Frictions between Parents and Children Essay

Family is an essential part of every person’s life and of our society. Family is a little world with its own values and priorities. Close families share dreams, ideas, hopes and even possessions, and it’s a good side of being a family. However, as usual, every good thing can have its drawbacks. Same with families: they can often have different types of problems. One of the most frequent and common problems is the misunderstanding between parents and children, due to the difference of generations. This problem is especially acute with teenagers, who want to have more freedom, to express their self-identity in a way they want to. â€Å"Honour your mother and father and you will live long and be well, if not, you will die† — says the Bible. Some families are happy, some are dead. It seems to me the reason is misunderstanding of each other in the family. One more thing, teenagers can take on most of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Before this occurs, however, they go through the period of adolescence and most of them experience conflicts at that time. They change rapidly both physically and emotionally and they search self-identity as they grow up and become more independent. Sometimes teenagers develop interests and values different from those of their parents. That sets a conflict between two generations, which leads to a gap in mutual understanding. Traditional disagreements are: the time to come home at night, doing work about the house and the friends to spend time with. I’d like to point out, that teens face a number of problems: drinking alcohol or using drugs. Moreover, some children run away from their homes. Most of them return after a few days or weeks, but some turn to crime and become juvenile delinquents. I’m convinced that sometimes parents do not care about their children. It is exactly at that age when young people need a piece of advice or help. Parents should help their children and find the right approach to them so as to make everything clear. Being able to view the problems more rationally, they should try to do their best to resolve them. We need to learn to talk our problems over in our family. If we are able to do it, everything will be all right.

Capturing the Audience

â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). This is part of one of Hamlets great soliloquys from act 4. This soliloquy hits on several points like greatness, honour and how to live your life. These are to things are subjects that have interested the human mind for thousands of years. This soliloquy speaks to these desires in different ways and is able to relate to our inner desires. In this essay, it will be explained how this soliloquy and the themes that are featured in it effect the audience. The first way it speaks to the audience, particularly the Elizabethan audience of the time by, is by Shakespeare creating a hero that would do anything to protect their honour. Honour has always been part of a man. Looking at history it has pooped up over and over again. Honour is being true to a set of personal ideals, or being a man of integrity. ` The imminent death of twenty thousand men/ That for a fantasy and trick of fame/ Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot/ Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,/Which is not tomb enough and continent/to hide the slain? (4,4,59-64) In the soliloquy, Hamlet gives the most fundamental idea of honour protect it no matter what. No matter what the fight is over, you have to stand up for yourself or you are not a â€Å"manâ€Å". Hamlet is looking at Norway’s army with great respect. They are gaining nothing by c onquering Poland, yet they are still going after it to protect their honour. They aren’t backing down from the fight. Shakespeare knew that honour has always been a big part of human life and something greatly respected, especially to the nobles of his time (Shakespeare’s main audience), and made sure to really hit on that really important moral that the audience was able to relate too. Greatness is something that we look for since the beginning. As young children, we look at our parents as the definition of great. As we get older, we start to see all of our parent’s faults but the idea of greatness s already set in our minds and is something that we will always want to achieve. In The soliloquy greatness is closely associated with honour. A good example of how Hamlet sees greatness is the quote was used at the beginning on the essay: â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). Hamlet sees greatness has someone who will always defends their honou r. He is very jealous of young Fortinbras for being a great man who is always defending. This speaks to the audience because again, not only is honour again speaking to the audience but also with our desire to be great. The audience can relate to Hamlet. Most people look at someone with envy wishing they could be great like them. Shakespeare used these feelings of envy and wish for greatness to be able to relate to the play. The last point that Shakespeare hits on is living in the moment. Hamlet biggest flaw in the play is his tendency to ever think everything (e. g. When Claudius is praying and Hamlet comes up with several reasons not to kill him. . The biggest thing that Hamlet realizes in his soliloquy is that flaw. â€Å"Of thinking too precisely on th' event— /A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom And ever three parts coward—I do not know/ Why yet I live to say â€Å"This thing’s to do,† Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do ’† (4,4,40-45) Hamlet realizes what he has done throughout the play and is now regretting the decision he has made. He wishes that he had been brave enough to kill Claudius right away rather than hide behind his thoughts. Audience can relate to this now more than ever. Just take a look at today’s society, many things are about planning and the future but a lot of other things are the exact opposite. Many people are starting to live with the idea that you need to start doing things on a wimp rather than thinking over things and planning them out. People want to live their life to the fullest (e. g YOLO). The people of Shakespeare’s time were renaissance men. They most likely had these thoughts of making their life worthwhile. It is in human nature to want to feel as though our lives have meaning. Although Hamlet is not talking about that exact subject, many of the principles are the same. This speaks to the inner desires of the human mind, capturing the audience’s attention. In conclusion, Hamlets soliloquy captures the targets audience’s attention by using elements that have naturally always captures the human mind attention like greatness, a meaningful life and honour. Shakespeare manages to use all of them to capture the audience’s attention and help them relate to the play.

How to Become an Effective Manager Essay

There is a lot of hard work and skills that need to be developed to become a real manager. Managers have several skills and talents they learn as they advance in the workplace, not all of them will develop the very simple and basic ability to be an effective manager. They have to do a lot more than just manage finances and give projects. A manager has to teach people and show them in a way to allow them to be the best they can be, so later on they too can advance up through the company on their own qualities. So 1st thing to becoming an effective manager, you have to improve your own leadership abilities and actions that are needed to be a great business leader. I think one of the most essential things that anyone must do is lead by example. We do this as parents, and we are taught to do it as older siblings for our younger brothers and sisters. Too many managers often live by â€Å"do as I say, but not as I do,† as a substitute of setting an example for their employees. If a manager wants hard work, and teamwork from the employees in their company, I think that they themself must first show that they can also work hard, that they are trust worthy, and that they are just as much a team player as their employees. You have to listen to the people you work with. A lot of times employees have great suggestions that get overlooked. Always communicate with them, and make sure they know they can come to you that you have an open door policy. Effective managers will always give credit to an employee who does it. Showing appreciation not only will show them they are needed and appreciated, but also build their confidence and make them always want to do better. Whether it showing them publicly or with a small bonus. When people are appreciated, it will always motivate them to want to perform better. Trusting your employees and giving them responsibility. If you don’t ever allow them to spread their wings and learn new things, where is the growth opportunity for those individuals? Delegating should be done so everyone gets an opportunity to show their potential. Everyone wants to move up, and not be stuck as an entry level employee forever. Trust in them, and give them an opportunity. Everyone has different strengths and weakness that can be used for different jobs. One might type better; one might speak a different language. This is where successful delegation will used to assign the right employee with the right task. Real leaders will show power and self-confidence. And if you are able to display these qualities to your employees again it’s about leading by example. It will in turn inspire confidence in them as well. You have to have a real vision of what your goals and intentions are, and a definite plan as to how you will achieve those goals. Put everything into writing, and go over it with all of your employees during meetings, or one on ones so they are aware of them. Talk to them about what they think, they might have concerns that need to be addressed.

Creative Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Creative Leadership - Essay Example Secondly, communication and vision is very important. This guides the behavior o the members and allow them to make sense of the changes that the organization need. Finally, he also argued that empowerment of all members is very important in making changes more effective. The more involved people are in the process of change, the more effective the change will be and the more lasting it will be for the company (Coyle and Kossek, 2000). There are different forms of leadership that can be applied in implementing business goals and strategies. There are lots of valuable leadership forms, which many leaders could use. They represent the most effective and the least effective leadership strategy. To name them as most ineffective is not to say that they could not be use. These forms of leadership can be used however it must depend on the context. Leaders must find ways of diversifying their leadership styles to ensure that they are applied appropriately to certain situations. Leaders would need to balance authority and democracy in their leadership styles (Goleman, 2000). There is a need to have the sensitivity and emotional capacity to recognize what would be the most appropriate leadership strategy that is being called for by the situation. In many cases using just one strategy cannot generate effective results. One of the important components in leadership is also reco... According to many psychological studies, which aim to recognize the character behind some of the effective leaders in successful organizations, emotional intelligence is very important for many leaders (Goleman, 2000). This has been widely reviewed in many literatures. According to Goleman (2000) this emotional intelligence can be reflected on the ability of leaders to have the necessary social skills. This means that they must be able work well with their people under different circumstances to ensure that there are no barriers to communication. This would help the problem to be resolved immediately and for improvements of the programs be initiated efficiently. They must also have high levels of motivation, which would allow them to do things through initiative and exceed the expected results. They must be really flexible as well to the call of the times and the moment. Finally creative leaders should be able to know their limitations and admit that they cannot possibly do everythin g. B. F. Skinner is considered the Father of operant conditioning, and he maintains that "Operant conditioning is a type of learning where a given behavior is followed either by reinforcement (leading to the strengthening of that behavior), nothing (leading to the weakening of that behavior), or punishment (leading to aversion to that behavior)." (Learning Theory and Christian Leadership). Leaders must know how to deal with problems creatively. Part of the creative leadership is to signify new challenges for managers. There is a need to redistribute the power within the organization and make managers as influencers rather than controllers of subordinates. That

Macroeconomics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macroeconomics - Term Paper Example The housing market like any other market follows the basic supply and demand laws. Demand means the amount of good consumers demand at a certain price. While supple means the amount of goods the suppliers/ produces are willing to supply at a certain price. Generally when there is a price rise, demand falls and where as supply increases when there is higher price (supply and demand, 2008). But incase of the US housing market there was almost abnormal rise in the prices and then a sudden fall ushered in from 2006 onwards. This was preceded by a stable housing price environment in most parts of the 1990s while an increasing trend was witnessed towards the end of the 1990s. Housing prices rose by a whopping 87% during the period January 2002 to June 2006. While the sudden decline started in 2006 and gathered enormous proportions in the years 2007, 2008 and is still continuing. Housing prices were down by roughly 25% in 2008 third financial quarter in comparison to the peak levels of 2006 . During the middle part of the 1990s governmental regulations in relation to lending norms were relaxed drastically and ensuing regulations followed which made it mandatory for housing loan institution like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their share of US mortgages belonging to middle as well as low income families by significant levels. During the era 1999 US federal rules also made it sure that these two institutions which hold a major portion of the US mortgages accepted greater amount of loans but with minimal and in many cases, absolutely no down payment. Almost a similar kind of regulation was passed in the year 1995 in context f bank's landings through which they were made to lend heavily to minority sections of the population in the vicinity of the banks in the process prudent lending mechanisms and evaluation of credit worthiness were overlooked. This was the 'Community Reinvestment Act'. Testimony to the afore mentioned fact Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's overall shar e of mortgages under their holding went up to 45% in the year 2001 from only 25% in the year 1990. This fact is shown in Fig.2. It is also evident from the figure that how these two institution's share of the outstanding mortgages went up continuously throughout the 1990s and also almost through the 2000s. Fig.2. Outstanding Mortgages and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's share of them. Source: Gwartney, et al. Interest rate manipulation During the period between 2002 and 2006 the US Fed ushered in an extended low interest rate phase. As a result of the ensuing low rate scenario there was a huge demand for the houses and consecutively the prices also soared in the sector. Fig.3. 1-Year Treasury Bill Rate & Fed Fund Rate Source: Gwartney, et al. Fig.3. shows that how the fed had kept the interest rate for

Ethical Considerations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 44

Ethical Considerations - Case Study Example Bad relations lead to often conflicts among people. In addition, the supervisor should have come up the training program to impart knowledge to all the officers on the diversity management. This will enable all the officers to appreciate globalization and more so, to maximize different knowledge, skills, and abilities from different people. With this knowledge of understanding others, he could have requested people to keep quiet instead of commanding them. By so doing, there could be no violence between the two parties. The supervisor should have given Burn an assistant officer with whom they could work together. This could reduce the possibility of Burn conflicting with the people in the party since the other officer could prevent the conflict. During research on the weakness of the officer, the supervisor should observe privacy. This is the natural right of an individual that is the foundation of legal right. This is very important to all persons because it is the necessary condition of all other freedom and personal autonomy. The administration should understand that there is the relationship between privacy, freedom and human dignity. The supervisor shouldn’t have deployed Burn to a smaller area. This is viewed as discrimination. This brings a lot of dissatisfaction among the officers or any employee leading to increased conflict as a way to release the stress. To reduce this supervisor could conduct regular training to the officers (McCarthy, 2005). The policies that the supervisors shou ld put in place include communication policies, motivational talks, training policies and dismissal policies showing the procedure through which an officer may be dismissed. Through these, officers could behave ethically at all times. In my opinion, the officers, the supervisor and the people partying are all liable for their negligence.

Quantitative Tools Group Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quantitative Tools Group Project - Essay Example This write-up presents a discussion about ways for improving the service productivity and operational success of Going Inc’s pilots and customer service agents who present a certain lack of satisfaction in their jobs. Going Inc’s airline business that services the United States, Europe and Asia has a number of problems that confront managers. Going Inc has a higher than industry average figures for flight delays, baggage and security related check-in delays and late arrival figures for flights. In addition to the other problems at Going Inc Airlines, employees present a certain lack of satisfaction and it is important for managers try to improve morale, service productivity and operational success of pilots and customer service agents. Airline pilots are rather different from other employees because they are expensive to train for aircrafts that they must fly and difficult to substitute in a tight labor market for pilots with commercial experience (Harvey. 2007. Pp. 6). Pilots are the most educated and the most assessed of all airline employees who must be constantly trained on aircraft if they are to perform safely and adequately. Thus, airline pilots possess a certain industrial power and management of airline pilots is an exacting endeavor. However, it is important for airlines to try to reduce labor costs in response to stiff competition in the airline industry and to increase productivity in an era of increased uncertainty about profits (Alamdari, 1999, Pp. 53 – 66). Morale is always important when thinking about service productivity and contented employees who feel that they are being well compensated are likely to be more productive. Thus, airline pilots, who often work on substantial compensation pa ckages, should be offered profit sharing and share purchase schemes that indemnify airlines from having to pay out large compensation in

Cost Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting - Essay Example The budget is not only the widely used instrument for managements planning but is also the fundamental accounting model of management control. The development of the budget requires the participation of many individual who are made responsible for the control of their planned costs within a company. The ever increasing use of standard cost provides a necessary measure of what cost should be. These standard costs permit an early preparations and presentation of short run cost reports to operating management and summary statements to executive and middle management, highlighting the deviations from planned goals. Standard cost should ideally be the integral part of budget in its preparation as well as its use as a control device. Cost accounting can assist management's levels in planning and control duties by providing information via analytical tools that express more vividly and forcefully multidimensional aspects of managerial problems. Break even analysis offers another method that permits managements to judge the over all plan on a pragmatic and convenient bases. The budget is one method of securing reliable and prompt information regarding the operation and control of an enterprise. When manufacturing are based on standard for material labor and overhead, a strong team of possible control and reduction of costs is created.

Immigration law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Immigration law - Essay Example Also, they helped provide information in regard to the socio-economic rights of asylum as interpreted by the UK courts. Question A. Over the years, conflicts of all dimensions have plagued several countries across the world; persecution, violence, and war have been taking places in some parts of the world on account of political opinion, religion, race, and nationality among others accounts. As a result, citizens of the affected countries often tend to run away from their countries and seek refuge in foreign countries that they deem to be safe and where their human rights will not be violated nor their lives threatened. This reality has prompted international organizations like the United Nations, regional integrations like the European Union, and nations have to establish conventions, treaties, statutory instruments, and domestic legislation relating to refugees and asylum seeking.1 An asylum seeker has been defined as a person who has flied from their country of origin and has appl ied for protection in a foreign country as a refugee.2 Such a person claims to be a refugee but those claims are yet to be validated by relevant national, regional, or international authorities. So, the definition of the term â€Å"asylum- seeker† is hinged on the definition of the term â€Å"refugee†. ... eligion.3 However, until such claims by such a person is evaluated and validated by relevant authorities in the country he or she is seeking asylum, the person will be considered as an â€Å"asylum seeker†. European Convention on Human Rights 1950 is one of the main international and European treaties or agreements that relates to refugees and asylum seekers. The Convention aims at protecting fundamental freedoms and upholding human rights in Europe. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is established under the Convention, its main purpose being to protect individuals regardless of their nationality from violations of their human rights. Individuals who feel that their human rights have been violated by a member state under the Convention are free to initiate legal proceedings against a member state in that court.4 However, many people and institutions agree that Article 3 of the Convention does not dictate a minimum standard of social support for those in need or even an automatic welfare obligation towards asylum seekers. It is no doubt that the asylum seekers are in dire need of social support; actually, the very sense of asylum seeking. Social support to asylum seekers is important in making them feel that they are cared for and have a sense of belonging even in a foreign country. Social support resources to asylum seekers include but not limited to the following: companionship so as to create a sense of belonging; emotional support; informational support in terms of advice regarding â€Å"live† in those particular countries, as well as financial support to ensure that they can attain the basic level of sustenance.5 Article 3 of the Convention is very general and tends to cover the general aspects of asylum seekers. As such, the minimum standard of social

Movie Review The Color Purple Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Color Purple - Movie Review Example Celie spends her time cooking and cleaning, caring for Albert's children, and putting up with Albert's father whom Albert all but worships and Celie hates. Celie makes a friend in tough Sophie, a young girl who marries a Harpo, a dapper young man. Even though Harpo's father is against the marriage, Sophie wins the battle and they are married in the small church. Sophie and Harpo squabble over who is the boss of the house, and one day when Celie is working in the yard, Harpo asks her how he should control Sophie. She tells him the only thing she knows: "Beat her." After Sophie bawls Celie out for the advice and Harpo shows up with a black eye, Sophie leaves Harpo for something better. Celie wishes she could leave like that, but she knows Albert would likely kill her if she even thought about it. Celie often thinks of Nettie, who had taught her how to read and write, since Nettie had gone to school and Celie did not. Unknown to Celie, Nettie was writing her letters, which she never saw but asked for often when the post was delivered. When Celie went to town, she often thought she saw her baby girl, whom she had named Olivia.

What Principles of Time and Stress Management are Violated by Chet Assignment - 1

What Principles of Time and Stress Management are Violated by Chet - Assignment Example Chet is more focused on how effective he was during that day forgetting that an effective manager should have results for what he has done during the day. Indeed he is a manager who has studied his work habits, a very crucial step to determine his strengths and weaknesses but his work habits survey is mainly based on time management and not the results. As a manager, he should be more concerned with performing top-level management functions which will include long-term decisions planning and delegate the other duties to middle and first line management. The structure of management in Chet’s company has a major role to play in his shortcomings, there doesn’t seem to be a defined middle level and supervisory branch this is seen when the pressmen report directly to him instead of reporting to a foreman Carl Jung in his trait theory categorizes people into type A and type B in relation to their ability to handle stress. Type A personalities when in a managerial post tend to not trust their subordinates to handle anything so they do it all themselves. This leads to them being stressed because they have too much work to handle all at once. Chet, in this case, is a type A personality. The second aspect of his personality is that he anticipates stress and does not have a procedure to handle them he instead faces them head-on. This increases his level of stress and negatively affects his ability to make the sound judgment on what’s important and what’s urgent. Chet should, in this case, adopt type B personality. This personality when in a management post according to Carl Jung is one who is good at delegating duties to his subordinates, he focuses only on important aspects of the institution leaving the rest to be sorted by middle or first line management. He should try as much as possible to delegate the trivial duties to other employees.

Particular population or society Essay Example for Free

Particular population or society Essay While people consider themselves unique individuals in terms of their personality, habits, opinions, attitudes personal quirks, there are many habits, beliefs and attitudes that are common to most people, especially those living a society. The culmination of language, religious beliefs, music, food preference, works habits, etc. of a particular population or society is known as its culture (Ember and Ember, 1993, p. 6). Culture is unique for every society or social group that sometimes what some would consider taboo like eating dog meat is actually part of another society’s customs. In theory, everyone should be open to other society’s culture but in reality, that does not happen often. An individual who gauges others culture is said to be an ethnocentric (p. 159). The attitude is termed ethnocentrism . This denotes that the person has difficulty criticizing his/ her own customs and traditions precisely because his/her vision is limited to his/her owns. Ethnocentrism does not only affect the individual’s view on other persons but influences the society as well. Watching a foreign film is one way to measure if one is open to other cultural experiences. I Not Stupid is a Singaporean film tackling the intertwined lives of three primary school classmates: Terry, Kok Pin and Boon Hock (Leong, Yin and Neo, 2002). It offers a glimpse of many facets of Singaporean culture: the education system that looks down on students in the bottom (the three are in EM3, which ranks lowest), the Chinese self-loathing (in a class, one character says she wants to be Caucasian when she grows up so she does not have to speak Chinese), the high regard for English (one mother speaks English to her children, another one stresses that in order to succeed in Singapore, one must be a master at English and Math), and Caucasian (a Caucasian was hired as director even though it was clearly evident that the local staff are more knowledgeable, equipped and deserving of the position; there is even a scene when the Singaporean boss approves the Caucasian’s concept even though it was the same concept presented by the locals, which he vehemently rejected), and the over obedience Singaporeans are known for (2002). The Singaporeans’ affair with Ba gua, or Chinese Pork Barbecue as well as their reliance on gods and goddesses to grant their favors is also shown in the film. Such rituals, as evinced in the film, may be common in Singapore but a North American, especially an ethnocentric, may find it peculiar or even distasteful. It must also be stressed that Singapore has a close relation with China so some of China’s cultural beliefs and customs are integrated into Singapore. The film is sprinkled in Chinese, English and Singlish, short for Singaporean English. Colonial mentality may be picked up from the film, judging the characters’ high regard for Westerners. The existence of Singlish is also a sign that Singaporeans, albeit already successful and one of the most economically driven countries in Asia, still feel the need to level on some ways with the Western countries, which this writer finds interesting. Imagine, in North America, there are students eager to learn other languages while in Singapore and other countries where there are other main languages aside from English, they already have the advantage of learning another language easily. Again, this is ethnocentrism at work. Another glaring cultural element that is shown in the film is Singaporean’s deference to power. Terry, one of the main characters, cannot stands on his own and always follows his mother. This is supposedly a jibe at Singaporeans’ compliant nature. If a similar event happened in North American, the kid is likely to fight back. But then again, this is Singapore and as said by one character, â€Å"It is difficult to catch fish in Singapore, because fish in Singapore are like Singaporeans, they’ll never open their mouths† (Leong, Yin and Neo, 2002). Ethnocentric thinking causes people to misunderstand other society’s culture and at the same it keeps them for understanding their own. The film I not Stupid is a satirical comedy carping on some of the country’s modern culture. Perhaps the producers are also ethnocentric but regardless of it, the film provides a peek at Singapore’s norms and values, which in essence is simply the country’s way of life. References Ember, C. and Ember, M. (1993). Anthropology 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Leong, D. and Yin, C. P. (Producers), and Neo, J. (Director). (2002). I not stupid [VCD]. Singapore: United International Pictures.

Tourism And International Cooperation Tourism Essay

Tourism And International Cooperation Tourism Essay This paper examines the role of international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the European Union and host of other regional based bodies in the promotion of tourism as a tool for development, poverty reduction, socio-economic integration and economic diversification. There is no doubt that tourism has had immense contribution to many third world countries. As a matter of fact, Sharpley and Telfer (2002) opine that among the contemporary economies, tourism has continuously been referred to as the worlds largest industry (p.2). This is because it is one of the fastest growing economic sectors with its contributions being different from other sectors as it contributes to development by generating foreign exchange. As Grenfell (2010) finds, most developing countries depend on tourists from the developed countries and that foreign tourism in many developing nations is more valued and developed than domestic tourism which is underdevelop ed and undervalued (p.3). Tourism can therefore help in eliminating the economic gap that exists between the developed and the developing nations. For international community (developed world) to meaningfully help the third world countries, they need to be actively involved in the vital sectors of economy of these countries. It is therefore crucial that the international community should help these third world countries in the creation of infrastructure in order to promote tourism activities which in turn contribute to the overall economic advancement of these countries. The paper considers ways through which these international bodies can help boost tourism activities in less developed sub-Saharan countries to transform them to performing economies. To this end, the paper will utilize the case of Kenya and Egypt, two sub-Saharan countries experiencing steady economic growth. So as to make a strong argument the paper holds that while many third world countries are endowed with a wide range of economic resources and/or activities, international tourism has over the years continued to play a central role in shaping their economic destinies. International Tourism and Development Tourism in its simplest definition refers to the industry that provides travel and entertainment facilities for people away from their own homes (Richmond, 2000). However, it is important to note that in tourism, there are seasons when the activities are at peak and other times when they go off peak. Most tourists usually go for tourism activities during their vacations which might be based on domestic and/or international calendars. International tourism evolved after the Second World War and by the year 1999, it accounted for six percent of the global economy (Ghosh, Siddique Gabbay, 2003, p.19). This finding is in line with the generalization that tourism accounts for a significant portion of the world economy. In connection to this, it can be argued that international tourism has been a culmination of efforts made by the international community to alleviate developing countries from their vicious cycles of poverty. This argument is supported by the fact most international communities have been at the forefront in sensitizing developing nations on the need to invest heavily in relevant sectors like tourism for sustainable growth and development. After all, and Zhao and Xingqun (2010) finds, the development of any country is the only practical mechanism capable of lifting people out of vicious cycles of poverty and making them equal partners in the society (p.207). Apparently, these authors agree that being one of the major ways through which developing nations earns foreign exchange, tourism has continuously provided the most practical path along which masses can easily be uplifted from the densely intertwined vicious cycles of poverty their reside in. Theories in Tourism Development From a conventional tourism context, at least three theoretical frameworks have been fronted in attempts to streamline the industry and extract the most benefits out of it. These theories include dependency, development versus underdevelopment, and basic needs versus human development theories. It is imperative to point out that these theories have been applied independently and sometimes by players in understanding its management. Dependency Theory Dependency theory is about the unequal economic and political exchange that normally takes place between the developed countries and the less developed ones (Britton, 1982, p.56). The theory is concerned about the dependency that exists in the world in the sense that most developing countries have been noted to continually seek help from the developed countries, help that has mostly been used for infrastructure development purposes in major economic sectors such as tourism. Development versus Underdevelopment Theory On the other hand, underdevelopment theory holds that underdeveloped nations promote tourism with the main aim of making it to be a sector that generates foreign exchange and in so doing help them realize development goals. For instance, many developing nations have been keen on promoting tourism activities in bid to create more employment opportunities for their people, utilize natural as well as manmade resources, and most importantly, as a way of attracting development partners which in turn enhance economic independence (Martin Ian, 2009, p. 53). Even so, it is imperative to point out that unlike the dependency theory the development versus underdevelopment theory is built on the premises of good corporate governance and unrelenting evolutionary pressures emanating from perpetual demographics and technological change (Milne, 2001, p.372). As such therefore, this theory seems to be more bent on incorporating international institutions given that it is known that they play a core role in enhancing transparency and accountability among developing economies. Tellingly, this theory has a got a firm conviction on the role played by these global institutions in shaping tourism advancement and development particularly in the third world countries. Though they are many the most conspicuous (in terms of their overall contributions) of these institutions are; World Bank and International Monetary Fund which have been instrumental in shaping tourism activities especially in the less developed countries. Basic Needs versus Human Development Theory Public policy enthusiasts have been noted to base most of their analysis on the Maslows hierarchy of needs which is by far one of the most motivational theories in the public domain (Andriotis, 2001, p.312). In relation to tourism activities, it is arguable that tourists also attach great importance on the hierarchy of needs as presented by Maslow when making tour expedition plans. For instance, one of the greatest concerns among tourists is their safety. This is because when their physiological safety is guaranteed their self esteem will be boosted and therefore this will heighten the chances of self actualization which has been noted to be the greatest achievement that many tourists seek while in their tour expedition. Role of the World Bank and other International Agencies in Tourism and International Development World Bank and other international institutions have the noble role of facilitating international development. However, most of these developments have been concentrated in the less developed countries as these institutions embark on fulfilling one of their core mandate of facilitating growth and development in the form of bridging the gap between the developed world and the less development countries. The devotion of the World Bank in trying to bring international development in these nations can be seen from several bodies, for example, International Finance Corporation which is one of the World Bank constituent agencies has immensely invested in tourism especially in the poorest countries of the world (Youthink, 2010). World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also been major players in infrastructural development in the least developed countries. Infrastructures such as road and other telecommunication network have been brought up in these countries under the initiative of World Bank and IMF. The provision of infrastructure facilities and services for tourists, that is, roads, communications, health and sanitation services have been designed to benefit the tourists and the local communities at the same time (WTO, 2002, p.31).this has occasioned progressive development in majority of these countries. In addition, World Tourism Organization, a sector-specific organization that brings together tourist destination territories in close partnership with both the World Bank and the IMF, is tasked with the core role of promoting development and sustainability of tourism activities particularly among developing countries. This organization makes sure that global ethics and codes on matters that relates to tourism are strictly adhered to by the member countries (International Relations Cooperation, 2011). No doubt, efforts coordinated through this organization have over the years continued to bring about sustained growth and development which translates to the overall economic advancement of its member states which in turn leads to international development. International Cooperation Initiatives that Contribute to Tourism and Development As earlier mentioned, tourism is a key aspect in any countrys development agenda. As such therefore, in a bid to guarantee rapid growth and advancement through tourism, a number of international cooperation initiatives have since been instituted to help contribute to tourism and development as a whole. For instance, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is one of these co-operations that have been put in place to help steer tourism and development agendas among member countries. Precisely, ever since it was incorporation WTTC has been committed to enhancing environmentally sustainable development programs (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 1999, p.3). Away from the specific roles that WTTC plays and basing on the notion that tourism is heavily depended on environmental features it is only wise to argue that any cooperation that intends to promote tourism must safeguard the immediate environment so as to avoid the depletion of natural features for the future tourism activities. In this regard and according to WTTC research, the travel and tourism sector in India, for instance, generates as much as 17.7 million employment opportunities for both Indian citizens and nationals of other countries. No doubt this is a practical indicator that indeed tourism industry plays a central role in creating positive development co-operations among the world economies. In addition, in Central America, the countries in the region formed America Regional Integration (ARI) that bring the countries together in the region and facilitates cooperation initiatives in several spheres of the economy. ARI outlines several contours of the dual processes of regional integration and tourism development in the region (Ferguson, 2010). This brings forth cooperation of the member countries in collaboration on issues that relate to tourism and general development matters. Moreover, International Tourism Partnership (ITP) is another international body that brings forth cooperation among nations on issues relating to tourism. Within ITP, airlines, hotels, tour operators and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) work together to promote sustainable business activities within tourism and travel industry (Sharpley David, 2008, p.3). This ensures coordination of tourists activities which is very important to tourist related features that spans several countries. Given that tourism is taken to be a driver of economies of most countries, it is therefore important that bilateral and multilateral cooperation among neighbouring as well as far apart countries be interwoven with tourism activities. Most countries have therefore entered into foreign policy cooperation with several partners in crafting joint policies that seek to promote tourist activities between or among them (David, Maria Ginger, 2008, p.141). perhaps this is following the realization that joint policy formulation between and among nations provides good operating environment for tourism activities which in turn spur economic growth among the participating parties. Tourism has also become a core factor in poverty alleviation through Sustainable Tourism Eradicate Poverty (STEP), an initiative that has since gained support from major tourist destination territories across the developing world. In the year 2000, poverty was identified as the biggest challenge on the globe and therefore millennium development goals were set up to help eradicate poverty by the year 2015. Those in tourism sector responded well for the call and World Tourism Organization launched STEP initiative which is focused on long term mechanisms of sustaining tourism activities that can alleviate poverty and ensure development of the less developed countries (World Tourism Organization, 2010). The STEP is a proactive initiative that seeks to bring forth development to the disadvantaged groups especially in the less developed nations in order to attain the millennium development goal number one of poverty eradication. The Case Study of Kenya and Egypt Tourism Profile in Kenya Tourism is one of the most stable and well established sectors of the Kenyan economy. As a matter of fact, the tourism industry occupies the second position in terms of foreign exchange earnings amassed by the country every year (Davies Knivett, 2008, p. 215). The main attraction ranges from national parks which are spread around the country and game reserves. The renowned Great Rift Valley scenery is also another key tourist attraction in the country. These are the key tourism activities although there are other diverse natural as well as manmade features that serve as supplements to the main features. The Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) is the central agency formulated by the Kenyan government to spearhead all matters related to the marketing of the industry. In addition, the seriousness with which tourism activities are taken within the country is underscored by the fact that the Kenyan government has created an independent ministry to coordinate tourism activities within the country. The KTB as well as a host of other national and international agencies that are actively involved in running tourism activities in the country operate under this ministry. Some of these bodies include Ecotourism Kenya which promotes sustainable tourism practices within the tourism industry in the country (Ecotourism Kenya, 2011). This ensures that the environment which is vital in tourism activities is not adversely affected by man activities as well as enhancement of sustainable activities that relate to tourism for the future of the country. Given that Kenya is endowed with a wide range of diversity of resources that ranges right from mountain ecosystems, marine to arid and semi arid (Mwanjala, 2005, p.4), it can be argued that this body plays a core role. In addition, the Kenya government has put much emphasis on the conservation of natural ecosystems and in so doing a total of twenty seven national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries and thirty four national reserves have since been set aside and continuously protected by the successive governments as a way of promoting sustainable tourism activities. International Agencies Involvement in Tourism Development in Kenya For a long time, the Kenyan government has continued to recognize the tourism sector as a tool for poverty alleviation and economic advancement. In so doing, the government has sought cooperation from the international community in participating actively in tourism activities within the country. For instance, the government has succeeded in initiating sustainable cooperation with international agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other United Nations bodies to assist in instituting necessary infrastructure that could facilitate tourists activities. This has led to deeper involvement of these international bodies in setting up of key structures for example, most of the major highways in the country were put up by the joint efforts of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (Manyara Jones, 2009, p.238). This has positively impacted on the growth of tourism sector as well as other related sectors such as hospitality and agricultures industries. In addition, Kenya has ever since been a member of the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) which is the agency that coordinates ecotourism in the world (Akama, 2002, p.12). The organization therefore promotes tourism development in Kenya by providing technical assistance, training, research in the tourism sector and provision of standards and guidelines that ensures that tourism services and products maintains and upholds the standards required in the world market and in so doing promoting and upholding the existing natural ecosystems. How Tourism Development has Addressed Some Problems in Kenya Kenya is a developing country characterized by several problems that are related to underdevelopment. The most dominant of all these problems is the increasing poverty levels among majority of its population. Over the years, the tourism sector has continued to occupy the central position in the fight against the increasing levels of poverty particularly among communities living within most natural ecosystems frequented by tourists. As a matter of fact, through the foreign exchange that the country amasses every year, several development initiatives are established in addressing the biting poverty levels within the country. As dominant sector in the country, tourism has employed quite a significant number of the Kenyan population. Today several Kenyans serves in several sub sectors of the industry that include tour guides, transport services, as well as areas of food and beverages and accommodations services. A significant percent of the population earn their living from these tourism related occupations and as a result contribute immensely to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. Apart from solving unemployment related problems, tourism also helps in fighting and alleviating poverty problems in the country (Jenkins, 1982, p.62).Needless to say, by addressing these two core social problems, tourism has positively boosted the countrys economy. Developing countries have also been characterized by poor infrastructure network and Kenya is not an exception. However, with the involvement of the international agencies such as World Bank and IMF in boosting tourism activities, several infrastructural facilities have since been set up (Walter, 2003). Despite this contributing to tourism, it has also been beneficial to the entire economic performance as other sectors of the economy such as trade, agriculture among others also use these infrastructural developments. This has indirectly helped to address even other sectors such as telecommunication in the country. Effectiveness of International Cooperation Initiatives in Tourism Development in Kenya International cooperation has been beneficial to the tourism sector in Kenya. Through international initiative like efforts put in by organs such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, tourism has been identified as the most promising industry in developing states including Kenya (James, 2010). The international cooperation that exists between Kenya and these agencies has led to effective as structures of economy being set up which both tourism and other sectors of the economy have benefited. The core objective of tourism as a sector of the economy is to accelerate the economy of the country through sound tourism management. This has been effective in the Kenyan case since tourism is graded as the second largest foreign earner to the country. This has been made possible by initiatives of the international agencies in promoting tourist activities in the country which have resulted to positive outcome where by tourism earning have been d increasing tremendously. Tourism profile in Egypt Historically, Egypt has been widely known for its massive tourism industry. It has always been a destination where Europeans and other groups visit to see some of its antiquities dating back to the eras of early civilization (Egypt Government, 2010). There are unique tourism destinations in Egypt which includes but not limited to Safaga, Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, pyramids among others which have been at the centre of attraction for many tourists. This makes tourism one of the most valuable and important sector of the Egypt economy. For example, in the year 2008, eleven billion US dollars of the countrys income was attributed to tourism sector. In terms of infrastructural institution, Egypt is fairly developed compared to other developing countries in the region and this gives it some edge against other players such as Kenya (Tama, 1988). The peak season for tourists activities in Egypt starts from mid October to May which is normally characterized by spring and winter in terms of climatic conditions. However, it is important to note that in terms of safety, terrorism has at occasions affected the industry negatively with foreign tourists being targeted as potential victims. This has often translated to negative impacts on the industry. How Tourism Development is Addressed Some Problems in Egypt Tourism has been described as the act of people travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for leisure and which has been remarkable for economic and social improvements of countries and their people (Zakaria et al, 2009). In this regard, Egypt has been a dominant player in the fields of tourism due to its historical richness. The country has therefore reaped heavily from the sector and in so doing; tourism has helped to address several problems of underdevelopment. This ranges from infrastructural development, to creation of employment opportunities to stable economy. The significant revenues that are accrued from the tourism sector are also diverted and used in other sectors of the economy. For example, some of the revenues are directed to the education sector where by significant improvement and advancements have since been made. This has helped in solving the illiteracy problem which is a major problem to most developing countries. Effectiveness of International Cooperation Initiatives in Tourism Development in Egypt There exist several international agencies that are in cooperation with Egypt whose main agenda is to develop tourism industry which in turn helps to revolutionize the economy. For example, there exists several Italian NGOs which have since partnered with the civil society with the aim of promoting development through tourist related activities (Cooperation Italiana, 2011). Through these NGOs a number social initiatives have since been directly initiated among the communities living near major tourist attractions and indirectly across the country nation-wide activities that span a wide range of social issues such as education, health, security and agriculture. This has been made possible through giving-back-to-the-community initiatives which are part of the wider mutual partnerships between the Italian and the Egyptian governments. In addition, UN constituent agencies such as the UNESCO have also entered into cooperation which the government of Egypt where several initiatives within the realm of education and cultural tourism have since been undertaken (Yerevan, 1981). As a matter of fact, the agreement on cultural tourism can be argued to be a positive measure toward the protection and promotion of the Egyptian cultural sites and practices. Through this cooperation, various cultural sites and activities have been successfully marketed leading to significant improvement and development in tourism activities and hence the entire Egyptian economy. In addition, Egypt enjoy close foreign cooperation with the United States and it is from this close ties that United States-Egypt Friendship Society was established (Egypt, 2008). This cooperation has facilitated economic benefits to Egypt from United States which are granted to the government of Egypt to improve various tourism activities alongside with other sectors of the economy. Moreover, Egypt is a member of the Triangular Cooperation which is an organization that draws it membership from several countries and which provide aid to different sectors of the economy to the member states (Talita, 2010). This cooperation has contributed positively to the development of Egypt economy as the aid given is directed to development sectors including but not limited to tourism. This has translated to positive economic development of Egypt as a country as it is one of the stable economies among the developing world. Conclusion Tourism is a global phenomenon which manifests itself locally, regionally and internationally. It is widely categorized into two categories, with tourism activities that involve purely local people being referred to as domestic tourism while those involving participants from across the border are referred to as foreign tourism. Tourism has been proved to be a vital driver of economies of majority of the countries. In the two developing countries discussed in this paper (Kenya and Egypt), tourism has been at the centre stage in transforming their economies and addressing pertinent societal concerns such as poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. In addition, tourism has also positively impacted on other sectors of economy in these two countries through the improvement of the local infrastructure frameworks.

Developing Leadership Skills Using The Semco Case Study

Developing Leadership Skills Using The Semco Case Study Purpose of the report: The purpose of this report is to understand the relationship between Strategic Management and Leadership . The different Leadership styles used for identifying organisationss strategic decisions, the impact of the leadership theories on the organisatiton and the methods of developing leadership skills using the SEMCO case study . Introduction: In 1982, Ricardo Semler took control of Semler Company, a business founded and, until then, managed by his father, Antonio Curt Semler. At that time, the companys organizational structure, was as such of treating employees in a fatherly manner, especially by providing for their needs without giving them rights or responsibilities. A pyramidal hierarchy led by an autocratic leader. Then, Ricardo took over the relatively small manufacturing company from his father . And by renaming the company as SEMCO , eliminated all clerical positions,and implemented an insistent product diversification policy. Most observers predicted that these actions would wipe out the company. Leadership Styles: Leadership style is an approach of implementing plans, providing directions, and motivating people working towards the organisation. A leaders must be able to acquire certain strategies and must follow a certain style of leadership which suits the situation of the organisation. The following are the leadership style followed by Ricardo Semler and their evidence : Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic): Authoritarian leaders, also known as  autocratic leader, provide clear outlook for what needs to be done, how it should be done, and when it should be done. These types of leaders take their decision on their own with little or no help from their subordinates or followers. There is also a clear distribution between the leader and the followers. The analysts found that decision making was less creative under authoritarian leadership. Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision making for a possible outcome or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group. (Lewin et. al, 1939). While Ricardo Semler was in law school, in 1980s,his father Antonio Curt Semler decided to make Ricardo the president and then shortly left him for a long Europe vacation, saying only, Do what you need to do. When the senior executives of SEMCO insisted on waiting out the declining shipping industry, Ricardo decided to fire 60% of the top managers in a single afternoon. The departing executives wanted to return and while the frightened customers demanded their return, but Ricardo was determined and remained firm. Ricardo could not afford liquidation taking place in the company . Participative Leadership (Democratic): The democratic leadership style or participative leadership is a very open and its characterized style by having power and authority that is given equally among colleague of running a team. Ideas move freely and are discussed openly amongst the group. And discussion is relatively free-flowing. (Lewin et. al, 1939). SEMCO seeks the best by trusting their employees and to motivate them to apply their creativity in service of the whole enterprise. And to make some important decision related to the flow of work, which also includes the selection and election of their bosses. Employees are given a chance to express their feelings regarding the decision making process. Profit sharing also plays an important role in the organisation , which leads to very low employee turnover , and active involvement of all the employees. Employees are given a chance to select their managers which brings into good working condition in the organisation. Delegative Leadership (Laissez-Faire): In this leadership style the leader offers little or no guidance to the member of his team and leaves the decision making process on the team members, but the leader is responsible for the decisions made by his sub-ordinates. The leader allows the employees to take decisions if they can evaluate the condition and relies how the problem could be solved. (Lewin et. al, 1939). SEMCO encourages its employees to choose what, when and where they want to do it complete freedom is given to the employees for the task performance . About 3000 SEMCO employees set their own working hours and their salaries. Their supervisors are hired and reviwed by the subordinates. If the employees had spent Saturday afternoon in the office then they are encouraged to spent their Monday morning at the beach. There is no organisational chart as such in the organisation, no corporate value statement, no 5 year plan is implemented as most of the organisation does. The employees are not required to follow any dress code. There are no written rules or policy statements, as SEMCO is quite flexible. Impact of Leadership Styles: As Ricardo Semler followed the above mentioned leadership styles, the following are the impacts of these style on SEMCOs strategic decisions: The company has become more consistent and responsible. The turnover of the company had gone from $4million to $160million. Which is also considered as a highest growth. The annual sales had increased upto 24%. In 1982, there were just 90 employees working in the company, and by the year 2003 it went upto 3000 employees working for SEMCO. The overall staff strength has increased due to which the companys profit has increased. SEMCO has diversified into different business unit. The company has generated balance between short-term and long-term goals. The products are offered at fair prices. Customers are provided by variety of products and with a differentiated service styles. It had brought innovation and creativity. As it encourages every employees participation and the decisions are imposed from top-down management, good outcomes are brought due to motivated employees. 2. Strategic Management and Leadership Theories: Strategic management  is used to establish a mission, values, vision, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities of any organisation. There are various theories to identify and to formulate the above mentioned points for an organisation: Henry Fayol Taylor Peter Drucker Mintzberg Functions of Management Scienticfic Management Techniques Five forces Roles Planning Establishing Goals Setting Objectives Informarion seeker, maintain inter personel contacts Forward information to others Spokesperson Organising Optimum use of resourses for meeting goals Organising the task Motivates and direct the employees Maintain informational links . Commanding Reward system for meeting goals Motivating employees New projects are initiated, identifying business developing areas Decisions are taken together during crisis Resources allocator who decides who gets the schedule, budget and priorities. Negotiator who represents department during negotiations with unions and suppliers. Co-ordinating Measurement of good oblectives Controlling Developing skills by giving training Trait Theories: In Trait theories people become heir to certain qualities and traits which makes them better suited for leadership. Trait theories often categorize soem behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. Contingency Theories: According to the contingency theory no leadership is best suited for all the situation. It depends on the variables which are related to the environment the determines what particular leadership suits the situation. Situational Theories: In Situational theories the leaders choose the best possible action based upon various situations i.e. depending upon the types of situation. There may be different leadership styles suited for different decision making. Behavioural Theories: In Behavioural leadership theory the actions of the leaders are not Focussed on what they are from their mental qualities or internal states as the leaders are not made but they are born leaders. Participative Theories: In this type of leadership all the employees are encouraged to contribute their input as a part of the decision making team for an organisation. The leader also retains the right to allow inputs of others. Great Man Theories: As great leaders are born and not made, this theory portray thar great leaders are mythic, heroic and who are always designed to bring up leadership when needed. Management theories(Transactional): Transactional theories are based upon the system of rewards or punishments. For instance when the employees of an organisation are successful they are rewarded, and on the other had if the employees of the organisation fail , they are punished at the same time. Relationship Theories(Transformational): Transformational theories focus upon inter personal relationship between the leaders and followers. These types of leaders help the group members to be inspired and get them know the importance. These leaders are focused on group performance , but at the same time these leaders also expect that each employees should fulfil their own potential. 2.1 Link between Leadership Theories: The Strategic Management and Leadership theories can be linked by using Mckinseys 7-s Frame work. The McKinsey 7-s frame work model involves 7 interrelated factors which are further categorized as hard element and soft element. Hard elements are easy to identify or define the managements as it is related to the Managers which includes Strategy, Structure and System. Whereas Soft elements can be identified or defined as these are related to the Leaders which includes Shared values, Skills, Style and Staff. Strategy:  It is a plan of action or a widespread plan to help create a competitive advantage which also involves the way of maintaining this advantage. Structure: It is a basic hierarchy of an organisation which helps to understand who is responsible for what and who is suppose to answer to whom. Systems:It includes the daily activities and procedures of the employees who are assigned for task performance in the organisation. Shared Values:  These values are considered as the core values of the organisational, mostly ethical values. Style:  These are the style adopted by a leader in an organisation. Staff:  These are the members of the organisation who are categorized according to their capabilities.   Skills:  This helps in identifying the basic skills each employees possess in the organisation for performing different tasks. 2.2 Impact of Leadership Theories on Organisational and Leadership Strategy:

Othello Passage :: essays research papers

Act V, Scene ii., lines 122-134 Emilia. O, who hath done this deed? Desdemona. Nobody--I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell! [She dies.] Othello. Why, how should she be murd'red? Emilia. Alas, who knows? Othello. You heard her say herself, it was not I. Emilia. She said so. I must needs report the truth. Othello. She's like a liar gone to burning hell! 'Twas I that killed her. Emilia. O, the more angel she, And you the blacker devil! Othello. She turned to folly, and she was a whore. Emila. Thou dost belie her, and thou art a devil. Othello. She was as false as water. Emilia. Thou art rash as fire to say That she was false. O, she was heavenly true! Othello's grief and his deep love for Desdemona led to a series of actions and dialogue located at the climax of the story. The chosen passage came near the end of this work--just after Othello smothered Desdemona with her pillow. Shakespeare, simply and probably tritely put, was a genius. His artful mastery of meter, diction, imagery, and tone is matchless and captivates interest and thought like no other. Meter in a literary work, just like all other components, can be a key factor in affecting the reader's thoughts and mood. Of course, this being Shakespeare, meter was utilized with a definite purpose. Because this portion of the play is dramatic and suspenseful, an erratic, loose structure is appropriate. The author "changed things up" and "kept the reader guessing" with regard to the structure and meter--thus causing even more suspense than what the plot had already provided. In this group of dialogue, Othello loses his usual poetic eloquence. His mental and emotional composure were compromised, thus impairing his diction. This temporary breach in character displayed his internal conflict and how it was affecting him as a person--for Othello's dignified speech, just as the way anyone speaks, was a part of him as a person. Displayed in many other works, contrasting imagery, or perhaps simply contrast in general, is present in my excerpt from Othello. For example, Emilia calls Desdemona an angel, while designating Othello a devil. Also, Othello says Desdemona was "as false as water" while, in the subsequent line Emilia accuses Othello as being "as rash as fire." By including these contrasts, Shakespeare heightened the intensity of the moment as well as expressed the mood and thoughts of the characters. There are many words that can describe the tone at this point in the play: chaotic, confused, angry, impulsive. Emilia's thought process is not so much shared by the reader as empathized by the reader--though we know what's going on, we can identify with her anger and confusion.

Othello: Summary :: essays research papers

Othello: Summary *Othello is a tense, closely-knit play, with an ever-increasing emotional scene. The character Iago, Othello's ancient, is the cause of all the tragedy which comes to pass as the play progresses. He is a manipulator, opposing Othello not directly, but through other characters whom he tricks. From his actions throughout the play one sees that Iago was gifted at using other people, to further his own schemes. *Act One, Scene One is the most important because it foreshadows the whole drama. Iago gives the reader warning that he is not all that he seems when he says, "I am not what I am" (I,i). He appears to help Roderigo, a suitor to Desdemona, who has run off with Othello, the Moorish general of the Venetian army. Iago hates Othello for another reason. instead of choosing him to be his lieutenant, Othello chose Cassio. In the end of scene, Iago and Roderigo have informed Brabantio about his daughter's elopement. Then they went to confront Othello with this situation. *At the beginning of Scene Two of Act One, Iago gives advice to Othello and lets him know what is about to happen. Shortly after their talk Brabantio confronts Othello about stealing his daughter. Then they all went and saw the Duke. Othello defends himself and asks if Desdemona can testify on the behalf of him. Othello tells how that the only "witchcraft" he used were his stories, and how Brabantio used to invite him up to tell them. Finally, Brabantio disowns Desdemona and she goes to be with Othello. *Near the end of the first scene of the second act, Iago convinces Roderigo, who was observing Cassio's enthusiastic greeting of Desdemona, that Cassio and Desdemona have something going on between them. Thus manipulating Roderigo through his passion for Desdemona, Iago convinces him to provoke Cassio to anger, so that the lieutenant will be discredited in Othello's eyes and Iago can take his position. *In Act II, Scene III, I ago tricks into a drink, knowing that he has a low tolerance for alcohol, making it easier for Roderigo to provoke him to fight. Cassio departs the scene, and Iago starts to insinuate to the other soldiers is a bit of a lush. Cassio soon, returns, chasing Roderigo, and when his comrades attempt to restrain him, he strikes at them as well. When Othello arrives on the scene, Iago makes it seem that he doesn't want to discredit Cassio, but his insinuations make Othello discharge his lieutenant. However, as soon as Othello is gone, he goes to Cassio as a helpful friend.

Man’s Nature is Evil †Hsun Tzuu Essay

Man’s basis need is to survive and thrive. This is such because he loves himself. This love for himself is makes him selfish and selfishness makes him evil. There is no one in this world that doesn’t love himself. This love for himself makes him put his needs over everything else. Putting one’s needs over other and not being considerate towards others and harming them for own advantage is evil. There was millions of ways to show how men are evil. To begin with there are numerous accounts where men led wars against other countries, destroyed property. In the name of conquering their land they have taken innocent lives all for their own interest. They try to justify the wars by saying it’s to solve a certain issue but there’s no way war is a solution to any problem. Men have cheated and robbed others in the name of trade and commerce. The biggest example is â€Å"Capitalism† which makes rich people richer and poor people constantly poorer. Gove rnments all around the world have invented laws and regulations to subjugate people. It is invented to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and unfortunate people so that they can’t come back and reclaim their stolen rights. The rich and powerful are always going to look down upon the poor people. If the poor people are given a chance they’ll surely rob the rich people of their assets and do exactly what the rich people did to them. There’s no mercy no forgiveness neither there is any love and spirit of brotherhood among men. All these injustice, fighting, wars, deception and lies everything proves that man’s basic nature is evil. Hsun Tzu says man’s true nature is evil and goodness comes out as a result of his conscience activity, which is absolutely true. There are practical and true arguments that he made in his essay where he depicts his man’s true form of wickedness. First of all if a man is not evil then he wouldn’t need any teacher or guidance to be a good person or to do good things yet he needs to be constantly guided by principles and instructions to become better. If a man is originally good in his true nature then there is no way that he can get derailed from his true nature. But as soon as his born he is more driven towards all the wrongdoings so his nature can be originally pure and good. Being respectful towards their elders and being careful towards  their children is what a man is supposed to do. They are not going to eat until the elders have eaten or not going to rest until they will demand rest until they have provided for their elders and children but all these go ag ainst their true emotions. If they were originally good in nature then man would have been naturally respectful to others therefore his nature is what we call the opposite of good . A man is fond of beautiful sights, sound and taste. Seeking the beauty to please him is his true nature. He admires the outer beauty rather than the beauty hidden inside. He loves the beautiful exterior rather than looking deep inside somebody. He will never like person with an ugly face; will never chose something with a bad taste and smell even if it’s a medicine. This exemplifies his evil and vague nature. If a man’s nature was originally good then the sage kings who invented ritual principles out of their conscience activity would have never had to make them. Man would do good things and make just decisions without the sage king’s inventing the ritual principles. All the arguments that Hsun Tzu makes here have supported my views about man’s nature being evil. He has reassured my understandings about man’s true nature. If mankind is left free to indulge in his true passion this world will soon fall into chaos and turmoil. There will be no peace no concord no harmony no amity. We will die of injustice and our own passion of wickedness. This is why we need the precious ritual principles so that we can survive and let other live. With the above being discussed it is appropriate to say that man’s true nature is evil.

Obesity and cancer – Linked to what level

Or possibly make for a worse cancer prognosis? These issues are addressed in this report, with references to many studies performer d at the population level, and at the molecular level – attempting to link cancer progression (prostrate cancer), severity and occurrence, wit h symptoms of obesity – such as visceral fat, deadlocked levels, etc.Focusing primarily on the dopamine levels in obese (cancer/non cancer) patients, in vitro tumor culture studies and data from prostrate/ breast cancer patients – this report aims to hint at a possible mechanism which underlies cancer progression on the basis of the data from above studies and explain how obese TTY as a condition, fits In the mechanism of tumor progression. Introduction to obesity – The first aspect regarding obesity is the quantification of the physical condition called ‘obese'.For the purpose of this report (and for most of the studies referred to) – computer tomography generated measurem ents in the order of ?comma area in the central abdominal regions (I. E. – of visceral fat), Is defined as the condition for obesity. Alternatively, other quantifications, such as waste- Hip ratios, Body Mass Index, etc are also used to define or relate specific aspects of body structure to the condition of being obese or its relate deed metabolic syndromes. 9] Central (visceral) obesity is characterized by metabolic syndromes such as – insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperventilates, displacement, hypertension, and problematic and protoplasm Tory states [81. All of which are fairly conditions that cause many complications in contemporaries occurring dies asses – however the focus of this report details the direct implications of obesity, and the molecules involved – followed by a generalization from this case-study on hormonal cancers. The molecular symptoms and effects of obesity on a patient's physiological system ar Fig. – Diagrammatic repre sentation of some of the possible mechanisms for obesity- related prostate cancer progression. GIF-I = insulin-like growth factor 1; IL- 6 = interleukin 6; VEGA = vascular endothelial growth factor; GHB = sex- hormone binding globulin. [8] Molecular characteristics of obesity – The following are characteristics/by- products of obesity and their respective roles identified in various hormonal (prostrate/breast) cancer studies – Hypersensitiveness – Geiger serum levels of insulin results in decreased production of Sex-Hormone Binding Globulin (GHB).GHB mediated inhibition of breast tumors has recently bee n identified in literature [1]. Hence, this characteristic is analogous to loss-of- inhibition for breast-cancer cells. Also, it results in higher levels of free androgen's and estrogen – which have been implicated in proliferation of breast cancers, and progression of hormonal cancers in general. Decreased Testosterone levels – have significance in prostrate cancer, as lower testosterone levels have been associated with high- read prostrate cancers. The characteristic being of higher proliferation and less differentiation in the tumor. 2] Perpetuation of TNT-alpha – by virtue of higher levels of TNT- alpha in serum, there is higher susceptibility to inflammation and inflammation by itself has a potential role as a cancer promoting event at any given site. [Smith's Term Paper] Dopamine secretions by adipose tissue are covered with a few examples – o Lepton – is an dopamine secreted primarily by White Adipose Tissue (WATT), and has been shoo win to be active in the formation of reproductive tissue (including the prostrate). And has be en positively correlated with visceral obesity and large prostrate tumors [4].Studies have shown that lepton promotes the proliferation of androgen- independent prostate cancer cell lines. It has also been shown to promote vascular endothelial cell profiler and misdiagnoses in vivo, processes that are crucial to allow cancer progression. Also, it has been positively correlated with increased prostrate cancer cell migration (implying invasion and metastasis) [5]. Mechanism of action – The proliferation response of prostate cancer cells to lepton has been shown o involve intracellular signaling molecules such as physicality-instill 3- kinas (POP-K) and c-June NH-terminal kinas NON). 10] o Interleukin-6 – one third of the circulating level secretion of IL- 6 is from adipose tissue. It is directly proportional to visceral obesity and insulin resistance. Its normal role being in modulo action of immune response and cell-functions – it is basically a growth inhibitor. However, recently it has been shown to undergo a transition in its role from growth inhibitor associated with neuroscience differentiation to stimulator accompanied by androgen receptor cacti action in prostrate cancer progression [6].Prostrate cancer cultures have been shown to secrete high levels of IL- 6, and it is believed that chronic exposure to this dopamine leads to loss-of-growth- inhibition in tumor cells. Serum IL-6 levels >7 pig/ ml are associated with a poor prognosis in men with prostate cancer. O Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGA) – VEGA levels are positively correlated with visceral obesity, and it is a potent nitrogen that allows for cell- migration, misdiagnoses and micro-vascular permeability. It hence, has a direct growth factor effect on tumor progression of all ski ads of cancer.Aggressive high grade cancers all show high levels of VEGA secretions. It is why apotheosized that obesity driven elevation in VEGA levels is a potent priming event for all forms of c anger, specially hormonal cancers. O Depiction – this is an dopamine that is negatively correlated with obesity and visceral fat. It has been identified as a possible therapeutic agent in many obesity related metabolic co indications, such as diabetes, hyp ertension, etc. Hence, by virtue of its opposite nature to other adipose nest, it is hypothesized to be the ‘anticancer' dopamine. It is also negatively correlated with high h grade prostrate and breast cancers.The function of depiction is via its two primary receptors, which have a spatial didst fiction that is governed by other growth factors and adipose. Studies have also identified JUNK and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STATS) as common downstream effectors of depiction. Both JUNK an d STATS play of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apotheosis during various physiologic and pathologic events such as tumor development. [7] Discussion/Analysis – Getting fat – Starting in chronological order of occurrence, in a patient's life – first, one must become obese for any risks to be present.Is this necessarily, true? Yes. Not that non-obese people are necessarily risk- free or unlikely to get cancer – but obesity is positively correlated with multiple forms of cancer, so that risk is assure deed. Foods containing high levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol are specifically t he ones that are implicated in development of central abdominal obesity. Linoleum acid (or Omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) is a constituent of animal- at that has been positively implicated in prostrate cancer migration/ metastasis [12].Also, low-fat culture medium for in vitro tumor cultures resulted in decreased proliferation rates and low- fat diets for tumor bearing nude-mice also showed slower progression of tumors. White Adipose Tissue (WATT – a sub- classification of adipose tissue, which is largely present in visceral fat), is significantly co-relatable to consumption of animal- fat and saturated fatty acids. It is recognized as a metabolically active endocrine organ – some of the secretions of which have been listed above. Hence, there is definitely a relation between one's diet and cancer prognosi s.The role of obesity – Obesity has been generically classified as a condition that suppresses non- aggressive diseases and accelerates the aggressive ones. How true this stereotype may be, is not the subject of this report – but nonetheless the statement does hold true for cancer progression. To say that cancer (of any form) may be ‘induced' by obesity, is not a Justifiable states .NET on the basis of currently available data. However, ‘cancer progression' is definitely a task that obesity is able to remote to sufficiency (of the tumor).

Current Topic in Ethics Essay

The article speaks about a recent incident that took place in Brazil, which brought in to light the ethical and moral values of humans. The story had a two sided approach the first one being from the church of Brazil and the second one from the government side. The incident is regarding a step father raping her 9 year old daughter. The girl confessed that she was under a sexual assault from her step father since the age of 6(Yahoo News, 2009). The man was also convicted of sexually abusing the girl’s 14 year old handicapped sister. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Catholic Church’s Congregation for Bishops said that the abortion carried out by the doctors under the decision of the girl’s mother was totally wrong and the twins that the girl carried had a right to live. On the other hand President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva had other views on the matter. He said that according to the law of Brazil where abortion is illegal and allowed only in case where the health of the child bearing women is endangered the Bishop is totally wrong. The girl had actually been brought to the hospital after several stomach cramps and it was found that she is pregnant and carrying twins. At the age of 9 doctors commented that it was impossible for the girl to bear the children and an abortion was the only viable option left. As the doctor involved in the abortion Rivaldo Albuquerque said that it was important for us to save the life of the girl(Yahoo News,2009). Ethical Issues The article raised several ethical issues regarding human rights and social rights. Firstly the rape case as the man had committed was illegal and should be punished according to the government law of the country. Secondly the issue of child abuse as an ethical issue is also being raised by this incident which is another offense of the law and needs to be punished. Third and the most important issue which has been raised by this incident are of abortion which according to the law of Brazil is illegal. The fourth issue has been raised to contradict the third one which is another face of the same law of abortion which is banned. Abortion is only allowed in case the health of the child bearing women is endangered. The fifth ethical issue is the sexual assault of the other handicapped girl sister of the girl which was actually sexually assaulted. All these ethical issues have come forward due to this incident and need to be taken care of by the Brazilian government. Ethical Theories There are many ethical theories and fields of ethics that are present but only some that are relevant would be applied to this case. We will consider each theory one by one and apply it on the case to deduct a result. Greek Philosophy Socrates emphasized that a person to be ethically correct needs to realize the importance of human life and existence. A person would act rightly and correctly if he or she is self aware and knows the importance of life. Bad deeds or evil deeds are a result of ignorance and if the person knows the consequences of doing wrong he or she would never commit that act (MacKinnon, 2008). According to the theory of Socrates the man who committed the assault was unaware of the consequences of the act to be specific he thought that he would get away with his actions but only the pregnancy of the girl brought up the matter. The case of abortion according to this Greek philosophy is a bit controversial as the importance of human life needs to be considered and in this case whether to save the girl or the twins she was carrying was a decision to be made. Normative Ethics This field of ethics focuses on the rightness and wrongness of actions to judge whether they are ethical or not. The theory says that actions were mainly judged by the intentions of a person as in whether they are right or wrong (Kagan, 1997). According to this theory the man in the case is found guilty of committing a crime and should be punished accordingly as his intention was truly wrong and hence his actions also become wrong. Then the abortion of the child was also morally ethical as the life of the girl was endangered by her pregnancy, hence according to this theory the decision of abortion is also ethically correct. Meta Ethics This approach of ethics is a bit different from other approaches as it looks at the reasons for the truth and decides up on the validity of the reasons as to whether the actions that led to the truth were ethical or non ethical (Miller, 2003). According to this theory the actions of the man were totally unethical as the man had committed an immoral act, which is the truth. The reason for this act was his uncontrollable desires, which were unethical. Abortion was performed because it was the only option through which the girl could be saved. The reason for the abortion was the fact that the doctors had to save the life of the girl and could take no risks, hence the act of abortion was morally ethical. Descriptive Ethics This is a newer field of ethics than normative ethics and focuses on the choices that were available to the person and the one he or she picked according to that his or her actions are judged to be ethical or not. According to this theory the man is still found to be guilty and should be punished as the choices he made were ethically incorrect and on the other hand the abortion done by the doctors was also morally ethical as they had limited choices and needed to save the girl. The doctors agreed on the fact that the girl who was only 9 years old could not carry the burden of pregnancy and hence had to be saved through abortion. Conclusion During this paper we looked up on different theories and fields of ethics. These fields and theories were applied on the case and the deduction of whether this ethical issue were correctly dealt or not was focused. The conclusion is not merely my own decision but the result of applying the ethical theories on the case. These theories when applied clearly highlight the fact that the man should be punished according to the law of Brazil and the decision of abortion made by the mother of the girl and carried out by the doctors was a correct one in the circumstances that were presented. References: Kagan S. (1997) Normative Ethics, Westview Press. MacKinnon B. (2008) Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth Publishing. Miller A. (2003) An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics, Polity. Yahoo News (March 8, 2009). Vatican defends Brazil excommunication. Retrived on March 10, 2009 from http://au. news. yahoo. com/a/-/world/5375029/vatican-defends-brazil-excommunication/

Discuss the Theatrical Device Essay

‘Aadhe Adhure’ or ‘Halfway House’ has often been described as a cross between Naturalist Theatre and Theatre of the Absurd. Interestingly, both these elements actually undercut each other as theatrical movements and are said to have polarized western theatre. Naturalism argues for heredity and a global perspective on human behavior, which is said to develop out of the social environment in which a particular individual lives. On the contrary, Absurdism believes that there are no solutions to the mysteries of existence because ultimately man is alone, forced to perform repetitive actions in a world without meaning. This play has many elements of Naturalist theatre, including a linear movement, a limited time span, an in-depth psychological characterization and a defined beginning, middle and end. However, the opening line– â€Å"Once again, the same thing all over again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  firmly typecasts it as a part of Absurdist theatre, as from the start itself there is a hint at circularity of events and a hopelessness and banality defined by the repetition of the word ‘again’ in the short sentence. Mohan Rakesh borrowed a common device from the theatre of the Absurd and in ‘Aadhe Adhure’, for the first time in Indian theatre the same actor was used to play five characters. According to Rakesh, â€Å"The woman is the central character and I want the four men to be played by the same actor. What I want to indicate by that is that it’s not the individual who’s responsible for his situation, for he would have made the same choice no matter what, regardless of the situation. Any choice anyone makes has a certain irony in it, for things turn out the same regardless of the choice. † Though it was passed off by some critics as a gimmick employed by the playwright, its thematic relevance came to the fore when Rajinder Nath, contrary to his own views on the importance of the technique, directed the play using five different actors for the roles. The conclusion was felt to be severely lacking as the notion of inherent ‘similarity’ in all the men which underlines the climax of the play failed to have the same impact. Interestingly, though Savitri implies that it is beneath their appearance, that this ‘same man’ exists, the implication is only forceful for the  audience because of the simultaneous visual impact of one man playing different roles. According to Nath himself it was a powerful theatrical device â€Å"to show how according to one’s convenience the same man can put on different masks depending on the situation in which he is placed†. That the authorial view corroborates with this statement is clear from the prologue where the ‘Man in the black suit’ equates identity with fluidity and calls himself undefined. Each character, given a certain set of circumstances, can occupy the place of another. This also follows the assumption that there is no real development or evolution of character; the character at the beginning of the play will not be shaped differently by the situation, enforcing the idea of a universality of experience, that â€Å"things turning out the same regardless of choice†. The prologue defines the play as ‘amorphous’. The audience is told that there is a bit of each character in all of them. Those watching the play and even those outside the theatre. The characters are said to be people â€Å"you bump into by chance in the street† stressing the alienation of urban crowd from one another as the source of difference as well as similarity, since they are all nameless, faceless people who can easily get lost in a crowd comprising of the same. Therefore, one man can play five characters because they are, in essence, the same man. This likeness is reiterated by the naming of the characters in their dialogues, not individually, but rather as First Man, Second Man, etc. According to the Hindi version of the play, the Man in the Black Suit â€Å"has a look of civility with a touch of cynicism†; the face of the First man â€Å"expresses the helpless anguish of having lost the battle of life†; the Second Man is â€Å"self-satisfied and yet a little insecure†; the Third Man â€Å"projects an air of someone who is committed to a life of convenience†; and the Fourth Man â€Å"looks older, quite mature and shrewd†. They have different characteristics, lifestyles and manners of speech, yet according to critics Nita Kumar and N. S. Dharan, this device makes use of  the inherent notion of playacting which includes the concept of freedom; to pretend and be whatever one likes. Every man remains an actor and therefore, it is easy for him to put up a facade and to hide his interiority according to the demands of the situation. This concept is emphasized not by the fact that the same man plays all the characters, but rather by the fact that it is possible for the same man to play all the characters. Simply by changing his costume and facial expression, he manages to change into a different person entirely. Therefore, the assertion of the prologue of the interchangeability of these characters is understandable. The problematic element in the play arises out of the contention of the Man in the Black Suit that interchange of roles can take place not only between the men in the play but also between the man and the woman. This strikes a discordant note as, according to critic Arti Mathur, it negates Savitri’s gender-specific struggle against social constraints. One of the biggest contributions to the ‘sameness’ of the multiple characters is that they are all men. And men, by the patriarchal definition especially prevalent in urban middle-class India, have a certain societal role which leads to their convergence into one man. Irrespective of circumstances their position in society is defined while that of the woman is defined in relation to the man. However, the statement is not entirely wrong either as Savitri, as the breadwinner of the household is actually the ‘man of the house’. Every society has an economic base and a cultural superstructure, which is derived from the base. In Halfway House, the base has shifted and it is the wife who is economically independent, however, the tragedy of the ironically named Savitri lies in the fact that the superstructure has not shifted in accordance with the base. Mahendranath has not become the domestic centre just because of his confinement to the house; Savitri is still required to fulfill her ‘womanly’ domestic duties. She is defined by the context of what it means to be a woman and has internalized the patriarchal system. This is also made clear by Savitri’s contempt of what she believes is Mahendranath’s lack of manliness. She despises his dependency on herself as well as Juneja and constantly searches for escape routes through other, more suitable men. An element of unrealism is brought in, in which even the characters seem to be aware of an underlying similarity between the men, a device not available to them as characters. Askok’s sketch of Singhania leads Savitri to ask Binni if the portrait reminds her of someone, and on being asked, â€Å"Whom†, she replies â€Å"Your father. † This intermingling of the play and the outside elements draws attention to this device. There is irony in the fact that one of the ways in which these men are actually the ‘same’ is in their exploitation of Savitri. According to critic Veena Das, these characters are seldom all of a piece, they are the broken images of a decomposing society. Mahendranath is a self-described ‘parasite’ and is later shockingly revealed to be a former wife-beater. His inability to hold the position of the ‘head’ of the family has made him bitter and suspicious; suspecting his wife of illicit liaisons, which, although hinted at are never confirmed by the text. His ‘unmanliness’ makes Savitri lose all respect for him, till their marriage is reduced to a sham of public expectations. Singhania treats Savitri with condescension and his ‘favors’ are granted with an obvious air of patronization. His pompous manner and speech is calculated to make the listener feel inferior, a fact that is explicitly stated by Ashok. However, in Savitri’s eyes his position as her boss and his salary makes him ‘superior’ and she remains silent in face of his thinly-veiled innuendos and his humiliation positioning of her as â€Å"one of his child’s ‘aunties’†. His crude behavior is a caricature of the sexual exploitation that women have to deal with in work places. Jagmohan is introduced almost an antithesis of Mahendra. He is suave, successful, with a man-of-the-world air and is presented as the eleventh hour rescuer. He is the only outcome available to her from the â€Å"hell† that her house has become to her. However, this apparent proactive position loses much of its worth as it is weakened by the fact that she waits for Jagmohan to ‘fetch’ her. She overlooks his barbs at her expense and goes with him willingly, an act in defiance of society which is only rewarded by  rejection. Again, this seemingly perfect man is unable to provide her with emotional support or security. Her disillusioned return drives home the point that there is no escape route left available for her. The point of concern becomes the fact that though Savitri is an economically independent woman, her means of ‘escape’ from the house is linked to a man. Savitri, in her search for the â€Å"complete man† speaks in the language of patriarchy, as the concept of ‘masculinity’ is a derivative of society. Even though she is a ‘modern, independent’ woman, she is unable to cut off the suffocating patriarchal bonds of the environment in which she lives. The Fourth Man, Juneja is introduced onto the stage around this point. He gains the sympathy of the audience by showing kindness towards Kinni, a character who is almost absolutely neglected in the play. He comes as a voice of rationality; as an almost omniscient character. He seems to have intimate knowledge of both Savitri and Mahendranath, as well as their circumstances. His seems to be the projected authorial voice in the play. His looks and manner of speech is structured so as to make the audience favor his point-of-view and assessment of character. Juneja espouses the belief that to Savitri the meaning of life is â€Å"how many different things you can have and enjoy at the same time. † He lays the blame for the current situation of hopelessness squarely on her shoulder and her quest for the â€Å"complete man†. According to him the problem is not a social reality, but instead lies in the psychological realm. All of the men she encounters are incomplete and therefore her solution is multiplicity. Her way of filling her void is â€Å"excess†. And she is only attracted to men because, â€Å"they are not Mahendra. † According to Juneja, if she had married one of the men whom she is attracted to she would have still felt she had married the wrong man. Juneja brings in another element of unrealism by accurately recounting the encounter between Jagmohan and Savitri because â€Å"in his place I would have said the same†. Once again this brings forth the ‘sameness’ of these characters, as Juneja’s claim is validated by Savitri’s shattering  realization- â€Å"All of you†¦every one of you†¦all alike! Exactly the same. Different masks, but the face†¦? The same wretched face†¦every single one of you! † The tragedy of the realization is heightened by Juneja’s ruthless perusal- â€Å"And yet you felt you had a choice†¦? Was there really any choice? Tell me, was there? † In the above dialogues lies the greatest significance of that particular theatrical device. It brings out a clear dichotomy between the ideal and the real. What Savitri has been pursuing all along, the ‘ideal man’ does not in fact exist. The notion of her having had a ‘choice’ has been illusory all along; she is trapped in a world with no exit. The play shifts focus to lack of freedom for a female in urban, middle-class India. The tragedy is that Juneja’s speech provides a dual closure for Savitri; both in her search for the ‘perfect’ man who can â€Å"fill her void†, as well as an acknowledgment that she shall never gain satisfaction, and related to that, happiness. In naturalism, free will is not denied but is contained and confined within the environment in which the individual lives. Savitri’s free will is her ability to choose but the fulfillment of that choice depends on the context. Her freedom is linked to a man. She is free to choose which man, but it has to be a man. The illusion of choice arises from the four men and her ‘independence’ is related to shifting from one man to the other. In the prologue, the Man in the Black Suit had asked the existentialist question of ‘who am I’. This is now problematized, as the dramatic innovation of using the same man for multiple characters casts doubt on whether there is an ‘I’ at all. ‘I’ refers to individuality, the existence of a self different from the ‘other’, a projection that the men in the play are all different which is negated through Juneja’s speech. Savitri uses the language of social realism to justify her belief that she moves on to other men because Mahendra is not the right man. Juneja uses the language of absurdism to articulate that there is no ‘right man’; her search is futile because such a man does not exist. All the men in her life are essentially the same man and can only satisfy her for a limited period of time. Surprisingly, the text does not lead up to its realist conclusion; that she is trapped because of the prohibitions of the society in which she lives, a world in which a woman has no choice in her own destiny. It, in fact, veers from its apparent initial realist stance of ‘all men are the same in a patriarchy’ and seems to suggest that all men are the same only to Savitri. Halfway House has often been described as a woman-centric misogynistic play. â€Å"Even as the play builds up a dark vision of trapped humanity, it weakens the force of its statement by simultaneously cutting Savitri’s credentials. † (Nita Kumar). The play does not imply that if the only conditions were different or could be changed then Savitri would be able to escape from the ‘trap’, instead her sexuality is morally condemned, she ought not be able to escape. Juneja contends that all the men who had come into her life were different. They were individuals with their own diverse characteristics and, according to critic Veena Das, what made Savitri see them as parts of the same fractioned entities was her own â€Å"diseased imagination†. Juneja, in saying that all men are the same, is trying to define the essential nature of desire. Desire is always in excess of the individual and can never be completely satiated. The frightening aspect of desire lies in its limitlessness. All men are the same because they are looked at through Savitri’s desire, the fact that they will all eventually be unable to satisfy her is the reason for their ‘sameness’. Their amorphousness derives from the fact that they change in accordance with Savitri’s assessment of them. The transcendental nature of desire will always make her move on to other men and search for completeness. It seems to suggest that every being is half-incomplete, it is not a tragedy, but rather a fact of existence, and Savitri, in her search for masculine perfection and inability to accept this fact, is herself responsible for her ruination. Unexpectedly again, the play doesn’t build up even to the absurdist conclusion; it does not suggest that everybody in essentiality is like Savitri, because desire is universal, exceeding every individual. Instead,  the elements of Naturalism as well as Absurdism are developed only to lay the blame on Savitri’s inherent nature, which is considered responsible for the destruction of this particular family. She stands the last accused and the play ends before there can be any possibility of defense on her behalf. Interestingly, though certain relationships in life are deterministic, including that of a mother-daughter, sister-brother, etc, the same cannot be said about spouses; however, in this very context the language used by Juneja is the final language of containment, of absolute, rigid determinism. As earlier mentioned, the device of one man playing multiple roles is that of the actor and is not available to the character, and therefore it is significant that the visual of the play itself shows that nothing can be changed. Juneja’s speech corresponds to the structure of the play, which has to come from without and therefore indicates a concurrence with the playwright’s view. According to critic Kirti Jain, this device loses a little of its relevance in the actual stage performance as the focus of the audience is drawn primarily towards the clothes, mannerisms and voice of that one actor rather than the thematic import. However, there is no ambiguity on the fact that the nature of the play cannot be understood without a reference to this particular device. Through this, the area of thrust changes entirely from the ‘universality of human experience’, and the ultimate censure is not of society, or even the circumstances, but rather of Savitri’s desiring nature. Her lack of constraint and implicit sexuality stand accused as the essential reasons for what makes her home an incomplete, halfway house. Bibliography i. All textual quotes are from Worldview Critical Edition of ‘Halfway House- Mohan Rakesh’ ii. Halfway House: A House Divided by Nita N. Kumar iii. A Note on Indian Theatre by Kirti Jain iv. The Director’s Viewpoint by Om Shivpuri v. A Thematic Interpretation of One Actor and Five Roles in Halfway House by Arti Mathur vi. Lust For Life: A Study of Savitri in Halfway House by Naresh K. Jain vii. Halfway House: Absurdism of the Indian Middle Class by Bharat Gupt viii. Uncertain Circumstance, Undefined Individuals: A Study of Halfway House by S. G. Bhanegaonkar ix. Sexism and Power Games by Manchi Sarat Babu x. Halfway House: Some Stray Comments Only by Dilip Kumar Basu xi. There is Something in this House by N. S. Dharan xii. Halfway House: A Play of Incomplete Utterances by Veena Nobel Das xiii. Realism and the American Dramatic Tradition by William Demastes xiv. Mohan Rakesh, Modernism, and the Postcolonial Present by Aparna Dharwadker.