Identify the main reasons behind the phenomenal success of Facebook Essay

Identify the main reasons behind the phenomenal success of Facebook. Evaluate whether the rapid growth of the last decade can be sustained - Essay Example The site has recorded tremendous growth since its inception, and this is owed to various factors as will be discussed in this paper. The success of Facebook mainly lies on the fact that the company has endeavored to improve the products it offers so that they meet the requirements of users (Walter, 2013). At first, the company did not dwell on making profits, but with the increased dependency of people on Facebook for various purposes it started making profits from advertising and selling data that was exchanged through the site. Facebook has developed to be one of the most popular sites since its inception in 2004 and continues to gather a following to the present day. Being the largest social media site, Facebook was started as a theory in 2003 by Zuckerberg, a Harvard student and was known as Facemash.com., at that time (Phillips, 2007). The site allowed Zuckerberg’s classmates to visit the site and compare how attractive people were, but was criticized and it did not become a success then. However, in 2004 mark launched the Facebook and within a day more than 1200 Harvard students had signed up and created a profile. In no time, word spread around, and the founders of the site saw it necessarily to open the site to other universities in the states. As at august 2005, the site was bought for 200,000$ and was now referred to as faceboo.com (Phillips, 2007). High schools in the United States were now allowed to create profiles and as at September the same year, it began to be known all over the world with the united kingdom universities being the first to know about the site after the united states. As word spread all over the world about the site, the network grew beyond being only used in schools but was now accessible to anybody who wanted to join and had an email address. The fact that the site was free to join made it easy for it to grow as more features were added to it to make user friendly. It made profits through

Visual arts and film studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Visual arts and film studies - Essay Example On the board, was also an artist from Navajo nation. His name was Nataani which means son of Ogla Lakota. He is an activist and he tells stories depicting the everyday hardships of 21st Centuary.Though,he is inspiring his performance art in songs is political oriented. His songs play politics because it attacks the current leadership on how they have managed. It has highlighted some various social injustices such inequality, corruption and unfair representation. He has also involved fiction and exaggeration in narration in the music. This is to emphasize the magnitude of how people have been forgotten in America. There was also background from the real world and also imaginary which had unknown and alien logic of different temporal and special conditions to emphasize his political theme. The paintings reveal power of image, words, history and symbols to pass information. The images were used as communication tools in the native American history.There was also a common visual artist a nd rapper Witko who uses his music to shade some light on the common issues that affect his people. His artwork is politicized. He uses fine and performance art in his effort to pass the information. He insists on good virtue in his music and respect for one another in the society. Witko has a tattoo to represent fine art, a symbol which communicates louder even than the song for the people to have peace. This is to suggest an index of cultural memory such that various cultures and destinies and mission of the regions are represented by the symbol.

Comparison Of Islamic And Christian Philosophers

Comparison Of Islamic And Christian Philosophers According to the Encarta dictionaries, philosophy can be defined as the branch of knowledge that examines the basic concepts of thoughts and a set of beliefs or aims. Islamic philosophy is a style of philosophy that deals with the study of the framework of Islamic cultures, not necessarily religious issues, while Christian philosophy strictly deals with the theological doctrines of Christianity. However, as time went on there are many Islamic and Christian philosophers who have systematically established their works and have influenced the way people think in the society. Some of the great philosophers to be considered would be Plato, Mohammed Al Farabi, Saint Augustine, Aquinas, Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi and Ibn Rushd also known as Averroes. Further, I would examine the views, works and areas of study as an attempt to compare both Christian and Islamic philosophers. Plato, Mohammed al Farabi and Ibn Rushd were great renowned world philosophers who lived at one time or the other, and whose many contributions including their thoughts and works specifically with regards to philosophy, politics and science have greatly imparted into Islamic political theory. The impact these Islamic philosophers made during their life-times are still felt even up till today. Plato was an Islamic political thinker that was a well known student of Socrates. Plato established many dialogues and theories such as the Cartesian dualism hypothesis. This theory talks about the mind (soul) and the body. The theory further explains that there are conflicts between the mind and soul because the body is made up of physical appetites which can lead ones soul to committing sin.* However, Plato has greatly influenced many Arabic philosophers such as Mohammed Al Farabi. Mohammed Al Farabi was known to be the second teacher of Islamic philosophy after Aristotle. Al Farabi was one of the most famous, well respected, and successful Arabic philosophers. Also, He made an important contribution in the Islamic society by splitting the study of logic into two categories; Takhayyul (idea) and Thubut (proof). (Islamicity.com). Both Mohammed Al Farabi and Plato came up with philosophical themes. An example of one of these themes is the First theme which is the theory of Knowledge. Mohammed Al Farabi and Plato both stated that Knowledge development is very important in the society and that it was the key to the rise of power in most successful societies. Therefore, knowledge is responsible for the distinct differences between developed countries and the third world countries of the world. This theory of Knowledge is the basis for major societies like the United States of America (U.S.A). Plato and Mohammed Al Farabi made it clear that in every society, social and political changes are naturally observed and an isolated individual is not capable of achieving perfection. Both philosophers believed that anyone who was trying to be an island could have little or no chances of being successful in life. On the other hand, well known Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine of the late centuries have also impacted greatly into the world. Both philosophers were good writers and made different dialogues. Thomas Aquinas was born to an aristocratic family and has produced a philosophical and cultural impact on the minds of many in the society today. Thomas Aquinas was a Christian philosopher that elaborated very much on how mankind could understand the truths of the universe through rational thinking. For example following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas emphasized that humans are rational creatures that are capable of much learning and contemplating God. (Moseley, Page 12). He also contributed to Augustinian Christianity with an Aristotelian logic because he felt the followers of Saint Augustine lacked basic understanding of Christianity.* Meanwhile, Saint Augustine was a philosopher who was born into a Christian family and learnt about Christianity through his mother, after he was enrolled as a catechumen into a catholic church. * Nevertheless, both Saint Augustine and Aquinas came up with different ethical theories. Saint Augustines ethical theory was based on the love of God. He claims that people can be categorized into two: good or evil. According to Saint Augustine the good people are those that love and show appreciation to God while the evil people had no regards for God and his laws. Further, He explained that the good people are those that live in the city of God and the evil people are those that dwell in the city of man.* However, Thomas Aquinas ethical theory was immensely connected to the belief that everything had an end and an individuals action towards the end is initiated by an agent. As stated by Thomas Aquinas all actions must have an end otherwise an action without an end would tend to infinity.* Furthermore, Thomas Aquinas explained that an action should not just have an end but a proper end which seeks a lot of perfection. This perfection can be attained through the guidance of God who is referred to as the only perfect being. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas also discusses on good and evil. He argues that the act of will is not always good, but sometimes evil, indicating that the goodness or badness of a thing is sought in the will of an action. Initially, Christian and Islamic philosophers were very versatile because they expertise in different fields. One of the common areas of study which was associated with both Christian and Islamic philosophers was the study of medicine. For example Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, Ibn sina also known as Avicenna, and Thomas Aquinas were both philosophers who studied medicine at one point in the life time. Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi was an Islamic philosopher who was born in Kufa at around 800 A.D. He did not just study medicine but was one of the chief contributors to the field, because he was known to be the first to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all the drugs to sick patients at his time. Furthermore, this resolved the conflicting views prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in writing recipes. (trincoll.edu). On the other hand Thomas Aquinas who was a Christian philosopher that also studied medicine and explained that the human body contained innate capacities and non- innate capacities (also referred to as learned capacities). Thomas Aquinas made a related distinction between these two capacities by giving the term potential for the innate capacities and dispositions for the learned capacities. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas distinguished between the innate capacities and the non-innate capacities by giving examples. Take the case of playing a musical instrument such as the flute and the sense of sight. Thomas Aquinas stated that playing of the flute is obviously learned unlike someone that does not acquire the sense of sight by seeing; rather because he has the capacity of sight, he is made actually to see. (Books.google.com.ng). Secondly, Christian and Islamic philosophers share different political views. Take the case of two well known philosophers Plato and Saint Augustine who both had different views of the concepts of politics such as justice and evil. Plato defined justice in a society as the connection and balance of roles occupied by social agents or people in a society. He further explained that justice can only be achieved in a society if there is evil present in that particular society. Moreover, evil according to Plato is anything that is not in accordance with justice. However, Saint Augustine had a different perspective of evil. Saint Augustine related evil with Gods existence by explaining that evil was transgressing against Gods will. He explained that God was the Supreme Being in charge of all creatures and was the only one free of evil. Saint Augustine further elaborated that all human beings are created good but not made perfect, and therefore makes humans liable to committing sin which sometimes fulfills the will of God. Although both philosophers shared different views, Plato and Saint Augustine had it in mind to maintain justice and goodness in the society. Lastly, Christian philosophers accepted the notion of Greek natural philosophy, while the Islamic philosophers did not. Perhaps the reason that Christian philosophers accepted Greek natural philosophy was that Christianity is founded within the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, so the Christian philosophers grew accustomed to Greco Roman culture. Unlike Islam which was founded outside the Greco-Roman world. Take the case of Saint Augustine who converted to Christianity after being influenced by the biography of the life of Saint Anthony. Saint Augustine did not only become a Christian but also was inspired to produce more works such as his most famous of all works which was titled the city of God.* To conclude, it is obvious that over the years some Islamic and Christian philosophers do not necessarily agree to each others dialogues or theories, while some succumb and even supplement the theories made. However, as stated earlier both Islamic and Christian philosophers have contributed greatly to the each other even up until today despite the fact that both Islam and Christianity are two different religions that are based on their particular principles. Bibliography Adler, J. Mortimer. Great Books of the Western World: 16 Augustine. Chicago: 2003. Print. Afnan, Soheil. The Commentary of Avicenna on Aristotles Poetics. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 (1947) 188-190, JSTOR Web. 22 Mar. 2010. Black, Antony. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present. New York: Routledge Publishing Company, 2001. Print. Ebenstein, Alan. Introduction to Political Thinkers. 2nd ed. Orlando, Florida: Words worth, 2002. Print. Matthews, T. Roy and Dewitt, F. Platt. The Western Humanities, Volume 1: Beginnings Through the Renaissance. New York: Mc Graw- Hill Publishing Company, 2008. Print. Mohammed Al- Farabi. Islamicity.com. . 22Mar. 2010. Moseley, Alexander. A to Z of Philosophy. London, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print. Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. New York, London: Simon and Schuster publishing company, 1972. Print. Stroumsa, Sarah. Avicennas Philosophical Stories: Aristotles poetics reinterpreted. Arabica. 39. 2 (1992): 183-206, JSTOR Web. 22 Mar. 2010. Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al- Kindi. trincoll.edu. Chris Marvin and Trinity College, n.d. . 22 Mar.2010

Peer To Peer Piracy :: File Sharing Network MP3

Peer To Peer Piracy Everyone loves good tunes, and that’s okay. In this media heavy society, everyone has a favorite type of music, or a favorite artist. However, expanding one’s horizons in music beyond mainstream was terribly expensive, until Napster. Napster, Shawn Fanning’s brainchild, was a revolution. People began trading music over the internet through peer to peer file sharing, and next thing you know, everyone could have thousands and thousands of songs. Napster had shown a society a method for getting what they wanted, for free. It was only a matter of time until users started trading a lot more than just music; movies, software, and games were all in demand. Napster was formulated off of a simple concept of sharing music, but it turned out to be revolutionary by becoming a catalyst to a much larger peer to peer pirating system. Napster helped computer literate users share music through a system of indexing. When a user logged on, the user’s computer would send data with which mp3s, or songs, were in their predestinated â€Å"shared folder† to the index computer. The index computer would then tell that user where other files were stored over the network, on other user’s computers. With this system, a user could download an entire album of Jimi Hendrix from another user either two states away, or two doors down. Since Napster only dealt in mp3 files, it was targeted by the music companies, who sued until it Shawn had to take down the Central Index Server. It was replaced though, by networks like Gnutella which use a referral system. When one computer comes onto the Gnutella network, it finds another computer on the network, and introduces itself. Then, like a spreading rumor, the word gets around the network. The computer that just learned tells 8 others about the new one, then those 8 tell 7 more about the new one, and so on. This way, each client has a larger number of other clients who know it is online and what content it has available (Wikipedia). However, without a main server to regulate, users could distribute whatever they wanted. Software piracy was very prominent. Any user could punch in the search terms â€Å"AutoCAD† and download a thousand dollar program for free.

Easy Clean, Co: Evaluation of Internal Control Environment Essay

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Evaluate a new audit client’s control environment. Provide an initial evaluation of certain components of the client’s control environment Appreciate the judgment involved in evaluating the overall internal control environment based on interview data Provide support for your internal control assessments Ted is a manager in the Business Advisory and Assurance Services division of a national public accounting firm. He has been given the job of managing the audit of Easy Clean, Co., which provides industrial and domestic carpet steam-cleaning services. Easy Clean has never been audited. Thus, Ted does not have any prior-year working papers to review. Ted recently conducted a preliminary interview with Doug Dosio, who along with his brother, Phil, owns Easy Clean. Ted’s objective for the interview was to establish an understanding of the control environment. To prepare for his interview, Ted reviewed professional auditing standards. Those auditing standards (AU 319) indicate that the control environment â€Å"sets the tone of an organization, influencing the control consciousness of its people. It is the foundation for all other components of internal control, providing discipline and structure.† The standards state that control environment factors include the following: 1. Integrity and ethical values 2. Commitment to competence 3. Board of directors or audit committee participation 4. Management’s philosophy and operating style 5. Organizational structure 6. Assignment of authority and responsibility 7. Human resource policies and practices Based on the interview dialogue provided below, you will be asked to evaluate the seven components of the client’s control environment noted previously in order for you to make an evaluation of the overall internal control environment. Before reading the interview information, please spend a couple of minutes reviewing the assessments you will make. Based on the information provided in the interview that follows, you are to evaluate Easy Clean’s overall control environment. To assist you in making this overall assessment, you will find detailed descriptions of factors noted below that may weaken or strengthen each of the seven components comprising the overall control environment. INTERVIEW WITH CLIENT Ted:Doug, can you give me a little information on the background of Easy Clean? Doug: Easy Clean provides both a domestic and industrial carpet steam-cleaning service and sells a relatively small amount of inventory, such as spot removers and carpet fresheners. Our company provides this service throughout three counties, which cover over 40 townships in a densely populated area. Easy Clean is completely owned by Phil and me. Our business has grown steadily over the course of several years after starting out with just one car-pulled trailer over five years ago. Over the years, the business has gradually added 12 fully equipped vans, worth about $30,000 each. Now in our sixth year of business, we plan to purchase approximately one new van each year to meet the growing demand for our services. The company grossed just over $1,650,000 in revenues last year, about half of which was collected in cash. We feel our continuing success is due in large part to â€Å"word of mouth.† Ted: Can you tell me something about the day-to-day operations? Doug: Well, Mr. Day, our office manager, and I are in charge of a small sales force that goes out on leads to give estimates for new jobs. Mr. Day is paid a salary plus a percentage of the total sales each month. My brother, Phil, is usually out in the field managing the 20 employees who work as cleaners for Easy Clean. Phil also helps with managerial and operating decisions. Salespeople are paid on a commission basis, selling both the domestic and industrial jobs based on standard prices established by the owners. Salespeople may sometimes negotiate special cut rates during the slower spring and fall seasons. Of course, these are almost always subject to approval by me or Mr. Day. Large industrial jobs are typically booked well in advance of the actual work. The job commitments obtained by the salespeople are normally submitted to Mr. Day, who signs them to indicate his approval and then returns them to the salespeople. Sales people then forward job commitments to one of two data input clerks for processing. The computer processes each commitment by extending the number of jobs by the standard price stored on the pricing file, or in specially negotiated situations, by the price on the input document. The sales, accounts receivable, and commitment files are updated and invoices are produced. An exception report of special prices is produced and sent to the salespeople to ensure that the specially negotiated commitments to jobs were processed correctly. Mr. Day developed this sales system himself and it’s working rather well. He’s currently in the process of creating the user manual for the system. I’ve also noticed that he sometimes makes adjustments to improve the system, which makes the accounting process more efficient. We’ve agreed that he’ll reevaluate the process at least once every eight weeks. Ted: And how about your accounting department? How big is it, and who oversees the accounting process? Doug: The accounting department of Easy Clean consists of seven part-time clerks, including the two data input clerks, who are all paid an hourly wage. All except one are college students working toward their accounting degrees. Mr. Day trains all new accounting help when they are hired. Typically, they stay on with us until they graduate, which usually covers two full years. We keep them pretty busy around here, but everyone helps each other out and they always get the job done. Ted: What are your brother Phil’s responsibilities? Doug: Phil manages the service component of the business. He usually trains all newly hired cleaning employees and explains their specific duties and responsibilities. When he feels sure that the employee is ready, the new hire is teamed up with a more experienced worker and assigned to a truck unit. When additional help is needed, Phil places ads in the local newspaper. Phil is the expert at running that end of the business. Ted: What about employee turnover? Doug: We haven’t had a problem with employee turnover. Phil expects some turnover in this type of business and knows how to deal with it. We try to prevent any employee concerns by maintaining an open door policy and encouraging employees who have questions or concerns about their responsibilities to ask for help or to come talk with us. If a problem should arise that might affect others, Phil or I will immediately address the problem at the monthly office meeting, making all employees aware of the issue. Both Phil and I work hard to ensure that any problem is resolved promptly. Doug leaves to give an estimate and Ted continues his observations of the business. Later that day, after spending time with the accounting staff, Ted has a moment to ask Mr. Day a few questions. Ted:Mr. Day, I’m wondering if you could help me clarify some things regarding my brief observations of the accounting staff? Mr. Day:Sure, I’d be glad to. What can I do for you? Ted: I got the impression from the staff that they’re not always certain about their assigned functions. Are job responsibilities clearly defined? Mr. Day: In assigning office responsibilities, Doug says the main considerations are that work should be done by the people who are familiar with a task and who are capable of doing it. But, he also admits that availability has to be a consideration. Although this does lead to some overlap in duties, it doesn’t create any confusion in responsibilities. I carefully assign the daily duties and overview each day’s accounting records. This keeps the office running smoothly and in a well-organized manner. Ted: The staff mentioned that they’ve occasionally had problems processing collections of trade receivables. Do you prelist cash receipts before they’re recorded? Mr. Day: Well, we haven’t really experienced any need to. The system is set up so that we collect all of the checks at the end of the day, making it possible to record them all at one time. This way, we can be more efficient by avoiding the need to write them down twice. On those rare occasions when there is a collection processing problem, we resolve it immediately. Ted: Do you ever run into accounting policy problems? Mr. Day: Not very often. I usually handle any policy problems that do arise, although Doug will handle the situation if he feels strongly about the issue. Ted: Well, thank you Mr. Day. I need to talk to Doug before he leaves for the day. A few moments later, in Doug’s office†¦ Ted: Are you satisfied with the processing of trade receivables? Doug: Yes, definitely. Mr. Day is meticulous in his clerical operations, which is well systematized. He has excellent control over the trade receivables. In fact, it’s been over a year and a half since the bank accepted a list of pledged receivables as security for a loan. From then on, we’ve had access to a continually renewable loan based on a list that’s updated weekly. The loan is relatively small, and the contract allows the bank to access Easy Clean ‘s checking account in the unlikely event that collection of the loan seems doubtful. Perhaps I should add that although Phil and I have no formal accounting training and we have given Mr. Day full responsibility for the accounting duties, Phil and I are the only people allowed to sign company checks. Ted: One of the accounting clerks mentioned that you’re thinking about making a change in the accounting system. Doug: As a matter of fa ct, Mr. Day has been looking into using a new accounting software package that should make the bookkeeping process an easier task for the clerks. This package includes a budgeting system that should help control costs and identify those areas that need attention. Although I’ve always monitored the company’s expenses, I didn’t previously see the need for a formal budgeting system. If something didn’t seem right, Phil or I would bring the problem up at the informal monthly office meeting between all the employees and try to resolve the issue. Given our current success, the implementation of a more sophisticated budgeting system seems like a wise investment. Ted: I’m also interested in your security measures. How do you protect your accounting records and physical assets? Doug: After hours, the office door and windows are heavily bolted. Only Phil, Mr. Day, and I have keys to open the office. Although there haven’t been any problems, we’re considering locking up the file cabinets where the hard copies of the accounting records and data disks are stored at night. I’ve also be en meaning to see about having the computers bolted down to the desks. As for the vans, they’re kept in a fenced-in lot behind our office. Each driver gets a key to the gate lock so they can let themselves in or out for work. We have to do this because a lot of the commercial cleaning is done after hours, when the office is closed. As a precautionary measure, we change the lock regularly. Ted: That should about do it for now, until I can get in to do some preliminary audit work. But before I leave, I’d like to ask you a few more general questions. To start with, can you tell me what you feel is responsible for Easy Clean’s recent success? Doug: Well, Ted, because Easy Clean is using the newest steam-cleaning procedure, we provide a much better result than the traditional rotary shampoo methods used by our competitors. And, our customers can tell. Plus, Phil and I understand the business well, we are personable, and we pride ourselves on doing good work. Ted: Having an audit performed by our firm is a big step. Why did you decide to have an audit now? Have you ever been audited before? Doug: Phil and I are confident that Easy Clean is a truly viable concern. We feel that audited financial statements will corroborate our claim. We’re eager to learn what suggestions your firm can give us regarding the most professional way to record and present our financial statements. We also have an interest in learning how to increase the company’s credibility with the local business and banking community. Both Phil and I are excited about the success of our company and we’re motivated to continue strengthening the organization with the eventual goal of pursuing additional business opportunities and endeavors. We’ve never been audited before, although we have used a local tax preparer to fill out our tax returns ever since Easy Clean has been in business. We did ask another firm, about two years ago, to come in to do an audit. We decided not to have the audit performed, though, because the company’s fees were too high. Although I’d have to look up the audit firm’s name, Phil and I decided that Easy Clean would have to wait for an audit until we could reasonably afford the fees. We’ve come to the decision that now is the time. Ted: Are there any issues of concern that you have regarding the audit? Doug: Not really. I’m proud of Easy Clean. The company has had no record of serious problems and has rarely had a problem with bad debts, since most of our receivable balances are collected within two to three weeks. Ted: I understand that Easy Clean does not have an audit committee, which is typical of an organization this size. Can you tell me if Easy Clean has a board of directors and, if so, who serves on the board and how active the board is in overseeing important issues at Easy Clean? Doug: We do have a board of directors. It is somewhat informal, but Phil, I, and our wives function as directors. We do have at least one regularly scheduled meeting each year and we have met on other occasions as necessary. Obviously, Phil and I have a pretty good idea of what is happening at Easy Clean on a daily basis. We do not believe our company is yet at a stage that could effectively support a separate board comprised of outside directors. Maybe we’ll do that in a couple of years, if we keep growing. Ted: One final thing I’d like to ask—have you and your brother Phil set out any goals for the future? Doug: Phil and I have spent a lot of time talking about our goals and objectives, but we’ve never formally recorded them anywhere. Our long-term goals are fairly uncertain, but we’re hoping to build our nest egg to the point where we can potentially retire early. We both agree that our future plans include expanding our sales territory, increasing advertising, investing more help and additional equipment, and, I have to admit, taking a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii.

Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” Essay

18th-century high society through exaggeration and parody. Basing his poem on an actual incident that occurred among some of his acquaintances, Pope intended his story to put the episode into humorous perspective and encourage his friends to laugh at their own actions. A mock epic is a poem dealing with petty subject matter in the exalted style of the great literary epics. This genre is a form of parody for satirical purposes. The poem uses the trivial story of the stolen lock of hair as a vehicle for making judgments on society and on men and women in general. Characteristics of the ILLIAD and the ODYSSEY that the Rape of the Lock mocks include: the statement of the theme, invocation of the muse, description of the great battles, supernatural beings taking part in the affairs of men and the hero becoming immortalized in a star or constellation (Long, â€Å"Pope† 1). In the opening lines â€Å"What dire offense from amorous causes springs, / What almighty contests rise from trivial things† (Canto I, lines 1-2), Pope states the theme of the poem: that trivial matters should remain just that- trivial. In the lines following the  invocation of an unlikely muse is clearly stated â€Å"I sing- This Verse to Caryll, Muse! Is due† (Canto 1, 3). The entire poem is divided into five cantos and is written in heroic couplet verse. The use of the heroic couplet is typically neoclassic because it exhibits the ideals of the time. In order to write a heroic couplet the author must have complete control over his words and the story he wants to tell. A strong sense of order is needed so that the couplets may rhyme and most importantly make sense to the reader at the same time. The heroic couplet perfectly accents the epic devices used in the poem, for, as a form of verse the heroic couplet seems to have a connotation of  larger-than-life-situations in the minds of its readers. By using this style in describing such insignificant matters in his poem, Pope only supports his theme that his society places great importance on minor matters. Pope’s elaborate portrayal of events in Canto I furthers comparison with the literary epic; it parodies the traditional epic passage describing the shields of ancient warriors. Belinda’s make-up routine is compared to the putting on of armor: â€Å"From each she nicely culls with curious toil,/ And decks the goddess with the glittering spoil† (Canto II, 131-132). Make-up, clothing, jewelry and other material possessions are this parody’s substitutes for armor and weapons. Pope closely imitates the epic form for comic effect in order to expose the questionable values of his time. â€Å"Using a vast force to lift a feather† (Long,†Pope† n.p.), thoroughly describes Pope’s reasons for his use of elaborate language. He uses the epic’s exaggeration to mock misplaced priorities. The great battles of the literary epic are transformed into card games and flirtatious charades. The great Greek and Roman gods are converted into an army of protective but powerless  sprites called â€Å"sylphs† who protect both the serious and the trivial. For all of her strife â€Å"This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, / And mid’st the Stars inscribe Belinda’s name† (Canto V, lines 149-150). Belinda is immortalized in the sky by a star bearing her name. â€Å"Satire is a glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own† (Long, â€Å"Racine† 4). Pope uses every aspect of the mock epic to satirize the frivolity of the people around him. He takes specific scenes and uses parody to illustrate the insignificance of everyday rituals. He even uses the structure of rhyming couplets to juxtapose the ordinary with the extraordinary to reveal the society’s distorted value system.