Satire and irony by Jonathan Swift

Satire and irony are the main literary tools used by Jonathan Swift in A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. The author has used irony to create satire in making the audience see the deeper truths within the prevailing social, moral and political circumstances prevailing during the time. While making a comparison between A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels, one can see that the author has used satire, irony and satirical settings in highlighting the problems and contradictions present in society. The author also intends to make comments on such circumstances without intentionally addressing the reader for his response. In both A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift has used irony and satire to achieve certain goals primarily because of the disparity in the structure of each work. There is a strong variance in the use of satire in A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. A Modest Proposal is certainly a satire which aims at making people of that period to realize the patterns of cold and calculated callousness demonstrated by forthright rationalism in dealing with issues related to poverty and over population. Swift’s works fall under two kinds of satire; the formal and the indirect. Formal satire is narrated in first person while indirect satire is in the form of the character appealing to the audience. A Modest Proposal is an indirect satire since the author speaks on behalf of a character who proposes to provide solutions to an audience that is primarily anonymous while addressing the political economy. The satire used by Swift in A Modest Proposal is aptly demonstrated by the following; I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout† (Swift, 1996). The irony in A Modest Proposal has been presented by the author mainly through characterization whereby the speaker makes the proposals. For example the speaker in A Modest Proposal who is ironic is able to discuss coldly about the social and economic advantages of killing children and then eating them without a tinge or presence of any thought being given to the related moral problems. The irony exhibited by this character does reveal that he can just go on criticizing the moral weak points of mothers who undergo immoral acts such as abortions and committing infanticide. In a dramatic and very ironic statement, one of the characters in A Modest Proposal balks at the prospect of eating teen-agers because it amounts to cruelty, which is in stark contrast to the other suggestions in it. The characters in A Modest Proposal use satire and irony in indirectly telling the readers to ignore the other options and ideas thus giving an example of being represented by the most terrible social planners and politicians. The character can make ironical statements in making them to appear perfectly economical without appearing to comprehend the appalling nature of the same. For example, on one occasion the character talks about selling children as food, which is narrated in A Modest Proposal as â€Å"I grant this food [children] will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children. † Indeed this is a very powerful statement in being disguised as being the meaning that conveys the philosophy of the speaker and in addressing the fact that the rich land owners of England and Ireland had taken away all that the poor inhabitants had. Such ironic narrations in A Modest Proposal convey to the reader in a rather cold manner about how children’s skin can be used in making †¦ â€Å"admirable gloves for ladies and summer boots for fine gentlemen†. It appears quite normal and nothing extraordinary for the narrator to rattle out such ironical words in implying as if it was something very simple and beautiful. The inherent irony in A Modest Proposal does make the reader understand the dangers involved in blindly adhering to a single philosophy especially when the entire population is likely to be adversely influenced. Verbal irony is the main figure of speech in A Modest Proposal, whereby the character says exactly the opposite of what he intends to mean. Swift has tactfully used such a device in making his arguments about the Irish people deserving improved conduct from the English, which is indeed extremely amusing and powerful. In pointing out that the Irish should not be ill treated as animals, Swift has written, â€Å"I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs. In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift has made the bureaucracy of England as the main target of irony and satire. Gulliver’s Travels is primarily a work of satire. According to Rodino , â€Å"Gulliver is neither a fully developed character nor even an altogether distinguishable persona; rather, he is a satiric device enabling Swift to score satirical points† (Rodino, 1992). Sure the work begins with a lot of satire in attacking the different political machines. Primarily, however, Gulliver's Travels is a work of satire. â€Å"Gulliver is neither a fully developed character nor even an altogether distinguishable persona; rather, he is a satiric device enabling Swift to score satirical points† (Rodino, 1992). Indeed, whereas the work begins with more specific satire, attacking perhaps one political machine or aimed at one particular custom in each instance, it finishes with â€Å"the most savage onslaught on humanity ever written,† satirizing the whole of the human condition. Murry, 1972). During the time of Swift, the monarchy in England had lot of influence in most realms including law despite the increasing power of the bureaucracy. It is this aspect which has been made as the object of satire in Gulliver’s Travels by way of the actions of the Lilliputians who take detailed stock of the possessions of Gulliver and in being prone to making official proclamations about the factors that governed the life of Gulliver along with that of the other citizens. This is evident from what Gulliver remarks in an important quote from Gulliver’s Travels, â€Å"I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals, who durst venture to mount and walk on my body, while one of my hands was at liberty, without trembling at the sight of prodigious creature as I must appear to them† (Swift, 1983). Such overpowering self importance is an example of the satire used by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels. It can be seen that a small and unimportant matter can be transformed and made into a bureaucratic and political issue of great importance. The satire is also evident for example when there is a war between Blefuscu and Lilliput because the Emperor cut his finger with an egg shell and there was no consensus about the best way to break the egg. This is evident from the quote from the book, â€Å"Whereupon the Emperor published an edict, commanding all his subjects, under great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us there have been six rebellions raised on this account† (Swift, 1983). The war had specifically broken out between Blefuscu and Lilliput because the debate ended without any conclusion being arrived at in regard to interpreting which end of the egg was smaller. For the author of Gulliver’s Travels, Lilliput represents England while Blefuscu represents France. In narrating this story, Swift has satirized the aimless bickering and power struggle between the two countries. The introduction of Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels is indicative of an absurd and miniature England instead of a distant Utopia. In conveying the description of the government and the land it is made clear that despite the Lilliputians suffering from the same faults as present in the English society, they possessed several principles that allowed them to have a Utopian existence, particularly when its comparison was made with England. After Gulliver escapes from Lilliput he goes to England and returns back to sea after some time. This time he lands in a strange land where he is the smaller one as compared to Llliput but is alone in this world and when he does encounter the first inhabitants he gets scared, â€Å"for as human creatures are observed to be more savage in proportion to their bulk† (Swift, 1983). This indicates that Swift has used satire in attacking humanity for their ways. The satire in Gulliver’s Travels reaches the pinnacle whereby â€Å"Swift put his most biting, hard lines, that speak against not only the government, but human nature itself† (Paij, 2009). Using a great deal of irony, Swift makes Gulliver to come in contact with the Yahoos when he comments about a Yahoo, â€Å"My horror and astonishment are not to be described, when I observed in this abdominal animal a perfect human figure† (Swift, 1983). Gulliver ponders that the basic difference between him and the yahoo was the absence of clothes and cleanliness; otherwise the animal was no less than a human. In making such narrations Swift achieved his goal in expressing the satire in showing that humans have overpowering flaws which ultimately lead to the degradation of man. He has used a satirical technique in Gulliver’s Travels in order to attack modernity. He is seen as being concerned about the enhanced power of Europeans throughout the world, the nastiness of the privileged and the increasing importance of wealth for achieving happiness in life (Harold, 1986). Swift took Gulliver on four voyages which made him have a larger understanding of the flaws in human nature. Gulliver’s perceptions about humans and the world change and it is the change in his narrations that conveys the author’s social commentary and satire. Gulliver’s image of humans is not much influenced after the first voyage and so is the case for the second one. But his image of humans declines steadily by the end of the fourth voyage when he comes across the Yahoos. It is in this way that Swift has presented his opinion about human conditions.

Walmart and Target a Closer Look at Strategic Interaction

Main Paper Walmart and Target: A closer look at strategic interaction Maastricht University School of Business and Economics Maastricht, 4th December 2011 Bastian Hauk, BH ID number: i6034999 Study: International Business Course Code: EBC1009 Economics & Business Group Number: 31 Economics Tutor: Khan Writing Tutor: Hetty Bennink Writing Assignment: Main Paper Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction 2. Economic Principle: Game Theory 3. Applied Economic Principles 3. 1. Theory of Game for simultaneously Decision Making 3. 2. The extended Version for consecutive Decision Making 4. Conclusion References 4 6 7 8 2 2 1 Introduction In the United States of America there are only two very well-known discount retailers: Target and Walmart. Both are currently operating all over the country which places each of them among the biggest corporations in the United States. Nearly every American has been to at least one of them because they sell almost everything and E. Basker described this service â€Å"one-stop shopping† (2007). In 2007, Walmart operated more than 3,400 stores across the USA and a survey showed that by the end of 2005 46 percent of Americans lived within 5 miles of the nearest store; within 15 miles even 88 percent (Basker, 2007).Target operated 1,750 stores in January 2011 (Target Corp. , 2011). Since their wide range of products is quite similar they are large competitors. Thus, they are constantly waging price war against each other. In addition, they make use of strategic interaction and especially of game theory which is a mathematical model describing a decisionmaking process and showing how the players make different decisions that potentially affect each other’s interests (von Stenge, & Turocy, 2001). This paper analyses strategic interaction between Walmart and Target with respect to the game theory and the extended version.In order to do so it introduces first the theoretic background of strategic interaction. Afterwards it applies g ame theory and the extended version to this case in order to show the impact of strategic interaction on both discount retailers. It concludes by stating the importance of strategic interaction to optimal decision making and its relevance for Walmart and Target. 2 Economic principles: game theory and extended version The theory of games describes certain concepts in which several players influence each other’s decisions in situations of conflict and competition (Moffatt, 2011).In order to apply game theory there must be at least two players. The three basic elements of a game are the player, the strategies he can choose from and the payoffs the players receive from each combination of strategy. The payoff matrix describes the outcomes in a certain game for each possible combination of strategies as shown in Figure 2. 1. 2 Player One Strategy 1 Strategy 1 Outcome Player 1 Strategy 2 Outcome Player 1 Outcome Player Two Strategy 2 Player 2 Outcome Player 1 Outcome Player 2 Outco me Player 1 Outcome Player 2 Figure 2. 1: Payoff matrix for a two player game Outcome Player 2If one player used a dominant strategy, his choice yields a higher payoff, regardless what the other player does and as a result he has no incentive to change his strategy. For this example, player one’s dominant strategy would be strategy one if he received a higher outcome no matter which strategy player two chooses, but only if he then receives the highest payout. There are also some particular outcomes; for example the Nash equilibrium which occurs when any combination of strategies is the best strategy with the best possible outcome for all players (McDowell, Thom, Frank, & Bernanke, 009). An outcome created by two dominant strategies which is worse than the outcome created by two dominated strategies is called prisoner’s dilemma. The prisoner’s dilemma only occurs when each player’s dominant strategy results in a smaller payoff than it would have if they ha d chosen the dominated strategy. Game theory also assumes that the decisions are made simultaneously. To illustrate a game in which the players decide interdependent, the economist uses the extended version of game theory which is displayed with a game tree (McDowell, Thom, Frank, & Bernanke, 2009). Company 1 Decision: Action A or Action B Action A Company 2 Decision: Action C or Action D Action C Outcome 1 Outcome 2 Action D Action B Company 2 Decision: Action C or Action D Action C Outcome 3 Outcome 4 Action D Figure 2. 2: Decision tree Figure 2. 2 is an example of a game tree. Company 1 first decides which action they will take, which can be either A or B. Company 2 then has the choice how they want to react and whether they take action C or D. The best outcome can only be achieved with a backward nduction as a result of evaluating the results first and afterwards predicting the other player’s strategy. For example, outcome 3 would be the best outcome for company 2 if comp any 1 chose action B and therefore company 2 chooses action C. Outcome 2 would gain the highest profit for company 2 if company 1 took action A. 3 Applied Economic Principles 3. 1 Theory of game for simultaneously decision making As stated in the introduction this two very large American retailers are competitors and have a very similar customer base.The income of Targets customer base is slightly higher but it is not relevant for strategic interaction (Neuman, 2011). Theory of game helps to understand the different prices and how the different price strategies affect consumer behavior. This example is not based on any specific data. However, it is logic for somebody willing to buy a certain good to substitute the same good with an identical one if the price is lower and there are not any additional efforts to make. By applying game theory, the three basic elements have to be clear. 4 Walmart and Target are the players.Different pricing of a certain product -a television- are the st rategies while the different profits are the results of each combination of the strategies. Both companies have two pricing strategies: either to charge a low price of â‚ ¬300 or a high price of â‚ ¬500. They have to make the decision simultaneously, for instance before they release the television to the market. It is important to know that the customers are also willing to purchase the television for the high price. Target High Price (â‚ ¬500) High Price (â‚ ¬500) Walmart Walmart earns â‚ ¬10,000 profit Low Price (â‚ ¬300) Walmart earns â‚ ¬15,000 profit Figure 3. : Payoff matrix for Walmart and Target Figure 3. 1 shows a potential payoff matrix for this strategic interaction. It shows all possible outcomes for the two pricing strategies. Walmart and Target would both make â‚ ¬10,000 profit if they charged the high price and â‚ ¬7,500 profit if they charged the low price. If Walmart chose the low pricing strategy and Target used the high pricing strategy Walmart would gain â‚ ¬15,000 compared to the â‚ ¬5,000 profit Target would make. Target also makes â‚ ¬15,000 profit using the low price if Walmart decides to charge the high price.What does that mean for both companies? Since both of them would earn a higher profit by setting the price low in this scenario, both companies would choose â€Å"Low Price† as a dominant strategy. On the contrary, â€Å"High Price† would be the dominated strategy. Nash equilibrium can be found when both companies pick the â€Å"low price† strategy because they don’t have an incentive to change their strategy. This payoff 5 Low (â‚ ¬300) Target earns â‚ ¬15,000 profit Walmart earns â‚ ¬5,000 profit Target earns â‚ ¬7,500 profit Walmart earns â‚ ¬7,500 profitTarget earns â‚ ¬10,000 profit Target earns â‚ ¬5,000 profit matrix also shows that the strategy combination of â€Å"high price† and â€Å"high price† would be the best possible outcome for both firms. But rather than applying the dominated strategy Walmart and Target use the dominant strategy. This dilemma is called prisoner’s dilemma. Those dilemmas exist quite often and there are many reasons why they exist, for instance, both companies do not want the other one to make a higher profit or even to have the chance to receive a higher profit. 3. 2.The extended version for consecutive decision making Therefore Target and Walmart react and might change the strategy they had choosen. Both competitors often change their strategies. Although Singh (2006) stated that prices at Walmart are about 15 percent lower than in traditional supermarkets, Neuman (2011) proved by comparing almost 60 items that Target’s prices were a bit lower than Walmart’s. It is hard to rely on data which are released with a 5 year time difference but it shows that both firms constantly adjust the prices to be competitive.High Price Target High Price Walmart Low Price â‚ ¬10,000 for Target â‚ ¬10,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬15,000 for Target â‚ ¬5,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬5,000 for Target â‚ ¬15,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬7,500 for Target â‚ ¬7,500 for Walmart High Price Low Price Target Low Price Figure 3. 2: Decision Tree for Walmart and Target 6 Since the decisions of both companies are not made simultaneously the reacting firm -in this case Target- has to find out what action to take in order to receive the highest profit for either move Walmart makes. Walmart moves first and selects either strategy.Target is in the position to decide and how it wants to react. Thus, Target uses backward induction. First it evaluates the best results for each action Walmart uses; â‚ ¬15,000 profit if Walmart sets a high price and â‚ ¬7,500 profit if Walmart sets a low price. Afterwards it chooses the strategy how to get to that profit. Finally Walmart moves and selects the low or the high price strategy and Target is able to react sufficiently. Assu me that Walmart chooses the high price strategy then Target sets low prices and due to that Target earns the highest possible profit. Conclusion Walmart and Target are large competitors on the American retailer market and therefore strategic interaction is very important for them. Both companies know the ways to decide how to act concerning different strategies. Both companies know that it is necessary for them to react and choose the best strategy. In the first example both companies simultaneously introduce a television to the market. Their dominant strategy is to set a low price because both of them hope that the other company chooses the high price strategy.This is one example of a free market wherein the customers always choose the low price if available. Walmart and Target would earn a larger profit if both set the high price. In the other case Walmart moves first and afterwards Target chooses the strategy which leads to the highest outcome. The reacting company’s best strategy in the extended version of game theory is always the low price strategy. On the contrary, when two companies have to decide simultaneously it is not always the best choice to choose the low price strategy although it is their dominant strategy. References Basker, E. (2007). The Causes and Consequences of Wal-Mart’s Growth. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21 (3), 177-198. McDowell, M. , Thom, R. , Frank, R. , & Bernanke, B. (2009). Principles of Economics, 2nd European Edition. Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Education. Moffatt, M. (2008). What are Game Theory and Bargaining Theory? Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://economics. about. com/cs/studentresources/f/game_theory. htm Neuman, S. (2011). Target Takes Aim At Walmart, With Some Success, NPR. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://www. pr. org/2011/08/19/139793948/target-takes-aim-at-walmartwith-some-success Singh, V. , Hansen, K. , & Blattberg, R. (2006). A Market Entry and Consumer Behavior: An investig ation of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Marketing Science, 25 (5), 457-476 Target Corp. (2011). Target Annual Report 2010. Minnesota, US: Target. Retrieved December 7, 2011 from http://www. sec. gov/Archives/edgar/data/27419/000104746911002032/a2201861z10k. htm#bg11101a_main_toc Turocy, T. L, von Stenge, B (2001). Game Theory. Academic Press Limited, 2 (2), 69-73. 10. 1080/07430170152379371 doi: 8

High School and Cousin Jimmy Essay

The day I got scared to death was my first time going to Cedar Point and going on a really big roller coaster. I was nervous. I was in the line with my cousin Jimmy and my other cousins to go on the corkscrew. My stomach started the turn I started to shake my mind was saying get out of the line but I wanted to go on my whole life. I had to go on with my cousins Michael and Jimmy instead of Olivia or Rebekah. Michael, Jimmy and I were only two people away from getting on. Then Jimmy said,† I was afraid when I went on my first roller coaster too. † Michael said,† no you weren’t† that made me laugh. That made me think that it isn’t so scary after all. Just then I heard someone say that it’s too scary. That made me wish that I never wanted to go on. We’re up next. I got in the seat with Jimmy I thought I was going to puke. At this time I was excited and scared. The seatbelt was on; there was no turning back now. The person pushed the button and we went up the very steep hill. We stopped at the top. My eyes were completely closed. My heart was pounding faster and faster. I knew my cousins in front of me so I said to them, â€Å"are you scared? † I didn’t get to hear them because by then we zipped down the coaster. I was screaming so loud I thought I was going to lose my voice. I got dizzy when we went around in circles three times. Finally the ride came to a halt. I felt relieved that it was over. I said to my self that I conquered my fear. I was happy that it was done. I still felt sick but I knew that I could do it all along. At that point I found out that my cousins also scared too! Now I can’t wait to go on the Gemini, Top Thrill Dragster, the Dragon, and the Mine Ride. I still think my cousin acted a little bit too young for their age because a high school student shouldn’t be screaming at the top of their lungs same goes with my other cousin who was in high school. Only a middle school students and third graders should scream. View as multi-pages TOPICS IN THIS DOCUMENT High school, Middle school, Cedar Point, Top Thrill Dragster, Roller coaster, English-language films, College, Debut albums RELATED DOCUMENTS high school †¦ reservation community I passed two Navajo youth leaning against the wall, one leg propped behind them for support. They wore black tee-shirts, one declaring â€Å"Indian Pride on the Rise,† the other showing a heavy metal rock group â€Å"Twisted Sister. † Both wore high topped basketball shoes and hair free flowing to their shoulders. One spoke to me. â€Å"Hey, are you the lady who is talking to dropouts? You should talk to me. I’m a professional dropout. † I did. And to many others. Their†¦ 410   Words | 3   Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Philippine Science High School †¦? 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Organizational Leadership Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Leadership - Thesis Example Managing the public sector is relatively difficult and for a leader to be a candidate of future promotions they need to learn how to constantly acquire required leadership skills and competences (Lobel, 2007). Furthermore, the world is undergoing dynamic changes in all sectors including management. This will also call for a manager in DPSS to be alert and have high affinity for change so as to drive the County to the next level. County of Los Angeles has a high potential to grow more than it has but without effective leadership this cannot be a reality. One of the leadership theories useful in managing the affairs of DPSS is the Contingency Theory. Many issues keep on rising and which need to be solved in the department. As such a manager is supposed to use that style of leadership that they feel will be in line with prevailing variables (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2001). This theory emphasizes that the followers’ attitudes are important in determining the style of leadership to use. One is the autocratic leadership which is not quite desirable in managing affairs in DPSS since it requires the manager to amass all power and rule by decree. Bureaucratic style can fit in situations that require the law to be followed while laissez-faire will not be suitable at all due to the nature of operations in the public sector. It is easy to lose control of a situation where many people do as they wish since laws govern the operations of LA DPSS. The best in this scenario will be the democratic leadership which requires the participation of all stakeholders both in decision making and strategy implementation. An example is the GAIN program that will require full participation of all in order to find employment, offer skills training, substance abuse and counseling among other services (LA DPSS, 2011). A manager in DPSS is required to make numerous decisions that affect many people either positively or adversely. As such the best course of action needs to be formulate d and choices need to be made. It therefore leaves one with minimal choices to make within a short time span. Situational Theory in this case will apply well since a manager has to make the right decision based on the prevailing situational variables (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). As mentioned earlier it is important to involve stakeholders in decision making and implementation of strategic plans more so in the public sector. Participative theories fit in this case to explain that ideal leadership is one that involves the input of others in various management aspects. In this case group formation is used to encourage others to share their ideas and experiences in order to develop highly effective decisions. In LA DPSS under each Bureau there should be committees that formulate policies and design how they are to be implemented. Their recommendations should be relayed afterwards to the Chief Deputy Director to facilitate high level discussions and subsequent approval. Without adequate p articipation such recommendations can be approved but since the implementers’ views had been ignored implementation is rendered ineffective. As a manager one is supposed to assess the available avenues to render punishment and rewards depending on actions of others. These are used as motivational factors and are explained by Management or Transactional Theories. Junior

Why We Root For Some Antagonist Portrayed in Film, Literature and Article - 1

Why We Root For Some Antagonist Portrayed in Film, Literature and Television - Article Example The second example is the main character of the series Revenge, whose plot, regardless of whom it hurts, is aimed at selfish revenge. A different example, as reviewed by Cowden (2014) is the Ruthless killer in captain America, the movie. He is ruthless killer whose memory is frequently erased so that he lacks the emotions of regret. This is worse when he beats a friend he had. Throughout the movie, the watcher is still hopeful that his memory is regained to stop the evil nature. The big question is why do we secretly love and enjoy these kinds of characters yet they are schemers, evil, horrific and merciless? The first reason for hating while loving the antagonists is the fact that these characters are a reflection of who we are. If not for rules and the law, most people would be involved in evil and negative acts. Therefore, watching someone else do what we consider evil and hide within brings a sense of commonness and adventure to the viewer. Secondly, according to Langley (2012), the psychological mindset of reactance is also another reason.. He reports that the human always desires what is prohibited. Since the society is against actions of villainy, the psychological reactance makes us to root for the survival of the bad guy. Another reason for the love for villains is revenge. In most cases, villains are motivated by revenge. We understand and recognise their feeling and the spirit behind the revenge(Vivanco, 2012). Vivanco (2012) also explains the fundamental attribution error that makes us love the antagonists. It is noted once a person understands the need of a stranger they are likely to treat them as they would have desired to be treated. Another reason for the love of villains is the psychological mindset that beautiful is good. Most people view people that are physically attractive as good and hence are held in high regard. The villains in most of the films

The Effects of Japanese Colonialism to Korea Essay

The Effects of Japanese Colonialism to Korea - Essay Example Korea is a country with a long history of foreign invasions. The most recent invasion of Korea was unwanted annexation of Korea to Japan in 1910. The Japanese were in control of Korea between 1910 and 1945, and during this time the Japanese colonization was so brutal that most of Korean thinks Japan as an eternal enemy who only gave negative effects to Korea. Most of Koreans have a tendency to think that Japan is always bad because there are unforgivable conducts in history. Koreans are objective on the theory that Japanese colonialism effected positively on Korea's modern development, furthermore, majority even argues that the effect of Japanese colonialism is just obstacle on Korea's growth; " The nationalist point of view, well represented in Korea, is that there's no such thing as a good colonial legacy, and therefore the contribution of Japanese imperialism to growth was really minus zero. There are anything good or useful deriving from imperialism as incidental to ruthless pursuit of Japanese interests" (Cumings, 1997, pp. 34). According to Cumings, he agrees that it is hard to argue that Japan developed Korea without placing Koreans' feelings against Japanese cruel colonialism, but it needs 'long-term view' (Cumings, 1997, pp.34). However, Koreans shouldn't deny the fact that Japanese colonialism introduced "modernization", and effectively brought Korea into the global economy. This can be a challenge to the reputation and the evaluation of colonialism in modern globalization that it effects just negatively. The annexation of Japan in Korea was cruel and hostile like others, but it is unique because it actually effected positively in Korea's modern globalization unlike others. 1. What is colonialism 2. How was Japanese colonialism system in Korea 3. What are some positive effects of Japanese colonialism in Korea Colonialism The definition of colonialism from dictionary is "The practice by which a powerful country directly controls less powerful countries and uses their resources to increase its own power and wealth" (http://eedic.naver.com). And colonialism was one of the systems in history of globalization. The history of globalization dates back to colonial and even ancient time periods; when strategic and monetary aims were first being seen from an intercontinental perspective and were usually achieved to increase the power and wealth of the state: "The essential feature of the new economic system was the monopolization of land. This by itself was sufficiently important to shape the social and political relationships of the colonial civilization, since in a predominately agricultural economy one's livelihood depends almost entirely upon access to land," (Griffin, pp. 79). In other words, relatively early in the history of civilization, more powerful groups saw it as advantageous to exploit the land a nd labor of their neighbors for their own betterment. Cecil Rhodes, in the 1890s, summarized the notion almost perfectly: "We must find new lands, from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies,"

Miguels Hourly Performance Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Miguels Hourly Performance Evaluation - Essay Example Moreover, this has gained a positive influence on my production efficiency the total output. Besides is the variety of duties and responsibilities that describe my job that necessitate properly organized planning of activities, which has been finely exhibited from end to end in my work priority and output. I have acquired business analysis to identify and define the action and potential consequences comparing and contrasting them against predetermined criteria, which help to identify task commanding more might than another does, and accomplish it effectively with efficiency and quality. The outcomes of these traits have been shown in my acknowledgement as the most prolific personnel for The Tech, most important, this has resulted to the gradual soaring of the company growth (DelPo, 2007). To enhance my achievements still maintaining an outstanding social collaboration with colleagues within the company, I possess a set of personalities that make my distinction from the rest of workforce attributed to my open mindedness and free for discussion. In addition, I voluntarily engage discussions with workmates and accept contrary opinions where it has proved worthy to converge to an amicable solution. I explore new knowledge from within and beyond the organization and appreciate new ideas in the spirit of cooperation. Furthermore, where opinions controvert and I am disapproved, I share the lessons learnt, credits for the team accomplishments, and recommend necessary improvement to facilitate the collaboration. Moreover, I am capable of undertaking challenging goals with simultaneous varied tasks and results of multitasking still fall within the threshold of superior quality. Conversely, I have not fully accomplished my excellence in team discussions though efforts to improve this for better results are still underway. However, I look upon teamwork when confronted by severe challenges in my

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management Essay

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management - Essay Example I tend to think that the witness is being bribed in order to offer information regarding other criminals. The bribery here is, however, done for a good cause. The information provided by this witness will help get justice for other affected individuals. An example of this is the rampart scandal that saw a cop named Rafael Perez cut a deal with the prosecutor so as to expose the masquerading police officer or rather bad cops. A series of crimes was observed before the cop was arrested. The road rage shootout that saw an undercover agent shot to death while off duty, by a white cop. This developed tension among the force, but was later settled when investigations confirmed that the black cop was involved in many other street crimes.Another incident was the bank robbery that took place in Los Angeles. The suspected bank manager implicated her boyfriend, who was a cop to the organizing of the crime. Investigations revealed that the cop together with other partners in the force were gambl ing and spending a lot of money. One of the partners was known as Rafael Perez. Investigations on the police officer were launched when 6 pounds of cocaine, stored as evidence went missing. Part of the investigation involved the formation of a team named Rampart Corruption Task Force. The force was primarily focused on prosecuting Rafael Perez. When an audit of the property room was done, it was discovered that some more pounds of cocaine was missing. The speculation made pointed Perez as the culprit.

U08a1 Compensation & Benefits Assignment Template Essay

U08a1 Compensation & Benefits Assignment Template - Essay Example Legally mandated benefits involve guaranteed pay; these are monetary reward provided by an employer based on the relationship between employee and employer. In most cases, guaranteed pay is best presented in basic salary (Andrus, 2012). On the other hand, variable pay is an example of voluntary benefits paid by an organization to a worker that is based on management discretion, effectiveness or results realized. Usually, voluntary benefits are best represented in bonus forms and sales incentives. Benefit communication should involve offering employees the right information on the incentives they stand to gain and allowing them adequate time to make hard decisions, if any. The practice also involves helping them go about permanent conditions, which is usually easier to manage than awaiting the eleventh hour. Employees should be educated on behaviors like maintaining good health and refraining from drug use (Tacchino, & Littell, 2011). Compensation policies are often riddled with different problems. These include the challenge of hiring the right employee to a given position. Unfavorable Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental conditions hinder the implementation of better compensation policies (Szendrei, & Rodriguez, 2010). Pros. Formal pay structure is advantageous because an employee can make permanent plans based on it. Non-monetary compensation enables the employee to save monetary resources, and feels part of the organization. Cons. Monetary compensation can be easily wasted by the employee. Non-monetary compensation may sound a long-drawn burden to an employee, especially those who have access to better non-monetary compensation offered by an organization. Organizations carry out a cost benefit analysis to find out how effective, or how badly, an intended action will impact organizational goals. Even though, the analysis can be employed for almost any case, it is usually executed on

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Portfolio Essay

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Portfolio - Essay Example ess of the shopping malls all over the UK, the Metrocentre has been ranked 2nd in 2011 (Metrocentre 2012, Capital Shopping Centres 2012, Wood 2011, Capital Shopping Centres 2011). Apple’s presence can also be seen in Metrocenter’s lower red mall. The company sells its products and applications to its customers through its retail shop. Apple faces less competition in the shopping center since its major competitors, like Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, etc. are not present in the mall (Metrocentre 2012). Body shop is a world renowned fragrance seller and the company sells its products in different parts of the world. The company faces competition from other competitors like The Fragrance Shop (Metrocentre 2012). Barclays bank offers cash withdrawal facility to the customers who visit Metrocenter. There is only one ATM point placed by Barclays in the shopping mall in the Upper Red Mall. The bank is in direct competition with Lloyds TSB as it has also placed its ATM machine in the mall (Metrocentre 2012). Burger King, as the name suggests, is a burger expert which offers burgers in different varieties to its customers. Burger King is in direct competition with McDonald’s and KFC particularly. Moreover, it is in indirect competition with other restaurants operating in the mall. It is located in Lower Blue Mall (Metrocentre 2012). Cafà © Nova, which is engaged in the restaurant business, is also operating in the Metrocenter. The Cafà © provides different food items and beverages to its customers. The competition faced by the Cafà © is direct with other Cafà ©s situated in the mall. Cafà © Nova is located in Upper Green Mall (Metrocentre 2012). Claire’s offer accessories for women and children, which also include jewelry items for ladies. The retail outlet of Claire’s is situated at Lower Blue Mall in the Metrocenter. Claire’s is in competition with competitor like Pandora and others operating in the mall (Metrocentre 2012). Clarks is situated at Lower Red Mall in

Personal Financial Plan - Part II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Financial Plan - Part II - Essay Example Personal financial planning requires economics since economic variables like regulations, economic policies, and taxation has to be considered. In addition the use of credit is of prime importance in financial planning. This paper describes the role of economics and credit in personal financial planning. Classic economists assert that people know and understand what is in their best interest and they act and make decisions on this knowledge (Gitman, Joehnk, & Billingsley, 2010). For people to take advantage of this knowledge in their financial plan, they need to understand the most important aspects of economics like taxation, regulation, and markets among others. According to Gitman, Joehnk, and Billingsley (2010), federal tax forms the largest part of tax a citizen pays. Tax planning as an economic variable thus becomes an important part of personal financial planning. Credit refers to the trust that allows one person to avail resources to another person whereby an immediate reimbursement is not required (Edwards, 2004). The major advantages of credit are that it allows a person to acquire resources immediately and repay it comfortably within an extended period of time. The main disadvantage of credit is that the debtor will have to pay more than the amount he borrowed in the long run. Additionally, credit is reliant on the creditworthiness of the borrower; this makes it uncertain to receive. The government plays a major role in determine the economic stability of a nation. The government ensures stability and growth through guiding the pace of economic activity. The government also comes with policies relating to price stability, full employment, redistribution of income and the balance of payments stability (Edwards, 2004). The government also levies taxes and determines the amount of taxes the people will pay. These

Training & Development Essay Example for Free

Training Development Essay At McDonalds they have training that will benefit the managers for example they offer courses to the applicants. For the first 18 weeks, they will build foundations for their entire career. Amongst other things, they will discover how to prepare food, master the equipment, develop their serving ability and learn how to motivate a team. When you done well enough they will graduate to 2nd assistant manager and receive more training and experience from other managers, helping them gain more information on how to run a store of their own. As well as attending training courses, they will be asked to do some self-study and complete computer-based training programs, these will help them build knowledge about people development, cash control etc. once they have succeeded the program they will then move up to 1st assistant manager where they are able to run a store of their own. There is a session where all the managers have to attend to its called the Nuts and Balls Integrations Teams NABIT. This is where they get informed about new products, new rules and new promotions; it is their responsibility to pass that information on to their staff back at their stores. Shift Manager Roles Responsibilities The responsibility of the shift manager is to operate the Quality Service Cleanliness Value principles to the rest of the staff. The principles help the store to meet the requirements of the customers and therefore it is the shift managers job to explain them to the staff. He is also in charge of the shifts and giving the shifts to the employees, making sure that they have expertise in charge of each equipment. He also needs to rotate his crewmembers in order for them to experience each department; therefore they wouldnt have to rely on an individual. Hes responsible for training the employees as well, McDonalds use the buddy system, this system helps the employee understand how to use certain things by following orders from an experienced employee, hence the word buddy. Its his responsibility to put untrained workers on a buddy system. The shift manager is expected to handle the floor properly and spread the work within teams, giving the team leaders the orders on how/what to operate in the store. You could say that the shift manager is the right-hand man of the store manager because he is passing on a lot of delegation. Motivation The shift manager on our visit explained that he is mainly motivated by the fact that he is able to progress to become a 2nd assistant manager. You could say promotion is his essential motivating factor and McDonalds therefore have training programmes in order to meet those needs. However, he has stated that money also plays a huge part in his motivation factors. He claims that bonuses, payroll increase etc motivates him as an individual. The shift manager at the McDonalds has a lot of different motivating factors and one of them was money, which related back to the motivation theory of Taylor who suggested that money drives people working in a firm. However, he also claimed that he always looks forward to move up a position and enhance new skills and knowledge, which also could be related to theory of Maslow, who suggested the Hierarchy, meeting the needs of the employees by stages. Qualities As a shift manager, you would be expected to have certain amount of qualities including, flexibility, cooperative, experience, sympathetic, motivated, enthusiastic, optimistic, consistent and a sense of hospitality. These are very important qualities to have to gain the position at the store. The important one is to be able to give commands to teams and being able to meet daily objectives and communicating with each team. Spreading out the stronger characters with the weaker ones and balancing the strengths of the teams. According to crewmembers I have caught up with, stated that they usually spread their workers and each team would have an experienced worker and some new workers. Training and Development The shift manager has training and its both on and off the job training. He follows a course provided by McDonalds in order to enhance new skills and knowledge on how to run a business by their own. This will help them move up and open up a store of their own if success shows. They receive computer-based programs of training to take home and do some self-study; at the same time they receive training on the job where they get to experience some of the managerial work with other experienced managers.

Operations Management Of The Hotel Industry

Operations Management Of The Hotel Industry With the increasing sophistication of hotel guests and patrons, the continual improvement of hospitality services towards the attainment of unparalleled excellence in the business remains the only edge the hotel has to sustain its position if not attain the leadership in the industry. By adopting the ISO 9001:2008 framework, the acculturation of a learning organization into the consciousness of each employee of the hotel shall provide the impetus to strive and be better in providing service to hotel guests and patrons. A Quality Management System or QMS will govern the conduct of each of the hotels front liners. The QMS shall also provide the parameters for quality service while performance monitoring of each of the processes shall be through the process key performance indicators. Any flaw or parameter that fails to satisfy the accepted threshold of the performance indicator shall be subject to a root cause analysis to determine a corrective or preventive solution. The QMS requires regular review to ensure that the organization remains focus and faithful to its objective. The hotel employees performance shall be subject to evaluation by using the key performance indicators root cause analysis. For QMS, the hotel guests or patrons feedback, comment or opinion is accorded greater weight as it will not only change how the hotel will conduct its business but it will equally show how the hotel value their guests and patrons point of view with regard to the hotels operation. Contents Executive Summary 2 Contents 2 Introduction 4 METHODOLOGY 5 THE HOTEL 5 Design 6 Supply 7 Planning 7 Shop-floor control 8 The environment 8 Technology 8 The Hotels CUSTOMER SERVICE 9 CUSTOMER SERVICE Challenges 11 Summary 12 Bibliography 13 Introduction Revenue in a Hotel business shall anchor on two factors, namely: (1.) level of occupancy or guest traffic that includes patrons to its facilities, and (2.) Efficiency and Quality of its services (Cornell University, 2010). Thus, among other industries in the world, the Hospitality industry remains dependent on the market pulse and good business sense. Good business sense refers to the operation strategy and business strategy that would result to operation efficiency and quality service. The marriage of technology and human ingenuity are very much apparent in the hotel industry by deploying an Enterprise Resource Planning system. As applied to the hotel industry, it would ensure excellent customer experience from their reservation up to their next visit. The deployment of a Customer Relationship Management System would ensure that all issues are addressed and monitored and shall similarly ensure that the business is properly guided on how to become customer centric. However, technology will not work on its own as its success will be dependent on the employees who use the system and those who will execute the work instructions recommended by the system. A framework that will capitalize on the strength of the employee enabled by technology shall be the onus of this paper. The sole purpose of which is to ensure the customer focused operation of the hotel while practicing processes that feed on continual improvements to manage the bottom line. Using these strategies, Leadership in the industry and profitability should not be far behind. METHODOLOGY The valuable discussions in Operation Management have been the inspiration by this writer to seek out more knowledge in pursuit of excellence. Thus, it led to the discovery that the concepts presented herein have been in existence for some time, and various authors not only wrote extensively on the subjects but they have exhaustively been part of its continual improvement so to speak. Capitalizing from the experiences of these management gurus and the erudite deliberation in Operations Management this author therefore recommend a more comprehensive examination of the Hotels Customer Service. Using the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System framework, this author shall discuss the merits and wisdom of its implementation in this paper in support of the Hotels operation and primordial goal. It is ideal to implement the quality management system in all the processes of the Hotel to ensure that there will be no gap that can dissuade if not prevent the Hotel from being the center for customer service excellence. The ISO 9000 Quality Management System have previously been regarded as applicable only to the manufacturing industry since it normally refers to the quality in the creation of a product. However, in ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System the word product can alternately refer to as service  [1]  . The hospitality industry has long been recognized a service-oriented industry (Ramaswamy). Its main product is unlike any other industry since its product is the service provided by the hotel employees. The quality metrics of hospitality service is equal to the amount of satisfaction of each customer multiplied by the number of customer over a period of time. THE HOTEL The hotel is a five star hotel that is highly profitable and popular privately owned located in the center of an international city with a high level of tourist traffic, particularly international tourists. It boasts of a two hundred fifty suites, two dining rooms, one of which offers a standard menu and seats three hundred people while the other seats only a hundred but it offers discriminating a la carte choices for an upscale market. The hotel also has two cocktail bars; one that is publicly accessible from the streets while the other is for hotel guests only however both are open to guests and non-guests alike. The hotel is home to three kitchens, with the two serving the two dining rooms while the third serves the three function rooms rented for parties, weddings, conferences and other similar events. The function rooms seat fifty, two hundred and one thousand, respectively while each function room can have their own bars if required. The hotel similarly provides other facilities that would include a swimming pool, gym, sauna and a car park with one hundred and fifty private bays. The hotel employs both permanent full-time and part-time contract workers. Each area has its own supervisor, with qualified and experienced managers overseeing the supervisors for the respective departments. As indicated, not only does the hotel enjoy a modest profit from its operation, it boasts of a decent amount of guest and patron traffic from its hotel and facilities operation. Design Designing a particular type of service impacts the hotels customers to enrich their stay or their hospitality experience is a practical application of this concept as described by Slacks and Johnston in 2004. To illustrate: the design process in the formulation of a process that will provide returning guests with discounted rates if they return during the off-peak or lean days will ensure occupancy during the lean months and expand marketing exposure. Supply Raw materials used as ingredients to hotel food are sensitive to spoilage and contamination thus it is important to manage its handling from delivery, storage and inventory. The release of the goods from storage should be strictly enforced and implemented through proper tagging and warehousing strategy. To illustrate; Meat products can last for a certain period through refrigeration but must also consider volatility and seasonality to its supply. The system predicting the usage of the hotel base on its routine consumption and the scheduled events shall either place an order or forego an order automatically and later implement First-in-first-out in the warehouse with the use of the inventory tag. Planning Planning within the context of the hospitality industry often relates to Business Planning. Case in point, the hospitality business is sensitive to the time of the year particularly its occupancy. From July to August is normally the time when air travel is at its busiest due to the summer vacation in the United States and some countries. Hotels outside the United States that are vacation destinations of Americans are at its busiest. However, during the lean months, when occupancy is at its lowest, hotel managers and administrators creativity are normally put to test. To illustrate a viable business strategy during the lean months is to pre-sell the room through discount cards. The concept is to sell discount cards at a price of one or two nights stay that will be availed only during the lean months. Modest discounts may be availed by cardholders including the facilities or services offered by the Hotel. The card shall expire within one year from its issuance to give the hotel the opportunity to sell continuously the unoccupied hotel rooms during the lean months. Shop-floor control Shop floor strategies include Job and shift Scheduling, housekeeping, Process improvement and increasing process efficiency in the context of providing quality service. ISO 9001:2008 has closed the gap between a tangible product and service that both demand quality. According to the system, the best way to ensure quality service is to identify focus areas, then to provide measurable targets that are congruent with the focus areas goals. The environment Some hotels realize their impact to the environment of the local community and as part of their strict adherence to their corporate conscience social responsibility often adopts a sound environmental management system. Not only would this comply with the international initiatives regarding environmental concerns but in practice, this will also respond well to its corporate social responsibility initiatives. Technology The use of technology to lower the cost of operation through the automation of processes and increase the security at the hotel is a strategy that does not normally provide a tangible and visible result overnight. To illustrate: Supply Chain Management as envisioned is a technology driven strategy that will ensure that raw materials used as ingredients for food do not spoil or do not get contaminated. The strategy requires inventory immediate tagging in each delivery. By providing secure keys to every guest, a hotel management system would be able to adjust the room temperature and the Air Handling Unit load depending on the rooms that have activated keys. Using the secure keys inserted in its slot will enable the system to determine the additional load needed for the air conditioning requirement instead of the Air Handling Unit continuously operating even without any guest inside is a waste of energy. The Hotels CUSTOMER SERVICE The hotels customer does not start becoming a customer when he finally pays the initial down payment for a room or service, he does not start becoming a customer at the instant he shows up at the hotels premises or orders his first drink from the bar. A guest or patron starts becoming a customer as soon as he says the first word to any of the hotels staff, telemarketer or even parking attendant or valet (Borsenik Stutts, 1997). Ergo, all aspects of the hotels operation almost concern itself with customer service. Customer service is not merely providing the hotels service to the guests or patron, it is making sure that the customer is satisfied and fulfilled in the usage of the facilities including their encounter with the hotels staff (Michelli, 2008). Therefore, all processes that will affect the customer directly or indirectly are customer service providing processes. To illustrate the reservation clerk represents the hotel as its first liner when the customer called in to reserve a room or book the one of the services of the hotel. A pleasant conversation would result to immediate booking and a not so pleasant conversation is the loss of a potential client. The interaction with the valets or the parking attendants may be the second encounter of the hotel with its customer. The next would be the door person, the front desk, the concierge, the room boy, the hotel cleaners and then floor security for hotel guests. While for those partaking and enjoying the services of the Hotel would be entertained from the door person by the receptionist and then the floor manager or the facilities attendant. The guests would then be interfacing next with the waiters if they were at the bar or restaurant, the lifeguard for the swimming pool and fitness instructor for the gym and sauna. To illustrate the indirect service providers in the Hotel that ensures not only the satisfaction of the guests or patron they themselves are responsible for the behind the scene hospitality experience. These would include the kitchen staff that would include the chef and those responsible for preparing the food. The engineer that ensures the temperature of the pool and the gym is optimal or the safety engineer monitoring the safety levels at the sauna, the hallway and lobby temperature. The indirect service providers also include the cashiers that provide the correct change and charges, the security guards that ensures the safety of the guests and the surrounding. This also includes the janitorial staff that ensures the health of the guests by making the immediate surrounding garbage or dirt free. The processes that govern the operation and performance of the customer interaction of the services provided as described shall be the focus of the Quality Management System framework of ISO 9001:2008 (International Organization for Standardization, 2008). Aligning with the Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy of the Hotel the Quality Management System framework will allow the Hotel to define its own Quality Mission Statement that states the personality of the hotel. Each of the processes followed or implemented by the process owners as described above that interacts with the Hotels guests, patrons or customers, in general, shall be covered by the Quality Mission Statement. Juxtapose with the Quality Missions Statement aligned processes, Key Result Areas will be developed will remain the targets of the processes. The Key Result Areas should be customer centric and should work towards the attainment of the best hospitality experience of the guests or patrons as provisioned by the Hotel. In order to measure the success of the process owners in achieving their key result areas, metrics in the form of key performance indicators for each process are to be developed. To illustrate: The valet service is often neglected by most Hotels but its importance and the opportunity it presents to save the Hotels image from the customers bad experience from the services of the hotel is precious being the last process the customer has to go through before leaving the hotel. The possible key result area for the valet services could be the immediate return of the guests vehicle to him. The key performance indicators could be the amount of time it will take the valet to retrieve the car and return it to the owner. The idea would be the shorter the amount of time it takes to retrieve the car the more satisfied the customer would be. CUSTOMER SERVICE Challenges Cultural Sensitivities The primary challenge in any customer service is the differences in the personality or origins of the guests. Cultural sensitivities often create friction between the service provider and the customer. To illustrate: in the west shaking the head from side to side often means no, however in some culture particularly the Indian culture it means yes. Gender and Other Sensitivities At times, being chivalrous is being sexist while being helpful to people with disabilities is being offensive. A balance and clear criteria are should be studied depending on the area where the Hotel is located so as not to compromise quality service with sensitivities. Summary The hospitality industry has evolved from an industry that only provided board and lodging to transient travelers in the previous century to an actual destination that offers a myriad of services to weary travelers and to vacation and relaxation seekers. The Quality Management System as enabled by technology should provide the edge to the hotel in terms of managing its bottom line from the business perspective while also providing the framework in determining the best way to service its guests and patrons. The Quality Management System therefore will equally define the customer centric culture of the hotel geared towards providing the best, if not one of the best hotel experience to its guests. The continual improvement concept of the Quality Management System will engender excellence in the very fiber of the hotels staff. The key performance indicators shall provide the metrics to gauge the efficacy of the process including the performance of its employees. The root cause analysis as well as the development of the corrective and preventive solution is essential to the concept. One of the virtues of ISO 9001-2008 Quality Management System is that it would let the hotel develop its own Quality Management framework as derived from the hotels unique culture. The hotel shall not only reflect its personality but it shall be the driving force towards excellence in customer service. The commitment to customer service as driven by the Quality Management System shall therefore be personal not only for the organization, but also for the individual employees.

Clothing in Constructions of Gender

Clothing in Constructions of Gender With the development of society, politics, economy and science, people have been looking for a kind of unconcealed individual beauty. Especially in modern society, the cultivation of highlight personality is highly regarded by people. So sex in garment design has never been the whole factor within the consideration of modern fashion designers. Instead, neutral garment between two sexes has become a kind of unique scenery on the street. In modern society that mens wear and womens wear are very much alike in pattern style and the choice of colours, even exactly the same. From the ancient times the standard of traditional clothing emphasized the roles of men and women played. Males need to show masculine beauty of steadiness, sobriety and strength; while females should be blessed with feminine beauty of being ladylike, kind and soft. From the end of the 1990s, neutral garment has become the most popular cosset. Especially with the rapid development of society and economy, as well as with the rapid promotion of womens rank in society, there is increasing no definite role confirmation for males and females in the society according to profession. At present, neutral garment can not only satisfy womens self-confidence in social competition with its simple pattern but also make males enjoy the joy of fashion. T-shirts, jeans and low-waist pants are considered as neutral garments; white, black and gray are neutral colours; dying hair Å’short hair are of neutral hairstyleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In a word, being neutral has become the popular trend in this century. Viewing from the formation and development of neutral garment, the influence of social institution, economic development, thinking culture and industry development on here, as well as the change of social status of relationship between men and women and the influence of pattern style produced by fashion designers on neutral garment, we can draw the conclusion that the existence of this neutral garment phenomenon is not occasional and single, but a result influenced by thinking culture, social thinking trend, individual consciousness, social and economic development. At the same time, this phenomenon also means the promotion of womens social status, the emergence of being neutral in positions, the inverted changes of design thinking of fashion designers in mens and womens wear, as well as a kind of development trend represented by individual performance and modern clothing psychological demands. Man, Woman and culture The birth of a man or a woman is not solely a biological fact in any society. Biological fact is assembled with social implications. The word Gender is currently diffusely used to relate to those ways in which a culture reforms what begins as a fact of nature. Convictions about what men and women are or should be are emerged in all cultures, though between cultures and over time the beliefs are different. For example, women are meant to be more interested in clothing and fashion and take care about their appearance, yet men should be less intent on these things. Women are also assumed to be more passive and men more aggressive. When we are elevated in a specifically culture we learn what we should be from our friends, parents and the media, we restructure our behavior to more closely meet with the expectancies. While we dont all rashly follow these socially constructed gender roles, for instance a lot of women dont care about fashion but many men do, many of these criterions become i nternalized by us as individuals, and become proportion of our identity. The definition of being a man or woman is tightly connected to appearance. Men wear clothing as our definition of skirt usually seen in West Africa, Indonesia and in Scottish dress. A tube form of cloth fitted at the waist is worn by both men and women in West Africa. The Scottish skirt still worn at many social events to create a social and cultural identity stands for the point of masculinity (Kidwell and Steele). Skirt is hard to be seen on men in American culture, except within the film, theater or in the context of couture or avant-garde fashion. For instance, the grunge style of the early 1990s had fashions for men designed to be worn with skirts. Whatever, there was nothing specifically feminine in these styles, and were just a fashion statement. Historically, dress and gender have not always been fixed and have enjoyed some latitude. Researching dress and gender from a historical viewpoint stimulates awareness of the shifts regarding appropriate dress for males and females. For example, the expectation of blue is for boy babies and pink for girl babies has not always been the case. Paoletti and Kregloh (1989) discussed how the colour rule in 1918 was pink for the boy and blue for the girl. Pink was interpreted then as a stronger and more assertive colour and blue as more dainty and delicate. Social construction of gender Social construction of gender is normally discussed in contrast to biological facts of differences between men and women. For example men are naturally more aggressive and women relatively more passive because of hormones like testosterone, and women are more interested in clothing on average because in the human species men are active in sexual partner selection where as women are passive, so women display themselves and wait. Social explanation for gender differences point to the variation in gender roles from culture to culture and across time, like men in France in the time of Louis XII wore high heels and makeup. So it can not be biology or it would be stable. Biological explanations point out that in all cultures and times women and men do differ, and the universality of this differentiation proves the biological underpinning of sex-role differences no matter how these are expressed in any given culture. Of course, most people think it is a bit of both, and also that people do get some choice neither biology nor socialization is destiny. Clothing and Gender The qualities and characteristics we perceive as specific to gender are inherent by nature. Physical strength is stereotyped to be masculine, while emotional behaviour is stereotyped as feminine in America. Any straying from these expectations is sufficient grounds for alienation. However, historian Howard Zinn has documented that gender roles are a part of a system constructed by the ruling class during the formation of our nation. The gender role structure in the US was created in order to maintain a centralized, wealthy ruling class. In order to keep wealthy, white men in control of the economy, women have been constructed as inferior to men physically, mentally and emotionally. Lorber explains that the definition of being a man or woman is comprised of more than apparent genetic information. Gender is a socially constructed status, which has the intention of choosing people for the different tasks of society(Lorber). Thus, ideas about how one should behave in order to fit into a gender category are learned, not intrinsic. As a society assigns people as men or women, this categorization denotes the accepted and preferred personality characteristics, feelings, motivations, and ambitions that create different classes and preferences for people (Lorber). That is, the genderization system produces men and women who tend to have a natural inclination toward ideas, behaviours, and careers that help them assimilate to anticipated gender stereotypes. Parents, constantly in fear that people will not be able to distinguish the sex of their new baby, instinctually encourage dress, styles, and behaviour that perpetuate the masculine and feminine labels from birth. The word woman itself was created by the masculine conception of what femininity should be. These criteria set up the dominant/subordinate relationship standard because women lacked the power to challenge the male point of view. Lorber suggests that as a process, gender creates social differences that define woman and man' through interactions and expectations of peers and family. As a stratification, gender ranks mens work superior to womens, regardless of skill or difficulty. As a social structure, gender organizes work habits both domestically and economically (Lorber). For the average girl in American society, adapting to gender roles is taught in every single facet of life. The media, entertainment, and school cooperatively exhibit and promote gender assimilation. Barbieà ¤ dolls are the first toys I can recall playing with as a young girl. Her long blond hair, short skirts, disproportionately long legs, and spike heels set the precedent for how I would view true femininity throughout adolescence. By age six, my life became infiltrated by gender specific, girly activities. I practiced ballet and avoided sports, painted fingernails, nearly always wore dresses with nylons, experimented with my mothers make-up (rather unsuccessfully), joined Girl Scouts, grew out my hair to mid-back, and wished for everything to be pink or lavender. Fashion trends and clothing styles, in particular, significantly aid the social construction of gender. The mere presence of a standard for the judgment of beauty automatically designates some group to be in control of the other. That is, individuals are constantly judging one another to make certain that they fit into the correct gender classification. Trendy, hip clothing are made for a very specific, minority group of women- narrow-hipped, small-breasted, tall, and skinny. The pressure to fit into these styles of clothes is unrelenting and produces insecurities and a poor body-image. These adolescent anxieties are not uncommon and can produce eating disorders, depression, and suicide. Joanne Finkelstein, in After a Fashion, explains that fashion can be seen as a device for confining women to an inferior social order. Throughout history women have been isolated from men by their fashion dues to society women would risk spinal disorders from corsets, chronic foot pain and arch trauma from high-heels, and submit to a constant preoccupation of worry over mens approval of clothing appropriateness. Fashions play such an integral role in how we judge one another how much money we have, what music we listen to, how much education we have received that any gender-bending fashions exhibited by women are at best taboo, and at worst, unattractive to men (the alleged Ultimate Womans Worry). In many societies, gender is not considered a part of nature, but rather learned, acquired, or earned as a rite of passage. In some tribal communities, acquiring gender status represents maturity and responsibility. There is an unspoken agreement between American men and women that women will fashion their clothing and styles as part of a system that favours men. In part this system favours men simply by distinguishing a class apart from men, requiring someone to exist on the outside of an established social norm. John Lorber puts it best: Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at (Lorber). In a society where many women still do not recognize the inequalities of genderization, the pervasiveness of gender roles in America remains perpetuated and profound. Conclusion Clearly, gender as a social and cultural construction needs demands; the appropriate sustains to successfully convince the audience that ones gender presentation is authentic. The dress we wear is layered with many meanings, such as culturally appropriate gender behaviour, gender socialization via dress, codes of dress and gender, historical perspectives of dress and gender, dressing parts of the self, social resistance, and gender markers.

The Errors in Affirmative Action :: Critical Thinking Essays

Although much of the reasoning behind Affirmative Action is good, it goes wrong in a few major ways. Affirmative action is meant to bring an end to discrimination. In trying to do so, though, it elevates the so-called disadvantaged minorities above other groups. In addition, the members of the particular minority groups are stereotyped according to the group they are in rather than being looked at as an individual. Affirmative action also makes the assumption that minority groups are, in fact, disadvantaged. Another result is that the tables are turned and whites are discriminated against. Lastly, and most importantly, Affirmative Action can force people to go against their religious beliefs, and in doing so, it breaks the First Amendment to the Constitution. To begin with, Affirmative Action is meant to bring an end to discrimination. In reality, it creates more discrimination in many different ways. For example, members of minorities are elevated above those in other groups. As the book states, Affirmative Action "seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged. Favoring one group isn't any way of solving discrimination problems; it just creates more dissension between groups. According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, discrimination means "to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of." Affirmative Action directly creates discrimination. People of minority groups are stereotyped, often incorrectly, as being disadvantaged, simply because they are a member of that group. Not only is it stereotyping of minorities, but also of whites. It creates the assumption that whites are better off than minorities. Affirmative Action looks at the members of a group and makes assumptions, stereotyping the members in the group rather than taking each member of the group and examining that person. Members of minority groups often feel inferior because, as members of those groups, they get special privileges. According to the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the government cannot make laws "respecting an establishment of religion." The government cannot both support Affirmative Action and uphold the first amendment at the same time. The goals, actions, and restrictions resulting from Affirmative Action can easily be against a person's religious beliefs. Take, for example, beliefs on homosexuality. What happens to a religious organization that is against homosexuality and wants to have only straight members of their religion hired. According to Affirmative Action, they can't discriminate based on sexual orientation or religion.

Character Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: English Literature Essays

Character Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Depiction of a believable character has always been a difficult task for any writer. A true character must evoke emotions and make the readers want to learn more about him or her. The appearance, acts, words and nature of this character must be vivid and understandable by the audience. In medieval England, Arthurian literary works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell," describe the character of Sir Gawain as a noble hero, having chivalrous and virtuous attributes. Sir Gawain is said to be the nephew of Arthur: "His parents are Lot of Orkney and Morgause (though his mother is said to be Anna in Geoffrey of Monmouth). Upon the death of Lot, be becomes the head of the Orkney clan, which includes in many sources his brothers Aggravain, Gaheris, and Gareth, and his half-brother Mordred" (Legends, online). He is also the youngest of the knights of the Round Table. Besides being the nephew of Arthur, he is one of his closest companions and an active participant in the numerous adventures which they encounter. Sir Gawain is a protagonist or a main hero in the earlier Arthurian legends, but he is often included in later stories of the fifteenth century as a confidant or a secondary character. For example in Morte Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory, Gawain is a secondary character, and the main hero is Sir Lancelot. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written by an anonymous author, we are given a description of Sir Gawain's appearance, as he is preparing to go on a quest to find the Green Knight and complete the yearlong beheading game (Norton, 215). His armor, clothing and horse all suggest that he is not a poor knight. His helmet is decorated with gems and embroidered with parrots and turtledoves; his shield has image of Virgin Mary on the inside and an "endless knot"(Norton, 215) or a pentangle on the outside. This figure is a star with five points that is drawn in an unbroken line, which also happens to be a symbol of Gawain's five virtues.

Death penalty Essay

Introduction Over several years, the death penalty has existed among various countries, and used to eliminate killers who are considered extremely dangerous in the society. According to various sources, the fear associated with the death penalty discourages individuals with the propensity of conducting such inhumane crimes. Application of the death penalty, however, comes with mixed reactions from the society since some people support it while others are against it due to various reasons. Therefore, this essay seeks to justify the rightfulness of the death penalty since it is associated with a significant level of reduction in malicious murders. Arguments against Death Penalty In a number of cases, the death penalty has resulted in various disputes; for example, where innocent individuals have been convicted despite the fact that they were not involved in such crimes. Unfortunately, some of these victims were executed, or put on the death row just before the truth was established, and their innocence proven (Harris, 2012). From 1973, 11 Texans and 128 others across the United States have been set free and cleared from the death penalty as a result of proof of their wrongful conviction (All Voices, 2012). Generally, the death penalty is considered as the harshest sentence for any known felony. More so, it is the only punishment that will remain irreversible after the sentence has been made. When an inmate is found not guilty of committing the crime that led to his imprisonment, they can always be set free and have their names cleared. However, where the convict had already been put to death, the punishment can never be reversed: In no circumstance will saying – sorry, we had the wrong person – help the family of the victim, but will only increase their pain. Several people are usually against the idea of the death penalty due to the possibility of executing innocent people. Such people would never want to imagine the risk of executing innocent people; in fact – for nearly ten years now – innocence has resulted in the creation of a strong argument in death penalty dialogue. In this fight, abolitionists have played an important role especially where they have successfully pointed out the innocence in some convicts with the aid of post conviction DNA tests (Aronson & Simon, 2009). Arguments in Favor of Death Penalty On the other hand, the death penalty is considered as an eye for an eye and that all convicted killers should be executed in order to attain evenness. The most horrible felony warrants no less than the most horrible sentence, which should mean an eye for an eye. As such, the victim’s family should feel that the offender was given the most intense judgment other than just being locked up in a prison and keep enjoying their life. In many unfortunate cases, the murderers have been given a life sentence without a possibility of parole, and they have managed to live for longer periods than their actual victims actually lived on earth. To make the situation worse, such inmates live a comfortable life in prison, getting three meals per day and an afternoon to practice, while the victim’s family lives a life of anguish. Denis Rader (BTK), born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, was an excellent example of a very notorious serial killer that used to bind, torture and kill his victims without any mercy (Harris, 2012). In one of his dreadful attacks, he killed an 11-year old girl called Josephine Otero by hanging her from a drain pipe (Harris, 2012). Unfortunately, the murderer was given a 175 years sentence despite the fact that he killed an entire family, as well as other innocent people (Harris, 2012). Actually, it is not justified for a murderer to live while innocent people suffer death: Rader did not have the right to torture and kill his victims, so it is not justified that he was granted a right to his life. In several cases, some of the most dangerous killers have only spent their life in prison. As such, is there anything, or a particular sentence that could assist in reducing the intensity of murders within the society? Several studies have indicated that the fear of death discourages people from committing various targeted crimes. Capital punishment would serve as an excellent solution since it would assist in lowering murder crimes; hence, it would serve as a perfect crime preventive solution. As such, most criminals would think twice before killing their victims since they would realize the fact that their lives were at stake for any murder act. I would say that the use of the death penalty could certainly lower the incidences of violent murders since this would play a crucial part in the elimination of cruel repeat offenders. In connection, statistics show that there are approximately 20,000 murders every single year within the United States, which drastically increased from 10,000 deaths per year after the death penalty was dropped in some states (Boys, 2012). The elimination of the death penalty, 1965; therefore, led to increase in the number of murders by about 10,000 people per year (Boys, 2012). With these statistics, it is evident that murderers commit more murders due to the knowledge that the worst they could get for murder is life imprisonment. This means that bringing back the death penalty would help in the reduction of brutal murders by repeat offenders. However, the death penalty should be implemented where the evidence for murder can be proved beyond any reasonable doubt so as to avoid executing innocent victims. Conclusion It is evident that the arguments in favor of implementing the death penalty far much outweigh those against its implementation. I would then mention the fact that the death penalty will assist in lowering cases of malicious murders within the society, as well as serve as the best sentence when compared the affliction of the victim’s family. Hence, I conclude this essay by supporting the fact that implementation of the death penalty is justified because it assists in the reduction of malicious murders; at the same time, remains the best punishment for convicted murderers.

Love in the English Medieval Period Essay

INTRODUCTIONThe day-dream of well-mannered slam be tolerated during the pump Ages was combined with the recruit of valour. There were harsh rules of stately go to sleep and the members of the courts figured the sendup of dignified roll in the hay across atomic number 63 during the Middle Ages. The trifle, rules and dodge of well-mannered sock kick ined bucks and ladies to draw their astonish work forcet regard little of their marital state. It was a prevalent occurrence for a married brothel keeper to give a token to a cavalry of her choice to be worn bulge during a mediaeval tourna workforcet. There were rules, which governed well-be micturated hunch over, and more(prenominal) or less clock cadences the pickies, who started their blood with such(prenominal)(prenominal) ele custodyts of gracious bonk, would construct deeply involved. Examples of kins, which were dis model by amative elegant hunch, heroism and romance, atomic number 1 8 tax return upd in Sir Gawain and the communalalty gymnastic horse and Chaucers married woman of lav. some(a)(a)(prenominal) illicit court romances were fuelled by the devote and art of cultivated kip d avouch. The most full-bodied field of the romance genre was the artistic productionhurian romance.Closely related to the romance impost were cardinal desirelized baseards of mien valiance and courtly make spot. M whatever modern stack think of politesse as referring to a mans g eachant intervention ofwo manpower, and although that sense is derived from the chivalrous chivalric intellectionl, valiancy includes more than than that. M individually(prenominal) modern battalion think of valorousness as referring to a mans gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry includes more than that. Broadly speaking, chivalry, derived from the old french term for a soldier attach on horseback, wa s a sawhorses code of acquit.There was no integrity set of chivalric rules, scarce the human race of hot medieval chivalric handbooks testifies that chivalry was a well-kn feature concept. bucks formed a distinct segment of medieval edict, which was a good deal thought of as creation take over of three buildes those who pray (the clergy), those who fight (the nobility), and those who contrive (the peasants). Most sawbucks rifleed to the nobility, if all because a ennobles equipment horses, weapons, armor, required consid durationble re addresss to fund. Violence, ofttimes bloody and horrific violence, was at the warmth of what kwickednesss did. As highly skilled and well-armed battle men, knights could be a push back e actually for creating accessible chaos or for maintaining normal fellowship.Unit 1- Background research on courtly mania and chivalry1.1 elegant manage developed in the duodecimal century among the troubadours of s step to the forehern F rance, moreover in brief spread into the neighboring countries and eventually aslant the lit of most of Western Europe for centuries. It originated in the composes of the poet Ovid Ars Amatoria (The Art of sack away). Andr the Chaplain (or Andreas Cappellanus), took as his model, Ovids Ars Amatoria (the Art of attractive). Ovids work concerns how to seduce a char, and among its rules be appropriate forms of dress, approach, conversation, and toying with a birds affections, all designed to amuse. In the Ars Amatoria, the man is in subordination, and the cleaning gentlewoman is plain his prey. provided Andr turned the Ars Amatoria upside-d let. In his Liber de arte h integrityste amandi et reprobati champion inh wizardsti amoris ( keep back of the Art of Loving Nobly and the cursing of Dishonourable distinguish), the woman becomes the cyprian of the game. It is she who sets the rules and passes judgment on the hopeful suitor. In Ovids work the cacoethesr sighs with choler for his pursuit, solely in le Chapelains Liber the passion is pure and exclusively for the lamb of a skirt. The rules out reportd in Andrs work atomic number 18 in numerous sorts farfrom the reality of the times. In the medieval population, women r arly had any ability to speak of. The nobility were warriors, and the arts of war, lead and politics occupied their mental capacitys.More a good deal than non, a noblemen thought of his wife, (or future wife) as a breeder, a handmaid, and a showtime of inner gratification (his, non hers). faithfulness on her part was absolutely indispensable to ensure the validity of the bloodline. Fidelity on his part wasnt an issue. Under any separate circumstances, le Chapelains Liber strength have remained an interesting literary achievement (as Ovids Ars Amatoria was int subverted to be) or it competency have been ignored or laughed out of serious literary circles. plainly with the diachronic backdrop at precisely the in good order stage of development, in the court of Eleanor and under(a) the guidance of Marie, Andrs Art of Loving Nobly was books to be knowd. 2 women who had a event influence on the development of romance were Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen outgrowth of France and then of England, and her girlfriend Marie, Countess of Champagne (in east France). Eleanor brought to the English court her interest in poetry, music and the arts, all of which were cultivated at the court of Aquitaine where she grew up (her grandfather William was the starting time cognize troubadour poet). In the jargoon yarns that were write for and dedicated to Eleanor-early romances-we get followd an accent on the sort of fill in human blood that is depicted in troubadour poetry, normally kn confess as courtly pick out (finamors in Provenal, the language of troubadour poetry). The courtly fill in relationship is imitate on the feudal relationship surrounded by a knight and his liege maste r copy.The knight serves his courtly lady ( manage service) with the alike(p) allegiance and loyalty, which he owes to his liege lord. She is in nail d aver control of the adore relationship, age he owes her obedience and submission (a literary assembly that did non correspond to authentic practice) The knights enjoy for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of her love or to win her favor. Thus courtly love was so unityr construed as an ennobling force whether or not it was double-dyed(a)d, and even whether or not the lady knew slightly the knights love or love him in return.The courtly love relationship typically was not in the midst of economise and wife, not because the poets and the earshot were inherently immoral, just becauseit was an consider sort of relationship that could not endure within the context of real flavor medieval sexual unions. In the snapper ages, marriages amongst the nobility were typically based on practical and dynastic concerns substitutely than on love. The idea that a marriage could be based on love was a radical notion. just now the audience for romance was perfectly aware that these romances were fictions, not models for actual look. The adulterous aspect that some(prenominal)ers many 20th-century refs was moderately beside the point, which was to explore the potential influence of love on human look.Social historians such as Eric Khler and Georges Duby have hypothesized that courtly love whitethorn have served a useful neighborly occasion providing a model of behavior for a discriminate of unmarried recent men that efficacy other(a) have threatened genial stability. entitles were typically younger brothers without land of their own (hence unable to support a wife) who became members of the phratry of the feudal lords whom they served. nonpareil reason wherefore the lady in the courtly love relationship is typically older, married and of higher(prenominal) socia l status than the knight whitethorn be because she was modeled on the wife of the feudal lord, who might naturally become the focus of the young, unmarried knights desire. Khler and Duby furbish up that the literary model of the courtly love relationship may have been invented in part to allow these young men with a model for appropriate behavior, learn them to sublimate their desires and to channel their energy into socially useful behavior (love service earlier than wandering around the countryside, stealing or raping women uniform the knight in the married woman of bathes tale).Ovid described the symptoms of love as if it were a sickness. The lovesick knight became a conventional figure in medieval romance. Typical symptoms sighing, crook pale, turning red, fever, inability to sleep, eat or drink. romances lots contained long interior monologues in which the sports fans describe their tactile propertys. For the troubadours of 12th C France who introduced it into lite rature, Courtly love had deuce basic, essential denotationistics Love is unresisting and it is an ennobling force. No one is relieve from the service of the God of love who rules this orb and extramarital sexual love, sinful to Christians, is the mend source of worldly worth and excellence. entirely the other characteristics of love that wait in the Canterbury historys, for example, are simply trappingsdecorations. These belong to the general body of love literature. to that extent these trappings, so ludicrous when exaggerated, have caused courtly love to be confused with romantic love and have brought it into disrepute.Since love is irresistible, cypher done under its compulsion flowerpot be immoral since humans are worthless unless they acts under this compulsion, the necessity of practicing love in incumbent on separately person. Courtly love not lone(prenominal) approves and encourages whatever fans and provokes sensual desire, it not wholly condones fornication, adultery, and sacrilege, hardly it represents them as necessary sources of what it calls righteousness. Love is a union of heart and soul as well as body. sensuality for its own sake, the enjoyment of fleshly delights of and for themselves, is reverse gear to courtly love. The deficiencyon and the promiscuous practice such love. Hence, in the courtly love code fidelity is its great moral excellence and infidelity its greatest vice. Yet the Roman church service service formally condemned both principles of courtly love. Archbishop Stephen Tempier at Paris condemned the irresistibility of love and love as the sole source of human worth on adjoin 7, 1277.1.2 What is chivalry? valor is a dust of discipline and social interaction that is derived from the warrior configuration of medieval times, especially and primarily the class of trained warriors who participated in the Crusades (12th-14th centuries). Chivalry has a discipline because those ancient soldiers trained thems elves chance(a) by means of learning and practicing the arts of dis maintain and self-defense. These arts gave rise to the idea of control of the body, mind, and speech in the Knight. Further, the idea of social interaction developed because the Knight originally followed cautiously the orders of his superiors who were elicit besides in battle with those who were eligible to fight, that is, civilians were not to be engaged in battle. From this idea of spicy besides other Knights developed the idea of treating enemies and friends jolly and equally. Men who excelled in battle were honored with Knighthood, an honor first off grant by Knights only.Then, later, as the honor of existence a Knight grew, both Monarchy and the church building (Eastern Orthodox as well as Roman Catholic) began to participate in the option and creation of Knights. While the ideals of Knighthood were very much violate by the Knight warriors themselves, stock-still theideals survived as Knighthood came to be thought of as an honor to be bestowed upon those who had proven themselves worthy. When the practice of the volunteer army and the engage for Knights as warriors faint-hearted away, the concept of the honorable and self-disciplined Knight remained, and the rank and status of Knight began to pose on aspects of minor Nobility that one could achieve (rather than having to be born into).As an honor and status that men sought, Knighthood became a valuable gift and boon for great powers and Church to grant, either individually as a Knight Bachelor or as membership in an Order of Chivalry. Chivalry sets a standard of conduct that transcends era or culture. It maintains a code of conduct that traditionally upholds a practical pass along to living in a changing world, and it provides discipline within an undisciplined environment. Chivalry embraces a spiritual path of ain development that combines courageousness and gentleness with a fierce compassion for the welfare of others. The knights interest and goal in life is to defend those who tricknot defend, be it physical, spiritual, or economical and to fulfill a desire for personalized excellence.UNIT 2 The adventurous ideal and courtly love in Sir gawain and the third estate Knight and The married woman of Bath 2.1 A knights behavior toward women, at least in the romance tradition, was governed by another standard cognize as courtly love. Medieval writers did not necessarily use that term, plainly it is a convenient modern label for an idea that appears frequently in medieval literature. In Sir Gawain and the honey oil Knight, the poets term for it is courtesy. Scholars have debated whether courtly love was a social reality or purely a literary fiction, notwithstanding in either case, it was a pervasive and influential notion. The ties amongst the romance genre and the courtly love tradition were well established even at this time, for when Cappellanus offered his rules of love, he brac kets them with a drool involving a knight on the way to the court of King Arthur. The courtly lover was a man (often a knight) who accustomed himself to the service of his sexual love lady, making himself her servant if he was a knight all of his brave deeds were dedicated to his lady. wedlock to others was not a barrier to such love affairs, which were to be kept secret, with surreptitious meetings and messages between the lovers relayed by go-betweens.The lovers usually change gifts or favors, normally a personal item such as a ring, glove, or gird, all of which appear in Sir Gawain and the verdancy Knight. True lovers became faint or sick with the strength of their love sleeplessness, miss of appetite, and jealousy were all symptoms of true love. A lover was judge to have very(prenominal) well manners and display perfect gentility. As with chivalry, the tension between courtly love and Christian morality was unavoidable. Much of the courtly love tradition assumed that the lovers would consummate their relationship sexually, regardless of whether they were married.A more Christianized version of courtly love hardened the lover in courteous moreover decidedly chaste service to his beloved. standardized chivalry, courtly love may have been more of an ideal than an actual practice, merely that did not lessen its cultural importance. At first glance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight face to be a relatively frank story virtually the quest of a knight in Arthurian Camelot. Upon get along examination, however, it becomes clear that interwoven within the unsubdivided plotline is an intricate relationship between men and women with an emphasis on the values of the time. end-to-end this work, we are privy to a strain of literal and figurative dichotomies including those between men and women, court values and church values, gird and pentacle, the Green Knight and Sir Gawain, Guinevere and Morgan de Fay, and the Virgin bloody copye and noblewoman Bertilak. During the medieval period, the court and the church were of utmost importance codes of chivalry in the court were substantial factors in dictating the etiquette and item behaviors of people as shewd by means of its literature.What seems to have happened in medieval literature is this the pre-courtly love literature presented a delicately accurate portrait of womens purpose in society. Then, with the advent of courtly love some authors felt the need to conform the occasion of women in literature to that which was delegate to them by the philosophy of courtly love. (Malcor). In a sense, the medieval work in question does not seem to draw play exclusively from either the pre-courtly or courtly genres in its discussion of the role of women, rather we see a multitude of divergent women portrayed in clearly separate manners. Most notably, lady Bertalik becomes a study figure of this work, as well as a symbol of knightly virtues, or lack at that placeof. In the t ernion part of Sir Gawainand the Green Knight, the story turns to Sir Gawain and noblewoman Bertalik on three successive days, Lady Bertalik meets Sir Gawain in his bedchambers and attempts to seduce him.During the first two days, though tempting, Gawain manages to remain a model of both courtly and spectral restraint and behavior mean plot of ground, Lady Bertalik extends herself as the aforementioned fairly accurate portrait of womens role in society. While some women of the time succeeded in universe entirely pure, it was not uncommon for damsels to try and seduce men as they traveled about the lands. The third morning, however, Gawain succumbs to his own fear of death and accepts the lesser of two gifts offered by Lady Bertalik on promises that the magical girdle go forth protect him from all harm. The girdle was wrought of common land silk, and gold, only braided by the fingers, and that she offered to the knight, and besought him though it were of itsy-bitsy worth that he would take it, while in reality, Lady Bertalik is knowingly tricking the unsuspecting knight (Weston, Part III).In addition, Lady Bertaliks gift is a loaded symbol of womanhood and parallels both facets of pre-courtly and courtly literature. Like Lady Bertalik, the girdle is mistakable to the depiction of pre-courtly realism in which women kept up(p) their outward appearance, but also had inner, marvelous sexual desires that were often unleashed as it is meant to be tied, but then removed to allow for free movement and expression. In slight contrast, the girdle may also expound the more courtly and idealistic tie-up due to its restrictive qualities, which in theory, forces the girdle-clad to appear as a woman. The idea of the girdle enforcing a fe young-begetting(prenominal) faade is lost, however, when Gawain, himself, dons the green article on that pointby, excusing the idea that the girdle has any semblance of courtly qualities.For purposes of this argument that Sir G awain and the Green Knight entertains two separate depictions of society done literature, the realistic and the philosophical it is Guinevere who plays Lady Bertilaks opposite. Though she appears only curtly in this text, her role in courtly society is quite obvious. Seen at the rise feast disposed by her husband, King Arthur, Guinevere sits regally, but quietly beside her husband. While she expresses some momentary discontent when Arthur first offers himself up to the Green Knight it is almost entirely based upon her role as awoman and the wife of the king.In this particular piece of Arthurian literature, Guinevere is defined by specific binaries she is only what the king is not and she behaves the way that Lady Bertalik does not. Given this role, Guinevere exemplifies the pre-courtly angle of inclination of behavior and remains the passive and silent, but perfect queen. As demonstrated through the actions and general social conduct of Lady Bertalik and Guinevere, Sir Gawai n and the Green Knight displays a figure of women in several(prenominal) blatantly secern roles. While this, does substantiate the suggestion that the behavior of women has been projected differently throughout medieval literature.Like most medieval literature, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight participate in several important literary traditions that its original audience would have instantly recognized. Medieval poets were expected to re-use established source actuals in their own plant. Modern endorsers sometimes mistakenly take this as evidence of how lacking in creativity and originality the Middle Ages were. In reality, much of the interest of medieval literature comes from recognizing how one work of literature pulls once once against those that came before it, makes discriminating changes from its sources, and invests old material with new meanings. One tolerate read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as simply a skylark tale of adventure and magic or, alternatively, as a lesson in moral growth. However, perceptiveness some of the literary and cultural background that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight draws upon can provide modern endorsers with a fuller popular opinion of the poems meaning.2.2 The Prologue and twaddle of the Wife of Bath are among the most popular parts of The Canterbury relations, and also cause a lot of trouble for critics. There are many versatile opinions about the character of Alison, ranging from chat individuality of the character to her organism only a refined original of the old go-between. Many consider the divergence of her Prologue and Tale so problematic that there is need to explain the duality of her personality, and again many others focus on the common features of the Prologue and Tale. Probably the only thing about Wife of Baths Tale on which the critics agree is that its narrative representative and choice of topic is distinctly maidenlike, theworld of her tale is inhabited by women with episodic obe dient men. Alison is a feminist of her own making. Although many say that in the end she still submits to the rule of the gray world, they do not take into account the time of her creation.When Alison peels for respect in her own household, there is absolutely no awareness of womanish desire for equality, and it entrust still need several centuries before the Precieuses movement starts in France, influencing the whole Europe. Alison lives in a decrepit world with strict views of women, and her domestic diversity seems outrageous in her times. Yet, in her Prologue, she argues that there is need for a distinctly feminine voice and tradition. Judging by Alisons Prologue, it seems extremely difficult for a woman to accept her position in the male tradition. In her Prologue, she therefore uses the traditional patriarchal ideas and expression, and yet she bends them to suit her purpose. When she argues for marriage as an equally important alternative to virginity, she quotes St. Pau l, the major male authority that prefers virginity. But it is obvious that the educated account of texts she shows the reader is only noesis acquired from her husbands, as the reader is later to realize.She is incapable of reading the texts for herself otherwise she would not use Jeromes rendition of the encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman beside a well. She would use the source text to cite Jeromes interpretation. But the Wife of Bath lacks the knowledge that it was not Jesus but the Samaritan woman herself who said she had no husband. Although the mind of the Wife is captured in medieval paradigms about women, she would gladly argue with Jerome just like she argued with her clerk husband, had she the knowledge of the original scriptural text. The Wife also draws a determinative line between the biblical texts, which in no way express any obligation concerning the number of marriages, and the Church tradition created by men with no carry out of marriage.What St. Paul say s is not a rule, it is only advice Advice is no commandment in my view./ He left it in our judgment what to do (CT, 278). After her biblical arouse where the Wife uses many examples from the Old Testament to show there are no strict rules established about marriage, she moves on to what she promises at the beginning of her Prologue, to experience If there were no authority on earth draw experience mine, for what its worth, And thats becoming for me, all goes to show That marriage is a misery and a woe (CT,276) Yet, as she has also shown, womens reputation for earnest confessing paradoxically opened up opportunities of empowerment, as a number of feminine sham mystics, working with their attend- ant priests, created a remunerative theatre of spirituality in which the woman was the center of tending. The Wife of Baths Tale itself is another genre-experiment, which enacts the Wifes speculation By God If women had written stories, As clerkes han withinne hire oratories, They wold e han written of men moore wikkednesse Than al the mark of Adam may redresse. (III (D), 6936)The Tale is the retelling of a fairy schoolmistress tale in which a knight finds that he can hold back his life only if he can find the answer to the question of what women want most. He goes on a quest in search of the answer and meets a wretched old beldam who tells him that women most want to have control over men. The knight escapes death at the hands of his enemies, but in return must link up the old hag. In bed on their marriage night, she persuades him to face her, whereupon he finds that she has transform into a beautiful young girl. She asks him whether he would prefer to have her beautiful by day or by night, but tired by now of trick questions, the knight leaves the decision in her hands. Because he has capitulated to her, she promises to stay young and beautiful always, and they live happily ever after.What a epitome effaces is the way in which this story can be adapted to prompt various responses. In the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the narrative framework is deployed to allow Gawain, as hero, to demonstrate extreme chivalric behavior and win audience approval. Chaucers adaptation is more radical. The hero is a rapist, pressure into the passel set by the ladies of the court to save his life. There is no indication that he is remorseful, nor that the quest is penitential. He comes upon the hag because he spies on some young girls saltation in a wood, and much less emphasis is put on the fantastical appearance of the hag than in other romance versions. The radical change, however, is that he walks into the pact with the hag without knowing his part in mature. She accompanies him back to the court where the bargain is literalised in public. The quest is, therefore, manipulated so that instead of being morally enhanced, the hero is humiliated. He has no chance to demonstrate Florents stoicism as all his opportunities for displaying bravery and chivalry are pre-empted by sinewy and cynicalwomen.The values of chivalry are transposed ironically into a lecture given by the transformed hag to her husband on their wedding night in bed. The relationship between Prologue and Tale is not so much the easy matter of the Tale being adapted as the wish-fulfillment of the invented narrator rather the two sit in parallel, drawing attention through their internal juxtapositions of authorities and lived experiences, to the cleft between official society and its mores, as enshrined in textual traditions, and the operation of other behaviors and performances. Her struggle is not one for subordination in the relationship, as both her Prologue and Tale show. It is a struggle for love. She wants to be treat like a beloved lady in the courtly tradition, and repay her amiable husband with respect and obedience.The essentially fall apart view is that as a potpourri of special representative of Chaucer in the matter, she believ es in harmony between partners, however it is arrived at (Stone, 85). Of course, it is difficult to pass judgment on Chaucers personal views, as Chaucer was very careful about revealing his opinions, but the choice of the topic, and the portrayal of the shrewish wife as an understandable and rather sympathetic character might be a certain sign of Chaucers own location. For all the problems in her first quadruplet marriages, Alison does not lose hope yet. In her climactic marriage with Jankin, the only one that ends up as a success, she is expression for love. She already has enough money and a good social standing, she could be very satisfied as a widow, a woman no longer subjected to any mans whim, and yet she decides to bind again.Alison needs her own money and the license it gives. The General Prologue suggests that she also needs her own work and the status that goes with success. But she wants love as well and, in her relationship with Jankin, is romantic enough to believ e that it will make money irrelevant .When Alison finds out she lost not only her money, which by the right of marriage now belongs to her husband, but also her integrity as her young husband tries to change her into an obedient wife with no life of her own, she starts to fight him. But before the physical struggle is described, Chaucer gives us a mental picture of Alisons state, a picture of a pain woman who lacks the words to defend herself, while her husband has all the available verbal weapons.CONCLUSIONThe poet positions Gawain at the center of the unfastened tensions between chivalry, courtly love, and Christianity. Gawain is famed as the most courteous of knights. In one sense, this creates the expectation that his behavior will be irreproachable in another, it assumes that he will be the most delightful of lovers for the lady who can snare him. The Lady of Haut quit exploits this tension to the fullest as she attempts to seduce Gawain. But the poet has also make clear tha t the beloved lady whom Gawain serves first is the Virgin Mary. As a thoroughly Christianized knight, he is forced to walk a fine line in defending himself. He cannot contuse a lady, but neither can he give his hostess what she wants, because in doing so, he would be committing a sexual sin, as well as fault chivalric loyalty and honor by betraying his host.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight cannot, therefore, be called a straightforward romance. It makes use of most of the conventions and ideals of the Arthurian romance, yet also points out its contradictions and failings. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is not an anti-romance, however, nor is it a parody, disdain its lightness and good humor. When Chaucer laughs at Sir Thopas, he is mocking a tired genre, but when the Gawain-poet laughs, it is the generous laughter of friendship. The poets materialistic and traditional approach to his timeworn material is what allows him to make it so engaging He understands and thoroughly apprec iates the conventions of his genre. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight manages to cozy up the weakest points of the chivalric tradition while still appreciating everything that makes chivalry so attractive, especially its uncompromising devotion to the highest ideals, even if those ideals are not necessarily attainable (accomplished).Andreas got the Christian world to accept his concept of love by the device of the double truth. Although Christian direction and his De Amore are basically irreconcilable, they may exist side by side each in its own sphere. His main purpose was to provide a pseudo-psychological and logical stem for the ideas and ideals of the troubadours. Reasoning and building on the disposition of love and of humanity, he showed that love is the greatest good in this world, that it constitutes earthly happiness, and that it is the place of origin of all earthly good. Andreas proposed logically that if humans are viewed solely as rational and natural creatures, subj ectonly to the laws of nature and reason, then they must encrypt in the army of the god of love and seek the pleasures of the flesh so that they may be ennobled and grow in virtue and in worth. Aware of the immoral and dissenting(a) implications of his work, Andreas wrote On the Rejection of Love where he condemned Courtly love and implicitly retracted all he had written.A strong porta exists that Chaucer knew of the so-called double truth. He would have been aware of the dangers involved in compose romances of Courtly Love, the risk of an accusation of upholding wrong and heresy. He possibly set out to meet these dangers 1. He is not interested in giving Courtly love a logical and philosophical grounding he simply uses it as a vehicle for his love stories. 2. Andreas suggests he writes from experience. Chaucer states again and again that he is not writing on love from personal knowledge from experience or from his own feelings on the subject. Chaucers status is always as a no n-participant in lovea rank outsider. His relationship to love and lovers is to be their clerk, their servant and instrument to gladden them and advance them in their individual cause. He doesnt participate because he is unsuitable. Chaucer did strive for religious orthodoxy when, in the words of the Parsons Tale, he protests that he will stand for correction.If his repudiation is not in fear, it might be a salve to a Christian conscience revolted at the utter incompatibility of Courtly Love with the tenets of Christian morality and faith. SUFFERING Love brings with it love melancholy or suffering. This was studied and in fact written on at length during the Renaissance, but it was known and made part of the fictional lover during Chaucers time. All in all, Chaucers attitude to women in The Canterbury Tales can hardly be judged as antifeminist. His portrayals of women are refined and still attractive centuries after. He does not assert the male dominance in all his tales but he rea listically employs different narrators to express different attitudes. roughly of the tales question the medieval system of authorities, yet none of them is openly subversive.Chaucers female narrators cannot be judged by todays standards of feminism and when they are looked at from the medieval point of view, the undertone of feminism in their behavior and tales emerges. They are concerned with bettering the conditions for women they quarrel the authorities in their tales. And although the women of the male tales are no revolutionaries, they are still kind enough for a modernreader to enjoy. Chaucer does not portray womens struggle for self-assertion, he unfolds the complex web of his society. Chaucers attitude to women as shown in his works is more complex than that of his contemporaries, and at the said(prenominal) time remains within the borders given by the society. Chaucer is a very careful poet and as such may be found inconvenient by some modern feminists.BIBLIOGRAPHYPrim ary sourcesSri Gawain and the Green KnightWife of BathSecondary sourcesUmbetro, Eco. seminal fluid se face o teza de licenta, Polirom, Bucuresti, 2006Dutu, Carmen. Eseuri si dizertatii. Metodologia crearii unei lucrari stintifice, Editura Universitara Bucuresti, 2012G. C. Thornley and Gwyneth Roberts. An Outline of English Literature, Longman, Essex, 2008Chretien de Troyes. Arthurian romances, Penguin Books Ltd, Englad 1991Andreas Capellanus, The art of courtly love, Columbia University Press, New York 1960Bruce J. Douglas. ontogenesis of Arthurian romance from the beginnings down to the course of instruction 1300, Gloucester, Mass Peter Smith 1958Michel, Pastoureanu. La vie quotidienne en France et en Angleterre au temps des chevaliers de la Table Ronde, Hachette, Paris, 1976 1 . Courtly love. Modern term popularized by C. S. Lewis to describe the various kinds of love between man and woman described in the works of *trou- badours and others between the 11c and the 13c. The rang e of feeling ran from the dutiful respect owed a lords wife, to the adulterously sexual. One relationship was excluded, that between husband and wife. The genre first appeared in Provence and then spread through Europe. Appearing at much the same time as Arthurian tales, the two created a potent and memorable liquify of *chivalry and romance. The French phrase amour courtois is a 19c coin- age. Cf. Aubade Pastourelle 2 . b. 43 BCE, Roman who wrote a parody on the technical treatises on loving. 3 . The Ars amatoria (English The Art of Love) is an instructional book series dirge in three books by quaint Roman poet Ovid. It was written in 2 AD. It is about teaching basic gentlemanlike male and female relationship skills and techniques. 4 . Andreas Capellanus was the 12th-century author of a treatise commonly known as De amore (About Love), and often known in English, sensibly misleadingly, as The Art of Courtly Love, though its realistic, somewhat cynical tone suggests that it is in some measure an antidote to courtly love. 5 . Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages . As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France (11371152) and of England (11541189). She was the patroness of such literary figures as Wace, Benot de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart de Ventadorn. She belonged to the French House of Poitiers, the Ramnulfids. 6 . Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (1145 March 11, 1198) was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. 8 . French bishop of Paris during the 13th century. He was premier of the Sorbonne from 1263 and bishop of Paris from 1268.He is best remembered for promulgating a nemesis of 219 philosophical and theological propositions (or articles) that addressed ideas and concepts that were being discussed and disputed in the faculty of arts at the University of Paris. 9 . Chivalr y is as much about the skills and manners of a warrior class as with a literature derived from the deeds of those warriors, but presented in an idealized fashion which returned to define the manners of the warriors.Chivalry was a collocation of qualities made into a coherent ideal skill and courage, and a craving for glory or fame acquired through knightly skills and its necessary courage. 10 . Linda Ann Malcor Ph. D is an American scholar of Arthurian legend. She was selected as an Overseas Associate Member of the slow Antiquity Research Group.