and his home before he launches his attack on the youths. This is the turning point in the story where Bold twists Gordon Miller from being symbolic of the villagers in Marshend under attack to being the Roman General who is waiting to start his attack.

This shows Gordon Miller becoming heroic as he is standing up to the vandals who have been tormenting him. This gives us the understanding that certain people can only take so much stress and disruption in their lives before they come to the end of their tether and retaliate. The last sentence in the story is an image of Miller sitting playing with a set of ‘Roman Soldiers’. This shows that Gordon Miller is a lot more complex than Bold let us believe. He likes order and stability in his life, he does not like change and disruptions.

As he is playing with the Roman Soldier set this represents the order that he likes in his life. In conclusion revealing Gordon Millers personality slowly throughout the short story Bold uses a number of techniques such as pathos, setting, imagery and word choice. Through these we feel empathy towards Gordon Miller and understand why he proceeded taking the heroic actions that he did. This helps the reader not to dislike Miller for his actions but feel happy for him that he finally got justice on the vandals.

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