Oedipus The King

Literature contains various literacy devices and the play ‘Oedipus the King’ presents a tragic law which makes the king to be associated with unlikable character. The tragic flaw or the defective traits of Oedipus brings his downfall.  From the story, Oedipus is a character who is stubbornly blind because he does not adhere to discretion but rather he focus on personal will. He has unlikable character trains in that he is impervious to the truth and adheres to his will. He creates a contradictory nature where he does not want to know the reality. In other words, he is aggressive when it comes to find the reality. Even though he is a hero, he is associated with tragic flaws which are rooted from   lack of judgment and pride.  He is a hero who is lacks self-control but rather he is driven by anger (Lawall, Sarah & Maynard, 485). His violent temper made him kill his father and this contributed to his downfall. Other point is that he rejects the truth given by gods and Tiresias and finally decides to threaten other characters. Other important point is that he is not perfect since he uses his power to cause destruction. It is also worthy to say that his fate is as a result of tragic flaws. Note that he faces misfortunes and his deeds harm his beloved. The important qualities which make the citizens honor and admire him are the very traits which cause destruction.  For example, he is a noble ruler with admirable passion toward the people of Thebes. However, he has a tremendous temper which makes him ignore the truth and other material fact. Oedipus expresses a tyrannical temper toward Creon and Tiresias and the violent temper clearly shows the tragic flaw with the hero (Lawall, Sarah & Maynard, 485).  

Reference

Lawall, Sarah N, and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. New York: Norton, 2001.

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Book Review of Development as Freedom

In the novel Development as Freedom, Sen has dwelt on development and freedom, and the factors which affect the well-being of individuals within a society. In addition, Sen has explained how freedom is development, and how it affects the way people live. Development requires the removal of the main factors which limit freedom, and they include: poverty, which leads to poor economic growth and opportunities, social deprivation, prejudice and abandonment of public facilities. In a bid to understand the book, this paper will analyse each of the 12 chapters in the novel.  

Chapter 1 - The perspective of Freedom

Wealth is only useful in the things which it allows us to do, through helping us to achieve functional freedoms. However, wealth does not determine our social relations, since we are not limited to relationships by amount of wealth which is accumulated (Sen, 2001).

Inequality and Poverty the lack of a solid income and the lack of opportunities often appear interconnected, however, it is significant void being fascinated, that paying attention to the past, tends to affect our future. The relationships between the past and the future may not be that strong, hence if we focus more on the things which we can achieve, then it will be easier for us to understand the poverty which is related to human lives (Sen, 2001).

Income and mortality are also determined by the choices we make in life, and not by wealth. African Americans in the U.S maybe richer as compared to people from other countries such as India, however, they do not live longer (Sen, 2001). This is basically because social arrangements, access of social amenities and the prevalence of violence.       

Chapter 2 - The Ends and the Means of Development

There are two broad attitudes of development which are found in the professional analysis of economics. These are: in order to maintain democracy, a lot of luxuries must be compromised, since development depends on democracy which is a very unique aspect, which should fought for. Secondly, the process of reaching development is however friendly, and it is also mutually beneficial in factors such as political freedom, social relations and social development (Sen, 2001). In this chapter, Sen therefore provides that freedom is the main driver of development from the beginning to the end.

Chapter 3 - Freedom and the Foundations of Justice      

In the current application of utility in the modern-day choice theory, its identification with either preference or aspiration fulfilment, has been mainly abandoned in support of seeing utility as a form of numerical representation of an individual’s choice (Sen, 2001). However, the human mind cannot be used as a basis of freedom, since different people have different mind-sets and beliefs, thus making them to have different desires as compared to each other.  Our abilities, gender, talent or age may affect the way people perceive things, even though one may be rich. One thing may not be of importance to a person, simply because of an illness, whereas it may be of importance to another person because of his or her gender. This consequently limits the application of real-income different people’s relevant advantages.       

Chapter 4 - poverty as Capability Deprivation

Poverty must be viewed as a limiting factor to basic capabilities. Poverty limits people from being able to achieve their capabilities, thus rendering them unable. For instance, in a rich country, one may not be able to enjoy the privileges which other people are enjoying, due to income deprivation, thus making it hard to purchase goods, or enjoy certain social amenities and services. In a different example, infant mortality rates in developing countries is high, and this depends with the literacy levels of the parents (Sen, 2001). On the other hand, India produces more food as compared to Africa, however, the country is more under nourished. This consequently explains how poverty limits capabilities, thus making it hard for individuals to use the resources which they have in plenty in a good way.

Chapter 5 - Markets, State and Social Opportunity

Markets do not strive due to the rate of exchange or through the rate of revenue collected, but through the level of freedom in the transaction. Market transaction is a very significant aspect in the performance of a market, since markets depend on the freedom of transaction, thus allowing the trade to take place (Sen, 2001). If a state denies people the freedom of purchase, then it makes it hard for the markets to grow, a factor which affects the productivity of trade itself. In addition, if a country gives people the social opportunity to freely communicate, bargain and purchase the commodities, then the markets revenue will grow.

Chapter 6 – The Importance of Democracy     

The links between political liberties and the fulfilment of the economic needs are not merely influential, but they are also beneficial. Political freedom allows for the creation of economic policies, which allow free trading, which in turn boosts the economy of the country (Sen, 2001). For instance, Asian countries have political liberties, which allow for fare competition of trade, thus making it easier for them to grow their economies. In addition, political liberty yields democracy, thus enabling the political leaders to come up with ways of avoiding calamities.

Chapter 7 Famines and other Crises       

The economy of a country in general may affect the lives of people, even if a country may have plenty of food, the economy might limit them from purchasing the food, thus ending up hungry. In addition, due to inflation, most people may not be able to save enough money to buy food, thus ending up malnourished (Sen, 2001). On the other hand, natural calamities might also lead to drought and famine, however it is the duty of a country to protect its citizens from natural calamities. Due to poor planning and poor economic growth, some countries may not be able to cater for this needs.

Chapter 8 - Women’s Agency and Social Change

Women movements in the past concentrated more on the wellbeing of women, but in the modern day there is need to concentrate on the agency of women. The agency of women can therefore help in lifting the social barriers which have been placed before women, thus making it hard for them to have a sense of entitlement (Sen, 2001). The agency should advocate for gender equity and equality in all the aspect of human life, hence allowing women to lead similar lives as men.

Chapter 9 – Population, Food and Freedom

The world’s population is more than 6 times its size, since the 17^th century, however, the levels of food production have been consistently declining, hence the need to control the growth of the population (Sen, 2001). The right to procreate is a human right, nonetheless, some political philosophers do not support this notion. According to Sen, there should be a consequential system, to deal with this issue, without limiting the rights of human being to reproduce. Furthermore, this consequential system should deal with the issue of food production and population growth, in such a way that civil liberties will not be affected.

Chapter 10 – Culture and Human Rights

Human rights vary from place to place, and the attitude of human rights is also different all over the world. There must be a provider of rights, which one should enjoy, and this basically means that human rights cannot exist of they are not provided the rule of law. The rule of law therefore provides the rights which vary from place to place, and dependent of the culture. Culture in the world is however influenced by the western countries, which tend to affect the way people in different parts of world behave or even relate with each other (Sen, 2001). This has consequently led to the loss of equity between countries, since cultures vary even though they may be influenced by west, a factor which leads to loss of traditions.

Chapter 11 – Social Choice Individual Behaviour

Human beings have the power to determine their future, however, they cannot be able to change their past (Sen, 2001). The past can never and will never be changed by anyone. Due to that reason, people need to look for framework and institutions which help in promoting their goals. In addition, they also need to base their reasoning on things which allow them to be able to reach greater heights, thus behaving in a manner which seeks to improve their well-being.

Chapter 12 – Individual Freedom as a Social Commitment  

Freedom and responsibility are related in the sense that people are free to do what they are supposed to do, only if they are surrounded by factors such as institutions and agents (Sen, 2001). This therefore brings about the need to understand the functioning of different institutions such as the judiciary, the legislature, the executive, and the media, which are the main institutions which seek to protect individual freedoms.

Reference      

Sen, A. (2001). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

There is no hope of doing perfect research

Whether it is possible to achieve perfection in research is a topic that is widely debated upon. This is more so  in consideration of the fact that  research is meant to achieve the closest to factual result of any situation ,item or subject under investigation. Perhaps the best point to commence this discussion is to underscore the understanding that research is an activity that aims at investigating or questioning and is done through a process that has been enhanced by various mechanisms and measures. Research is carried out in order to add to the knowledge of society in a given way  particularly to improve the quality of life. This discussion is based on the opinion that it is not really possible to do a perfect research

            Our point of reference for this discussion is Griffith(1998) who argues that its not possible to have perfect research. Largely, this observation is true. Consider for instance the fact that in any research there is a margin of error. That technically means that even as the researcher goes on with their business, the some element of mistrust or a level of truth that can not be obtained from the activity (Cohen, 2011). The underlying factor here is that the greatest  percentage of their work is believable an, and in most cases, there is sufficient evidence to believe in their work, but there will always be a certain  level of . This is probably the reason why different research activities may produce different results-even through the margin error is thin- despite all other major parameters being  the same.

This thought can also be enhanced through the various ways in which works of research continue to be challenged. Take for instance the research on the planets of  the earth. In, 1930, Tombaugh discovered the tiny, distant planet that was named Pluto .In his research, he used the a new astronomic technique of photographic plates combined with a blink microscope. Later on his work could be enhanced by the findings of other scientists thus confirming it and subsequently announcing the discovery of Pluto to the world. This has remained like so over the years until August 2006 when  new research done by the International Astronomical Union deprived Pluto of the title of being one of the nine planets in the  solar system. In essence, the knowledge of the nine planets had  to be revisited and even texts used in schools and elsewhere had to relook into the matter (Freshwater, and   Drury,2006).This example is rather challenging especially in view of the fact that this information had been digested unchallenged for several years. To the wider world other than  interested scientists, this is perhaps a matter whose conclusion could not be challenged and ought to have remained just like was. This demonstrates clearly that regardless of how close or watertight a study or research may be, it is practically impossible to achieve perfection.

Perhaps the most common case that can be used in the modern world to demonstrate the inaccuracy of research and the lack of perfection is the  on going efforts towards HIV/AIDS. Whereas, researchers have almost unanimously agreed to the lack of  cure for the disease so far, various accounts of people claiming to have found cure for the disease have emerged. The challenge here is that these claims come from different quarters and their proponents too have adequate evidence to support them. Undoubtedly , this is an issue that the whole wide world works towards even  committing immense resources. In addition, it is an issue that scientists endeavor to bring to a logical conclusion yet it has taken several years to come along. This kind of disparity further cements Griffith’s observation that perfect research is impossible to achieve.

Whilst we point out that there may be some inconsistence or even outright disagreement from a  given research, it is important to underline the fact that most research projects will always have a good level of agreeability. This is probably the single reason why t researchers build upon the works of their predecessors. In most cases, research will not exhaustively explore a given problem especially in consideration of the  width of  these matters.

Conclusion

From this discussion, it is clear that woks of research be absolutely perfect. In most cases, there will be a dimension or a perspective that can be improved on challenged in one way or the other. Griffith therefore had made a correct observation  which to a certain extent should be edged in the mind of a researcher. Nonetheless, research continues to be the most relevant way through which information that can be used to transform or inform can be gathered. If and when researchers come to generate further  information on a given idea, they give their input and , perspective and ideas. Whereas this doesn’t necessarily discredit previously done works of research, it may poke holes on the work upon which they build or better still add on it.

Works Cited

Freshwater Sherwood, and   Drury, Vugh. ,International Research Collaboration. Issues, Benefits And Challenges Of The Global Network.: Journal of Research.2006

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 Cohen, Arieli, Field research in conflict environments: Methodological challenges and snowball sampling. Journal of Peace Research 2011

The Lady with the Dog

The story starts with a lady who visits a city by the sea in Yalta, Crimea which is a vacation seaside town that is located on the black sea coast. A man by the name Gurov has been in that town for some time now when the lady visits and he are interested in the new arrivals and to be particular the lady who just arrived with a dog. The lady is a white Pomeranian who arrives in this town for a vacation from her home town. Gurov is seated at the pavilion and spots this lady walking at the beach accompanied by her pet which has been fitted with a beret (Chekhov, 62). For the time they are in this town, they bump into each other occasionally while in this town and this can be attributed to the fact that Yalta is just but a small town. They both decide that they can be friends and hang out together as they have just known each other and they can maybe be good friends.

Dmitri Gurov is just under the age of forty, has a wife, and children. The wife of Gurov is almost half his age and she is a self-proclaimed woman who Gurov does not seem to like anymore since he regards her as a lady who is uneducated. Gurov has been so very unfaithful to his wife and he thinks that all women are nothing but of a lower level compared to other people (Chekhov, 63). Gurov is a womanizer and claims he does not like or love women but still very interested in them. Every woman finds him very attractive and therefore they end up being very emotional attracted to him but this mentally and physically bothers him very much.

One night, as usual, they meet at a dinner table in town and Gurov decides to make his move in getting the lady with the dog. This move is strategic as he uses the dog to try and get to talk to the lady. The lady seems interested in the talk and since the town is well known to be a place where seducing a lady is a norm, they end up hooking up. They start exchanging words and the lady tells him that she has been around the town, Yalta, for the past five days and it is getting boring already. Gurov explains to her about his career in arts and his current interests in life and that he loves in Moscow (Chekhov, 63). They both start socializing and observe the beautiful clouds and the soothing environment which surrounds them. At this moment while the weather is very soothing, Gurov kisses Anna to her lips and they both agree to go into Anna’s room. In this sense, Gurov seems to have regained his interest in women. This is different from the norm where Gurov is seen as a character which has no love for the women and even despises them in many cases.

The lady was raised in a place called Peterburg and she currently lives with the husband in S but will be in Yalta town for a month or more and that her real name is Anna Sergeyevna. At his bed later after they part for the evening, Gurov meditates and thinks about Anna very much and how she was recently just close to twelve years which is the age of his daughter. Gurov admits that Anna must have something hidden in her to be with a man with the characters of Gurov and he must understand what exactly the lady wants from him. 

Section III of the book, Gurov attends an opening performance at Sydney Jones opera known as The Geisha and hopes that Anna might be there also. Fortunately, Anna is very present to see also and the opera makes it a perfect backdrop for their short lived relationship. This is the main significance of the opera and it gives a story of a man who had despised the women and eventually falls in love with geisha (Chekhov, 64). The opera also features the popular say of having the husbands very disappointed with their wives at one point or the other. This significance is very important as it signifies the character Gurov and his behavior when it comes to dealing with women. He is one of the characters who pretend to not care about them but deep inside something keeps pulling him closer and closer to women.

At some point, after Anna leaves Yalta for his matrimonial home after being summoned by the husband, Gurov feels he cannot stay without Anna. With this ideology, it is practically very true to consider that Gurov is attracted to Anna and has already developed feelings towards Anna. Anna is also very interested and misses her moment with Gurov. The both rekindle their love while at Anna’s residence and promises to come back to meet Gurov in the near future. The promise is honored and Anna meets Gurov in Moscow (Chekhov, 73). This marks another beginning for their relationship based on the ideology of both of them being married to different people who will soon realize that their partners have outside affairs. Gurov and Anna decide to keep their relationship up-close and in private until they decide on how to deal with the issue. It the first time for Gurov to be in real love with a lady and this is very confusing on his part.

The drive to have Anna as his wife is so pressuring to the point of even daring to visit her in her husband’s home without fear of what might happen in case they are caught together. When both Anna and Gurov part ways, there is a shift in the mood and the kind of atmosphere. Yalta is a vocational town which serves the people who feel that they have a lot of burdens to lay off from their backs and Gurov doe really understand that Yalta is a city where immorality happens every time but this time seems he is lucky on his part (Chekhov, 74).  There is nothing much to do in Yalta but still, Anna and Gurov have visited this town of disappointed partners in a relationship. There is too much romance in the air according to the setting. The grasshoppers, heat, the sweet smell of the sea, clean environment, good atmosphere and so much more signifies love. When one visits this small town of Yalta, they physically have no idea of what to do but something just triggers them into a different part of the world. Immediately Anna leaves for his home in S, Gurov is left alone and Yalta does not seem as entertaining as it was when Anna was around making him to also leave Yalta.

Works cited

Chekhov, A. (2015). The Lady with the Dog. Anncona Media.

Literary Analysis

1. Arguments of whether the holocaust happened or not can neither be proved true or not, without reading the novel, Night by Elie Wiesel. In the novel, Wiesel does not only explain how the events unfolded, but explain also explains how the atrocities were committed before his own eyes (Wiesel, & Wiesel, 2011). Wiesel’s parents, together with his siblings were murdered, making him to remain on his own in a ruthless world. As the events unfolded, Wiesel could not believe how highly respected educated men, could do such acts. The Jews became the target of the Germans, where the death of the Jews was justified.

Judging from the above information, it is clearly evident that the Holocaust happened, since Wiesel through his book has clearly explained the atrocities committed to the Jews by the Nazis. Wiesel was among the lucky survivors, who were saved by after the U.S saved them in the year 1945 (Wiesel, & Wiesel, 2011). The Holocaust therefore took place and it led to the massive deaths of the Jews in Germany. Wiesel story can therefore help in countering such arguments through providing solid evidence of what transpired during the Holocaust.

2. Schindler’s List movie, is more of a contrary movie which focuses on the positive some members of the Nazi (James & Spielberg, 2004). Throughout the movie, Schindler has focused more on the positive side of the Nazi’s who made their efforts in protecting the Jews. Schindler has consequently focused on the freedom of opportunity, whereby, the Jews have an opportunity of running their businesses under Schindler’s name, who is a member of the Nazi, while protecting the Jews.

If this was not a story but a documentary, then the audience could not have understood how the events unfolded in the story (James & Spielberg, 2004). In addition, important information could have been lost since, the narrator in a documentary omits some important events in the story. On the other hand, the documentary could have focused more on the atrocities committed by the Nazi government, and not on the efforts of Schindler.

Reference

Wiesel, E., & Wiesel, M. (2011). Night.

James, D., & Spielberg, S. (2004). Schindler's list: Images of the Steven Spielberg film. New York: Newmarket Press.

American culture

Novel: The Great Gatsby

            American novels help the reader see a vivid image of the American society and experience. For example, The Great Gatsby provides a comprehensive knowledge that America is materialism society. The novel shows a big difference between millionaires who existed in 1920s (West Egg) and old aristocracy (east Egg). West Egg is the newly rich who lacked social graces while East Egg is old aristocracy and individuals who pose elegance (Batchelor, 2014). From the novel, materialism in America still exists. All characters in the novel are materialistic and wealth creates social classes. Materialism and social classes makes the American dream to collapse since the way of life is defined by wealth and prosperity. Americans believes that American dream should change the way of living and allow all people enjoy rights and pursuit of happiness. However, materialism has made American to belong to the affluent people (Batchelor, 2014).

Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird by Robert Mulligan

When you watch this film, you will understand that America is a racism society. According to the film, during the depression era there was separation of races and black people were not allowed to socialize with whites. There was a social hierarchy where the black community was discriminated and could not enjoy social benefits. There was social class division in Macomb society and institutional spheres in the society (Mulligan, 1962). In modern America, racism is a big issue which is poisoning the society. Black people in America are referred to as inferior no matter their education, wealth or even prominence. Racism in America is structural- it is expressed in macro level where white supremacy is interconnected with power to oppress minority society. There are racial stereotypes which result to social inequality in different setting such health care, politics and education (Mulligan, 1962).

Reference

Batchelor, B. (2014). Gatsby: The cultural history of the great American novel. Scarecrow Press,

Mulligan R. (1962).  To Kill a Mockingbird.

Retrived from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfYVsy_ctYE&list=PLoGRHOir1bt5JCGrlYCdE2WR3lmHOblhd

Princess Elisabeth

 Elisabeth is concerned with two things namely; mind and body. She needs a clarification on the causal interaction between the two and the main questions which Elisabeth asks is that ‘is there a relationship between an immaterial substance (soul) and material substance (body). In specific, she wanted to understand how the mind-body interaction and the ability of mind to push the body.

Descartes responds by introducing the ‘passions of the soul’ and states that passions are perceptions of the soul which are controlled by the spirit. In the primitive notions, passions are in the mind-body realm and at this point he states that the sensation and passions are caused by the ability of soul to move the body. The interaction means that soul and body are different things and the interaction is a dynamic concept (Skirry, 39). Descartes adds that passions are caused by animal spirits and imagination activates the body and makes it react toward the emotions. Soul plays an important role to accept the passions which are prepared for the body.  On the passion of the soul, Descartes says that the things which are experienced and seen   belong to the body and the soul contributes the thoughts. In this case, the soul helps the body experience the thought and the soul helps the body to understand the external perceptions (Skirry, 39).    

Mind is indivisible and body is visible and this means that mind and body are different in nature. In addition, mind is a thinking substance while body cannot think and both are controlled by own independent laws. Even thought they are distinct, there is an intimate union and a substantial unity. Descartes says that interaction is seen in sensations and feelings which comes from the mind and experienced by the body (Skirry, 40). There a causal interaction between mental state and physical state. For example, the pineal gland is the center for interaction and unity occurs when animal spirits enter in the pineal gland and mind becomes conscious during the movement.  The mind affects the flow of the animal spirits and body becomes affected (Skirry, 40).

 Descartes offers a satisfying solution because; mind is an incorporeal substance and has the power to carry out mental works. An important point to understand is that there is a substantial unity since mind controls the body and the body influences the mind (Skirry, 45).  I also understand that even though mind and body differs in nature, the passions unite them and mechanism between the two substances is reinforced by the pituitary gland. For example, biological description is enough to explain the interaction between the two. The passions come from the soul and they also affect the body through the movement of animal spirits. Thus, the mind influences the body (Skirry, 87).

Reference

Skirry, Justin. Descartes and the Metaphysics of Human Nature. London: Continuum, 2005. Internet

resource.

Which of the three books: Modern Romance, Men Explain Things and The big Short has the most societal importance to a college student today going forward?

Introduction

Modern Romance, Men Explain Things and The big Short are three books that deal with differing societal issues that affect the contemporary society. The issues are demonstrated based on the individual’s personal perception and views regarding life. The book that holds the most societal significance in reference to today’s college students moving forward is ‘’Modern Romance’’ authored by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg. The book mainly explores the theme of love in the modern society. The author’s goal is rather a simplified one as he sought to establish how the current technological dating applications and online websites have altered the manner in which individuals date and perceive dating (Ansari and Klinenberg 12). Romantic relations are the most controversial subjects amid college students currently given that there are a number of dating options which present disagreements globally. Technological adoption has altered the way that individuals connect as well as communicate particularly college students and dating has not been exempted from the affected social aspects. Modern Romance holds the most social significance when equated to The Big Short and Men Explain to me given that it addresses the theme of love and how technological advancement has affected modern dating.

Modern Romance reveals a number of surprising things in reference to Romance today. Today’s dating awkwardness presents many controversies in the smartphone dating age. Individuals and particularly student’s today searches for love with the assistance of technology which has either made dating easier or complex based on personal perceptions. Each of them is forced to deal with frustrations in their customized worlds of the little phone screen. The book begins with the assumption that for women and men swiping one another’s texts and Tinder’s and commit in Deeping themselves to each other’s Instagram pictures does this while hoping that they will ultimately make out for having much in common (Ansari and Klinenberg 14). This is true given in the society today individuals connect in reference to what they perceive as being common rather than focusing on knowing and understand their differences and similarities.

Indeed, modern romance affects almost every college student based on the pressure of technological advancement and lifestyle changes. The rapid technology growth has transformed every aspect of the modern life in the last two or so decades and thus dating and relations have not been any different. These changes based on Modern Romance have been derived from two primary sources which are mobile phones and the internet in general which offer more dating options. It alarming to understand that prior if one met with a person that they liked they were forced to call them so that they can speak and get to understand each other. However, today the arrival and the increased adoption of short messages have permitted in spoken conversations amid youths universally in expressing their thoughts and feelings in abbreviated wordings and smiley expressive faces. Everyone wants to participate in getting their right match those that they believe to having much similar to them. Conversations are never utilized as means of speaking and knowing each other but they are expressive approaches that are a form of entertainment too.

Contrarily to ‘’Modern Romance, The Big Short’’ mainly focuses on the financial concepts of the Stock market crashing that occurred back in 2008. The book does not forget on the effects that the crash caused on standard working class persons in the global sector. Since the beginning of the 80’s up to the early 21st century Wall Street was involved in major tears as it was generating more revenue that it has ever achieved previously (Lewis 104). The only issue was that the profit was mainly being generated at the general expense of the public in America as well as the global setting which had its significant contribution to the growth of the economy. Apparently the book additionally addresses several more themes relating to economic manipulation such as greed, hypocrisy, and injustices. Such issues are obviously some of the dominating societal issues in the contemporary world but they do not affect student more as compared to intimate or romantic relations.

Smartphones adoption based on Modern Romance implies that individuals today are easy to be contacted given that social media permits individuals to know each other prior to a meeting. In addition, the dating applications offer choices abundance in getting suitable relationships patterns. The book in particular targets young individuals who are inclined to technology but even the older ones or those that are committed to relations or everyone in the modern society is bound to understand and get a message that addresses their needs based on the given approximates (Ansari and Klinenberg 15). What appeals to the admirers within the sites is the dating profile rather than who an individual is. This is a common occurrence in modernity as youths tend to judge individuals based on their looks rather than their actual selves. In addition, short instant messages that are poorly worded are what most relates with given that they are highly entertaining. The book mainly fits the social significance of college students because the scope of the literacy work mainly focuses on middle-class and heterosexual individuals in their 20s up to 30s.

On the other hand, Rebecca Solnit in ‘’Men Explain Things to me’’ addresses large contemporary issues relating to power and gender in the essays. The book furthers on feminism conversations as well as the perception of female gender in the contemporary society. The author mainly focused on the things that normally go wrong during conversations that incorporate both men and women. From the perspective of the book, it is clear that women communicate in a distinctive manner when compared to men (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz and Walters 21). The differences result in increased conflict given that each party feels that they are not understood or their opinions are not offered the attention they require particularly women. This is one of the aspects that has resulted in the rise of divorce in the society based on the lack of proper understanding amid parties. Solnit emphasized on how most men assume in the wrong manner that they understand things while assuming that women do not know how such things arose. She mainly focused on how gender wars aspects work by demonstrating some her personal comic and awful experiences (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz and Walters 19). However, she admits that for some men such instances never occurs as they are even open while referring to themselves feminists. Domestic issues are addressed thoroughly in the book stating that it is apparent that more women have died in domestic violence as compared to terror tragedy.

Clearly, gender and domestic issues are some of the social issues affecting college students as per today but the intimate relationship is of even greater significance. In that college students are the most affected by dating options offered by technology and the fresh communication ways given that they are in exploitive age. In their quest to find matching partners those that meet their expectations of intimate relations most are forced to explore all the online options. Dating is the hardest thing currently for college students given that modern romanticism that does require many skills but the general ability to use technological sites must be present. Solnit addresses mainly the older persons involved in family relations that fail to understand one another thus promoting the occurrence of domestic violence, as well as divorce, gave that each gender holds differing communication strategies (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz and Walters 24). Among the youths, gender issues and particularly in communication are not highly significant given that individuals begin to understand one another and communication is rarely deep as it mainly seeks to impress the other individual rather than expressing gender inferiority or even dominance.

Modern Romance serves as a romantic guide while Solnit stresses more on gender equality in marriage in discouraging domestic violence. The Big Short focuses mainly on financial security and the injustices that come with economic growth in the global setting and how such manipulation can be dealt with in securing the future of the young generation. To the young individuals in college financial security comes with the comfort of getting happiness in stable relations and future working. This, therefore, demonstrates that romantic relations hold more social significance in relation to college students in the current and future society. Romanticism is a significant issue given that it is part of the modern pressure that forces individuals to adapt to the differing changes (Ansari and Klinenberg 11). In addition, students are pressure to fit into the demand of modernity which dating is among the leading issues after technological adoption. The investment might be the dream of most students based on the necessity to create more financial security but bonds security might not be an option for most based on the involved uncertainties and the lack of knowledge regarding such matters. For most investment is supposed to be a fair operation a thing that lacks in most of these activities. From this context investment as a social issue depicted by Lewis is not of much significance to students as per the current.

Conclusion

Modern Romance holds the most social significance when equated to ‘’The Big Short’’ and ‘’Men Explain to me’’ given that it addresses the theme of love and how technological advancement has affected modern dating. Individuals in the society today lives in situations where if one is not involved in a romantic relation they are personally unsatisfied based on the lack of passionate justification. Ansari and Klinenberg authored Modern Romance with an account of technological effects and particularly smartphones accessibility on dating lives. In particular, this is the freedom that is being perceived as development in that no one knows the specific time that they are supposed to accept things based on conversation and communication changes that have been derived by modernity. Apparently cultural aspects additionally play part in the changes given that individuals are expected to build relations on their own and the quest for individualism pushes one to try the available and convenient options that are being provided by technology.

            Work Cited

Ansari, Aziz, and Eric Klinenberg. Modern Romance. , 2016. Internet resource.

Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. , 2011. Internet resource.

Lunsford Andrea, Ruszkiewicz John and Walters Keith. Everything's an Argument with Readings: A PDF-style e-book. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012.

Solnit, Rebecca. Men Explain Things to Me. New York: Haymarket Books, 2014. Internet resource.

Lack of Empowerment for Women

Lack of women empowerment has been a very common theme in most novels and short stories, since it has been difficult for women over the past years. The novels, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Gilman and A Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, depict what happens to women in the society, when they try to seek their independence through following the desires of their hearts, and this may include sexual desires (Williams, Michael, & Patricia, 28). According to the two novels, when women try to fulfil their desires, the society has a way of bringing their desires into a tragic end. This is basically because women tend to be stigmatized by the society due to fulfilling their desires, a thing which makes them to feel unworthy (Soghra, n.p). In other words, the society requires a women to fulfil her desires with restrictions, otherwise she will be banished and deemed unworthy.

In the novel A Street Named Desire, Blanche hides her past experience, through lying, in order to be respected, and to also be accommodated by her sister Stella (Soghra, n.p). Blanche knows very well that her actions made her bankrupt, and in order to save herself from embarrassment, she decides to use lies as a means of getting along with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Stella finally allows Blanche into her two room apartment, where they live together with her husband (Williams, Michael, & Patricia, 29). However, Blanche’s love for money makes Stanley to distrust her, thus he starts to research about Blanche’s past. Stanley, as a man believes that he is superior over women, and so he looks for possible ways of understanding what made Blanche to move to New Orleans. He finally discovers the lies which Blanche had been hiding, and uses it as a means of gaining total power over Blanche.

Stanley, is a man who is straight forward, and loves honesty above all the other human attributes. On the other hand, he does not have respect for women, and this is depicted through the way he treats his wife Stella, to the point of beating her when she goes against his will (Soghra, n.p). Stanley has mastered the art of instilling fear in women, a move which makes him to gain total control over them. Stanley made sure he was in total control of his wife Stella, through instilling fear in her, and making her to feel unworthy. When it came to Blanche, Stanley disliked her, due to her social disdainful behaviour, a move which made Stanley to look for her weaknesses, in order to gain total control over her life (Williams, Michael, & Patricia, 32). Stanley consequently depicts the behaviour of men in the society, since they always want to be in total control of women, hence looking for possible ways of pinning down women, and making them to feel unworthy.

Blanche, as a woman, believes she is unworthy, a move which makes her to use sex as a means of earning money (Soghra, n.p). She does not value herself anymore, hence she indulges in sexual behaviours with teenagers, in order to gain favours. When the teenage boy comes to get the newspaper money, Blanche gives him a lustful kiss, in order to clear the debt. Blanche cannot therefore be able to live peacefully due to her love for money. Mitch, Stanley’s friend, seems to have fallen in love with Blanche, and the two talk about living together, since their past experiences seem to be similar. Stanley, due to jealousy, decides to break the silence, through telling Mitch the truth about Blanche’s past life (Williams, Michael, & Patricia, 38). This makes Mitch to distrust Blanche, hence he tries to have sex with her. In this scenario, it is clearly evident that Stanley who is a man, comes in when Blanche tries to seek individuality, and spoils her plans with Mitch, hence making Blanche to continue relying on him. On the other hand, Mitch tries to have sex with Blanche, after realising that she had lied about her past experience. Mitch treats Blanche as an object, a thing which men do, when women try to fulfil their desires and things go out of hand.

In the novel The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman depicts the dominance of men in the society, who try to imprison the mind-set of women and their wives in general (Edward, n.p). The narrator is obsessed by a yellow wallpaper on the wall, where she sees a woman trapped in it. She forms images at the back of her mind, and believes that there is a woman who has been trapped behind the wallpaper. At times, the narrator sees the trapped woman in the wallpaper crawling over, in order to get their freedom. The crawling of the trapped woman shakes the whole wallpaper, as she falls a certain pattern which does not seem to direct her in the right direction (Gilman, 6). The yellow wallpaper and the trapped are symbolic, and Gilman has used symbolism as a means of depicting the lack of empowerment for women in the society.

The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the society, and the trapped woman symbolizes the position of women in the society. The society has trapped women, making them to fall subject of men. The narrator’s husband John, has confined her in his house, since he thinks that confining her in the house will help in curing her depression. The narrator cannot therefore be able to move outside the house, or even undertake any tasks, because of her condition (Gilman, 12). John consequently treats the narrator in a very disrespectful way, even though she is his wife. The scenario, also shows how men tend to treat their wives, thus having total control over their lives. The society, on the other hand, has allowed men to continue treating women in a disrespectful way, since it does not support their endeavours. Women are left alone, when it comes to marital abuse, thus the narrator could not in any way get assistance from anyone (Edward, n.p). Men consequently think in the same way, thus they abuse their wives, and no one seems to care about it.

The crawling of the trapped woman in the wallpaper, symbolizes the efforts which women are putting in trying to break out of the society’s confinement (Edward, n.p). Through following the pattern which was on the wallpaper, women are slowly breaking out of the society’s confinement, even though the society comes up with ways of discouraging their endeavours. The society tries to come up with laws, which seem to bind women into the confinement, making it hard for them to be able to break out of the confinement (Gilman, 36). The society does nothing to make sure that women lead peaceful lives, as it provides men with total powers over women, thus making it hard for women to break out of the confinement. Women are however breaking out of the confinement, after realizing whatever they are going through. When the narrator tears the wallpaper, it symbolizes the dawn of change, since women have realised the society is doing nothing to save them, thus they have resulted to breaking out of the confinement on their own.

Work Cited

Williams, Tennessee, Michael Hooper, and Patricia Hern. A Streetcar Named Desire. London: Methuen Drama, 2009. Print.

Gilman, Charlotte P. "the Yellow Wallpaper" and Other Stories. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1997. Internet resource.

Edward Tester. Feminist Empowerment in “The Yellow Wallpaper”: The Lemon Center, 2014. Print. Retrieved from: http://lemoncenter.com/feminist-empowerment-yellow-wallpaper

Soghra Nodeh. Power Struggle in Tennessee Williams’s a Streetcar Named Desire: A Foucauldian Analysis of the Play. 2013. Print. Retrieved from: http://litere.univ-ovidius.ro/Anale/documente-z/articole-2013-1/nodeh%201-2013.pdf

Nella Larsen's Passing

Passing, is an exclusive novel about love, human nature and race. The novel is basically about two childhood friends, Irene and Clare. The difference between the women is that Clare appreciates her race, while Irene does not appreciate being African American. The two have had a strong relationship since they were kids, but the relationship seems to be fading. Irene does not want to be associated with Clare, since Clare is married to a white man, who is bigoted. Clare is African American, but she can be confused to a white woman, whereas Irene light skinned but a little bit darker (Larsen, 20). Even though the novel strongly speaks about love, human nature and race, I think the author concentrated more on one side of the novel. In this essay, I therefore argue, based on the themes provided and the structure of the essay, that the novel is one sided.

The theme of race has dominated in the novel, making it to become the centre of events. The centres the flow of events on the theme of race, in sense that in every event, racism is pointed out. For instance, Irene does not want to be associated with Clare, because she is married of to a white man (Larsen, 22). Colour separates the two friends, since Clare does not want to be associated with white people. In addition, Clare’s husband, John Bellow, does not want anything to do with African Americans, when he arrives at the hotel, he speaks in an impolite way, offending Irene who is African American. I strongly believe that the author should have concentrated more on the theme of human nature and love, since the book may create a sense of racism, particularly if read by a bigoted person.

The theme of human nature has been side-lined, in that they take a less portion of the novel. The theme of human nature has not been clearly depicted in the novel, since the author has concentrated more on race and partly on love. The novel basically speaks about race and love, whenever Clare and Irene meet, the issue seems to be race and love. Irene is afraid of a growing affair between Clare and her husband (Larsen, 27). The theme of human nature is only depicted when Irene meets both Clare and her husband. Moreover, this theme is also depicted when Irene meets with Clare’s husband. Irene gets to meet Clare’s husband only once, at a hotel, when Bellow followed her wife into the hotel.

The novel conveys a message which is racially affiliated, thus making African Americans to seem evil. The author concentrates on the evils committed by African Americans, hence painting a dark picture of them. Clare is an African American woman, but her skin completion is light, making her to look like a white lady (Larsen, 38). Although she is married to a bigoted white man, her husband, Bellow does not know that she is African American. The husband strongly believes that her wife is white, and he does not want her to be associated with African Americans. Furthermore, her husband speaks ill of African American’s when he met Clare together with Clare at the hotel.

Irene feels insecure due to the close relationship between her husband and her friend Clare, making her to push Clare off the window, after realizing that Clare’s husband was likely to divorce her. If Bellow divorced Clare, then Clare was most likely to end up with Brian, Irene’s husband. This move made Irene mad, thus pushing Clare of the window, in order to safeguard her marriage (Larsen, 43). In the two scenarios, the author shows the type of lives which African Americans lead, and shows how they concentrate more on their interests without caring about the interests of other people. The above scenarios have consequently portrayed African American women as being mean, and egocentric. The author consequently seems bias, since she paints a dark picture of African American women. I strongly believe that she should have talked about the positive side of African American woman, before fusing in their negative side.

The structure of the story seems appealing in the beginning, but the flow of events become very predictable as the story continues. For example, the author speaks Clare’s charms, whereby she is able to convince Irene to become friends with her again. Clare is portrayed as a person who is good at convincing, a thing which makes her to easily convince most people to become friends with her (Larsen, 54). When Clare develops a relationship with Irene’s husband, it is very clear that she will be able to convince Irene, thus maintaining their friendship. The story becomes predictable, since Irene maintained her relationship with Clare, knowing very well, that Clare would try to convince her if she confronted Clare. The author consequently fails to make the reader to think critically about what will happen next, making it easier for the reader to become fed up with the story. According to my point, of view, the author should have made the story less predictable, hence making the story eye catching.  

Work Cited

Larsen, Nella. Quicksand & Passing. London: Profile Books, 2014. Internet resource.      

Cultural Memory in Literature

A memory in most cases is identified as something that has happened in the past. Memory is very important as it connects the past, the present and the future. Every memory is very important to define the present and also the future. The cultural memory is basically a concept of the physical dimension of the human memory. With this ideology, cultural memory can be defined according to various forms identically the memory culture and a past reference (Assmann, 2011). The memory culture is generally a way in which the society ensures that there is the continuity of the culture through the preservation of it with the assistance of the cultural knowledge from generation to generation. A reference to the past is what reassures a society and its members that their collective ideologies and in a way give them an awareness of their unity in both time and space.

Cultural memory can identically be used to note the collective construction of the distant past as it is understood by some people in a provided historical and social context (Assmann, 2011). Cultural memory in some cultures can be identified as the past or the history that is created in a given society at certain occasions whether it is of the old times such as the ancient Mesopotamia or during and festivities like the celebration of independence in the American world. In literature, the past can be formulated in various forms and specifically in very diverse forms (Rivkin & Ryan, 2017). Cultural memory is very important as it is an umbrella of describing the different and complex methods which the society believes.

Assmann differentiates the two terminologies of communal memory which is a shared memory that involves two people. Communicative type of memory, in general, goes in for about over eighty years back and it is a group of events which only fewer people can recall (Rivkin & Ryan, 2017). For example, the bombing that happened in Pearl Harbor is a type of a communicative memory since only fewer people can remember about it. The assassinations of Martin Luther King and another John F. Kennedy and many other happenings are typically an example of the communicative memory. Today in literature we learn about this two famous people in the actual sense not because anyone alive today interacted with them but because the memory of the past is still fresh day in day out and generations to come will hear of it also. This is important since it is a cultural memory that allows us to identify such happenings thereby enabling us to transfer the same to our communities. In some ways, cultural memory is only important in explaining the events of the past but in the real world, it is important in giving guidance to the future (Assmann, 2011). The records established by such great individuals helps in moving the society forward and in different ways. In the United States, cultural memory is approached using the stories given during the first Thanksgiving.

There are other ways in which culture is transmitted using literature like in the biblical accounts in which the Jewish escaped from Egypt for the second book in the Bible. The Cultural memory of certain occasions such as the Holocaust is also indicated in the works done by Levi and Frankl (Rivkin & Ryan, 2017). Both individuals are camp survivors who will forever be influential from the past more than 80 years and this is all with the help of cultural memory.

References

Assmann, J. (2011). Communicative and cultural memory. In Cultural Memories (pp. 15-27). Springer Netherlands.

Rivkin, J., & Ryan, M. (2017). Literary theory: an anthology. John Wiley & Sons.

A Reflective essay Exploring a Personal Experience or Event

            In this essay, I will reflect on a tragedy that happened in school. We normally here of tragedies happening in life but in most cases we just read them in our news. It really feels sad to be a witness of an unexpected tragedy. This happened during a school competition that resulted into an immense fight. After a long period of preparation and every student was longing for the day, we came to the ground very early expecting a day full of excitement. The last game was a football match which I was one of the participants. It was a sudden incident when one of our players injured the opponent and caused a fight back. The game had to stop immediately and was replaced by a fight. I had never been a victim of such a circumstance and I did not like witnessing such happening before my classmates. And due to the fact that we were in an enclosed place, I had nowhere to run but to witness everything. I also had one worry that I may not be injured. It was so terrible that no one could bring the fight to calm but it was until the police force was informed and they had to rush in. The fight resulted into death of three students whom I witnessed with my own eyes. These incident affected my life for a long time because one of the students was my classmates. That mood of sorrow was observed by each one of us in class for a relatively long period because no one could imagine that anything could happen.

References

Williams, K. (2012). Reflective Writing. Palgrave Macmillan.