A Walk in the Woods

Bill Bryson’s 1998 literary work takes its readers’ imagination, as the title suggests, to â€Å"A Walk in the Woods.†The author returning back to the United States after living for 20 years outside the country decided to the reconnect with his home landscape and hikes the Appalachian Trail. In Bill Bryson’s account of the Appalachian Trail, both historical and environmental information is received by the readers. More specifically the environmental crisis and its causes are dealt in this Bryson’s book. For some, environmental issues are quite uninteresting and dull.However, readers of this book are still compelled to continuously read it because of its humor and thought-provoking exploration of the wild. Moreover, Bill Bryson’s style and themes informs and teaches several environmental issues and concerns to its readers while entertaining them. Though, by scanning the history and events in other areas, it can be said that Bill Bryson’ s accounted environmental problems in his book does not occur solely in the Appalachian Trail, rather it is a world-wide problem.Bill Bryson accounts that the Appalachian Trail is 2200 miles, and I think he is telling the truth. Based on what I have learned (or know) about, the Appalachian Trail is a 2,147-mile-long footpath from Georgia to Maine, which follows the ridgetops of the fourteen states through which it passes.Although other people had put forth similar ideas, Benton MacKaye’s article â€Å"An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning,† is usually looked upon as having presented the impetus for the Appalachian Trail.A regional planner, MacKaye saw in the post-World War I era an America that was becoming hastily urbanized, machine-driven and far detached from the positive reinvigorating aspects of the natural world. In addition to endowing with obvious recreational opportunities, the trail he imagined or visualized would be a linking line between a se ries of everlasting self-sustaining camps in wherein cooperation would replace antagonism, trust replaces suspicion, and emulation replaces competition.Encouraged and supported by relatives, friends, and like-minded acquaintances, MacKaye set about disseminating the idea of an Appalachian Trail to anyone who would listen, as well as officials of the National Park and National Forest Services.Particularly interested to the trail concept were members and officers of previously existing trail organizations such as the Green Mountain Club of Vermont, the New England Trail Conference, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Not overlooking the advertising power of the press, MacKaye also solicited the help of newspaper reporters and columnists throughout the Northeast.The idea struck a chord form in October 1923, just two years after publication of his article, the first few miles of trail to be built particularly as a part of the Appalachian Trail were opened to the public in the area of Har riman and Bear Mountain State Parks in New York by the then recently formed New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.Acting upon a request by MacKaye and others, the Federal Societies on Planning and Parks met in Washington, D.C, in March 1925, for the intention of furthering action on the Appalachian Trail.There, an organization establishing the Appalachian Trail Conference (now known as Appalachian Trail Conservancy, committed to the protection and management of the trail) was adopted, and William A. Welch, of New York’s Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was named its chairman. Throughout the meeting, it was determined that the Appalachian Trail would run approximately 1,700 miles (which is 500 miles less than Bill Bryson’s measurement or the length of Appalachian Trail today) from Mount Washington in New Hampshire to Cohutta Mountain in northwestern Georgia.A northern extension was to stretch to Mount Katahdin in Maine while a southern addition would reach all of th e way to Birmingham Alabama. Among various branch routes that were also proposed, one was to follow the Long Trail in Vermont, another would extend into the Catskills, and another was to run along the Tennessee River to Kentucky.

Axis I and II Disorders in Children

Axis I Disorders include the following: â€Å"adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, eating disorders, impulse-control disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, sleep disorders, as well as, somatoform disorders† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 345 – 730).â€Å"Axis II†, on the other hand, covers the following conditions: â€Å"personality disorders, mental retardation, as well as, autism† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 27 – 134 & 679 – 730).Furthermore, â€Å"Axis II† disorders may already emerge during an individual’s childhood life while â€Å"Axis I† disorders usually present itself during the stage of adulthood (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744).Moreover, â€Å"Axis II’s† symptoms linger awhile longer than the clinical manifestations of â€Å"Axis I† and that â€Å"A xis II† disorders may negatively impact ones’ life since interaction may be more difficult as compared with â€Å"Axis I† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744).In addition to that, â€Å"medical attention is necessitated when it comes to principal disorders† which are covered in â€Å"Axis I† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744). â€Å"Axis II† on the other hand, are those â€Å"shaping the current response to the Axis I problem† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744). It may also influence the individual to the â€Å"Axis I† dilemma (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744).Differences in Treatment ApproachesThe differences in treatment approaches are as follows: â€Å"Anxiety and phobic disorders† may be treated through the following techniques: â€Å"desensitization, flooding, relaxation† (De J ongh et. al., 1999, pp. 69 – 85). â€Å"Obsessive-compulsive disorder† may be address through the following techniques: â€Å"relaxation and relapse-prevention† (McKay, 1997, pp. 367 – 369). â€Å"Depressive disorders† are treated the â€Å"cognitive behavioral technique, as well as, relaxation† (Ackerson, 1998, pp. 685 – 690).â€Å"Conduct disorders† are addressed through â€Å"positive reinforcement† and â€Å"extinction† (Bailey, 1996, pp. 352 – 356). â€Å"Hyperactivity syndromes† are treated by the following techniques: â€Å"time out, positive reinforcement, and extinction† (Quay, 1997, n.p.). â€Å"Pervasive developmental disorders† are addressed by the following techniques as well: â€Å"time out, positive reinforcement, and extinction† as well as, â€Å"aversive techniques† (Bristol-Power et al., 1999, pp. 435 – 438).â€Å"Encopresis/enuresis† is tre ated through â€Å"positive reinforcement† (Boon et. al., 1991, pp. 355 – 371). The treatments for â€Å"Mental Retardation† are the following: â€Å"positive reinforcement, extinction and time-out, prompting and shaping, as well as, aversive techniques† (Jones, 2006, pp. 115 – 121). â€Å"Tics† are treated by massed practice (Sand et. al., 1973, pp. 665 – 670).Working with Different Children from Axis I, Axis II, or BothIn case I would need to address a child’s case wherein Axis I and Axis II Disorders both occur at the same time, I will make sure to consider the â€Å"development of cognitive, social, and motor skills† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744). In addition, â€Å"the one that initiated evaluation or clinical is regarded as the principal diagnosis† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744).Most Important Things to Consider when Working with Ch ildrenThe most important things to take into consideration when working with children are the following: first of all, the ethical and professional issues that emerges in mental health work with children; second, the culture that the child and his or her family believes / practices / grew up in; third, the proper treatment/intervention; fourth include the following contemporary structure of â€Å"services, evidence-based practice, and psychopharmacology† (American Psychiatric Association et. al., 2000, pp. 1 – 744).ReferencesAckerson, J. et. al., (1998). Cognitive Bibliotherapy for Mild and Moderate AdolescentDepressive Symptomatology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66: 685 – 690.American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association, American PsychiatricAssociation Task Force on DSM-IV. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR. VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.Bailey, V.F.A. (1996). Intensive Interven tions in Conduct Disorders. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 74: 352 – 356.

Analysis of Statement Life is Not Fair

It is not fair to get used to life in (Bill Gates) an unfair life. In some aspects of our lives, we have heard someone's opinion. Life is unfair because things will not happen in the future. Life gives people and harms. Life is like a picture by an unknown painter, and it is only a part of it. Pictures can always deceive someone about what they truly mean. Lies, appearances, contradictions, colors, integration, and letters are mere decorations in the overall interpretation of images. First, the work statement is not necessary but an analysis unit, with emphasis on defining and capturing the actual demand report. Parents teaching children lessons lessons have a job to do. The work to do is not a requirement, requirement, requirement, or concern. It is a process that can be disassembled and investigated to understand useful customer input. It is an indicator that the customer uses for measurement at the time of success. Traditional VoC experts do not focus on the tasks to be performed. In other words, if you find a customer's needs, work is not a unit of analysis and the request statement is not related to work. Finished. In fact, the VoC community does not have an agreed analysis unit. Some VoC experts use products as analytical units (Katz does this) and others focus on customers Financial statement analysis (or financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing the company's financial statements to make better economic decisions. These statements include income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and equity change statement. Financial statement analysis is a method or process that includes specific methods to assess the organization's risks, performance, financial condition, and future prospects. It is used by various stakeholders, including credit and equity investors, governments, the public, decision makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different technologies to meet their ne eds. For example, equity investors are interested in the organization's long-term profitability and the sustainability and growth potential of dividends. Analysis of Statement Life is Not Fair It is not fair to get used to life in (Bill Gates) an unfair life. In some aspects of our lives, we have heard someone's opinion. Life is unfair because things will not happen in the future. Life gives people and harms. Life is like a picture by an unknown painter, and it is only a part of it. Pictures can always deceive someone about what they truly mean. Lies, appearances, contradictions, colors, integration, and letters are mere decorations in the overall interpretation of images. First, the work statement is not necessary but an analysis unit, with emphasis on defining and capturing the actual demand report. Parents teaching children lessons lessons have a job to do. The work to do is not a requirement, requirement, requirement, or concern. It is a process that can be disassembled and investigated to understand useful customer input. It is an indicator that the customer uses for measurement at the time of success. Traditional VoC experts do not focus on the tasks to be performed. In other words, if you find a customer's needs, work is not a unit of analysis and the request statement is not related to work. Finished. In fact, the VoC community does not have an agreed analysis unit. Some VoC experts use products as analytical units (Katz does this) and others focus on customers Financial statement analysis (or financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing the company's financial statements to make better economic decisions. These statements include income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and equity change statement. Financial statement analysis is a method or process that includes specific methods to assess the organization's risks, performance, financial condition, and future prospects. It is used by various stakeholders, including credit and equity investors, governments, the public, decision makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different technologies to meet their ne eds. For example, equity investors are interested in the organization's long-term profitability and the sustainability and growth potential of dividends.

Paraphrase and improve presenting style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paraphrase and improve presenting style - Essay Example The sources of these sounds are categorized in relation to their engagement of the basis of molecular formation; solids, liquids and gasses. Background: In terms of pitch and frequency discrimination tasks, human performance has been intensively researched with its primary focus upon the duration of repetitive wavecycles. These studies concluded that an individuals’ increasing exposure to wavecycles subsequently increases their performance. This revelation would contribute to the understanding of the evolution of animal’s communicative sounds, particularly from single-pulse resonances which became repetitive expressions of the same stimulus. A study conducted by Hsieh and Saberi (2007) found that an increase in performance coincided with the lengths of exposure duration, where increasing exposure increased performance. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to explore the effect repetition has upon human performance, particularly how the number of exposure periods to a damped sinusoid and double damped sinusoids increases the individuals’ performances. The experimenter then compared the effect on individuals’ performances, focusing between damped and double damped sinusoids. Method: Ten participants with average auditory abilities were recruited from a single population; the staff and students of the university. The experimenters exposed the subjects to an increasing number of periods (1, 2, 4, 8 and 16) of a damped and double damped sinusoid. They accomplished this by using â€Å"a three alternative forced choice method and a one up three down adaptive procedure stair case† in conjunction with the examination of the Just Noticeable Difference threshold in the subject’s ability to discriminate the exposure to varying frequencies. The experimenters labeled the samples in this study as â€Å"looks†, as their multiple-look models would collectively account for the collected data which came from the temporal

Assignment for Shareholder Wealth Maximization Essay

Assignment for Shareholder Wealth Maximization - Essay Example Shareholder Wealth Maximization The management of a company finds it tough when they are considering that what should be their goal- profit maximization of the company or the wealth maximization of the shareholders. The profit maximization objective can be pursued by the company management for the short term period. The company should has the objective to gain as much as profit by using the resources effectively and optimally. At the other side the company should take the long term objective of the stockholders’ wealth maximization. The stockholders of the company are interested for getting the returns for the long term as well as short term. The wealth maximization objective should be undertaken by the company management for the long term as it considers the following factors. The risk or uncertainty associated with the performance and the return associated with the company performance. The wealth of the company for the long term is analyzed as the company has to plan for pro viding the long term return. The timing of providing the returns is also considered (Shim and Siegel, p.2). If the company takes the long term objective then they can also fill their short their objective. If they are meeting the stockholder’s objective then the stockholders also invests in the company, as a result the investment will increase and the performance of the company would be better if they utilize those resources effectively. From the researcher point of view shareholder’s wealthy maximization should be the ultimate goal of the company. Goals and Objectives of the Management For analyzing the goals and objectives of a company the researcher has selected Coca-Cola Company which is listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (MSN Money, â€Å"Coca-Cola Co†). The goals and objectives of the company are as follows. The company’s objective is to start at least one program related to physical activity in the countries where they are operating by th e end of 2015. Reducing the carbon emission from the manufacturing unit of the company. For the development of the communities they are associating with the management has planned to return 1% of the operating income to the communities. Packaging material efficiency improvement. Improvement of the water efficiency. The wastewater treatment improvement is among the main goals of the company (The Coca-Cola Company, â€Å"Global Sustainability- Select Goals and Targets†). The goals of the vision 2020 package of Coca-Cola is to make the profit margin double from now, enhance their portfolio They work with 300 bottling partners and are working for the growth target in terms of the operating income and unit cases of volume (The Coca-Cola Company, p.2-33). Among these goals the strategic objectives of the company like increasing the operating income, increase the unit case of volume, enhancing the portfolio or improving the packaging material efficiency improvement support the share holders’ wealth maximization goals when the company is also maintaining the corporate social responsibility. They have the goals of developing the communities in the countries they are operating; also they are working for being environmental friendly through their projects. Analysis and Recommendation Coca-Cola Company has a sustainable long term

Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Nuns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Nuns - Essay Example Buddhism took root in China in the 1st century A.D. It came from India through central Asia, and scriptures were later translated into Chinese. They also became monks, following the example of those who came from central Asia. More men and women became monks and nuns as the years passed and the Chien Kang Era (313-316 A.D.) records in the Biographies of Buddhist Nuns how twenty four women led by Ching Chen converted to nuns as they received the tonsure and took the ten precepts from the master Chih Shan who came from central Asia. These nuns then built the Bamboo Forest Temple where they practiced the Dharma. It was in the fifth century that the first woman, Hui-kuo, became the first bhiksuni by taking upasampada or the taking of full ordination. Buddhism in Korea first travelled from China to the Kingdom of Koryo, and later made its way to the kingdoms of Paekshe and Silla. Evidence show that the first full ordination of Korean nuns happened soon after the full after the ordination of Hui-kuo and her nuns. Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the 6th century A.D. King Sheng Ming of the kingdom of Paekshe presented Emperor Kin-myo with several Buddhist religious figures in 538 A.D. However, Korean migrants to Japan have already introduced the religion on an earlier date and it had been practiced privately. The Chinese also contributed to the growth of Japanese Buddhism on a later date when the main doctrines were directly handed over during the Nara Dynasty (710-781 A.D.). Women in early Buddhist myth and reality As orders of bhikunis were founded, large numbers of prominent women came to join them. These women were attracted by the teachings of the Buddha and the empowerment it gives them. Among the celebrated women who became nuns are: Prajapati Gotami who became the first bhikuni; Uppalayanna and Khema who were considered as the "foremost of the bhikunis"; and Kisagotami and Patacara who were prominent in many stories about early Buddhism. Prajapati Gotami who is considered as the first bhikuni, was the second queen of Prince Siddharta's father. When Queen Maha Maya who was the prince's mother died seven days after giving birth to Siddhartha, Prajapati Gotami gave up her son who was born the same day the queen died, and took Prince Siddhartha as her own. She loved him so much that the prince could not remember his own mother. The bhikunis or Buddhist nuns began with Prajapati who was given special permission by the Buddha himself, ending and exclusively male monastic assembly. The daughter of a rich man, Kisagotami was married and had a son. The boy died and Kisagotami carried the dead body around asking everyone for medicine that would restore the child's life. People thought that her grief had made her mad. However, a wise man thought otherwise and decided to help her. He told her to approach the Buddha and ask for the medicine that would bring her son back to life. The Buddha instructed her to get some mustard seeds from a house where there had been no death. Still carrying her dead child, Kisagotami went from house to house asking for mustard seeds. People wanted to help her but she could not find a house where there had been no death. She realized that hers was not the only family who had deaths, and that there were more dead

Explicative Style Paper on The Lack of Islam in American Public Term

Explicative Style on The Lack of Islam in American Public Schools and the Struggle of Muslim's to gain their own American - Term Paper Example These include the assimilation degree of the Muslims into society, national identity, and religious and civil law inter-relation. One avenue for finding a balance between security and identity issues with diversity tolerance in the society. The United States’ ideal, contending â€Å"out of many, one†, has assured that Muslims can participate in the maintenance and improvement of America as a culturally pluralistic democracy (Moore 286). However, the question arises as to the effects of the war on terror on American assimilation of Islam, both in the education system and society. This paper will argue that there is wanting progress on assimilating Islam into the education system while the formation of an Islamic-American identity is a struggle. The Lack of Islam in American Public Schools Religious illiteracy among American teachers has made it likely that teachers in the system will harbor generalizations and prejudices concerning Islam, which hinder the attempts to acc ommodate Islam in the education system (Aown 1257). Such bodies have long identified the basic requirements that Muslims need to uphold their Islamic faith in public schools as the Council on Islamic Education. These bodies have also raised vital issues that need to be on Islam and State that have now become difficult for public schools resolve. However, some of the state sponsored schools have found it difficult to make some of the accommodations that have been identified. At the heart of this issue is the extent to which the requirements and needs of Islam can be represented in the education system. Another issue that has held accommodation back is the failure of the teachers to understand whether the First Amendment’s establishment clause, prohibits the American state from accommodating religious groups to exercise freely. The religious belief requirement in the First Amendment’s free exercise clause could cause friction with the establishment clause when the studen t wants to practice his/her beliefs in a public school (Aown 1258). The teaching fraternity must ensure that the requirement for belief not to be hindered must be in balance with sensitivity not to give overwhelming state support for specific beliefs (Aown 1259). Some Americans are of the belief that, as long as support by the state is not preferential, then it is all right, whereas others believe that state support is not acceptable. However, it is possible to make thoughtful and sensitive accommodations easily without raising any questions to do with the constitution. For example, it may be possible to allow Muslim students for them to wear modest clothes, or even allow them to skip some social activities without any violation of school policies. In addition, some schools allow Muslim students to be absent for some religious holidays, although this is not widespread. While this accommodation may be considered a reasonable accommodation, some teachers resist it, mostly because they do not understand Islam and the importance of these holidays. Accordingly, some local district and state schools have been criticized for refusing to assent to these holidays (Aown 1259). This can be improved by placing Islamic holidays together with holidays for other religions for teachers to plan on the school calendar. While some schools have began to implement excusal policies that let Muslim

Fashion and Flesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fashion and Flesh - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and Flesh" talks about Flesh and Fashion. Unfortunately, males also look to these images to determine whether or not the females in their lives can compare, or if they have made the cut to be considered attractive. Television, movies, and magazines have greatly altered our perception of what a normal, healthy, beautiful human being should look like. Plus-size models, though they do exist, are very few and far between. It is almost impossible to find a magazine or watch a television show or movie that does not have a very thin female as the center of attention, or as a supporting cast. Yet when people in real life look around at the other people surrounding them, they tend to become confused at how many different body types there really are in this world and how very few of them can actually be compared to those on the silver screen. Unfortunately, the same perception is made as these people look at themselves. To constantly see size two waists on television and the n to look down at your own size five body has the ability to be discomforting. It suddenly becomes a dream, a goal, to look just like the skinny frame viewed on television. Eating disorders have become very common in young females, and many of these cases can be traced back to the lack of self-esteem they feel after having viewed too many of these thin starlets. They either expect themselves to look the same, or else are expected by others to be just as thin. Becoming the glamorized perception of beautiful has become a task.

Acute Pneumonia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Acute Pneumonia - Essay Example As the paper outlines Mr. Jones Stromenger (J.S) age 70 was admitted to the emergency care unit. He was complaining of acute pain when he coughed or when he took deep breaths. He had experience shortness of breath when he walked more than 20 feet. On admission he was recorded to have high fever accompanied shaking chills, sharp pleuritic chest pain, headache and sweaty and clammy skin. When he coughed he produced rusty sputum with mixture of blood. His skin was showing mild tinge of blueness and he was reported to have nausea and vomiting. The temperature was >38.6 degree c with more than 25 breaths per min, systolic BP 100breaths per min. on laboratory finding, arterial pH was less than 7.35, blood urea nitrogen > 30 mg/ dl and sodium < 130mmol/dl and PaO2 < 600mm Hg. On pulse oximetry the patient showed hypoxia and arterial blood gas exchange showed slower oxygenation so breathing tube was introduces and adequate oxygenation was given. The age was the critical factor and the patie nt was considered to be in Risk class 1 that favored the admission of the patient into the critical care. This study highlights that as the first level of emergency care the patient was made to undergo physical examination and chest x-ray. A Blood test and a sputum culture were also ordered. When given a physical examination it was found that the patient had a fever, increased respiratory rate, low blood pressure, fast heart rate and sinus problems. The lungs were auscultation, with stethoscope crackling sounds found, and an increase loudness of whisper speech showed the areas of lungs that were stiff and full of fluids – â€Å"consolidation â€Å".  

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay * Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. (Why Is Literacy Important? UNESCO, 2010) * The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing which adults are thought to need in modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives. (David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell, 2006) * To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllableslifeless objects unconnected to an existential universebut rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in ones context. (Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness. Sheed Ward, 1974) * There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in  the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy. (Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, 1982) * We expect the contradictory and the impossible. . . . We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for excellence, to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. (Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, 1961) * Women and Literacy In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock, or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants. ) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdomabout Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them, or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid. (Joan Acocella, Turning the Page. Review of The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack [Yale University Press, 2012]. The New Yorker, October 15, 2012) * From the website of California Literacy, Inc. The literacy rate in the US has many educators in search of answers about this problem that has plagued our country for decades. Instead of decreasing, the numbers of literacy has steadily increased over the years. This raises a lot of questions about our education system, how it is ran, and why there is such a problem with illiterate people in our country. (quoted by The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2010) Pronunciation: LIT-er-eh-see Language * Six Common Myths About Language * Key Dates in the History of the English Language * Introduction to Etymology: Word Histories Elsewhere on the Web * The National Institute for Literacy (US) * The Literacy Project * National Literacy Trust (UK) Resources for Writers * Reference Works for Writers and Editors * Grammar and Usage Advice Sites * Sites for Correcting Common Sentence Errors Related Articles * orality definition and examples of orality * illiteracy definition and examples of illiteracy * aliteracy definition and examples of aliteracy * Adult Education What Is Adult Education * Writing Degree Do I Need a Writing Degree Richard Nordquist Grammar Composition Guide * Sign up for My Newsletter * Headlines * Forum Advertisement. 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Icon Lower Case 6. literacy definition and examples of literacy * Advertise on About. com * Our Story * News Events * SiteMap * All Topics * Reprints * Help * Write for About * Careers at About * User Agreement * Ethics Policy * Patent Info. * Privacy Policy * Your Ad Choices  ©2013 About. com. All rights reserved. The Greatest Literacy Challenges Facing Contemporary High School Teachers: Implications for Secondary Teacher Preparation Mary B. Campbell Saint Xavier University Margaret M. Kmiecik Saint Xavier University Secondary teachers face significant challenges in their efforts to increase the literacy levels of adolescents. Encouraging teachers to speak out about these challenges and to recommend initiatives that may improve literacy practices for adolescents is vital for future reform efforts. This study examines the questions: What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? and What will help to diminish these challenges? The data collection questionnaire was distributed to teachers in eight high schools throughout the greater Chicago area. A discussion of the findings suggests compelling directions for secondary teachers and teacher educators. 2 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) WHILE SEVERAL REFORMS in higher education teacher preparation have made a difference in more teachers being highly prepared and qualified (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999), preparing teachers to meet the literacy demands of secondary students still remains inadequate. Improving literacy learning in our nations high schools needs serious elevation as an educational priority at all levels. The 2002 NAEP (National Association for Educational Progress) Report indicates that 36 percent of students in grade 12 performed at a proficient level, indicating that only a little over one-third of our nations high school seniors can understand challenging material (Feller, 2003). This was a decline in performance from 1998 when the NAEP reported the percentage of seniors who performed at the proficient level as 40 percent (U. S. Department of Education, 1999). Additionally the 1998 report states that no more than 6 percent of the adolescents performed at the advanced level which demonstrates students ability to analyze and extend the meaning of the materials they read. The NAEP data further show more than one-third of the students did not demonstrate competence at a basic level of literacy. The International Reading Association has taken a substantial leadership role in elevating attention to middle school and secondary literacy issues by establishing the Commission on Adolescent Literacy in 1997 (Rycik Irvin, 2001). The work of this Commission resulted in the published document, Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, Rycik, 1999), which recommends principles for teachers to consider when supporting the literacy growth of secondary students. Still much more comprehensive work needs to be done as challenges still persist and teachers, administrators, and staff developers have asked for more examples of practices that might renew and revitalize their efforts for middle and high school students (Rycik Irvin, 2001, p.4). Teaching has greatly increased in range and complexity over the last decade. Teachers now find themselves in highly pressured environments (Pincas, 2002). Faced with the reality of overcrowded classrooms, high stakes testing, and standards-based environments, using instructional practices that move students to higher levels of thinking through more authentic forms of learning are lost. Additional factors Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 3  that compound the situation are high student mobility, absenteeism, minimal student engagement, misbehavior, missing homework, cultural and linguistic diversity, special needs, and increasing numbers of students from poverty and single parent households (Alvermann, Hinchman, Moore, Phelps, Waff, 1998). Regardless of the number or degree of challenges, teachers still remain accountable for fostering literacy growth among all students. Efforts to improve literacy learning for secondary students must take seriously the realities and challenges persistent in todays high schools. Reform theorists who suggest improvement can be made through a series of workshops, enhanced technology, sanctions and the like, (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999, p. 59) are naive at best. A new paradigm requires comprehensive and systemic change. It also requires a serious re-orientation towards broad organizational, political, and economic presuppositions on which definition and acquisition of change must be based. Moreover, it involves a commitment to putting teachers at the forefront of the reform process. Valencia and Wixson (2000) argue that it is time for the voices of teachers to be heard. Without empowered professional voices, we lose the potential for constructing serious reform. Emerging Directions If students are to achieve high literacy standards, evidence strongly suggests that what teachers know and can do is one of the more important factors influencing student achievement. (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 228). Research also makes it clear that if teachers are to negotiate the demands of new standards and new students, they must have access to a deeper base of knowledge and expertise than most teacher preparation programs now provide (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p.229). While several studies have looked at reform in teacher preparation programs, Schwartz (1996) concluded that reform changes in teacher preparation have resulted in little more than adjusting on the margins (p. 3). Particularly troubling, in secondary teacher preparation, is the limited attention given to the challenges existing in schools in which future teachers must help students to achieve literacy, and the problems 4 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) of schooling in a broader social context. Moreover, in many states, secondary teacher preparation programs include a requirement of a content area reading course, whereas in other states there is no equivalent requirement. This has remained literally unchanged for years, even as secondary students continue to struggle with reading and writing throughout the high school curriculum. The wide-spread standards movement has made some impact in requiring newly certified teachers to demonstrate competency on specific literacy knowledge and performance indicators. However, the depth of what is needed to teach content area literacy in secondary schools requires more than one course, and/or a few standards. Connecting Two Distinct Communities Education can no longer be seen as an exclusive function, and the traditional structures cannot remain isolated from social change. Faculties in colleges and universities and the practicing teachers in secondary schools have no choice but to adjust to new paradigms. While it is now more common to find partnerships and institutional collaborations between university faculty and secondary teachers, many of these need redefinition. In many partnerships, practicing teachers have related there has not been a high level of reciprocity, as the universities are too dominant (Campbell, 2002, p. 22). Each entity must put into the equation improvement strategies that are meaningful to their respective organizations; that is, they need to identify areas where they truly need help from one another. Then institutionally and programmatically, they need to find ways to work together to make those intended improvements a reality (Howey Zimpher, 1999, p. 299). High school teachers and teacher educators alike are looking to move beyond  yet another good idea to realize reconceptualization and transformation for secondary literacy education. This means engaging high school teachers in the process of secondary teacher preparation, determining what factors pose the greatest challenges to literacy development and using this knowledge as a cornerstone for improving Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges literacy practices in schools. Failure to confront these challenges effectively will undoubtedly compromise the ability of teachers to serve as effective agents of change. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the problems secondary teachers face that impede literacy learning in the classrooms and to yield information that may inform the preparation of future secondary teachers. Two broad questions emerged to guide this study: o What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? e What will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? The Study ParticipatingS chools and Teachers The schools that participated in this study included eight high schools, seven public and one private. The researchers purposely selected the schools to ensure ethnic diversity as well as urban and suburban representation. Six of the high schools represented grades 10-12 and two included grades 9-12. The school principals granted permission to graduate students enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Reading to place the High School Literacy Survey in the school mailboxes of the teachers. A total of 450 questionnaires, including a cover letter and a stamped return envelope, were distributed to 9-12 teachers. Two hunared and two questionnaires were returned, realizing a return rate of 45 percent. There were no follow-up attempts to obtain a higher return rate. Most respondents (71 percent) had advanced degrees beyond the B. A. or B. S. : among these were 68 percent with a M. A. and 3 percent with a Ph. D. Teachers from 18 different subject area fields responded to the survey. English (18 percent), mathematics (16 percent), and science (15 percent) teachers comprised the majority of participants. The remaining teachers represented the following subjects; art (3 percent), 5. 6 ReadingHorizons, 2004, 45, (1) business (4 percent), technology (4 percent), drivers education (1 percent), foreign language (6 percent), history (7 percent), library (1 percent), music (1 percent), physical education (3 percent), reading (1 percent), radio/television (1 percent), social studies (8 percent), special education (3 percent), theology (3 percent), and vocational education (4 percent). Teachers with more than 10 years of experience accounted for 63 percent of the sample, while 37 percent had 10 years or less. Teachers working in suburban areas surrounding the greater Chicago area comprised the majority (67 percent) of the sample population, with the remaining 33 percent coming from urban schools. Forty-four percent described their schools as predominately diverse ( 50 percent), 32 percent considerably diverse (30-50 percent minority), 17 percent somewhat diverse (10-30 percent minority) and 7 percent primarily white (less than 10 percent minority). The Questionnaire We collected the data from a survey instrument, High School. Literacy Survey, designed and constructed by us. The questionnaire requested two types of information: * objective, relating to educational degrees, content field of study, years of teaching experience, diversity of school population * subjective, relating to opinions and values in teaching and learning The subjective portion of the survey was comprised of two broad questions. The first question asked teachers to identify 5 of the 20 factors that posed the greatest challenges in helping their students to attain literacy in their subject field. Respondents wrote the numeral 1 next to the statement representing their greatest challenge, the numeral 2 next to the statement representing their next greatest challenge, and so forth through the numeral 5. (See Appendix) The twenty statements, defined as challenges, were derived from the literature on content area reading. An extensive review of the literature Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 7 resulted in identifying twenty challenges, however, these may not represent all possible factors and they may not represent factors that teachers would have included if they were to construct the questionnaire. A space was provided for teachers entitled other for their convenience in identifying additional factors that pose as challenges. Since no specific theory was identified to serve as a foundation for the selection of factors, they represent an eclectic representation. Additionally, the factors were not defined on the questionnaire, indicating that a singular definition cannot be assumed and that the factors may represent multiple meanings in the field. The second question invited the teachers to respond openly to the question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Findings Percentages were used to report the data on the high school teachers perceptions about the factors that challenge them most in helping their students to achieve literacy in their subject area. Table 1. Percentage Responses of Factors that Represent the Greatest Literacy Challenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Assessment of student learning 2 1 1 2 2 8 Classroom environment 1 2 1 2 6 Classsize 4 4 6 8 5 27 Cultural and language diversity 1 1 2 among students Curriculum 1 2_ 1A _3 7. 8 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Helping students to construct. meaning from text Helping students interpret graphics in text Helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills Helping students to locate and organize information Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary Homework issues Integrating technology for teaching and learning Selecting materials for teaching and learning Organizing and managing the classroom for learning State/district/school standards for students Struggling readers Student motivation/interest/attitudes 3 6 6 7 7 1 1 3 2 16 8 12 11 12 1 5 5 4 3 8 3 6 11 12 5 8 10 6 7 1 5 2 1 3 1 4 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 9 8 8 8. 33 17 17 8 7 1 5 5 5 3 19 29 7 59 18 40 36 12 5 8 6 42 82 Students with special needs Secondary Teacher Literacy Chiallenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Students who lack study skills 11 13 13 13 7 57 Writing skills of students 2 8 5 7 8 30 (A ranking scale, with 1 meaning greatest challenge, 2 next greatest challenge, and so forth) The top five challenges as reported in Table 1 were: * student motivation, interests, and attitudes (33 percent) o helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills (16 percent) o students who lack study skills (11 percent) o struggling readers (9 percent). o helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (8 percent). The least perceived challenges were cultural and language diversity among students (2 percent) and selecting materials for teaching and learning (5 percent). Examining the data of the largest responding groups of content area teachers, English, mathematics, and science, yielded similar findings. All three of these groups identified the same top two challenges as did the total group. The English, mathematics, and science teachers third, fourth and fifth rankings were: * English (3) homework issues (4) students who lack study skills. (5) writing skills of students o Mathematics (3) students who lack study skills 9 iO Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) (4) homework issues (5) helping students to locate and organize information e Science: (3) students who lack study skills (4) helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (5) helping students to construct meaning from text The teachers were also asked to respond to the following openended question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Seventyseven percent of the teachers wrote responses to this question. The resppnses were grouped by similar topics from which themes emerged. Table 2 reports the percentages of the most frequently occurring responses to the open-ended question. Table 2. Themes and Percentages of Responses for Confronting the Greatest Challenges Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Better basic skills instruction in elementary schools 64 More parent responsibility and support 58 Mandatory inclusion of critical 39 thinking questions on all assessments Study skills classes for incoming students 33 I Iimprove teacher preparation/more methods for 28 secondary teachers. Greater respect and support from society 20 Practical/useful staff development 11 Secondary TeachterLiteracy Challenges 11 Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Teacher task forces making policy decisions 9 instead of politicians and administrators Complete restructuring of the current traditional 7 education model A center at each high school for struggling readers The most common responses cited by the majority of teachers to confront the greatest challenges (Table 2) were better basic skills instruction in elementary schools (64 percent) and more parent responsibility and support (58 percent). Sample responses given by less than 50 percent of the teachers were mandatory inclusion of critical thinking questions on all assessments (39 percent), study skills classes for incoming students (33 percent), and improvement of teacher preparation with more methods for secondary teachers (28 percent). Discussion The results of this study provide insight for the continuing efforts to improve the literacy levels of secondary students. They are, however, neither exclusive nor exhaustive. They are offered with no claim for the universality or total generalizability, but they are offered as a common ground for thinking. Student Motivation andA ttitudes High school teachers identified student motivation to read, write, and do other literacy-related activities as their greatest challenge. The teachers written comments on questionnaires indicated that much of the class-assigned reading is often boring and not relevant to the students own interests and experiences. They also stated that the students who will not read are as much at a disadvantage as those who cannot. Student 12 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) motivation was ranked the greatest challenge of all for the participating teachers. The dilemma of identifying and implementing strategies to motivate adolescents is not new to literacy practice. The data from this study confirm what the research (Alexander Filler, 1976; Au Asam, 1996; Benware Deci, 1984; Collins-Block, 1992; Guthrie Alao, 1997; Schraw, Brunning, Svoboda, 1995) has documented over time: that student motivation, interests, and attitudes are indeed authentic challenges. Teaching adolescents to become active, motivated, and selfregulated learners is a continuing issue in secondary schools. It is during the adolescent years when reading motivation and attitudes appear to worsen, especially for poor readers (McKenna, Kear, Ellsworth, 1995). Serious attempts to advance literacy skills require interventions that address motivation and attitudes as much as interventions that assure cognitive changes in the learners (Verhoevan Snow, 2001). This generally does not happen. Motivational constructs are usually not given significant vigilance in relation to student cognition and thinking, and at best, are given only passing and superficial attention. A further problem is that standard reading texts and uniform curricula make life somewhat easier for teachers and administrators, but they make it very difficult for students to get involved with the material at the level that is right for them, and therefore to find intrinsic rewards in learning. In the classroom, the teacher is the key element in motivating students to learn. The responsibility is great and the ramifications even greater, yet many responding high school teachers stated they were not adequately prepared in their teacher preparation programs with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies to ignite the spirit of their students. These teachers indicated they want more ideas, support, and freedom within the school curriculum to take the lead, and more ways to experience first-hand, in-field, motivational issues in their teacher preparation programs. Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching critical thinking skills was the second greatest challenge for teachers. Large numbers of teachers indicated they feel underSecondary Teachter Literacy Clhallenges 13 prepared in pedagogical methods to help studenis conceptualize problems and solutions. Assisting adolescents to become proficient with these skills is a prodigious challenge for secondary teachers. The capacity for abstraction, for discovering patterns and meanings, generalizing, evaluating, and theorizing is the very essence of critical thinking and exploration. For most students in the United States and throughout the world, formal education entails just the opposite kind of learning. Rather than construct meaning for themselves, meanings are imposed upon them. Frequently, students often accumulate a large number of facts along the way, yet these facts are not central to their education; they will live their adult lives in a world in which most facts learned years before (even including some historical ones) will have changed or have been reinterpreted. Whatever data they need will be available to them at the touch of a computer key. If students are to learn critical thinking skills, teachers must teach them and engage their students in genuine problem solving discussion. Generally these skills are best, and likely only taught and assessed, through extended discourse. This is difficult to do in crowded classes where it is near to impossible to carry out extended discussions. The commitment to teaching these skills in all content areas means gaining support from the public. It also means that teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to do so through teacher preparation programs and inservice education, taking into account the real-life situations and parameters in todays classrooms. Study Skills Students who lack study skills ranked as the third greatest challenge to teachers. The importance of study skills has been documented over time in the professional literature (Flood Lapp, 1995). What is known is that many people of all ages have difficulty reading and learning, largely because they are not using appropriate techniques or good learning habits. Often, the adolescents who are dropping out of schools are doing so because they believe they carnot learn. For the majority of these students, they lack suitable reading and study techniques, which 14 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45(1) impede their growth in learning and contribute to their negative beliefs about themselves and school. Although most secondary teachers have a thorough understanding qf their subject, many responding teachers in this study indicated they lack the knowledge of instructional/study strategies by which to help students internalize the concepts. Research shows that with an organized system of study, students can increase their comprehension of subject matter up to 50 percent (Annis, 1983). As nations seek to assist adolescents in gaining higher levels of literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers need to teach their students effective study habits and strategies may likely become central to the curriculum in secondary teacher preparation programs and in the curriculum of secondary schools. Struggling Readers Struggling readers ranked as the fourth greatest challenge to the high school teachers. Teachers responded that these students can be found hiding out in content classrooms. They frequently are passive and disengaged. , Many have found coping strategies to help (them get by, but they do not significantly improve their literacy skills or their knowledge in the content areas. I Although comprehension of text material is difficult and sometimes impossible for struggling readers, there are research-based strategies that have proven to be successful when used with struggling readers. One such strategy is instructional scaffolding, an effective strategy that gives students a better chance to be successful than if left on their own (Vacca, 2002). Pedagogy, which includes instructional techniques for diverse learners, is glossed over in many teacher preparation programs for secondary teachers. However, it is as important in the preparation of high school teachers as is cognitive knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). If high school teachers are to make substantial contributions to all adolescents, it will require more knowledge of relevant instructional methodologies. Darling-Hammond (2000) found that teacher subject-matter knowledge was related to student achievement only up to a certain point. Secondary Teacher Literacy Challenges 15 Marzano (2003) asserts that the importance of the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and student achievement has been consistently reported in the research literature. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ferguson and Womack (1993), they found that the number of courses teachers took in instructional techniques accounted for four times the variance in teacher performance and student achievement than did subject-matter knowledge. Teachers stated that more information about how to assist the struggling readers in their classrooms is sorely needed in preservice teacher education programs. Additionally they need to know that the strategies and support to assist these learners are realistic for todays classrooms. Key Concepts and Vocabulary Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary ranked as the fifth greatest challenge. Every subject area has its own vocabulary and modes of argument, and its language is the common denominator for learning subject matter knowledge. Vacca and Vacca (2002) agree: they state, Vocabulary must be taught well enough to remove potential barriers to students understanding of texts as well as to promote a longterm acquisition of the language of a content area (p. 160-161). Teachers want more knowledge about ways to teach vocabulary and concepts to adolescents, strategies that will provide adolescents with a deeper and richer entry into the content area of study, and strategies that will work in the classrooms of today. Intriguing Findings It is a noteworthy finding that the cultural and language diversity among students in the classrooms was not identified among the greatest challenges. The majority of teachers in this study were from diverse schools, and yet only two percent ranked this to be a challenge. Equally notable was the fact that state, district, and school standards, writing skills, and integrating technology were not identified among the greatest challenges. 16 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1). Of all the findings, the most revealing was that provided by the drivers education teachers: whereas every other content-area group of teachers, albeit art, music, business, foreign language, etc. , ranked student motivation as the greatest challenge, they did not. This is not surprising as it supports the findings of this study as well as long standing research in the field, as cited in Marzano, 2003. The hypothesis being that when motivated, students strive to learn.

Natural Rights Theory

Natural Rights Theory Natural rights are perceived as the inherent and original rights of human nature, which equally belong to all men without exception, and which are possessed solely because of their human condition.ÂÂ  They are held to stem from a concept of natural law, whatever definition may be attributed to the term. The theory of natural law and natural rights of man is, however, an obscure one. It seems a strange law, which is unwritten, has never been enacted, may even be observed without penalty, and imposes peculiar rights which are entitled prior to all specific claims within an organised society. It may be just an example of social mythology, but such an idea is still intriguing. For, to disregard it completely is to deny all its evident psychological, political and legal effects, and to adopt it fully is to be blind to mans own imperfections. That men are entitled to make certain claims by virtue simply of their common humanity has been equally passionately defended and vehemently den ied.[Â  [1]Â  ] H. L. A. Hart once asserted that if there are any moral rights at all, it follows that there is at least one natural right, the equal right of all men to be free.[Â  [2]Â  ] And the proposition that all men have natural rights or rights as human beings is found explicitly in the theories of Thomas Aquinas and John Locke, implicitly in the moral and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and at least problematic in the writings of Thomas Hobbes. At the level of practise, it is expressed not only in the rhetoric but in the constitutional innovations of the American and French Revolutions, stating that the end in view of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptable rights of man.[Â  [3]Â  ] When the ordinary citizen acts as a living and protesting individual, challenging the dictates of existing governments when and if he finds them oppressive, he is appealing to the very same values of freedom and equality among men, and in which social differe nces simply vanish, leaving the solitary individual with his essential human nature. Both conservative and socialist thinkers, however, have attempted to deny such claims, and instead assert the interests of the community as more important than those of the individual. As Karl Marx would put it, none of the so-called rights of man goes beyond egoistic man, an individual withdrawn behind his private interests and whims and separated from the community.[Â  [4]Â  ] The same idea and the same controversies have dominated political debates in the twentieth century regarding governmental practises. The importance of a persons rights to individuality and freedom from interference is central to the moral and political theories of such subjectivist thinkers as J. L. Mackie and David Hume. However, by no one has the theory of natural rights ever been properly justified or denied, or at least not as it has been defined and debated. Questions are then posed as to, why people should suppose that they have natural rights independent of the laws and governments of any existing society? If, for example, the laws of a society condemn a human being to slavery, how would his claim (if any) that freedom is a natural right of man be justified? And, if it could be said that there is an essential aspect of human nature which determines mans free status, a natural law which applies to all men, something in man which governs the relations of human beings independently of the laws of all particular societies, how can such natural facts be discovered if they have never been confirmed by observation? The answer may be contained in the proposition that man uniquely possesses the powers of reason. Thus, Roman lawyers, who were not the first to discuss natural law or natural rights, but the first to posit the theory defensibly, conceived of it as an ideal or standard, not yet completely exemplified in any existing legal code, but also as a standard fixed by nature to be discovered and gradually applied by men.[Â  [5]Â  ] It is a standard not created or conferred by mans voluntary action, but by nature, or God, and which all men have if they are capable of rational choice. According to Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature in which man lived before the social contract was a war of every Man against every Man,[Â  [6]Â  ] a condition of internecine strife in which the life of man was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.[Â  [7]Â  ] Thomas Hobbes believed that self-preservation was the great lesson of natural law and that law and government would become necessary as a means of promoting order and personal security. For each citizen to preserve his own life, he must give absolute and unconditional obedience to the law. Hobbes political theory is best understood if separate in two parts: his theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Egoism, and his theory of the Social Contract. The direction of this assessment will look exclusively to Hobbes theory of Social Contract. The social contract is used by Hobbes in defense of absolutism and is thus used to justify authoritarian government. Hobbes own goal was to rule out the legitimacy of civil rebellion and thus to eliminate the possibility of civil war, which he regarded as the greatest of evils. Hobbes informs us that we should infer the characteristics of political obligation from the intention of him that submitteth himself to his power, which is to be understood by the end for which he so submitteth.[Â  [8]Â  ] The use of a social contract to construct a natural rights doctrine is articulated most fully in the writings of John Locke.[Â  [9]Â  ] To Locke the state of nature that preceded the social contract was not, as conceived by Hobbes, one of brutal horror, but rather a golden age, an Eden before the Fall. In the state of nature, men have the right to freedom from interference by others and in turn a correlative duty to refrain from interfering in the life of others. However, at the same time, all men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, the execution of the law of nature and preservation of individual natural rights is put into every mans hands, whereby everyone has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such degree, as may hinder its violation.[Â  [10]Â  ] Men have an obligation to preserve to the best of their ability the life, liberty and property to which others also have natural rights, as long as his own preservation comes not in competition.[Â  [11]Â  ] In moving from the state of nature to that of civil society, man carries with him the natural rights and some of the authority he had in that state of autonomy. There are certain powers, however, that man gives up in subjecting himself to civil authority. He gives up that power he had to do whatever he sees fit for the preservation of his life, since this power is to be regulated by the laws made by society. Man therefore signs a social contract, surrendering the power of punishing, which is to be so far disposed of by the legislative, as the good of society shall require. But he never surrenders his rights, and thus government is obliged to secure everyones property [liberty, life and possessions], by providing against those defects that made the state of nature so unsafe and uneasy.[Â  [12]Â  ] Man did not enter society to become worse than he was before, but only to have his natural rights better secured. When social contract theorists talk of the rights which men enjoyed in the state of nature, they are in effect saying what men ought to enjoy in any society, that all men ought to be free, independent of their social condition. Words like freedom and equality represented for the advocates of natural rights what they considered to be the fundamental moral and social values, which should be realised in any society of rational citizens. These values, and hence natural rights, in the social contract, are the basis for rights embedded in the clauses of constitutions. The fundamental purpose of law is therefore considered to be the protection of individual rights. In reality, however, positive laws of society are somewhat imperfect. Until a law was enacted in order to abolish slavery, slaves ought to have been free but clearly were not. Even though man seemed to be entitled by nature to natural rights, which might be denied to him by the positive laws of existing societies, the natural law and natural rights were impotent. The Social Contract approach to natural law culminated in the writing of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As Barker has noted: Rousseau is a Janus-like figure in the history of natural law. He turns to it and belongs to it, he turns away from it and it belongs elsewhere.[Â  [13]Â  ] There are two distinct social contract theories by Rousseau. The first one is, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, usually referred to as the Second Discourse, and is a relation of the moral and political evolution of human beings over time, from a State of Nature to modern society. As such it contains his naturalized description of the social contract, which he sees as very problematic. The second is his normative or idealized theory of the social contract, and is meant to provide the means by which to lighten the problems that modern society has created for us, as laid out in the Second Discourse. Rousseaus idea of a state of nature is closer to Lockes than Hobbes, though without Lockes emphasis on the sanctity of property. Rousseau, the social contract is a mystical construct by which the individual merges into the community and becomes part of the general will. Preferably the people should govern themselves. But, as he acknowledged, it is unimaginable that the people should remain continually assembled to devote their time to public affairs.[Â  [14]Â  ] Law is the register of general will. Government can only be tolerated so long as it accurately reflects the general will. On the other hand, Rousseau insists that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body: he will be forced to be free.[Â  [15]Â  ] What Rousseau is saying is that disobedience is morally illegitimate because it constitutes a failure to discharge a moral obligation a citizen incurred when acting as a citizen. Rousseau is, however, refusing to draw a distinction be tween law and morality: the general will is the moral will of each citizen. Rousseaus social contract theories outline a single, consistent view of our moral and political situation. We are gifted with freedom and equality by nature, but our nature has been contaminated by our contingent social history. We can overcome this sleaze, however, by calling upon our free will to reconstitute ourselves politically, along strongly democratic principles, which is good for us, both individually and collectively. [Â  [16]Â  ] If morality is not to be discovered but to be made, one may say that there are no real natural rights as described above by Lockes theories. Natural events cannot tell us what we ought to do until we have made certain decisions. Whether moved by reason or sentiment, or both, standards of behaviour are determined by human choice, not set by nature independently of men. And no man can have any valid rights in the absence of a society. That is not to argue in favour of the communitarian point of view that there can be no individual rights but it is to assert that human beings need one another in order to fully exercise all their rights. One may say that someone has the right to life only because someone else might have the power to kill him. For, if there were no else in the universe, there would be no need for protection, there would be no need for rights. Human beings can only vindicate their rights in relation to others, for human beings can only live in relation to others. It can thus be concluded that (human) rights are the product of social conditions, of mans general desire for harmonious relations and his instinct of self-preservation in a community of different and often conflicting interests. Hence, neither can there be no natural rights, as understood to be ordained by God, or, as many libertarians would defend, to be discovered by reason. Rather, mens own imperfections have made individual rights a natural quality of human beings. If they are thought to originate outside of human nature and interactions, natural rights are defiable; but nonetheless, in day-to-day life, we simply assume that we have these human rights. It may be a product of human imagination, and it probably is but we like to think that they are real.

Canterbury Tales - Linking Griselda of The Clerks Tale to the Biblical

Linking Griselda of The Clerk's Tale and the Biblical Sacrifice of Abraham      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Clerk's Tale seems to strike most readers  as a distasteful representation of corrupt sovereignty and emotional sadism; few can find any value in Walter's incessant urge to test his wife's constancy, and the sense that woman is built for suffering is fairly revolting to most modern sensibilities. Nevill Coghill, for instance, described the tale as "too cruel, too incredible a story," and he notes that "even Chaucer could not stand it and had to write his marvelously versified ironic disclaimer" (104-5). It seems, however, even more incredible that a great poet should bother composing a tale for which he himself had little taste; that is, there must be some point, however strange, to the ordeal of Griselda. One of the words Chaucer frequently uses to describe her character is sadness. The word obviously had a very different meaning in fourteenth-century England from what it has today: In Chaucer it does not denote a depressed moral or psychological sta te, but a way of reacting to events which takes them thoroughly seriously without letting them disturb one's internal composure. This kind of sadness can best be understood in terms of the biblical models Griselda follows. She explicitly echoes the Stoic resolve of Job when she declares, "Naked out of my fadreshous, ...I cam, and naked moote I turn again" (871-2) [this quote needs a / to show line breaks and should use spaced periods with square brackets for ellipses]. But the allusions to Job may momentarily throw the reader off the trail of an even stronger biblical model: the story of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The affinities b... ...ch the "intoxicated security of the flesh" (in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Calvin's phrase), puffed up in its own satisfaction at an unbroken system   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of moral debts and repayments, is negated by the knowledge of an   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   intractable sinfulness, and in which all human activity turns out to have   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   been an anguished cry for forgiveness.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benson, Larry. Ed. The Riverside Chaucer. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1987.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Clerk's Tale.The Riverside Chaucer.Ed. Larry    Benson. Boston: Houghton   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mifflin Co., 1987. 137-53.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Coghill, Nevill. The Poet Chaucer. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kierkegaard, Sà ¸ren. Fear and Trembling.Trans. Walter Lowrie. Princeton:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   PrincetonUniversity Press, 1941.

show me the money :: essays research papers

Show Me The Money!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think I should get more allowance for many reasons. One of the reasons is if I got more, I wouldn’t have to ask my parents for money. Also, I think I should get more allowance because I’m getting less, when I do more around the house. Lastly, I think I should get more allowance because if I want or need something I can get it myself, without waiting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think I should get more allowance because then I don’t have to ask my parents for it. More allowance would be better because then if I asked for money, it wouldn’t deduct from my present allowance. Secondly, I wouldn’t have to worry about spending all of it. My parents usually want change, but with my own money I wouldn’t have to worry about saving any of it. Finally, more allowance would mean less work for my family members. I would gladly do a few more jobs around the house for a little more cash.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A very important reason that I feel that I should get more allowance is that most of the time, I do most of my brother’s work, plus my own, and I still don’t get more money for it. Another reason for more allowance is that if I need something for school or for home, I would be able to pay for it myself. Lastly, if I wanted something, such as pop or a snack, I could pay for it myself. Another very important reason that I think I deserve more allowance is that I always have to watch my sister, Jordan. Jori is five. She can be fun, but most of the time is a pain. I guess my parents want me to watch her more because I’m more active and she has more fun with me. It is a big responsibility watching her. show me the money :: essays research papers Show Me The Money!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think I should get more allowance for many reasons. One of the reasons is if I got more, I wouldn’t have to ask my parents for money. Also, I think I should get more allowance because I’m getting less, when I do more around the house. Lastly, I think I should get more allowance because if I want or need something I can get it myself, without waiting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think I should get more allowance because then I don’t have to ask my parents for it. More allowance would be better because then if I asked for money, it wouldn’t deduct from my present allowance. Secondly, I wouldn’t have to worry about spending all of it. My parents usually want change, but with my own money I wouldn’t have to worry about saving any of it. Finally, more allowance would mean less work for my family members. I would gladly do a few more jobs around the house for a little more cash.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A very important reason that I feel that I should get more allowance is that most of the time, I do most of my brother’s work, plus my own, and I still don’t get more money for it. Another reason for more allowance is that if I need something for school or for home, I would be able to pay for it myself. Lastly, if I wanted something, such as pop or a snack, I could pay for it myself. Another very important reason that I think I deserve more allowance is that I always have to watch my sister, Jordan. Jori is five. She can be fun, but most of the time is a pain. I guess my parents want me to watch her more because I’m more active and she has more fun with me. It is a big responsibility watching her.

Essay example --

The complexity of law fascinates me. Law has changed throughout time and continues to vastly affect our everyday lives, whether we grasp it or not. We live in a world of very diverse cultures and backgrounds in which I am greatly intrigued by how law moves amongst. As I have realised this, my keenness to study the subject has grown. I wish to learn in depth, the structures, ways and reasons in which these are enforced throughout the different modules. Studying Economics at A-Level has developed my essay writing skills so I am able to argue by analysing and evaluating relevant points in a topic. It has also enlightened me with certain effects of law and decisions made by the government and businesses on civilisation, whereas from ICT I have developed a solid understanding of an area which is playing an increasingly important role in today's society around the world. Textiles has not just acknowledged me on the making process of garments, it has given me the business understanding of finance and advertisement aspects of it. Secondary school gave me the opportunity to take a 2 weeks wo...

Sex and Gender in Twelfth Night

Sex and Desire The nexus of gender, desire and sexuality have long been a source of considerable interest, but no more so than in the plays of William Shakespeare. Specifically, in their original production and for some time afterwards, common practice dictated certain roles for women and men. Analysis of these roles yields interesting insights regarding the value of women and how the relative devaluing of women shaped sexual desire and normal gender roles. In this paper, I will attempt to illuminate several features of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night that have bearing on human desire.Before identifying significant features of Shakespeare’s plays in general and Twelfth Night in particular that have bearing on the question of gender roles and the shaping of desire, it will important to remind ourselves about the cultural limitations for women of sixteenth century England. Callaghan reminds us that woman had no public life. Even in the home, they could rarely manifest charact eristics that are not consistent with the virtues: obedience, silence, sexual chastity, piety, humility, constancy, and patience. Those virtues taught women to not think for their selves, to not be agents in their world.In fact, educationalists in this time said that women were too cognitively limited to get a full education and too likely to be led by their own emotions than to think rationally. Tears were called â€Å"women’s weapons†, yet, in the right situation, it was perfectly acceptable for men to cry. However, it is interesting to note that in a lot of Shakespeare’s plays explore men’s insecurities about women. It shows that men fear losing control. In most of the heroines of his comedies, while they might have turned to their feminine roles in the end, they achieved a type of empowerment.In general it seems clear that women’s roles were severely limited inside and outside the home. How is this domestication of women revealed in Shakespeari an theatre? In the Twelfth Night? First, what is the significance of Shakespearian practice of allowing men to play the roles of women? In her criticism, Callaghan argues that Shakespeare is mocking women in Twelfth Night. She argues that Shakespeare specifically inserted a transvestite role to show that no matter what women do, they will eventually submit to a man. However, in my view, Shakespeare had none of this in mind when he placed that role in his play.He uses plot of gender confusion to cause chaos for his characters through love triangles, homosexuality, and â€Å"role switching. †   Ã‚  Ã‚   Second, how are we to understand Shakespeare’s plot twists that problematize gender roles? For examples, Viola washes up in Illyria after a ship wreck that she thinks took her brother’s life. She discovers Orsino is the authority in the land. After this discovery, she says to the captain: Conceal me what I am, and be my aid. For such disguise as haply shall becom e the form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke. Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him.It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing and speak to him in many sorts of music (1. 2, 51-56) She is saying that she wants the captain to help her pass as a man. However, she knows that she cannot fully pass as a man so she must at least pass as a eunuch. This sets off a series of events that throws the characters into multiple love triangles and gender switching. For a while Orsino has been wooing Olivia by sending her notes, tokens, and sonnets. His subjects see him as flighty, soft, and slightly feminine. However, it seems like Curio is trying to turn it into a manly game by referring to it as a â€Å"hunt† (1. , 16). This is relevant because usually the theatrics are reserved for the women and their â€Å"women weapons†. Some time after this, when Viola has been introduced as â€Å"Cesario,† Orsino sends him (her) to, yet again, try to woo Olivia. However, none of them saw Olivia falling in love with Viola’s masculine character. Olivia experiences a gender switch when she steps into the usually masculine role of wooer in attempt to win Cesario’s heart. Perhaps the biggest thing that would have upset a traditional structure is the fact that Olivia might actually be in love with a women.Of course, Shakespeare tries to make an excuse for this by having Olivia ignorant to Viola/Cesario’s real gender. However, in Olivia’s first encounter with Viola/Cesario she remarks upon the typical feminine qualities. In Act three, scene one Olivia says: O, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful in the contempt and anger of his lip! A murderous guilt shows not itself more soon than love that would seem hid. Love’s night is noon-† These words allow the audience to suspect but not assume that she knows of Viola’s true gender but chooses to love her anyway.In fact, her talk of guilt has the audience questioning whet her or not she is feeling guilty of her homosexual feelings for another woman. Even though Shakespeare does not openly express the plot as a homosexual scenario, there is much evidence to back up that it is the case. For example, Olivia says â€Å"I woo† when addressing Viola as Cesario. The way she speaks to Cesario mimics the contemporary traditions perfectly. The audience may see a man dressed as a girl that is pretending to be a man as Shakespeare mocking woman; However, this is not so.The fact that Viola can successfully pull off the switch is tribute to that. It can’t be simple to pretend to be a man, even one that is a eunuch. It shows that she is a strong female character. All of these examples show that the play is full of strong female characters who are able to successfully switch roles. Even though Olivia’s â€Å"role† is switched back with the appearance of Viola’s twin brother, Sebastian, she is still left with a feeling of empowermen t by the experience. Shakespeare never really solves any of these issues. Rather, he lets them open and ends the play with humor, rather than confusion. Mistal

Bacterial Conjugation

Bacterial conjugation is one of the basic methods by which simple organisms, such as the single-celled bacterium, reproduce. It is a very basic form of copulation that often involves a transfer of DNA but no recombination following the said transfer. It occurs following the docking together of two bacteria, a donor and a recipient. It is sex in the bacterial world. The process of conjugation is made possible by â€Å"the presence of certain plasmids in the donor bacteria that possess genes for making the proteins involved in docking and transfer.† (The Columbia encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2004) These plasmids are the ones carried forward from one bacteria to the other bacteria. A plasmid is an â€Å"extra-chromosomal† piece of bacterial DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Plasmids are maintained inside the bacterial cell, replicating fast enough until they are passed on to bacterial progeny as the bacteria divide. Plasmids are just like chromosomes. They are circular and essen tially double-stranded DNA.The distinct characteristics that set apart plasmids from chromosomes are in their size and the genes that they carry. Plasmids are much smaller in size than chromosomes. Plasmids carry only genes that are essential. Bacteria are an interesting group of organism. In order to better comprehend how bacteria multiplies, and replicates its genes, there is a need to understand its structure. Bacteria are â€Å"microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterised by the lack of a membrane-bound organelles.† (The Columbia encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2004) Bacteria are remarkably adaptable to diverse environmental conditions: they are found in the bodies of all living organisms and on all parts of the earth — in land terrain and ocean depths, in arctic ice and glaciers, in hot springs, and even in the stratosphere. Most bacteria are of one of three typical shapes — rod-shaped (bacillus), round (coccus), and spiral (spirillum). The cytop lasm and plasma membrane of most bacterial cells are surrounded by a cell wall.In bacteria, the genetic material is organized in a continuous strand of DNA. This circle of DNA is localized in an area called the nucleoid, but there is no membrane surrounding a defined nucleus. In addition to the nucleoid, the bacterial cell may include one or more plasmids. Some bacteria are capable of specialized type of genetic recombination which involves the transfer of nucleic acid by individual contact, that is, the process of conjugation. Recombination involves a â€Å"process of shuffling genes by which new combinations can be generated.† (The Columbia encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2004) Genetic recombination in bacteria may be mediated by transformation, transduction, or conjugation. In these methods, genetic transfers occur unidirectionally from donor to recipient bacteria and only a fraction of the genetic material of a donor cell is transferred to a recipient, which, on the other han d, contributes its cytoplasm as well as its entire genome. In conjugation, the genetic contribution of the donor (male) is incomplete and is genetically and physiologically determined.In so doing, â€Å"the system of conjugation is well adapted to providing information about the nature and organization of the bacterial chromosome as a whole as well as to the study of nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions. † (Burdette et. al. 1963) In E. coli bacteria, the transmissible sex factor responsible for the donor state, and thus for fertility, was called F, donor cells being F+ and recipient cell F-. From population of F+ cells, strains of a new type of donor called Hfr (for high frequency of recombination) were occasionally isolated.Both F+ and Hfr donors share the following characteristics that distinguish with F- recipients: they possess similar surface properties that enable them to pair specifically and to mate with F- cells with comparable efficiency; they have the actual or potenti al ability to transfer genetic determinants to recipients, although the nature of the determinants so transferred by the two types of donor may be of quite different kinds; each type of donor has the potentiality to mutate to the other or to the F- type; and both types are under the control of a specific genetic structure, the sex factor F.F functions as a genetic particle insofar as it is stably inheritable by progeny, is transmissible in crosses, and is the determinant of those properties that characterize donor cells. (Burdette et. al. 1963) The facts recounted above and the interpretations they have engendered may now be brought together to form a unified picture of the mating system in E. coli. The sexual differentiation of E. coli into males and females is genetically controlled by the presence or absence of a sex factor, F, that has the properties of an episome and is more akin in its behavior to temperate bacteriophage than to a normal genetic determinant.The propensities of male cells, in turn, are governed by the state in which the sex factor exists in them. F+ male cells, which harbor the sex factor in its autonomous state, preserve a continuous linkage group and, on conjugation, transfer only their sex factor and other extrachromosomal elements to females. They have the potentiality, however, to generate a spectrum of Hfr male types, each characterized by a linear, transferable chromosome the extremities of which are defined by the integration of the sex factor at one of a variety of chromosomal sites; only the proximal part of the linear chromosome is transferred with high efficiency.Such modified sex factors serve as efficient vehicles for the transport to female cells of their incorporated segments of male chromosome, with the result that stable, partial diploids for various regions of the chromosome can readily be synthesized. (Burdette et. al. 1963) Formation of the zygote extends from the initial collision between an Hfr and an F- cell to the completion of chromosomal transfer and comprises the stages of collision, effective contact formation, and chromosomal transfer.In interrupted mating, a number of different Hfr markers are selected, each is found to enter the zygotes at a different time that is specific for each marker under standard conditions. The times of entry of the various markers correspond to their order of arrangement on the chromosome and are proportional to their distances from O where O indicates the extremity (leading locus) which first penetrates the recipient cells during conjugation. The peculiarity of conjugation resides in the mechanism by which genetic transfer is accomplished.This is expressed by the fact that, when different selections are made, the different genetic characters of a given Hfr strain are transmitted to recombinants with different frequencies depending on their distances from O. The system thus lends itself to an original and convenient method of mapping, in terms of time of tran sfer. Moreover, mapping is greatly facilitated by the availability of a number of different Hfr strains that transfer different parts of the chromosome at high frequency. In all systems other than conjugation in E.coli, the only practical way of measuring the distance between genetic loci is by comparing the frequency with which recombination occurs between them. In conjugation two additional methods of measurement are available, in terms of transfer time and of the decay of P32 atoms, both of which are absolute and independent of the recombination process and so provide the means of interpreting recombinational events in physical terms. Therefore, bacterial conjugation’s significance in gene mapping exists in its capability to determine the precise positioning of genes on the genome. Studies concerning a peculiar bacterial strain, E.coli Hfr, which engaged in conjugation with surprising frequency, paved the way for its use in 21st century genetics. â€Å"By sundering conjug al bugs at various times during mating, geneticists Francois Jacob and Elie Wollman were able to determine that the male transferred a complete copy of its genome like one long piece of spaghetti. The implications of the notorious â€Å"coitus interruptus† experiment and the resulting â€Å"spaghetti hypothesis† were clear: by carefully monitoring the time at which each trait was transferred, the two researchers could determine the precise positioning of genes on the genome.In this way they plotted the first crude genomic map of a bacterium. † (Hirsch 1999, p. 145) References Burdette, WJ 1963, Methodology in Basic Genetics, Holden-Day, San Francisco. Hirsch, AE (1999, Spring). Of Flies, Mice and Men†, American Scholar, p. 145. Johnson, AD (2002, Spring). â€Å"Living with Microbes†, The Wilson Quarterly, pp. 42+. Rheinberger, HJ (ed. ) & Gaudilliere, JP 2004, Classical Genetic Research and Its Legacy: The Mapping Cultures of Twentieth-Century Geneti cs, Routledge, New York.

Analysis Of Crooks in Of Mice and Men Essay

Answer: Crooks is so mean to Lennie because although he and Lennie are quite similar (they are both categorised as the ‘weak ones’) Lennie has the better life, simply because he is white. Lennie is allowed in the dorm room and allowed to play cards should he choose to (if he even knew how to) whereas Crooks cannot. Throughout the conversation, we see Crooks’ character come out of his shell, and be nice to people whom he normally wouldn’t conversate with except Slim and the boss. Obviously, because he’s black and because of segregation, he is mean to those who disregard him because of his colour, but maybe there is another reason he is mean to Lennie, such as he is jealous of his lifestyle or he wishes he were white. Also, he is pretty low on the societal totem pole and Lennie is an easy target for him. Crooks’ first reaction when Lennie visits him is that he wants to prove a point: if he as a black man can’t enter white men’s houses, then whites aren’t allowed in his room. He wants Lennie to know that he has to have some sorts of rights. But Lennie’s inviting smile and Crooks’ desire for company means that Lennie can enter, and thus starts the convo where we learn all about Crooks. Like Curley’s wife, Crooks is a powerless character, and it seems that he seeks vulnerable characters to make himself feel good – He starts â€Å"suggesting† that maybe George will never come back and only stops the cruel game when Lennie threatens him with physical violence. He shows us that his loneliness means he often has no-one to talk to and his character would like sympathy. He is also interested once Candy and Lennie start conversating and forgets all about his mean self. He has seen men of all sorts come on and off the ranch and no-one has actually fulfilled the American Dream which he is doubtful of because it seems this â€Å"Dream† does not apply to him due to the colour of his skin. This is why he scrutinizes others. Question 2) Are there any similarities between Lennie and Crooks? Answer: Lennie and Crooks are both marginalised from society – Lennie’s lack of mental abilities keep him isolated and Crooks’ skin colour keep him isolated. For this, they are classed as ‘the weak ones’. When Lennie comes by, Crooks is immediately unfriendly. â€Å"You go one get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house; you ain’t wanted in my room. † However, both men long for company, and so begin talking. Their similarities wipe out any awkward silences and end their isolation. Crooks understands that Lennie has the better life and uses this against him to compare himself. â€Å"I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets lonely an’ he gets sick. † Both men can be seen as lonely, not only are they marginalised, and even though Lennie has George, his mental challenges keep him alone because no-one can completely understand him which emphasises his differences and Crooks’ colour leaves him excluded from the dorms. Question 3) What does this conversation tell us about the relationship of Crooks with other men? Answer: Crooks’ relationships are built around the fact that he is a victim of racism and is outcasted from companionship. We know from the start that Crooks takes a liking to Skinner and the boss, and since we don’t get to know him until Chapter 4, this outlines his lack of status, credibility and power. We as readers are able to emphasise with Crooks because we are shown how black people were treated in the time of the Great Depression. We see how Crooks is able to open up to Lennie and he confesses all his feelings and thoughts because he sees him as a figure of trust as he is unable to remember what he is told. His relationship with Slim is tight because we admire Slim as a good, supporting member of society.