The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Essays

The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Essays The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Paper The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Paper In William Shakespeares Hamlet the character Ophelia performs a very interesting and important role in the elaboration of the plot. Ophelia is a tragic victim, a common component of Shakespeares revenge tragedies and something that the audience would have come to expect. It is perhaps surprising that a vulnerable and frail character such as Ophelia could have the great impact on the play that she does. Understanding her reactions to the patriarchal society in which she lives through her relationships with the men in her life adds greater depth to the play. Her character is revealed through her interactions with Polonius, Laertes and Hamlet, and their characters in turn revealed through their relationships with her. Ophelia allows better understanding of Hamlets complex personality. Ophelia also highlights key themes of the play, including corruption, patriarchy and deception. Before her function can be analysed, Ophelias character must be understood. Shakespeare presents her as a character of weakness, one to respond to with pity and sympathy. She has been read in very different ways- as shown in the greatly varied portrayals of her in different films. The conventional view is that she is a pure and innocent victim, but another reading of her is that she is a clever, sexually experienced but somewhat confused and naive girl. I believe that Ophelia is the epitome of goodness, childlike and nai ve, and that it was Shakespeares intention to evoke sympathy for her. I think that she teeters upon the edge of adult knowledge, with those around her fighting to suppress her sexuality. She is not sexless and does demonstrate understanding of Hamlets bawdy language. Hamlet uses broad sexual innuendo, to which her response of you are naught, you are naught (III. ii. 148) reveals that she is offended by it, at once showing that she understands, but certainly disapproves of, his language. Her chaste nature is shown by Hamlet telling her to a nunnery go (III. i. 141) so that it can remain so. Throughout the play Shakespeares use of natural and floral imagery communicates her purity. On drowning, she is surrounded by a garland of flowers and at her funeral she is allowed her virgin crants (V. i. 233) and maiden strewments. Ophelia died while collecting flowers which are symbolic of innocence, fragility and purity. The hoar leaves which symbolise the silver-grey colour of age put emphasis on Ophelias youth and innocence. Long purples are given a grosser name by liberal shepards as the roots are phallic in appearance. Cold maids, innocent virgins, refer to them as dead mans fingers which has a phallic connection. This implies that Ophelia was a cold maid herself. Those who read Ophelia as disreputable point to Polonius disdain when she speaks like a green girl (I. iii. 101) which suggests that she is not entirely so. She understands the meaning of Hamlets lewd remarks regarding country matters. and a possible reading of Ophelias comments that Young men will dot / if they come tot, by Cock / they are to blame and before you tumbled me / you promised me to wed (IV. v. 59-62) is that there existed a sexual relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. In her sexually explicit songs, the lyrics of which include let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more (IV. v. 52) the implication is that the girl in the song has lost her virginity. I do not think that in singing this Opelia refers to herself, but that her madness grants her freedom to express what she was unable to discuss before, her deep love and desire for Hamlet. I think there is a sexual aspect to the frustration which drives her insane. Hamlets harsh verbal abuse is almost entirely sexual, and her mad songs contain blatant sexual references. Ophelia suffers because of the avoidance of her own sexuality. It is suppressed only to emerge later in her mad ramblings. Ophelia is a submissive character whose personality can almost be summed up with her lines I shall obey, my Lord. and I do not know, my lord, what I should think. She is controlled by her father and brother and the audience is supposed to sympathise for her, as Polonius denies her independence of choice or action, telling her You do not understand yourself so clearly / as it behoves my daughter and your honour. Ophelias madness and its causes are key parts of the plot of the play. The murder of Polonius by Hamlet leads to Ophelias demise- she loses all of the men she loved and obeyed and her identity is dependent upon them to such an extent that in their absence she does not know how to live, and becomes insane. She has never been responsible for making decisions about how to live because her father and brother have always controlled her conduct. As Claudius acknowledges, her madness is the poison of deep grief / It springs all from her fathers death. (IV. v. 75) Hamlet has been responsible for her feelings- if he loves her, she is happy, and if he does not, she is not. It is through these relationships that she knows how to live, and in the absence of this direction she commits suicide. Shakespeare cleverly uses Ophelia to reveal aspects of other characters personalities which the audience may have otherwise not been appreciated. She affects the audiences response to the characters through language, interaction, comparison and contrast. One of the vital dramatic functions of Ophelia is to give insight into Hamlets character and situation. She gives Hamlets actions and thoughts greater significance. His personality is highly complex, but through Ophelia the audience are perhaps better equipped to begin understanding it. It is through her that the audience learn the depth of his sorrow, confusion, the extent of his sense of betrayal by Gertrude and his resulting distrust of women, and can better understand his tragic flaw. Her weakness and insanity provide contrast which illuminates his strength, nobility and sanity. Hamlets harsh treatment of Ophelia shows the extent to which his mothers betrayal has affected his attitude to women as well as the depth of his grief and confusion. Disgusted by Gertrude marrying Claudius so soon after his fathers death, Hamlet becomes distrustful of women, obsessed with the connection he believes exists between female sexuality and corruption. This is shown through Hamlets damaged relationship with Ophelia, whom, as a consequence of his mothers actions, he is incapable of trusting. He perceives Gertrudes sexual misconduct as moral pollution that destroyed his facility to love Ophelia, causing him to question are you honest? are you fair? (III. i. 103) He curses her for committing such an act / That blurs the grace and blush of modesty / Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose / From the fair forehead of an innocent love / And sets a blister there (III iv 42- 45) The juxtaposition of the beautiful fragility of a rose, (perhaps symbolic of Ophelia) and the blister emphasises the extent of Hamlets damage. His mother causes his cursing of all women, O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! and made marriage vows as false as dicers oaths causing him to tell Ophelia that they will have no more marriages. Ophelia represents the innocence and virtue of women, so Hamlets wrongful distrust of her is tragic and emphasises what Gertrude has inflicted upon him. Polonius daughter provides contrast with Hamlet, clarifying that he is sane. He fakes madness in order to achieve revenge and for Shakespeare to maintain the audiences support of Hamlet, he must have them aware that Hamlets madness is not true. An insane hero would not be a hero at all and his fate of little interest. Shakespeare presents pure madness in Ophelia with her behaviour in act four, scene five. In her madness, her language lacks the form that Hamlets never ceases to exhibit. The Gentlemans description of Ophelia as indeed distract and her speech nothing precedes the audience seeing the change in her behaviour for themselves. This intensifies the focus on her when she enters singing incomprehensible songs, and puts emphasis upon her mad state. Laertes mourns that a young maids wits / Should be as mortal as an old mans life (IV. v. 157-158) and calls her A document in madness (IV. v. 174) She is divided from herself and her fair judgement (IV v 83-84) and the dramatic function of this is to give the audience a bearing upon Hamlets madness, which is merely an antic disposition; he is not in madness, but mad in craft. Claudius notes that what he spake, though it lacked form was not like madness. Ophelia turns to favour and to prettiness, whilst the opposite is true of Hamlets mad behaviour. Shakespeares creation of Ophelia aids the audiences understanding of Hamlet because their stories parallel one another. Similar pressures bear down on both characters, but their reactions differ. Both suffer the murder of their fathers and betrayal by loved ones. Ophelias reaction is simple, and highlights the complexity of Hamlets reaction to his situation. She falls into madness and (arguably) takes her own life. In contrast miserable Hamlet only contemplates suicide. This shows his strength (meeting audience expectations, for he is the hero of the play) by highlighting the difficulty of rising above insanity and suicidal urges, making his success more impressive. He faces a constant struggle not to lose grip on his capability and godlike reason (IV. iv. 38), not to let his heart lose its nature. As the audience is shown Ophelias failure at this task, they appreciate Hamlets strength in succeeding. He ponders on to be or not to be, but does not take his own life. Hamlets story shows the danger of madness and the potentially all-consuming nature of grief. Whether it was intended or not, Ophelias story adds power to this message. Ophelias character evokes the audiences sympathy for Hamlet. When Ophelia goes insane, symbolic of the breakdown of innocence, it highlights the corrupt and rotten nature of Elsinore which enables the audience to understand Hamlets rejection of that world. He is right to be disgusted as he is; his difficulty in accepting the cruel, false environment is evidence of his noble nature. The audience are then more likely to understand why Hamlet seeks to reimpose moral values on Elsinore, and support him. Furthermore, Ophelia encourages sympathy by giving insight into how different Hamlets nature was, prior to his fathers death. In her sad reaction to Hamlets madness O what a noble mind is here oerthrown! we see Hamlet as observed by her before he changed. She tells that he possessed noble and most sovereign reason, emphasising the extent of change he seems to have undergone. Her saying that he was once an incomparable prince, the glass of fashion and the mould of form, (III. i. 156) and an unmatched form and feature of blown youth (III. i. 162) but has now been blasted with ecstasy, only serves to make Hamlet all the more tragic. Ophelias description cannot fail to evoke sympathy for him, be he truly mad or not. In addition, it is Ophelias dramatic function to elucidate Hamlets tragic flaw- his indecisiveness and inability to act. This leads to his downfall, and it is vital that the audience appreciate this. He speaks of some vicious mole of nature Shall in the general censure take corruption from that particular fault, to show that one character flaw can corrupt the entire person. Hamlets inconsistent behaviour towards Ophelia demonstrates his inability to make up his mind. This leads to his delay in dealing with Claudius and thus his demise. It is highlighted in conversation with Ophelia, when he states I did love you once (III. i. 115) then I loved you not. Only when she is buried can he conclude I loved Ophelia. Unless he has no time to reflect (for instance, when he kills Polonius), he appears incapable of deliberate action. Ophelia lends insight into Hamlets flaw by mirroring it. She is an entirely passive character; any action she takes is merely a response to others actions. Rather than actively jumping, she simply did not attempt to rescue herself when the branch holding her broke. This inaction is as characteristic of Ophelia as it is of Hamlet. The exchange between Ophelia and Hamlet increases dramatic tension in the play. The realisation of Ophelias deceitfulness causes the terrible outburst of abuse as, adding to pre-existing feelings of betrayal by Gertrude, the other woman he loves has also let him down. Gertrude chose a brother over Hamlets dead father and now Ophelia chooses a father over Hamlet. She also pushes the plot along because his violent rejection of her; I loved you not convinces Claudius that he is not really mad for her love and so immediately he determines to send Hamlet to England. I think that even in his cruel treatment of Ophelia, she makes him a more sympathetic character. He refuses to listen to her and his harsh words I loved you not. (III. i. 119) Get thee to a nunnery. And (III. i. 121) you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nickname Gods creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, Ill no more ont; (III. i. 146-48), far from being evidence of a spiteful nature, just confirms the depth of his sorrow and disturbance by recent events. As commented upon by critic A. W. Von Schlegel, Hamlet is too much overwhelmed with his own sorrow to have any compassion to spare for others. The fact he must forsake his love in order to appear insane and get his revenge is tragic. I think that Hamlet is truthful in later declaring I loved Ophelia but advises her to go to a nunnery to escape the torturous nature and corruptive power of love. He is being cruel to be kind, and his desire to protect her demonstrates his nobility. A nunnery would be a place where she could remain chaste and not be a breeder of sinners. Ophelia gives the personalities of other characters greater depth, and consequently improves the play. Her nature contrasts and therefore emphasises that of others. Claudius coldness is highlighted when she describes Hamlets madness using beautiful imagery, saying that it has sucked the honey of his music vows and as like sweet bells jangled out of tune and harsh. Hers is a pitying speech that contrasts greatly with Claudius abrupt and heartless reaction, which is emphasised when so easily compared to Ophelias. He simply dismisses the notion of love- his affections do not that way tend. (III. i. 165) There is a great contrast, too, between the characters of Polonius children. This serves to highlight the qualities of each; while Ophelia is connected to water and submissiveness, and told too much of water hast thou, Laertes is the opposite, with a bold nature likened to fire and blaze. Ophelia goes mad as the violence of grief is internalised and destroys her, but in contrast her brothers violence explodes outward- they enact the alternative responses to the power of grief. Ophelia reveals much about Polonius, whom it is important that the audience have an understanding of. She exposes his inconsiderate nature and disrespect for others, perhaps lessening the audiences readiness to sympathise with him upon his death. Ophelia is ruthlessly manipulated by her father. He extracts the details of Hamlets solicitings from her and proudly presents the love letter to Claudius. Hamlet beautifies Ophelia in it, yet Polonius calls it a vile phrase. He tells her he would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so slander any moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look tots, I charge you. Come your ways. (I. iii. 132-35) this highlights his controlling, egotistic nature. Polonius refers to the relationship as being like one of enemies, Hamlet being someone who Ophelia must protect herself from. Polonius makes decisions for his daughter without consideration of her feelings for Hamlet. His doubting of Hamlets intentions is perhaps more telling of his own disposition than of Hamlets; I think he judges Hamlet by his own standards. Polonius contempt for Hamlet is shown through Ophelia. The general implication is that romantic love is of no importance to Polonius. He is happy to manipulate Ophelia to his advantage. At the closing of the conversation, he hardly notices her distress and when he asks how now, Ophelia? / You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said. / We heard it all (III. i. 178) it is clear that to him her consternation is inconsequential; what matters is the political implication of what he has witnessed.

Taget market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Taget market - Essay Example on of Apple’s target market is different from the competitors, because focus of the company is to target end users while other companies focus on targeting the overall market. The business plan of many organizations is based on market size, but there are companies like Apple, which realizes that people are the one who accepts or rejects any product. The selected target market of Apple has become so successful that many organizations are now willing to buy products of Apple, as they have realized that Apple has been able to define the needs of their customers on the basis of differentiation strategy. For the convenience of its users, Apple has converted complicated technology in a convenient technology, and this is the reason that millions of people around the world are attracted towards the products of Apple. The article has extended concepts that are discussed in the class that it is important for the companies to select appropriate target market for their products or service and without selecting proper target market, products of the company cannot become successful. Apple has tried to change concept of target market in such a way that company do not consider market size while selecting target market instead, the company aims to focus on targeting end user. This strategy of Apple has helped me to understand the significance of targeting end user, and I will try to understand needs of the end users in my professional career

Marketing Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing - Research Proposal Example f data from fifteen respondents randomly selected to present their views on the issue and in relation to Burger King and their attitudes towards the company and its products and services before and after the scandal. The respondents were selected randomly from the general population, and all were aged above 18 years. The research was conducted through qualitative collection of data using questionnaires. The results of this study showed that the Horse meat Scandal had a significant impact on the marketing strategy of Burger King as a company. Many of its previously loyal customers lost trust, and some indicated an onset of worry. Of all the 15 respondents from whom the data was collected, only 4 (27%) indicated having not changed their attitude towards the company. The rest 73% of the respondents were angry with the revelation of the scandal and would not recommend the company to anyone in the future. This attitude was present even among 2 respondents who had not eaten at Burger King before. These results indicate that must companies to observe business ethics and ensure that they do not lose customers out of such scandals. It, therefore, recommends that Burger King should be open and admit the flaws in the suppliers’ scrutiny and accreditation and assure the consumer of vigilance and seek apology. In early 2013, a wave of consumer uproar was experienced in the food industry in Western Europe. The outrage was in regards to companies unethical practice claims. I had been reported through several media that horse meat was being added to beef products from several main producers of burgers and other foods in the industry. Among the companies who were indicated to be involved in this scandal were Burger King and Tesco, the two giants in the industry. This issue of meat adulteration came to be referred by many the â€Å"Horse Meat Scandal† (HMS). The scandal did not only have immediate effect on the meat business, but also the idea of shopper trust in items offered

Employment Law and Compliance Plan Essay Example for Free

Employment Law and Compliance Plan Essay Atwood and Allen Consulting Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Recruitment and Selection Strategies Recommendations Atwood and Allen Consulting Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Recruitment and Selection Strategies Recommendations The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company has been established to providetransportation to public. The first step is recruitment and selection of prospective new employees that will organize and man the business. The Human Resource Department must explore resources to find right candidates. Recruitment and selection team must addressing the job responsibilities and scope of work of each new position. The staffing process is normally divided into recruitment phase and the selection phase. Recruitment is the searching and attracting of job seekers and the selection is the part job seekers are chosen to get the offer to fill the vacant position. The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company first step is planning human resource. Develop policies, system, procedure and goal setting and method of performance appraisal. Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company interviews should have standard company operating procedures and recruitment policies that take care of the recruitment process. These policy, systems, procedures were prepared and approved by Bradley Stonefield. It will be reviewed yearly to ensure compliance to new laws and new business environment or requirement. The Human Resource will periodically review and assess the current and futurehuman resource requirements.The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company formal recruitment process begins when Bradley Stonefield decide or announce the start of the operation of his business. Look more:Â  google recruiting process essay Bradley Stonefield makes that decision because he will have to finance the whole endeavor or business. HR staff initiates the request and documentation. The recruitment request will be evaluated by Bradley Stonefield. He will take several factors in consideration in making his evaluation together with his HR staff. Among the factors he will have to consider are postings, the requirements, the financial constraint, and so forth. Once he approved the recruitment process it will be a go to implement. The job description and person specification is to be prepared by HR staff in consultationwith Bradley Stonefield. These will contain the details of duties and responsibilities to be performed by the selected individual. The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company will advertise the job opening in major media of mass circulation and community service bulletins. The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company will shortlist candidates for interview. If the applicant meets all the essential criteria defined in the job description the next process is the interview phase. The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company will conduct a two part interview sessions two sessions for drivers. First is the personality, background, skillset interview, which is the preliminary interview. This also includes the authentication of driver’s license and drug test. Before the preliminary interview start, the candidates are required to fill application form. It will contain information such as the applicant’s personal biodata, job experiences, and reason for leaving previous employment. Successful candidates in the first interview will be required to come back for the second interview. Bradley Stonefield and HR staff will make decision who to hire. All candidates will be asked the same questions and will be presented the same situational scenario or event. All questions will be job related to determine the suitability of the applicant to the position being filled out, whether that is a limousine driver or customer service receptionist The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company policies will serve as a guideline and administer the company employment process. The hiring procedure ensures that the most qualified candidates is selected. Bradley Stonefield uses a rigorous recruitment and selection process, which complies to the equal opportunity policy. The Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company recruitment strategies in vital in finding top talent. The recruitment strategies that are implemented by Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company are as follows: 1.) Recruiting through Internet. One of the advantages of using the internet is that it is easily accessible by anyone. 2.) Referrals. Recommended by friends, colleagues, acquaintances. 3.) Advertisements. Advertise job vacancies in the of newspapers great circulation. Again, it is extremely important that the selection process be evaluated regularly to verifyand confirm that the right applicants or employees have been selected or chosen. If Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company if the company has significant turnover in a given position, the process of recruitment and selection must be changed. People are a major component of any business, and the management of people (or human resource management, HRM) is a major part of every manager’s job. It is also the specialized responsibility of the HR department. HRM involves five major areas: staffing, retention, development, adjustment, and managing change. Together they compose the HRM system, for they describe a network of interrelated components. The HRM function is responsible for maximizing productivity, quality of work life, and profits through better management of people. Hiring manager, like Bradley Stonefield, must focus on recruiting activities aimed at attracting the right candidates for the job. Based on the needs and forecasts for future needs, Bradley Stonefield will need to direct his efforts toward the best option for recruiting the right candidates. For instance, focusing on traditional newspaper advertisements is appropriate for driver positions with the Bradley Stonefield Limousine Service Company. Selecting the right candidate requires identifying the specific skills, knowledge and qualities you seek and desire in a worker. This can pertain to the necessary skills and knowledge for the position itself, such as a specific degree or certification, and the desired personal qualities, such as a preference to hire employees with good moral and ethical standards. Other important parts of the selection process include conducting any necessary aptitude tests and conducting a thorough background check to ensure the employee meets the basic qualifications of both the position and the company.

Showing up the Actor :: Boxing Personal Narrative Papers

Showing up the Actor When I was younger I spent much of my time alone. My father bred in me, perhaps by nothing more than his example, a certain New England stoicism which thrived on solitude. Nothing displayed this rustic discipline more than the pop-up camper my father bought from our neighbors when I was six. From that summer our family spent most vacations on the road, pulling the camper behind us, my father winching it up and spreading the canvas roofing in Nova Scotia or Florida or upstate New York. Many summers later I insisted that I live in the camper, parked in the driveway. My mother brought me my meals and my father decided I should begin reading Hemingway. I sat propped in the tent-like house, eating hot dogs and reading terse, athletic prose about boxers and bullfights and impotent veterans. I figured out why my father named our dog Brett. I also spent a good deal of time at elite institutions of learning. When he wasn't camping my father taught math at prep schools. From my birth until my fourth birthday we lived at St. George's in Newport, Rhode Island, among the brocaded mansions like Egypt's pyramids, crafted of heavy-set stones. Then, in 1981, we moved to Phillips Academy in Andover, where the shops on the main street came in threes: bank boutique salon bank boutique salon. I can think of no better reason than that for why I took up boxing in the summer before my Senior year of college -- than that I spent most of my youth alone at elite institutions. And yet, in my four years as a student at Phillips, enrolling eleven years after my family's arrival, I wasn't entirely alone. A friend of mine, Noah -- his father also taught on the faculty. Noah also received the ninety percent tuition discount. Noah's fridge was also usually empty, because he had also eaten in school cafeterias for most of his life. He had also, for four years, somehow slipped between the kid whose wealth was a ticket to fuck around and the boy whose mother was a janitor, between the blonde suburban girl whose father owned The New York Times and the tight-knit handful of urban kids who came under the banner program of "A Better Chance" -- that is, between privilege and opportunity. This is not to say that the two sides of this educational gauntlet weighed in equally. Showing up the Actor :: Boxing Personal Narrative Papers Showing up the Actor When I was younger I spent much of my time alone. My father bred in me, perhaps by nothing more than his example, a certain New England stoicism which thrived on solitude. Nothing displayed this rustic discipline more than the pop-up camper my father bought from our neighbors when I was six. From that summer our family spent most vacations on the road, pulling the camper behind us, my father winching it up and spreading the canvas roofing in Nova Scotia or Florida or upstate New York. Many summers later I insisted that I live in the camper, parked in the driveway. My mother brought me my meals and my father decided I should begin reading Hemingway. I sat propped in the tent-like house, eating hot dogs and reading terse, athletic prose about boxers and bullfights and impotent veterans. I figured out why my father named our dog Brett. I also spent a good deal of time at elite institutions of learning. When he wasn't camping my father taught math at prep schools. From my birth until my fourth birthday we lived at St. George's in Newport, Rhode Island, among the brocaded mansions like Egypt's pyramids, crafted of heavy-set stones. Then, in 1981, we moved to Phillips Academy in Andover, where the shops on the main street came in threes: bank boutique salon bank boutique salon. I can think of no better reason than that for why I took up boxing in the summer before my Senior year of college -- than that I spent most of my youth alone at elite institutions. And yet, in my four years as a student at Phillips, enrolling eleven years after my family's arrival, I wasn't entirely alone. A friend of mine, Noah -- his father also taught on the faculty. Noah also received the ninety percent tuition discount. Noah's fridge was also usually empty, because he had also eaten in school cafeterias for most of his life. He had also, for four years, somehow slipped between the kid whose wealth was a ticket to fuck around and the boy whose mother was a janitor, between the blonde suburban girl whose father owned The New York Times and the tight-knit handful of urban kids who came under the banner program of "A Better Chance" -- that is, between privilege and opportunity. This is not to say that the two sides of this educational gauntlet weighed in equally.

Individual human identity Essay

It also means that importance of social class decreasing, but instead of class the role of status increased rapidly. For instance to show status people buy expensive cars and exclusive clothes. Differences in social classes could influence personal identity, because identity related to social groups to which the identity belongs, for example nationality, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and class. First of all identity is â€Å"a sense of self that develops as the child differentiates from parents and family and take a place in society† (Jary and Jary, 1991:p665). Identity also formed through some combinations of individual choice and structured group membership (for example in Arab countries Muslim women can`t drive the car). In additional, people could express their aspects of identity in a different way. For example clothing, which clothes choose to wear to show gender, post – modernism or class; language, which words to use when people speak with fiends to show class, educational background and gender. It is goes without saying that even though ‘class’ no longer exists, but we could easily identify person`s class, status and possessions from their clothing and way of behaving. The principle of the identity is closely linked to the idea of culture. As I have already mentioned identities could also be formed through the cultures to which people belong to. â€Å"Culture is the language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, dress, diet, roles, knowledge and skills which make up ‘the way of life’ of an individual society â€Å"(Ralph Linton, 1945). For example norms and diet, in the UK at 17 o`clock most people have their couple of tea. Culture includes teaching and learning such process like socialization. We gain our identity through â€Å"socialisation†. Socialisation is the process by which we, as individuals, become members of our society or culture. We are also active participants in this process – we decide what to accept or reject. Process of learning culture or socialization includes family, school, peer, media and religion. For example: family, your parents give you name, first beliefs and tastes; school, teaches person rules and gives knowledge; religion, teach people to appreciate some values; peers, teach person how to socialize; media, gives people ideas about gender, status and class. Modern sociologists also think that being of a different class may involve differences in culture, economic circumstances, educational status, dietary preferences, housing conditions, property ownership and power. For example, differences in culture, people who are from middle and upper – middle class in free time visit museums and theatres, whereas working class visits pubs. One of the important factors in people’s culture and identity is social mobility, the ability to move from one class to another. For example, moving from the working to the middle class. Nowadays class, gender, sex, race and kinship have less influence on human identity. It is becoming more important human`s talent, knowledge, ambition and hard – working abilities for achieving a good position in the class system. World sociology has changed greatly, beginning of the XXI centuries gave to the UK a lot of new. New national socio – economic classifying statistics (NS – SEC), which replaced Registrar Generals classification. New sociologists have another view on dividing society into social classes. For instance class has been defined consisted of eight major classes. The first four is middle class, which include higher managerial and professional occupations, lower, intermediate occupations, small employers and own account workers. The other four is manual workers, including lower supervisory and technical, semi – routine occupations, routine occupations and never worked people. A big and new tendency had happened in modern Britain: the number of manual workers declines year by year. If for example in 1911 a percentage of manual workers was about 81%, in the year 2000 this percentage twice declined and become about 40% of total workforce. This become possible first of all because of developing new technologies: technique makes most manual work. Secondly because of changing of economical situation such as increasing life standards and education system. Traditionally social classes have been the main concept for understanding society, its behaviour or social conflicts, and predict the main movements of social behavior. Today`s sociologists in developed countries see classes like a historical phenomenon. The same view on social classes has Pakulski and Waters. They thought that class is no longer important factor in a human identity. According to Pakulski, we could pick out four main features such as cultuaralism, fragmentation, autonomization and resignification. For instance autonomization, which means that today`s people are not told what to do, they do what makes sense to them. For example, British working class is less likely to vote for the British Labour Party than it once was. To sum up, in this essay we discussed the different aspects of inequalities; we have seen that the UK is one of the most unequal societies. Inequalities of wealth, which means that one tenth of the UK population owns more than seventy percent of total wealth. Inequalities of income are significant, but welfare policy of the government such as taxation does have a huge effect in reducing the incomes between rich and poor. Finally, because of the government policy and developing new technologies, class has lost its power in the collective sense, however class would still remain fundamental to culture and human.

Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral - 1696 Words

Introduction: Everyone has ghosts in their closets; something they are running from, or trying to bury alive. Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, takes place in the early 1980’s. Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981. Carver slightly revised the story and re-released it in 1983. At a time when the blue collar working class lived paycheck to paycheck, working hard for newfound luxuries such as color television, this short story is humorous and eye-opening for the reader. For adults ranging from thirty to forty years old, the 1980’s were possibly a ghostly, haunting time. In the 1970’s, many of these people were experimenting with social use of drugs and alcohol; unfortunately, some did not survive to see the following†¦show more content†¦As an unfortunate consequence, Carver’s troubles did not just stop with the bottle: he and his wife filed for bankruptcy not once, but twice. Through these experiences, Raymond continued his writing; he usually wrote about the lives of those from the Pacific Northwest, similarly to that of his own life, he often wrote of the troubles of failed relationships, finances, alcoholism, and poverty. In the late nineteen-seventies Carver taught at Syracuse University and the University of Texas. While Carver enjoyed teaching, nothing compared to his passion for writing short-stories (Lacy, 2016). Plot Summary: The wife in the story is good friends with a blind man named Robert, whom she worked for ten years ago. His wife recently passed away and he was in town visiting his former in-laws, so he and the wife arranged for him to come visit. The husband does not have much interest in meeting this friend of his wife’s. Having never met Robert, the narrator is disinterested in the relationship between his wife and Robert; he is also uncomfortable with the idea of being around a blind man. After Robert’s arrival and introduction, they have dinner and several drinks together. Over the period of the evening, his wife becomes tired and wants to rest, but she doesn’t want to leave her friend Robert. In spite of her efforts not to, she falls asleep on the couch in the living room as Robert and her husband are there with the television on the news.Show MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1426 Words   |  6 PagesCharacter Analysis in Raymond Carverâ€⠄¢s â€Å"Cathedral†: The Narrator Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral.† This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasonedRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1006 Words   |  5 Pages Gabrielle Sobolewski English 200 Professor Ruth Jennison 11/12/15 The short story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver is told from the perspective of a first-person narrator. Throughout the story, the narrator is self-absorbed in his own thoughts and emotions and fails in his willingness to overlook personal insecurities in order to accommodate others’ discomfort, i.e. predominantly his wife and the blind man. In general, the story lacks figurative language and is told in short, directRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 970 Words   |  4 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s short story, â€Å"Cathedral†, we meet the character who is never named, and who is known as the narrator to us. Although the narrator’s character changed towards the end, and we don’t really learn much after the change of his personality, it is still a gradual change that took place. The narrator’s attitude is very important in the story because it revolves around him and the way he views things. This short story is about a m an who is married to a woman, and this woman has been friendsRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1097 Words   |  5 PagesSeptember 2015 Cathedral by Raymond Carver In this short story by Raymond Carver begins with a man whose wife invited a good friend over named Robert and is blind. 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The narrator begins this story by taking us through the changes he go through with the uneasy feeling of having a blind-manRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s The Cathedral 863 Words   |  4 Pages One of the Raymond Carver story where we can find a lot of religion symbols; it is â€Å"Cathedral.† The story develops an ironic situation in which a blind man teaches a sighted man to truly â€Å"see† for the first time. Near the end of the story, Carver has these two characters work together on a drawing of a cathedral, which serves as the symbolic heart of the story. The cathedral represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The narrator’s drawingRead MoreAn Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1794 Words   |  8 Pages A Cynics Enlightenment Raymond Carver’s short-story Cathedral is outwardly about a pessimistic man, whose wife’s blind visitor named Robert changes the narrators predisposing perception of the world and awakes a new view on life in the process. But inwardly, the story is about the desperate need for connection between these three characters, which isn’t feasible do to the emotional-detachment by the narrator. In the beginning, the narrator is hindered by his prejudices which doesn t allow himRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1524 Words   |  7 PagesAs if someone has unlocked his prison cell to liberate him of his stereotypical point of view. The protagonist of Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† was an individual whose stagnant mind has blind him from truly seeing the aspects and characteristics of people around him. Before meeting his wife’s blind friend whose name is Robert, the protagonist perceives reality with a stereotypical mind-set shaped by m isleading information from movies. Hence, he make judgement about other people without ever settingRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral2364 Words   |  10 Pagesmost. The same could be said about people who are limited by one or more of their six senses and are judged by the majority of the population who are not limited and make preconceived notions about these limitations which can bind them. Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† explores many literary devices that reveal the pre conceived perception towards people with physical limitations without understanding the individual first, which is still a problem today. 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