Mass Media: Sending Out the Wrong Messages Essay

Do the names, Snooki, D.J. Pauly D, The Situation, or J-Woww, ring a bell? What about the famous sayings, â€Å"grenade whistle,† â€Å"G.T.L,† or â€Å"Jersday,† now is it making more sense? MTV’s hit reality show, Jersey Shore, has coined these terms and has become a worldwide phenomenon. The cast of Jersey Shore started out as typical teenagers living their typical lifestyles. Before the reality show premiered, some of the cast woke up everyday to their monotonous jobs, while others attended college. These eight teenagers never knew that by starring in this one television show, their lives would never be the same. Jersey Shore follows eight hardcore Italians, four guys and four girls, who spend their summer months together. Instead of living like there is no tomorrow, these roommates party like there is no tomorrow! Everyday when they wake up, they get their â€Å"G.T.L† on, which means Gym, Tan, and Laundry. At night, they get completely drunk, go to the bars, and see how many guys/girls they can bring back home. Then, they wake up and do it all over again the next day. This does not sound like a normal, healthy lifestyle that these eight roommates are living now, does it? Unfortunately, these eight cast members have become idolized by young and old viewers all around the world. MTV obviously does not believe in censorship, and Jersey Shore’s lifestyle of alcohol and sexuality is being portrayed positively in society. People worship every little move the Jersey Shore makes. Advertisers are using the cast to promote their products because of how influential these eight roommates have become. Even as we speak, on television, Ron promotes a particular weight loss substance and Snooki promotes a certain brand of cashews. These partiers are setting negative trends in society because the large consumption of alcohol and sexual actions made these eight people known all over the world. By partying all day, everyday, these people went from driving Honda Civics to Range Rovers and Mercedes-Benz. This popular television show is sending out the wrong message to viewers and making idols out of the wrong people. It just goes to show how much of an impact the media can have on society. The media has an even bigger impact on the younger generation. Media has expanded from newspapers to the radio, the television, the Internet, cell phones, and gaming devices. Schools are even using media now, more than ever before. Granted, the media is an excellent way of educating our children. However, that education can only be positive to a certain extent. The media is no longer just a part of our society; this technology has taken over our world. Children are completely immersed in the media today, and parents and guardians should regulate how much time their child is spending with any type of media. A child’s brain is not fully developed until he or she is in their twenties. If children are being exposed to drugs, sex, and alcohol through the media, how can we expect children to have the knowledge of deciphering for themselves not to engage in those certain activities? It would be especially hard for those children whose parents are absent in their lives, and for those whom have parents engaged in the drug and alcohol lifestyle. There is absolutely no way for the children to know between right and wrong. Rather than parents educating their children about sex, the media is certainly doing it for them. Ideas of sex are frequently discussed in magazines, songs, television shows, the news, and movies. Jane Brown, a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, reported â€Å"The word sex is the most popular search term used on the Internet today.† Also, according to Brown, magazines, such as Seventeen, promote the idea that sex is a tactic for girls to keep their boyfriends. â€Å"Only about one in ten of the programs on television that include sexual content mentions the possible consequences or the need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex, and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed† (Brown, Jane). No wonder the teen pregnancy rate is so high today! As in the Jersey Shore, it is their hobby to see how many people that they can have sex with. If the person that they are pursuing acts like they are not interested in having sex, the cast wants nothing to do with them and moves on to the next person. These people are the kinds of people that the younger generation has to look up to, which could be troublesome for the future of America. According to Children Now, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, â€Å"Children spend more time with media than any other activity, except for sleeping.† Rather than engaging in physical activity after school or on the weekends, children are more engaged in watching the television or playing their video game. Manali Oak, an author from Buzzle.com, observes â€Å"Children, who should invest their time in reading good books, studying, playing outdoors, exercising and engaging in social activities, today, spend their evenings glued to the television.† Although Manali Oak does not have a doctorate in this area, she does have a valid point. What happened to the idea of getting up and physically playing football being fun for teenagers, rather than sitting on the couch and playing football on the X-Box? Being so inactive leads to the increase of obesity in America. Another weight problem that America faces is anorexia. The media portrays the idea that successful and attractive people are the thinnest. There are millions of people, both young and old, who are currently battling obesity, but they are also being exposed to junk food advertisements. At the same time, there are other people out there, especially women, who are obsessed with the idea that they are overweight, when in reality, they aren’t. The media makes idols out of super models and thin celebrities, causing millions of people to suffer from eating disorders. Little girls are given Barbie dolls to play with and idolize. Thus, even at a young age, girls are being misled to a certain body image that is unrealistic. Rayuso, an author from the online article database HubPages.com, emphasizes this point by stating: â€Å"Young people are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the ideal image of a beautiful men and women and tells you what are the characteristics of a successful person, you can see it in movies and tv. It’s a subliminal way to tell you that if you are not like them you are not cool yet so its time to buy the stuff they buy and look like they look.† The media has such a large impact on society that it even affects us in the way we perceive ourselves. Still, the media has the potential to influence the society in a positive way. Rayuso proposes the idea that if the media created advertisements that encourage children to get active, and used celebrities like they do to promote certain products; children would pay attention and actually get active. â€Å"If there is a sport that is getting a lot of attention by the media and gains popularity among your friends and society, you will more likely want to practice the sport and be cool with all your friends† (Rayuso). The media knows how to manipulate its audience in order to get its desired result, which is definitely not a good thing. This is why companies use celebrities to advertise their products; humans are so predictable. If we see our favorite celebrity on the television talking about how wonderful a product is, then we will more than likely go out and buy it, versus if there was some random person promoting it. Because of the popularity from Jersey Shore, reality star Ron advertises a certain weight loss substance, Xenadrine, and Snooki promotes â€Å"Wonderful Pistachios.† Of course the commercials only discuss how awesome the product is, and it only flashes the negative side effects in really fine print at the end. Robert Sylwester, a specialist in the brain/stress theory at the University of Oregon, confirms â€Å"Common examples are political promises to increase services and reduce taxes, ads that indicate that a product is improved but don’t say over what, TV drug com mercials that begin with clearly promised positive results, but end with a rapid incomprehensible listing of the dangers associated with the medicine, the televised equivalent of the small print in a contract or print ad.† With this said, the media influences our perception of reality. What viewers fail to realize is that the media is only concerned with making money. In fact, they will do whatever it takes to make that money. The only way we receive news is from the media. The television in the living room, the newspaper in the mailbox, the computer in the office, and the radio in the car are just a few forms of mass communication that keep us informed about our world. Yes, this is wonderful because without the media, we would not be aware of anything going on around us. The negative aspect of this is that the media changes stories around to the way that they want to portray them. If a story is not ‘juicy’ enough, or if there is not enough conflict, the broadcasters will change the story into something that will keep the viewers coming back for more. Jennifer Akin, a research assistant at the University of Colorado, acknowledges, â€Å"Events in the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced through the eyes o f a journalist. Not only do the media report the news, they create the news by deciding what to report.† Viewers always believe what the media tells us, never questioning how much of it is actually true. The media could report â€Å"Pigs are now flying in Pennsylvania,† and just like in any other media-covered situation, we would believe them and go on with our lives. We are often unaware of how much the media truly impacts our lives. The younger generation is at an even higher risk of the media negatively impacting their lives than anyone else. It is so disgusting and disappointing that children are growing up in a society where sex, drugs, and alcohol are encouraged. What is on television that is discouraging these activities? Jersey Shore started out as eight ordinary people, but their party lifestyle made them famous. By setting this example, how can we expect the young generation to know the difference in acceptable and unacceptable? The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Do we find comfort in knowing that one day, our country is going to be led by people who grew up in such a backwards, messed up society? Not only does the media lack censorship, but it also manipulates us in every possible way. The media gets us to behave exactly how they want, using our idols to tempt us. We believe whatever we read and hear from the media, which makes us the gullible audience that the media thrives off of. Wouldn’t it be safe to say that the media takes advantage of viewers? The only person to blame for this is our self. Viewers should stop being so dependent of the media. Who is to say what the ideal body image is, or what type of products we should use? That is our own decision and our own sense of independence. The media has negatively impacted our society, and we have to find it within ourselves to stop letting the media make our decisions for us!

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 23

That night, though, the embrace did end, and I fell into a black, dreamless sleep. But my mind and body jerked into sudden wakefulness when I heard a sharp clanging sound that seemed to reverberate through my limbs. â€Å"Murderers!† â€Å"Killers!† â€Å"Demons!† The words floated through the open window, chant-like. I crept to the window and creaked open the shutter. Outside, across the pond, there were flashes of fire, and I even heard the sound of rifles firing. Dark bodies moved en masse, like a swarm of locusts descending upon a cotton field. â€Å"Vampires! Killers!† I began to make out more and more words from the angry roar of the crowd. There had to be at least fifty men in attendance. Fifty drunken, angry, murderous men. I grabbed Katherine's shoulder and began shaking her hard. â€Å"Wake up!† I whispered urgently. She sat up with a start. The whites of her eyes looked huge, and there were shadows beneath her eye sockets. â€Å"What is it? Is everything okay?† Her fingers fluttered to her necklace. â€Å"No, it's not okay,† I whispered. â€Å"The brigade is out. They're searching for vampires. They're on the main road right now.† I pointed out the window. The yelling and shouts were getting closer. The fire blazed in the night, flames reaching toward the night sky like red daggers. Fear shot through me. This wasn't supposed to be happening–not yet. Katherine slipped out of bed, tucking the white quilt around her body, and closed the shutters with a bang. â€Å"Y father,† she said, her voice hard. our I shook my head. It couldn't be. â€Å"The siege is set for next week, and Father is not the type to deviate from an established plan.† â€Å"Stefan!† Katherine said sharply. â€Å"Y ou promised you would do something. Y have to ou stop this. These men don't know what they're fighting, and they don't know how dangerous this is. If they keep doing this, people will get hurt.† â€Å"Dangerous?† I asked, rubbing my temple. I suddenly had a pounding headache. The shouting grew quieter now; it seemed the mob was pressing forward–or perhaps dispersing. I wondered if this was more a protest spurred by liquid courage than an actual siege. â€Å"Not from me, but from whoever has launched these attacks.† Katherine's eyes met mine. â€Å"If the townspeople know what's safe for them, what's best for them, they'd stop the hunt. They'd allow us to resolve things. They'd allow us to find the source of the attacks.† I sat on the edge of the bed and rested my elbows against my knees, staring down at the worn wooden floorboards in dismay, as if I could find some sort of answer, some sort of way to stop what already seemed to be happening. Katherine took my face in her hands. â€Å"I am entirely at your mercy. I need you to protect me. Please, Stefan.† â€Å"I know, Katherine!† I said half-hysterically. â€Å"But what if it's too late? They have the brigade, they have their suspicions, they even have an invention designed to find vampires.† â€Å"What?† Katherine reared back. â€Å"An invention? Y didn't tell me that,† she said, her voice taking ou on a note of accusation. A hard lump settled in my chest as I explained Jonathan's device. How had I failed to mention it to Katherine? Would she ever forgive me? â€Å"Jonathan Gilbert.† Katherine's face twisted in contempt. â€Å"So that fool thinks he can just hunt us down? Like animals?† I recoiled. I'd never heard Katherine use that harsh tone. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Katherine said in a more composed voice, as if she'd sensed the flicker of fear in my heart. â€Å"I'm sorry. It's just †¦ you simply can't imagine what it's like to be hunted.† â€Å"The voices seem to be quieting.† I peeked through the shutters. The mob was indeed beginning to disperse, the flames becoming shaky dots in the inky black night. The danger was seemingly gone. For now at least. But by next week, they'd have Jonathan's invention. They'd have a list of vampires. And they'd find every single last one of them. â€Å"Thank goodness.† Katherine sank down onto the bed, pale as I'd ever seen her. A lone tear fell from her eye and trickled down her alabaster skin. I reached to wipe it away with my index finger, then gently touched my tongue to my skin, an echo of what I'd done at the Founders Ball. I sucked my finger, finding that her tears tasted salty. Human. I pulled her to me, wrapping her in a tight embrace. I'm not sure how long we sat there, together. But as the faint light of the morning came through the windows, I stood up. â€Å"I will stop it, Katherine. I will protect you to the death. I swear it.†

My Home, My City Essay

My hometown, â€Å"The Windy City† as some may call it, is the third largest city in the United States. Where I call home some of the world’s biggest names do to, from Barack Obama, to organized crime boss Al Capone, down to one of the NBA’s best, Derrick Rose. The United Center is the home of the 2013 Stanley Cup Champions, the Blackhawks. For the sports fans of my city, we know that the last time the Blackhawks won the championship, the Bears went to Super Bowl XLI. The United Center is also home to the Bulls. Every year, every season, my city holds a host of specials events for the city, and sometimes people come from every part of the world just for that special event. In the middle of August, there is a free Air and Water Show held on the lakefront of North Avenue Beach. This is a time, when different types of planes from the Army, National Guard, and sometimes even Wars fly around the city and show off their tricks. 201 East Randolph Street, is the corner w here Millennium Park sits just off Michigan Ave. Millennium Park is filled with architecture, landscape design, and art that allows you to actually touch and feel the piece of work. During the year, held in this park, are cultural programs, concerts, tours, and family activities. It is the â€Å"Town Square† of my city, and a place where tourist come to see for themselves! Throughout the summer for a week, the downtown streets are blocked off for â€Å"The Taste†. â€Å"The Taste† is an outdoor festival with the diversity of the city’s dining community. The variety of food served is also enjoyed by music and exciting activities for the whole family. Our forms of public transportation, pertain to the CTA known as the â€Å"L†. The â€Å"L† is a train system that runs from the south, north, east, and west side of my city, and if you want to go a further distance, you would take the Metra. My city is an overall great city, but it’s not the safest.

Fast food marketing to children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fast food marketing to children - Essay Example Multinational corporations like McDonald’s serve millions of fast food daily, but some of their marketing strategies are unethical since they target children. Fast food marketing is unethical since it leads to future social problems such as unhealthy nation and high medical costs. In this case, the fast food companies and the entire country will lack healthy employees who can contribute to the economic development of the country (Boone & Kurtz, 2015). Â  The proponents of fast food marketing towards children assert that companies must meet their business objectives of ensuring high return to investors and thus it is possible to ensure responsible marketing towards children. Fast food marketing is thus ethical if it creates a balance between the commercial interests of the company and need to promote positive behaviour (Boone & Kurtz, 2015). In this case, fast food retail outlets such as McDonald’s have incorporated the meal components and need for physical exercise in their latest advertisements thus promoting healthy living. Â  The proponents of fast food marketing claim that there is high competition in the market and thus businesses should use aggressive marketing tactics to increase their revenues. In this case, fast food marketing is ethical as long as it adheres to the business regulatory framework regarding food advertisement (Boone & Kurtz, 2015). Fast food marketing to children is unethical since children lack the cognitive skills to understand the nutritional content and the healthy dangers of consuming such foods.

Colonial Labor worksheet Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Colonial Labor worksheet - Assignment Example The Spaniards and the Portuguese paid more for slaves and thus, encouraged the rulers and the traders in Africa to acquire more people. At first criminal and those considered sick were sold, but due to the profitability of the trade, people turned to each other to acquire people for sale. The used violence means to hunt and capture people. It let to war between people. (a) Tobacco planting required a huge labor force. At first, the Virginians experimented with a number of labor sources. They started with the Indians but they resisted them. They then resorted to the poor English adults as paupers and vagabonds were many in England. (b) Due to the high availability of contracted labor, slavery of the black people took time before people fully accepted it in Virginia. However, in mid-1660s, the supply of contracted servants failed sharply leading to the acceptance of the use of black people. (c) The short supply of indentured labor led to labor shortage, which consequently led to the introduction and mass use of black slaves. The wealthy whites acquired many blacks through slavery leading to the growth of the population of the black people in America. †¢ The experiences of the contracted English adults differ. In his letter, Richard Frethorne, claims that he was going difficulties yet secondary sources do not mention of difficulties passed by those who signed contracts with the wealthy

Female Gangs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Female Gangs - Essay Example In the technical sense, most of these females have not been considered as gang members, but as a relative or as girlfriends (SDCOE, n.d). In effect, they have often been viewed in a subservient role – people who would hold weapons or drugs or as sex toys. Today, most of these roles are still seen among female gang members, however, many female members have now taken on male roles as a means of integrating their lives into gangs (SDCOE, n.d). Many of them emulate male members in terms of clothing, criminal activities, tattoos, graffiti vandalism, weapons use, as well as the application of violence. Their reasons for joining gangs are as varied as their male counterparts and their activities in these gangs are also related to a variety of reasons. This paper shall now consider female gangs, their reasons for joining gangs, their usual activities in these gangs, the crimes they commit, their initiation process and related qualities. This paper is being carried out in order to est ablish a clear and comprehensive understanding of the female gangs and their involvement in these gang-related activities. Female gang members, as was mentioned above, have traditionally been considered by law enforcement authorities as nothing more than â€Å"accessories† to male gang members (Curry and Decker, 1998). As a result of these perceptions, law enforcers have been reluctant to qualify female activities in the gang as gang-related activities. The fact that there is a biased perception on these activities not being naturally feminine also affects the perception of these female activities. In the recent context however, attention has been brought forth to the commission of violent crimes by young women (Archer and Grascia, 2005). Females have not been considered capable of carrying out so-called male crimes because of gender

Critically examine the internationational expansion strategy for Essay

Critically examine the internationational expansion strategy for Starbucks.Discuss the motivations for the expansion and the app - Essay Example Through the expansion, the company has focused to create a strong network across the US, while expanding further to the new locations worldwide. This report would look into the strategic management of the company with a profound insight into its core competencies and international expansion strategies. The effectiveness of its leader has been discussed to show the contribution in the company’s success by implementing appropriate strategies. Strengths and Strategies which have emerged as the Core Competencies of the Company Starbucks has a number of strengths which has emerged as the core competencies of the company. Starbucks has a corporate culture which has encouraged the innovation and creativity within the organisation. The organisation does not have any formal organisation chart with a proper hierarchy structure. Starbucks has several departments, functional departments including marketing, finance, operations, supply chain and human resources. Apart from that, the compan y also has cross functional teams which encourages accumulated effort to achieve a common goal. The decision making process in this organisation is bottom up process where the employees are authorised to take the decisions without even referring back to the upper management. This has encouraged innovation and creativity at the employee level. The employees are treated as family members and as partners. The company relies on the employees to offer a differentiated experience to its customers. With this organisational structure, the company has excelled in introducing new products and ideas. The employees had stock options on the company shares. Moreover, employee training is another significant arena which can be seen as the core competence of the organisation. The marketing strategy is one of the significant strengths of the company. The organisation positions itself as a consumers’ place, which encourages the customers to visit the place again and again. The company customis es its stores depending on the specific locations, the stores are in. Another significant strength of Starbucks is that it positions itself as environment friendly. In the wake of environment awareness among the customers this positioning has helped the company to reach at its environment friendly customers. The company has a well known practice to make enough effort to comply with the environment. Starbucks try to be ethical in all its dealings. This has enables the company to gain from a good image among its customers. The large size of the company can also been seen as core competence of the company over its competitors. The sheer size of the company has allowed them to set the prices and has also helped the company to prevent the growth of other competing organisations. The world, specifically the people in the United States look at the Starbucks and its associates as the producer of high end coffees. Moreover, the consumers look at the company as the biggest and the best in the business, it is in. This can also been see

EXPLAINING bEHAVIOUR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EXPLAINING bEHAVIOUR - Essay Example According the psychoanalytical theory of Freud, a child goes through a series of psychosexual stages as he grows up. Each stage is dominated by the development of sensitivity in a particular erogenous or pleasure-giving zone of the body. Freud identifies five stages of psychosexual development: the oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital. The oral phase starts from the moment of birth, when both needs and their fulfilment involve participation of child’s tongue, lips and teeth. Mouth is the first zone of body the child can control and due to this the most part of his sexual energy is focused on it. Later, when the child can control other parts of his body, a certain part of his energy still remains ‘cathected’ to his mouth. Therefore it is natural for a child to have a moderate interest to oral pleasures at this stage (Frager & Fadiman, 2000). As the child grows up new zones of pleasure appear. At age between two and four years the child is learning how to control the anal sphincter and bladder, they obtain much of his attention. The process of toilet training excites the child’s interest to self-discovery. Since parents interfere with elimination pleasures, the child develops ambivalent attitudes toward them. As children resolve the conflict between their needs for parental love and instinctual gratification they evolve lifelong attitudes toward cleanliness, orderliness, punctuality, submissiveness, and defiance (Bateman & Holmes, 1995). At the age of tree years the child enters the phallic stage of development: he focuses on his genitals. This phase is called phallic because the child starts to realize whether he has penis or not. At that point children understand the difference between two sexes. During phallic stage of development children treat their parents as a potential threat to fulfilment of their needs (Frager &

Christology in the Black Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Christology in the Black Perspective - Essay Example According to Wilmore (93), Christology in the Black perspective borrows much from the Bible on the Israelites deliverance from Egypt by God. Advocates of Black theology effectively compare the US to Egypt. They predict that the blacks who are the oppressed people will be led to a promised land soon. They emphasize that God is concerned with the people who lack economic, social and political justice and also for those who are unwanted and poor in the society. They believe that the same God, who liberated the Israelites, is the same God who is a blessing and working for the blacks who are oppressed in the 20th century. They believe that God is helping the oppressed blacks and has, therefore, identified Himself with them. They speak of God as Black.Jesus Christ is seen from the aspect of liberation and oppression. Other texts that are borrowed from the Bible by Christology in the Black perspective include the Gospel of Luke. The book of Luke states that the lame will walk, the blind wil l see, the deaf will hear, the lepers will be cleaned, the dead will rise up and the poor will have the good news preached to them. Therefore it is evident that in Christ, God truly enters human affairs and notably takes sides and supports the oppressed (Wilmore 112).This means that the oppressed become His and the numerous challenges of the 20th century cannot be solved by looking at the past of what Christ did. The main reason for this is that the choices of the past are not similar to the current situation.

Cryopreservation of Zebrafish Ovarian Follicles Essay

Cryopreservation of Zebrafish Ovarian Follicles - Essay Example The technologies in cryopreservation have undergone tremendous advances over the last decade. In addition, cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos is also being used as an effective means of treating infertility. In this technology, the clinical application seeks to ensure the optimal survival of embryos and oocytes that are subsequently thawed and stored for transfer . The aim of this practical experimentation is to compare the slow-cooling procedures with vitrification to analyze and evaluate the most effective and safest procedure as well as to endorse suitable recommendation for the adoption of best practices. To do this, it is necessary to test and calculate the viability for control, slow-cooling and vitrification samples. Determining the number of cells in the culture is also important for standardising culture conditions and performing accurate quantitation experiments . The use of viability test with hemacytometer and typan blue staining will enable us to determine the cell number, the correctness of which is inevitable for accurate test results. Live cells appear colourless and bright under phase contrast, while the dead cells sustain blue stains and are non-refractive. To facilitate accuracy and consistency of cell counts, we have used a viability counting system. This involves counting viable, live and dead cells in one or more large corner squares and recording the cell counts. In order to obtain an accurate cell count, 40 to 70 cells will be counted during the test phase. Therefore, it may be necessary to count more than one large corner square. The controlled technique, which is the conservative method used for the purpose of cryopreservation of cells and tissues, is based on the slow-cooling approach. It needs to be appreciated that a large number of non-sensitive cells can be preserved in liquid nitrogen with little damage through slow-cooling

Lovecraft's argument or postion to Paradox of Horror Essay

Lovecraft's argument or postion to Paradox of Horror - Essay Example And this is the point where I will start my argument. Someone can and many people go around looking for scary things not because they are forced but because they find excitement in the horror part of art. Many people get scared but still continue to love the art of horror and the scary nature of the horror art. Someone can seek for a scary thing or disgusting thing for entertainment. Since the times of the Romans, scary acts have been used for entertainment. This can be seen from the way that criminals were killed. Some of the criminals were set out and a lion left to eat them as a large crowd watched and celebrated. This shows that there is a sense of excitement in humans when they get scared over something. Most of the people who seek horror in art mainly do so because of its entertainment nature. Therefore I can say that the above saying that no one can seek out for a scary or disgusting thing is wrong. People can seek out scary things and movies because of their entertainment nat ure. Someone can also seek horror and scary art scenes so as to remove stress. Stress has been known to disturb man since creation. Many people forget about their stress when they see something that is scary. This is because when they see the disgusting part of the art, they forget about their problems and start to feel for the situation that is making them scared. At this point their stress goes away and they become relieved for some time. Therefore someone can use horror to remove stress that they have. This clearly disapproves Lovecraft’s idea that no one can seek for any disgusting or scary thing. Many people look for scary things to remove stress and this is a better argument to prove that Lovecraft statement is wrong. People also seek scary art so as to take a lesson from the art. When people see how someone suffers, they get the lesson not to what the victim did to undergo such suffering. Some people just love learning lessons about something and so when they get to se e how someone has suffered, they get thee reason of his/her suffering and take it as a lesson so that next time they don’t do the same mistakes as the ones done by the person who suffers in the horror act. Apart from the educative nature of horror acting, there are people who love horror simply because of its scary nature. When they experience the scary part of the horror, they get some excitement that makes them feel better. Horror is like part of their life so when arguing this, these people should not be left out of the debate. This group of people help to prove that there are people out there who go for horror acting because they want to and not because they are forced. If we say that people don’t look for scary acts because they like it then it means that everyone who participate in the production and anyone who enjoys horror movies or act do so because they are under some obligation or that they do that because of circumstances that they can’t avoid and if given a chance they can do the acting or watching of the horror movies. This is an invalid argument since almost everyone who watches horror movies do so because they love it and not because someone has told them to watch it. Many people would argue that maybe their love for horror movies come due to the influence of the people around them and the environmental

Elizabethan society Essay Example for Free

Elizabethan society Essay In early Elizabethan society, acting was not considered a mainstream professional while college drama and craft guilds alone were acceptable. During Shakespeare’s era, the English aristocrats were the patrons of theatrical forms of art. Since acting in theaters had not become professional and actors were often moving from place to another in search of opportunities, they were considered to be vagabonds. To prevent actors from being arrested, theater fans such as Lord Chamberlain brought actors under their protection in the 1560s. Hence, performances in the theater mainly catered to the tastes of the art-loving aristocrats in Elizabethan society. According to the theatrical world, â€Å"Shakespeare’s livelihood and the stunning artistic explosion in which he participated depended on pragmatic and architectural effort† (Merchant of Venice ix). Since his plays’ themes centered on existentialism, they were considered to be revolutionary during that period of time. Existentialism is a philosophy that believes that human existence is inexplicable and holds man responsible for his actions. This school of thought might have appealed to liberals in the Elizabethan society that did completely agree with the Church’s dogmatic view of life. Hence, Shakespeare’s plays mostly drifted around ideas of pragmatism and were often staged quite artistically. The amphitheaters built to showcase plays were very elegant and a testament to architectural excellence. Hamlet declares that he would kill Claudius to seek revenge for his father, when the ghost of his dead father appears before him and says that Claudius is the murder. He first delays avenging his father’s death as he convinces himself that he is seeking concrete proof to ensure that Claudius is the real murderer behind old Hamlet’s murder. Since Hamlet is never actually driven by a natural instinct to seek revenge, he is tormented by guilt for still not avenging the person responsible for his father’s death. When he gets a chance to kill Claudius during a prayer, Hamlet says â€Å"so a goes to heaven† and turns down the opportunity (act iii scene iii). Finally, he also tries to reason with himself whether the ghost was real or a figment of his imagination. Hamlet has intense love for his mother Gertrude, but feels scared and guilty of his feelings towards his mother since the society despises incestuous love. Hence, Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius who is Gertrude’s newlywed husband and the only force preventing Hamlet from expressing his true feelings. This depicts Hamlet’s inner battles with his conscience, as he ponders whether to kill Claudius or not. The brash and immature traits of Hamlet suggest that he is no more than twenty years of age. Hamlet’s indication that he wants to go back to Wittenberg as a student and the fact that he was not considered for being crowned the new King after his father’s murder reiterate this assumption. However, at the end of the play, the gravedigger clown tells Hamlet that he has been there since the day young Hamlet was born. When Hamlet asks him how long the clown had been there, the gravedigger clown replies â€Å"I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years† (act v scene i). Hence, this suggests that Hamlet is thirty years old when he dies in the end. The four major characters killed at the end of the play are Laertes, Gertrude, Hamlet and Claudius. Laertes, Lord Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, challenges Hamlet to fight a friendly sword duel. But, he is actually ordered by the King Claudius to kill Hamlet and Laertes accepts the job to please the King. Laertes yells â€Å"I am justly kill’d with my own treachery† when Hamlet kills him with his own poisoned-tipped sword (act v scene ii). This indicates that Laertes tries to seek false glory and finally ends up paying a price for it. Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude mistakenly drinks the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet and dies. Hamlet kills Claudius for being responsible for poisoning his mother. Claudius, owing to his greed for the throne and lust for Gertrude, had killed old Hamlet and was responsible for the tragic situation. Hamlet finally avenges the death of his father and is justified in killing Claudius since he is not driven by blind rage or intent to seek revenge. Hamlet also dies as Laertes before dying had wounded him with his poisoned sword. However, Hamlet’s role in the eventual tragic end cannot be denied. Hence, Gertrude is the least responsible for the tragic situation since she did not conspire to kill or trick anyone, but was merely a victim of Claudius’ evil plans. Fortinbras, the King of Norway, enters the tragic scene and recognizes Hamlet as an honorable man after hearing about his story. Hamlet, before dying tells Horatio that he wishs Fortinbras to be the new King of Denmark. Hamlet, even in his dying moments, is concerned about the future of his country and learns to embrace death. Hamlet, initially perceived to be unruly, matures as a person and advices Horatio not to take his own life in the end. Fortinbras orders his men to honor Hamlet by saying â€Å"let four captains bear Hamlet like a soldier† on a raised platform and pay all the respects given to a true soldier (act v scene ii). Fortinbras also speaks of Hamlet’s virtues and says that Hamlet had potential to a good ruler if he had been â€Å"put on† as the King. The phrase â€Å"put on† is meant to signify the ambiguity of human nature and that we all don on costumes to signify who are. Our habits are like the like costumes that we put on and shape us into we who want to be. Our choices are always susceptible to doubt, but we â€Å"put on† an aura of certainty while suppressing the internal conflicts that go on inside our minds and this reemphasizes the existential nature of Hamlet. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Braunmuller, A. R. Penguin Classics, 2000. ix-xii. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet.

Attachment Theory Analysis Development And Application Psychology Essay

Attachment Theory Analysis Development And Application Psychology Essay This paper focuses on the concept of attachment theory. We begin with an analysis of what it is and its development and the founders and important people who have applied and developed it. We then present its applications in the modern psychology. Attachment can be defined as the emotional bond that connects one person with another. This theory was first advanced by psychologist John Bowl by and he described it as a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings (Bowlby, 1969). He believed that the initial bond that is formed by children with their parent or caregivers have very important impact upon their entire lives. According to him, the attachment is very fundamental in ensuring that the childs chances of survival are enhanced. The main theme in the theory of attachment revolves around the notion that mothers who are responsive and available to the needs of their children usually establish some sense of security. The infant are therefore ware of the fact that such a bond with a dependable parent or caregiver is important for their security and safety. This gives them a well secured platform to explore the world at large. The main characteristics of attachment Secure base This is when the caregiver or parent provides a dependable and secure base for the child to explore the world. Safe haven This is exhibited when the child feels afraid and threatened. They do therefore turn back to their caregiver to seek comfort Maintenance of proximity This is exhibited when the child makes efforts to be as close to the caregiver or parent as much as possible in order to keep themselves safe. Distress of separation The Ainsworths theory of Strange Situation Mary Ainsworth, a psychologist in 1970s carried out research that expounded immensely on the work of Bowlbys. Her famous theory of Strange Situation revealed that there is a notable effects of attachment on the human behavior. The study which she conducted entailed an observation of children aged between 12 and 18 months who were being watched as they responded to various situations in which they were left alone for a short period of time. The infants were then reunited with their mothers as pointed out by (Ainsworth, 1978). On the basis of the observed responses, Ainsworth came up with three main styles of attachment which were: Secure attachment Ambivalent-insecure attachment Avoidant-insecure attachment However, later on, the work of Main and Solomon (1986) saw the addition of an extra style of attachment referred to as disorganized-insecure attachment. Several other studies have shown that the various attachment styles have a profound influence on the behavior of humans in their later lives. Detailed characteristics of attachments Secure attachment Children who are securely attached do exhibit a lot of distress when they get separated from their caregivers. They do however become happy on the return of their caregiver. It is worth pointing out the fact that these children do feel secure and are able to depend entirely on their parents ar caregivers. Whenever the caregiver or parent leaves, they may feel upset but with the knowledge and hope that their caregiver would soon come back. In case they get frightened by anything, these securely attached children would seek the comfort and protection of their caregivers. They know their parents and caregivers and their ability to provide them with assurance and comfort. Ambivalent attachment The ambivalently attached children normally do become distressed whenever their caregivers leave them. This form of attachment is usually uncommon and is therefore observable in just a small percentage of American children. It has been shown through research that ambivalent children are a product of poor maternal availability. These children however, cannot rely on their parents availability for their needs to be met. Avoidant attachment This form of attachment is characterized with children who try at all costs to avoid their parents or primary caregivers. In case they get offered a chance, they would show no form of preference between their caregivers and new people who are considered total strangers. Research work has indicated that this form of attachment comes about as a result of a neglectful or abusive caregiver. This therefore means that children who get penalized or punished fpor their reliance on their caregivers would soon learn to avoid seeking their help in the future. The problems with attachment There are a myriad of problems that affects attachments. The questions that most people may ask are what happens to infant who do not form some form of secure attachment. Extant literature suggests that in case there is a failure to be part of a secure attachment during infancy, then there is bound to be negative impact on the behavior of the affected individual. This is notable in the early childhood as well as during adulthood. The children who are diagnosed with oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or conduct disorder (CD) usually show signs of attachment related problems. This is possibly as a result of : Early abuse Neglect and Trauma. It has been suggested by clinicians that early attachments do have very serious effects on the future relationships .For example, people who are securely attached during their childhood do tend to have positive qualities such as: Good self esteem Strong romantic relationships Ability to disclose oneself to other people. It has been suggested by several theorists that the attachment theory is a special kind of psychological theory that gives a description as well as explanation to be used as a theoretical framework necessary for discussing the various types of affectionate relationships that do exist between individuals. This theory which got its origin from John Bowlby in 1969 has continued to be influential as a logical framework to be utilized in the explanation of interpersonal relationships as pointed out by (Hazan, Shaver, 1987). Bowlbys theory was heavily influenced by the work of Harry Harlow. Harlow is the one who made a discovery that infant monkeys that got separated from their caregivers (mothers) ended up clinging to objects that were as fluffy as their mothers as opposed to the wire-coated food sispensers.This was a strong indication that the infants had a strong need to be nurtured as poited out by Harlow Suomi (1970).It was the belief of Bowlby that the attachment style of an individual is developed in their childhood and gets heavy influence by the infants relationship with the primary caregiver. His other belief was that an individual style of attachment is durable and has a strong influence on the way the person would relate to others through our their life time (Bowlby, 1969).There are however some theorist who challenge this notion. Secure attachment style This is the very first attachment style. Individuals who are securely attached have very low self esteem coupled with low avoidance. They however have positive attitudes towards themselves and towards the rest of the people. In order to promote secure attachment in children, it is important for the primary caregivers to be dependable, supportive and provide a safe haven as pointed out by Bartholomew Horowitz (1991). Ainsworths strange situation study revealed that securely attached children are characterized by several behaviors such as protestation of their caregivers departure while having the ability to begin being in happy mood only to welcome the departed caregiver and be reassured once again of their comfort as outlined by Tracy Ainsworth (1981). There are other benefits that come with being securely attached. These include the ability to form very close and intimate relationships with very little ease while being comfortable with the autonomy. Secure adults usually feel like they are worthless and have expectations that other persons will be accepting while being responsive at the same time as outlined by (Hazan Shaver, 1987). The diminishing attachment style This form of attachment is characterized by individuals who have low anxiety coupled with a rather high avoidance. Therefore, they do have a positive attitude towards their existence. They however do have a high avoidance of others. This form of attachment is observable in children and is formed whenever an infants bid to gain comfort are rejected and their primary care givers are hesitant and generally reluctant to allow body contact between them. This makes them to pick up their young ones in very abrupt manner. There is also an element of controlling behavior with very limited emotional response as indicated by (Hazan Shaver, 1987). An observation by Ainsworth shown that children who are dismissing had a characteristic of not being distressed by the departure of their caregivers and they were also not too much bothered by their return. This observation was reported by (Tracy Ainsworth, 1981). In adults It is also a general fact that adults who belong to the category of the dismissing individuals do feel a certain sense of worthiness. They however possess a very negative disposition towards other individuals. They do have a self protection mechanism that involves the avoidance of very close relationships and the maintenance of a general sense of independence coupled with invulnerability. The preoccupied (Fearful avoidant attachment styles) This third attachment style is referred to as the preoccupied style. These persons do experience a very high level of anxiety coupled with low avoidance. Therefore they get preoccupied and do feel on a constant basis, a sense of unlovabililty along with that of unworthiness that is combined with an affirmative evaluation of others. The preoccupied style is usually formed whenever a primary care giver is inconsistent in their manner of parenting. This is marked with being loving while being responsive. This is however true only when they are able to manage but not in their response to the childs signals as pointed out by Cassidy (2000). In adults Several adults have been shown to be exhibiting this style and they are known to be in a constant quest to be accepted by others through the gaining of acceptance of other individuals in the community. Fearful avoidant style This is the last type of avoidance styles It comprises of highly negative individuals.They do have: High anxiety High avoidance They also feel the following: Unworthy Unlovable They view people negatively and regard them as either rejecting or untrustworthy. Due to this, they usually avoid very close relationship and try to avoid being rejected at all costs. This group is made up of individuals who have been abused and neglected as pointed out by (Bartholomew Horowitz, 1991). The durability of the attachment styles The durability in this case refers to the state of stability of the attachment styles. This has however been a subject of too much controversy and debate. The attachment theory postulates that after repeated experiences during an individuals childhood, they do while in infancy, develop a string of knowledge structures a concept that can also be referred to as an inner working model that acts as a representative of the various several interactions that the infant had while they were with their primary care giver. The infant then learns of the fact that whenever their primary caregivers get responsive then they have an opportunity of counting on them as well as others should need be. On the other hand, in case the primary care givers are cold, unresponsive and inconsistent, then the child would soon learn to ignore or rather neglect their role in his or her life in regards to gaining comfort. . This model has for a long time been thought of as being persistent throughout the life of an individual and can be considered to act for them as some sort of a guide as illustrated by Fraley, (2002). In order to support this model, we bring out the fact that adults generally do tend to be more attentive to situations that bring out their experiences and to information that is in congruence with their worldly expectations. This is called the confirmation bias In order to illustrate this, we look at the study that was conducted by Simpson, Rholes, Nelligan in 1992 that portrayed that people who have avoidant working models with a general view of others as being unreliable did also vies social scenarios as being ambiguous. A study conducted by Roisman, Collins, Sroufe, Egeland (2005) in order to explore if an infants style of attachment could be predictive of their adult hood indicated that: A secure mind state in regard to one;s romantic relationship and better of (high quality) romantic relationship is usually a result of a secured attachment relationship that took place in infancy. In yet another study by Torgersen, Grova, Sommerstand, (2007) whose research relied on the test results of hypothesis that purported that attachment in most adults is heavily influenced by certain genetic factors. This was done through a comparison of both monozygotic as well as dizygotic twins attachment styles. Their result is was that both the environment and the genes have a profound influence on attachment Recent theories Several recent theories dispute this notion. They do propose however that the durability of a certain style is a functions of the stability of an individuals environment. This can be illustrated with a consideration of the experiences of new relationships and formation of new attachments both of which can bring about positive influence on an individuals working model. It is worth noting that the attachment theory is very crucial in the explanation of an individuals interpersonal relationship in a lifetime. The four proposed attachments styles: Secure Preoccupied Dismissing and Fearful avoidant Are all crucial in the explanation of an individuals interpersonal relationship. It is important to note that the durability of attachment has been questioned and more research is going on this. Applications to social phenomena Attachment theory in raising children Attachment is the link that forms between the person taking care of an infant and the infant itself from when it is between eight to nine months of age, giving the child security emotionally. Bonding starts from when a child is being given food, and goes on to participating in pseudo-dialogue and then it is followed by the child taking part in more active roles of proto dialogue, as shown by Kaye (1982), other ideas such as inter-subjectivity and scaffolding have been looked into by psychologists. As an infant continues growing, their attention towards the person taking care of them increases. John Bowlby (1958, 1980) founder of the attachment theory was involved in extensive analysis on the emotional link between infants and adults and he had a strong belief that the early relationships greatly determined the emotional and behavioral growth of a child. An earlier study done by Bowlby in 1944 found out that children who had an unstable upbringing where more likely to become juvenile derelicts. His work is often free to criticism and has been improved on with further research. Other following research has measured different levels of security and insecurity in children from early times by use of the method known as Strange Situation Test. Other explorations have also shown different types of the difficult habits and how a child may relate with the person taking care of them actively. Bowlbys theory was founded on ideas from ethology studies and earlier works. The psychodynamic theory as put by Sigmund Freund was very pertinent during the 50s following the Second World War when women were taking up caring for households and playing motherhood roles as men were going back to employment post war. Sigmund believed that every child ought to have a relationship with one caregiver monotropism and that separating from this person would bring about the proximity promoting behaviors in the attachment order. The caregiver coming would cause the behaviors of, clinging, making noise and crying to come to an end. The protected grounds of the affectionate links present between the parent and infant representation becomes part and parcel of the inner working model. These therefore become the heart and the base of all close relationship during continuation of the childs life all through to adulthood. The interference of a mother and childs relationship through lack of emotion, se paration and bereavement to the bonding process. Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation (1951, 1953) was supported by Konrad Lorenz imprinting study on the young ones of animals done in 1966. He believed that the childs caregiver should impress as a constant figure, and that lack of maternal links between mother and child could be dangerous to the childs health mentally and could cause delinquency. His opinions on long term organizational care were that if a child was placed in a foster home before reaching two years and six months social, emotional and cognitive development may not be delayed but his other works show there has been varying types of parting in youth with serious behavioral issues. Attachment behavior as looked into by Mary Ainsworth works (1985) Ainsworth Bell, (1974) Ainsworth et al (1978) becomes the base for all potential connections and this develops up to two years from the time the child is born. She also agreed with Bowlby on the opinion that the process of attachment bonding occurs at the age of two years. Roughly when the infant is about 7 months old when they get to be watchful of strangers and unknown environments. This continues until the child attains two years of age. The process Ainsworth (1969) investigated to determine if a child was securely or insecurely connected was the strange situation paradigm. This involved a series of short separations and reunions. The childs parent and a person unknown to the child took part in the study with a child aged one year, there were eight series in total and Ainsworths measurement on secure and insecure connection was founded on the reunion scene of how the child reacted in such a situation. Evaluation was carried out using four different variables. The results showed that there were three main varying styles of adjusting. Type A was the anxious and avoidant. The Type B secure while the Type C was the anxious and ambivalent. Most children showed secure attachment; one fifth of them showed anxious/avoidant and one tenth showed anxious/amb ivalent. Main and Solomon (1990) introduced yet another variable, D Type: which in recent times was disorganized to match the behaviors of children in risky environments. The strange situation paradigm, has been faulted by Judy Dunn (1982, 1983), she believed that children from varying backgrounds like institutional care and those living with their families may bring different meanings to the test and the childs environment. The method and results of the experiment are doubted even by Judy Dunn herself. In another study carried out by Richman in 1982 et al it showed that different dangerous factors of disturbed behavior can be evident from the time a child is three years old. Some of the factors known to influence a childs emotional development are the mothers mental state, marital stability and the parents attitudes to the child. The childs active part must also be taken into consideration when giving advice on bringing up children as is shown in Sameroffs 1991 transactional model, as children interact with their environments, while the caregiver develops the childs behavior and how they will relate in future. In Ainsworth and Bowlbys view in which they both agree relationships are universal it can said that different peoples and cultures have different degrees on to what degree or amount of time an infant should be left alone, Japanese, the Chinese and the Israeli results showed Type C in a research done across cultures by one Marinus van Ijzendoorn and Peter Kroonenberg in 1988. Problems could also be with the ethological view of drawing comparisons between children and the young ones of animals as they could be controlled by an instinct. Bowlby considered only the effect on the child by the caregiver yet other factors could affect this such as the child moods. A mother whose child has a thorny mood could prefer to work and leave their child in a day facility which in turn could have a negative effect on the mother being unable to leave the child behind with other people. The mothers patience and the look of the goodness of fit. Researchers Chess and Thomas (1984) suggested that attachme nt could impact on the behavior and a reflection on the attachment link between the child and the primary caregiver (mother). Bowbly and Ainsworth worked together in the development of secure links as per the sensitive mothering of a child in its first year but it could have an impact on the mother as argued by Woollet and Pheonix in 1991, where if she has to abandon all her earlier work and duties possibly leading to frustrations. A workable alternative is to share the responsibility of parenting but this notion would appear to be contrast to the opinion of Ainsworth and Bowlby. The showing of the movie A Two-Year-Old Goes to Hospital, by James Robertson in 1952 showed the stress and pains of a child separated from the mother during a long stay in hospital. During this period mothers were advised not to pay regular visits to their children while in hospital. According to Ainsworth and Bowlby ,the abrupt and premature separation of the child could have terribly affected its emotional wellbeing and the bonding process. Separation and providing alternative means for taking care of the child have been researched on more recently. Day care was among the topics researched into by Bowlby and his belief was that that if a child started nursery schooling before attaining three years of age, it would also cause irreparable damage to the child. However, recent studies done during the 70s and 80s have shown varying opinions and this was proved in a research carried out by Laurence Steinberg and Jan Belsky in 1978 and in yet another study done by Clarke-Stewart and Fein (1983). A much later study done by Belsky (1988), had different views as mothers who worked for more than 20 hours a week showed a higher level of insecure attachment as compared to his earlier study which found absolutely no problems with taking children for day care, Clarke-Stewart opposed this data. Other crucial factors that needed to be taken into consideration according to Belsky were the difference in the surroundings, the children in the day care facility, the staff at the day care and the quality of the day care. Appendix A: Figure 1: Attachment models source (http://www.personalityresearch.org/attachment.html)

The struggle against Mexicos drug cartels

The struggle against Mexicos drug cartels A vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico followed the New Year of 2009. I had spent time with locals, purchased their handcrafted souvenirs, and visited monumental tourist attractions. My travel led me to believe that Mexico is a country of warm weather and beautiful sightseeing; at the time of my vacation I had been ignorant to the reality of Mexicos stance on the global spectrum of corruption. Unbeknownst 783 miles northwest to Tijuana from Cabo, numerous drug cartels were organizing the importation of narcotics from the South and exported to countries North of Mexico. Tijuana is a city controlled by organized crime and more specifically, infiltrated by The Tijuana Cartel (Witkin and Robinson 1997:38). The Tijuana Cartel is responsible for the transportation, importation, and distribution of massive quantities of cocaine and marijuana, as well as large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine (Guzman 1993:40). Yet, the issue of Mexicos drug trade is not specific to the notorious city, there are over seven cartels that clandestinely function throughout the state. The power of drug cartels have proven to be well connected, trained, armed, and manipulative toward the masses. Mass drug trafficking in Mexico is threatening to turn itself into a Narco state, notably, a Narco state is considered to be an area that has been taken over and is controlled and corrupted by drug cartels (ibid). The rising count of gruesome drug-related murders seems as though the government is being passively effective. This is where the supremacy of drug lords that lead the drug cartels serve as highly influential bodies; whom can often overthrow the power of authorities and government officials through bribery. This is evident over the last three decades when the Mexican Drug War originally commenced. However, the Drug War was re-initiated between the government and drug cartels when Felipe Calderon took presidency in 2006 (Campos 2010). The nation of Mexico is facing a difficult state of affairs to meet drug trade demands that has dishonored the justice system. Countless lives have been taken since the commencement of the Mexican Drug War on either side of its borders and will only continue to overthrow the power of the government officials. This essay will analyze how the Mexican drug trade has infiltrated northern borders to the United States and Canada-while domestically placing vulnerable civilians at risk of sex trafficking in an impoverished state, resulting in violence. The drug trade is a global black market, where the insufficiency of borders has proven to be the prime target of drug transportation. According to the Toronto Star (2009), Tijuana is home to the worlds busiest border crossing with about 300,000 people crossing the border everyday. These perimeters separate two distinct worlds divided by a militarized border in the North and a more advantageous smuggle from the South, however the movement of people and narcotics illicitly make their way past northern border patrol. The North American Free Trade agreement addresses concerns regarding insufficient borders where there is an unrestricted movement of people, goods and services between Mexico, the United States and Canada (Cottam and Otwin 2005). The inadequacy of border security, has led to the expansion of Mexican drug cartels and their control over the drug supply chain surpassing the United States to Canada. This is where the transportation, importation, and distribution of massive quan tities of cocaine, 3 marijuana, as well as large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine have primarily washed up on Canadas West coast (Falco 1999:8). Furthermore, the growth of Mexicos drug cartels is a question of security, where the illegal importation of illicit drugs into fast, developing westernized nations will only lead to unsafe corruption. This mass production of drugs infiltrated by Mexico into the United States and Canada is a detriment to the globalization efforts set out by capitalist nations. These northern nations have made initiatives to expand the integration of countries in the global network of communication, transportation and trade. However, the global networking strategies of these bordering nations have negotiated an illegal trade that has created a steady flow of trafficked narcotics. The trafficking of drugs is highly motivated by the demands that exist in consumer countries such as the United States and Canadas West Coast of British Colombia. In 2001, Mexico was the point of transit where 55 percent of cocaine entered the United States (Chabat 2002:142). Illicit drugs cultivated in drug trade are majorly supplied by strong Colombian drug trafficking ties and become Canada and US-bound through Mexico. The narcotics used to fuel the Mexican Drug War are primary extracted from countries in South America, specifically Colombia. This is where the primary trafficked narcotic includes cocaine, in exchange for the steady drug flow heading north from South America guns, cash and prostitutes serve as collateral (Bagely 1988:72). However, the United States has created a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid to reduce the illegal drug trade, this campaign is called the War on Drugs. The approaches of The War on Drugs have undertaken tasks such as The Merida Initiative. This initiative is a security cooperation 4 between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking and transnational crime (Cottam and Marenin 2005:32). Such strategies are aimed to also eliminate illegal immigrants into Canada and the United States as means to transport and distribute drugs. Other contributions to The War on Drugs involve the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), identifying the need to increase financial and migration investigations relating to the movement of illegal drugs to Mexico. The DEA states that attacking the financial infrastructure of drug cartels has to play a key role in any viable drug enforcement strategy (Toro 1999: 633). The effects of contraband being imported past the Northern borders serves for inadequacy of borders as well as harm toward their political and economical statuses. Restricted substances that enter northern borders are consequential toward the political stance of the laws, rules and regulations set forth by government officials. The enigmatic transportation of these illegal narcotics is especially subversive and become difficult for officials to track en route. The money laundering exchange from Mexico into the United States and Canada annually generates millions of dollars as a significant contributor to their economies. In the United States, wholesale illicit drug sale earnings estimates range from $13.6 to $48.4 billion annually (ibid). The longstanding issue of poverty in many areas of Mexico is also a contributing factor involving the illegal drug trade. Kellner and Piptones article Inside Mexicos Drug war (2010:32) states that due to high levels of poverty within the Mexican nation 5 and easy access across the northern borders, individuals with minimal opportunities and are economically unstable, resort to drug exchange. Poverty provides minimal opportunities for those in need of providing for their families, and as a result of Mexicos escalating rates of poverty, people often look for the fastest alternative, often resorting to money laundering of illegal drugs. The participation of Mexican civilians in the drug war often proposes the sacrifices of their lives as well as leaving their families behind. The willingness of many residences to partake in the drug trade is also contributing to Mexicos generation of fraudulent currency, where according to Chabat (2002: 137) as of 2009, sat between $6-$15 billion annually representing 3 percent of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As the growth of these numbers amplifies due to organized drug crime, the public continues to pursue the implementation of justice and change by government officials. Within Mexicos impoverished state, the vulnerability of Mexican women and children are at risk with the pursuit of innocence set forth by drug lords. The involvement of women in drug trafficking in recent years has expanded dramatically. Campbell (2008:251) explains that women within Mexican society that are often associated with the drug cartels are typically led to incarceration at various ages; this also leads to high extortion, torture and rape. Sex trafficking has become more common as a part of the drug war where most often women and girls are pimped by leaders of drug cartels and sent to brothels throughout Mexico (Castillo, Gomez and Delgado 1999: 394). The demands within the brothels instill fear within these trafficked women, without compliance they jeopardize seeing their families again or even their lives. Specifically in 6 Tijuana, Mexico where the infiltration of black market drugs originates within Central America, women are used as drug smugglers and prostitutes to generate another source of monetary income. Moreover, Rojas (2008:1082) argues that children have also become prime targets involving the illegal exchange of drugs. Drug lords often seek them out as a symbol of inexperience and uncontroversial tactic when crossing borders, much of the time they too have been induced by drugs to obey drug lord commands. Many children involved in the drug trade are without any family due to the violent nature of the trade or come from families below the poverty line. In 2009 alone, 10,000 children were orphaned due to the Mexican Drug War (ibid). With initiatives to keep the adolescents off of the streets, President Felipe Calderà ³n recently opened 75 new universities and 330 drug rehabilitation centers to curb the impoverishment and gang violence (Corchado 2009: 21). The violent nature of the Mexican Drug War has led to high rates of drug violence within Mexico. This is further examined by Newman (2009:23), in which he explains that the drug cartels imported and exported out of Tijuana make their way toward the U.S border city of Ciudad Juà ¡rez, which now has the distinction of being the most violent in Mexico. Due to organized crime, border violence includes 90% of drug related killings (ibid). The competition of cartels trying to out due each other in savagery is discussed in Hoars article Mexican violence, Gun Controls (2009:42) where bodies are mutilated, and heads are tossed on busy streets. 7 The struggle for human rights and progression away from drug violence is an unpredictable issue; the direction in which it is headed is at a high rate of inconsistency. Violent acts of decapitation, torture and rape are common tactics amongst drug lords. Drug lords have become so powerful that some of their leaders, even when in prison, can continue their operations from the inside. Anderson (2007:18) explains that a drug kingpin can order the murder of rival cartel members on the street, along with others perceived as standing in the way of their lucrative enterprises. Those killed have included officials, judges and journalists whose writings offended the cartels (ibid). As a terror tactic, beheadings have become a favored form of execution. The power of organized crime such as drug cartels, easily preside over the violence. According to Campos (2010: 402), more than 34,000 people have died in drug-related violence during the four years that President Felipe Calderon has been in po wer and within the last year there were 15, 273 deaths. Many civilians are too often paying the price of Mexicos drug war with their liberty and livelihood at the hands of drug cartel hit men. High rates of violence are a result of suppressed human rights with many implications facing Mexican authorities and residences. Communities often too cannot trust those in a position of power such as police, this is due to the corruption within the police force. Corruption within Mexican law enforcement institutions is a relentless struggle of organized crime growing and spreading to new territories. More specifically, numerous drug cartels propose bribes to officers for their co-operation in return. The co-operation of these officers under cartel 8 command often include violent acts against civilians as well as tourists and government officials, ultimately creating an elite group of hit men (Bailey and Paras 2006: 78). Officers enticed by this lucrative organization are often regularly paid poorly and would rather succumb to the influence of Mexicos deep-pocketed drug traffickers and gangs. This law enforcement dishonesty is becoming a significant challenge confronting democratic governability and defeating the purpose of ending the Mexican Drug War. Although violence between drug cartels had been occurring for at least three decades, the Mexican government had held a generally passive stance regarding cartel violence. Now, President Felipe Calderà ³n has continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, there are now about 45,000 troops involved along with state and federal police forces. (Felson 2009:7) In conclusion, the Mexican drug trade is a ruthless battlefield in which many aspects reflect the hardships and corruption within Mexican society, and its effects on its neighboring countries. The efforts set out by President Felipe Calderon to end the drug war in Mexico is seeing inadequate results, inevitably progressing toward a Narco state status. Presently, the development of Mexico is at risk with plummeting death tolls of civilians, corruption of law enforcement and drug money stabilizing the countrys GDP. The Mexican Drug War is often presented publicly as a government issue that will evaporate overtime with the right prime leadership. However, the cause of the battle on drugs in the southern-most part of North America is much more than the governments 9 burden. The powers of drug cartels seem to be unstoppable and over taking the Mexicos livelihood all together and are now nothing short of entrenched in supremacy. The infiltration of northern borders to the United States and Canada by the Mexican drug trade has domestically placed vulnerable civilians at risk of sex trafficking in an impoverished state, resulting in violence. 10

Joseph Stalin Essay -- Biography Soviet Union European History

Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin was one of the biggest mass murderers of the twentieth century. From the purges in the Red Army to forced relocations, Stalin had the blood of millions on his hands. This essay is not going to debate the fact that this was indeed a brutal and power hungry individual, because he was indeed just that. I will on the other hand show you that through his way of governing the Soviet Union, he actually saved mother Russia from the German invasion in World War Two through his cunning and ruthlessness. Joseph Stalin was a very industrious person and used every means possible to better prepare his country for the coming war that he believed was inevitable. Wether it was diplomatic plotting, economic maneuvering, or just plain brute force, Stalin used every tool in his vast arsenal. The following are some of the more important decisions and methods that Stalin employed. Stalin was forced to consolidate his power through harsh means to better rule the Soviet Union. He ordered the five year plans to industrialize the nation and ordered one of the largest military build up plans ever. Stalin attempted many times to reach a diplomatic solution and ways to delay war with the Axis powers while at the same time trying to guarantee security from the West. Stalin wanted nothing less than to rule the Soviet Union and make her the greatest country in the world and he would stop at nothing to reach those goals. In his quest for leadership Stalin wished to consolidate his power in only himself, t hus enabling him to better rule the Soviet Union. Stalin's roots in politics go all the way back to him being expelled from the theological seminary in Tiflis, Georgia in 1899. This was where Stalin got his first real taste for politics and from that point on his political ambitions grew greater and greater. Stalin soon joined up with the Social Democratic Party and after the party split over ideological differences in 1903, Stalin joined the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. From 1903 to 1912 Stalin was arrested, and managed to escape, several times. He was exiled to Siberia from 1913 to 1917, returning only after the fall of the Tsar. With the fall of the Tzar and the country in the hands of the revolutionaries Stalin believed it to be the perfect time to come back and renew his political ambitions. Stalin was appointed Commissar of Nationalities ... ... military industry at the beginning of the war and up-to-date equipment was starting to be delivered to the front. The movement of the war industry east contributed to the lack of material but proved to be the saving grace of the army in the end. At the end the Soviet war industries were producing some of the best equipment in the world. In the end I do believe that through Stalin's leadership the Soviet Union was saved. Had it been under the leadership of the intended Communist bureaucracy it would have surely fallen. As we have seen in our country even simple matters can take forever to go into effect or get started under a bureaucracy. In that highly volatile and dangerous time period only an iron fisted rule could bring about change fast enough to due any good. True in the short term peoples right were trampled upon and millions died from famine, purges, and the war itself but in the end hundred's of millions were saved. Bibliography Robert Conquest, The Great Terror, (Toronto: Macmillan and Co. Ltd, 1968), p.123. Alexander Werth, Russia at War, (London: Barrie and Rockcliff, 1964), p.19. Isaac Deutscher, Stalin, (New York: Oxford University Pres, Inc 1967.

Greek Mythology should be taught in High School :: Persuasive Essay Ancient Greek Greece

Greek mythology is a compilation of the Ancient Greek stories that are based on their culture and practices. It's also about their gods and heroes, as well as their origins. Each of the Greek myths has a moral message through the stories that are written. It teaches us the good deeds and wrongdoing of the gods and goddesses, and how we, as a human being, should act. Thus, Greek mythology should be taught to high school students. There is something uniquely different about each of the Greek myth, each have their own message that it wants to deliver. Take the example of the Greek myth Athena and Arachne. This is the story of a young maiden that went against the goddess Athena because she thought that she was the best in the art of weaving. In the story, Athena herself was jealous of the maiden who was named Arachne because of her incredible skill. Because of her jealousy, she turns Arachne into a spider. From this story it is shown to us the poor quality of the goddess because god and goddesses should not be jealous especially of a mortal. Therefore the moral is that do not challenge someone who is better than you and also too many pride will lead to your downfall. Greek mythology has also been the origins of many objects and events of the world. An example is the Olympic games. The name Olympic was taken from Mount Olympus, believed to be the dwelling place of all the Greek gods and goddess. Another example would be Valentine?s Day. This special event is held on the fourteenth of February, Cupid is the Icon for this particular event. The Greek god of love and the son of Aphrodite symbolizes Valentine?s Day, this is because of the Greek myth where cupid fell deeply in love with a mortal. Another reason of why Greek mythology should be taught to high school students is that in high education Greek myth will be involved in the curriculum. Top university around the world involved Greek studies in their curriculum for example in Harvard, Oxford, Yale and other University. Students in high school also have the right to study Greek myth. No one has the right to restrict them from that right. The entire example I have given relates to my thesis statement that Greek mythology should be taught to high school student.

Coursework in Arts Essay

1. In Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s painting of the Queen of France, Marie-Antoinette, in the late 18th century, the queen is shown sitting with her three children in a formal gown at the edge of the Hall of Mirrors. Colors that were used can be described as basically feminine—shades of ruby, cherry, velvet, scarlet, and salmon; yet darker colors were used in the crib of the eldest son to portray his death. From the colors of the painting, the queen appears to be sitting on a shiny spot, but around her is a darker, gloomier color that may portray danger to her and her children. Textures, on the other hand, appear to be soft and feathery, which shows wealth and comfort. The lines in the background are parallel and horizontal, which points to her straight, firm position in her seat. The position of the queen and her two children beside her form a straight cross beside the crib that looks like a cave. The eldest son alive who points to the crib may appear like the angel beside the cave where Jesus was buried. The son was like saying, ‘You’re looking for my brother? He’s not here anymore but has gone up to the Father. ’ On the other hand, the eldest son alive stands firmly alone, which shows independence and strength†¦even at an early age. The stairs in the background may mean political fame, but it was portrayed to be darker and more shadowy above, so that it would be best for the queen to be where she is—with her children and her home (please see painting in the appendix). Formal elements show that this good queen is a devoted mother—full of quiet dignity—by the way the colors, the textures, the lines, the shapes, and the space interact with one another. The whole scene portrays quietness, peacefulness, as well as acceptance—things that picture her as a good and pleasant being. There is also the hint of wealth and extravagance, especially the portrayal of the Hall of Mirrors. In the overall, the painting is meant to give her a positive, submissive, and motherly aura. 2. John Singleton Copley’s painting of Paul Revere in 1768 is an example of a Rococo painting. The Rococo style, which emerged in France, characterizes opulence, grace, and lightness, as seen in the painting (Figure 2 in the appendix). Copley used contrasting colors like black (as the background) and white (as Revere’s shirt) to put more emphasis on the main object. The lines, colors, and objects are all simple. Lines, especially in the head and in the table, are all parallel, which may point to neutralism and evenhandedness. It was said that Revere was â€Å"uninterested in politics; he wanted only to be neutral, which was not possible† (Artchive, 2007). The eyes, on the other hand, portray innocence, knowledge, and fairness. The textures used are all smooth and shiny, which may also reflect opulence. It focuses on ‘carefree aristocratic life’, with direct reference on Revere’s being a silversmith—with a piece of silverware on his hand. He was portrayed with such extravagance, as shown in the linen cloth, which at that time was not yet available in America and could only be imported to the land†¦ as well as the golden buttons that lay on his vest. However, the portrayal of ‘flowing linen’ could point—not to the linens of England—but to the production of a hundred ells of linen in America during that time, which for Revere was something to be proud of. However, it is said that the painting is a sort of a ‘balancing act’ conducted by painter Copley (Artchive, 2007), especially that he is about to marry one of the Clarkes who were owners of â€Å"the notorious tea concession† (Artchive, 2007). The silver teapot appears to be a large issue then, since only their enemies—the Tories—drank tea (the Whigs drank the Boston tea, which was a punch). Revere is shown as a neutral person who wears rich linen clothing, but which comes from his own land. He is holding a silverware teapot, which is one of his expertise, but points to the character of the enemies and to the business of the Clarkes with which Copley is about to share his life with. Therefore, Revere is neutral, as he is open to all.

Infant Observation Essay

It is 830am when Dj wakes up, as he is light up he is rolling round in his waking up he is rolling some in his sires cognise stretching and babbling, a mixture of mommama and dada with a high jactitate scream as loud as he can, his mother says hey sleepy show well behaved morning, Dj turns over sits up on his knees smiles at her in that locationfore he falls backwards back onto the stay babbling again. Mom yells out botch up change Dj continues to babble, mom grabs him lays him tear cumulation in front of her, as she is ever-changing his pamper he is turn of events over, pose his hand subjugate move to grabs/ carry on his private part, after mom says no-no he starts rolling over again trying to get up and get scram to the derriere.It is 905am and Dj is done get his pamper change, so his mother puts him down on the account in hall focusing, then she closes the doors to the other get ons and to the bathroom. Dj is equable seated in the hallway on the appall come outing for around and at the loudnesscases that are in the hallway, he rolls on his tummy to get on his hands and knees to crawls over to the bookcase before he gets to the bookcase his mother runs to grab the vases the are on the tail shelf of the book case and sits them up higher Dj looks up to watch, he when he reaches the book case he pulls himself up, instanter he is stand up there banging on the shelf squall and babbling while looking in the mirror that is behind the bookcase.He has been stand up there for three minutes, and then he gets down and crawls into the sustenance room, when he reaches the living room he throws his ripened fellow and sister sitting on the floor notice TV. When they noticed him the started truism good morning Dj, hey man-man, DJ smiles and starts creeping fast with cope down toward them, as he reaches them he grabs his sisters habilitate to pull himself up, as he is doing that he is screaming, then his buddy started saying aww m ommy he stepping on me, Dj starts screaming with a smile on his face while turning his head around to see if his mother is looking at them.While Dj is stand there he is pulling down on his sisters shirt swinging his ramp up at his brothers head trying to work stoppage him who laying down next to them. hug drug minutes goes by as Dj is still contend, suddenly he halt playing because the catches his attention it was Mickey computer mouse club house, he stands there watching TV for fifteen minutes. The time is now 1030am when mom yells out breakfast, everyone gets up a runs to the kitchen, Dj watches as everyone go into the kitchen then he started to crawl that way until his mother called his name and said eat-eat as she was walking toward him to a head he was crawling pass to sit in.Dj is now standing up property on to his mother knees rocking back and away humming with nutriment in his lecture hell crawl away and come back for another bite of his hotcake he continue to d o this until his food was gone. After everybody finished eating the older siblings went into their play room, Dj dropped down to the floor to see where they went then he followed them. I followed him through the hallway pass the book case and into the play room, after he goes into the room he goes straight to the bambino chair to pull himself up, after he stands up he starts to scream and look around the room and reaching for his brothers face swinging his arm again.Dj saw his sister sitting in the chair next to him playing a handheld game, he travel around the chair he was property on to and steps to the other chair where his sister was sitting, he reached his hand on to touch her game when she said no Dj. He continued to reach she continued to say stop and no. Dj reaches his arm out to reach for the nates that was behind the chair he was keeping on too, after he grabs the bed he walks along side of it to go to the nightstand at the end, he pulls the top drawer open to find th e habilitate that were in it, all of a sudden he starts scream as he is turning his head to look around the room as he pulling the clothes out and throwing them on the floor at the same time.After the drawer is go off Dj hears his name being called so he turns his head around to see who was calling him, when he turned around he saw his mother standing in the doorway saying no-no you nimble little baby, he looks at her smiled and dropped down to the floor and started crawling to her with a smile on his face, when he reached her he grabbed her pants pulled himself up, then started playing by pushing her backwards, after two-three steps mom picks him up and walks away to change his pamper.

The Great Gatsby: “It is Nick who makes Jay Gatsby into The Great Gatsby”

The doubtful bigness of Jay Gatsby is imparted to the ratifier finished with(predicate) the thoughts and observations of ding Carr out, a fibre who is person-to-pers single involved in the complicated nonethelessts and relationships featured in the plot. He is whence an excellent choice of fabricator as this participatory role places him beside the considerable namesake of the book, which is essentially how he appears to portray the towering, clobberistic and yet naif image of Jay Gatsby.In using chip as much(prenominal) a device, Fitzgerald presents an discernment into Gatsby which is little by little developed from equivocalness to grasp as he refines break offs science throughout the riotous excursion- as mountain pass metaphorically describes the action of the refreshing and establishes his often disallow outlook on the selfishness, greed and good corruption of American corporation. mountain pass is handily able to acquire this personal acquaint ance of Gatsby through his approachability, coif other contri exactlyions to charge in him through his inclination to decl be taste.However, his negative judgement of golf-club (from which Gatsby is exempt) ironically contradicts his initial claim to impartiality, and come off continues to judge people thereafter. This reveals his viewpoint to be increasingly subjective and lends his character the virtues of cosmos realistic, thus possessing hu human race failings which evoke a to a peachyer extent complete persona, and non moreover a mouthpiece for Fitzgeralds thoughts.However, covertly, he similarly communicates the authors strong belief of 20s society as his throw, since Fitzgerald has incorporated such(prenominal) judgements into his disposition, creating the illusion of an impartial fabricator while pursuing his satirical condemnation of the Jazz come along and his manifest grasp of the noble-mindedness implicit in the American Dream (represented by Gatsby s impossible optimism). Indeed, Fitzgeralds use of this intelligent that sympathetic percipient at the centre of events makes for most of the roughly priceless value in parable (William Troy, 1945).The values of economy and intensity be achieved by his central role in events, while suspense is achieved through chips personal flaw of non fully perceiving Gatsbys character, causing apocalypses about Gatsbys past and present to be frequent and striking. We think particularly of how Gatsby came quick to nonch in Chapter 4 through Jordans reminiscing, and of how, in Chapter 9, revelations are still make after his remainder (such as the narrative brought to Nicks attention by Gatsbys father) which consolidate Nicks rate for his extensive ambition.Nicks perception of Gatsby is limited in certain views as the last mentioned is an ambiguous character, though this incomplete knowledge does not deter Nicks tyrannical view, which develops from not wise to(p) Gatsby at all to admiring him for his strangely noble, if delusory, ambitiousness. Gatsbys ambiguity simply fuels spell in Nick, who uses the adulatory adjective gorgeous to describe him, and riposte in his level to seek the role for this attraction in the mystery of Gatsby.The apparent bias presented in Nicks level whitethorn excessively be payable to many an(prenominal) connections mat with Gatsby as a offspring of similarities surrounded by both their characters and Fitzgerald himself many of Gatsbys characteristics are often Fitzgeralds own, incorporated into his character alongside Nicks. Just as the author had fought in the war, so have his characters, a incident which had taken Daisy away from Gatsby and excitement away from Nicks life as he came linchpin restless. They both seek to moderate these things, Nick by coming eastern hemisphere and Gatsby by reacquiring Daisys sock.Nick empathizes with Gatsbys longing, and here maybe Fitzgerald incorporates his own experien ce of losing the affections of his first love, Ginevra King, this affliction in achieving his own dream show bias in the author himself. This may be the reason for the author positing that Gatsby is groovy while withal impressing his negative belief on the haves of both his and Gatsbys misadventure in this case society, and the distinguish differences which precluded Fitzgeralds relationship with the richesier King.In the wider context of kindly satire, this occupation betwixt dreams and failure is analogous to the rich and scant(p) indoors American society, and is portrayed through the rather obvious figureism of the valley of Ashes whose uncomfortable proximity to the higher class Eggs foregrounds the vast disparity between rich and poor in the booming Twenties. Initially Nick only perceives the panoptical side of Gatsby his material possessions and his parties where guests came and went wish well moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars in Chapter 3.He describes the parties as dreamlike, maybe reflecting Gatsbys outlook on life, and tempting, as wealth was in 1920s America. Fitzgeralds simile of the guests creation insect-like expresses Nicks observation of the superficial materialism and loathsomeness of American society ( expressd in the source quotation by the sibilance of whisperings), as they are only tempted by Gatsbys wealth, drawn like moths to his straighten out, while making Gatsby seem in some manner compelling and superior to them as they wheel around himIn direct occupation to such shallowness, Fitzgerald reveals Nicks discernment for Gatsbys romantic training, and his infinite expect in his towering love of Daisy, to further fabricate the big element of Gatsbys personality as it is discovered. This aspect of Gatsby, when introduced, overly makes him more real (EK 1925) and empathetic, than American society of the time, as his dream is revealed to be for love, not material status.These poet ic descriptions, though also used in differentiate to persuade us that Gatsby is a man of poetic sensibility, do not imply that Fitzgerald takes the dangerous, no-hands course of simply saw so as Kenneth Tynan (1974) states. In fact, Nicks positive opinions of Gatsby are developed actually subtly and implied throughout events in the plot. These gradually build the impression of Gatsbys imaginative and beautiful sensibility, such as Nicks discovery of his idealism regarding Daisys love.At times, such usages of poetic write up depictions contrast sharply with the dull, bare picture of the poorer sections of society. To this end, set about is used by Nick in positive descriptions throughout the novel, his own and Fitzgeralds fascination with modern developments of his time projected through Nicks observant and admiring documentation of places lit by electric lighting, such as Gatsbys hearthstone which was blazing with light, and the important symbol of Gatsbys hope for Daisys lo ve the symbolic green light at the end of Daisys dock, crowning(prenominal)ly described, with pity, as an illusion. Light is thus used in a symbol of both Nicks taste felt at Gatsbys hope, and his kindness as it is for an immaterial romantic culture (love), which disregards Gatsbys material prominence. Nick also favorably compares Gatsby to a seismograph an intricate device driven by unknown/seen forces which mirrors Nicks own impression of him.This doctrine of analogy is not merely an apt symbol for the human sensibility in a mechanized age (Edwin S. Fussell 1952), showing Nicks cogitate on material developments it is also all the way used to accentuate his opinions on how admirable Gatsbys heightened sensibility is. Nicks use of such analogys also suggests the ambiguity in his rendering of Gatsby. Nick only makes us aware of Gatsbys personality in strategically placed narrative elements. These staged revelations, though revealing aspects of Gatsby that signify at criminal ity (like his activities in stops and various other rumours) simultaneously emphasize his admirable qualities such as his prizing of Daisys love. Indeed, Nicks storey increasingly overlooks Gatsbys flaws, both his and Fitzgeralds views increasingly act upon the record and casting Gatsbys dream in a positive light.By creating this empathy with Gatsby, Fitzgerald in effect communicates the intense disappointment felt at the intrusion of reality on idealism in the final chapters of the novel, and reason for the failure of Gatsbys dream is invoked. Clearly, though Maxwell E Perkins (1924) feels that Gatsbys ambiguity is mistaken as it makes his character more nebulous, Fitzgerald actually uses this as a main method of drawing the ref into a prominent theme of illusion, the ultimate illusion macrocosm love itself.The mysteriousness of Gatsby is also used to enable Nicks growth in chaste perception (Troy 1945) which Troy describes as a necessity in such a narrator Nick gradually pe rceives Gatsbys moral side- his innate purity, and societys drop of this in comparison, subsequently favouring Gatsby and giving some credibility to EKs evaluation of Gatsby being more real than the other characters due to the paradoxically refined record of his dream.In this respect, Chapter 4 is used to further Nicks, and the readers, positive perception of Gatsby. It features Jordan recounting a romantic warehousing of Daisys former relationship with Gatsby, Fitzgerald effectively digressing from Nicks narration in order to impart a very deliberate and important revelation from Gatsbys past. It is this relationship which Gatsby seeks to reclaim by subject matter of his wealth, and is the basis of the romantic readiness admire in him by Nick.Nick subsequently colours his narrative with the unfermented consciousness and says that Gatsby came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his serve-shy splendor. With this metaphor of a birth, Fitzgerald makes a clear eff ort to separate Gatsbys extensive alertity from the purposeless splendour of materialism, and, by extension, of American society, which he condemns through Nicks judgement of it.In Chapter 6 Fitzgerald again manipulates narrative structure in Nicks tale of Gatsbys origins, as at this stage in the plots chronology Nick is not privy to this information- it was imparted by Gatsby himself very much later in the novel, and is presented achronologically to reform readers faith in Gatsby before it is badly challenged in chapter 8, with the idea of exploding those first state of nature rumors about his antecedence.Fitzgerald reveals a particularised part of Gatsbys background through Nicks narration, selected to impregnate sympathy for Gatsby in the reader by describing his younger selfs (Gatzs) upward struggle from poverty, and the authors astonishment for the idealistic dreams that had spurred him to create a humans of ineffable gaudiness that he elaborated nightly until wedding these visions to Daisys breath.This metaphor reveals the uniting of Gatsbys original ambitions with a dream of love, and is also used to invoke sympathy for the extent to which his dreams are ultimately and mayhap tragically revealed to have gone beyond her, beyond everything. This revelation of Gatsbys childlike caprice of beauty and grace (Maxwell Geismar 1947) is illustrated by this analeptic episode, strongly suggesting Gatsbys ultimate innocence and pure dreams beneath his materialistic out(prenominal)Fitzgerald presents the social context of the novel through the sack of the American Dream in the 20s the new generation of Americans were dedicated more than the come through to the fear of poverty and the worship of triumph, as Fitzgerald himself had stated at the time. Societys material methods of gaining this success are portrayed negatively through Nicks condemnation of the Dream, as Nick has established himself as valuing morals and cloggy work highly his family had be come prominent through ownership of a wholesale hardware business, while Fitzgeralds own childhood took place in a farming, working environment.Similarly, the values admired in Gatzs willingness and determination to work for and succeed in gaining his dreams are symbolically those lost values of society that had appealed to Fitzgerald, and would appeal to Nicks sensibilities, which is why Nick still portrays Gatsby as being great in contrast to Jazz Age society which seeks goals through material office rather than hard work. This is paradoxically real in spite of Gatsbys own materialism, because the latter is portrayed as unimportant to Gatsby beside his love for Daisy.Through Nicks narrative, then, Gatsby is presented as embodying the old work ethic of a meritocracy but also its transformation to materialism, and ultimately the unattainable goals of the American Dream, this factor essentially providing the grounds for see Gatsby as a tragic hero. His idealistic dreams as Gatz a re implied to be incommunicable for ever, as they are, in fact, wed to Daisys breath which is erect as perishable as his money.In Chapter 7, Toms revelations about Gatsbys criminal bootlegging cause the brittle faiade of Jay Gatsby to be broken up like glass against Toms hard bitterness, this simile depicting Nicks dislike of the venomed Tom and of the superficiality of the American Dream, but also, crucially, the way Gatsbys dreams have been demolished due to his reliance upon material power as the single method of satisfying his search and inarticulate spirit (Maxwell Geismar 1947).Gatsby is thus leftover watching over nothing, this nihilistic phrase ending the chapter and corroborating the sympathy felt by Nick at the despondency of Gatsbys dead dream, making Nick not want to leave him. With his death in Chapter 8, this sympathy might so render Gatsby not merely great, but genuinely tragic. Thus as readers, we feel ultimately that Nicks (or Fitzgeralds) message is that the extensive vitality of Gatsbys illusion is curtailed by the faults of society and that Gatsby himself, by contrast, is greater than his social milieu.Gatsbys is the cataclysm of a romanticist in a materialist society (Kuehl, 1959), his immaterial dreams inevitably perishing in the face of society, the hopelessness that its glamorous exterior encloses, communicated throughout the novel both by the satire of the parties, the obvious symbolic qualities of the valley of Ashes, the similarly tragic George Wilson, and the doomed Myrtle.Clearly, though John McCormick (1971) regards Daisy as the agent of Gatsbys downfall, dear as she had been the agent of his rise, the apparent cause of Gatsbys failure went beyond her, being the vital illusion created by society which had surpassed Daisy she had only been the springboard for his ideals. The authors message is ultimately a poignant one of hope being obscured by failure, communicating both Fitzgeralds admiration of such dreams, and conte mpt of the reality which smothers them.In this sense, Nicks voice in the novel is undeniably Fitzgeralds. Having said this, Nick is rendered sufficiently self-governing to be a convincing narrator in his own right, as Gatsby at last also receives sympathy due to plain affinities formed with him, such as that of disillusionment, which Nick empathizes with as he has been a dupe of his own illusion regarding the true nature of Daisy and Jordan, and Gatsbys character itself.A growth in moral perception (when applied to Nick) is the tale of the novel (Troy, 1945) as it is this which ensures Nicks positive portrayal of Gatsby Nick comes to discover his true history and admired ambition as Gatz, as well as the ultimate tragedy of his still believing, in the face of such adversity as his dead dream. This locomote naivety clearly proves, however, that in Gatsbys case any growth in moral perception does not apply even though Daisy has clearly returned to Toms alluring wealth in Chapter 8, Gatsby innocently, and dumbly, states, I suppose Daisyll call, too, not perceiving the immorality of the age he lives in. As Kuehl (1959) says, it is illusion, and not its materialization which is the centre of Gatsbys character he is a dreamer notwithstanding his material status, and his heightened goals will never be materialized, making them pale in comparison to the concrete aspirations of society and contradicting E. Ks evaluation Gatsby is not precisely more real than society, but he is greater in many ways, as both Nick and Fitzgerald successfully portray him at the close of the novel the noble dreams that inspire Nicks admiration within Gatsby are only unattainable due to denounced external factors, and therefore ultimately do not subtract from Gatsbys tragically great portrayal.