Letter to the editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Letter to the editor - Essay Example Does dieting cause weight loss?No, dieting does not cause weight loss, on the contrary it is the main contributor of obesity among many people. The reason as to why dieting results to weight gain instead of weight loss is that by not eating, one is bound to get hungry. Whereas people that are not dieting eat only once, this is not the case for persons on diet. This is because unlike their counterparts not on diet, these people consume little food but on several occasions (Brune). Hence, at the end of the day such people end up consuming more than those who are not on diet. People on diet have the belief that fats cause obesity; hence, they avoid food enriched with fats and opt for carbohydrates. According to Brune, this ends up doing more harm than good to those on diet. Studies show that too much consumption of carbohydrates promotes the increase in blood sugar levels causing high insulin levels. Insulin is directly responsible for increase of fat storage in the body. It is therefore evident that instead of weight loss, dieting plays a major role in weight gain. Although many researchers claim dieting does more harm than good to one’s body, not everyone is in agreement with this claim. This is because some researchers claim that dieting indeed causes weight loss. For instance, according to Yuhnke (2), there are certain types of food that if consumed could result to cutting of calories. According to Yuhnke, some of the foods that one ought to consume while on diet include Egg-Tofu, Sandwich pepper and Sardines pepper. Dieting is the process where one restrains from the normal consumption of food in a move to reduce his or her weight. Although many people have the perception that dieting results to weight loss, it is not the case. This is because studies show that dieting makes one fat instead of slim. The reason why dieting promotes weight gain is because it triggers body hormones hence making them behave as if they are starving and are

The Importance of Regular Asthma Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Importance of Regular Asthma Review - Essay Example The extent of the narrow. Asthma has a significant impact on children's health; nationally 5% of GP consultations for Children relate to asthma. Evidence suggests that the long-term future for children with .Persistent uncontrolled asthma is relatively poor, with most continuing to experience .Symptoms into adulthood, and that prevention, early intervention and effective long-term .Every year if your symptoms are well controlled or more often if your symptoms are difficult to control. Within 48 hours of a serious asthma attack to make sure your symptoms are better controlled. You also need another review one to two weeks after a serious attack to make sure your symptoms are back under control. Blood pressure: Both high and low pressure has affected our health badly. High blood pressure can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Having a yearly blood pressure test will provide your health care professional with a baseline level to compare during subsequent visits. Once you are detected of not having the normal blood pressure it is better to check up on a regular basis. Cholesterol level: Every adult should have the cholesterol level checked occasionally. A high blood cholesterol level is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease. If it is high more specific tests like HDL and LDL cholesterol levels can be done. With increasing age, the risk decreases and is usually not recommended for veryelderly patients. Chest X-ray: X-rays can be done to detect lung abnormalities (tuberculosis, emphysema or lung cancer) early enough to initiate a successful treatment plan. Prostate checks are suggested in men from about fifty years of age onwards. The doctor can check the size and texture of the gland by a rectal examination every year or so. It is a good opportunity to discuss whether there are any urinary stream difficulties. Any problems with urinary flow require a full assessment, sometimes requiring referral to a urologist. A prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test may also be recommended; this test may help to detect an early cancer of the prostate. During a general check-up, men can also be instructed on how to examine their testicles for lumps. Pap smearsare recommended in all women who have had intercourse. They should be done every two years up to the age of at least 70 years. Unfortunately, there is a large group of middle-aged women who are not having regular Pap smears. This is a great worry because these women are at risk of developing cancer of the cervix. Younger women do seem more tuned-in to the importance of regular smears. Breast examination can also be discussed and mammograms arranged if required. Asthma needs to be monitored continually to determine the minimum level of medication that offers effective symptom control. Once the symptoms are under control, regular assessment and monitoring are needed to

Education Before And After French Revolution History Essay

Education Before And After French Revolution History Essay The French revolution enabled a major shift in the history of modern France, and it even affected the rest of the European communities. Indeed, such great incidents like the French revolution would change a lot in the systems of France, regarding to the educational system which was highly effected, In order to talk about the effect of the French revolution over the education in France, the state of the French education before the revolution must be well understood. I believe, The French revolution gave the education in France a great chance to start developing and spreading. The educational facilities before the French revolution and under the Ancien regime were in a better position than any other European country. France had witnessed an improvement in the educational activities cased by the Renaissance, and that was in the middle of the 16th century. But yet the educational institutions were badly distributed, and needed to be reformed. Although France had witness a lot of religious conflicts, which concluded with the country being taken over effectively by the Catholic domination. We can say that the government involvement in the matters of education was not that great and the Catholic church had the huge part of taking control over the educational system. According to La Chalotais, in general, the Kings government left all matters pertaining to education in the hand of local bishop and the religious orders(1971). In spite of the fact that the educational system was directly or indirectly under the control of the Church, but we can not pass by and not mention that the state has show concerns about the education in France in many ways, for example, in 1698 a decree was issued that children from the age of seven were to be obliged to attend Catholic schools up to the age of fourteen. One significant educational development was the change of the scholars language from Latin to French. Reaching the period exactly before the revolution, the idea of a general education started to develop in France. Since that, during the French revolution (1789-1799) The state of the country was not stable at all, most people would think that the education is the last thing French people would think about in such crises, but the truth was that the leaders of the revolution had the education in their priorities. And in the early stages of the revolution there was a lot of concerns about the revolution, but few institutional actions. Still, by 1789 the level of development of the French system of education was remarkable for its time. Enrolment in elementary schools was relatively high and 562 secondary schools boasted 74,747 student, 40,000 of whom had scholarships(4). It is true that the destructive component of the revolution has effected the education, but the only explanation was because what ever was before the revolution has to go. But it is fair to say that the revolutionaries also looked at the state of the education from many aspects, like the duties and prerogatives of the state, the r ights of parents, the potential benefits of higher education, the economic needs of the nation, the necessity for training teachers, and the suitable status of the teaching profession in a republic(5). The first changes made to the French community were basically related to religion. It can be said that the revaluation wanted to change any thing related to the old system, including the great position that was occupied by the church. In fact , as the revolutionaries were destroying the statues that presented the church at Notre Dame, they were removing every influence made by the church in the education system. What was really weird and in the same time interesting, is that the leaders of the revolution were willing to change almost anything related to the old system except the idea of educating women. Actually most of the revolution leaders believed that only men should have the right of education because they will engaged in the state affairs. And women do not need education becaus e their role was to take care of the family and the raise children. By 1794 a kind of a normal life was founded, and that was a result of the execution of Robespierre. This kind of normal life gave the government the chance to give attention to the education reform. A decree soon followed, that the number one important thing regarding the education was the training of teachers. And the curriculum of the schools contains republican morality and the public and private virtues, as well as the techniques of teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, practical geometry, French history and grammar; and books must be used and not any books but the ones which is described in the Convention.(1) One more thing the revolutionaries wanted to make sure to change was the spoken language, as there were a great many different languages and dialects were spoken. The Revolutionary Government left the part of guiding citizens to one language to schools.(6) According to Vignery, although the Old Regime system creased to exist, some schools on all levels survived the onslaughts of the Revolution.(5) These schools called private schools. Baileys historical study of the French colleges shows clearly that they survived the revolutions radical stages by adapting to their changing environment and mobilizing the resources they had inherited from the Old Regime.(4) Larger and wealthier schools were more likely to remain open . in 1798 the government tried to take over the control on these schools but no much success was established, but in 1799 the government managed to control private schools in some regions. And in an attempt of the government to have a competitive advantage over any private school, the government had a condition that if some one want to get a position with the government to apply an evidence that he had went to a Republic school.(1) As oboist of some might expect, the state of French public education especially the one of central schools, was weak. Number of flows was there, for example the lack of efficient teachers and more substantial the lack of efficient students as well. Actually, the schools of Paris and other areas with high rate of population did very well, but in the rest of the country things was not as good as they should be. Another serious problem was that requires of a graduate from a central school was not really reasonable at all times, either academic or curricular. Lastly, we can say that the central schools did not reach the goals it was made to establish. And it needed some one great to help reaching these goals. After the revolution, and under the new system Napoleon toke over most of the power. And in 1804, Napoleon became the Emperor of France and had the ultimate control over the government. Napoleon managed to make France the most powerful country of Europe and that was by making a lot of changes in the system of the country. Napoleon always believed in education and had it in its priorities, and he also believed in efficient kind of education and for this to come true, education in France must spread majorly especially regarding the secondary level.There was number of problems that the French people complained about, like the lack of schools in several areas plus the lack of efficiency in the teaching faculty, not to mention the lack of commitment to attend among students and in some areas the lack of religious kind of education.(1)

Analysis of The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin :: The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman, Mrs. Mallard whose husband is thought to be dead. Throughout the story Chopin describes the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's death. However, the strong emotions she felt were not despair or sadness, they were something else. In a way she was relieved more than she was upset, and almost rejoiced in the thought of her husband no longer living. In using different literary elements throughout the story, Chopin conveys this to us on more than one occasion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the third paragraph of the story, Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard as she goes into her room and sits on an armchair. Chopin describes how Mallard ?sank pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted the body and seemed to reach into her soul?. In this point of the story Chopin uses symbolism connecting Mrs. Mallard and the chair, the chair representing the death of her husband and her feelings about it. How it was ?a comfortable roomy chair?, she is showing us how Mrs. Mallard was ?comfortable? with her husband?s death and now felt she had room to exist freely. This is supported by the lines ?she would live for herself now. There would be no powerful will bending her in the blind?? This demonstrating to the reader that she felt controlled by her husband, and that she would no longer bet tied down to the ways of the time, which were men control women. This also supported by Jennifer Hicks in her overview of the story which states " Later, when we see Mrs. Mall ard "warm and relaxed", we realize that problem with her heart is that her marriage has not allowed her to "live for herself"."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example of how Mrs. Mallard was more uplifted than brought down by the news of her husband?s death is the description of the window. As Mrs. Mallard looks out Chopin explains ?she could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all a quiver with new life?. This is telling the reader about the new life that Mrs. Mallard can see in the distance that symbolizes the new life she saw that lay ahead of her now that she was free of her husband. This thought being supported by Hicks in saying "The revalation of freedom occurs in the bedroom"

Imagine you are Macbeth Essay

Q- Imagine you are Macbeth. Write a diary entry in which you express your thoughts and feelings at Act 1 Scene 7 and a later entry at some time later one, possible after meeting the doctor. Today Lady Macbeth has convinced me. We are going to ahead with the plot to kill the king. When she first told me about the plan I was very doubtful. I don’t think I will be able to live with myself with the guilt of killing the king. I know this is wrong. What about if we get caught? I am just weighing up the situation. Perhaps I don’t need to do anything to become king, â€Å"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without stir†. I possess uncertainty of whether it is righteous to take the life of such a great king in order to feed my hunger for power. As I was thinking about this gesture, I left the chamber and decided not to do the deed. The idea of killing the king came from me first, this was when I heard the witches prophecies. When I first met the witches, they told me 3 predictions. They said, â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!† â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!† â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!† When I heard this I was shocked and couldn’t believe it. Banquo was with me and he asked them, â€Å"Which outward ye show? My noble partner you great with present grace, and great prediction of noble having and of royal hope that he slems rapt withal†. They then told us the final prediction, â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though be none†. To us this meant that he will not be king but his children will. This was all so confusing. I know I am Thane of Glamis but how can I be the Thane of Cawdor? He still lives as a prosperous gentleman. Then there is me to become king. This is not within the prospect of my belief. Before we could say anything else they vanished. As Banquo and I were talking about the predictions, Ross came with some exciting news. He told me that as I fought well in the battle, I get the reward as the Thane of Cawdor. Mine and Banquo faces dropped with astonishment. â€Å"The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robed?† I asked Ross. He then told us that he had died. At this point I had no idea of killing the king. I thought I would never be king and if I was to how would I? The witches offered me great enticement, but it is up to me to fail in the temptation or to be strong enough to resist their captivation. As I was thinking about this, Lady Macbeth came in. I knew this was the best time to tell her. I said, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†. She looked at me with great hate but I knew I said the right thing. â€Å"Was the hope drunk?† said Lady Macbeth, â€Å"Such I account thy love, art thou afeard to be the same in thin own act and valour, as thou art in desire?†. She was saying to me that I was drunk and I didn’t know what I was saying. She said that my love is worth nothing if I refuse to go through with the plan, and my love is as accountable as my in decisiveness. She also questions my masculinity and criticises my desire to be king. She used emotional blackmail to seduce me to proceed with this ambitious enterprise, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man†. She makes an analogy to emphasise the importance of keeping my promise. After listening to her I felt very offended. I knew I had to do this or I will regret it all my life. I wanted to prove 3 things that I am a man, my love for my wife, and my desire to be king. To prove these I need to murder king Duncan, so I am. Today the doctor has come and said my wife is ill but he has no cure. This is very disturbing because I noticed she was acting a bit strange after we did that deed. After we murdered king Duncan she was very confident, unlike me. She even toke the daggers back into Duncan’s chamber for me and also she helps me wash the blood off my hands. She helped me pull me together psychologically. When I saw the ghost of Banquo, it caused me stress and concern. This put huge pressure on Lady Macbeth. Even though she cannot see the apparition herself she had to cover up for me. This put a lot of emotional pressure on her. She then tried to get me out of this strange state of mind by once again questioning my manhood, while at the same time giving the guests the excuse that I am not well. She takes control and tells all the guests to leave. I think she has kept her anger and fear in and since I have done more murders she feels more guilty and I have noticed she talks to herself. Since then her behaviour has changed and it shows carefully that her contrived mask slipped. In her sleepwalking she reveals the guilt and anxieties by which she is tortured. But her loyalty to me remains intact. She came to me once and said, â€Å"No more O’that, you mar all with this starting†, this was confusing. She has given all and now her present is overwhelming by the past, like what she said, â€Å"What’s done cannot be undone†. She is saying that we can’t change the past. But it was her who thought of the idea and it was her who convinced me. She is totally regretting it now. The doctor even couldn’t believe it, â€Å"I have two nights watched with you, but can perceive no truth in your report†. I don’t know what to do. I will just give some time to her and will see what will happen.

Virtue Ethics Advantage

These character traits are classified as the backbone of virtue ethics. When we look at action utilitarianism, we think of rules and our call to duty. Nothing is greater than our call to duty, and we are sentenced to perform the most pivotal option. With virtue ethics we are almost provided more eel-way if you will. Morals are taken into much more depth and consideration than with action-utilitarianism. If we look at Kantian demonology, we notice the perfect and imperfect duties.These set of rules are essentially a guideline of how us people should act and live our lives. Once again, virtue ethics allows more freedom to decide for ourselves and make exceptions to these rules. An issue that surrounds Kantian demonology is that there must be exceptions to these perfect duties. The way I look at it, we can with a virtue mindset. We are allowed to take our moral code and apply it to the situation. Overall, I believe that virtue ethics allows people to make their win decisions, and with w hat people should do.This again conflicts with act- utilitarianism because it believes that the decision should be based on the best result for man-kind, not just one individual. Virtue ethics, along with our morals intact, allow for persons to take into consideration for others and select an option that results in better outcome for that person. These are a few advantages believe virtue ethics offers instead of utilitarianism and demonology.

4 Ways To Say It in Spanish

4 Ways To Say It in Spanish It is one of the most common English words, but its direct equivalent in Spanish, ello, isnt used much. Thats mostly because Spanish has other ways of saying it - or not stating it at all. This lesson looks at translations for it in four situations, depending on how it is used in relation to the other words in a sentence: as the subject of a sentence, as the direct object of a verb, as an indirect object of a verb and as the object of a preposition. Saying It in Spanish as the Subject of a Sentence Because it has an extensive verb conjugation, Spanish is able to frequently omit the subjects of sentences entirely, depending on the context to make clear what the subject is. When the subject of a sentence is inanimate, something that would be referred to as it, it is very unusual in Spanish to use a subject at all:  ¿Dà ³nde est el telà ©fono? Est aquà ­. (Where is the telephone? It is here. Note how in this and the following sentences that there is no Spanish word given to translate it.)Est roto. (It is broken.)Hoy comprà © una computadora porttil. Es muy cara. (Today I bought a laptop computer. It is very expensive.)No me gusta esta cancià ³n: es muy rencorosa. (I dont like this song. Its full of resentment.) In English, it is common to use it as the subject of a sentence in a vague sense, such as when talking about the weather: It is raining. It can also be used when talking about a situation: It is dangerous. Such as use of it in English is sometimes referred to as a dummy subject. In translation to Spanish, dummy subjects are nearly always omitted. Llueve. (It is raining.)Nieva. (It is snowing.)Es peligroso. (It is dangerous.)Es muy comà ºn encontrar vendedores en la playa. (It is very common to find vendors on the beach.)Puede pasar. (It can happen.) Saying It in Spanish as the Direct Object of a Verb As the direct object of a verb, the translation of it varies with gender. Use lo when the pronoun it refers to a masculine noun or la when it refers to a feminine noun.  ¿Viste el coche? No lo vi. (Did you see the car? I didnt see it.) ¿Viste la camisa? No la vi. (Did you see the shirt? I didnt see it.)No me gusta esta hamburguesa, pero voy a comerla. (I dont like this hamburger, but Im going to eat it.)Antonio me comprà ³ un anillo.  ¡Mà ­ralo!  (Antonio bought me a ring. Look at it!) ¿Tienes la llave? No la tengo. (Do you have the key? I dont have it.) If you dont know what it refers to, or if it refers to something abstract, use the masculine form: Vi algo.  ¿Lo viste? (I saw something. Did you see it?)No lo sà ©. (I dont know it.) Saying It in Spanish as an Indirect Object It is unusual in Spanish for an indirect object to be an inanimate object, but when it is use le: Dà ©le un golpe con la mano. (Give it a hit with your hand.)Brà ­ndale la oportunidad. (Give it a chance.) Saying It in Spanish as the Object of Preposition Here again, gender makes a difference. If the prepositional object refers to a noun thats masculine, use à ©l; if you are referring to a noun thats feminine, use ella. As objects of pronouns, these words can also mean him and her, in addition to it, so you need to let the context determine what is meant. El coche est roto. Necesito un repuesto  para à ©l. (The car is broken. I need a part  for it.)Me gusta mucho mi bicicleta. No puedo vivir sin ella. (I like my bicycle a lot. I cant live without it.)El examen fue muy difà ­cil. A causa de à ©l, no aprobà ©. (The test was very difficult. Because of it, I didnt pass.)Habà ­a muchas muertes antes de la guerra civil y durante ella. (There were many deaths before the civil war and during it.) When the object of a preposition refers to a general condition or something without a name, you can use the neuter pronoun for it, ello. It is also very common to use the neuter pronoun eso, which literally means this. Mi novia me odia. No quiero hablar de ello. (My girlfriend hates me. I dont want to talk about it.)Mi novia me odia. No quiero hablar de eso. (My girlfriend hates me. I dont want to talk about it.)No te preocupes por ello. (Dont worry about it.)No te preocupes por eso. (Dont worry about it.)

King Alfred essays

King Alfred essays Why was King Alfred concerned with literacy and learning? It is clear that literacy and learning played an important role in the life of King Alfred. In his biography of the king, Asser tells us that from an early age Alfred showed an aptitude for book learning which was encouraged by his mother. The reason why Alfred developed this interest from an early age was probably the fact that he was the youngest child of his family and so it was probably expected that he would become a clergyman rather than king and so could focus on more intellectual training needed for work in the Church. Although the reasons that he developed a personal love of learning in his younger years are clear, this does not explain why he put so much emphasis on the literacy and learning of his subjects in later years. One of the ways in which Alfred encouraged literacy and learning was having a number of key ecclesiastical works translated from Latin into English. One of the main reasons for Alfreds huge concern for literacy and learning was his sincere belief that the Viking raids on his kingdom were a punishment from God because the people had abandoned religious learning. Alfred did a lot to strengthen Englands military position by building a huge network of burhs , and by making sure that there was always an equal balance of men working the land and doing military service. However, he felt that these military preparations were merely a temporary solution to the problem. In the long term the King believed that the Vikings would only be stopped when God had been appeased. There are clear indications that in the time of Alfred there was a lack of new manuscripts being created. It is also evident that very few people were educated enough to read Latin and even fewer to write it. Alfred believed that this lack of learning had turned the English into a brutish and uncultured race. He believed that teaching was an important way to bring ...

Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights Essay In 1791, the Bill of Rights Essay, consisting of 10 amendments, was ratified into the constitution. The documents purpose was to spell out the liberties of the people that the government could not infringe upon. Considered necessary by many at the time of its development, the Bill of Rights became the cause for a huge debate between two different factions: The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were those who thought that there should be a new Union created with a strong centralized government and individual regional governments. They felt that it was not necessary for there to be a bill of rights because it was implied that those rights the Constitution did not specifically state would be handed down to the states. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists were opposed to such a form of government on the grounds that the Constitution, in which it was outlined, lacked clarity in the protections of the individuals. The Anti-Federalistswhose memory of British oppression was still fresh in their mindswanted certain rights and guarantees that were to be apart of the constitution (Glasser 1991). A clear demonstration of the Anti-Federalist attitude was performed by Samuel Bryan, who published a series of essays named the Cenitnal Essays, which assailed the sweeping power of the central government, the usurpation of state sovereignty, and the absence of a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion (Bran 1986). Of course, the freedoms stated above are a portion and not the whole of The Bill of Rights. Ultimately, The Bill of Rights was adopted to appease the Anti-Federalists, whose support was necessary to ratify the constitution, and who believed that without the liberties granted therein, the new constitutionthat they thought was vague and granted too much power to the central governmentwould give way to an elite tyrannical government. The purpose of The Bill of Rights is to protect U. S. citizens from abuse of power that may be committed by the different areas of their government. It does this by expressing clear restrictions on the three braches of government laid out previously in the Constitution. As stated by Hugo Black, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court: The bill of rights protects people by clearly stating what government cant do by describing the procedures that government must follow when bringing its powers to bear against any person with a view to depriving him of his life, liberty, or property (Black 1960).' Each amendment either states what the government cannot do or limits its powers by providing certain procedures that it must abide by. To provide a few examples, one must take a closer look at some of these amendments. The First Amendment to the Constitution dictates that Congress shall make no law, which establishes a national religion, prohibits free speech or press, or which prevents the right to assemble or petition the government. In the language used, it expressly prohibits the legislative branch from making laws which would impose on the rights that were given to the people. According to Hugo Black, The Framers were well aware that the individual rights they sought to protect might be easily nullified if subordinated to the general powers granted to Congress. One of the reasons for adoption of the Bill of Rights was to prevent just that (Black 1960). The Third Amendment states that the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure shall not be infringed. Again, this amendment is laying down restrictions on what government has power to do. Amendment Six provides the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, and to have compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favor, and to have Assistance of Counsel for his defense. This amendment states that if you are accused of a crime, you must have certain rights reserved which the courts are obliged to uphold. Furthermore, it outlines regulations that they must follow in order to protect those rights, such as obtaining witnesses and providing an impartial jury. The Eighth Amendment prevents the government from imposing excessive bail or fines and says cruel or unusual punishments, shall .

Studies in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Studies in Literature - Essay Example A plot carries nine elements including exposition, foreshadowing, inciting force, conflict, rising action, crisis, climax, falling action and denouement. The three elements of plot have been described below: (ii) Conflict: Conflict is the central and most dominant part of the piece of literature, which is the basic element in the creation of plot itself. The developments in the story are dependent of rising of man’s conflict with his social set up, culture, religious belief or his own self. (iii) Rising Action: Rising action simply means the subsequent chain of events created in the aftermath of conflict. Rising action is generally the outcome of immediate provocation or inciting force that paves the way towards reaching the climax point. NOVEL: Literally means something new, latest or innovative, novel refers to the work of fiction, story or tale, narrating some anecdote about one or few specific character(s) in a long prose form. Novel is stated to be the invention of 18th century, and Richardson’s Pamela (1741) is considered as the first novel in the history of English literature. Though novel arrived as a genre of literature very late in comparison with the drama and poetry, yet it immediately captured the attention of the readers everywhere, and has become one of the most popular forms of modern literature. A novelette also contains the same characteristics as carried by a novel, but the major difference between the two is this that novel consists of comparatively large number of words and characters, while a novelette is precise in respect of words and list of characters. Tolstoy maintains remarkable command over portraying the bitter realities of life on the one hand, and pointing out the prevailing social evils on the other. Being a highly sensitive writer and a brilliant observer, he skilfully inter-knits the events happening in the life of his

The effects of fluency, vocabulary, and language development on Research Paper

The effects of fluency, vocabulary, and language development on comprehension - Research Paper Example In addition, different factors such as phonemic awareness, alphabetic understanding, fluency, genre consideration, vocabulary and language development affects comprehension. Effects of fluency on comprehension Fluency refers to the speed, accuracy and expressions that an individual applies while reading a text. It also involves the application of varied skills while reading a text. It is vital to conduct an accurate assessment that will analyze readers’ speed, accuracy and expression. Fluency is fundamental in literature because it influences comprehension. Lack of fluency affects an individual’s performance because an individual usually applies cognitive skills while trying to identify words. It also influences students’ comprehension because when the material and volume of work in school increases, the students who are not fluent face many barriers when trying to keep up with schoolwork (Nagy, 2008). Students who are not fluent also have trouble comprehending t exts. Furthermore, they usually shun oral and silent reading because they do not want to fail. This affects their comprehension. Fluency is vital in comprehension because it connects with decoding and reading of comprehension. Therefore, fluency acts as a connector between decoding and comprehension; furthermore, it highlights the capability of an individual to decode varied words from a given text. If an individual moves quickly and accurately through the words in a given text, then the individual’s decoding skills are perfect. This implies that the person can comprehend the text easily. Finally, it is important for students to practice fluency in their reading because it enables them to increase their reading speed and comprehension skills; thus, improving their performances (Nagy, 2008). Effects of vocabulary on comprehension Vocabulary refers to the study of different concepts including the meaning of words as each word has a different meaning. It also determines the appl ication of the words, the root words, analogies, prefixes and suffixes. There is a very strong relationship between vocabulary and comprehension (Wagner, Andrea & Kendra, 2007). This is because; vocabulary acts as a predictor of reading capabilities of an individual. An individual who is knowledgeable about vocabulary has an advantage when it comes to comprehension (Wagner, Andrea & Kendra, 2007). Vocabulary knowledge is also essential to students because it helps them in decoding, which facilitates comprehension. In addition, vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to learners because it allows them to comprehend their first and second language. This is because students with less information concerning vocabulary are unable to comprehend the given texts. Inadequate knowledge on the vocabulary affects the performance of students in their test passage and questions because they encounter problems while trying to comprehend the texts. Therefore, it is important for students to vocabulary because it helps them in determining the meaning of varied words; thus, increasing their comprehension level. Vocabulary is important to children because its absence leads to comprehension problems especially when they find new words in a given text. Therefore, knowledge on vocabulary is beneficial as it helps a

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Essay

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy - Essay Example According to the scholars on the topic of social science, this subject of study has been slow to imitate the natural sciences and liberate from the dead hand of philosophy and this has resulted in the slow growth of this branch of study. They maintain that it is important for the social science to follow the methods of natural science rather than those of philosophy if it should make some significant progress. The main purpose of Peter Winch is "to attack such a conception of the relation between the social studies, philosophy and the natural sciences." (Winch, 1958, p 1). According to Peter Winch, a successful social science in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides several justifications for his claim all through his book. Winch's justification of his claim becomes evident in a reflective analysis of his distinctions between and among 'understanding and explanation,' 'motives, reason s, and causes,' and the difference between the sociologist's and the physical scientist's relation to the phenomena that they investigate (the 'subject matter' of the social sciences), and this paper undertakes an analysis of these aspects of the book along with a summary. In his The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy Winch... cience in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides the central core of his argument under the title 'Understanding Social Institutions.' He maintains that 'understanding' is more essential phenomenon than 'explaining' and it clarifies his major arguments. According to him, it is essential to use the term 'understanding' rather than explaining, though he does not mean to allude to the distinction made by Webber between 'casual explanation' and interpretive understanding'. "The point I have in mind is a rather different one. Methodologists and philosophers of science commonly approach their subject by asking what the character of the explanations offered is in the science under consideration. Now of course explanations are closely connected with understanding. Understanding is the goal of explanation and the end-product of successful explanation Unless there is a form of understanding that is not the result of explanation, no such thing as explanation would be possible. An explanation is called for only where there is, at least thought to be, a deficiency of understanding." (Winch, 1990, p X). Winch considers 'understanding' as the standard against which the deficiency of the knowledge must be measured and this calls for explanation. The understanding one already has is expressed in the concepts which constitute the form of subject matter that one is concerned with. On the other hand, these concepts also express certain aspects of the life characteristic of the people who apply them. The interconnections among these aspects are the major subject of explanation in the book by Winch. It is also vital to understand the connections among concepts such as motives, reasons, and

Friedrich Nietzsche a Philosopher in Society Essay

Friedrich Nietzsche a Philosopher in Society - Essay Example This essay analyzes that nationalism is the belief that groups of people are bound together by territorial, cultural and (sometimes) ethnic links (Glossary, online). Capitalism is an economic system in which the production and distribution of goods depend on invested private capital and profit-making. Politically, this means the dominance of private owners of capital and production for profit. By extension, 'capitalism' has also taken in the belief that government should have nothing to do with the economy (Glossary, online). Capitalism is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have a vote or voice in shaping policy (Democracy, online). Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the community as a whole should own and control the means of production (Glossary, online). Conservatism is a political philosophy or attitude that emphasizes respect for traditional institutions, distrust of gover nment activism and opposition to sudden change in the established order (Glossary, online). Liberalism is a term that gained significance in the 19th century when it meant the limiting of government power and the increase of social reform (Glossary, online). ... All Too Human, Daybreak, The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, The Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Ecce Homo, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and The Will to Power (Friedrich Nietzsche a, online). Friedrich Nietzsche is famous for his rejection of Christianity (Friedrich Nietzsche b, online). He described Christianity as a nihilistic religion because it evaded the challenge of finding meaning in earthly life, creating instead a spiritual projection where mortality and suffering were removed instead of transcended. He believed nihilism resulted from the "death of God", and insisted that it was something to be overcome, by returning meaning to a monistic reality. He sought instead a "pragmatic idealism," in contrast to the prominent influence of Schopenhauer's "cosmic idealism" (Nihilism, online). He is also famous for his idea of "will to power". Hopes for a higher state of being after death are explained as compensations for failures in this life. The famous view about the "death of God" resulted from his observations of the movement from traditional beliefs to a trust of science and commerce. Nietzsche dissected Christianity and Socialism as faiths of the "little men," where excuses for weakness paraded as moral principles. John Stuart Mill's liberal democratic humanism was a target for scorn, and he called Mill "that blockhead" (Friedrich Nietzsche b, online).

Understanding Whiteness or white identity Annotated Bibliography

Understanding Whiteness or white identity - Annotated Bibliography Example Banks explains that in order to define whiteness, African Americans were necessary. This is because constructing other racial categories helped as a source of identification for powerful main groups like whites (p.22). In this article, bank has discussed racial theories developed by intellectual leaders and also explains how Franz Boas, Robert E Park and African American scholars and social scientist strived for racial reconstruction. Banks’ article helps student to realize how racial knowledge is constructed and how it is evolved over time. Banks also emphasises the importance of having transformative teaching and learning. Ralph Linton’s article â€Å"The one hundred percent American† humorously describes that most of the things an American use in everyday life are originated from other countries. Linton brilliantly analyses that majority of materials a typical American uses are un-American, and yet they consider themselves as â€Å"one hundred percent American†. Linton has explained almost every routine including activities like waking up, taking shower, having breakfast, going out in rain, catching train and reading paper, and finds out that American uses un-American materials for all these needs. This includes a pyjama he wears which is of East Indian origin or bed he sleeps which is from Persia or Asia Minor (p.1). Linton shows us that most of the American way of doing things exists because of the other countries which invented them. For students, this article is really informative and may help them understand the extent to which American culture is unique. The article â€Å"Do we need a common American identity?† discusses about the complex issues in American identity. The title question is supported by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr (1992) who asserts that multiculturalism is a threat for basic values of Americans. While Michael Walzer (1990) opposes the title question and suggests that multicultural identity cannot be avoided in America. According to

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Essay

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy - Essay Example According to the scholars on the topic of social science, this subject of study has been slow to imitate the natural sciences and liberate from the dead hand of philosophy and this has resulted in the slow growth of this branch of study. They maintain that it is important for the social science to follow the methods of natural science rather than those of philosophy if it should make some significant progress. The main purpose of Peter Winch is "to attack such a conception of the relation between the social studies, philosophy and the natural sciences." (Winch, 1958, p 1). According to Peter Winch, a successful social science in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides several justifications for his claim all through his book. Winch's justification of his claim becomes evident in a reflective analysis of his distinctions between and among 'understanding and explanation,' 'motives, reason s, and causes,' and the difference between the sociologist's and the physical scientist's relation to the phenomena that they investigate (the 'subject matter' of the social sciences), and this paper undertakes an analysis of these aspects of the book along with a summary. In his The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy Winch... cience in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides the central core of his argument under the title 'Understanding Social Institutions.' He maintains that 'understanding' is more essential phenomenon than 'explaining' and it clarifies his major arguments. According to him, it is essential to use the term 'understanding' rather than explaining, though he does not mean to allude to the distinction made by Webber between 'casual explanation' and interpretive understanding'. "The point I have in mind is a rather different one. Methodologists and philosophers of science commonly approach their subject by asking what the character of the explanations offered is in the science under consideration. Now of course explanations are closely connected with understanding. Understanding is the goal of explanation and the end-product of successful explanation Unless there is a form of understanding that is not the result of explanation, no such thing as explanation would be possible. An explanation is called for only where there is, at least thought to be, a deficiency of understanding." (Winch, 1990, p X). Winch considers 'understanding' as the standard against which the deficiency of the knowledge must be measured and this calls for explanation. The understanding one already has is expressed in the concepts which constitute the form of subject matter that one is concerned with. On the other hand, these concepts also express certain aspects of the life characteristic of the people who apply them. The interconnections among these aspects are the major subject of explanation in the book by Winch. It is also vital to understand the connections among concepts such as motives, reasons, and

Understanding Whiteness or white identity Annotated Bibliography

Understanding Whiteness or white identity - Annotated Bibliography Example Banks explains that in order to define whiteness, African Americans were necessary. This is because constructing other racial categories helped as a source of identification for powerful main groups like whites (p.22). In this article, bank has discussed racial theories developed by intellectual leaders and also explains how Franz Boas, Robert E Park and African American scholars and social scientist strived for racial reconstruction. Banks’ article helps student to realize how racial knowledge is constructed and how it is evolved over time. Banks also emphasises the importance of having transformative teaching and learning. Ralph Linton’s article â€Å"The one hundred percent American† humorously describes that most of the things an American use in everyday life are originated from other countries. Linton brilliantly analyses that majority of materials a typical American uses are un-American, and yet they consider themselves as â€Å"one hundred percent American†. Linton has explained almost every routine including activities like waking up, taking shower, having breakfast, going out in rain, catching train and reading paper, and finds out that American uses un-American materials for all these needs. This includes a pyjama he wears which is of East Indian origin or bed he sleeps which is from Persia or Asia Minor (p.1). Linton shows us that most of the American way of doing things exists because of the other countries which invented them. For students, this article is really informative and may help them understand the extent to which American culture is unique. The article â€Å"Do we need a common American identity?† discusses about the complex issues in American identity. The title question is supported by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr (1992) who asserts that multiculturalism is a threat for basic values of Americans. While Michael Walzer (1990) opposes the title question and suggests that multicultural identity cannot be avoided in America. According to

Social survey Essay Example for Free

Social survey Essay Diabetes is the seventh major cause of death in the United States of America. Diabetes is a condition that arises from the inability of the body to produce insulin or to utilize it appropriately. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for converting blood glucose into a more body friendly form called glycogen. When the body’s ability to convert glucose to glycogen is compromised there is an increase in the blood glucose levels. This is detrimental to the health of an individual because, it causes extensive damage to the blood capillaries resulting to a myriad of other diseases. These include blindness, kidney diseases, amputation of the limbs especially the lower extremities and heart diseases (Aubert, 1995). In 2008, CDC announced that more than 23 million individuals who live in the US have been diagnosed with diabetes. This depicts a three million increase over a period of two years. In addition to this, more than fifty seven million Americans have pre diabetes. More than five million people in the United States have diabetes and they do not know it. This means that doctors often diagnose it when it is too late. This results to the large number of deaths that arise from it (Joslin, 2008). The prevalence of diabetes among minority populations is even higher due to the social inequalities they experience when it comes to medical care. Genetical make up has also been associated with diabetes (Cheta, 1999). African Americans have a 60% higher chance when compared to Caucasians while Hispanics are the most predisposed with more than 90% increased chance. On average, Hispanics have twice the risk of developing diabetes as compared to the white population. Native Americans and Alaskan Natives living in America had extremely alarming rates with more than 16% of the entire population suffering from diabetes. These rates are also evident in children especially teenagers. Researchers identified that in the children they assessed form 1990 to 1995; more than 30% had pre diabetes. This is mainly due to the changes in lifestyle with most American children living sedentary lives with little or no physical exercise. There is a very high correlation between obesity, diabetes, coronary diseases and hypertension among all the ages in the American population. All effort must be therefore geared towards campaigns that will inform and create awareness among the American population especially the young so that there can be a lifestyle revolution to uproot these diseases from the society (Krasnegor, 1990). There is an increase in the efforts of the government and the health practitioners to reduce these rates especially among the younger generation. The best approach is to create awareness to the population regarding diabetes and create collective responsibility that will hopefully result to behavior change. In addition to this the government has been putting a lot of effort to impart knowledge among the citizens on the best methods of managing diabetes (Betteridge, 2000). This study will assess the information that the youth have regarding the causes and prevention of diabetes. Statement of the Problem According to the CDC results, diabetes rates have continued to soar over the last two years. There is an increased incidence at the rate of diabetes in children. Majority of the children in America have pre diabetes, a condition that largely predisposes them to diabetes. Regardless of the race and the social status diabetes, needs to be addressed by everyone. This social survey is therefore very timely as it seeks to find out how much information the youth have regarding to preventing and managing diabetes and how much of these strategies they are implementing on their day to day activities. In order to bring these high rates of diabetes down, it is important to assess the lifestyle of the teenage population and how much information they have regarding the control and the management of diabetes. From these findings the government can prescribe the most effective way of addressing the situation. Objectives of the study †¢ To assess how much information the American teenagers have regarding diabetes. †¢ To determine whether the youth are actively participating in fighting diabetes. †¢ To compare the information that teenagers from different races have. †¢ To determine how much teenagers are emulating from their parents in regard to exercise and diet Research questions How many American teenagers know about the relationship between obesity, coronary diseases, hypertension and diabetes? How many Americans teenagers have been diagnosed with diabetes? Are American teenagers aware of the causes of diabetes? Who American teenagers think as the most likely age group to have diabetes? How much correct information do American teenagers have concerning diabetes? Are American teenagers doing anything to prevent diabetes? 23 million individuals who live in the US have been diagnosed with diabetes. This depicts a three million increase over a period of two years. In addition to this, more than fifty seven million Americans have pre diabetes. More than five million people in the United States have diabetes and they do not know it. This means that doctors often diagnose it when it is too late. This results to the large number of deaths that arise from it (AMA, 2007). Minority populations have experienced majority of these increases. Mexican populations that reside in the United States researchers have reported a sharp increase in child hood diabetes. Researchers have long blamed genetic make up for this predisposition although a recent study indicated that the high blood pressure rates in African Americans are not reflected in West Africa where they originated from. This means that lifestyle is mainly to blame for the predisposition. Obesity is similarly higher in the Hispanic and African American populations. It is the major factor that is triggering the high rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. Research has indicated that the rates of obesity are rapidly increasing among young children and adolescents. African Americans Caucasians and Hispanics teenagers are the most predisposed to diabetes. On average, Hispanics have twice the risk of developing diabetes as compared to the white population. Native Americans and Alaskan Natives living in have also experienced high diabetes rates among their children. This can be attributed to changes in lifestyle with most American children living sedentary lives with little or no physical exercise (Zaidi, 2007). In a study conducted in the late 1990s researchers observed that more than 20% of white girls were overweight. The percentages were even higher in the African-American and Hispanic groups with the black community soaring highest at 31%. These children had high serum cholesterol levels, were hypertensive and had type 2 diabetes at the early stages. What this translates to is that the younger generation will most likely be predominantly obese. As a result, they are more prone to more cardiovascular diseases. These results suggested that children are becoming diabetic at earlier ages (Finucane, 2008). The changes in lifestyle have led most households to live sedentary lives. The predisposition to diabetes is primarily as a result of poor exercise and high caloric intake. A study on the lifestyle trends of the Hispanic population concluded that of the population that was interviewed more than three quarters participated in inadequate or no physical recreational activity. There is also the tendency for children to learn from emulating role models. In the life of a child the role models are usually the family members. A child who comes from a home or a society where exercise is undermined and rarely done will likely also develop a passive lifestyle that will be carried over to adult life (Moran, 2004) There is familial incidence of diabetes. This means that children of diabetic parents are more likely to suffer from diabetes than those form non diabetic patients. From the CDC statistics of 2008, researchers concluded that a quarter of the population above sixty years had diabetes (Colwell, 2003). Gestational diabetes which is prevalent in pregnant women has also been associated with the vulnerable races. In addition, a more determining factor to this is obesity with more overweight pregnant women getting it during pregnancy. Since we all learn from emulating the society, there is need to advocate for collective responsibility so as to eradicate these preventable diseases. By targeting the teenagers as the most influential and vulnerable generation the government can ensure that the future population is making better health conscious decisions. Mode of data collection I will conduct a cross sectional survey research. I will use questionnaires in particular will use face to face interviews. Face to face interviews are effective since they will allow me to use open ended questions. They will also allow the interpretation of complex issues depending on the age of the respondent. They have also been proved to be more effective than other modes since they encourage a more participation and the interviewee learns more. They also encourage the use of visual aids in the interviews (Fowler, 1995). Self completion actively involves the respondent and motivates them to complete as opposed to the other modes. Questionnaires allow the researcher to use longer survey instruments making the research more intensive than the other types of data collection. Respondents have shown a better liking to in person interviews and are more likely to cooperate and answer honestly (Czaja Blair, 2005). However, they are more expensive and prohibit large studies. They are also time consuming taking up a lot of time for data collection. Due to variance altering due to the design effect they require follow ups which are also expensive and time consuming. They also require personnel who are familiar with the locality under study (Czaja Blair, 2005). Because this study involves teenagers as the respondents, face to face interviews would be better so that their cooperation is increased. Sample frame My target population is American teenagers between the age of thirteen and eighteen. This is too large so I will use a smaller working population by restricting the study to one state and in particular one county. After seeking appropriate permission I will use administrative records from the local high schools to create a database of the available population. To remove bias, random numbers will be assigned to each potential respondent and from these numbers random sampling will be done (Hakim, 1987). Since this is a survey research I intend to collect information from respondents themselves. Due to the financial constraints and logistics, I will target on a smaller sample size of one thousand high school students. They will include both female and male teenagers from all the representative American communities. Sampling technique My study population is American teenagers between the age of thirteen and eighteen. This is the most appropriate age because they are making changes and choices for themselves. They are under less parental control. This is a crucial age and most pre diabetic children will be diagnosed at this stage. I intend to use a simple random sample of teenagers between the age of thirteen and nineteen attending local high schools. Random sampling has the benefit of removing bias. It is simple to design and execute and is applicable to any population. Errors of either type one or type two, occur in research. However random sampling allows the easy estimation of these errors and allows the researcher to collect unbiased information. However random sampling is cumbersome for large estimates and highly inconvenient when large populations are being studied (Czaja Blair, 2005). Ethical issues Since my study will involve underage children I will have to seek consent from the guardians and the relevant authorities. As with all studies that involve human beings I will have to ensure that before collection of data, permission will be sought from the respective guardians and the schools so as to obtain information regarding the teenagers. Information regarding the purpose of the study will be frankly explained to both the guardian and the teenager (Punch, 1999). In addition the teenagers’ permission will be crucial and will be sought before the interview. Only with the consent of all involved parties will data collection take place (Vaus, 2002). The study has considered the impact of the research to the teenagers on a later date as a result all the expendable personal information has been removed from the questionnaires. This has removed the risk of exposing the child to psychological, social, financial and physical harm. The study will be conducted anonymously. Confidentiality will be upheld and will only be available to the researchers. In addition the teenagers actual information will not be used anywhere apart from the process of randomization (Vaus, 2002). The researchers will leave the guardians and the teenagers with contact information incase there is further need for clarification even after data collection. The researcher will request for information and not offer threats or bribes in exchange of data. The refusal by any of the teams to cooperate even after due explanation will lead to exemption of the respondent (Cannell etal, 1981) At no time will the rights of the respondent be disregarded. These are the right to privacy and the right to respect meaning that the conduct of the researcher will be professional and courteous at all times (Dijkstra etal, 1982). The information regarding the client will not be diverged. The right of the respondent to choose whether to answer and how to answer will be observed as well as the right to safety. In addition the clients’ right to be to be informed, the right to be heard and to redress will also be observed and the researcher will give all the information the respondent will enquire regarding the study.

Socio-Cultural Theories Of Crime

Socio-Cultural Theories Of Crime The sociological or socio-cultural model provides a macro-level analysis of criminal violence. This model examines criminal violence in terms of socially structured inequality, and social and cultural attitudes and norms regarding anti-social behaviour and inter-personal relations. Besides the two well-known theories, viz. the Structural-Functional Theory and the Theory of Sub-culture of Violence, the Learning Theory, the Exchange Theory, the Anomie Theory, and the Resource Theory also come under socio-cultural analysis.  [1]   Structural Theory This theory asserts that social groups differ in respect to their typical levels of stress, deprivation and frustration and in the sources at their disposal to deal with these stresses. It explains that those individuals would be more violent who combine high stress with low resources. This theory thus explains an individuals action in terms of the ways it is shaped or determined by social forces of one kind or another. Among the possible sources of stress are economic conditions, bad housing, relative poverty, lack of job opportunities and unfavourable and frustrating work condition. Men and women are socialized into particular roles to which are attached a set of socially determined expectations. If structural faction prevents these expectations from being realized, frustration results and violence may ensue. Furthermore, in a variety of ways violence is socially legitimated. Criticism One consequence of accepting this position is that the action of individuals has nothing to do with their personalities and values, and that violence cannot be described in terms of conflict, suppression, sublimation, guilt, and so on. The role of rationality also has to be rejected in social action. The structuralistic perspective, thus, leaves some questions unanswered because of which it is criticized. It should also be observed, however, that while stress resulting from poverty, inequality and various forms of deprivation may be contributory factors in domestic violence, only a small proportion of those who experience such conditions behave violently and many of those who do behave violently are neither poor nor deprived. The identification of structural factors gives a more political flavour to explanations of domestic violence. For example, a study by Straus revealed: that there was a lower incidence of domestic violence when the inequalities between men and women were less marked, and that weaker social bonds gave rise to increased domestic violence.  [2]   System Tension and Feedback System Theory This theory was developed by Straus (A General Systems Theory of violence between Family Members, 1973) to explain intra-family violence. Straus accounts for violence in the home by viewing family as a purposive goal-seeking, adaptive social system. Violence is seen as a system product or output rather than an individual pathology. Straus specified positive feedback in the system which can create an upward spiral of violence, and negative feedback which can maintain, dampen, or reduce the level of violence. According to this theory, violence is precipitated by factors such as stress and inter-individual conflict and is followed by consequences which maintain or escalate violence in family and in society. Criticism This theory has been criticized on the basis that there has been little research specifically concerned with the learning of marital violence. It also over-emphasizes the social system and completely ignores the role of individuals personality.  [3]   Resource theory Resource theory was suggested by William Goode (1971). Women who are most dependent on the spouse for economic well being (e.g. homemakers/housewives, women with handicaps, the unemployed), and are the primary caregiver to their children, fear the increased financial burden if they leave their marriage. Dependency means that they have fewer options and few resources to help them cope with or change their spouses behavior. Couples that share power equally experience lower incidence of conflict, and when conflict does arise, are less likely to resort to violence. If one spouse desires control and power in the relationship, the spouse may resort to abuse.  [4]   Criticism This theory does not explain all forms of violence against women. Various arguments can be given against this theory when applied to wife battering, dowry deaths, murders, rapes, and so on. Patriarchy Theory This theory developed by R.E. Dobash and R. Dobash (Violence Against Wives, 1979) maintains that throughout history, violence has been systematically directed towards women. Economic and social processes operate directly and indirectly to support a patriarchal social order and family structure. Dobashs central theoretical argument is that patriarchy leads to the subordination of women and contributes to a historical pattern of systematic violence directed against females. Criticism Dobashs theory, while perhaps the most macro-level approach to violence against women, has a major drawback of being a theory that is essentially a single factor (patriarchy) explanation of violence (towards women). Conflict and Control Theories Scholars like Foucault (1975), Thompson (1977), and Rothman (1980) have presented a domination model of deviance. They have talked of rules imposed on the powerless by the powerful. Radical and conflict sociologists like Quinney (1977) have argued that the purpose of controlling deviance is to protect the interests of the dominant classes and to prevent access to their resources by outsiders. In other words, the control apparatus is created to prevent the powerless from pursuing their interests, particularly if that pursuit involves gaining access to resources monopolized by the powerful. Imposing varied restrictions on women and compelling them to remain dependent on men economically, socially and emotionally to make them realize that they are weak and powerless in all respects, stands as an example of this argument. To the extent that the agents of control belong to the dominant group, an overall system of devaluation of the powerless group (women) can easily be implemented. Schurz (1983) contends that male control of deviance labelling results in their continued dominance in most spheres of life. The constraints on womens rights can be interpreted as function of the successful definition of women as different from and inferior to men. Man talks of woman not in herself but as relative to him. She is not regarded as an autonomous being. She is differentiated with reference to man and not him with reference to her. She is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute; she is the other. Sex role norms clearly differentiate men from women. When these norms become internalized, they are accepted as facts and seldom questioned. Millet (1970) has said: Because of our social circumstances, male and female are really two cultures and their life experiences are utterly different. Women live in such a different economic, cultural and social world from men that their reactions cannot be understood from a master model developed in male society. Criticism What is in question is not the existence of gender differences but the extent to which such differences justify restrictive role assignments to each gender. There is little disagreement regarding the cultural construction of gender, but there are conflicting views on the role biological factors play in such development. Thus women are: declared as different, defined as inferior, and women stereotypes are justified, and they are systematically deprived of rights, and all attempts at change are restricted. Inter-actionist Deviance Theory This theory, exemplified by theorists such as Erikson (1964), Becker (1963) Schurz (1971), and Lemert (1978) has three characteristics: it cites sex roles as causal factors of why engage in crime and deviant behaviour, it maintains that societal expectations about appropriate sex role behaviour influence the diagnosis and labelling of certain actions as deviant or criminal, and it holds that gender affects the response to such (deviant) behaviours by society (Wisdom, 1984), Since women tend to be less powerful and of lower social status than men, they are easily labelled as deviant in cases of domestic violence. This theory explains family violence in terms of sex role or gender norms, i.e., differential expectations for values, attitudes and behaviours as a function of ones gender. These norms serve as important standards against which women and men are evaluated through application of various sanctions (Schur, 1984). According to the prevalent sex role norms, a husband expects a good wife to behave in a certain manner. She has to run the household smoothly, ensure childrens well-mannered behaviour, avoid assertiveness and remain submissive to elders in family. Any show of independence on her part would violate sex role expectations for female behaviour. According to deviance theory, norm violations tend to trigger forces aimed at making the violator conform to expected standards of behaviour. Thus, when women do not behave like the males ideal of wife, husbands use violence against them to make them conform to norms.  [5]   Social Learning Theory Social learning theory while still concentrating on individual perpetrators, introduces a social element by attempting to explain mens violence towards women as learned behaviour. This phenomenon is seriously referred to as intergenerational transmission of violence. What it purports to demonstrate is that those who witness violence between their parent, or who themselves experience abuse as children are likely to resort to violence in adulthood.  [6]   This theory asserts that human aggression and violence are learned conduct, especially through direct experience and by observing the behaviour of others. According to this theory (Albert Bandura, Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis, 1973) the individual learns violence through imitation. Individuals pick up the behaviour patterns of those they are taught to respect and learn from. Whether observed in the flesh or via visual media, the behaviour of aggressive models is readily imitated by individuals. Aggressive behaviour patterns learned through modelling and imitation remain part of our repertoire of social responses over time. Rewards and punishments also play a crucial role in the learning and expression of behaviour patterns. One might think that physical aggression directed against ones fellows could hardly have any rewards, actual or anticipated. But it is not so. Violence offers abundant rewards and one learns it very early in life. This theory explains both the variations of persons and situations in their tendency to respond aggressively by reference to prior experience, reinforcement patterns, and cognitive processes. Steele and Pollock (1974) and Bennie and Sclare (1969) have maintained that abusive male adults are likely to have been raised in abusive homes. In fact, this family determinism approach maintains that all victims of childhood violence will grow up to be violent adults.  [7]   Criticism Such and Flit craft reject the notion that violence is transmitted from one generation to the next; they argue that the studies which claim to show this are methodologically flawed and base their conclusions on inadequate evidence and unsound interpretation. Widom points to methodological weaknesses in the research, including in retrospective nature and the lack of an adequate control group. Dr. Ram Ahuja applied this theory in studying a wife-batterers history of abuse as a child and found that about half of the batterers (55%) had faced conditions of manifest physical brutality or severe emotional rejection in their childhood. The data thus supported the social learning theory. Yet, violence which is the result of victims provocation or victims complicity, etc., cannot be explained on the basis of this simple theory. Cognitive Behaviour Theory The cognitive behaviour theory postulates that men batter because: They are imitating examples of abuse they have witnessed during childhood or in the media, abuse is rewarded, it enables the batterer to get what he wants, and abuse is reinforced through victim compliance and submission. This theory is same as social learning theory. Advantage and Criticism of the Cognitive Behaviour models One advantage of the cognitive behavioural model is that its analysis of battering and its intervention strategy are compatible with a criminal justice response to domestic violence. The approach holds the batterer fully responsible for his violence and fully responsible for learning and adopting nonviolent alternatives. Without trying to solve larger issues of social inequality on the one hand, or delving into deep-seated psychological issues on the other, the cognitive behavioural approach simply focuses on the violent acts themselves and attempts to change them. The feminist perspective criticises the cognitive behavioural approach for failing to explain why many men with thought patterns or skills deficits that allegedly explain their domestic violence are not violent in other relationships, how culture or sub-cultures influence patterns of violence, and why some men continue to abuse women even when the behaviour is not rewarded.  [8]   Exchange Theory Rechard J. Gelles feels that the Exchange Theory is the best theory of violence because it integrates the elements of the diverse theories of human violence. According to the Exchange Theory, interaction is guided by the pursuit of rewards and the avoidance of punishment and costs. In addition, an individual who supplies reward services to another obliges him to fulfil an obligation and thus the second individual must furnish benefits to the first. The exchange does not pertain to concrete or tangible things; rather, it involves intangibles such as esteem, liking, assistance and approval. If reciprocal exchange of rewards occurs, the interaction will continue, but if reciprocity is not received, the interaction will be broken off. Thus, actors expect rewards to be proportional to the investments (distributive justice). The costs and rewards are judged in the light of alternatives.  [9]   This theory explains the growth of resentment, anger, hostility and violence when the principle of distributive justice is violated. In applying the principles of the Exchange Theory to explain violence in a family (in our case wife beating, dowry death and rape by a family member), we expect that people will use violence in a family if the costs of being violent do not out-weigh the rewards. Goode suggests that force is used more by those in the poorer classes partly because they have less alternative resources and partly because their socialization experiences teach them to depend more on force. However, all researchers do not agree that the poor classes do use more force, though statistics show more violence in poor classes are there because of the fact that greater proportion of the population belongs to lower classes or it may be that middle classes have more resources or have greater motivation to hide their offences. Criticism Intra-family relations are more complex than those studied by Exchange Theorists. A wife cannot break-off interaction with her husband and parents cannot break-off interaction with their children, even if there is no reciprocity. Goode (1971) however, believes that violence is used as a last resort to solve problems in the family. But Nye (1979) does not accept Goodes viewpoint. In applying this theory to intra-family violence, we find some costs for being violent. First, there could be the chance of the victim hitting back; second, a violent assault could lead to an arrest and/or imprisonment; and finally, using violence could lead to loss of status. Thus, since the cost greater than the reward, how does the reward, how does the Exchange Theory explain violence against women?

a separte peace :: essays research papers

Literary Analysis for A Separate Peace   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Having a best friend means not to have jealousy of them, and to not wish to hurt them in any way. From reading this literature book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, it proves that statement. The story is about two close friends whose bond becomes ruined by jealousy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gene felt extremely jealous of Finny. In the beginning of the story, the author tried to describe the inferior feelings of Gene. In the dorm rooms, Gene tried on Finny’s clothes as a symbol of wanting to live Finny’s life. While picking up the shirt, Gene said, â€Å"This is going to be my emblem† (18). That shows that he wants some artifact of Finny’s as his label to describe his personality. Basically, he wants to live Finny’s life.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finny was a down-to-earth, normal, peace making guy. While Gene played the role of a follower, Finny played the leader. When Finny tried to beat a swimming record and accomplished it, he wanted it to be kept on the low. Gene, on the other hand, wanted everyone to know therefore he would become popular. After beating the record, Finny said, â€Å"By the way, we aren’t going to talk about this. It’s just between you and me. Don’t say anything about it, to †¦ anyone† (36). By showing that Finny has to say something in the first place, he obviously knows Gene’s blabbering side of him. When Gene pushed Finny off the tree, it clearly showed how jealous he was of him. The boys have such an incredible bond that when Gene came to tell Finny that it was him who pushed him out of the tree, he did not even believe him. He said, â€Å"Of course you didn’t do it. You damn fool. Sit down, you damn fool. I’m going to hit you if you don’t sit down† (62). He became so angry and up-tight that Gene would say that, and he truly believed that he would never do anything like that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After falling out of a tree, Finny was taken to the hospital. When he felt lonely, he called Gene to talk, and to see if Gene had replaced Finny with another roommate. Once Gene answered â€Å"no†, Gelber 3 Finny became mad at himself for even thinking that in the first place.

Lessons Learned from Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essay

Lessons Learned from The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered by many to be a classic novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne provides his audience with a real sense of the consequences of unconfessed sin, isolation from society, and the presence of evil everywhere. Through his portrayal of the main characters, his choice of setting, and his implied moral lessons, he teaches lessons that must be learned for humans to continue living in harmony with one another.    The setting of The Scarlet Letter provides a powerful connection between fact and fiction. Events such as the Salem witch trials, which occurred not long after the events of The Scarlet Letter, establish credibility for Hawthorne in that recounting historical details such as fear of witches makes him seem like he actually knows what he is talking about. Hawthorne's writing style has made him "one of the most widely read nineteenth century authors" (Jacobson 4). He upholds Puritan values and concepts while employing the classic allegorical characters of romanticism. One such Puritan value is that the devil resides in the forest. Anytime characters in The Scarlet Letter enter the forest, it is certain that something terrible just happened, is happening, or will happen soon. One such example is when the governor's sister, who is suspected of witchcraft, enters the forest and invites Hester to go with her. It is this woman who represents the idea that evil exists everywhere, especially among those who refuse to acknowledge its existence. Salem is a particularly intriguing setting because of its witch infamy. The occurrence of the witch trials in Salem creates an atmosphere where the evil and the right... ... Hawthorne's allegorical approach at real life situations provides his readers with a sense of accomplishment: a sense that if they learn lessons from others, then they will not have to learn from first hand experience. Although on the surface it may seem like another tale of Puritanistic virtue, The Scarlet Letter is the embodiment of life itself. After reading this novel, one may find that many events in real life today can relate directly to events in The Scarlet Letter.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Chase, Richard (1996). "The Lessons of the Scarlet Letter." Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne (pp. 145-152). San Diego: Greenhaven.      Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991.      Jacobson, Gary. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood, 1992.   

School Physical Plant Management

School Physical Plant Management What do you understand with the term school plant? The school plant is the totality of all things that make up a school system. It involves the physical and material facilities in form of buildings, school site and the environment that embody the school. Moreover, a school plants include the site, the building and equipment and this include the permanent structures like workshop, libraries, classrooms, laboratories and semi permanent structures like the educational system itself.The school facilities consist of all types of buildings for academic and non-academic activities, equipment for academic and non- academic activities, areas for sports and games, landscape, farms and gardens including trees, roads and paths. Others include furniture and toilet facilities, lighting, acoustics, storage facilities and packing lot, security, transportation, ICT, cleaning materials, food services, and special facilities for the physically challenged persons. Descri be the 2 major functions of school plant?An Environment to Facilitate Learning The primary purpose of the teaching and learning process is to bring about in the learner desirable change in behavior through critical thinking. This process does not take place in a vacuum but rather in an environment structured to facilitate learning. Hence, this environment of an organization as all elements relevant to its operation and they include direct and indirect action elements. School facilities, constitute the major components of both direct and indirect action elements in the environment of learning. Feature Article –Â  Country School – Allen CurnowThese facilities play pivotal role in the actualization of the educational goals and objectives by satisfying the physical and emotional needs of the staff and students of the school. Knezevich (1975, p. 563) emphasized that the physical needs are met through provision of safe structure, adequate sanitary facilities, a balanced visual environment, appropriate thermal environment, and sufficient shelter space for his work and play. His emotional needs are met by creating pleasant surrounding, a friendly atmosphere, and an inspiring environment.The educational system has undergone tremendous changes in the form of its philosophy, broadened goals and objectives, new approaches to service delivery and architectural design, quantum leap in school enrolment, multiplicity of curricula programmes and extra-curricula activities, introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and expanded academic support services such as guidance services to students, teachers and the community, integration of the school and community. 3. In what ways does instructional program influence the nature of school plant? Schools exist for the purpose of teaching and learning.Human and material resources are deployed for this purpose. School facilities are the material resources provided for staff and students to optimize their productivity in the teaching and learning process. The realization that the transfer of knowledge does not only take place in the four walls of the classroom from the teacher to the students but rather that learning takes place through discovery, exploration, interaction with the internal and external environment has necessitated the creative and innovative development of teaching and learning facilities that reflect these changes.Schools exist to serve socio-economic and political needs of the ever-changing society, consequently, they are in constant interaction with their external environm ent. They receive inputs from the external environment in the form of human and material resources, processes them and empty same into the society as finished products and services. The quality of the products bears a direct relationship with the quality of the facilities deployed in the process of the production.This demands that state of the art facilities are provided in schools to prepare school leavers for life in the global village. Several studies have shown that a close relationship exists between the physical environment and the academic performance of students. Nwagwu (1978) and Ogunsaju (1980) maintained that the quality of education that children receive bears direct relevance to the availability or lack thereof of physical facilities and overall atmosphere in which learning takes place.For example, research findings have shown that students learn better when a combination of methods and materials are employed during teaching. Furthermore, emphasis has shifted towards gi ving individual attention to students as against teaching large classes which presupposes that all students in a class have the ability to learn at the same pace. The implication of the foregoing is that in designing school plant, provision should be made for individual and small group interaction and for large groups for academic and social activities.

Rosewood Movie Review

Rosewood A great story based on real example, which happened in small town of Florida. This movie was directed by John Singleton, and based from real incident, that took place in 1923 in Florida. It is a story about how middle class African-Americans were living and enjoying life, until an incident happens in town. A white female is accusing colored person in raping her. From this point main goal of three main characters is to save people from mob attack, and lynching of colored people.This is a great example that we can relate to what he have learned in the class. As we know the main problem of this story is that a white female who had sexual intercourse with her lover, provoked him and he got in a fight with her. Leaving marks on her body and a clear mark on her face, witness of this event were colored people who were working outside and heard everything that was going on. Women was accusing that African-American men raped and beat her. She went outside screaming, and making a trag edy, hiding the truth.This is a great example of what was happening in 19 century, where lynching escalated to a new whole level. According to Jessie Ames, lynching was happening 29% in the North and 71% in the South. And what is the worst that all this killing was happening because of the women that excuse what made in South. Even though that we are knowing according to Jessie Ames that 71% lynching in the South that was happening, this event was instigated against white male, not against female. That said that lynching were happening for no reason, and excuse for it was white women.This move have related and showed us that no one was protected at that time. Living in this small town in Florida, having colored people everyone in middle class, leaving peacefully a knowing everyone. It still didn't help to solve the problem. In the movie was one important scheme when sheriff of the town asked women, if she is sure that it was African-American person or not. It gives us a hint that sh eriff does not belief what she is saying. Knowing that she is capable of not telling truth.White people are getting mad and are crushing and killing African Americans, they re mad and are following each other, while sheriff was trying to make everything fair and find the one who is guilty. But everything collapsed and they started killing and hanging African Americans. The only person who tried to stop and save their lives was owner of the shop. He didn't believed that someone couldn't done this to her. And he was certainly sure that colored people couldn't do that. He tried to save them from their death.He and a new guy, who came in town, team up in order to save kids and women, which ended up being a successful plan. This movie is a great example of what and how was going during mob attacks and racist killings. It showed up that there was a fear of white people to have and realized that colored people are getting educated and are having a better life style. That they are gaining p ower little bit by little bit. And we could see how white people were scared when â€Å"Major† came in to town, and knowing that he is wealthy. This is a story how white folks were scared of colored people, and were doing everything they could

Bleakness and Language in Waiting for Godot

Bleak Tones And Visual Sadness In Waiting For Godot When the Paris curtain opened in 1953 the audience was faced with a minimalist set with a tree and nothing else. The first sight of ‘En Attendant Godot’ suggests its bleakest tones are presented by Beckett through visual sadness and the overall metaphysical state characters are placed in. Already parallels can be drawn between this setting and the inescapably similar picture from T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’: â€Å"A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, and the dead tree gives no shelter† The only resemblance to the audience’s world is the tree and the road the characters stand on. This setting creates brooding despair; roads represents journeys and an option to travel away, or towards something and yet characters don’t move, in fact asserting â€Å"We Can’t (leave)†(i). The tree, another prop with apparently monumental importance compared to the rest of the wasteland stage, represents hope and life despite there being no hope and life ebbing away. Beckett demands for the tree to have leaves during Act 2, which symbolises spring to audiences while Vladimir and Estragon realise there’s no hope at all. It isn’t a stretch to claim Beckett had a taste for deeply depressing irony and he plays with elements of comedy and tragedy most aptly through dramatic staging. However, it’s my opinion that Beckett does create some of the most comic, and bleakest, parts of the performance through his unerring ability to manipulate languag e. In Act One the words â€Å"Nothing to be done†(ii) are spoken by both Estragon and Vladimir and the statement goes on to be a crucial philosophy throughout the play of the same importance as â€Å"We’re waiting for Godot†(iii). Audiences initially find the phrase laugh-out-loud funny because it’s paired with the physical sequence of Estragon, who is ‘trying to take off his boot’(iv) whom after an exhausting battle concedes and explains to the audience there’s ‘nothing to be done’. The subtle brilliance of this line is in its most colloquial-sounding ring, which appeals to all audiences as they can relate to finding that a menial task has become so extraordinarily difficult they see no way of solving it. It is laughable that a complex human being cannot actually take off a boot, that in some way the boot has beaten the human and now he’s defeated†¦by a boot. This struggle is universal and appeals to audiences mak ing the underlying question of: Why does Estragon presume that the boot is wrong? Beckett thus highlights humanity’s arrogance and pompousness. Vladimir is the messenger for this question when he tells Estragon, ‘There’s man all over blaming on his boots the fault of his feet’(v). This sentence holds many debating topics because the bootmaker made the boot perfect, as in the bootmaker thought it had no faults or he wouldn’t have sold it, similarly if we’re all in God’s image surely Estragon can have no faults either so who is wrong†¦God or man? After the comic moment Vladimir ushers in undertones of suffering when he explains he too is ‘coming round to that opinion’. Although the line sounds harmless enough, Vladimir performs it away from Estragon as he looks out into space which has the implicit meaning that he’s unaware of Estragon’s physical struggle and that his response is actually more metaphysical. This exchange allows Beckett to introduce the brutal truth of the character’s situation: there’s literally nothing to be done. This corresponds to Esslin’s theory that ‘Waiting for Godot’ contains â€Å"a sense of metaphysical anguish at the absurdity of the human condition†(vi). The characters are trapped in this barren featureless setting, waiting for someone they cannot define as they ‘wouldn’t know him if I saw him’(vii), unable to have any influence on proceedings which govern their lives. Through his exploitation of language Beckett also challenges the way humanity operates in the world, and ultimately how the disjointed confusing plot of the play parallels our place in the universe. In ‘Waiting for Godot’ one conversation that exploits the way humanity operates is: â€Å"Estragon: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist. Vladimir: Yes, yes, we’re magicians.† (viii) Audiences find this hilarious due to Estragon’s optimism in their plight and the sudden shift in mood that can be seen onstage is also humorous because it’s so abstract and unjustified. The added element of Vladimir’s dismissal of Estragon’s comment and the dismissal of optimism is a beautiful contrast which gains audience laughter, but also supports the hypothesis they’re a double act and completely reliant on each other. Another nice example of this double act is: â€Å"Vladimir: What do they say? Estragon: They talk about their lives. Vladimir: To live is not enough for them. Estragon: They have to talk about it.† (ix) The double act is vital as a device to exploit language and the claim of â€Å"The two most important sets of characters in the play occur in pairs†(x). A 1953 audience would have recognised Laurel and Hardy’s silhouettes in Estragon and Vladimir, making their world closer to the audience’s, but still miles away. In this passage Beckett’s technique of the double act is actualised to make a point about the existentialist nature of humanity and our need to rationalise individual experience by explaining it to others. The characters complete each other’s sentences which gives the impression of pondering so the audience understands Beckett wants them to think about the short conversation. The word ‘magician’ carries the bleakest undertones because it carries ideas of illusion and trickery, therefore Beckett wants to portray to audiences that our attempts to maintain the logic that we exist is actually a form of trickery; a skill which weâ⠂¬â„¢ve acquired over the years but is untrue. This eloquent point has history in the movement after World War Two (which Beckett experienced) in which society believed it was decaying. The comforts that help them move through their lives, such as order, could no longer be depended on. Comedy still remains in the dark outlook on society because characters are living in a world they pretend to understand, but actually don’t. There’s a style of dramatic irony at work as the audience looks into the realm of Estragon, Lucky, Pozzo and Vladimir with arrogance as they understand things characters don’t, such as the fact Godot won’t arrive. Interestingly, the world created by the theatrical stage would look into the audience’s world with similar arrogance as they know things the audience doesn’t, this is what Beckett’s trying to explain to us; the audience doesn’t understand their world’s nature as well as they think. However, it could be argued only the bleak undertones com e from the manipulation of language and the comedy comes from the character’s visual display to audiences. One critic argues, â€Å"The stage directions of the play constitute nearly half of the text, suggesting that the actions, expressions, and emotions of the actors are as important as the dialogue†(xi) This is a strong argument because the audience responds mainly to the presentation of the lines, which could be considered the performance rather than the actual language. Beckett once said, â€Å"If by Godot I had meant God I would have said God, and not Godot† (xii) but I don’t believe this is the end of the ‘God is Godot’ debate and I also believe this is one of Beckett’s greatest manipulations of language. The play begins with Estragon explaining he spent the night ‘in a ditch’ (xiii) and a group of people ‘beat’ him. These events are very close to ‘The Good Samaritan’ biblical parable except this time there’s no Samaritan. This carries the explicit meaning that Estragon is without God, he receives no help from outside sources and no redemption. Compare this with Vladimir who takes the ‘Book of Job’ approach and claims Estragon must have done something wrong to get beaten. Estragon goes onto challenge Godot’s, or God’s, power when he tells Vladimir they are ‘not tied?’ (xiv). However, he says it ‘feebly’ and then they both get scared that Godot’s coming, the implication being he will punish them for losing their obedience. Beckett plays with audience ideas on Godot’s nature when the boy describes him as having a ‘white beard’ which is drawing links between Godot and God which is laid out so obviously compared to the rest of the play that audiences are surprised, then they laugh. Beckett continues to make us think about God’s nature using Lucky’s speech. It begins with an almost academic presentation on religion but then descends into rambling nonsensical rubbish which ends ‘in spite of the tennis’. I interpreted this as meaning ‘for reasons unknown’ which is a beautiful way to describe God’s relationship with man as humanity can never draw any definite conclusions about him. In conclusion, Beckett creates the bleakest moments using his manipulation of language because it’s the words that resonate and make us think about the Beckett’s themes. The comedy isn’t brought out by exploitation of language as much as the stage directions and the physical oddities, which are of a more visual element. I) Pg. 6, Vladimir II) Pg.1, Estragon III) Pg. 6, Vladimir IV) Pg. 1 Stage Direction V) Pg. 3 Vladimir VI) Esslin, Theatre of the Absurd VII) Pg. 16, Estragon VIII) Pg. 61 IX) Pg. 54 X) Sparknotes XI) Sparknotes XII) Samuel Beckett , Wikipedia ‘Waiting for Godot’ XIII) Pg. 1 XIV) Pg. 12