Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perking Gilman Essay

In the article â€Å"Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perking Gilman: Architects of female power† the author attempts to compare and contrast the convictions and beliefs of Charlotte Gilman and, her great-aunt, Catharine Beecher. One of the most important factors that is seen repeatedly in the article, is the concept that the environment encompassing the home is the center of all commerce for a woman. This thought process continues to build and establishes the idea that what begins in the home continues to radiate out into the lives of the woman and her family. Each female author further attempted to define the roles of a woman directly corresponding with the roles beginning in a woman’s private life and extending into the public life. Although Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Gilman had completely different interpretations of this ideology, the fact that the foundation of the argument was the same purports that the concept, regardless of interpretation, could have some b asis on reality. The author of this article, Valerie Gill, very thoroughly cites from not only Catharine Beecher’s books â€Å"A Treatise on Domestic Economy† and â€Å"American Woman’s Home,† but also from Charlotte Gilman’s book â€Å"Moving the Mountain† and several of her lectures and articles including an article titled â€Å"Applepieville.† Gill (1998) states, that â€Å"Like Catharine Beecher, Gilman links the role of the women to the general health of the social system; the dependent and isolated situation of women in their homes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 2). Gill (1998) goes on to further state that â€Å"In spite of their different strategies for defining and locating women, however, Beecher and Gilman share an interest in the topography of female experience† and that â€Å"Both writers conceptualize the identity of women in spatial as well as socioeconomic terms, assuming that the fulfillment of their own sex can be quite literally mapped o ut.† (p. 2). The article then moves into much greater detail, analyzing each woman’s many forms of printed material. The extent and degree of information and detail written in this article about each represented author and their contributing works can ultimately be  seen as one of the articles main strengths. However, although this article gives a vast amount of information on the women’s opinions and beliefs the article at times seems disassembled and erratic. The flow of the article is somewhat hard to follow, and without an increased measure of concentration, the ability of the reader to comprehend and decipher whom the author is speaking of can be lost. Also, with the extensive amounts of information and detail that each female author contributes to the argument, readers are bombarded with data to interpret and distinguish upon. With the author of the article not decisively choosing the strongest points of argument from each author, the information becomes overwhelming and possibly confusing at times. The article â€Å"Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perking Gilman: Architects of female power† attempts to give readers two different perspectives of a woman’s role in her home and how this affects her presence in society. Readers are given a multitude of supporting facts from both women’s interpretations on the topic. This fact, in certain circumstances, proves to be not only a strength of the article but also a weakness. Regardless of how each woman author interpreted these ideals, the simple fact remains clear that each assumed the role and presence of a woman becomes clearly defined as beginning in the home. References Gill, V. (1998). â€Å"Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perking Gilman: Architects of female power†. Journal of American Culture, 21 (2). Retrieved from http://ctcdns02.ctcd.edu:2122/search/multiSearch.do;jsessionid=F6C4B68D9202464AFE8BAF1AC27987B8

Explore the ways Shakespeare presents Edgar in “King Lear” Essay

An interesting concept is the ways Shakespeare presents Edgar in the play â€Å"King Lear†. Edgar is the legitimate son of Gloucester and his illegitimate brother Edmund, wants to take his father’s land, so he says to his father that Edgar is planning to kill him, and tells Edgar to flee. The role of Edgar changes throughout the play, he plays a symbolic part that who brings out central themes in the play. He supports and reflects the character of Cordelia; because both of the characters have almost been disowned by their fathers, even though both of them have done nothing wrong. The first scene we see Edgar is in plain contrast to his brother Edmund, in Act I scene II, where Edmund first tells Edgar to flee, because he has up set his father, Edgar is presented as gentle and almost placid, which is unlike his brother who comes across as strong and fierce. Shakespeare is showing the two sides of human nature, by giving the two brothers alternate personalities. Shakespeare also presents Edgar as a Christ like figure, the first scene the audience could notice this is act II scene III, where, Edgar decides he must take on a new identity, that of â€Å"Poor Tom† he announces this to the audience; he also announces that he is a wanted person. Throughout this soliloquy, there is an image of Christ on the cross he states â€Å"In contempt of man† this is showing that Edgar believes that man is a dreadful creature. He refers to â€Å"Bedlam beggars† which is men who come from or pretended to come from the hospital of Bethlehem, and were known at the time where the insane gather in London. His decision to opt for this disguise is interesting, in that by copying the life of the unpleasant subjects in Lear’s kingdom is a criticism of Lear’s rule. The last line of the soliloquy Edgar says â€Å"Edgar I nothing am† this is continuing the theme of disappearance, that has occurred so regularly in the play, the word â€Å"Nothing† is used a great deal through out the play, this is make reference to the beginning of the play between Lear and Cordelia, â€Å"Nothing will come of nothing†. However another reader could interpret this as being the beginning of Edgar disguise, and the end of Edgar himself for a period. The feeling of loss is prominent in this scene, as Edgar has lost the natural bond with his father. As Edgar believes so deeply in the value of loyalty, the absence of this central relationship causes Edgar to feel alienated from the world, he has also lost his social position, consequently he is disinherited, and reduced to a beggar, and this echoes the main plot, where Lear is made impoverished, as is too forced to adopt a new identity In act III, Edgar’s identity as â€Å"Poor tom† provides him with a mask to hide behind, and re-evaluate the world from outside the society he used to belong; he can also deal with the chaos of his feelings Another scene where Edgar could be compared to a Christ like figure is Act III scene IV, where Edgar is talking with Lear. Lear addresses Edgar as â€Å"Unaccomodated man† and a â€Å"poor, bare, forked animal† The sight of Edgar dressed as a beggar has bought Lear to the edge of madness himself. Although Lear learns an important lesson, in that his kingdom is not perfect, at this frightening sight. He becomes less self obsessed and, he seems to think that Edgar’s madness comes from the unkindness of daughters; the audience can see this from the quotation â€Å"Hast thou given all to thy two daughters? And art thou come to this?† Edgar makes several references to the Ten Commandments in one speech, â€Å"Obey thy parents†¦ swear not; commit not† which again continues the associations with Christianity. I think this scene must be almost painful to watch as it contains a conversation between a madman and a man pretending to be mad. Shakespeare provides Lear a reflection of his own suffering in the form of Edgar; here we can see that Edgar is central to the role of Lear. In Act IV Edgar saves and revitalises his father Gloucester who has had his eyes removed; Edgar has found a new function, to act as his father’s ‘eyes’ helping him to see literally and metaphorically. Gloucester wishes to commit suicide, by jumping off a cliff, Edgar pretends they are near the edge of the cliff â€Å"for all beneath the moon would I not leap upright† this suggests that Edgar is so near the cliff that he would fall over even if he jumped straight up. He is a striking icon of the better nature. Some critics might see Edgar as his father’s ‘father’, in giving him new life. This redemption of his father is a very Christian act, as it involves compassion and self sacrifice, here again Edgar resembles an analogue of Christ. In act V Edgar acts as his father’s retaliator, and rids the world of his brother Edmund, so again his role changes â€Å"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us; The dark and vicious place where thee he got Cost him his eyes† Here Edgar is commenting on the impossibility of avoiding punishment for our sins, he could also be seen as the mediator of the gods in punishing evil, as he appeared to be in Act IV. Edgar refers to Gloucester as â€Å"Father† as he is still in disguise, and his father is blind, he presumes that he is calling him â€Å"father† meaning old man, here Edgar, wants to give his father a clue as to his true identity is. Edgar joins the battle which is happening off stage, while his father rests under a tree, he exits and re-enters with the news that â€Å"King Lear hath lost† he tries to tell his father to join him in escaping from the escalating army, Gloucester wishes to stay put to which Edgar replies â€Å"Ripeness is all† which he is referring to ripeness as anticipating death, and we should not do as Gloucester is doing now, by choosing to stay there, expecting death, and that we must accept the time that is laid down for us. Edgar and Cordelia are in almost direct parallel, both are children who are loyal to their parents, but are disowned, by their e more greedy siblings, the only difference between the two characters is that Edgar is left at the end of the play, to rebuild society, and reflect on the tragedy that has occurred. His survival could suggest that better nature has not been completely extinguished, by the gods of evil, as he is still alive, if the gods of evil had prevailed, he might not have made it to the end of the play, Shakespeare has clearly chosen to do this purposefully, to make the tragedy less tragic. Edgar’s role throughout the play could be perceived as death and resurrection, he ‘dies’ as Edgar, when he adopts the role of â€Å"Poor Tom† and ‘rises again’ when he reveals his disguise, becomes Edgar again, and defeats his brother in Act V. His survival at the end of the play, suggests that he may have learned something about his frequent character changes, some might believe hope for the future is the moral of the play, as Edgar has learned all about identity and social prejudice. He possesses the wisdom in youth which Lear so desperately required, but he obtains it too late, in his old age, after his rejected daughter has died.

The Giver by Lois Lowry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Giver by Lois Lowry - Essay Example Theirs is a rigidly controlled society where there is no suffering, hunger, war and also no color, sex, music or love. The â€Å"Elders† controls everything like who will become husband and wife, the son and daughter they will receive to take care of and the job to be assigned at the proper time which is at twelve years of age. A person can be released from the community if he is really old, a sick infant or those persons who break the rules. Jonas discovers after a year of training that people being released were actually being given lethal injection. Jonas was angered by such discovery so he, together with the Giver, devised a plan of escape for Jonas together with Gabriel, the sick baby who is to be released through lethal injection the next day. But then, their plan did not work out. In trying to escape, Jonas experience so much hardships and starvation. The reader is left to interpret it the way he looks at how the story ended. Being a book critic, he said that he likes the book because it could entertain the reader. He gave as example the way Jonas first experience happiness, pain and sadness. According to him it’s funny at how Jonas felt simple things like seeing and feeling snow and feeling the warmth of the sun turn incredible for him. He also wanders what love is when given the memory of love by the Giver who told him that it’s his favorite emotion. Another instance is when Jonas wonders hoe life in his world will be if it is filled with colors and memories and emotion. This critic also said that to show true emotion, the author showed a tearful Jonas when he found out that his father, a doctor, administers lethal injection to infants who are released from the community for being sick and weak. Because of this, he does not want to live with his father who is a killer. Another example is when Jonas begins to fall in love with Fiona, his friend whom he saw naked in his dream. The book also relays a good message saying that war is bad

Social and Cultural Factors are the Most Important in Determining Essay

Social and Cultural Factors are the Most Important in Determining Gender Roles - Essay Example From this research it is clear that gender roles have existed for almost as long as the human race has existed and it is quite possible that they will continue to exist in the future. According to the essay â€Å"Sex Roles† by McCubbin and Dahl, this is because gender roles depend on social orientations and cultural practices that mold people’s lives and mentalities. For example, if a person considers himself or herself to be female, he, or she would be expected to display the characteristics that are typically associated with being female. It would include traits such as being gentle, dependent, and expressive of their feelings. Therefore, culture and society is more important in determining the gender roles of an individual than their biological orientations are because biological factors remain constant depending on a person’s gender and yet social and cultural helps to determine gender roles of individuals within it and help individuals understand their socie ties. Even though the researcher agrees with McCubbin and Dahlwhen in their further argument that a person’s biological factors within a society have long been used to predict the person’s behavior, evidence discredits biological factors in favor of social and cultural factors. This is because the latter conditions vary with gender roles across societies. Similarly, according to the essay â€Å"Sex Roles† by McCubbin and Dahlwhen research on the relationship between sex hormones, that is the main biological factor, and physical and behavioral attributes is not yet complete.

Globalisation and Crime ( Criminology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Globalisation and Crime ( Criminology) - Essay Example Human trafficking is concerned only with trading of people and it does not necessarily include any kind of movement of people from one location to another. The annual international trade in relation to human trafficking constituted an amount of $31.6 billion (Anderson, 2000 ).The most popular – and fastest growing – activity of the criminal organizations that operate transnationally is that of human trafficking. According to international convention, the concept of human trafficking is related to violation of the basic human rights. It is even subjected to directive in the context of the European Union. Human trafficking can be further be defined as transport, recruitment, harbouring, selling and even receipt of people through some exploitative means such as threat, fraud, deception and force. The main forms of human trafficking comprise sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, labour exploitation, internal trafficking, organ trafficking, and child trafficking. There ha ve been policies and strategies that have been set forth by various nations, some of which are effective, but still this issue is growing and gaining more importance in the current decade. The main focus of human trafficking is in the areas of the trafficking of women. The key countries that constitute women trafficking are United Kingdom, eastern and central European countries (such as Hungary, Belarus, Lithuania or Ukraine), South East Asia, Latin America, West and East Africa. The countries in which there exists a great deal of woman trafficking are Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, and countries in which such trade is moderately high are Denmark, Austria, France, Spain, Poland, UK, Switzerland, Bosnia, Poland and Kosovo. Each country where such trafficking is a very serious issue has different statistics, which cannot be considered as a reliable source to predict the consequences that some

Is it ever acceptable to justify unethical behavior Why or why not Essay

Is it ever acceptable to justify unethical behavior Why or why not - Essay Example As long as the law of their country does not forbid them from indulging in a certain kind of practice, they do not have any reason not to execute that act. Although to lie when the circumstances are dire might be appropriate, yet to decide the level of direness involved in certain circumstances is complicated. One might be able to call a certain situation as dire using one’s philosophical intelligence in an attempt to justify one’s unethical behavior (Vora, 2012). While to lie when a life can be saved with it might be appropriate, but there is a lot of subjectivity about the appropriateness of lying when a child lies to save his mother the grief that the truth is likely to cause. Hence, to lie when the outcome is very positive might even be ethically justified, though the perceived level of positivity varies from one individual’s point of view to that of another. So sometimes, it is acceptable to justify unethical behavior because the outcome might be very favora ble or the act might be

Role of Risk in Financial Decision Making Dissertation

Role of Risk in Financial Decision Making - Dissertation Example Risk is going to be the core factor of analysis in this study which will provide an idea of how risk assessment is important for an overall financial decision making process and its impact in the Small and Medium businesses. The literature will cover the post empirical studies to get to the subject adequately and effectively. This will provide the understanding of the subject in regards of risk management, risk analysis and its role in financial and business decision making process (Smit & Watkins, 2012). The process of risk management can be defined as follows. â€Å"Risk management is concerned with the outcome of future events whose exact outcome is unknown and with how to deal with these uncertainties†¦ In general, outcomes are categorized as favorable or unfavorable, and risk management is the art and science of planning, assessing (Identifying and analyzing), handling, and monitoring future events to ensure favorable outcomes† (Conrow, 2003, p. 2). In recent times S MEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) pay much attention to the risk management subject. Such organizations always emphasize on major risks involved in their businesses, this is to reduce overall risk of liability, risk of investment or risk of assets which are involved with their respective small partnered business ownerships. All of these are constraints of finance, if one views them in an investment or capital perspective. All of the above reasons validate that risk assessment is necessary for companies especially which are present with small scale and are on the initial settings to expand their business (Smit & Watkins, 2012). Organizations like retailer stores, utility shops, restaurants or hotels which are a central part of any developing economy apply risk components to analyze risk factors. This is to manage financial methods and business decision making process. In recent times this had been found in hotel management section which is one form of small enterprise business (SME) assess their risks to manage key financial elements like credentials, account receivables, account payables and financial assets like covenants or insurance (Luper, 2012). In SMEs especially present in a competitive market arrangement, the magnitude of financial management is bigger and so as its margin of retrieving risk at the time of business decision making. This is why such organizations utilize key risk applications to derive their financial objectives and make them achieve at right time of a business operation. An idea floats among all the business professionals mindset that better risk assessment leads to better financial management, which is true because risk evolves challenges and a good strategist include those challenges in assessment, before they become problems at a later point of time. Uncertainty takes the origin especially when risk is not overcome at the right time of an SME business and when it is assessed to a level which is adequate to meet financial goals or b usiness objectives of the Enterprise (Luper, 2012). In today’s modern business system, risk assessment has found its place in financial business organizations like Variable Annuity Industries (Melnick & Everitt, 2008). Based on long term planning, VA providers consider risk as a significant factor for designing and improvising annuities. To manage risk on the financial decisions, VA SMEs deploy risk management strategies to