Should Convicted Felons Have The Right to Vote Assignment

Should Convicted Felons Have The Right to Vote - Assignment Example It is the duty of the society to halt the downward march to destruction and inspire one to the upward march of moral elevation to make one a worthy individual and citizen. The conclusion is obvious. The convicted felons need to be given the right to vote. Most of the crimes are generally committed at the spur of the moment, when one loses the balance of mind. He suffers through the period of conviction and the prison has never been a pleasant place for any individual, notwithstanding the amenities provided. â€Å"The legal authority of a State to revoke an inmate’s voting rights is based upon the Fourteenth Amendment. State laws on allowing convicted felons to participate in elections vary widely. Forty-eight states deny the vote to at least some felons; only Vermont and Maine let felons vote. Thirty-three states withhold the right to vote from those on parole. Eight deny felons the vote for life, unless they petition to have their rights restored, such as Alabama and Florida. New Jersey and Connecticut allow former felons to vote once they have completed parole. Nationally, about 4.2 million convicted felons cannot vote.†(Stukes, 2010) A straightforward answer cannot be provided to the question whether the convicted felons need to be given the right to vote. The immediate reaction is what sort of a felon? All felons are not alike and the gravity of their crimes is not alike. The 14th amendment specifically permits states to disfranchise citizens convicted of participation in rebellion, or other crime. How an enemy of the country be given the right to vote? Legally, the federal government may not infringe upon the authority of the state to give and not to give the voting rights to prison inmates and former felons. The spirit of the American Constitution is, it swears by democracy. But party politics has engulfed the issue to a great extent. This appeals to the Democrats because a large number of felons are African-Americans, the

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being Essay Example for Free

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being Essay In Milan Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the author uses plenty of literary elements to tie together his points in an effort to help readers understand the basic premise behind the work. Though there are plenty of literary themes that can be found throughout the work, the most important ones are the themes that Kundera uses, as well as the characters in the novel. By creatively using these things in his work, Kundera helps explain what might have otherwise been a fairly complex ideal. In addition, the author is able to tie these things together to create a measure of clarity for readers as they progress through the work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Theme is used in the novel to get across the basic ideas that the author is set on impressing into the reader. Since the novel relies mostly on ambiguous ideas to get across hard to find points, the utilization of different themes are critically important to the development of the story. As one might expect from the title of the work, Kundera uses lightness and the idea of weight as one of the primary themes throughout the book. Even in the title, one can see the dichotomy that exists. Lightness in itself is not something that should be too heavy to bear. Yet, the author is able to masterfully intertwine these two ideas to convey the point of his story. Through the entire work, the characters of the book are searching hard within themselves to find a solution to the primary question presented in the title. Their search for the important things in life is done in order to both find meaning and relieve themselves of some of the heaviness that their being light creates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important theme that the author uses is politics. Though the characters carry on with their lives throughout the work, they are constantly linked to both each other and to their collective pasts by their underlying political beliefs. A good example of this can be found on page 123 of the novel, when Sabina receives word that the political situation in Prague has cost Tomas and Tereza their lives. The book reads, â€Å"She could not get over the news. The link to her past had been broken† (123). English expert Jay Braiman describes a literary theme as, â€Å"The main idea or message conveyed by the piece† (Braiman). It is clear in the story that the author uses both politics and the idea of weight as the main idea in the work. The desire to escape from the weight of life was something that drove each of the characters, while politics served as a main idea in trying all of the characters together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters were the second literary element used by the author to create the work. Not only do the characters power the action, but they shed a little bit of light into the what the other characters were thinking. Simply having characters is not enough to establish something as an important literary element. As the author clearly understood, the characters must be used in the most efficient, useless way possible in order to help push the idea of the story forward. The characters in this novel are not just there for an arbitrary reason. Instead, they play an active role in the story in establishing the primary aspects of plot development. A Eugene Knight book review of the work talks to the importance of the characters by saying, â€Å"The very fact that they stay together and seem to find some degree of happiness illustrates that an acceptance of a relationship that falls well short of satisfying and fulfilling hopes, is possible† (Knight). One can easily see that the author used the literary element of characters to tie in the many themes that he utilized and help the reader understand the underlying conflict in Czechoslovakia at the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, the book is a commentary on the reasons why people need people so much. This is a complex idea to establish, especially when one considers the fact that it is set against such a tough background. Kundera established his excellent work on the basis that his characters would do the talking for him. Instead of having to explain things to readers to get them to buy in to the main point of the book, he had characters live out their real life experiences to get across the points. Even more importantly than that, he was able to bring the characters closer to the themes that were so important to the author in this book. No one literary theme overtook the book or overpowered it. They all worked together in a sanctimonious harmony that not only told a story, but helped the reader interpret the story. The idea that a person who is too light could not bear that weight is a ridiculous one at first, but as the reader further understands the things that the characters are going through, they can begin to see how such a dichotomy can become quite a conundrum. Works Cited Braiman, Jay. Literary Devices. 2007. http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm Knight, Eugene. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Review. http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/unbearable_lightness_kundera.html Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 4 May 2004. HarperCollins Publishing. Raudino, Guiseppe. Socialism and Arts. August 2007. http://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/Art%20Essays/Ju.Aug%20%2707%20Milan%20Kundera/j.a%2707MilanKundera.htm

The Role of Language in Shakespeares Play The Tempest Essay -- The Te

The Role of Language in Shakespeare's Play The Tempest 1 The role of language in Shakespeare’s play â€Å"The Tempest† is quite significant. To Miranda and Prospero the use of language is a means to knowing oneself. Caliban does not view language in the same light. Prospero taught Caliban to speak, but instead of creating the feeling of empowerment from language, Caliban reacts in insurrectionary manner. Language reminds him how different he is from Miranda and Prospero, and also how they have changed him. It also reminds him of how he was when he wasn’t a slave. He resents Prospero for â€Å"Civilising† him, because in doing so he took away his freedom. Language and knowledge is the key to power on the island. Prospero is a well educated man, and has many books, which gives him his magical power. Prospero rules the island and has many creatures under his command. He possesses so much power that he can even cause weather to change and indirectly the fate of the people who were shipwrecked on the island. William Sherman has the opinion â€Å"Knowledge was magical, and sometimes even entailed magic. But the attacks on libraries, the condemnations for conjuring, and the polemical complaints betray a deeper and more significant phenomenon: there were in early modern England dramatic uncertainties about the power of information and those who possessed it. (Cited in Jardine 1996: 105) Throughout the whole play there is evidence of power, someone in possession of it and another subordinate to the person with the power. Mostly this happens in the scenes with prospero, as he is almost an omniscient and omnipotent character, with god-like qualities. He has the means to change many things not possible for humans, because of his magic and his power over magical creatures such as Ariel. Caliban also does the will of Prospero; But, as ‘tis, We cannot miss him: he does make our fire, Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices That profit us. What, ho! Slave! Caliban! (I.ii.351-53) The shipwrecked people also play into Prospero’s hand, but they don’t even realize this. Even Miranda is dutiful to her father, and does what he says with little complaint. There is a hierarchy on the island, with Prospero on top of the list. Lorie Jerrell Leininger writes in her article â€Å"Miranda is given to understand that she is the foot in the family ... ...epresents every person that has been colonized by Europe, and their attempt to civilize the savages. Their method of civilizing and to maintain a firm grip on their savage labourers was language. It was their means to communicate and control the people who they didn’t consider as themselves and a means to discriminate against it. This is reason why Caliban resists and rebels against Prospero and disparage the language he has been taught. To him it is the loss of freedom and the agency through which he is being discriminated against. References: Knight,G.Wilson. â€Å"The Shakespearean Superman: An essay on The Tempest.† The Crown of life: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Final Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947. 203-255 Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. â€Å"The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.† The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294 Smith, Ian. "When we were capital, or lessons in language: Finding Caliban's roots." Shakespeare Studies 28 (2000): 252-256 Tomlinson, Gary. "The matter of sounds." Shakespeare Studies 28(2000):236-239

Health and social unit Essay

Outcome 1 – understand the importance of equality and inclusion 1.1 Diversity- Diversity literally means difference. Diversity recognises that though people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising and valuing those differences. Diversity therefore consists of visible and non-visible factors, which include personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality and work-style in addition to the characteristics that are protected under discrimination legislation in terms of race, disability, gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. Equality- Equality means treating people in a way that is appropriate for their needs. For example, if someone with a disability wanted to board the plane and was in a wheelchair, it would be no good saying to them, â€Å"you have to take the stairs like everybody else†. What is needed is a way of getting on the plane that will suit everybody’s needs without showing them up and treating them in a way that is worse than other people. Inclusion- Inclusion is about equal opportunities for all pupils, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment and background. It pays particular attention to the provision made for, and the achievement of, different groups of pupils within a school. Discrimination- Giving preference over one kind of people over another because of race, color, creed, national origin, disability, sexual preference, age, maritial status, looks, etc. 1.2 In a work place discriminatin can diliberatly occur, I.E for example if you celebrate christmas and make everyone get involved with secret santa or christmas gifts but not everyone may not celebrate christmas some may have differant religions and beliefs,this is why you should see things with an  open mind and not discriminate anyone just because of your own beliefs. 1.3 By supporting a person’s equality you are treating them as equal and including them in all activities, you will be reducing the likelihood of discrimination Outcome 2 2.1 Equality Act Humans Rights Act GSCC = The General Social Care Council.

Analysis of Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by author James Baldwin tells the tale of two brothers; one good and one evil. The narrator paints the two brothers as â€Å"light† and â€Å"dark†. The author James Baldwin writes about his relationship with his brother Sonny whom was the â€Å"dark† brother. In essence, this story is about the struggle of two black brothers growing up in Harlem. This essay incorporates the struggles that Black men and women go through on a daily basis. Though both brothers were from the ghetto, the narrator seems to have assimilated into the larger society/culture; he was a school teacher doing generally well in what we call life. Sonny on the other hand turned to drugs (heroin) to escape from the pain and suffering he endured growing up a black man in the 1950’s. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† also tells the reader about how art and music was a huge part of Black people’s lives in Harlem. Many looked towards music for an escape; Sonny turned towards Jazz to release his pain and anguish. This story does have a Biblical theme behind it. Like the story of light and darkness in the Bible, Baldwin uses these phrases to reference the life or the characters. One critic agrees with this Biblical interpretation; author James Tackach actually wrote a criticism called â€Å"the biblical foundation of James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Tackach’s interpretation was based on Baldwin’s real life. He expressed that Baldwin was born in the Church and therefore knew the Bible intimately. Tackach fells as though Baldwin uses his vast knowledge of Biblical stories to help tell the tale of Sonny and his brother. In Tackachs critical analysis of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, he writes that no other critical analysis has identified the two main biblical texts that form the foundation of Baldwin’s story; the Cain and Abel story and the story of the Prodigal Son. In accordance with Tackachs criticism, I believe that that story did have a Biblical undertone like the two stories listed above. Both stories, Cain and Abel and The Prodigal Son, have the same plot as â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. All of these stories are brothers fighting with one another and each brother in all of three stories has the â€Å"good† and the â€Å"bad† qualities about them. Like previously stated, Sonny was the good brother; so were the Prodigal son and Cain. Tackach also talked about the â€Å"cup of trembling† which was a Biblical term that symbolizes sinners that were now redeemed. When the narrator sends Sonny a drink at the end of the story, he claims that it is like the â€Å"cup of trembling†. This is another term taken from the Bible to symbolize the relationship between the two brothers. Tackach seems to use biographical and historical criticism when breaking down the story of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. Like Tackachs, Michael Clark’s criticism ‘Light and Darkness in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ also uses the â€Å"light† and â€Å"darkness† to describe the story. The â€Å"light† being the ‘good’ and the â€Å"dark† being the ‘bad’ qualities. Unlike Tackachs, Clark uses these terms to refer to the emotions felt by Sonny when he was on drugs, thinking about his life or when playing his piano; his jazz music. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, the narrator writes â€Å"I feel like a man who’s been trying to climb up out of some deep, real deep and funky hole and just saw the sun up there, outside. I got to get outside. † Clark uses the â€Å"funky hole† to describe the darkness and â€Å"the sun† to describe the light. To Clark, the whole story is about how Sonny feels and how his music portrays his emotions, his despair and finally his joy. I agree with Clark, It seems as though Sonny is always in pain or joyous. There seems to be no in between with him. Most of the time, Sonny is depressed or melancholy. He only finds real happiness in the last few sentences of the story. Sonny only expressed his joy when he is clean and playing his beloved piano. This did occur in the beginning of the story too, when Sonny moved into Isabelle’s house. Isabelle had a piano inside and Sonny seemed very happy to know this. Sonny played jazz music all the time until Isabelle and her family received a note saying that Sonny was missing school. After Sonny was scolded, he stopped playing the piano and began his journey through the darkness. He continued this until the end of the story when he finally kicked his habit. The â€Å"light† and the â€Å"darkness† analogy Clark used were perfect for this story because it captured the struggles Sonny went through, throughout the short story.

Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essays

Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essays Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essay Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essay 1. 0Introduction: Mulley ( 2008 ) defines planetary administration as government-like activities in the international system . Over the past eight decennaries. it has been possible to witness the growing and development of the assorted establishments and administrations that compose modern planetary administration. From the creative activity of the United Nations to the constitution of the European Union. planetary administration has had a major influence on political relations and on our mundane lives. The intent of this essay is to analyze the different facets of planetary administration and effort to critically measure statements for and against its being. Therefore. this essay begins with the instance against planetary administration by oppugning the function of planetary establishments consistently concentrating on some of the major failures of the international system. such as the managing of the universe fiscal crisis of 2008. It so moves on to measure whether the current international community is able to confront challenges such as growth of planetary inequality and planetary warming ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . Subsequently. the successes of the assorted organic structures of planetary administration such as the United Nations Social and Economic council and its Millennium development ends and the benefits of the Single European market will be discussed. Furthermore. the essay will analyze some current tendencies. such as the planetary heating understanding reached late in Cancun Mexico. which give cause for cautious optimism ( Mulley. 2008 ) . Ultimately. this essay constructs a balanced analysis of the positive and negative statements on planetary administration and will finally measure whether the statements proposed reach a coherent and plausible decision 2. 0 Arguments against: After sketching the construction of this paper. this essay will get down by measuring the statements against planetary administration. First. it will analyze the authoritative statement of the administration quandary. Boyer et Al. ( 2007 ) describes the administration quandary as the increasing demand of more and more states for international administrations to turn to jobs on a planetary scale†¦ . yet when these establishments undermine province sovereignty the states become less and less willing to back up them . This position appropriately represents the construct of the administration quandary because as Boyer et Al ( 2007 ) later states The appropriate function of planetary establishments in affairs that cross province sovereignty is a affair of high profile and controversy . To back up this statement it is necessary to look back on the behavior of antique U. S President George Bush during the preliminary to the war in Iraq. Initially. he stated that Although I would wish the United Nations Security Council to approve military intercession in Iraq. I do non experience it is necessary ( Boyer et al. 2007 ) . However. he concluded that the U. S will move one-sidedly. I am confident the American people will understand that when it comes to our security if we need to move we will move. We truly do non necessitate the United Nations’ blessing to make it . ( Boyer et al 2007 ) . It is clear that planetary administration can non work without the support of the states and of their peoples and that at the same clip a turning figure of the policy challenges confronting provinces in the modern-day planetary system are multinational in character and therefore demand many-sided solutions for effectual resolution ( Mearshimer. 1995 ) . State provinces need to happen a balance in the mutuality between national and supranational otherwise planetary administration will stay uneffective. As writer David Held ( 2006 ) proposes: The paradox of our times refers to the fact that the corporate issues we must cope with are of turning cross-border extensity and strength but the agencies for turn toing these are state-based. weak and uncomplete. Second. the essay will look back at the events of the universe fiscal crisis of 2008 and why planetary administration has failed to cover with it in an effectual manner. It is a fact that policy devising in the wake of the fiscal crisis was nationally based instead than cover with at an international degree. In add-on it could be argued that non merely responses to assist states unable to cover with the crisis were weak and non-committal but besides that international establishments themselves were a major subscriber to the crisis by supplying narrow policy advice ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . The Commission of Experts set up by the President of the United Nations agreed with the latter point in chapter 4 of their study: The response of international fiscal establishments to the planetary fiscal crisis has demonstrated the urgency to reexamine the adequateness of their mandates ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . International administrations did non acknowledge the failing of the planetary economic system but they besides promoted policies that prevented national governments from protecting their citizens from economic instability. It can be argued that from the point of position of poorer states the result of the fiscal crisis is merely a contemplation of the go oning failure of planetary administration. In fact the UN estimated that up to a 103 million more people would fall into poorness because of the crisis and worse of all the IMF estimated that the cost to African economic systems from the crisis was around $ 250 billion ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . This statement one time once more proposes the job that the members of current planetary establishments continue to trust on the Westphalia premise that the state is the 1 that acts and makes decisions ( Jayadev 2010 ) . Furthermore. the paper moves onto the more delicate topic of the failure of most international administrations in efficaciously deciding planetary and non planetary struggle. The flooring instance of Rwanda is likely one of the clearest illustrations of moral inadequacy of modern-day planetary governance ( Murphy. 2000 ) . From April to July 1994 between 500. 000 and 800. 000 people including ? of the Tutsi population were slaughtered. The events happened despite a widely sanctioned UN Genocide Convention and ample warning provided to the UN secretariat and the Security Council by its ain officers in the field ( Murphy. 2000 ) . The effects of the race murder were dramatic. Writer Peter Uvin ( 1998 ) writes: The Tutsi military authorities seized power to halt the race murder and accordingly moved on to trip a cascade of wars across cardinal Africa . The whole International community was blamed and put to dishonor. By analysing the grounds why the international community was set up. most of import one being to avoid international struggle. it could be argued that the failure to efficaciously step in in a struggle is the biggest and most of import failure of planetary administration. Finally. the literature reasoning the instance against planetary administration brings up another defect of modern international administrations. more specifically mentioning to the demand of a reform in the UN construction. It is possible to detect that at the minute the United Nations Security Council mostly reflects the state of affairs of 1945. China. France. Russia. United Kingdom and the United States of America have been the lasting members for decennaries. The last decennary brought major alterations in the planetary political economic system ; there has been a greater economic end product from states such as India and Brazil and yet Belgium still holds more quotas than Brazil. 2. 12 % against 1. 41 % . at the International Monetary Fund ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . The economic and political scene is clearly changing and so should the assorted organic structures that make up planetary administration.

De las casas

De las casas In the late fifteenth century, 1492, the Americas were discovered. What was to be a year later, the first "so-called" Christians settled on a plentiful island called Hispaniola. The Spaniards, as they were called, then systematically proceeded to slaughter the native people of "New Spain" and also devastate and depopulate the land.Following the discovery of the Americas, the Spaniards began to journey to the new land on the pretence of spreading the word of God. However, they intentionally failed to accomplish this task. The motivations of these barbaric men were not divinely inspired; on the contrary, their grounds were purely egoistic. The Spaniards began their carnage on, compared to what was to come, a light note. They took native "women and children both as servants and to satisfy their own base appetites." (Las Casas, Pg.14) Later they recognised that gold was in abundance and opted to massacre the native tribes in order to get it.English: ImageThe Spaniards began to slowly ann ihilate the Indies with many sorts of torturous tactics. During this horrific process they also chose to enslave substantial amounts of natives. One could argue that the Spaniards viewed the Indians as an inferior race that was placed on earth to serve the superior race: the Europeans. This can be argued effectively because the Christians had no regard whatsoever for the Native's humanity. The Spaniards literally treated dogs with more dignity than they did with the Indians.The "Defender and Apostle to the Indians" (xiii), Bartolome de Las Casas, did not represent the same views as the Spaniards. "Las Casas's entire life was dedicated to demonstrating the truth of [the atrocities], first to his king, then to the royal administration- the Council of the Indies- and then to the world at large." (xvii) Las Casas believed...

Laurels and What One Does With Them

Laurels and What One Does With Them Laurels and What One Does With Them Laurels and What One Does With Them By Maeve Maddox I heard a newscastersports I thinksay that someone was waiting on the laurels of someone. Sometimes I feel like an ancient Roman watching Latin turn into French. What did the newscaster mean? He had a vague recollection of having heard something about laurels and an -ing verb. The expression he was reaching for is resting on ones laurels. To rest upon ones laurels is to expend less effort, to give up striving for new victories, to rely on past success to cover up current failures. In classical times, winners of athletic contests and poetry slams were crowned with laurel wreaths because the laurel wreath was an attribute of the god Apollo, deity of music, poetry, and the arts. NOTE: art didnt mean the same to the ancients as it does in modern usage. For the Greeks, athletics belonged to the category of art. To the major arts, according to Cicero, belonged political and military arts; to the second class belonged purely intellectual arts, i.e., sciences, but also poetry and eloquence; to the third class belonged painting, sculpture, music, acting, athletics. Dictionary of the History of Ideas From this custom of crowning the best poets with a laurel wreath comes the term poet laureate, an official versifier appointed by a government to write poems for special occasions. Roman custom extended the use of the laurel wreath to crown victorious generals. During the Roman Republic, the second highest military honor was the Civic Crown, a wreath made of oak leaves. It was awarded to a Roman who had saved the life of fellow citizens by slaying an enemy on a spot not further held by the enemy that same day. Wikipedia The highest military honor was the Grass Crown, awarded to a general who broke a blockade around a threatened legion or army, saving it from annihilation. This one wasnt awarded too often. The association of oak leaves with military achievement survives to modern times. Certain miltary decorations make use of oakleaf clusters. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?35 Genres and Other Varieties of FictionHow to Write a Proposal

UK Employers and Human Resource Management Essay

UK Employers and Human Resource Management - Essay Example According to the discussion  manpower cannot be totally replaced by machines. Despite the technological advances, the globalization swamping businesses worldwide has necessitated an ever more strategic approach to human resource management. Therefore, it is important that managers are able to decipher trends that may impact their companies. Still, it is also equally important to note that in manpower management, the people are a very crucial consideration as this plays out strongly in the company’s image. Empowerment has been very crucial to enhancing the productivity of these workers. However, to empower workers means that there must be a certain degree of participation on the part of these employees.From this paper it is clear that  the respective unions of employees have been very crucial in helping the labourers of a company to voice out their concerns. However, through the last three decades, there has been a weakening of these social structures which has enabled UK e mployers to have a firmer grasp on their employees to the detriment of their Labour force. The gradual weakening of the system has significantly weakened the once formidable unions of the country paving the way for companies to further flex their influences over their employees. This weakening eventually resulted in a gradual shift of human resources strategies to favour a more unitarist approach to human resource management.... Howell (2005) laments about the weakening and eventual demise of the once mighty Labour movement which bannered a significant victory for politicians against the various unions in the state. It seems that there has been a potent combination of various judicial and legislative actions as well as various forms of administrative measures coupled with various crises to forge a new way of relating to the Labour force. The gradual weakening of the system has significantly weakened the once formidable unions of the country paving the way for companies to further flex their influences over their employees. This weakening eventually resulted in a gradual shift of human resources strategies to favour a more unitarist approach to human resource management. Indeed, according to Howell (2005) the state has played a very pivotal role in this development. As mentioned. The various legislations and even the crisis of 1979 have been instrumental in the decade’s long transformation of the emplo yment conditions of the UK. Slowly but surely, the balance of power gradually tilted sharply towards the employers. As the hold of the employers strengthened, they are able to impose additional regulations and procedures with little or even no dialogues with their employees. Bennet (1997) stresses that this can be detrimental to the firm as it is tantamount to forcing the will of the organization to the employees. In so doing, important suggestions and signals may be lost wherein the employees are just made to follow the orders of the company. Unfortunately, these tend to be detrimental since they are able to foster resentments rather than conflict resolutions when the employees are by passed by these procedures.

Islamic Art and Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Islamic Art and Architecture - Essay Example Under caliphs 'Abd al-Malik, al-Wahid I and al-Wahid II, the sense of dynastic pride indulged through a heady consciousness of family power found its most public expression in ambitious building campaigns Between 690 and 750, architecture became a family business backed by the immense financial resources of the Islamic state swollen by the accumulated booty of the Arab conquests and by the taxation revenue which came pouring in at the disposal of the Umayyad builders. "There was both the will and the means to embark on grandiose building projects." Undue parochialism was avoided although there was the exclusivity of the massive building programme of the Umayyads in Syria: most favoured land in the Islamic empire, Damascus its principal city is the capital of the empire, agricultural installations, abundant wealth. Importing craftsmen and materials from the Byzantium to Aphrodito in Upper Egypt documents an Islamic corve system One governor provided money to cover living expenses of men to work on the Damascus mosque Stucco sculpture of Persian type, Iraqi techniques of vault construction, mouldings from south-eastern Anatolia, figural style in Coptic sculpture evidence style and building practice of Syria. Position of Syria draw inspiration from the major cultures yoked together to bring Graeco-Roman, Egypt, North Africa, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. "The fact that those same Umayyads were not a family of local Syrian notables but the representatives of the greatest empire in the contemporary world gave their art a mission of the utmost seriousness." Forms and ideas of classical art were much better understood in Syria that entered the bloodstream of Islamic art resulting to familiar Western column... Undue parochialism was avoided although there was the exclusivity of the massive building programme of the Umayyads in Syria: most favoured land in the Islamic empire, Damascus its principal city is the capital of the empire, agricultural installations, abundant wealth. "The fact that those same Umayyads were not a family of local Syrian notables but the representatives of the greatest empire in the contemporary world gave their art a mission of the utmost seriousness." The helicoidal tower of the Ibn Tulun mosque in Cairo composed of a central cylinder around which twists an external stircase which Hillenbrand suggested to have originated from Zoroastrian Persia towers of the more ancient Mesopotamian ziggurat Abbasid art is much understood through Samarra as new way of carving surfaces called bevelled style and repetition of abstract geometric or pseudo-vegetal forms called arabesque were used as wall decoration Jawhar the Sicilian, commander of the Fatimid troops sent by the Fatimid Caliph Almuiz to conquer Egypt, founded Cairo in 358 AH / 969 SD and built Al-Azhar mosque, now including the Al-Azhar University It is characterised by major technical

Queer Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Queer Theory - Essay Example In fact, it is not only the physical manifestation of gay spaces that impacts the overall makeup of an urban location, but more importantly, the people and their culture which leaves the indelible mark on in the cityscapes of leading countries. This paper is important because it seeks to identify and understand the factors and forces which contributed to the formation and establishment of gay urban spaces. This paper is important because it takes into consideration the historical experience of gays and the gay community, and the social transformations which influenced the growth of gay urban areas. This paper intends to identify the social and economic reasons which contributed to the existence of gay urban spaces. It aims to identify the factors which led gay individuals to organize themselves and create distinctive territories. The paper will also identify the criteria by which gays and lesbians choose locations where they establish gay spaces. The paper also explores gay space itself, its definition, its elements, its relationship to the larger urban area, the reasons why they are mostly located in urban instead of rural regions, and the urban elements which make gay spaces thrive. Gays and lesbians have always been treated badly by most communities. They have been ostracized by family and friends, and even persecuted by the communities where they live. The hostilities they experienced often lead them to take on low profile lifestyles. They hope that this would not attract attention, that they would be left alone and thus prevent hostile behavior towards from happening. In Asia, gays and lesbians who community experience hostility turn to the gay scene for help. These serve as support groups which help gay individuals come out. They also provide environments in which specific problems of sectors within the gay community are addressed. Being gay

How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among Dissertation

How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among type 2 diabetics - Dissertation Example How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among type 2 diabetics: a Literature Review Douglas M Vergne Dissertation submitted as part of the requirements for the award of MSc Advanced Practice University of Dundee, June, 2013. ... M Vergne 070017010, am declaring that I am the sole author of this dissertation; that the work has not previously been accepted as part of any other degree submission; that all references cited have been consulted; that I have conducted all the work of which this is a record, and that the finished work contains (21844) words with allowable exclusions. Date: 1-13-2012 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Scoring System for Study Validity p. 21 Table 2: Results of the Review p. 57 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family for giving me the support needed to see me through this challenge. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my mentors here at school, for their patience guidance, confidence and encouragement. I hope this will make you proud. Of course, I will never forget my friends, for being with me through thick and thin, through happiness and sadness, and to achievements and trials. PERMISSION TO COPY The School of Nursing & Midwifery keeps electronic copies of all Masters Dissertations. An impor tant reason for this is that the University library no longer stores hard bound copies of Masters Dissertations. This means that they are no longer available in the public domain for future students should they wish to access them. We would wish to make the Dissertations of Masters Graduates available to future students by placing a range of examples from previous students on My Dundee. We may elect to use your Dissertation as one of the examples. Note that your name will be removed from the dissertation should we choose to use it, so you will not be identifiable. However, you do not have to agree to this if you do not wish to, without giving a reason and without any negative consequence. It is for this reason that we are inviting you to choose one of the two following options. OPTION A: By

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto - Essay Example However, the film by Gibson does not indicate any critical relevance to the current world as the film deals too much with violence and blood, forgetting to pay attention to other details among the Maya people, which shaped their current cultural and social dynamics, though violence is part of today’s social setting. Ardren (2006) explains that though the Maya practiced violence and brutality against their fellow community, and practiced child sacrifices in this classical period, the Maya people are also well known for achievements that range from arts, sciences deeply tooted spirituality that had connection with agricultural cycles, and the profound engineering design of the Mayan cities. However the Apocalypto shuns these achievements aside and concentrates on portraying the Maya people as grossly brutal people, with savage nature to one another until the Europeans arrived in their territory, supposedly to rescue them from these barbaric rituals and violence. The arrival of t he missionaries particularly towards the end of the film and the calm experienced in Maya directly suggests the Mayan people indeed needed rescue by the Europeans from their savage nature, towards a more enlightened community. Ardren argues that the same idea was used to subjugate the Mayan people for more than 500 years, but it has received vehement opposition from the Mayan community and intellectuals today. There is proof that such ideas of portraying the Mayan pole as Savage and brutal, and in need of salvation from their own self was used in justifying the civil war between the 1970s and 1990s, through manipulation from the Guatemalan army (Ardren, 2006). Therefore, the film is grossly one sided, and presents an offensive biased perception of the Mayan people. The rituals suggested in the film have no relevance to the society today. In the film, the priests placed their victims on pyramid tops, stretch them over a stone alter, strike on the chest with an obsidian knife, and tor e the still beating heart, lifting it up to the sun (Sweedler, 2007). Though there are evidence of past human rituals among the ancient Mayan communities, Gibson in the film is keen to approach the sacrificial practices of the pre-Columbia Mexico to their own interests, than offering a concise historical account of the past rituals in the Mayan community (Sweedler, 2007). The understanding of sacrifice in the Mayan community is far removed from the rituals portrayed in Apocalypto where the captives are treated like cattle being led to a slaughter than captor’s flesh and blood. The disregard portrayed against the captives in Apocalypto is characteristic of Goibson’s films, where he portrays both cruelty and brutality. This is portrayed through the portrayal of mean looking hunters that suggest pure evil. However, to a lesser extent Gibson’s film has some cultural and social relevance despite the gross violence that runs through the film. The long chase of Jaguar towards the end comes to terminates when he is suddenly saved by the arrival of Christopher Columbus and his fellow explorers, whose presence significantly affect the bewildered Holcane worriers (Sweedler, 2007). The Arrival of Columbus at the shores of Yucatan in 1502, in the year of his fourth expedition marked a direct contact between the indigenous people in American, the

How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among Dissertation

How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among type 2 diabetics - Dissertation Example How do diabetes management teams increase patient concordance among type 2 diabetics: a Literature Review Douglas M Vergne Dissertation submitted as part of the requirements for the award of MSc Advanced Practice University of Dundee, June, 2013. ... M Vergne 070017010, am declaring that I am the sole author of this dissertation; that the work has not previously been accepted as part of any other degree submission; that all references cited have been consulted; that I have conducted all the work of which this is a record, and that the finished work contains (21844) words with allowable exclusions. Date: 1-13-2012 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Scoring System for Study Validity p. 21 Table 2: Results of the Review p. 57 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family for giving me the support needed to see me through this challenge. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my mentors here at school, for their patience guidance, confidence and encouragement. I hope this will make you proud. Of course, I will never forget my friends, for being with me through thick and thin, through happiness and sadness, and to achievements and trials. PERMISSION TO COPY The School of Nursing & Midwifery keeps electronic copies of all Masters Dissertations. An impor tant reason for this is that the University library no longer stores hard bound copies of Masters Dissertations. This means that they are no longer available in the public domain for future students should they wish to access them. We would wish to make the Dissertations of Masters Graduates available to future students by placing a range of examples from previous students on My Dundee. We may elect to use your Dissertation as one of the examples. Note that your name will be removed from the dissertation should we choose to use it, so you will not be identifiable. However, you do not have to agree to this if you do not wish to, without giving a reason and without any negative consequence. It is for this reason that we are inviting you to choose one of the two following options. OPTION A: By

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Questions - Essay Example This is especially useful in approach to new products because it involves seizing new opportunities after consideration of the company strengths. An evaluation seeks to check whether the implemented projects were effectively realized as per the original strategic visions. Overall objectives of a company can never be met in solitude. It takes shared resources as well as commitment. Experts from various departments and even outside companies and consultancy groups come together to manage the decisions that are sound to operations of the company. With their diverse backgrounds, they are able to make decisions valuable to a company visions. An organization may seek market leadership through a collection of methods such as low cost products of superior quality and great innovation. However, projects are the most outward methods that the organization can use to measure achievability of the objectives. A company may be efficient internally as well as externally and this can be seen from the way objectives are effectively met. Comprehensive scope analysis is very important planning technique. This is because it specifies the contents of the work as well as the outcomes of the project. Scope analysis helps put in mind the amount of resources required and the level and amount of activities required completing a project. A comprehensive scope analysis takes into account several steps to be put to mind to make sure that the success is guaranteed. At this stage, a conceptual development is put into account to make sure that the best methods of achieving the goals of the project are the ones that are primarily used. Scope analysis also has a scope statement which seeks to put a limit to the development level of the project that is required. With consideration of six important steps, with each step serving a specific purpose, the benefits of scope analysis

Marketing and Customers Essay Example for Free

Marketing and Customers Essay Right now, HubSpot is serving different customers with different requirements. This causes their engineering and sales staff to be stretched thin. They are falling behind on product releases and their sales staff is converting only 4% (exhibit 10) of the potential market into customers. To increase efficiency, HubSpot should narrow their target market. If they target the most profitable segment of customers, then they can acquire more of those profitable customers and increase overall profit. The attached exhibit breaks down the LTV value for different customer segments based on their churn and revenue generation. Across all the segments, small B2B businesses have lowest churn rate of 1. 4% and hence highest LTV of $17357. As shown in exhibit, total number of potential customers in small B2B business 12126. This would allow Hubspot to grow 12 times their current size. Hence, HubSpot should target this segment as their priority. They could even convert more than 12126 customers out of total market if their sales team is totally targeted at this segment. The next most profitable target segment, as evident for attached exhibit, is Marketer Marys. Within Marketer Marys, Hubspot should target B2B customers. This is because, B2B have lower churn rates compared to B2C customers. Also, Hubspot is already geared towards serving B2B customers. Company (HubSpot) The core competency for company is their philosophy of inbound marketing. They build and market their software using this philosophy. So they should not tinker with this philosophy and should stick to inbound marketing. Another point to note from the exhibit 10 is that the biggest customer churn happens between 12th and 18th month. To address this phenomenon, they could offer discounts to customers after 12th month. Also, the customers who have switched to CMS have lower churn rate compared to customers who have not switched. So in order to increase customer retention, they could consider offering free CMS to all customers and possibly discounts to customers who adopt CMS. They would still be profitable after discounts as they seem to ave very low marginal costs. Competitor HubSpot also have relative advantages over their nearest customer Eloqua. HubSpot offers software-as-a-service compared to the large upfront fee of Eloqua. This leads to low switching cost for customer and hence easier penetration for HubSpot. They also have ease of use over Eloqua. But they do need to upgrade their software for more sophisticated users. This would be more required when they start going after Marketer Marys B2B business.

AVON Products Case Study

AVON Products Case Study Should Top Management at AVON explicitly shape and change the culture of its organisation? Should Kroft, Woodbury, Jung or Gold has hopes of Succeeding Perrin, what should they do to develop their competencies and managerial leadership further so that the AVON board would look at them, and conclude that they have been there, and they have done that? Identify the problems and issues at AVON, and suggest ideas how the company could gain the competitive advantage in the global trade. Date of Submission : 02/10/2010 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Answer to Question 1: 1 Answer to Question 2: 5 Answer to Question 3: 7 REFERENCES: 9 CITATIONS: 9 Answer to Question 1: Yes, the AVON top management should explicitly continue to shape and change the culture within the organization. Based on our study, we found some issues faced by AVON Company as the following: AVON Managers are lack of sensitivity and slow response to the external environment change. In example: AVON managers were slow to realize that the influx of women in to corporate America had important consequences for home-based cosmetic sales. Resulted profitability slumped in 1980s. Poor financial performance at AVON has signalled the company for a need to become more responsive to a changing consumer market. Some unnecessary internal activities such like company session tickets for the Knicks and Yankees in the pass has also factored unnecessary cost to company. Those activities were scrapped later. As stated in the case study. Multiculturalism is the main challenge to the company as vital element in meeting customer demand and gaining competitive advantage. Those issues had badly contributed to AVON corporate culture and created impact for company performance in the pass. Definition of Corporate culture: So what is the definition of Corporate Culture? The definitions for corporate culture are numerous and are being refined and added to every day. The general academic view is that it is the shared, beliefs, assumptions, values, rules and norms the members of a collective such as a corporation or department hold. While this is perfectly acceptable we prefer to take the view expressed by Marvin Bower of McKinsey who said corporate culture is the way we do things around here. There are more sophisticated and certainly convoluted definitions for corporate culture but it is succinct and provides a good starting point for those who are new to corporate culture. Source: Corporate Culture, nd. Dudley Consulting, Inc. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Its difficult to change AVONs culture, the way we do things around here does not practice a positive corporate culture this is due to wrong believes, value and rules applied to the company culture. They dont lead by good examples and good leadership. But AVON has done it and turns those wrong doing to a positive culture started 1990s, as following: AVON start creates leadership campaigns such as sending middle managers for leadership development training. The entire management team participated in awareness training by leading diversity consultants. Management launch multicultural planning research project to evaluated company policies and practices regarding promotion. Indentify potential barriers to the advancement of women and minorities. Set up a task force across corporate head quarters multiple profit centres with more than 100 employees. Company has developed goals. To continue built a positive corporate culture, AVON shall consider below suggestions which is not practice from above example that AVON have done : Stories. A group packages up its culture into stories which are frequently told and re-told, and which typify the values of the group eg the time we all stayed late on Xmas Eve to get the last orders finished and then has an impromptu party at the local. Heroes. Individuals who typify to an extreme the values of the group. Symbols. These may be staff mottoes, the corporate mission statement or anything that symbolises the core values. Rites. These are specific occasions, such as the annual office party, when the core values are publicly displayed. Formal award ceremonies are another example. These are especially important for enculturing new staff. Rituals. This means a standard pattern of behaviour at a specific occasion, such as the office party if things are always done in a particular pattern. Courses. Attending in-house courses is an important way of team-building and communicating the core values. Cultural Networks. This means the informal contacts between employees where they reinforce core values, especially by passing them from older to younger group members. Source: organisation building a positive corporate culture, nd. tutor2u. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] With above ideas to shape the company culture, AVON is likely achieve the following advantages of Strong Corporate Culture A common interpretation of the Instruction, so work is done to a similar standard and in a similar manner. Increase employee loyalty, and avoid expenses of employee turnover. Increase productivity of the company. Increase the Management control. Answer to Question 2: Before we jump to the point for discussing who shall be taking over AVON dealership there are something more vital to discuss first. Definition of Leadership : Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982) A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. Source: Leadership, Susan Ward, About.com Guide. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago, 1982). However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait Leadership (Jago, 1982) Leadership is simply showed by good example, lead people to right things and do things right. A good leadership can groom another good leader. However, AVON does not groom any successful leader by any mentor. It caused AVON suffered many years. Until the company decided to source another leader who is experienced as chief executive in another global company. It had shown that company direction is to hire another guru to be the mentor and lead existing executive which hope to groom them in future. Definition of competencies: A competency is a skill, ability, or knowledge set that can be taught or developed. All competencies have indicators that allow them to be observed and measured. A leadership competency model is a group of competencies linked to leadership excellence in a specific organization. A leadership competency model supports the organizations vision and strategy by providing a framework by which the organization can select, develop, and evaluate leaders. Source: Joaquin Roca, 2009. What Is a Leadership Competency and How Do I Create a Competency Model? [Online] Place: USA/ Human resources and labour relations community. Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] A successful company should have a good leader with good leadership and competencies. In AVON, one of the main issues that that are facing is most of them are not processing comprehensive leadership and appropriate core competencies. A core competency is fundamental knowledge, ability, or expertise in a specific subject area or skill set. Source: Rafael Gutierrez, 2003. Core Competency. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Base on the AVON case study, should Susan Kropf to be the next leader of AVON, she not only needs to process a good operation and global marketing core competency skill which she already has. But also develop the following core competencies: Financial and Administrative skill which Edwina Woodbury has. To able to sustain company financial health growth. Crisis management and cost cutting skill from Christina Gold. Answer to Question 3: The main issue of AVON is due the lack of competitive advantage in global trade. Should AVON, like to gain a better business position, they should focus on building up the Completive Advantage in the globalisation era. Definition of Global Trade: Also refer to Globalisation. As economies become more connected to other economies, they have increased opportunity but also increased competition. Source: globalization, nd. Investorwords. [online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Globalisation describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. Source: Bhagwati, Jagdish (2004). In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Definition of Competitive Advantage: The Competitive Advantage is the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45) In VAON, they do not gain a Cost Advantage simply because their internal cost is high, unnecessary expenses such like New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic session ticket. They also not leverage the advantage of internet technology and still relay on Door-to-Door selling approach. They also do not seem to have differentiation advantage within the company. AVON should consider taking below steps to gain Competitive Advantage in the Global Trade: Cost leadership Is there any way to make cost advantage among all the competitors in this borderless era? They can move the production line move to a country to provide lower cost of production. Or leverage Technology advantage such like internet to cut the advertisement cost or agent cost? Like Dell has been very successful on its direct model to outreach consumers using the internet order system. Differentiation How to make AVON product unique from other product? AVON can consider using product development strategy to improve product packaging to maintain the market awareness. Focus AVON should avoid participate in all product range. And focus on niche product that they are good with. And become the leader of that particular area/product.

Repression in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper: Repression "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Gilman is sad story of the repression that women face in the days of late 1800's as well as being representative of the turmoils that women face today. Gilman writes "The Yellow Wallpaper" from her own personal experiences of having to face the overwhelming fact that this is a male dominated society and sometimes women suffer because of it. The narrator, being female, is suffering from a "temporary depression". She states right from the beginning that "John is a physician, and perhaps--(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)-- perhaps that is the one reason I do not get well faster." The narrator sets up the story to convey a certain opinion of the repercussions a woman faces in the care of a man. She obviously loves her husband and trusts him but has some underlying feeling that maybe his prescription of total bed rest is not working for her. The story mentions that she has an older brother who is also a physician and concurs with her husbands theory, thus leaving her no choice but to subject herself to this torment of being totally alone in this room with the yellow wallpaper. She stares at this wallpaper for hours on end and thinks she sees a woman behind the paper. "I didn't realize for a long time what the thing was that showed behind, that dim sub-pattern, but now I am quite sure it is a woman." She becomes obsessed with discovering what is behind that pattern and what it is doing. "I don't want to leave now until I have found it out". The narrator with absolutely nothing else to do is reduced to staring ... ... indeed imprison the woman because you have no way of knowing what has happened before or what is to come. We imprison her more because we make judgments of a thirty second clip that could possibly affect our bias for the movie or the story itself before we have a chance as an individual to read the story or watch the movie. As a female in 1995 reading this story, I had this overwhelming desire to free this narrator from her husband and the rest of the males in her life. She wanted company, activity and stimulation. Which any woman of that time or this time should be freely allowed to have. Gilman did an outstanding job of illustrating the position that women of that time, and to an extent, of this time as well, hold in their society. This story should hold a place in every woman's heart who is struggling to find her place.

How Islam responds to issues about Equality Essay

Introduction Throughout this project, the intention of the information is to answer the question: How does the religion of Islam respond to issues on equality? All through this Booklet, I have kept in mind to focus on the ideas of Islamic equality and what this means to a Muslim, in the Islamic definition. In Islam a definition of equality means evenness, uniformity, impartiality, parity etc. Therefore, if applied to Islam in liaison to the now modern everyday life this would involve issues such as * Racism * Sexism * Forgiveness * Religious attitude Which are the subjects I will be talking about and looking over at the Islamic perspective on these topics of concern. To portray the view Islam has over these issues I will be using: * The genuine teachings from the word of our God `Allah` himself, doing this through the Qur’an. * Referring to important hadiths (lessons) and quotes from the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) * The message given out today by the most knowledgeable top scholars. These should give a clear message of what, the view on these issues used to be like, how they have progressed and possibly altered over the years, the differences on these matters from today in contrast to when the religion began, and how it is today, right now in Muslim houses and nations across the world. Racism Constantly throughout the world today and especially in the history of humans since the beginning of civilisation. There has a been a power struggle between those trying to gain power and have authority over others whether it is because of their skin colour, lineage, education, origin or physical disabilities. Islam has extinguished the discrimination which subsisted in the land of Arabia, the roots of the religion and the main reason it was created was to give equality among men and women of all races. It punished those who lowered women to the level of slaves and transferable goods. It also punished those who took advantage of their privileges. Being the 1st kind of religion to truly do this won the hearts of nations and the admiration and respect of its enemies. In the Qur’an Allah even shames those who cannot understand the purpose of the variation in skin, colour and language. `And among those His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours; verily in that are Signs for those with sound knowledge` In some societies those who are poor and live a life in poverty are considered lower class, with less intelligence and the worst company. But it is these people who the prophet of Allah was asked to seek for their company. At this the idol worshippers (Quraish) began to make mockery of how the majority of the people following Islam were poor, lower class people. Allah then sends down this verse to the prophet: `And keep yourself (O Mohammed) patiently with those who call their Lord morning and afternoon, seeking his face, and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of life of the world; and obey not him whose heart we have made heedless of our remembrance, one who follows his own lusts nd whose affair (deeds) have been lost` The verse meant that a new society would be built with no racism and equality at its base such as justice and equal opportunity. No one is Islam should ever be judged by his skin, colour or any part of his physical appearance or origin whatsoever. Also no man should be bale to judge another only Allah is the judge. `Allah does not look at your appearance, or wealth, rather he looks at you hearts and deeds. ` Sexism It is disputed by some non-Muslims that in Islam, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the image of women is one of sexism and lower class and it is quite clear that Islam has become very male dominant and women are shown to be inferior and of less-importance. Or possibly as Muslims are allowed to have more than one wife it’s thought they are mis-treated. In fact, this is not how Islam has placed the role of women. In Islam there are very precise guidelines relating to the equality of men and women. They are both looked upon as being equal in soul and in mind and in religious responsibilities. Of course, they are not looked upon as the same but merely different. The importance of the mother has the same importance of the father. Although they play a different role. But one cannot say that one is inferior to the other. As regards the care of children, the mother cares for a child a lot more than the father does and this sort of motherly love is held in the highest regard in Islam. The father is expected to supply the family with care, food and money and can only have more than 1 wife under the condition that he has the wealth to pay for them. The Prophet Mohammed one day was questioned by a follower whom should he treat with more affection, he asked the prophet 4 times one after the other who are the most important. The prophet answered; ` Your mother, ` then `Your mother, ` then `Your mother, ` at the forth time `Your father,` he went onto say `Paradise lies at the feet of your mother.` Such is the treatment and respect given to women in Islam, from my own personal experience when I am in Jordan and I am with my grandmother; everywhere she goes, people call her grandma/mother and treat her with the utmost respect and courtesy. When anyone comes to visit, they immediately enter the room and kiss her hand three times, such is the respect men in Islam have towards women. Violence against women is extremely wrong and is not allowed. A women’s honour is held in high regard and no verbal or physical abuse is permitted at all, to the extend where our prophet said; `Those whom so ever beat their wives, in the eyes of Allah are no Muslim` Any crime against women especially rape etc. is treated very seriously and in the Islamic Shari’ah court the punishment for such a crime is severe. During the month of Ramadan, women are given leave from having to fast, if their menstruation cycle is kicking in, this also applies to their praying. Men whoever always have to fast unless they are ill and are incapable. However women do still have to pray, have to perform Hajj, they must render Zakat; all Muslims must perform these duties; there are no differences between them, and both shall be held accountable by God in the life of the here and after. `Whoever does deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith, they will enter paradise and not the least injustice will be done to them` Attitudes towards other Religions Muslims have a very open view to other religions, and they are the only religion that have kept strict to the instruction of their holy book. Muslims are given a duty to lead other people into their faith, and making people revert (Every human is born Muslim) back to Islam is very important and held in high regard, so much so that in one of the hadiths (lessons from the prophet) he says; `One who changes the faith of another towards Islam and helps him unto the righteous path, will be rewarded in heaven most greatly` Allah also said `Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and the Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, We are Christian`: because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant.` Islam also teaches that all people have the natural instinct to be Muslims- the term for this in Arabic (as mentioned before) is `fitrah`. People may be born into another religion, but this is due to the way they are brought up and the will of Allah, as he tests your strength and willpower (a.k.a as one’s `iman` in Arabic) If someone does convert back to Islam, they are reverting back to the religion into which they were born as. Allah also rewards those who turn back to Islam tremendously. Also to try and avoid any kind of conflict between Islam and those who follower other faiths, Allah did send down a message to Mohammed, clearly showing there is no wilful approach to any other religion for trouble or arguments. `Follow your path, let me follow mine and there shall be no conflict between us` Islam does not bring out clashes with other religions but only wishes for there to be peace. From the above quote it clearly states, the Muslim intention not to have any fight/conflict with those of any other religion. However should any Muslim be attacked by one of another religion they are permitted to fight back and to stand up for themselves as long as they are in the right. Forgiveness/Reconciliation Allah has granted human beings with intelligence, this intelligence demands responsibility. Therefore, the more intelligent a person is the more he/she is responsible. When the intelligence is missing, the responsibility is neither there. This also means that little children are not held responsible for their actions or words, because their intelligence has not developed. The insane are not responsible, because they have lost the rational capacity. However, part of us being Human, is also that we make mistakes, nobody’s perfect. Sometimes we make mistakes without thought and intention. But sometime we knowingly and deliberately commit sins and do wrong to others. It is said that `To err is human and to forgive is divine`. Both parts of this statement are very true. As human beings we are responsible, but we do also make mistakes and we are constantly in need of forgiveness. Two Types of forgiveness: * Forgiveness from Allah * Forgiveness from other people Both are important as we do wrong to both our God and towards other people. Allah’s Forgiveness Allah is the most forgiving, of all. There is a hadith recited by the prophet that talks about the mercy of Allah. `Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then he explained it {by saying that} he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.` There are many names given to Allah in the Qur’an, some of these names are related to His mercy and forgiveness. Here are some of them, with their meanings. Al-Ghafoor: The most forgiving. This name appears in the Qur’an more than seventy times. There are other names from the same root, such as Ghafir and Ghaffar. The meaning of the `ghafara` is to cover, to hide and from it comes the meaning `to excuse`, `to pardon`, `to remit` and `to forgive`. Allah does all these things. In the Qur’an it is mentioned that Allah does not forgive however without `Shirk` repentance but he may forgive every other sin for whomsoever he wills. Al-Thawwab: The Acceptor of repentance. This name of Allah is mentioned in the Qur’an about eleven times. Allah accepts repentance of those who truthfully and whole- heartedly repent and turn to him. The word `thawwab` gives the sense of `often returning` which means that Allah again and again accepts out repentance and forgives us. We commit sins and mistakes then we repent and he forgives us, then we go and commit more sins and repent and accepts our repentance again and gives us another chance. The Qur’an teaches that Allah is a Judge and He also punishes but Allah is not bound to punish. The justice of Allah, according to Qur’an is that Allah does not and will not inflict undue punishment on any person. He will not ignore the good of any person, but if He wishes to forgive any sinner, He has the full freedom to do so, His mercy is unlimited as shown in the hadith above and his love infinite. Human Forgiveness in Islam: It is very important to believe in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah but it is also necessary to base relationships on forgiveness. We cannot expect Allah’s forgiveness unless we also forgive those who do wrong to us. Forgiving each other, even forgiving one’s enemies is one of the most important Islamic teachings. In the Qur’an Allah has described the believers as: `Those who avoid major sins and acts of indecencies are those who when they are angry they forgive. ` `The reward of the evil is the evil thereof, but whosoever forgives and makes amends, his reward is upon Allah. ` Even in another Hadith, the Prophet once said that Allah had commanded him nine things, one of which he mentioned was: `That I forgive those who do wrong to me` The Prophet of Islam was the most known truthful and especially forgiving man. He was always ready to forgive his enemies even the very worse ones. When he went to the town of Ta’if to preach the message of God with his adopted son Mahmood, its people mistreated him, they abused him and hit him with stones. He left the city upset and wounded, then when he took shelter under a tree; the angel of Allah visited him and told him that Allah sent him to destroy the people of Ta’if because of their sin of mistreating the prophet. The prophet [rayed to Allah to save the people of Ta’if, because what they did was out of their ignorance. He said, `Oh Allah, guide these people, because they did no know what they were doing. ` When he entered the city of Mecca after the victory, the Prophet had in front of him some his most terrible, hateful enemies. Those who had fought ruthlessly against him, plotted to kill him for many years, persecuted his followers and killed many of them. Now he had full power to do whatever he wanted, to punish them for their crimes. It is then described that the prophet asked them: `What do you think I shall do to you now? ` They pleaded for mercy The Prophet returned `Today I shall say to you what Prophet Yusuf (Joseph and his 11 brothers) said to his brothers, `No blame on you today. Go, you are all free. ` Such was his immense mercy that they all came to finally realise the greatness of Islam and accept it with their hearts. He even forgave the previous rulers wife Hind who had caused the murder of his uncle Hamza. After killing him she had his body cut open wide and chewed on his lever leaving him to bleed. Despite this atrocious crime, when she accepted Islam and submitted herself to Allah, the prophet still forgave her. Conclusion Overall, all in all in my total truthful opinion, I do believe that Islam the true words from Allah does promote equality among society. `O Mankind! I have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one from another. Verily, the most honourable of you in the sight of Allah is he who has the most taqwa among of you. Verily, Allah is All-knowing, All-Aware. ` With this verse, Islam declares its equality among people, that is because Islam respects a human for being a human not for any other reason; Islam does not distinguish between two races or two groups of people or between two colours and the Prophet Muhammad spoke to the people signifying that concept during his last pilgrimage, saying: `O People! Your God is one; your father is one; no preference of an Arab neither over non-Arab nor of a non-Arab over an Arab or red over black or black over red except for the most righteous. Verily the most honoured of you is the most righteous. ` Despite the teachings of our Lord and Prophet, these are all empty words if people do not listen to them and use them as their guides, and unfortunately when conflict does arise it is not because Muslims are fighting for their freedom in Jihad, No it is an extremely small minority of people who using Islam as a cover, go against the word of Allah and commit crimes. However, the majority of Muslims emphasize the equality in their religion, practically and theoretically. When all are praying whoever comes to the mosque 1st, can sit down in the front row regardless of his financial state or position and whoever comes last takes his place in the last row regardless of his position or importance. If you look along each row, one can see a diversity of people all kneeling down together sitting on the floor, the rich and poor, the knowledgeable and the unknowledgeable. There are no differences among these people as they are all the same in the sight of Allah, their direction during prayer, as well s their holy book, as their Lord is one and also their movements during the prayer follow one imam. Especially in Mecca and Medina, when hajj or umrah is performed, equality there is at its highest, everyone side by side all wearing the same clothes all bowing to the same God, only thing differing among them is the strength of their belief and the good they have done. An example of such was when some of the companions talked to Osama Bin Zaid, the favourite of Prophet Muhammad, to intervene for the sake of the well reputed woman from the Quraish tribe who deserved punishment for stealing (that is having her hand cut) Osama talked to the prophet, the prophet got angry and said: ` Those before you were districted, that is because the renowned is untouched when he steals, and the poor is punished, verily if Fatima (daughter of Muhammed) stole, I would have her hand cut. ` Islam is emphasizing the equality and applying it into the society since 1400 years ago, when during that time mankind used to suffer the worst distinction among people and individuals in culture and prepared the enslaving o humans. This is where the secret to Islam’s great real power, strength and past triumph lie. One is mistaken to think that Islam prevailed only because Muslims like dying in battles as others like to live, no!. Islam did not win through battles only, but because Islam is a complete unique guidance for life, unique in its rituals, beliefs, dealings and ethics and from all in all that is the religion of Allah. Â   Bibliography The holy qur’an the companions of the prophet book2 al-nawawi’s 40 hadiths Religion & equality booklet www.islamonline.net www.islam101.com www.bbc.co.uk/gcse/bitesize www.islamicforums.com

The Theories from the Movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic

Instances with cultural dimension are everywhere. The very normal everyday affairs that relate to cultural field could intricately stand on behalf of, or are shaped by, wider social and cultural forces (Miller, McHoul, 1). For instance, in the movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), fashion as a significant element, including the appearances of projection, consumption and aesthetics, as well as the status of upper class, determines self-identity and expresses one’s personality and discourses. This essay will first briefly introduce the movie, followed by defining and elaborating two theories. Subsequently, two of the movie clips deemed as culture examples, each exemplifying the key notions from two scholars will be analyzed. Ultimately the essay would draw the conclusion with cultural lead ideas. According to the introduction of Metacritic (2009), the movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) mainly describes a girl named Rebecca Bloomwood who is absolutely a shopaholic. In order to achieve the dream of working for her beloved fashion magazine, she snags a job of being an economic columnist for a financial magazine, which is published by the same company. Ironically, she guides people to effectively manage money on the one hand and has loads of debts to pay off on the other hand. She has to make up lies to evade creditor’s tracking. Eventually, the comedy ends with Rebecca turning over a new leaf and celebrating both career and love after harsh introspection and self-reflection. The movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) is occupied by fashion, glamour and shopping. This refers a person with a compulsive desire to shop. This movie lightly involved gender bias and stereotypes with the terms. For instance, women who love buying are called â€Å"shopaholics†. While, occasionally, men are called â€Å"collectors† which have the same situation as women. However, the movie principally illustrates people’s desire for consumption and self-expression through styling and taste, which will be detailed by theories as following. In the movie, the view of simplified consumption is widely and reasonably acknowledged. Shopping, an approach of leisure and consuming time, offers people happiness and enjoyment. Due to the reports and evidences from Carlson (2008), it can be powerfully argued that people consume for the sake of consuming in real life. The Polish sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman (1925- ) illustrates the modern consuming in the theory of â€Å"consuming life†, based on his theory of consumerism and liquid modernity. With the heuristics understanding of consumers and â€Å"consuming life†, he discovered three ideal categories, namely consumerism, the society of consumers, and consumer culture, to demonstrate consumers as a part of the society as well as the possible relationships among them. (Patterson 4). Bauman chiefly addresses consumerism about the subjectivity of individual consumers and states the motivated role of the unfulfilled desires and unsatisfied needs. As for the second ideal type, Bauman argues the inevitable relationship between individuals and the world. In addition, ‘salability’ is coined to define the cause of social membership raised by individual’s consumption. The third ideal type, notably consumer culture, is claimed to â€Å"moves to a mes-olevel discussion of the social networks and interactions that exist within liquid modernity. †(ibid. ) In Bauman’s theory, people are believed live in the postmodern consumer society and consumption is increasing in volume. Consumer’s satisfaction is instant and delayed. As the report of Miller (33), at the moment of purchase, women are hardly satisfied in situations of purchase. The satisfaction brought by consumed goods is limited and short-term, the length of which normally should be reduced to bare minimum. However, Bauman (17) argues that the impatient, impetuous, and restive consumption would be more likely and much easier to fade off and lose interests as well, which reverses the traditional relationship between satisfactions and instant needs. At the beginning of the movie, Rebecca Bloomwood, who already has a debt of $900, is still fascinated by the green scarf that she does not really need. Finally she buys it due to her immediate desire even it is not necessary. Throughout the movie, there are numerous scenes in which she regrets for her impetuous perchance. â€Å"Do we really need another chair? † as David Report asked. They claim that things that are not really necessary cram people’s homes and people purchase them because of imputation and short time self-satisfaction (Carlson 4). Moreover, Bauman clarifies ‘consumer game’ as the excitement of sensation, which excludes the greediness of obtainment as well as the tangible sense without wealth. Consumers ought to consume rationally and in control. Desire, is regarded could be reproduce by itself, and has self-perpetuating motive. As Mark C. Taylor and Esa Saarinen once said, â€Å"Desire does not desire satisfaction. To the contrary, desire desires desire. † (Bauman 5). The movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) presents numerous and various scenes of fashion judgments. For instance, one of the clips depicts the astonishment of Rebecca, who discovers the illustrious background of her boss, whom she thought was nonentity and nobody. When asked why wearing these low-priced clothes, he answers that he does not want to be labeled by his clothes and the appearance, which says the underlying tastes and sense of fashion. Pierre Bourdieu (1990-2002), who was born in an out-of-the-way corner of southwest France, illustrates and clarifies these situations with the conception of †habitus† and the class taste. In his youth, He was cultivated in philosophy. However, after the experience of participation of the Algerian War, he transformed to be a social scientist. Nevertheless he had philosophic logic and accuracy (Grass 1) as well. In Bourdieu theory, drawn from a long-term scientific observation, cultural needs are demonstrated to be the product of upbringing and education. Cultural practices, including literature, painting or music, are closely attached to the educational level and subsequently to social origin. According to both the influence from the strongest ‘extra-curricular’ culture and the extent of the cultural practices, which are recognized by the educational system, the background and formal education could change. Therefore the manner of tastes and ‘class’ forms within the discourses as well as structures (Bourdieu 2). The different lifestyles associated with them (Wacquant 7) could be understood as the approach to categorizing and distinguishing people. In addition, the theory shows how individuals characterize and reversely define themselves to others. For instance, the upper class makes adjudication based on the mannerisms, interests and tastes (Bourdieu 2). Habitus, meaning the way that the body is shaped by discourses as well as the environment, is clearly visible through taste. Through the process of which people recognize, judge, and operate in the world, habitus successfully assigns the system of ispositions, which is shared by countless people who have similar experiences and ideas. Habitus, the mediation between both the past and present stimuli, is socially structured and is simultaneously structuring the society. The reason for Bourdieu’s exemplification of the â€Å"unchosen principle of all choices,† as well as â€Å"the product of structure, producer of practice, and reproducer of structure† to hibitus is that it provides form and unity to a range of activities of an individual by crossing the separate spheres of life. Moreover, habitus is a principle of both social continuity and discontinuity. It is social continuity because of its ability to store social forces in individuals and transport them across time and space. Furthermore, It is discontinuity in that it could â€Å"be modified through the acquisition of new dispositions and the reason† that â€Å"it can trigger innovation whenever it encounters a social setting discrepant with the setting from which it issues†. Wacquant 7). All in all, the comedy of Confessions of A Shopaholic (2009) could be intensely analyzed by culture theories. After the briefly introduction of the movie, Bauman’s theory was introduced to illustrate the conception of consumption. Moreover, the three ideal categories detail the conception and the hypothesis of satisfaction of desire, suggesting the impetuous purchase would fade off yet the desire never would. Subsequently, Bourdieu’s theory of taste classifies and categorizes people with respect to taste and education. The dissimilar manners are closely linked to the dissimilar positions in social factor, which possibly bound up with the systems of habitus of the different classes (Bourdieu 2). In fact, despite the fact that the cultural studies about â€Å"desire† as well as â€Å"habitus† has been already made progresses, it is obvious and plain that they would still be discussed and argued within a long period of time.Reference http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/paleopsych/2006-January/004927.html http://www.metacritic.com/movie/confessions-of-a-shopaholic

Explore the techniques used by pre-twentieth century Essay

Explore the techniques used by pre-twentieth century authors to build fear and tension for the reader in three or four short stories. You must refer to the historical context. â€Å"The Black Cat,† by Edgar Allan Poe, â€Å"The Blind Man,† by Kate Chopin† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† by Edgar Allan Poe. Usually, a black cat is an animal associated with witchcraft and black magic. And in Edgar Allan Poe’s nineteenth century short story, this is no different. They are viewed as mythical, demonic objects; objects of evil. The author’s cat is called Pluto. This name itself suggests that maybe it is a secretive animal, hidden and unknown, like the ninth planet it’s named after; nobody knows much about it. We soon learn that the cat is â€Å"entirely black, sagacious to an astonishing degree.† Much like the writer, this cat is portrayed as being wise and astute. Yet within what appears to be no time at all, the writer is fiercely describing the feline as being a â€Å"monster,† summoning hellish images into the mind of the reader. â€Å"The fury of a demon instantly possessed me† is a quotation which shows the writer’s abstract impulsiveness towards the cat. The writer abruptly grabs the â€Å"poor beat by the throat.† This kind of behavior is not associated with pets. It seems like the writer and subconsciously personified the beast, as he grabs it by the throat, instead of kicking it away like someone would expect. Once strangling the cat, Edgar Allan Poe â€Å"deliberately cut out one of its eyes.† This is extremely irrational behavior and happens so quickly. This conjures a lot of fear in the reader, and this man has suddenly taken part in a brutal, cold-blooded slaughter. The language used is very provocative and emotive throughout the story, and this is couple by a detached tone. The immediate shift from being ‘normal’ to suddenly growing mad and irrational is complex and acute. At the beginning of the next paragraph, he describes himself to be having a â€Å"feeble and equivocal feeling,† showing that he perhaps doesn’t realise what he has just done. This arouses suspicion in the reader, as we do not know what to think. Edgar Allan Poe continually tries to befriend the reader, yet he is horrific. We start to feel sympathetic towards him, and pathos is created. The man continued to present the reader with explanations and excuses for his â€Å"evil deed.† The feeling of witchcraft is echoed when he â€Å"was aroused from sleep by the cry of fire.† His house is alight, and after the blaze, people gather around. In the only wall that is left standing, an apparition of a gigantic cat. He then remembers, â€Å"that the cat had been hung in a garden adjacent to the house.† This brings the reader to try and piece together the pieces of this puzzle, but we cannot, for it is too complex. This scene creates a lot of tension in the reader. Once again, we see that this cat, from beyond the grave has managed to produce itself. It summons terror in the reader and insecurity fills Poe. One night, as the write stood, â€Å"absolutely stupefied,† he sees a black object, and it turns out to be a large black cat, almost identical to the former animal, with the exception of a large white patch. Within time, the writer starts to feel hatred towards the cat, the only thing preventing him form physically hurting it being â€Å"the remembrance of my former deed of cruelty.† Again, impulsively, the man commits a terrible act of gruesome, murderous hatred. He kills his wife, horrifically. After this, the cat seems to have vanished. Even though the man manages to conceal the body in the wall, he is overcome with fear, just as the reader, and beings to make excuses and become petrified himself. This is shown as madness, and this makes the story intense and full of tension. Allan Poe describes the police party as being â€Å"an assassination.† This instantly shows us that something bad is going to happen, as an assassination is a planned killing. The arrogance of the killer annoys the reader, yet we still feel a subconscious sympathy towards him, for he is lost within himself; â€Å"I know myself no longer.† The writer builds up a lot of tension at the end. The whole plot has been leading up to an intense crescendo, and when the writer is at the height of confidence, a â€Å"continuous scream, utterly anomalous† was heard, â€Å"only out of hell.† The re-appearance of the animal definitely doesn’t seem lie ka coincidence. We have no ide a where it is, and then, suddenly, it foils the old, murderous villain. In the nineteenth century, people believed in witchcraft. They believed in ghosts and all superstitious theories. The writer uses this to extract terror from the reader. â€Å"My original soul seemed at once, to take it’s flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame.† This quotation exploits the reader and emphasizes the views of society. The writer’s wife believed in the â€Å"ancient popular notion which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise.† It is a story of a butchering; a cold-blooded, violent execution. Throughout, the reader is tense and fearful. Tension is built up with evocative language and sudden switches of mood and tempo. In â€Å"The Blind Man,† by Kate Chopin is a confusing story. It is extremely mysterious, with perception playing a big part in what is real, and what the reader imagines. The principal character of â€Å"The Blind Man,† is represented as being wise. The fact that he â€Å"walked slowly down the street,† and he wore â€Å"an old straw hat and faded garments† does not produce an image of poorness; yet summons an illustration or superiority. In the first sentence of the story, the reader is told that he was â€Å"carrying a small red box in one hand.† This is, at first, very mysterious and we are intrigued to learn of it’s contents. The reader is also told that he is walking on â€Å"the blistering asphalt pavement,† even though there is plenty of shade on the other side of the road â€Å"where the trees where thick.† As we do not yet know that the man is blind, the reader feels insecure and suspicious about the man’s posit ion. When we find out the man is blind, the reader feels a sense of understanding, and empathizes with the old man, even though â€Å"he was not old.† The writer personifies the man’s feelings. â€Å"Hunger, with sharp fangs was gnawing at his stomach.† This seems unusual and eerie; the setting does not produce an image of fear, yet this powerful phrase ‘wakes up’ the reader and creates a tension and slight hope that something will happen. When the group of boys try and take his box away from him, he acts like anyone would. He shouts at them, and tries to get it back. The reader thinks, that when a policeman came round the corner, he would get his box back and the boys would get in trouble. However, upon â€Å"seeing that he was the centre of a disturbance, jerked him violently† and took him aside. This scared the reader as it is totally unexpected, and is preparing us for another unexpected event, yet to come. â€Å"Then, something happened.† Before we even learn the details, suspense has already been built, as the reader is told than something has happened. It doesn’t matter at this stage what it is – all that matters is that we are on the edge of our seat, waiting. Emotions run wild as we learn that whatever has happened made â€Å"the strongest men who saw it grow sick and dizzy.† This is a phrase which emphasized the brutality of the collision. Even the â€Å"superhuman effort† that the man used to try and stop his car failed. By now, the reader is unhappily excited, the action that has taken place gives an adrenaline rush and provides the reader with tense desire to find out more. As the truth is revealed, there is a complete anticlimax. It is not as we expected; it is not the blind man in the road. Even though this is a big surprise, there is no real shock. â€Å"The blind man did not know what the commotion was all about. He had crossed the street.† This final sentence of the story is unexplained and devious. It seems supernatural, as if he is acting suspicious. Edgar Allan Poe’s, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† is an evocative and extremely intensifying story, filled with twists and shock. In the first sentence, suspense is built up and the writer is snappy and precise with his words. â€Å"The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed,† is powerful yet confusing, as usually, a disease would not improve senses or physical attributes. As this is an inexplicable statement, the reader becomes wary and suspicious of this character almost immediately, thus setting the scene for a horror story. â€Å"Passion there was none. I loved the old man.† The fact that ‘loved’ is past tense, immediately shows that something either isn’t right, or has changed. The writer proceeds to say, â€Å"Madmen know nothing. You should have seen me,† really emphasizing how scary he is. And the reader is nervous – they are completely unaware and naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve. But even this madman has fears. And this makes is scarier for the reader, and we soon find out that a pale blue eye that â€Å"resembled that of a vulture,† made the writers â€Å"blood run cold.† This language creates a lot of anxiety and trepidation, for there is another character, powerful enough to trigger terror amongst the writer and the reader. Other phrases used, such as â€Å"I heard many things in hell† are demonic and hellish, showing that this story is likely to be dangerously horrid. The image that we have of this man being mad and out of control is shattered on the second page of the book, when he describes how it took him â€Å"an hour to place my whole head within the opening† of the door. This continues – it takes him an hour to put the lantern in until, eventually; he is standing in the doorway. This really does build tension, very slowly, because all of a sudden, the â€Å"old man sprung up in bed, crying out – â€Å"Who’s there?† This is slightly baffling, as the writer didn’t make any sounds – he â€Å"could feel the extent of my powers – of my sagacity.† Again, Edgar Allan Poe stands and waits for an hour. The old man groans, and it is a groan â€Å"of mortal terror.† The word ‘mortal’ prompts the reader to think about death and dying, also triggering the imagination – we want and need something to happen. The author then uses metaphors to add tension to the piece. â€Å"A single dim ray, like the thread of a spider† show the amount of precision; the perfection. Again, the writer refers to the eyes as being a â€Å"vulture.† Before the writer commits the sin he hears a sound. It is like a â€Å"watch makes when enveloped in cotton.† This makes us think about what this simile means. Poe stands by the mans door again, but this time for a number of minutes. The time has shortened, showing impatience and eagerness. The reader shivers with anticipation until eventually he â€Å"threw open the lantern and leaped into the room.† There is a total loss of the wit; the planning. However, it is a criminal calculation; perfectly planned. When the man is dead, the killer †dismembered the corpse.† This is a particularly provocative verb and sparks a gruesome image to enter the reader’s head. The writer believes himself to be perfect, and his audacity is arrogant. More suspense is built when the police enter. This is a great technique as the reader then feels that there is still more action to come. Again, the write is confident; â€Å"my manner convinced them. I was singularly at ease.† His head starts aching as he â€Å"fancies a ringing in my ears.† This produces confusion, and this confusing rapidly turns into excitement. â€Å"The ringing became more distinct†¦no doubt I grew very pale.† Edgar Allan Poe is hearing a noise; a familiar noise; â€Å"a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.† a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.† This repetition is extreme and the reader is overcome with anxiety. In one sense, we actually want the assassin to get away with his dastardly crime, as it will be more exciting. The fretfulness and unease continues to grow and the noise persists in booming in the ears of the poor fellow, until he lets out a roar of confession, shouting, â€Å"Villains! ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed!† This quickfire of shouted remarks is out of desperation and guilt. The final line of the story is, â€Å"it is the beating of his hideous heart! This refers to the old, dead man. But this is also extremely ironic, and the sound that was ringing in Poe’s ears was out of guilt, and subconsciously it was his own heart. It is human nature to have fears. Lots of people have claustrophobia, and many more would hate to be buried alive. In † The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Black Cat,† there are incarcerations and live burials. This is extremely disturbing and people in the nineteenth century would be extremely disturbed to see or hear of such events. The shock horror at the end of all three stories is graphic: the imagery produced is sensitive and detailed. Edgar Allan Poe and Kate Chopin use many different techniques and methods to build up tension and suspense. Use of effective, redolent language, and the reader’s imagination combine to force painful settings and events into the story. Nineteenth century society was brutal – there were gruesome executions and murders, and suspicious activity and witchcraft were looked down upon and punished. Conflict between logic and instinct in characters puts strain and pressure on the reader. Confusion and unexpected twists in the complex plots produce fear and total anxiety in the reader.