Dont Be Fooled By The Wording Professor Ramos Blog

Dont Be Fooled By The Wording In the state of California, taxes are highest in the nation to compensate for its huge number of roads and infrastructure. California also has the highest income tax in the country, which is becoming an uprising issue. But before we get into taxes, let’s talk about the state itself. California is the most populous state with the largest economy of $2.8 trillion in the United States and the fifth largest economy in the world. Agriculture, science, technology, tourism, and trade are the major sectors which fuel California’s progress. The most familiar cities in California, Los Angeles, and San Francisco area are the nations second and fifth-most populous urban regions with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively, according to Wikipedia. Long Beach, Oakland, and Los Angeles ports are three of the top five busiest ports in the country. California is also considered a deep blue Democratic state and is one of the big three democratic states in presidential electio ns alongside New York and Illinois. Furthermore, the main focus of taxes, is too generate funding for California’s poor infrastructure. In order to do so, California Governor Jerry Brown and California state legislation introduced Bill 1. In 2017, California State Legislature passed Road Repair and Accountability Act (RRAA). The bill placed a 12 cents per gallon on gasoline and 20 cents per gallon increase tax on diesel fuel. California drivers pay $3.05 per gallon for gas vs $2.26 of other states. The car registration fee increased between $25 to $175, depending on the model of the vehicle. This bill is designed to invest $5.4 billion into California transportation infrastructure. The bill also gives power to the state legislature to increase the tax in the future without a public vote. The tax on gasoline could rise to 19 cents per gallon by 2019. Some Californians are unhappy with this bill because of increasing taxes, it also increases the cost of living as diesel fuel hike impacts grocery distribution to d ifferent areas of the state. Moreover, this bill was designed due to the fact that California’s roads and bridges are in poor condition and received a â€Å"D† grade by American Society of Civil Engineers. Twenty-three states including both blue and red states have increased their gas taxes in order to pay for their increasing transportation cost. The tax bill will cost average California driver $117 per year. It is important to note that more cars are becoming electric or hybrid since 1994 to reduce gasoline consumption which has hampered California’s public project. However, in 2018 November ballot Proposition 6 was created by the Republican party, to repeal this 2017 tax bill and reduce gas taxes on residents. The backers of Proposition 6 collected enough signatures of registered California voters to qualify it as a ballot measure. Chairman for Yes on Prop 6, Carl Demaio argued that gas tax is costing families an average of $750 to $800 a year. Another prominent Republican, Harmeet Dhillo n strongly favors Prop 6 initiative to reduce tax on middle class, he is also against the outmoded and over budget ‘bullet train’ fantasy of Governor Brown. Prop 6 soon became a political tug of war between California political parties to impose their views on voters in election day with the final aim to win the house of representative majority seats. Republican candidate for governor, John Cox was quick to promote yes on prop 6 to gather votes from the conservative base. John Cox Stated â€Å"repairs and improvements to California’s transportation infrastructure could be funded through improving efficiencies at Caltran.† On the other hand, Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor candidate said Cox’s plan would damage transportation system which is already deficient. Newsome also called Cox’s plan to increase Caltran efficiencies â€Å"illusory†. Major opponents of Prop 6 also included Governor Jerry Brown, and former LA mayor Eric Garcetti both from the Democratic party. It is important to re-emphasize the wording of prop 6 which causes confusion for many voters, Yes on prop 6 would repeal 2017 tax increase and more importantly would prevent the future tax hike on gas and vehicle registration without a public vote. In contrast a No vote will leave 2017 gas tax intact and allows the future increase in the hands of California assembly members without voters approval. De maio a prop 6 supporter blamed â€Å"false and misleading ballot title† that saw created by Attorney General Xavier Becerra for the downfall of measure. The Prop 6 title says â€Å"Eliminates Recently Enacted Road Repair and Transportation Funding† but does not mention it repeals a gasoline tax. Republicans admit this measure was drafted to increase voter turnout, which has been a problem lately. On Nov 6, 2018, Prop 6 was rejected by California voters, a major victory for Democrats and a blow to Republican Conservative voters. The final election results were 43% yes to 57% No. Democrats and union leaders agree that $5 billion a year incline from taxes are vital to upgrade crumbling roads and bridges. â€Å"California voters were not fooled,† Said Brian Rice, president of California Professional fighters. Furthermore, the idea of state legislatures ability to increase taxes in future without voter approval is very bothersome. Gas tax could increase again in a few years which will be devastating to average families. This action is totally against the fundamentals of democracy and leaves the fate if the state in the hands of Governor few state legislatures in Sacramento. Approximate 7 to 8 hundred dollars of saving which was created by Republicans (one to two hundred by Democrats) can be reinvested into the economy with snowball effect to improve living conditions, for example, lower grocery products and public transportation. Overall I think California residents are overtaxed. Instead of attracting wealthy individuals and companies, heavy tax system and the high cost of living is moving individuals out-of-state. As a college student, my commute to school will be influenced by higher gas costs and car registration, but I am sure middle-class families will all be hampered as well. Before gas tax hike California had the fifth highest gas tax in the nation, in combination with the nations highest income and sales tax was simple to visualize the great resident outflow. Obviously, we must correct the condition of our transportation system but I believe there are other more reasonable and productive ways to achieve this goal. First of all the working families should be protected from unnecessary taxes and expense while working taxpayer population must increase by taking people out of welfare. 34% of the nation’s welfare recipients live in California which consists of 12% of us population. Addition of a couple of million workers to the workplace will take the pressure off the middle-class work engine of the economy. Many social programs in California provide care to needy individuals such as Medical, Calfresh, and Calworks, which must be protected but must work more efficiently to provide care only to needy individuals and not the general public. Prop 6 proponents estimate $5 billion income from the gas tax increase, but California paid $103 billion in welfare in 2017! This brings us to the conclusion of this report which analyzed the impact of adding a new gas tax on the economy in the great state of California. Prop 6 is not the simplest initiative to understand on the ballot but it carries a huge burden on everyday working people of California. I believe conservatives had the right idea, but because of the unpopularity of the Republican party and in particular president trump the measure did not get public approval. Also, wording on the ballot implicated raising taxes by saying â€Å"Yes† was confusing to me as a college student. Majority of the public perceived â€Å"No† as no new taxes. My position is no new taxes while maintaining an efficient compassionate place to live. We must look back at our history and examine what prompted California to be the golden state, a business-friendly environment with leading numbers in economy and population. WORKS CITED: Wikipedia, â€Å"California Proposition 6† https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_California_Proposition_6 The San Francisco Chronicle, Oct 16, 2018 â€Å"Vote No On Prop 6- Funding Needed For California Road and Transit† https://www.sfchronicle.com/elections/ Schuner, Dan. The Sacramento Bee, Sept 24, 2018 â€Å"Voters want a gas tax repeal. Many California leaders call it a horrible idea† https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article218823065.html KQED News, â€Å"Governor Debate† Oct 8, 2018 https://www.kqed.org/science/1932470/fact-checking-california-governors-debate-on-kqed-climate-and-energy San Diego Union Tribune, July 28, 2012 https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sdut-welfare-capital-of-the-us-2012jul28-htmlstory.html Langlois, Shawn, Market Watch, Nov 28th, 2017. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/no-other-state-comes-close-to-california-when-it-comes-to-welfare-spending-2017-11-28 Wood, Robert, July 16th, 2018, Forbes, â€Å"Millionaires Leaving California Over Taxes Is Nothing New†https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2018/07/16/millionaires-leaving-california-over-taxes-is-nothing-new/

Frankenstein Essays (438 words) - English-language Films

Frankenstein Essays (438 words) - English-language Films Like a mother, Victor brings new life into the world, technically making him the father of the creature. The fact that Victor describes the creature as, Something Dante could not have conceived, suggest that hes had high-standard education, with Dante being an Italian poet. However, disgusted and scared, he runs away from his son, illustrating the event of when a mother aborts her child. This is when the idea of the creature being a doppelganger comes into the picture; when Victor and others neglect this child, the creature learns that while possessing such looks, no one will accept him. He alternates personalities by killing and threatening, all due to the emotional pain he endures from peoples disdain; he is regressing, just like his father. On the other hand, his father is overcome by joy and eagerness to be able to stop death, despite the fact that it is dangerous. This can be considered as the son inheriting the father personalities, they both have villainous character within them but they are both doing it for the good; for example, Victor wanting to protect his family from the creature and wanting to stop death, and the creatu re only wanting to have someone with the same appearance to stop all the resentment thrown at him. This chapter also enhance the regression of Victor at the time of Elizabeths reanimation. At first he describes the event to be a catastrophe, a wretch, but the time comes when his grief over Elizabeths death conceals the danger of his previous creation, forcing him to recreate her life. On that account, this makes it Romantic act, as this shows that his emotions are more powerful and more important than the analytical side of things. To add to that Romantic part of the novel, in chapter 5, Victor starts to reminisce over nature, as if using it to hide away from his toils. He claims to: ...remember the first time I became capable of observing outward objects...perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and the young buds shooting from trees... As well as suggesting the Romanticism in childhood, Victor shows the power of the beauty of nature and how this heals his emotional troubles. Again, the use of character falls down to consequences, that one event always leads to another. It is the father and son connection that gives the reader the horror that there is no hero in the story; both Frankenstein and the creature have done terrible deeds that leads to even more terrible results, and, as I mentioned, there is no one who can stop this from happening.

Time Management Portfolio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Time Management Portfolio - Research Paper Example All the subordinates are interlinked with the various resources within the organization through a process called control. They are controlled and effectively monitored to ensure smooth sailing of all organizational activities. Time management on the other hand, refers to being able to carry out all your activities, within the allocated time period. An effective time manager does not run out of time. He manages to carry out all the transactions within the stipulated time frame. It is extremely necessary for various parties and individuals to be considerable time managers. This concept ensures efficiency; it ensures effectiveness and finally enables one to be fast in carrying out activities. It reduces redundancy of tasks, enables the organization operate on a planned scope. This is necessary for management to set the various goals and standards since they all depend and rely on time. Management is a doctrine that owes its existence to the ancient professionals. The various scholars an d personalities managed to be able to develop various theories that aided and guided the discipline. From Henry Fayol, to Abraham Maslow’s, they all gave their take on the topic management. This is necessary as it has ensured that the discipline’s tangibility remains and it has constantly continued to be regarded as an art, a principle that is learnt. Like management effective time management is also a skill acquired through time. ... After organizing the events or activities, the next step is to rank them in the order of urgency. The exact initial subjects that are urgent in terms of delivery production, time they are generally required, and finally the relationship to the returns are sorted out according to the list of urgency. The next step in the time management process is to gather all the necessary resources to be able to accomplish and achieve the said tasks. These involves gathering the necessary resources in terms of materials needed, human resources needed, the respective tools needed to complete the respective tasks. Allocation of the resources to the particular organizational endeavors is the next step. They are organized and finally the next step is to carry out the activity under siege. It is necessary to plan and manage the planned time. Time as stated is a scarce resources. Time is the only factor at the disposal of various organizations that enables people to carry out their various activities wel l. It is necessary to plan for it as it ensures effectiveness in the production process, it ensures quality in the well planned products and services offered, it reduces on wastage through effective planning of all the activities and resources the aspect of wastage is reduced as all the resources must have been planned for. It enables urgent orders to be completed with ease and efficiency; it reduces delays and fines charged as a result of a late delivery. As the saying goes, time is money and planning time well various organizational activities will also be planned well. This ensures effectiveness in the operations of the organizations and creates efficiency within the system. Time Management Portfolio As defined Time Management refers to being able to carry out all your activities,

Francis Scott Key and the "Star Spangled Banner" Research Paper

Francis Scott Key and the "Star Spangled Banner" - Research Paper Example Penned more than two hundred years ago, the Star Spangled Banner is hailed as America’s national anthem. Written at a time when the country was facing series of attacks from the British, the song does not hide its distaste for the enemy and its profound pride when the nation’s flag remained firmly etched on the ground after the war, a sign of victory. Although it is still regarded as a musical and iconic symbol of the country, critics have deemed the Star Spangled Banner as violent and overtly boastful. The question is: should the song be discarded as the national anthem for being violent and boastful? Since he was a prominent attorney at the time, Francis Scott Key was sent to negotiate the release of William Beanes from the British fleet at Baltimore. As part of the negotiations, Key and his allies presented British prisoners in exchange for Beanes. The deal was sealed; however, the British had one extra demand- Key and his allies were not to leave until they witnessed the destruction of Baltimore. They had no option but to oblige as the British ship was heavily guarded and they had no soldiers to redeem them from captivity. The ensuing battle between the British forces and Fort McHenry lasted for 25 hours. When Key saw the American flag was still standing the next day, he knew the British had been defeated. The victory stirred Key to write the Star Spangled Banner lyrics. On September 20, 1814, the Baltimore Patriots published the poem, christened as â€Å"Defence of Fort M’Henry†. The poem became a song once it was sung to the tune of a song belonging to the British Anacreontic Society known as â€Å"To Anacreon in Heaven†. The military adopted it to be their theme song during the First World War and subsequently, the congress and president Herbert Hoover raised it to the national anthem in 1931. (Maryland, n.d.) The Banner is a bone of

Is Gambling a Social Problem Essay Example for Free

Is Gambling a Social Problem Essay Gambling is an act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning. It also involves a significant risk as the material good (usually money) wagered in the game may be lost if the player does not win. Common forms of gambling include cockfighting (which usually results in the death of one or both roosters), casinos (which has become a profitable business), slot machines (convenient for those who want to play individually), bookmaking (often used for predicting the winners of sports competitions), and caracruz (simplest form of gambling which has existed since ancient history). There is an ongoing debate among social scientists, psychologists, business lobby groups, and others on the benefits and dangers of gambling. Some anti-gambling social activists argue that gambling is a serious social problem, while others argue that gambling problem is a problem of certain individuals who suffer from psychological ills and that in certain circumstances gambling on the contrary is a significant source of income (for example, for Native American tribes). Gambling Is a Social Problem ?Gambling is associated with a range of social issues and thus needs to be designated as a social problem. According to research on the topic, there is a correlation between various social problems and gambling. For example, Hardoon et al. , point out in their study that gambling problem among adolescents they studied stemmed from the lack of healthy familial and peer support, drug use problems, behavioral problems, problems related to family issues, and the parental gambling problems as well as their substance abuse. According to Hardoon et al. , there is a significant familial contribution to gambling problems. Read more:  Ã‚  Essays on Social Issues Many of their respondents said that their elder siblings had a strong influence in their decisions to experience gambling. Many of the respondents who suffered from gambling problems said that their parents themselves were problem gamblers. The study by Hardoon et al. , also points out that children of problem gamblers suffered from insecurity and a sense of â€Å"pervasive loss† (170). They also argue that gambling problem among parents leads to various kinds of familial dysfunctioning, including drug addiction, conduct problems, and delinquency. Hardoon et al. , also point out that there is a connection between gambling and substance use. â€Å"Compared to nongamblers,† they write, â€Å"adolescent gamblers are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, and use drugs† (171). Gamblers are three times more likely to use drugs than non-gamblers. Gambling and substance use problems among adolescents often leads to delinquency and illegal behavior. Adolescents suffering from serious gambling problems are also likely to experience difficulty in school such as decreased academic performance and poor grades. More than half of the problem gamblers Hardoon et al. , studied suffered from conduct problems as well. They were more likely to break rules, get into troubles with individuals in authority, frequently display oppositional behavior, and join anti-social activities (171). This study in general demonstrates that the gambling problem is part of larger social issues and there is a clear correlation between gambling and various social problems. Another study on the impact of gambling on college students suggests that about 1. 6% of the U. S. dult population meets the diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling (Level 1), and 3,85% reportedly suffer from subclinical (Level 2) gambling problems. Among college students, the rate of gambling problem on both levels is twice as high as it is among the general adult population. There are significant social and health-related problems associated with adolescent gambling problems. Adolescents and young adults addicted to gambling suffer from serious stress-related problems. Many of them attempt and even complete suicides. Among these adolescents and young adults, the rate of disorderly familial relationships is much higher. There is a higher rate of comorbidity with other addictive disorders, and there are more frequent instances among these adolescents and young adults of arrests and convictions. The study concludes that â€Å"social norms–based social marketing campaigns (emphasizing accurate descriptive norms for alcohol) to successfully reduce alcohol use on campus† needs to be reworked and applied for combating gambling problems among college students (Larimer Neighbors 241-242). This is another testament to the fact that gambling is a social problem and that the way to reduce it is to employ tools which are used for combating other social problems. Illuminating in this case is the experience of Native American tribes in the United States. With the passing of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, which mandated legislative basis for managing and regulating Indian gaming, the number of casinos has sharply risen in Native American communities. As a result of this, one study of this phenomenon points out, Native Americans â€Å"are four to six times more likely to be pathological gamblers and two to five times more likely to be problem gamblers than non-Indians† (Momper 139). The study also cites poverty, unemployment, and historical injustice as factors that contribute to the development of gambling problems among indigenous groups. According to this study, there is a similar correlation between the practice of excessive gambling and predisposition to other social and behavioral problems such as alcoholism, drug use, and disruptive behavior among Native American groups—but in significantly higher numbers than it is among non-Indians in the United States. Gambling is Not a Social Problem ?While it is true that gambling addiction, just like any other addictive behaviors such as alcohol addiction or drug addiction, is a social problem, gambling itself is not a social problem. Participants of gambling make conscious decisions and they have the freedom to stop the practice whenever they think it is detrimental to their financial, psychological, and social conditions. For example, in the year 1999 the National Gambling Impact Study Commission surveyed the U. S. opulation and found out that 86% of Americans had gambled some time in their lives, and that 68% gambled in 1999 alone (Seligman 86). Out of this large segment of the population who regularly gamble, only a tiny percentage of the population suffers from serious gambling problems. ?Discussions over the use of gambling are sometimes controversial because it is one of the businesses in America which has a bad reputation, on the one hand, and is so popular that more and more Americans are demanding gambling opportunities, on the other. Due to its popularity, gambling has been legalized in all states except Hawaii, Tennessee, and Utah. Residents of these states also gamble, by traveling to other states or by taking advantage of online gambling opportunities. Total wagering in the Unites States is around $900 billion a year (constituting 10% of personal income), and the lion’s share of wagering takes place in casinos ($600 billion). And casinos now exist in twenty nine states. But these are official figures and unofficially the extent of gambling among Americans is likely to be much higher (Seligman 87). Gambling in the United States is a legitimate form of business, and designating it a social problem would necessitate that we label other legitimate forms of business as social problems as well. As Seligman points out, â€Å"Wall Street offers plenty of bets with risk/reward opportunities that mirror those of slot machines—a long shot with occasional huge payout. Buying out-of-the-money puts on an airline stock just before a union vote would fall in that category. If the members unexpectedly vote against wage concessions, you could make a killing on the bankruptcy† (Seligman 89). Some critics of gambling who criticize it from an economic perspective, say that, while gambling consumes time, energy, and resources, it does not produce any real output. But that argument can be used against most kinds of financial transactions and speculating, both of which are acceptable, and in today’s world, necessary components of international financing. As for the charge that problem gambling leads to comorbidity with other social problems such as alcohol abuse and drug use, more research is required to determine the nuances of this connection. Does excessive gambling lead to alcohol abuse or is it the way around? If it is the former, then it is the problem of gambling addiction which needs to be labeled a social problem and remedied. If it is the latter, then it is the problem of alcoholism rather than gambling because alcohol abusers have more than one way of ruing their lives (gambling is not their only option), and even here the issue is the abusive consumption of alcohol, not alcohol consumption in general. Those who see gambling as a social problem ignore the fact that gambling may—and in many cases it does—lead to positive social outcomes. This is generally the case in the Indian reservations in the U. S. As Momper points out, an IGRA passage which aimed at encouraging gambling on reservations for the purpose of raising the standards of living on the poorest reservations â€Å"was the only federal policy that produced lasting effects for tribes, inasmuch as the unemployment rate (38 percent) on 214 reservations with casinos decreased by 13 percent from 1989 to 1995. Even if one takes into account the increase in the number of problem gamblers, other social and economic gains from casinos on reservations greatly outweighed the negative consequences of this business. In addition to creating jobs, casinos on reservations provided the American Indian community with various social services and strengthened their social bonds (Momper 142; Cornell et al. , 1998). While it is true that gambling addiction as increased among American Indian residents as a result of building casinos, in many instances improvements in standards of living took many of them out of poverty, decreasing the rate of behavioral problems and anti-social activities. ?In summary, both proponents of gambling-is-a-social-problem thesis and their opponents have strong arguments at hand. The debate is likely to continue without being resolved as it is a controversial topic and gambling among the U. S. population leads to mixed results: both positive and negative.

English :: essays research papers fc

For years, Division I athletes have been pouring their hearts out day after day, week after week, to protect the pride and tradition of their universities. With television contracts and shoe deals alone, the athletes are really bringing in the money and other forms of revenue. Sure, you can say that the typical athletes scholarship is enough to compensate, but are they? A true athlete plays the game simply because he loves it. When you’re at the Division I level of sports, it is more or less a business and it is their job to make money for the school. Also, these athletes give up many freedoms. For a given number of hours per week, they give their blood, sweat, and tears just to play a sixty-minute game or run two times around a track. Take these factors and combine it with the athlete’s academic responsibilities, and it’s a lot to account for. When all is said and done, how much money does the athlete see? Well, aside from scholarships†¦zero. I mentioned earlier that intercollegiate athletics is more or less a business in itself. Let me break it down for you. A business has different departments; the owner, the management, and your employees at the bottom rung making everything run smoothly. The owners of course have provided the money for the company, the managers run the company, and the laborers perform the work. I’ve never heard of a business that doesn’t pay its employees. And of course no one would work for them if such a thing did exist. Most people think that an athlete should just be thankful for the education he receives in exchange for a few hours of practice. But an enormous amount of cash is being circulated within that school, at the athlete’s expense, which that athlete will never lay eyes on. Author and sports writer Steven Wulf says, â€Å"They are required to put in long hours of hard work for next to nothing, in hostile conditions, always under intense scrutiny of their bosses†. (Wulf) Of course this is a controversial topic, and there are obviously two sides to this argument: a side for and a side against the argument. â€Å"It is true that student-athletes aren’t your typical college students. They are unable to deposit that measly check most us work toward outside academic duties. Time and physical constraints do not allow these individuals living in a fish bowl to actively pursue a part-time job.

A Precise Thought on Hunger by Charles Dickens Essay

Great Expectations was published in 1861 when the flowering of the Victorian Age had been at its height. During this period England was afflicted by many problems emanating from the changes in feudal economy that failed to withstand the invasion of growing industries, explosion of population ,emergence of slums, unbridled exploitation and the simmering discontent. The theme involves an unhappy childhood, guilt and imprisonment, ruthlessness of law, the corrupting power of money, and above all, human loneliness. These themes are worked out by means of contrasts and confrontations –the instinctive sense of justice versus the legal system; the outcast versus society; willed isolation against human commitment, inherited fortunes versus personal achievement. In one sense, it would be proper to call the novel a â€Å"snob’s progress† towards self-realisation. On reading the great novel â€Å"Great Expectations† I felt too sympathetic & pity for a little boy called â€Å"pip† by Charles Dickens. He,from his early childhood had to face and undergone through many circumstances and situations which as if made him stand strong later in his days. The opening description of the death of his brother and sister; To five little stone lozenges,each about a foot and had never taken them out in this state of existence. Gave us a vivid picture of Dickens close observation on the most vital utterance of life that is â€Å"food† and â€Å"death†. One can understand easily that it was Dickens extreme irritation that made him jot about the prior â€Å"call† of nature that was â€Å"sufferings†. According to Dickens food and human are correlated to eachother. Food/Hunger stands as an identity that makes us work hard so that the minimum bread of ours can be earned. It led us to the hard and harder aspects of life where while going through we come across the utter darkness that is the universal â€Å"truth and reality of mankind†. Then again the just word â€Å"hunger† teaches us to explore new ideas & makes us discover things which are buried in the oldest â€Å"urn lying beneath the earth†. The preconceived dogmas of life calls â€Å"hunger† as an object that just gave pain & screwed the deeper realism of the world’s â€Å"sob and wail†. It was Dickens who enhanced and inspired us to think on a word ‘hunger’ that is perhaps the most alarming agenda of life. I think it was â€Å"he† who only fingered us the point of utter grief that actually provided us with relief and became universal. Dickens projected the term â€Å"hunger† as the reality of humans and psychological civilisation that generally produced an energy /stimulus to work for the betterment of oneself that equally helped the others. According to me â€Å"hunger† produced a â€Å"juice ‘that provided us with strengths and topped ourself. Yes it gave pain but it also made us complete. One got an opportunity to move on and face things as it is. The portion where we came across the lines ; My thoughts strayed from that question as I looked disconsolately at the fire rose before me in the avenging coals. Also taught us the truth and the pain that directly came out from the expression of a little boy who has just came to this world not too early. He added the word â€Å"food† into a column that showed us that for him â€Å"food† is a material that is too hard to earn. As he is just a little one and have not come across the harsh reality of life ,don’t you think that he has unknowingly fallen into the so called â€Å"cradle† of ill desires. Was he not being drived into the bitter beliefs? His age was too little to be termed as a â€Å"sufferer†. Last but not the least I would like to conclude that very beautifully Dickens compared the two terms â€Å"Suffer† & â€Å"Hunger† together. As one(hunger) stands for an epistemology of knowledge ,desire,lust and longing and the other( suffer) stood for the ultimate thet can never be avoided nor ignored but has to be faced,as we the â€Å"mere human beings are a framed puppet in the hands of them,†The Almighty†. Thank you.

Feminist Approach to Witchcraft; Case Study: Miller’s the Crucible

Title: Re(dis)covering the Witches in Arthur Miller's The Crucible: A Feminist Reading Author(s): Wendy Schissel Publication Details: Modern Drama 37. 3 (Fall 1994): p461-473. Source: Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale. From Literature Resource Center. Document Type: Critical essay Bookmark: Bookmark this Document Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage LearningTitle Re(dis)covering the Witches in Arthur Miller's The Crucible: A Feminist Reading [(essay date fall 1994) In the following essay, Schissel offers a feminist reading of The Crucible, in an effort to deconstruct â€Å"the phallologocentric sanctions implicit in Miller's account of Abigail's fate, Elizabeth's confession, and John's temptation and death. ] Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a disturbing work, not only because of the obvious moral dilemma that is irresolutely solved by John Proctor's death, but also because of the treatment that Abigail and Elizabeth receive at Miller's hands and at the hands of critics. In forty years of criticism very little has been said about the ways in which The Crucible reinforces stereotypes of femme fatales and cold and unforgiving wives in order to assert apparently universal virtues. It is a morality play based upon a questionable androcentric morality.Like Proctor, The Crucible â€Å"[roars] down† Elizabeth, making her concede a fault which is not hers but of Miller's making: â€Å"It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery,†1 she admits in her final meeting with her husband. Critics have seen John as a â€Å"tragically heroic common man,†2 humanly tempted, â€Å"a just man in a universe gone mad,†3 but they have never given Elizabeth similar consideration, nor have they deconstructed the phallologocentric sanctions implicit in Miller's account of Abigail's fate, Elizabeth's confession, and John's temptation and death.As a feminist reader of the 1990s, I am troubled by the unrecognized fallout from the existential humanism that Mille r and his critics have held dear. The Crucible is in need of an/Other reading, one that reveals the assumptions of the text, the author, and the reader/critic who â€Å"is part of the shared consciousness created by the [play]. â€Å"4 It is time to reveal the vicarious enjoyment that Miller and his critics have found in a cathartic male character who has enacted their exual and political fantasies. The setting of The Crucible is a favoured starting point in an analysis of the play. Puritan New England of 1692 may indeed have had its parallels to McCarthy's America of 1952,5 but there is more to the paranoia than xenophobia–of Natives and Communists, respectively. Implicit in Puritan theology, in Miller's version of the Salem witch trials, and all too frequent in the society which has produced Miller's critics is gynecophobia–fear and distrust of women.The â€Å"half dozen heavy books† (36) which the zealous Reverend Hale endows on Salem â€Å"like a bridegro om to his beloved, bearing gifts† (132) are books on witchcraft from which he has acquired an â€Å"armory of symptoms, catchwords, and diagnostic procedures† (36). A 1948 edition of the 1486 Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches), with a foreword by Montague Summers, may have prompted Miller's inclusion of seventeenth-century and Protestant elucidations upon a work originally sanctioned by the Roman Church. Hale's books would be â€Å"highly misogynic† tomes, for like the Malleus they would be premised on the belief that â€Å"‘All witchcraft comes from carnal lust which in women is insatiable. ‘†7 The authors of the Maleus, two Dominican monks, Johan Sprenger and Heinrich Kraemer, were writing yet another fear-filled version of the apocryphal bad woman: they looked to Ecclesiasties which declares the wickedness of a woman is all evil †¦ there is no anger above the anger of a woman. It will be more agreeable to abide with a lion and a dr agon, than to dwell with a wicked woman †¦ rom the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die. (25:17, 23, 33) The Crucible is evidence that Miller partakes of similar fears about wicked, angry, or wise women; even if his complicity in such gynecophobia is unwitting–and that is the most generous thing we can accord him, a â€Å"misrecognition† of himself and his reputation-conscious hero John as the authors of a subjectivity8 which belongs exclusively to men–the result for generations of readers has been the same.In Salem, the majority of witches condemned to die were women. Even so, Salem's numbers were negligible9 compared with the gynocide in Europe: Andrea Dworkin quotes a moderate estimate of nine million witches executed at a ratio of women to men of as much as 100 to 1. 10 Miller assures us in one of his editorial and political (and long and didactic) comments, that despite the Puritans' belief in witchcraft, â€Å"there were no witchesà ¢â‚¬  (35) in Salem; his play, however, belies his claim, and so do his critics.The Crucible is filled with witches, from the wise woman/healer Rebecca Nurse to the black woman Tituba, who initiates the girls into the dancing which has always been part of the communal celebrations of women healers/witches. 11 But the most obvious witch in Miller's invention upon Salem history is Abigail Williams. She is the consummate seductress; the witchcraft hysteria in the play originates in her carnal lust for Proctor. Miller describes Abigail as â€Å"a strikingly beautiful girl †¦ ith an endless capacity for dissembling† (8-9). In 1953, William Hawkins called Abigail â€Å"an evil child†;12 in 1967, critic Leonard Moss said she was a â€Å"malicious figure† and â€Å"unstable†;13 in 1987, June Schlueter and James Flanagan proclaimed her â€Å"a whore,†14 echoing Proctor's â€Å"How do you call Heaven! Whore! Whore! † (109); and in 1989, Bernard Dukore suggested that â€Å"if the ‘strikingly beautiful' Abigail's behaviour in the play is an indication, she may have been the one to take the initiative. 15 The critics forget what Abigail cannot: â€Å"John Proctor †¦ took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! † (24). They, like Miller, underplay so as not openly to condone the â€Å"natural† behaviour of a man tempted to adultery because of a young woman's beauty and precociousness, her proximity in a house where there is also an apparently frigid wife, and the repression of Puritan society and religion. Abigail is a delectable commodity in what Luce Irigaray has termed a â€Å"dominant scopic economy. 16 We are covertly invited to equate John's admirable rebellion at the end of the play–against the unconscionable demands of implicating others in a falsely acknowledged sin of serving that which is antithetical to community (the Puritans called that antithesis the devil)–with h is more self-serving rebellion against its sexual mores. The subtle equation allows Miller not only to project fault upon Abigail, but also to make what is really a cliched act of adultery on John's part much more interesting.Miller wants us to recognize, if not celebrate, the individual trials of his existential hero, a â€Å"spokesman for rational feeling and disinterested intelligence† in a play about â€Å"integrity and its obverse, compromise. â€Å"17 Mary Daly might describe the scholarly support that Miller has received for his fantasy-fulfilling hero as â€Å"The second element of the Sado-Ritual [of the witch-craze] †¦ [an] erasure of responsibility. â€Å"18 No critic has asked, though, how a seventeen-year-old girl, raised in the household of a Puritan minister, can have the knowledge of how to seduce a man. The only rationale offered scapegoats another woman, Tituba, complicating gynecophobia with xenophobia. ) The omission on Miller's and his critics' p arts implies that Abigail's sexual knowledge must be inherent in her gender. I see the condemnation of Abigail as an all too common example of blaming the victim. Mercy Lewis's reaction to John is another indictment of the sexual precociousness of the girls of Salem. Obviously knowledgeable of John and Abigail's affair, Mercy is both afraid of John and, Miller says, â€Å"strangely titillated† as she â€Å"sidles out† of the room (21).Mary Warren, too, knows: â€Å"Abby'll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor† (80), she says when he demands she tell what she knows about the â€Å"poppet† to the court. John is aghast: â€Å"She's told you! † (80). Rather than condemning John, all these incidents are included to emphasize the â€Å"vengeance of a little girl† (79), and, I would add, to convince the reader who is supposed to sympathize with John (or to feel titillation himself) that no girl is a â€Å"good girl,† free of sexual knowledge, that each is her mother Eve's daughter.The fact is, however, that Salem's young women, who have been preached at by a fire and brimstone preacher, Mr. Parris, are ashamed of their bodies. A gynocritical reading of Mary Warren's cramps after Sarah Good mumbles her displeasure at being turned away from the Proctor's door empty-handed is explainable as a â€Å"curse† of a more periodic nature: But what does she mumble? You must remember, Goody Proctor. Last Month–a Monday, I think–she walked away, and I thought my guts would burst for two days after. Do you remember it? 58) The â€Å"girls† are the inheritors of Eve's sin, and their bodies are their reminders. Though, like all young people, they find ways to rebel–just because adolescence did not exist in Puritan society does not mean that the hormones did not flow–they are seriously repressed. And the most insidious aspect of that repression, in a society in which girls are not considered wome n until they marry (as young as fourteen, or significantly, with the onset of menses), is the turning of the young women's frustrations upon members of their own gender.It is not so strange as Proctor suggests for â€Å"a Christian girl to hang old women! † (58), when one such Christian girl claims her position in society with understandable determination: â€Å"I'll not be ordered to bed no more, Mr. Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman, however single! † (60). Paradoxically, of course, the discord only serves to prove the assumptions of a parochial society about the jealousies of women, an important aspect of this play in which Miller makes each woman in John's life claim herself as his rightful spouse: Elizabeth assures him that â€Å"I will be your only wife, or no wife at all! (62); and Abigail makes her heart's desire plain with â€Å"I will make you such a wife when the world is white again! † (150). To realize her claim Abigail has sought the help of vood oo–Tituba's and the court's–to get rid of Elizabeth, but not without clear provocation on John's part. Miller misses an opportunity to make an important comment upon the real and perceived competitions for men forced upon women in a patriarchal society by subsuming the women's concerns within what he knows his audience will recognize as more admirable communal and idealistic concerns.The eternal triangle motif, while it serves many interests for Miller, is, ultimately, less important than the overwhelming nobility of John's Christ-like martyrdom; against that the women's complaints seem petty indeed, and an audience whose collective consciousness recognizes a dutifully repentent hero also sees the women in his life as less sympathetic. 19 For Abigail and Elizabeth also represent the extremes of female sexuality–sultriness and frigidity, respectively–which test a man's body, endanger his spirit, and threaten his â€Å"natural† dominance or needs.In order to make Abigail's seductive capability more believable and John's culpability less pronounced, Miller has deliberately raised Abigail's age (â€Å"A Note on the Historical Accuracy of This Play†) from twelve to seventeen. 20 He introduces us to John and Abigail in the first act with John's acknowledgement of her young age. Abby–the diminutive form of her name is not to be missed–is understandably annoyed: â€Å"How do you call me child! † (23). We already know about his having â€Å"clutched† her back behind his house and â€Å"sweated like a stallion† at her every approach (22).Despite Abigail's allegations, Miller achieves the curious effect of making her the apparent aggressor in this scene–as critical commentary proves. Miller's ploy, to blame a woman for the Fall of a good man, is a sleight of pen as old as the Old Testament. There is something too convenient in the fact that â€Å"legend has it that Abigail turned up late r as a prostitute in Boston† (â€Å"Echoes Down the Corridor†). Prostitution is not only the oldest profession, but it is also the oldest evidence for the law of supply and demand. Men demand sexual services of women they in turn regard as socially deviant.Miller's statement of Abigail's fate resounds with implicit forgiveness for the man who is unwittingly tempted by a fatal female, a conniving witch. Miller's treatment of Abigail in the second scene of Act Two, left out of the original reading version and most productions but included as an appendix in contemporary texts of the play, is also dishonest. Having promised Elizabeth as she is being taken away in chains that â€Å"I will fall like an ocean on that court! Fear nothing† (78)–at the end of the first scene of Act Two–John returns to Abigail, alone and at night.The scene is both anticlimactic and potentially damning of the hero. What may have begun as Miller's attempt to have the rational Jo hn reason with Abigail, even with the defense that Elizabeth has adjured him to talk to her (61)–although that is before Elizabeth is herself accused–ends in a discussion that is dangerous to John's position in the play. Miller wants us to believe, as Proctor does â€Å"seeing her madness† when she reveals her self-inflicted injuries, that Abigail is insane: â€Å"I'm holes all over from their damned needles and pins† (149).While Miller may have intended her madness to be a metaphor for her inherent evil–sociologists suggest that madness replaced witchcraft as a pathology to be treated not by burning or hanging but by physicians and incarceration in mental institutions21–he must have realized he ran the risk of making her more sympathetic than he intended. Miller is intent upon presenting John as a man haunted by guilt and aware of his own hypocrisy, and to make Abigail equally aware, even in a state of madness, is too risky.Her long speech about John's â€Å"goodness† cannot be tolerated because its irony is too costly to John. Why, you taught me goodness, therefore you are good. It were fire you walked me through, and all my ignorance was burned away. It were a fire, John, we lay in fire. And from that night no woman dare call me wicked any more but I knew my answer. I used to weep for my sins when the wind lifted up my skirts; and blushed for shame because some old Rebecca called me loose. And then you burned my ignorance away. As bare as some December ree I saw them all–walking like saints to church, running to feed the sick, and hypocrites in their hearts! And God gave me strength to call them liars, and God made men to listen to me, and by God I will scrub the world clean for the love of Him! (150)22 We must not forget, either, when we are considering critical commentary, that we are dealing with an art form which has a specular dimension. The many Abigails of the stage have no doubt contributed to the unacknowledged view of Abigail as siren/witch that so many critics have.In Jed Harris's original production in 1953, in Miller's own production of the same year (to which the later excised scene was first added), and in Laurence Olivier's 1965 production, Abigail was played by an actress in her twenties, not a young girl. The intent on each director's part had to have been to make Abigail's lust for John believable. Individual performers have consistently enacted the siren's role: The eyes of Madeleine Sherwood, who played Abigail in 1953, glowed with lust †¦ [but] Perhaps the most impressive Abigail has been that of Sarah Miles in 1965. A â€Å"plaguingly sexy mixture of beauty and crossness† †¦Miles â€Å"reeks with the cunning of suppressed evil and steams with the promise of suppressed passion. â€Å"23 Only the 1980 production of The Crucible by Bill Bryden employed girls who looked even younger than seventeen. Dukore suggests that Bryden's solution to th e fact that John's â€Å"seduction of a teenage girl half his age appears not to have impressed [critics] as a major fault† was â€Å"ingenious yet (now that he has done it) obvious. â€Å"24 Abigail is not the only witch in Miller's play, though; Elizabeth, too, is a hag. But it is Elizabeth who is most in need of feminist reader-redemption.If John is diminished as Christian hero by a feminist deconstruction, the diminution is necessary to a balanced reading of the play and to a revised mythopoeia of the paternalistic monotheism of the Puritans and its twentieth-century equivalent, the existential mysticism of Miller. John's sense of guilt is intended by Miller to act as salve to any emotional injuries given his wife and his own conscience. When his conscience cannot be calmed, when he quakes at doing what he knows must be done in revealing Abigail's deceit, it is upon Elizabeth that he turns his wrath: Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin'.Learn charity, woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart. I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house. (54-55) What we are meant to read as understandably defensive anger–that is if we read within the patriarchal framework in which the play is written–must be re-evaluated; such a reading must be done in the light of Elizabeth's logic–paradoxically, the only â€Å"cold† thing about her.She is right when she turns his anger back on him with â€Å"the magistrate sits in your heart that judges you† (55). She is also right on two other counts. First, John has â€Å"a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed† (61). The uninitiated and obviously self-punishing Abigail may be excused for thinking as she does (once again in the excised scene) that he is â€Å"singing secret hallelujahs that [his] wife will hang! † (152) Second, John does retain some tender feelings for Abigail despite his indignation.Elizabeth's question reverberates with insight: â€Å"if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not† (54). John has already admitted to Abigail–and to us–in the first act that â€Å"I may think of you softly from time to time† (23), and he does look at her with â€Å"the faintest suggestion of a knowing smile on his face† (21). And John's use of wintry images of Elizabeth and their home in Act Two–â€Å"It's winter in her yet† (51)–echoes the imagery used by Abigail in Act One. 25 John is to Abigail â€Å"no wintry man,† but one whose â€Å"heat† has drawn her to her window to see him looking up (23).She is the one who describes Elizabeth as â€Å"a cold, snivelling woman† (24), but it is Miller's favoured imagery for a stereotypically frigid wife who is no less a witch (in patriarchal lore) than a hot-blooded sperm-stealer like Abigail. Exacerbating all of this is the fact that John lies to Elizabeth about having been alone with Abigail in Parris's house; Miller would have us believe that John lies to save Elizabeth pain, but I believe he lies out of a rationalizing habit that he carries forward to his death. Miller may want to be kind to Elizabeth, but he cannot manage that and John's heroism, too.Act Two opens with Elizabeth as hearth angel singing softly offstage to the children who are, significantly, never seen in the play, and bringing John his supper–stewed rabbit which, she says, â€Å"it hurt my heart to strip† (50). But in the space of four pages Miller upbraids her six times. First, John â€Å"is not quite pleased† (49) with the taste of Elizabeth's stew, and before she appears on stage he adds salt to it. Second, th ere is a â€Å"certain disappointment† (50) for John in the way Elizabeth receives his kiss. Third, John's request for â€Å"Cider? made â€Å"as gently as he can† (51) leaves Elizabeth â€Å"reprimanding herself for having forgot† (51). Fourth, John reminds Elizabeth of the cold atmosphere in their house: â€Å"You ought to bring flowers in the house †¦ It's winter in here yet† (51). Fifth, John perceives Elizabeth's melancholy as something perennial: â€Å"I think you're sad again† (51, emphasis added). And sixth, and in a more overtly condemning mood, John berates Elizabeth when he discovers that she has allowed Mary Warren to go to Salem to testify: â€Å"It is a fault, it is a fault, Elizabeth–you're the mistress here† (52).Cumulatively, these criticisms work to arouse sympathy for a man who would season his meal, his home, and his amour, a man who is meant to appeal to us because of his sensual awareness of spring's erotic promise: â€Å"It's warm as blood beneath the clods† (50), and â€Å"I never see such a load of flowers on the earth. †¦ Lilacs have a purple smell. Lilac is the smell of nightfall† (51). We, too, are seasoned to believe that John really does â€Å"[aim] to please† Elizabeth, and that Elizabeth is relentless in her admonishing of John for his affair, of which she is knowledgeable.It is for John that we are to feel sympathy when he says, â€Å"Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband more† (54). Miller has informed us of several ways in which Elizabeth could improve herself. Neil Carson claims that â€Å"Miller intends the audience to view Proctor ironically† in this scene; Proctor, he says, is â€Å"a man who is rationalising in order to avoid facing himself,† and at the beginning of Act Two â€Å"Proctor is as guilty as any of projecting his own faults onto others. 26 While I find much in Carson's enti re chapter on The Crucible as sensitive a criticism of the play as any written, I am still uncomfortable about the fact that a â€Å"tragic victory† for the protagonist27 necessarily means an admission of guilt for his wife–once again, it seems to me, a victim is being blamed. No critic, not even Carson, questions Miller's insistence that Elizabeth is at least partly to blame for John's infidelity. Her fate is sealed in the lie she tells for love of her husband because she proves him a liar: â€Å"as in All My Sons,† says critic Leonard Moss, â€Å"a woman inadvertently betrays her husband. 28 John has told several lies throughout the play, but it is Elizabeth's lie that the critics (and Miller) settle upon, for once again the lie fits the stereotype–woman as liar, woman as schemer, woman as witch sealing the fate of man the would-be hero. But looked at another way, Elizabeth is not a liar. The question put to her by Judge Danforth is â€Å"Is [present tense] your husband a lecher! † (113). Elizabeth can in good conscience respond in the negative for she knows the affair to be over. She has no desire to condemn the man who has betrayed her, for she believes John to be nothing but a â€Å"good man †¦ nly somewhat bewildered† (55). Once again, though, her comment condemns her because an audience hears (and Miller perhaps intends) condescension on her part. The patriarchal reading is invited by John's ironic response: â€Å"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! † (55). What seems to be happening is that Goody Proctor is turned into a goody two-shoes, a voice of morality. Why we should expect anything else of Elizabeth, raised within a Puritan society and a living example of its valued â€Å"good woman,† escapes me.I find it amazing that the same rules made but not obeyed by â€Å"good† men can be used to condemn the women who do adhere to them. The other thing which Miller and the criti cs seem unwilling to acknowledge is the hurt that Elizabeth feels over John's betrayal; instead, her anger, elicited not specifically about the affair but about the incident with the poppet, following hard upon the knowledge of Giles Corey's wife having been taken, is evidence that she is no good woman. Her language condemns her: â€Å"[Abigail] is murder! She must be ripped out of the world! † (76).Anger in woman, a danger of which Ecclesiastes warns, has been cause for locking her up for centuries. After Elizabeth's incarceration, and without her persistent logic, Miller is able to focus on John and his sense of failure. But Elizabeth's last words as she is taken from her home are about the children: â€Å"When the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft–it will frighten them. She cannot go on. †¦ Tell the children I have gone to visit someone sick† (77-78). I find it strange that John's similar concerns when he has torn up the confession– "I have three children–how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my riends? † (143)–should be valued above Elizabeth's. Is it because the children are boys? Is it because Elizabeth is expected to react in the maternal fashion that she does, but for John to respond thus is a sign of sensitive masculinity? Is it because the communal as defined by the Word is threatened by the integrity of women? And why is maintaining a name more important than living? At least alive he might attend to his children's daily needs–after all, we are told about the sad situation of the â€Å"orphans walking from house to house† (130). 9 It would be foolish to argue that John does not suffer–that, after all, is the point of the play. But what of Elizabeth's suffering? She is about to lose her husband, her children are without parents, she is sure to be condemned to death as well. Miller must, once again, diminish the threat that Elizabeth offers to John's martyrdom, for he has created a woman who does not lie, who her husband believes would not give the court the admission of guilt â€Å"if tongs of fire were singeing† her (138).Miller's play about the life and death struggle for a man's soul, cannot be threatened by a woman's struggle. In order to control his character, Miller impregnates her. The court will not sentence an unborn child, so Elizabeth does not have to make a choice. Were she to choose to die without wavering in her decision, as both John and Miller think she would, she would be a threat to the outcome of the play and the sympathy which is supposed to accrue to John.Were she to make the decision to live, for the reasons which Reverend Hale stresses, that â€Å"Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it† (132), she would undermine existential integrity with compromise. I am not reading another version of The Crucible, one which Mi ller did not intend, but rather looking at the assumptions inherent in his intentions, assumptions that Miller seems oblivious to and which his critics to date have questioned far too little.I, too, can read the play as a psychological and ethical contest which no one wins, and of which it can be said that both John and Elizabeth are expressions of men and women with all their failings and nobility, but I am troubled by the fact that Elizabeth is seldom granted even that much, that so much is made of Elizabeth's complicity in John's adultery, and that the victim of John's â€Å"virility,†30 Abigail, is blamed because she is evil and/or mad. I do want to question the gender stereotypes in the play nd in the criticism that has been written about it. Let me indulge finally for a moment in another kind of criticism, one that is a fiction, or more precisely, a â€Å"crypto-friction† that defies â€Å"stratifications of canonical thought† and transgresses generic boun daries of drama/fiction and criticism. 31 Like Virginia Woolf I would like to speculate on a play written by a fictional sister to a famous playwright. Let us call Arthur Miller's wide-eyed younger sister, who believes she can counter a scopic economy by stepping beyond the mirror, Alice Miller.In Alice's play, Elizabeth and John suffer equally in a domestic problem which is exacerbated by the hysteria around them. John does not try to intimidate Elizabeth with his anger, and she is not described as cold or condescending. Abigail is a victim of an older man's lust and not inherently a â€Å"bad girl†; she is not beautiful or if she is the playwright does not make so much of it. Her calling out of witches would be explained by wiser critics as the result of her fear and her confusion, not her lust.There is no effort made in Alice's play to create a hero at the expense of the female characters, or a heroine at the expense of a male character. John is no villain, but–as a nother male victim/hero character, created by a woman, describes himself–â€Å"a trite, commonplace sinner,†32 trying to right a wrong he admits–without blaming others. Or, here is another version, written by another, more radical f(r)ictional sister, Mary Miller, a real hag. In it, all the witches celebrate the death of John Proctor.The idea comes from two sources: first, a question from a female student who wanted to know if part of Elizabeth's motivation in not pressing her husband to confess is her desire to pay him back for his betrayal; and second, from a response to Jean-Paul Sartre's ending for the film Les Sorcieres de Salem. In his 1957 version of John Proctor's story, Sartre identifies Elizabeth â€Å"with the God of prohibiting sex and the God of judgment,† but he has her save Abigail, who tries to break John out of jail and is in danger of being hanged as a traitor too, because Elizabeth realizes â€Å"‘she loved [John]. † As the film ends, â€Å"Abigail stands shocked in a new understanding. â€Å"33 In Mary Miller's version Elizabeth is not identified with the male God of the Word, but with the goddesses of old forced into hiding or hanged because of a renaissance of patriarchal ideology. Mary's witches come together, alleged seductress and cold wife alike, not for love of a man who does not deserve either, but to celebrate life and their victory over male character, playwright, and critics, â€Å"‘men in power' †¦ ho create and identify with the roles of both the victimizers and the victims,† men who Mary Miller would suggest â€Å"vicariously enjoyed the women's suffering. â€Å"34 Notes 1. Arthur Miller, The Crucible (New York, 1981), 137. The play was originally published in 1953, but all further references to The Crucible are to the 1981 Penguin edition, and will be noted parenthetically in the text. 2. June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan, Arthur Miller (New York, 1987), 68. 3. Neil Carson, Arthur Miller (New York, 1982), 61. 4. Sandra Kemp, â€Å"‘But how describe a world seen without self? Feminism, fiction and modernism,† Critical Quarterly 32:1 (1990), 99-118: 104. 5. Miller's interest in the Salem witchcraft trials predated his confrontation with McCarthyism (see E. Miller Budick, â€Å"History and Other Spectres in The Crucible,† Arthur Miller, ed. Harold Bloom (New York, 1987), 127-28, but it is also clear from the Introduction to Miller's Collected Plays Vol 1 (New York, 1957) that he capitalized upon popular response and critical commentary which linked the two. Miller has been, it seems, a favoured critic on the subject of Arthur Miller. 6. In 1929 George L.Kittredge published a work called Witchcraft in Old and New England (Cambridge) in which he remarked that â€Å"the doctrines of our forefathers differed [in regard to witchcraft] from the doctrines of the Roman and Anglican Church in no essential–one may safely ad d, in no particular† (21). In GynEcology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism (Boston, 1978), Mary Daly says that during the European witch burnings–she does not deal with the Salem witch trials–Protestants â€Å"vied with and even may have surpassed their catholic counterparts in their fanaticism and cruelty† (185-86). . Cited by Peter Conrad and Joseph W. Schneider, Deviance and Medicalization: From Badness to Sickness, expanded edition (Philadelphia, 1992), 42. 8. Chris Weedon, Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory (Oxford, 1987), 30-31. 9. â€Å"[N]ineteen women and men and two dogs were hanged, one man was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and 150 were imprisoned† (see Schlueter and Flanagan, 72). 10. â€Å"Remembering the Witches,† Our Blood: Prophecies and Discourses on Sexual Politics (London, 1982), 16-17.See also the 1990 National Film Board production, The Burning Times, directed by Donna Read, which declares the Euro pean executions for witchcraft to have been a â€Å"women's holocaust. † Of the nine million people the film numbers among the burned, hanged, or otherwise disposed of, 85 per cent, it reports, were women. 11. The Burning Times discusses at length the place of women healers in Third-World cultures. 12. From Hawkins's review of the play in File on Miller, ed. Christopher Bigsby (London, 1988), 30. 3. Leonard Moss, Arthur Miller (New York, 1967), 60, 63. 14. Schlueter and Flanagan, 69. 15. Bernard Dukore, â€Å"Death of a Salesman† and â€Å"The Crucible†: Text and Performance (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London, 1989), 50. 16. Luce Irigaray, â€Å"This Sex Which Is Not One,† New French Feminisms: An Anthology, ed. Elaine Marks and Isabelle de Courtivron (Amherst, 1980), 101. 17. The only critic I have read who has made comments even remotely similar to my own regarding Abigail is Neil Carson.In a 1982 book he remarks that â€Å"Abigail is portr ayed as such an obviously bad piece of goods that it takes a clear-eyed French critic to point out that Proctor was not only twice the age of the girl he seduced, but as her employer he was breaking a double trust† (75). Despite his insight, when it comes to explaining the effect of Miller's omission of detail regarding the early stages of the affair, he does not, I think, realize its full implications.He says that â€Å"Proctor's sense of guilt [seems] a little forced and perhaps not really justified,† but I think the choice was deliberately made so as to minimize John's guilt and emphasize his redemption as an existential man. Conversely, Abigail is more easily targeted (as the critics prove) for her active role in her seduction. 18. Daly, 187. 19. Carol Billman (â€Å"Women and the Family in American Drama,† Arizona Quarterly 36: 1 [1980], 35-48) discusses the study of â€Å"everyman† made in the family dramas of O'Neill, Williams, Albee, and Miller (al though she does not mention The Crucible): â€Å"women ecessarily occupy a central position, [but] little attention is paid to their subordination or suffering. †¦ Linda Loman [and I would add Elizabeth Proctor] †¦ suffers at least as much as her husband† (36-7). Victoria Sullivan and James Hatch, as well, have complained about the standards of review: â€Å"‘a complaining female protagonist is automatically less noble than Stanley Kowalski or Willy Loman †¦ [only] men suffer greatly'† (quoted in Billman, 37, emphasis added). 20. Carson, 66.In a play that is historically accurate in so many ways, it is significant to note that the affair between John and Abigail was invented by Miller (Dukore, 43). 21. Conrad and Schneider, 43. 22. I think that whether or not one sees the irony as intentional on Abby's part, she becomes more sympathetic. If intentional we can agree with her realization that John's hypocrisy was least when he was seducing her; he is a commonplace lecher. If Abigail is not cognizant of the extent of the irony of what she is saying, then she truly is too young–or too emotionally disturbed–to understand the implications of what she is doing.Carson again comes close to making a very astute judgment about Abigail's awareness of events going on around her: â€Å"It seems clear that we are to attribute at least a little of Abby's ‘wildness' and sensuality to her relationship with John, and to assume that the ‘knowledge' which Proctor put in Abigail's heart is not simply carnal, but also includes some awareness of the hypocrisy of some of the Christian women and covenanted men of the community† (68). Carson's insight, however, is limited by his belief in the â€Å"‘radical' side of Proctor's nature,† something with which modern audiences are sure to identify.The problem here is that the focus is once more removed from Abigail's plight to her vicarious participation in one more of John Proctor's admirable traits, for his â€Å"is not a simple personality like that of Rebecca Nurse† (68). 23. Dukore, 102. 24. Ibid. , 95. 25. One critic, who celebrates John's â€Å"playfulness† and who does not want his description of John as a liar to be taken in a pejorative sense, suggests that John and Abigail share a kindred spirit: â€Å"The physical attractiveness of Abby for John Proctor is obvious in the play, ut, I think, so is the passionate imagination which finds its outlet in one way in her and in another in Proctor† (William T. Liston, â€Å"John Proctor's Playing in The Crucible,† Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought 20:4 (1979), 394-403: 403). John is a liar–that is part of his guilt–and to suggest that Abigail offers John something that Elizabeth does not condemns Elizabeth and exonerates John even more than Miller intends. 26. Carson, 69-70. 27. Ibid. , 75. 28. Leonard Moss, Arthur Miller, revi sed edition (Boston, 1980), 40, emphasis added. 29.I think it significant that the orphans are but one of the wasted possessions unattended to in Salem. The next part of the same sentence mentions abandoned cattle bellowing and rotted crops stinking. Miller has described a material and contemporary world. 30. Richard Hayes, â€Å"Hysteria and Ideology in The Crucible,† Twentieth Century Interpretations of â€Å"The Crucible,† ed. John H. Ferres (Englewood Cliffs, 1972), 34. I find it interesting and instructive that a 1953 review of the play uses the term to describe Arthur Kennedy's portrayal of John Proctor. 31. Aritha Van Herk, In Visible Ink (crypto-frictions) (Edmonton, 1991), 14. 2. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (Harmondsworth, 1984), 160. 33. Eric Mottram, â€Å"Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Sorcieres de Salem,† Twentieth Century Interpretations of â€Å"The Crucible,† 93, 94. 34. Daly, 215. Source Citation Schissel, Wendy. â€Å"Re(dis)covering the Witche s in Arthur Miller's The Crucible: A Feminist Reading. † Modern Drama 37. 3 (Fall 1994): 461-473. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 July 2011. Document URL http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? &id=GALE%7CH1420082425&v=2. 1&u=uq_stpatricks&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Gale Document Number: GALE|H1420082425

Customer satisfaction and willingness to switch Essays

Customer satisfaction and willingness to switch Essays Customer satisfaction and willingness to switch Essay Customer satisfaction and willingness to switch Essay Customer Satisfaction was recognized as major outcome of marketing activity which helps in explaining post purchase phenomenon such as repeat purchase and brand loyalty. Oliver (1999) defined Customer Satisfaction as the consumer s sense that consumption provides outcomes against a standard of pleasure versus displeasure. Eshghi, Roy and Ganguli (2008) suggested that relational quality, competitiveness, reliability, reputation and transmission quality are significant predictors of customer satisfaction. Aydin and Ozer(2005) defined it as customers overall (dis)satisfaction with the brand based on all encounters and experiences with that particular brand. Hence, in the study overall customer satisfaction with the service provider was evaluated instead of consumers specific transaction experiences. They also suggested that increased customer satisfaction, increased trust in the firm and switching costs are essential for customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is a relationship between relative attitude towards on entity and repeat patronage behavior (Dick and Basu, 1994. Oliver (1999) suggested that customer satisfaction and Customer Loyalty are linked inextricably. Harris and Goode (2004) suggested the satisfactions mediating role in the relation between perceived quality or value and loyalty. Anti n, Camarero, and Carrero (2007) have confirmed that the mediating effect of customer satisfaction between the predisposing (poor service quality and low firm commitment) and precipitating factors (price unfairness and anger incidents) of dissolution and the consumers switching intention. Also, Spiros P. Gounaris, Nektarios A. Tzempelikos, Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou (2007) explained how customer percieved value influences, through customer satisfaction and loyalty, the buying behaviour of consumers. In our study, the term perceived price is to mean the degree of reasonability which a customer associates a given price fixed for the usage of the mobile service, value- added services charges and the monthly rental charges. This is mainly a perception factor in the consumer mind. We test for the influence of this factor, the perceived price on the construct of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction in turn encompasses the comprehensive view of the mobile service provider in the customer`s mind. While customer satisfaction is contingent on several factors, herein we explore the effect of the perceived price on the same. There has been a body of research carried out in the past, in various sectors, on the influence of this factor on the overall customer satisfaction levels. Carmen Anti n, Carmen Camarero, and Mirtha Carrero (2007) found evidence in the insurance industry that unfair pricing is a determinant to customer satisfaction. In fact, they have concluded that unfair pricing strongly impacts switching, in a direct and indirect manner via customer satisfaction. Chada and Deepa Kapoor (2009) have stated that Customer satisfaction in turn affects the price senility of a customer. Evangelia Blery, Nick Batistatos et al (2008) conclude that the perceived price is negatively affects a repeat purchase of a customer in a negative manner. Makam S Balaji (2009) examined the effects ofvarious factors, including perceived price on customer satisfaction in the Indian mobile telephony sphere and found it to be strongly associated. The findings of Muhammad Mohsin Butt and Ernest Cyril de Run(2008) show that the satisfaction levels of Pakistani mobile telephone service users satisfaction is dependent on price, among several other factors. Ristola and M. Kesti(2006) conceptualized that the service quality depends upon the above mentioned factors. The physical factors involves the physical product and supports, interactive quality refers to the interaction between the customer and the service provider, and the corporate quality is symbolic in nature and involves the perception about the company in the minds of the customers and its brand image. Service quality is defined as a global assessment that is the customers overall impression of the relative inferiority/superiority of the service provider and its services. Further, Rusk and Zahorik supported the expectation-perception gap for measuring service quality. The main antecedents to perceived service quality are the customer expectation and perceived performance (Bitner and Hubert). Further, Richard Spreng, Linda Shi,Thomas Page suggested that net Customer Satisfaction has a marginally higher impact on switching intention than total perceived service quality. Also, A. Taylor,Thomas L. Baker(1994) concluded that Consumer satisfaction moderates the relationship between the quality of service and intention to switch. Zhilin Yang, Robin T. Peterson (2004) found that switching costs moderate the relationship between satisfaction and perceived value. Next, Hsin-Hui (Sunny) Hu, Jay Kandampully and Thanika Devi Juwaheer(2009) examined the association and impact of customer satisfaction and perceived value and found that customer satisfaction is affected by perceived service quality. Das, Bhagaban Mohanty, Sangeeta(2007) carried out a study in the Indian context and found that better perceived service quality leads to increased customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction results from the comparison of expected performance with that of the perceived actual performance (Churchill, Suprenant, 1982). Parasuram et al also suggested that service quality is positively related to the customer satisfaction levels and that service quality perceptions are dependent not only on the outcomes but also on the evaluation of the service delivery process by the customers. Venetis and Ghauri (2000) viewed that the service quality is regarded as one of the few means for service differentiation and competitive advantage that attracts new customers and contributes to the market share. Further, Rakshit Negi (2009) concludes that the service quality was found to be significantly linked with the overall cellular phone user satisfaction. Also, Birgit Leisen(2006) suggests, as perceived levels of satisfaction increase, the less likely the customer is going to switch to a more conveniently located competitor and, hence, the more loyal he or she remains. Further, T. Vanniarajan, P. Gurunathan (2009) concluded that the cellular operators need to engage in improving the quality of both the value added services and the main service quality to increase their customer satisfaction which would lead to a greater customer loyalty. Hence differentiation leads to customer satisfaction.

Animal Studies and School Project Ideas

Animal Studies and School Project Ideas Animal projects and studies are important to understanding various biological processes in animals and even humans. Scientists study animals in order to learn ways to improve animal health for farm production, wildlife preservation, and human companionship. They also study animals to discover new methods to improve human health. Animal studies give us a better understanding of disease development and prevention, as well as standards for normal and abnormal behavior. The following animal project ideas introduce areas of animal studies that can be explored through experimentation. Since some science fairs may prohibit projects that involve animals, so be sure to get permission from your instructor before beginning any animal-based science project. Amphibian and Fish Project Ideas Does temperature affect tadpole growth?Do water pH levels affect tadpole growth?Does water temperature affect amphibian respiration?Does magnetism affect limb regeneration in newts?Does water temperature affect fish color?Does the size of a population of fish affect growth?Does music affect fish activity?Does the amount of light affect fish activity? Bird Project Ideas Which types of plants attract hummingbirds?What factors increase egg-laying in birds?Do different bird species prefer a particular color of bird seed?Do certain bird species prefer to eat in a group or alone?Do certain bird species prefer one type of habitat over another? Insect Project Ideas How does temperature affect the growth of butterflies? How does light affect ants?Do different colors attract or repel insects?How does pollution affect insects?How do insects adapt to pesticides?Do magnetic fields affect insects?Does soil acidity affect insects?Does color affect insect-eating habits?Does light or heat attract insects to lamps at night?Do insects behave differently in a larger population as opposed to a smaller population?What factors cause crickets to chirp more often?What substances do mosquitoes find attractive or repellent? Mammal Project Ideas Does light variation alter animal sleep habits?Do cats or dogs have better night vision?Does music affect an animals mood?Do bird sounds affect cat behavior?Which animal sense has the greatest effect on short-term memory?Does animal saliva have antimicrobial properties?Does colored water affect animal drinking habits? Animal Information and Resources For additional information about animals, see: 10 Fascinating Animal Facts: Discover several wondrous and fascinating facts about animalsTen Amazing Bioluminescent Organisms: Some organisms such as jellyfish have the ability to glow. The light emitted is due to a chemical reactionWhy Some Animals Play Dead: When faced with danger, some animals go into a catatonic state and appear to be dead to the world.Top 7 Bugs That Feed on Humans: There are a number of bugs that feed on humans. These bugs are resilient, gaining immunity to insecticides, and out for your blood.Common Animal Questions and Answers: Why do zebras have stripes? Why do some tigers have white coats? Find answers to these and other commonly asked questions about animals.The Worlds Fastest Animals: What are the fastest animals on the planet? These swift animals reach amazing speeds on land, in the air, and in the ocean. Science Experiments and Models Performing science experiments and constructing models are fun and exciting ways to learn about science. Try making a model of the lungs or a DNA model using candy. You can also discover how to extract DNA from a banana or get ideas on how to use plants in experiments.

Macro paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro paper - Essay Example I chose the chapter about economic growth (chapter 16) because I believe that it would be most useful to use that topic at this time since the global economy has been experiencing a downturn in the past months. In chapter 16, the different indicators of growth are discussed as well as different ways to illustrate growth. I find these aspects interesting since there are, indeed, a lot of ways to show economic growth. For example, the use of a Production Possibility curve to measure growth is a common tool. This chapter says that in order for growth to occur, the curve should execute an outward shift. But I think it cannot be applied to all countries. Maybe it is applicable to developed countries because it is easy for them to shift to a higher Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF). In developing countries, however, economic growth means moving from inside the PPF to reach the point along the PPF (Crafts 139). Also, growth will not always occur just as long as the PPF curve shifts ou tward. According to the Solow Growth model, growth will start to slow down as the economy approaches its steady state level (Crafts 140). Just like in microeconomics where there is the law of diminishing marginal utility. Although Solow did not mention about a diminishing economic growth, the steady state level of an economy is like the satiation point wherein growth will slow down. Also, this topic brought the study of macroeconomics to a new level since it does not only talk about the usual AS-AD curves in macroeconomics but it also tackles the "society" part of economics. Yes, it discusses about the Aggregate demand and supply and the Production Possibility curve but it enables us to understand the global economy in a broader perspective. "The Battle of Ideas": A Macroeconomic Perspective In the first episode of Commanding Heights, The Battle of Ideas, the contrasts between Keynesian economics and Austrian economics are very noticeable. From Lenin's revolution against the global economy to Von Mises' free market. During the World War I, Lenin was against the free market and even said that globalization exploits men. Communism took over Russia. The state had implemented heavy public intervention. When John Stalin came, the idea of central planning was introduced. The government had so much power over wages and prices. This was the main idea of Keynesian economy. Public intervention is needed in order for an economy to develop or attain growth. On the other hand, there's this Austrian economics that constitutes the laissez faire approach to the economy - that free market is essential to attain a good economy. But what is really appropriate in order for an economy to grow Is it the Keynesian or Austrian In the world today that globalization is so prevalent, is it really beneficial for a country to apply the Keynesian thought of heavy public intervention Well, lessons from the past may have the answers to that. In the Battle of Ideas, when Lenin decided to impose heavy public intervention, the Soviet Union did not really prosper at all. Although communism was rampant in their time, having the government

The Rationality of the American Voter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Rationality of the American Voter - Essay Example Can charisma alone be enough to win an election when faced with a public that is generally ignorant of the political process and the important issues at stake By improving the education of the voter, we can elevate the level of leadership in politics. In the absence of information, a candidate's charm, likeability, and charisma all contribute to an image that the voter seizes upon to make their electoral decision. A candidate's ability to project an image of almost super-human proportions resonates well with a public that is caught in times of crisis. Wars, a bad economy, depreciating social structures, and cultural turmoil all play into the hand of the charismatic leader as voters look for relief from their hardships and despair (Bass & Riggio, 2006, p.64). During these periods of political upheaval, voters are less interested in the issues and more interested in salvation from the looming dire situation. Candidates will take this opportunity to exploit the current situation or negatively characterize the opponent's alternatives. The 1992 election saw a charismatic Bill Clinton defeat the incumbent George Bush. Bush was characterized as a 'wimp' and Clinton was able to capitalize on his charming appeal with the slogan 'it's the economy stupid'. Had there been a booming economy, the American voter would have been more reluctant to change and would have been more likely to stay with the stabil ity of the sitting president (Alvarez & Nagler, 1998, p.1362). In addition, Clinton was able to portray the economy in bleaker terms than the voter understood. The slight economic downturn of 1992 was enough to create an opportunity for a charismatic candidate. The education of the voter, as portrayed by the candidate, was less important than the situation that they were caught up in. When voters are ignorant on the issues, under-informed, and generally politically naive about the electoral process, charisma can be an overriding factor. Media outlets that have a political agenda that they promote often influence voters, but offer limited information. Talk shows, pundits, radio talk show hosts, and pop culture all contribute to an air of confusion and irrationality for the average citizen. It is more likely the case that a voter loyal to a party will may make a decision based on who informed them rather than if they were informed. Therefore, the effect of charisma on the voter will be most heavily felt among the independents that will ultimately decide the election. According to Silva and Costa (2006), "rational ignorance is not to explain the behavior of the entire population of voters, but rather only that of swing voters" (p.39). Widely known figures will emphasize their accomplishments and record, but a relatively unknown challenger may have to rely on image an d charisma (Miller, 1990, p.530). Silva and Costa conclude that, "factors like the candidate's image and charisma may dominate a rigorous evaluation of his performance" (p.40). Often, uneducated voters cannot delineate between the truth and the fiction in political campaign ads. In today's climate of ideologues, characterizations, and partisanship, charisma can be a deciding factor in a close election. To rely on charisma alone to carry a candidate to victory is dependent upon a voting public, particularly the independent middle, which is