“I am Duchess of Malfi still” How the Duchess Redefines the Role of the Woman - Literature Essay Samples

In British literature of the 16th and 17th centuries, plots often center on romance, royalty, and the battle for power. With this emphasis come stories that feature the stereotypes of the damsel in distress, the powerless princess, and the haughty heiress. Although women of this era may have been born into nobility and unending wealth, society and expectations of the time period placed limitations on many of the women in such literature. However, this rarely stopped some of the fictional female characters from bending the rules in the best interests of themselves and those they cared for. In the Duchess of Malfi, the main protagonist, the Duchess, steps beyond societal boundaries by destroying the image of herself as a powerless widow and instead recreating herself as a powerful political figure, a mother, and a wife; since society worried about giving women too much power or control, the Duchess took matters into her own hands and showed her ability to make her own decisions while s till excelling at her â€Å"feminine roles† as a mother and wife. Instead of hiding in the shadows of her husband or other male leaders, the Duchess does it all. Through her actions, she demonstrates an early glimpse of feminism and of â€Å"the modern woman† in early literature. As one of the most audacious female characters in British literature, the Duchess is aware of her political position once she becomes the Duke of Malfi’s widow. In the play, Webster first introduces her in the role of a widow. However, the Duchess does not intend to stay in this position of mourning, regardless of what those around her advise her to do. Her two corrupt brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, want full control over her decisions, including whom she decides to marry. The Duchess ignores the requests of her brothers and marries whom she wants, her social inferior and steward Antonio, in secrecy. This action conveys a bold statement on the Duchess’s opinion of societal expectations because she not only marries below her social class but also marries against the orders of her power-hungry brothers. Widows, like the Duchess, had clear expectations that Renaissance society expected them to follow. The behavior of women following being widowed was an issue that needed to be addressed because early death was not uncommon. In his essay â€Å"Webster’s ‘Worythest Monument’: The Problem of Posterity in The Duchess of Malfi,† Brian Chalk points out that â€Å"Widows were thus common figures who needed to be acknowledged and accounted for in everyday life. In his Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying, Jeremy Taylor articulates a view toward widows disturbingly similar to Ferdinand’s, insisting that ‘a widow must be a mourner and she that is not, cannot so well secure the chastity of her proper state’† (388). By marrying too soon after her husband’s death and to someone not equal or higher in political position, the Duchess was not fulfilling what society expected her to do as a widow. Although remarrying was typical for widows, and although the Duchess remarks, â€Å"I have not gone about in this to create / Any new world or custom,† her brothers believed that they should be in charge of when and who was the recipient of her power (1604). Society recommended that a mourning widow should not be responsible for securing a new, appropriate husband; however, the Duchess decides, against the wishes of her brothers, that she can make her own decisions without their interference. Perhaps one of the main reasons the Duchess’s brothers attempted to control her actions was because of how dangerous her new status made her. Chalk continues: â€Å"As a new widow, the Duchess is a particularly dangerous figure to her brothers. An early exchange makes clear that their desire to control both her present and posthumous reputation is at the center of their concerns: ‘Duchess: I’ll never marry. Cardinal: So most widows say. But commonly that motion lasts no longer than the turning of an hour-glass; the funeral sermon and it, end both together† (387). Her brothers are preoccupied with the idea of their sister remarrying and what it might do to her reputation; as a result, they highly recommend against it. They want to be completely involved with her decision-making; similarly, society felt that women should not make important decisions. However, there is more to the brothers’ interests in controlling their sister. They view her as a gatew ay to their own increased power and wealth. If she remarries, especially an unsuitable person, it may affect their political position. In addition, Ferdinand’s apparent infatuation with his sister resides at the root of all the reasons he does not want her to remarry. He is attracted to the Duchess, as most men are: she is powerful, beautiful, and intelligent. Ferdinand’s opposition to her remarriage arises partially because he would prefer to have her for himself, and if he cannot have her, no one should. In a conversation with his henchman, Bosola, Ferdinand says, â€Å"She’s a young widow, I would not have her marry again.† When Bosola questions why, Ferdinand responds, â€Å"Do not you ask the reason, but be satisfied I say I would not† (1578). He declines to share his reasoning for not allowing his sister to remarry, a sign that his logic may be his inappropriate desire to have an incestuous relationship. In â€Å"Defining/Confining the Duchess: Negotiating the Female Body in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi,† Theodora Jankowski explains, â€Å"The brothers m ay be justified in taking an interest in their sister’s marital affairs, but it is rather difficult to see how they can be justified in their inordinate interest in her sexual being as well† (227-228). Although Ferdinand has a clear sexual interest in his sister, their obsession with her sexuality comes back to power. To them, the Duchess is not a powerful political figure; she is an â€Å"object of trade to be owned† (Jankowski 228). By producing heirs, their sister has the ability to make treaties with other rulers. Jankowski continues, â€Å"In this sense, their inquiry into the chastity of their sister’s body is understandable, though grotesque, for her production of children the patriarchy considers illegitimate would decrease her value as a trade article for her family† (228). If the Duchess has children out of wedlock, she will not be as valuable as an object of trade. Her brothers fear that her status, as a widow, will cause her to act with promiscuity. They want to keep a close eye on her to make sure that this does not happen. The Duchess confirms her brothers’ fears when she does exactly what they hoped to avoid: she marries a social inferior, her steward, and begins defining her image as a wife. Jankowski points out, â€Å"It also becomes easier to understand Ferdinand’s obsession with the Duchess’s blood and her reference to â€Å"all [her] royal kindred† who might lie in the path of her proposed marriage to a steward of lower rank, which would pollute this blood† (227). The Duchess’s choice of marriage does not help advance her politically; as a result of this decision, some critics view her as a bad ruler since she failed to place the needs of her subjects before her own desires. Because her brothers would object to this marriage, the Duchess must keep it a secret. Even though marrying Antonio did not result in political advances, her decision to marry the man she cares for shows a leap of feminism. Instead of marrying for power, politics, or wealth, the Duche ss redefines the meaning of marriage as an act between two people who have real affection for each other. She selects Antonio because he is kind and loyal, a union John Halkett describes as â€Å"a relatively modern concept of marriage as a partnership of love and mutual helpfulness† (qtd. in Jankowski 230). The Duchess’s reasoning behind her marriage completely opposed society’s expectations for a woman of political power. To society, the union of a powerful woman to a man of lower class was madness because the woman did not gain anything; if anything, she lost value. Jankowski argues, â€Å"She has violated existing patriarchal conventions of marriage to create her own concept of the state. To do so, this character has drawn upon an ideology of marriage quite different from the dynastic union her brothers speak of† (230). The Duchess upsets the definition of marriage as dictated by society and instead creates her own idea of wedlock. She plays into the image of the wife as a loving companion who helps her partner as he helps her. Instead of becoming the powerless wife of another aristocrat, the Duchess uses marriage to Antonio as a gateway to shared power and mutual respect. The intimacy and friendship shared by the Duchess and Antonio appear in various scenes throughout the play. The pair even incorporates fun and flirtation into marriage. An example of this is in Act 3, Scene 2, as Antonio and the Duchess fool around before bed: â€Å"Duchess: To what use will you put me? Antonio: We’ll sleep together. Duchess: Alas, what pleasure can two lovers find in sleep?† (1601). Their ease with each other and loving demeanor proves the depth of their relationship. The Duchess shows her ability to be a loving spouse to Antonio. As a result, the Duchess and Antonio are friends, lovers, and life companions until death. Yet another duty the Duchess takes on faithfully is the role of a mother. Unlike many wealthy mothers of the time who distanced themselves from their children with servants and wet nurses, the Duchess cared for her children and their well-being. In the moments before her death, she instructs Cariola, â€Å"I pray thee, look thou giv’st my little boy / Some syrup for his cold, and let the girl / Say her prayers ere she sleep† (1625). In â€Å"Just a Spoonful of Sugar: Syrup and Domesticity in Early Modern England,† Wendy Wall questions, â€Å"What does it mean for a ‘hero’ to bid farewell in these terms? How are audiences to understand a character who is prepared to die ‘like a prince,’ but who concerns herself, at this momentous occasion with administering homey remedies to her children?† (149). The Duchess’s final requests to her friend demonstrate her nurturing, maternal instincts. She worries about her son receiving medi cine for his cold and her daughter remembering to say her prayers when she is no longer there to care for them. Although the Duchess had duties as a political figure and a wife, among other things, she valued her role as a mother most. In addition, the Duchess did not fear for the political future of her children; she is most concerned with their health and well-being. Some view the Duchess’s final moments as her recognition of her defeat as she gives up her power and life. Lisa Jardine regards the Duchess as a â€Å"stereotypical nurturing mother . . .stripped of dynastic power† (qtd. in Wall 150). However, the Duchess proves herself to be anything but the stereotypical mother of her time, since losing prestige does not bother her. Any other mother in her position would worry about the social and political status of her heirs (offspring being regarded first as heirs, second as children) after her death. Wall continues, â€Å"the Duchess’s indifference toward seeing her children as heirs, paired with her general lack of concern for her political legacy, convinces critics that something new – perhaps mystifying, perhaps liberatory – is afoot† (150). Unlike a majority of the powerful and wealthy people of her time, the Duchess is able to separate politics from her private life. She does not view her children as heirs and objects; she views them as her children whom she loves. In her final moments, she does not concern herself with the legacy she will leave behind or how they â€Å"dispose [her] breath† (1626). As Bosola dangles the cord the executioners will use on her and attempts to frighten her about her manner of death, the Duchess merely remarks that she does not care how she dies. She announces, â€Å"What would it pleasure me to have my throat cut / With diamonds? Or to be smothered / With cassia? Or to be shot to death with pearls?† (1625). To the Duchess, whether she dies with diamonds or pearls is irrelevant so long as her son receives his cough syrup. â€Å"This is maternal care, feelingly revealing her core values as she is extinguished by a corrupt world† (Wall 150). This is yet another example of the Duchess’s m odern ability to set herself apart from society and act as both a human and a mother. Instead of concerning herself with her own loss, she worries about her children. She offers a final display of her selflessness by placing the needs of her children before all else. What makes the Duchess a remarkable character is not her position of power alone; instead, she is remarkable in her ability to balance all of the roles she must fulfill: mother, wife, and duchess. When looking only at her role as the Duchess, one may not view her as successful. As Joyce Peterson argues, â€Å"Webster’s character places her private desire to marry Antonio above her public responsibility as a ruler, an action that identifies her with her corrupt brothers† (qtd. in Jankowski 223). This is not true. In her singular role as a political figure, the Duchess may have failed. However, looking at her actions as a duchess alone is not an accurate manner of evaluating of her success or failure as a character because she does not fill a singular role. Instead, the Duchess takes on the role of the modern woman: she has a â€Å"career† and is a mother and wife. With her ability to balance her duties, the Duchess represents a type of woman that would not surface for several hundred years; she is a glimpse of the modern woman before such a female existed. Today, society does not define a woman solely on the success of her career. Society instead looks at a woman’s ability to make a living for herself and family, her dedication as a mother, and the loyalty and compassion in her marriage. When rating the Duchess’s success using modern standards, society would view her as a highly respectable woman who balances her work, children, and marriage. Ultimately, this attempt to redefine the image of the monarch, mother, and wife costs the Duchess her life. Her ambitious, feminist behavior made a bold statement before her life spiraled out of control and into the hands of her corrupt brothers. However, Webster still painted a bold picture of how women can successfully take on multiple roles, both as leaders and as mothers. Even with the murder of the Duchess, the conclusion of the play sends a strong message. As Michelle Dowd points out in â€Å"Delinquent Pedigrees: Revision, Lineage, and Spatial Rhetoric in the Duchess of Malfi,† â€Å"Many commentators argue that the play champions Protestant ideals of marriage and domestic life; by privileging the Duchess’ child from her marriage to Antonio, the play thus validates the ideology of companionship and domestic harmony that this union represents† (500). The Duchess’s legacy lives on through her surviving son. With this conclusion, Webster indicates that the Duchess was justified in her secret marriage to Antonio. Thus, in the Duchess of Malfi, Webster created a female protagonist with ideals and beliefs far ahead of her time. Readers and spectators of the play could reconsider what the expectations of a widow in a position of power and wealth should be, and realize that a woman could successfully take on the complex role of monarch, wife, and mother. Works Cited Chalk, Brian. Websters Worthyest Monument: The Problem Of Posterity In The Duchess Of Malfi. Studies In Philology 108.3 (2011): 379-402. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 8 Nov. 2015. Dowd, Michelle M. Delinquent Pedigrees: Revision, Lineage, And Spatial Rhetoric In The Duchess Of Malfi. English Literary Renaissance 39.3 (2009): 499-526. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 8 Nov. 2015. Jankowski, Theodora A. Defining/Confining The Duchess: Negotiating The Female Body In John Websters The Duchess Of Malfi. Studies In Philology 87.2 (1990): 221-245. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. Wall, Wendy. Just A Spoonful Of Sugar: Syrup And Domesticity In Early Modern England. Modern Philology: Critical And Historical Studies In Literature, Medieval Through Contemporary 104.2 (2006): 149-172. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. Webster, John. â€Å"The Duchess of Malfi.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2012. 1572-1647. Print.

What Is the Gaokao

In China, applying to college is about one thing and one thing only: the gaokao. Gaokao (é «ËœÃ¨â‚¬Æ') is short for æ™ ®Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã© «ËœÃ§ ­â€°Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¦   ¡Ã¦â€¹â€ºÃ§â€Å¸Ã¥â€¦ ¨Ã¥â€º ½Ã§ »Å¸Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¨â‚¬Æ'è ¯â€¢ (â€Å"The National Higher Education Entrance Examination†). A student’s score on this all-important standardized test is pretty much the only thing that matters when it comes to determining whether or not they can go to college—and if they can, which schools they can attend. When Do You Take The Gaokao? The gaokao is held once annually at the end of the school year. Third-year high school students (high school in China lasts three years) generally take the test, although anyone may register for it if they desire to. The test generally lasts for two or three days. What's On The Test? The subjects tested vary by region, but in many regions,  they will include  Chinese language and literature, mathematics, a foreign language (often English), and one or more subjects of the student’s choice. The latter subject depends on the students preferred major in college, for example, Social Studies, Politics, Physics, History, Biology, or Chemistry. The gaokao is especially famous for its sometimes inscrutable essay prompts. No matter how vague or confusing they are, students must respond well if they hope to achieve a good score.   Preparation As you might imagine, preparing for and taking the gaokao is a grueling ordeal. Students are under huge amounts of pressure from their parents and teachers to do well. The final year of high school, especially, is often focused intensely on preparation for the exam. It isn’t unheard of for parents to go so far as quitting their own jobs to help their children study during this year. This pressure has even been linked to some cases of depression and suicide amongst Chinese teens, especially those who perform poorly on the exam. Because the gaokao is so important, Chinese society goes to great lengths to make life easy for test-takers on testing days. Areas around testing sites are often marked as quiet zones. Nearby construction and even traffic  are  sometimes halted while students are taking the test to prevent distractions. Police officers, taxi drivers, and other car owners will often ferry students they see walking the streets to their exam locations for free, to ensure that they are not late for this all-important occasion. Aftermath After the exam is over, local essay questions are often published in the newspaper, and occasionally become hotly-debated topics. At some point (it varies by region), students are asked to list the colleges and universities they prefer in several tiers. Ultimately, whether they are accepted or rejected will be determined based on their gaokao score. Because of this, students who fail the test and thus cannot attend college will sometimes spend another year studying and  retake  the test the following year. Cheating Because the gaokao is so vitally important, there are always students willing to attempt cheating. With modern technology, cheating has become a veritable arms race between students, the authorities, and enterprising merchants who offer everything from false erasers and rulers to tiny headsets and cameras connected to off-site helpers using the internet to scan questions and feed you answers. Authorities now often outfit test sites with a variety of signal-blocking electronic devices, but cheating devices of various sorts are still readily available to those foolish or unprepared enough to attempt using them. Regional Bias The gaokao system has also been accused of regional bias. Schools often set quotas for the number of students they will take from each province, and students from their home province have more available spaces than students from remote provinces. Since the best schools, both high schools and colleges, are mostly in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, this effectively means that students lucky enough to live in those areas are better prepared to take the gaokao and are able to enter China’s top universities with a lower score than would be needed by students from other provinces. For example, a student from Beijing might be able to get into Tsinghua University (which is located in Beijing and is former president Hu Jintao’s alma mater) with a lower gaokao score than would be necessary for a student from Inner Mongolia. Another factor is that because each province administers its own version of the gaokao, the test is sometimes demonstrably harder in some areas than others.

The Building Blocks Of Society Essay - 1708 Words

One of the first questions that is asked, from sociological perspective is â€Å"What are we looking at in society. What are the building blocks?† Values are described as a shared or collective goal that you don’t usually see unless you ask. Values are used as motivators, purpose and rewards and sometimes the reason we get out of bed in the morning. The building blocks of society are the challenges, values, norms, groups and roles. When there is an awareness of these building blocks a societal group is formed. Our status rank is the position we find ourselves within the group (for example the student vs. the professor). Norms and values are organized through structure (the social order or organization) of the group. When approaching values from a cultural perspective, culture is defined as a cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, roles and religion that is acquired by a group of people in the course of generations thro ugh individual and group striving. Culture is the totality of a person’s learned and accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or in other words, behavior that is acquired through social learning. A culture is a way of life for a group of people, passed along by communication from one generation to the next. Finally culture can be defined as the collective programming that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. Taken one step further, multiculturalism is the viewShow MoreRelatedEducation Is The Building Block Of Society1830 Words   |  8 PagesEducation is the building block of society. Without it, the world would go downhill. 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Contrast the UK Healthcare System with US Healthcare System

Question: Evaluate the comparision and contrast the UK healthcare system with US Healthcare system? Answer: Introduction The main purpose of this paper is to compare as well as contrast the United States Healthcare system with the healthcare system of United States of America. While comparing the healthcare system of two countries, the first thing, which is determined, is Good system for healthcare. As per the World Health Organizations, health system needs to be fair and good that could cover overall health, such as high life expectancy disability as well as low infant rate of mortality (Anderson and Poullier 2004). It also focuses on better distribution of good health such as low infant rate of mortality and long expectancy of life; high overall level of responsiveness, better distribution of the responsiveness among the group of population, and better distribution of healthcare finance, in which health cost should be evenly distributed that is based over the pay ability so that each person could be protected from the illness of financial risk (Blendon, Kim and Benson 2001). The key fact that will be discussed in this paper will be the healthcare cost in the US and UK, along with health, healthcare facilities, responsiveness, financial fairness, performance and healthcare system satisfaction. Compare and contrast the UK healthcare system with US Healthcare system The World Health Organization, and the United nations agency has issued a report in the year 2000, which has ranked the 191 countries healthcare system, which was first of its kind that included huge international scope. According to the ranking, United Kingdom was given 9th ranked and America was given 17th rank in their entire performance of healthcare system (Kuzel and Devers 2006). These Outcomes was behind France that attained first rank, then Italy, Spain, Austria, and sixth position was given to Portugal. This study has also depicted that around 57% of the total population of the UK was very satisfied with the countries healthcare system (Kuzel and Devers 2006). That percentage was at lowest in comparison to United States in which only 40% of the population was very satisfied (Kuzel and Devers 2006). According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and the Development, whose headquarters are located in france and Paris has studied about the comparative data of 30 countries such as, Poland, Australia, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Germany, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Ireland, UK, USA, etc (Matthews 2009). As per the report of OECD comparative 2006, the complete health expenditure done in the year 2004 in UK was around 8.3% of the total Gross Domestic product (GDP) and the data explored in USA was around 15.3% of the total GDP, where else the mean of total 30 countries was around 8.9% (Matthews 2009). According to this same study reported about health expenditure made in the UK was US$ 2546 per capita and US $6102 in the USA, where else the mean of 30 countries came around US$2550 (Matthews 2009). It was noted from the results that the public spending on the healthcare is importantly among US and the UK. From the 2004 results of total health expenditure, Public spending done in UK was around 85.5% and in USA it was around 44.7% (Matthews 2009). The UK has adopted the approach of National Health Service, which implies that the healthcare facilities are mainly owned by the State, but still private ownership exist in the country (Blendon, Kim and Benson 2001). In UK the physicians work just like the solo entrepreneurs for conducting the individual practice, and they are mainly paid by the government funding that comes after deducting the taxes (Susan2002). The NHS is the highest employer in the UK, and gives employment to around 1.3 million people, and holds the budget of around $90 billion every year (Blendon, Kim and Benson 2001). This implies that although the country is developed and its GDP is also higher, the society is able to attain both primary as well as secondary healthcare services. However, there are other approaches related to the healthcare in other countries (Blendon, Leitman, Morrison and Donelan 1990). United States of America has adopted the pluralistic approach; in which most of the healthcare is in hand of private sector and it act as the capital institution. There is also certain state intervention that offers affordable healthcare services, which is mainly evident in Obamacare that was introduced in the year 2010 in order to award the more funding to government for improving healthcare system of the country (Blendon, Kim and Benson 2001). The OECD reports also includes about the life expectancy, health professionals remuneration, functions of health expenditure, and consumption of tobacco. In the year 2004, around 25% of the UK population and 17% in USA are reported to have regular tobacco consumption (Rexford and Neun2000). In the year 2003, if expectancy at the time of birth was 78.5 years in the UK and around 77.5 was in the USA. There are various factors that play integral role in these outcomes. Although US has lower tobacco consumption rate and they also spend higher on healthcare from their GDP, but UK has high birth life expectancy (Blendon, Kim and Benson 2001). These results clearly indicates that it is important for the public of America and UK and the managers in healthcare sector to understand about the spending in healthcare and delivery to this progress is quite productive and USA has more effective healthcare system (Earl, Klees and Curtis 2000). Conclusion United States is basically founded on the rights and freedom guarantee. Its noted that formal education is referred and is accepted in USA. UK not only explores the similar freedom and rights as USA, but they also cover up the rights to receive the actual access to healthcare services. Its true that UK has high involvement among the private and NHS health care, but USA has the healthcare reforms, which includes the implementation of the universal system of healthcare. Therefore, healthcare system is considered at the next side of spectrum and it explores new ways of approaching the systems and explores benefits in function delivery. Bibliography Anderson, G. and Poullier, J. 2004. Health spending, access: trends in industrialized countries. Health National England Journal of Medicine, 350 (9), pp. 937-942. Blendon, R., Kim, M. and Benson, J. 2001. The public versus the Organization of Economic and Co-operative Development- World Health Organization on health system performence: OECD health datatobacco consumption. Health Aff, 20 (3), pp. 10-20 Blendon, R.J., Leitman, R., Morrison, I. and Donelan, K. 1990. Satisfaction with Health Systems in Ten Nations.Health Affairs, 2, pp. 1-188 Earl, H.D., Klees, B.S. and Curtis, C.A. 2000. Overview of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs.Health Care Financing Review 22(1), pp. 175193. Kuzel, A. and Devers, K. 2006. The UK National Health Service context. Journal of Health Polit Policy Law, 31(3), pp. 1-45. Matthews, J. C. 2009. UK v USA the basic healthcare facts. [Online]. Available at: https://liberalconspiracy.org/2009/08/14/uk-v-usa-the-basic-healthcare-facts/ [Accessed on: 24th March 2015]. Rexford, S.E. and Neun, S.P.2000. Health Economics: Theories, Insights and Industry Studies.Orlando, FL: Dryden Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Susan, G.2002. Markets and Medicine: The Politics of Health Care Reform in Britain, Germany, and the United States.Ann Arbor: The Univ. of Michigan Press.

PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION THEORY Essays (742 words) - Conformity

PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION THEORY Traditional sociological analyses tie secondary socialization sources to behavior, usually using linkage through stress. Situations, personal traits, etc. lead to stress, and drugs relieve them. According to Oetting and Donnermeyer, these secondary socialization sources operate only via their effects on primary socializations sources. Unless a personality trait, a community characteristic, stress, or any other factor influences bonding with the primary socialization sources or alters the communication of norms through those sources, the theory proposes that there will be little or no effect on deviant behaviors. (Oetting and Donnermeyer, 1998) Thus far (there is to be a series of three articles, only one of which has been published) the major analysis has been of adolescents. Three primary sources of socialization are proposed: family, school and peer groups. While any of these groups are capable of transmitting both prosocial and deviant norms, family and school are seen as being primarily prosocial and peer groups carrying the main risk of trasmitting deviant norms. Family socialization contains two components which impact an adolescent's risk for deviance: the strength of the family bond, and the use of those bonds to transmit prosocial norms. Dysfunctional families may either alienate their children and/or provide deviant normative information to them. The family bond of concern in these cases is not just a matter of support of love. It is more specifically limited to the level to which an individual is willing to accept and adopt values and norms from the family, and thus to behave accordingly. Society currently assigns schools the responsibility of transmitting certain cultural and behavioral norms. In the same way that there are dysfunctional families, there are also dysfunctional schools which have parallel weaknesses. The typical image of a dysfunctional school, of the resignation to chaos and deviance is only one type. Even in the best schools, there will be alienated peer groups. Poor grades, disciplinary problems etc. tend to erode the bond between an adolescent and school, and thus erode the ability of the school to transmit prosocial norms. These students are forced outside the circle in which other peers may be receiving normative socialization. Studies of these disaffected groups have shown that students experiencing alienation, lack of success within the school framework, and other problems with deriving rewards from school have a greater tendency toward drug use and deviancy in general. Peer groups form the last primary socialization group, and have the greatest impact on those alienated from the first two groups. These groups may be formed on the basis of, among other things, ethnicity or activity - including drug use. An individual's choice of peer group has been shown to correlate with their risk of drug use/abuse (Oetting and Donnermeyer, 1998). Primary socialization theory thus provides a powerful tool in analyzing the sources of risk for subtance abuse. It integrates many other theories, and thus it's applicability is extremely wide. In terms of policy implications, it points to the importance of maintaining social ties between family, school and adolescents. Moreover, it can reveal certain alienating aspects of punishment as counterproductive in the school's role as transmitter of prosocial norms. Finally, it suggests that a certain emphasis in creating social bonding among recovering addicts is uniquely important in successfully treating addiction. As an overall theme, there are two components to all of these instances. First, there must be a strong social bond of a very unique sort. It is one among people who draw upon each other when making normative judgements intimate to their lives, or more specifically, the course of action with respect to drugs. Identification with this group with respect to the judgement at hand is essential for the adoption of similar norms. The second component is that these bonds must become used to transmit that normative information. Strong bonds do not prevent drug use if that identity does not in some way involve a consideration of drug use as deviant. Finally, the limitations of this theory must also be considered. That is, in some cases, drug use stems from a perception that all social bonds have been severed. Thus the behavior is not learned from an intimate peer group, but from the environment in general. In this case, the old-fashioned analysis of stress relief has more

Free Essays on Henry James

â€Å"Presently a small boy came walking along the pathan urchin of nine or ten. The child, who was diminutive for his years, had an aged expression of countenance, a pale complexion, and sharp little features. He was dressed in knickerbockers, with red stockings, which displayed his poor little spindle-shanks; he also wore a brilliant red cravat.(Daisy Miller by Henry James pg.3).With great character descriptions like this no wonder he was one of the greatest writers in his time. In his 50- year writing career he was the one kids looked up too, and other authors looked up too to. He had his own style it was straightforward and realistic. His fiction stories is the best ever, and his characters that he makes are so creative. In this essay you will be able to tell his life and his profound effect on his work. James was born in New York City, His dad was also named Henry James. He was born into a wealthy prominent family. His dad was a religious philosopher, and was part of the leading thinkers of the 1800s, His mom name was Mary Robertson James. James had three brothers and one sister. His dad gave the children weird education by taking them to England and staying there long visits, but that paid off as you can tell. James brother became a great philosopher and psychologist. The year Henry James turned twelve years old his family moved to Switzerland and later to France and Germany. After the completion of his family’s travels, Henry James returned to America and enrolled in Harvard law school in 1882 for a while. He withdrew soon after his enrollment because he desired to pursue writing rather than an education. James never married, he said in the taleâ€Å"The Lesson Of The Master† (1888), he considered to be an artist you should be free of all the obligations of a family. James left America in his early 30s, and moved to Europe, he felt that living in Europe was more complicated societies and offer him bett... Free Essays on Henry James Free Essays on Henry James â€Å"Presently a small boy came walking along the pathan urchin of nine or ten. The child, who was diminutive for his years, had an aged expression of countenance, a pale complexion, and sharp little features. He was dressed in knickerbockers, with red stockings, which displayed his poor little spindle-shanks; he also wore a brilliant red cravat.(Daisy Miller by Henry James pg.3).With great character descriptions like this no wonder he was one of the greatest writers in his time. In his 50- year writing career he was the one kids looked up too, and other authors looked up too to. He had his own style it was straightforward and realistic. His fiction stories is the best ever, and his characters that he makes are so creative. In this essay you will be able to tell his life and his profound effect on his work. James was born in New York City, His dad was also named Henry James. He was born into a wealthy prominent family. His dad was a religious philosopher, and was part of the leading thinkers of the 1800s, His mom name was Mary Robertson James. James had three brothers and one sister. His dad gave the children weird education by taking them to England and staying there long visits, but that paid off as you can tell. James brother became a great philosopher and psychologist. The year Henry James turned twelve years old his family moved to Switzerland and later to France and Germany. After the completion of his family’s travels, Henry James returned to America and enrolled in Harvard law school in 1882 for a while. He withdrew soon after his enrollment because he desired to pursue writing rather than an education. James never married, he said in the taleâ€Å"The Lesson Of The Master† (1888), he considered to be an artist you should be free of all the obligations of a family. James left America in his early 30s, and moved to Europe, he felt that living in Europe was more complicated societies and offer him bett...

Tips to Do Good in Examinations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tips to Do Good in Examinations - Essay Example Students must ensure they have complete notes when preparing for an exam so that they will not miss out any item. It will be wise to keep a notebook for every subject despite having a module, textbook or handouts. The notebook should be used to note down important ideas, reminders, and insights arising from class discussions or textual reading. Once students have gathered the notes, they are ready to review for the exam. Second, practice making predictions. Making predictions regarding the items that will appear in the exams is a useful skill to facilitate review. Taking hold of the course syllabus, students can predict what may come out in the exam. Some students do not realize that the syllabus contains clues regarding assessments. For one thing, teachers prepare tests (quizzes and long tests) based on the course objectives. Thus, reviewing the objectives of the course is necessary to know the knowledge and skills to be evaluated. Third, make notes for review. Making separate notes on a clean sheet of paper will help to attain better mastery. In particular, rewriting ideas is better than just reading notes. One strategy in making notes is to make the reviewer notes handy. Handy notes are easy to carry around and read instead of a notebook or textbook. Students may use a bond paper folded in four to write notes for review. ... Some students may find it more useful to post notes on the walls of their bedrooms. This practice is best for visual people (Learning Styles Explained). That way, they can go over the notes every time they glance at the walls or before retiring to bed and waking up. It will also help to vary the color of the posted notes for better recall. Meanwhile, auditory students may choose to record their voice while reading notes. The recorded recitation may be played repeatedly until mastery is achieved. Kinesthetic students may use a large board to write notes on. Writing notes on the board makes use of movements, which is best for kinesthetic learners. Fourth, test oneself. When reviewing, students should test themselves if they are retaining what they read. This is particularly important for tests requiring memorization. After memorizing, students should close their eyes and recite what they have memorized. Making acrostics out of the first letters of the terms to be memorized may help fac ilitate memorization. Likewise, jotting down memorized ideas will serve as a form of practice. Moreover, explaining what the terms mean promotes better cognitive skills. In doing this, students may record their voice so they can go over their recorded speech any time they want to. Fifth, seek a review partner. Reviewing with a partner is recommended to assess mastery. The other person will ask questions to be answered by the student without holding notes. It is recommended to have someone from the same class so that students can discuss or clarify ideas they are studying. Questioning each other will test mastery of what was studied individually. Additionally, preparing a mock test for each other may help. Student may prepare questions based on