The Mystery of Family Human Truths and Personal Bonds in The Brothers Karamazov - Literature Essay Samples

Reading a Dostoevsky book doesn’t give us any insight into the mind of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky almost never makes a blanket statement in his books, and, in general, very few opinions voiced by characters in his novels can be traced back to the author himself. As such, we still don’t know what Dostoevsky thinks about family life, the father/son relationship and all its nuances, or even about the merits of Ivan’s worldview versus Alyosha’s worldview when we read The Brothers Karamazov. He doesn’t ever tell us what to believe, but this massive work by Dostoevsky does put us in a very uncomfortable place as it pushes us to consider the messiness, the sheer earthiness of a son’s relationship to his father, and of all the unspoken griefs and problems that, in this case at least, culminated in murder. The relationship has Biblical connotations and connections. For example, to what extent is a son obligated to love a father? Must a father, in some way, â€Å"earn† his title to win the love of his children? Though the drunkenness and womanizing of Fyodor Pavlovich makes it easy to see in this book, what makes the father/son relationship naturally strained in all cases (i.e., what are the factors inherent in all father/son relationships)? These are all questions that we must face when we read this book, though we shouldn’t expect a definitive, clear-cut answer to all our questions from Dostoevsky himself. Instead, on Dostoevsky rests the obligation to artistically present the narrative in the most provocative way possible, pulling on our instinctive feelings of sympathy, justice, and intrigue, and strategically raising these questions that cut the deepest and cause the maximum discomfort to the reader. The father/son relationship is perhaps the most mysterious of all fa milial bonds. The son knows he is born of the father and must share at least some of his father’s traits, but it often happens that those traits aren’t ever fully known by the son (even if they are, they often reveal themselves in either our ugliest or finest moments). This fact is recognized in Scripture; Adam was created by God bearing His image and likeness, and Jesus Christ himself fully identified with God and man, whom he called his Father and his brothers. When your father is virtuous and generally good-natured, this isn’t much of a problem, but if your father is Fyodor Pavlovich, who has virtually no good traits and has done almost nothing to raise children better than himself, you don’t necessarily want to inherent many of your father’s traits. Dostoevsky recognizes this fact, and masterfully uses it to add depth and mystery to his novel. â€Å"Karamazovism† is a term that is never even fully defined (which was frustrating for the reader), but, as it’s one quality, it’s a term that’s recognized as being possessed by Fyodor and all the brothers Karamazov. From the beginning of the book, the â€Å"Karamazovism† of Alyosha is established in the reader’s mind by Rakitin: â€Å"I’ve been observing you for a long time. You are a Karamazov yourself, a full fledged Karamazov—so race and selection do mean something. You’re a sensualist after your father, and after your mother—a holy fool.† Alyosha doesn’t deny it, although we are given very little evidence of his sensualism in the entire book; he is chaste, and though he often notices the beauty of Grushenka and Katerina Ivanovna, it can’t be seen as more than the ordinary man would feel at th e sight of a beautiful woman. Not only is the inherent â€Å"karamazovism† of Alyosha never questioned, but it’s further confirmed by Kolya and his friends in the last words of the book: â€Å"Karamazov, we love you†¦.Hurrah for Karamazov!† (776) By beginning the novel with the family descriptions and closing the entire novel with these words from Kolya, Dostoevsky is telling the reader to see Alyosha as a Karamazov first and last, prompting us to recognize the inherent â€Å"karamazovism† in him despite the spectacle that that’s already been made of full fledged karamazovism. In the mind of the reader, this has the effect of clouding the novel. It clouds our judgment because it makes any action possible for Alyosha, Ivan, Smerdyakov, and Mitya, essentially because all these characters have the same Karamazov tendencies passed down from their father. It makes it impossible to remove suspicion from any of these characters, instead leaving a cer tain level of guilt and suspicion on all the characters. Ivan may not have murdered Fyodor, but he is not altogether innocent, neither is Mitya, Smerdyakov, nor Alyosha. One of them has to be the murderer, of course, but this shared Karamazov sensuality gives a degree of guilt to them all, confusing the judgement of the reader and complicating the novel. This ties into another key idea of the book, the one that Zosima first voices, that â€Å"everyone is guilty for everyone†, an idea that’s hard to ignore throughout the novel. In this family setting, Ivan believes himself to be guilty of influencing Smerdyakov to murder his father, and Mitya is able to accept his fate only because he believes himself guilty (to a certain degree) of committing murder by wishing for his father’s death. This is consistent with what we believe about families; they exist as units, not shifting the blame from one member to another but rather accepting responsibility as a whole. There should be no faction in the ideal family nor harboring of resentment, but all grievances should be aired openly. The family is a microcosm of what we see in the history of human existence; that everyone is guilty for everyone, and that only by accepting this fact can we, as Father Zosima puts it, â€Å"gain the whole world by love and wash away the world’s sins with [our] tears† (164). The passing along of certain traits from father to son is mysterious and impossible to quantify, but Dostoevsky still doesn’t shy away from the more uncomfortable questions concerning fathers and sons, the ones that we can see play out in front of us with our eyes. Yet these are the problems that are blamed for murder, not the intangible genetics discussed above. In particular, Mitya’s defense attorney Mr. Fetyukovich openly voices several issues in his speech, including these in Book 12, chapter 13: â€Å"But, gentlemen of the jury, one must treat words honestly, and I shall allow myself to name a thing by the proper word, the p roper appellation: such a father as the murdered old Karamazov cannot and does not deserve to be called a father. Love for a father that is not justified by the father is an absurdity, and impossibility. Love cannot be created out of nothing; only God creates out of nothing.† (744). I consider this to be the most shocking statement in the entire book. In this statement, the instinctive repulsion we feel at the thought of a son murdering his father is being naturalized. The very brotherhood after which the book is named is called into question. After all, if Fyodor Pavlovich wasn’t a father to his three sons, is the entire family delegitimized? In a book centered on the the relationship between a father and his three sons and the communication between them, the idea that the murder of this father is no more damnable than the murder of some ordinary peasant is startling. As the reader reads this statement, he feels as though the entire world of The Brothers Karamazov has been deconstructed, that one of the central pieces of information that we believed in—namely, that this book is as much about familial affairs as it is about murder—is being called into question. If Fyodor Pavlovich wasn’t ever a father to his sons and needn’t be treated otherwise, what makes this book different from any other murder mystery? Here again, Dostoevsky strategically uses this question—saving it to the last part of the book when the fatherhood of Fyodor hadn’t been called into question the previous 700 pages—to captivate our attention, pointing us to the significance of the question. It is signific ant exactly because, if we strip Fyodor Pavlovich of his fatherhood, it changes the entire lens through which we see all fathers; namely, that fathers are no longer on an intrinsically higher standing than their children, but rather must earn their respect and love. Based on this first hypothesis, the chain reaction sure to follow is catastrophic; children will no longer view themselves as subservient to their fathers but as judges over their them, capable of determining their fate and, if Fetykovich is to be believed, somewhat justified in punishing them if the evaluation should be negative. Fetyokovich himself claims: â€Å"‘Fathers, provoke not your children!’ Let us first fulfill Christ’s commandment ourselves, and only then let us expect the same of our children. Otherwise we are not fathers but enemies of our children, and they are not our children but our enemies, and we ourselves have made them our enemies!† (744). The relationship between father a nd son will be defined by hostility, not merely ambivalence. As Ivan said, â€Å"If there is no God, anything is permissible†. Once the first hypothesis is proven, an entire belief system collapses. Here is a very real instance of the same logic used by Ivan; that if there is no father, anything is permissible. It is worth noting, also, that this hostility between father and son is in fact a Biblical concept—but only in the context of the heavenly kingdom and eternal punishment. Speaking of the judgement to come, Jesus says: â€Å"For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.† (Luke 12:52-53). Biblically, it is only in a world with God that there will be real division between father and son, not the other way around. There is another question raised by the defense attorney that we must address. This problem is best illustrated by the life of Smerdyakov; as we know, Smerdyakov was long rumored and believed to be the illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich and â€Å"Stinking Lizaveta†, a town beggar woman. The very details of Smerdyakov’s birth disgust the reader: Fyodor Pavlovich was one night seen around Lizaveta, Lizaveta is soon thereafter impregnated, and a child is born in the garden outside of the Karamazov’s house. In such a situation, when the father is nowhere to be seen at the birth of the child, what do we define to be the moment of fatherhood? Where is the love for the child at the moment of conception? The defense attorney Fetyokovich puts it the most poignantly: â€Å"The young man involuntarily begins thinking: ‘But did he love me when he was begetting me,’ he asks, wondering more and more. ‘Did he beget me for my own sake? He did not know me, n ot even my sex at that moment, the moment of passion, probably heated up with wine, and probably all he did for me was pass on to me an inclination to drink’† (745). Here is another moment when we are forced â€Å"involuntarily† to stare look stone-faced at the reality of fatherhood; that it is born out of passion. We’re forced to face the possibility that we, â€Å"innocent† children, may have been born out of impurity, sensuality, merely an unexpected causality of such sensuality, all from two people who we can’t even choose. This begs the question: how can a child be born innocent if he’s born out of such passion, even drunkenness? The incarnate Christ, born of the virgin, is the only man who is exempt from this natural bent towards debauchery in us all. Knowing the innate guilt in all men, even newborn children, it was essential to Christ’s mission that he be born free of passion and sensuality, requiring that he instead be born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin. By the Biblical narrative, then, it would seem probable that children aren’t quite as innocent as Ivan is making them out to be. Dostoevsky has now thoroughly bewildered the reader at this point; he has presented convincing evidence for the inherent innocence of children through the words of Ivan and Illyusha’s story, yet he is now giving a seemingly irrefutable argument against the innocence of children. This is, once again, consistent with an overarching pattern of this novel; that the dichotomy between the father and the son has profound implications for any belief system, and that we cannot be allowed to plod through this novel without recognizing and examining these implications. Finally, to conclude his speech, Fetyukovich generalizes the entire defense, developing a simple method by which we can determine the legitimacy of a father. He says this: â€Å"How decide it, then? Here is how: let the son stand before his father and ask him reasonably: ‘Father, tell me, why should I love you? Father, prove to me that I should love you’—and if the father can, if he is able to answer a nd him him proof, then we have a real, normal, family, established not just on mystical prejudice, but on reasonable, self-accountable, and strictly human foundations. In the opposite case, if the father can give no proof—the family is finished then and there: he is not a father to his son, and the son is free and has right henceforth to look upon his father as a stranger and even as his enemy.† (745). As has been mentioned before, this novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky is chiefly concerned with the communication of the characters; the communication between brothers, between father and son, between man and woman, and between man and God. Communication, as we see in the novel, is inherently messy and broken, leading to excessive anger, strife, and in this case eventually murder. Nevertheless, Dostoevsky is still not in the business of giving his readers lessons to live by. We do not gain any insight into how to relate to our fathers by reading this novel. Fetyukovich’s c onclusions are an oversimplification, and to believe in them as the central message of the book is to reject the familial bond that undergirds the entire book and (literally) binds it front and book. Still, the book does have practical value; but through a kind of screen; we can see that there is objective right and wrong in the behavior of the family, a good and a bad, but it is never openly stated and is primarily seen through the messiness of the family affairs. The ideals are set from the beginning of the book and all play out consistently; Alyosha’s belief system is not separated from his communication, and Ivan and Mitya are also consistent with theirs. Some of the essential questions that pop up in the novel—on everyone being guilty for everyone, on everything being permissible without God, and on the inherent innocence of children—are all littered throughout the novel, making it impossible for the reader not to continually stumble over them as they read. These are the questions that we face every day in our own communication but are unwilling to acknowledge. Here, Dostoevsky has so cleverly juxtaposed and contrasted the belief systems, presenting some first and withholding others until the opportune moment, that the reader can’t simply pass over them absent-mindedly. If, on the other hand, we think we’re given an idea we can hold onto and believe in (such as Ivan’s belief on the inherent innocence of children), Dostoevsky is sure to eventually slap it out of our hands. Dostoevsky would not, and did not, provide the reader with the clean conclusion to the dilemma that Fetykovich provides. Still, when we are done with Dostoevsky and if we don’t believe in Fetykovich’s conclusion, the next most logical question is this: what do we actually believe about the novel? The reader believes in the power of family. The family is more than just our â€Å"tribe†, or the environment in which we are raised; it’s our uncensored versions, the space where we’re faced with more questions that cut to the core of our humanity than any ordinary friendship provides. As this novel shows, the questions of man’s innate sin (vs. sin from example), of our responsibility for sin, and of our obligation to love each other are all seen most clearly in the family setting, whatever the overall consensus might be. Our worldview comes to a head in the that context; we can be anything we want away from family, but it all gets called out and amplified inside the family. The family is its own sphere with its own language and dynamic, and the members of the family are independent human beings with completely separate identities being, at the same time, invariably similar in a mysterious way. Family is the most important tie in this novel, and the apparent incoherence yet depth of the novel inescapably parallels the incoherence and depth of family. This novel is not a murder mystery, but it is still a mystery. The mystery of the family, the great drama of human interaction, bubbles to the top of the book, captivating the imagination of the reader and drown ing out all other mysteries in our minds. Works Cited Fyodor, Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1990. Print.

The Definition, History, and Impact of Redlining

Redlining, a process by which banks and other institutions refuse to offer mortgages or offer worse rates to customers in certain neighborhoods based on their racial and ethnic composition, is one of the clearest examples of institutionalized racism in the history of the United States. Although the practice was formally outlawed in 1968 with the passage of the Fair Housing Act, it continues in various forms to this day. History of Housing Discrimination Fifty years after the abolition of slavery, local governments continued to legally enforce housing segregation through exclusionary zoning laws, city ordinances which prohibited the sale of property to Black people. In 1917, when the Supreme Court ruled these zoning laws unconstitutional, homeowners swiftly replaced them with racially restrictive covenants, agreements between property owners which banned the sale of homes in a neighborhood to certain racial groups. By the time the Supreme Court found racially restrictive covenants themselves unconstitutional in 1947, the practice was so widespread that these agreements were difficult to invalidate and almost impossible to reverse. According to a magazine article, 80% of neighborhoods in Chicago and Los Angeles carried racially restrictive covenants by 1940. The Federal Government Begins Redlining The federal government was not involved in housing until 1934 when the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created as part of the New Deal. The FHA sought to restore the housing market after the Great Depression by incentivizing homeownership and introducing the mortgage lending system we still use today. Instead of creating policies to make housing more equitable, the FHA did the opposite. It took advantage of racially restrictive covenants and insisted that the properties they insured use them. Along with the Home Owner’s Loan Coalition (HOLC), a federally-funded program created to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, the FHA introduced redlining policies in over 200 American cities. Beginning in 1934, the HOLC included in the FHA Underwriting Handbook â€Å"residential security maps† used to help the government decide which neighborhoods would make secure investments and which should be off-limits for issuing mortgages. The maps were color-coded according to these guidelines: Green (â€Å"Best†): Green areas represented in-demand, up-and-coming neighborhoods where â€Å"professional men† lived. These neighborhoods were explicitly homogenous, lacking â€Å"a single foreigner or Negro.†Blue (â€Å"Still Desirable†): These neighborhoods had â€Å"reached their peak† but were thought to be stable due to their low risk of â€Å"infiltration† by non-white groups.Yellow (â€Å"Definitely Declining†): Most yellow areas bordered black neighborhoods. They were considered risky due to the â€Å"threat of infiltration of foreign-born, negro, or lower grade populations.†Red (â€Å"Hazardous†): Red areas were neighborhoods where â€Å"infiltration† had already occurred. These neighborhoods, almost all of them populated by Black residents, were described by the HOLC as having an â€Å"undesirable population† and were ineligible for FHA backing. These maps would help the government decide which properties were eligible for FHA backing. Green and blue neighborhoods, which usually had majority-white populations, were considered good investments. It was easy to get a loan in these areas. Yellow neighborhoods were considered â€Å"risky† and red areas (those with the highest percentage of Black residents) were ineligible for FHA backing. The End of Redlining The Fair Housing Act of 1968, which explicitly prohibited racial discrimination, put an end to legally-sanctioned redlining policies like those used by the FHA. However, like racially restrictive covenants, redlining policies were difficult to stamp out and have continued even in recent years. A 2008 paper, for example, found denial rates for loans to Black people in Mississippi to be disproportionate compared to any racial discrepancy in credit score history. In 2010, an investigation by the United States Justice Department found that the financial institution Wells Fargo had used similar policies to restrict loans to certain racial groups. The investigation began after a New York Times article exposed the company’s own racially-biased lending practices. The Times reported that loan officers had referred to their Black customers as â€Å"mud people† and to the subprime loans they pushed on them â€Å"ghetto loans.† Redlining policies are not limited to mortgage lending, however. Other industries also use race as a factor in their decision-making policies, usually in ways that ultimately hurt minorities. Some grocery stores, for example, have been shown to raise prices of certain products in stores located in primarily Black and Latino neighborhoods. Impact The impact of redlining goes beyond the individual families who were denied loans based on the racial composition of their neighborhoods. Many neighborhoods that were labeled â€Å"Yellow† or â€Å"Red† by the HOLC back in the 1930s are still underdeveloped and underserved compared to nearby â€Å"Green† and â€Å"Blue† neighborhoods with largely white populations. Blocks in these neighborhoods tend to be empty or lined with vacant buildings. They often lack basic services, like banking or healthcare, and have fewer job opportunities and transportation options. The government may have put an end to the redlining policies that it created in the 1930s, but as of 2018, it has yet to offer adequate resources to help neighborhoods recover from the damage that these policies inflicted. Sources Coates, Ta-Nehisi. â€Å"The Case for Reparations.†Ã‚  The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 Aug. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.â€Å"1934: Federal Housing Administration Created.†Ã‚  Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1934-FHA.htmlâ€Å"The Legacy of Redlining in Rust Belt Cities.†Ã‚  Belt Magazine, beltmag.com/the-legacy-of-redlining-in-rust-belt-cities/.Redlining (1937- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, www.blackpast.org/aah/redlining-1937.â€Å"Understanding Fair Housing,† U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Clearinghouse Publication 42, February 1973. Electronically accessed,  http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/documents/cr11042.pdfLab, Digital Scholarship. â€Å"Mapping Inequality.†Ã‚  Digital Scholarship Lab, dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/.

Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant Essay - 1222 Words

Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant The poem, Thanatopsis, written by William Cullen Bryant, is a wonderful literary work which explores the often controversial questions of death. William Cullen Bryant wrote Thanatopsis when he was seventeen years of age. Thanatopsis was written in blank verse. Within his well written lines Bryant attempts to show the relationship between deaths eternal questions and the ongoing cycle of nature and life. Upon concluding the poem many readers are able to reaffirm their faith of an afterlife, while others are left aimlessly pondering this strange possibility.He uses strong words to describe the feelings and visions one sees when they are in their last hours and even†¦show more content†¦By using this strange metaphor Bryant wishes to suggest his faith in an afterlife. While examining the differences and similarities of death and sleep the reader is left with some very thought provoking questions. The answers to these questions reassure some readers while confusing others. Sleep is a time of rest. It allows preparation for the next day or event, and by relating this definition to death Bryant gives new insight on ones fate after earthly existence. When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart- Go under the open sky, and list to Natures teachings, while from all around- Earth and her waters, and the depths of air- comes a still voice. Bryant is taking what can be considered the stereotype of what death and dying feels like and putting it in some strong words. He continues to say, as he does in the rest of the poem, that ones eternal resting place could never have been thought of as such a wonderful place that one could love so much. In a way he describes it to be a huge couch which when you lay down upon it you just melt in and never feel like getting up, by saying nor couldst thou wish couch moreShow MoreRelatedEssay on Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant842 Words   |  4 Pages The poem â€Å"Thanatopsis† by William Cullen Bryant reveals a very unusual aspect of nature. While most people think of nature as beauty and full of life, Bryant takes a more interesting approach to nature. He exposes a correlation between nature, life, death, and re-birth. Using nature as a foothold, Bryant exercises methods such as tone, setting, and imagery in a very intriguing way while writing â€Å"Thanatopsis.† First, tone is a very important aspect of the poem â€Å"Thanatopsis.† While reading the poemRead MoreDeath in Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant Essay447 Words   |  2 PagesDeath in Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant When people ponder death they wonder about the unknown with trepidation. 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Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like lifeRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher1651 Words   |  7 PagesMason Eggers Mrs. Szwajkowski Junior English 200 24 March 2016 Romanticism/Transcendentalism Essay Edgar Allen Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil,† and William Cullen Bryant’s â€Å"Thanatopsis† illustrate several Romantic and Transcendentalist (and anti-Transcendentalist) traits. All of these authors are regarded as very important and influential Romantic writers. Their works are renowned all across the entire world. â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†Read MoreAnalysis Of Rip Van Winkle And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow By Washington Irving1380 Words   |  6 PagesRomanticism is a time period that many authors began to emerge in. These authors wrote about their strong feelings, and that nature is more important than city life. [Preview] In the pieces â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† by Washington Irving, â€Å"Thanatopsis† by William Cullen Bryant, and â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow† by Washington Irving all show strong relations to the traits of Romantic writing. These characteristics include strong imagination, strong feelings, inspiration from folklore and myths, and the divineRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Freedom Of Speech1325 Words   |  6 Pagesoutspoken that they founded a nation on the freedom to believe whatever you want to believe. Most Americans still exhibit this characteristic today. As shown in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by the Reverend Jonathan Edwards, â€Å"Thanatopsis† by William Cullen Bryant, and What is an American? by J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur, Americans are not afraid to share their ideas, no matter what they are.   Ã‚  Ã‚   As an American, Jonathan Edwards felt as though he had the right to express his thoughts when heRead MoreAnalysis Of William Cullen Bryants Thanatopsis979 Words   |  4 Pagesnothing at all. This is true for writers, poets and artists. William Cullen Bryant’s â€Å"Thanatopsis†, Kansas’ â€Å"Dust in the Wind† and Blue Oyster Cult’s â€Å"Don’t Fear the Reaper† they all center their idea death, but approach it differently and conveys their points differently. One glorifies death, one says life is meaningless and the other glorifies life. These three poems center around death, but have very different points in each one. In â€Å"Thanatopsis†, it glorifies death in such a way, convincing the readers

Impact of Financial Stability

Question: Discuss about the Impact of Financial Stabilityon the Sustainability of Hospitality Industry. Answer: Introduction In this chapter of the literature review various research works reacted with the topic had been analyzed. These research works helped to gain ample knowledge about the topic. The concept of financial stability and sustainability had been discussed in this chapter as well. Different theories such as four capital theory and natural capitalism theory had been analyzed in this section as well. It had been found that there are various strategies that can help a company to achieve financial stability. The importance of sustainability in hospitality industry had been analyzed in this chapter as well. Previous research work Houdr (2008) had developed a research work to analyze sustainable development in the hotel industry. From this research work, it had been found that sustainable development is a holistic concept that was developed on simple concept. It had been found that outline of sustainable development in hospitality industry was first provided in the Brundtland report, published in the year of 1987. The concept of sustainability is the development of an organization that can fulfill the requirements of the present without hampering the ability of future generation. This research work explained how the concept of sustainability can be applied in the corporate world. It was indicated as triple bottom line approach. This strategy can help a company to maintain its focus on operations profitability. It also includes profitability and people as a significant part of this strategy. Goldstein et al. (2012) had developed a research work to find out current opportunities and trends in hotel sustainability. It had been found from this research study that, in past several decades, awareness among hoteliers and investors were developed regarding environmental, economic and social impact on sustainability on hotel industry. It had been analyzed that, these factors are driven by different factors. It includes operators and owners desire to reduce operational costs. In addition, the emergence of corporate social responsibility program had indicated the change of investors attitude toward sustainability. It had been found that realization of bottom line financial return is considered as the strongest motivating factor that can encourage private sector privatization. Bjornefors and Kjellsson (2014) had developed a research work related with hospitality and sustainability. In this research work, a comparison and case study had been developed to find out sustainability work in the Gothenburg area. It had been found that in the tourism industry, sustainability has become an important. Over the last decade, there was an increment in the consciousness of the sustainability issues among investors and hoteliers had been found. It had been found from this report that hospitality and tourism industry was the largest service industry in Gothenburg. Aim of this research work is to indicate how five hotels in this area deal with sustainability issues. Their sustainability operations were compared with each other and as well as with global hospitality sector. From the outcome of this research work, it had been found that sustainability strategies used by these companies are similar to each other. They are also similar to the sustainability strategies used by Global hotels. However, there were some differences of sustainability strategies can be found due to the difference of experiences. It had been found from this research work that the difference between these five hotels and global hotels is related with the utilization of eco-labels. The limitation of this study is that, the findings were gathered from a smaller group of hotels. Hence, this research work was not able to reflect how all the hotels in the Gothenburg area had adopted sustainability efforts. Another research work was developed by Roth and Fishbin (2015) to find out the insight of global hospitality industry. It had been mentioned in this research work that global investment in hotel industry continues to increase at a steady rate. It had been expected that leisure transition and global hospitality expenditure would increase 8% year over year. From 2013 to 2014, the cross-border investment in US was increased approximately by 135%. Investors from various countries such as Japan, China, Canada and Middle East region had selected US hotels to make large amount of investment. However, economic growth is lower in European countries compare to US. Despite of the slow economic growth, Europe had witnessed a rejuvenated hospitality industry. Investors had shown significant confidence in the hotels of London. During the year of 2014, Hospitality investment in Germany increased up to US$ 1.9 billion. It had caused 100% increment in the transaction volume compare to the sales figure of 2013. It had been found that low level of interest rate and high level of debt liquidity had increased financial stability of the hospitality industry. It had fueled the level of investment in the hospitality sector. On the other hand African hotels had faced issues related with investment in construction and lower rate of occupancy. It had decreased the foreign capital investment in the hospitality sector. On the other hand, in Asia-pacific region the level of investment decreased from US$ 6.4 billion from the first half of 2013 to US$ 3.3 billion. The concept of financial stability and sustainability Bruns-Smith et al. (2015) stated that financial stability is the term used to define the state of financial health of a company for two or more than two years. Castro (2016) mentioned that financial stability of an organization can indicate the standard of performance and level of efficiency during a specific period of time. Achieving economic stability is very important for organizations as it can enhance the business scope of an organization. Matthew et al. (2016) supported by mention that if an organization is financially stable, then it can invest higher amount of fund in business development projects. Bjornefors and Kjellsson (2014) had provided an example of Standard Chartered Bank, as it is considered as a stable organization in UK. For this reason, the company is also able to invest huge amount of funds to expand its business in other countries. Hence, it can be stated that it is important for companies to become financially stable. On the contrary, Jones et al. (2016) stated that sustainability refers to a specific situation, in which all the needs of a company are met without compromising any vital requirement of the future. Rodrguez Bolvar et al. (2016) mentioned that sustainability can be defined as the assurance related to secure future of a business organization. In the present competitive business scenario, achieving sustainability has become one of the major objectives for any organization. Mayo et al. (2015) opined that, in terms of ecology, sustainability can be defined as the property of biological system that remains diverse and productive for indefinite time. It can also be defined in terms of socio- ecological process. Castro (2016) mentiond that, in terms of socio-ecology sustainability can be defined as the endurance of processes and systems. It had been found that, there are four interconnected domains are related with sustainable development. They are such as culture, ecology, economics and pol itics. Jones et al. (2016) stated that, while a company tries to move towards sustainability, it has to various challenges. These challenges include national and international law, transport and urban planning, ethical consumerism and individual lifestyles. Palich and Reed (2016) mentioned that sustainability has to be viewed as the target of the humanity so that equilibrium of the ecosystem can be maintained. While sustainable development indicates the holistic approach and temporal method that can lead to the end point of sustainability. Melissen et al. (2016) stated that, in order to pursuit unlimited economic growth or financial stability, a company has to take care of some specific issues. These issues are such as climate change, environmental degradation and overconsumption. Analyzing the theories of sustainability Shkurkin et al. (2016) mentioned that, there are mainly two theories of sustainability. They are such as four capital theory and natural capitalism theory. In accordance to the four capital theory, in order to achieve overall sustainability, a company requires to achieve sustainability in four major areas. They are such as social sustainability, environmental sustainability, economic stability and manufacturing sustainability. Xu and Gursoy (2015) stated that social sustainability can be defined as the stability of human capital within an organization. This theory suggested that a company can achieve social responsibility by utilizing and recruiting skilled and experienced workforce. According to Melissen (2016), developing team bonding, establishing social networks and developing good relationship with employees can also enhance it. Shkurkin et al. (2016) mentioned that financial stability can be achieved with the help of appropriate budgeting, enhancing cash flow and controlling co st level. A company can achieve environmental sustainability by utilizing resources. Melissen (2016) stated that manufacturing sustainability can be achieved by an organization by developing appropriate infrastructure of business. According to Raguseo and Vitari (2017), Naturalism theory includes various approaches like Radical resource productivity, Biomimicry, Services and flow economy and Investing in natural capital. From the first approach it had been analyzed that a company has to utilize resources in such a way that It can reduce any kind of pollution and damage occur to the natural environment and resource (Raguseo and Vitari 2017). On the contrary, Jones et al. (2016) stated that the second approach is about implementation of reuse strategies in a business entity. It can help a company to avoid resource crisis. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) also mentioned that the third approach is about maintaining smooth flow of service in the economy to maintain the level of consumption. On the other hand, last approach of this theory suggested that restoring natural resources can maintain sustainability of a company (Jones et al. 2016). Strategies to achieve financial stability in an organization Tsaur et al. (2016) mentioned that financial stability is a very significant aspect for every company. The management of the company applies various strategies in order to gain stable financial condition. There are mentioned below: Maintaining cost level Castro (2016) stated that cost control is also known as cost containment or cost management. It has the common objective to enhance cost-efficiency by making reduction of cost or restricting the growth rate of cost. There is various cost control methods used in business such as supervising different divisions of business, controlling product lines within company operation. According to Gmez?Bezares et al. (2017), a company must have strong control over its cost levels. In addition, companies must try to minimize its level of cost as much as possible. This can actually help a company to keep the expense level under control. Ultimately it can help a company to achieve financial stability. Baum et al. (2016) mentioned that during 1990s cost reduction initiatives receive high amount of attention from the corporate. It often take form of divestment, corporate restructuring, mass layoffs and outsourcing. All these strategies can help a company to gain competitive advantage in the market. Maintaining positive flow of cash Castro (2016) stated that, in order to gain financial sustainability, a company has to maintain positive cash flow. For this reason, management of a company has to be aware of the expenses. They also have to encourage sales and productions. If the sales of a company can be enhanced by remaining the expenses same, then positive cash flow can be maintained. There are various ways in which flow of cash can be maintained. For instance, if a company wants to make payment to its clients within 30 days, then the terms with the vendor has to be similar. It will help the company to take advantage of the 30 days grace period to maintain positive cash flow. Castro (2016) stated that, a company can offer incentives for prompt payment. It will help to create urgency among customers to pay bills as fast as possible. In addition, Baum et al. (2016) mentioned that, if a company is performing well financially, then the company should develop business line of credit with a bank. Rodrguez Bolvar et al. (2016) mentioned that it will provide a safety for the future and help a company to gain an extended line of credit. The company also has to monitor the level of inventory turnover to make sure that product is constantly moved out of the store. If it does not happen, then the management team has to provide discount on products to move them out of the door. Baum et al. (2016) mentioned that, it will help the company to enter higher profiting items in market. Preparing appropriate budget While preparing the budget, a company has to make sure that all the possible situations are considered in appropriate manner. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that, while developing budget, the management team has to gather all information regarding services, products and income of the organization. There are some specific stages in which budget can be developed in appropriate manner. They are mentioned below: Update the business assumptions Review the bottlenecks Review the available funding Step costing points Create budget package Obtain the revenue forecast Issue the budget package Obtain the department budgets Obtain capital budget requests Modify the budget model Review the company budget Process budget iterations Issue the budget Load the budget Over view of hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia Hospitality sector of Saudi Arabia has gained importance in the global market. Rodrguez Bolvar et al. (2016) argued that Saudi Arabia economies have been heavily reliant on oil industry. However, this region has witnessed various changes of economy in the past few years as the government started to focus on non-oil sector (Aljaziracapital 2017). Tourism has been identified as the primary driver of the hospitality industry. According to Mueller and Jungwirth (2016), as of 2011, accommodation sector grabbed the largest portion of tourist spending. It had been found that while in other regions 458, 045 rooms are accommodated till the end of 2013 (Aljaziracapital 2017). Saudi Arabia had the largest amount share in it (63.6%). Within the time of 2006 to 2013, highest number of hotel rooms developed in Saudi Arabia (95, 627) (Aljaziracapital 2017). Jones et al. (2016) mentioned that hospitality industry of Saudi Arabia is mainly centered on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. These two holy places are situated at the western part of the kingdom. It has been analyzed that hospitality industry of both these cities are related with pilgrims perform Umrah or Hajj in Makkah and after that travel to Madinah in order to visit Mosque of the Prophet named as Al Masjid (Aljaziracapital 2017). According to Rodrguez Bolvar et al. (2016), every year the number of tourists is increased in both these cities. It has been found that during the month of Ramdan, tourist arrival increase in this region (Mostly September and October) (Aljaziracapital 2017). Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that visiting Hajj is a propitious, mandatory and once in a lifetime opportunity for Muslim. In the point of view of Jones et al. (2016), Saudi Arabia has witnessed this surge since 2012 (Aljaziracapital 2017). It had increased the total number of tourist visits at a CAGR of 5.0% to 3.2 million (Aljaziracapital 2017). However, during 2013 and 2014, the number pilgrims fell approximately 2.1 million due to visa restriction (Aljaziracapital 2017). Sez-Martnez et al. (2016) stated that Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus is also another significant reason for this restriction. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that hospitality industry In Makkah can be categorized in two parts. They are such as high quality luxury hotels and unfurnished and unbranded hotels. It has been found that during the year of 2014, there are 107, 230 hotel rooms can be found in Makkah (Aljaziracapital 2017). Among them 13% rooms were five star, 11% rooms were four star and 19% rooms were three star (Aljaziracapital 2017). 37% of these hotel rooms are unbranded. It has been found that majority of these luxurious rooms are located near the Masjid of Al Haram (Aljaziracapital 2017). Both these cities have significant opportunity of growth in future. However, they have to maintain their financial stability and improve sustainability for this purpose. It is estimated by Jones et al. (2016), that Makkah will receive around 17 million pilgrims per annum by the year of 2025. Importance of sustainability in hospitality industry Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that over that last decade hotels have turned their focus to improve sustainability in the hospitality industry as it is related with business operation and hotel development. It also includes other important factors like social impact, economic impact, and environmental impact. Shkurkin et al. (2016) mentioned that sustainability is one of the major issues that hospitality industry is facing recently. It had been found that hospitality industry had a dramatic environmental impact with the help of water and energy consumption. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that the management of hotels have increased to control their effort on the use of durable and consumable goods and restricted the creation of hazardous waste. In terms of economic stability, Jones et al. (2016) had stated that green operation is more expensive and the customers and guests are not much interested in sustainability. However Jones et al. (2016) argued that, this opinion is not appropriate in every case. Recent advancement of technology related with different renewable energy sources had made green operation easier for the hospitality industry. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that, use of alternative energy sources had enhanced both economic and environmental sustainability. Shkurkin et al. (2016) stated that, in social context, there is remarkable shift had been observed in hospitality industry. Along with corporate social responsibility programs and green building projects, hospitality industry also provides educational programs. Jones et al. (2016) mentioned that, it helps to develop critical thinking about various sustainability issues and challenges faced by the hospitality industry. There are some specific strategies have been identified by hoteliers that can enhance guest experience and sustainability. All these strategies are mentioned below: Cost saving strategy According to Jones et al. (2016), cost saving is always considered as divining factor in economic sustainability. Hoteliers can gain compelling incentive by reducing its operating costs. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that, by adopting new environmental technologies and enhanced operational procedures, efficiency strategies and cost reduction methods can be achieved. Many hotels have implemented different strategies to reduce and recycle wastes. Jones et al. (2016) stated that, there are various other areas that a hotel can improve to achieve sustainability. They are such as staff tanning programs, indoor environmental quality and sustainable procurement. Getting economic incentives Jones et al. (2016) stated that government of different organizations has enacted various economic incentives in order to support the development of environmental sustainability and development of green building. It includes various benefits such as tax concessions, discounts on insurance premium, financial grants and getting regulatory permits. Regulatory affairs Castro (2016) stated that all the existing environmental laws targeted towards hospitality industry is significantly focused on different operations. They are like handling of hazardous materials, storm-water management and environmental safety and health. However, it had been found that there is a huge range of future and existing legislative activities that have significant impact on a hotels method of construction, approaches of operation and design of hotel. Customer experience Jones et al. (2016) mentioned that, in the era of modern technology many hotel owners have understand the necessity of investing on environmental technologies. They came to understand that technological adaptation has significant impact on the customers experience as well. Raguseo and Vitari (2017) stated that there are various aspects of hotel that can leave an impression on customers. They are such as furnishing, lighting, front of house products and cleaners. All these aspects can increase occupancy rate of a company. Corporate brand image According to Castro (2016), development of sustainable corporate culture, can provide a specific level of advantage to hotel in terms of hiring and retaining talented employees. Every hotel must develop a management team to focus on transforming business by making practical application of sustainability. From a survey analysis it had been found that more than half of the American workers proffered to work for green hotels (Raguseo and Vitari 2017). It is specifically applicable for female and younger employees. Castro (2016) stated that, they always try to look beyond profitability and try to provide benefit to a larger community. It had been analyzed that these employees prefer to work for companies in which they feel that they can make differences. Conceptual framework Figure 1: conceptual framework (Source: created by author) Summary In this research work, various previous research works related with financial stability and sustainability had been analyzed in terms of hospitality industry. Various concepts and theirs related with financial stability and sustainability had been discussed in this chapter as well. As the aim of this research work is to find out the relationship between financial stability and sustainability in context of Saudi Arabia hotel industry, it had been found that financial stability can be achieved through maintaining cost level, maintaining positive flow of cash and by preparing an appropriate budget plan. It has been analysed that financial stability is major part of sustainability of an organization. In order to become more sustainable, a hotel has to develop a cost saving strategy and getting economic incentives. It also has to improve regulatory affairs and customer experience. 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