The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne three main characters are taught that they are forced to live with the mistakes they have made. 'One must be response for his/her own actions and be willing to accept the consequences of those actions.'; Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth must all face these 'consequences.'; If you do something in life and you know its wrong that means yu are willing to accept the consequences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester knows she has done something wrong. She has committed a sin and knows she will be punished for it. She is punished by being forced to wear the letter 'A'; on her bust and never remove it and to also stand in front of everyone on the scaffold in the center of town. She is reminded of her sins because of her daughter who was a result of the affair. She sees her everyday and cherishes every moment she has with her. They try to take Pearl away but Hester will not allow them to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dimmesdale has also committed adultery with Hester. As a result he is forced to keep this secret deep with in. His punishments are for it to eat him alive and slowly tear away at his heart until he is actually dead. He knew what he did is wrong he just could not tell anyone because he was ashamed of it, but this is not saying that he's not in love with Hester because that's why it happened. That is his second punishment being denied the wish of spending the rest of their lives together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chillingworth committed the worst sin out of all of them. He wanted to get back at Dimmesdale so he was trying to commit revenge. In fact his punishment for this was watching Dimmesdale dye but not by any fault of his own but by the secret he had kept from everyone else. Chillingworth fate was to dye knowing what happened and be able to do anything about it because he is a cold-hearted evil man.

Media Shaping Women Essay

The media has clouded women’s perceptions in their body image by demonstrating the ‘ideal bodies’ on TV and magazines through print and film advertising, increasing the pressure for women and young girls to be ‘thin’, further leading to a more complex issue of Eating Disorders. Women who do not live up to societies expectations, and are suffocated with the phoney concept of the ‘ideal’ are treated with disregard and discrimination. For instance, Adrian Furnham and Nicola Greaves (1994) argue that the core of body image dissatisfaction is a discrepancy between a person’s perceived body and their ideal. They further argue that a failure to match the ‘ideal’ leads to self- criticism, guilt and lowered self worth. This effect is stronger for women than for men due to the cultural pressures on women to conform to an idealised body shape are more powerful and more wide spread than those on men. Psychologists have suggested that the media can affect women’s body esteem by becoming a reference point against which unfavourable body shape comparisons are made (Grogan 1999). These visions are then propagated through popular culture via television reality make over shows of re shaping the body, â€Å" if films of body transformation provide the vision that inspires women to re- make their bodies, the cosmetic and â€Å"aesthetic medicine† industry sell them the equipment† (Fox-Kales, 2011, p. 74. ) Women are objectified by an unrealistic expectation of beauty, put forward by models and actresses who do not reflect the average appearance of women in society. Print advertising, in particular, provides a not only unrealistic, but unhealthy ideal of what it means to be physically attractive. By these false images being presented, the media has created an ideology of attractiveness. Images have powerful effects on their readers, serving to maintain a ‘cult of femininity’ and supplying definitions of what it means to ‘be a woman’. Marjorie Ferguson (1985) investigated women’s magazines from a sociological perspective. She argued that women’s magazines contribute to the wider cultural process, which helps to shape a woman’s view of herself, and societies views of her. The media is littered with mages of females who fulfill these unrealistic standards, making it seem as if it is normal for women to live up to this ideal. Dittmar and Howard (2004) made this statement regarding the prevalence of unrealistic media images: Ultra-thin models are so prominent that exposure to them becomes unavoidable and ‘chronic’, constantly reinforcing a discrepancy for most women and girls between their actual size and the ideal body (p. 478). Research has repeatedly shown that constant exposure to thin models and actresses fosters body image concerns and disordered eating in many females. Eating Disorders are a direct result from the medias influence to look ‘thin’. Eating disorders theorists and feminist scholars have long indicated fashion magazines, movies, television, and advertising for their advocacy of disordered eating (Levine & Smolak, 1998). Media images of women make it difficult for individuals to hold an internalized ideal body that is realistic and attainable. With exposure to repeated images of ultra thin women, an individual’s internalized ideal body often becomes much thinner. This increases the gap between what a person feels their physical appearance is, and what it should be. Researchers have found that women who have an internalized ideal body that closely resembles the socially represented ideal body are at a particularly high risk to develop body image disturbance and disordered eating patterns (Sands & Wardle, 2003). Naomi Wolf argues that our culture disempowers women by holding them prisoner to an unattainable beauty ideal (Wolf, 1990). The epidemic proportions of drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and unsafe weight control methods among women have led theorists to posit the existence of mechanisms that are capable of reaching a large number of women (Levine & Smolak, 1998). Today’s expectations reveal that looks matter more than personality and intelligence as seen on various dating shows. It is universally agreed upon that people on these shows usually pick the best looking counterpart out of the group of contestants. Both men and women are concerned with appearance than personality on these types of programs. This phenomenon is transferred into the job market, where people are now more prone to hire the more attractive candidate. Research has found that more attractive workers even receive higher compensation than unattractive counterparts even where they perform the same work and have similar levels of work experience. The media targets young women drilling thinness and having no flaws as the height of being beautiful. Now, with the common use of plastic surgery you can change your overall appearance. Plastic surgery has become a more than 8 billion a year industry† (Hess – Biber, 2005:96). Women feel they need to have the perfect nose, and cheek bones to fit in to the media’s criteria, in order to appear more attractive to the opposite sex. Therefore, it is evident that the media has played a significant role in ‘shaping women’s bodies’ to suit ‘societies expectations’ by showcasing the recurring idea to be ‘thin’. These ideas are brought upon through various television shows and magazines, which further stimulate eating disorders.

Personal Statement †Graduate Program/Social Work Essay

Since I was a child my passion was in education. If anyone asked me â€Å"what do you want to be when you grow up?† my response was always the same â€Å"a teacher.† I always had a strong sense of compassion and a strong desire to help people. I consider myself to be very well-rounded, sensitive and a good listener, I am happiest when I am working to help others. When I first started my path towards my bachelor’s degree in education, I knew I was well on my way to becoming a teacher, I was excited to know that my dream was finally coming true. Then one day during my last year at Montclair State University I took a class with Dr. Reid â€Å"Field Experience Family/Child Services† that focused on different social issues that affect society. When I heard Dr. Reid discuss various research projects that had been conducted on how children from low socioeconomic households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compared to children from higher socioe conomic groups, I knew that I wanted to affect change on a totally different level. During the course of that class we discussed how children’s academic skills are directly correlated with their home environment and under- resourced schools often located in lower economic communities. This was very apparent in the field work I did that semester at Straight and Narrow, Inc. located in Paterson New Jersey. This program helped families rebuild relationships after serving time in correctional facilities and/or rehabilitation programs. After that semester I was certain without a doubt that I was making the right decision of changing my major from teaching to social work. Although I have always been blessed in that I was raised by loving parents and have been surrounded by a healthy environment, I have always had and felt compassion for people who were not as fortunate as me. Whether the individual is a child, an elderly person, disabled or financially unstable person, I have always firmly believed that all people are created equal and as such should be treated the same no matter what their circumstances may be. I have always advocated and assisted people who do not have a voice, are scared or simply do not know where to ask for assistance. Everyone is entitled to be made aware of their rights and if they cannot speak for themselves, they deserve to be assisted by a knowledgeable and professional person who genuinely puts forth an effort to help reach his or her goals. I am saddened when I find out cases where various social services and or resolutions were available but  not used in order to assist a child and/or person in need to overcome their circumstances. I have worked in the social service field in one capacity or another for the past year and half, and have learned that in order to fix any type of problem in the community you must find the root of the problem. Therefore, I strongly believe that working with children and exposing them to positive changes during their formative years is crucial in making them productive adults for the future. I would like to continue working with children and families, as this group concerns me the most. In addition, I feel that young people at risk and elderly people without a voice are compatible. I believe that children generally speaking can benefit and learn a lot from being exposed to older and wiser people. I grew up loving and admiring older people in my family such as my grandmother. The sense of respect and wisdom gained from elderly people are very healthy for children. I would like to someday see more interest to be taken in bringing young and elderly people together, especially at-risk teens. By acknowledging and understanding the interconnected systems that affect these groups, I hope to make a difference in the lives of children, families and their surrounding environments. During the time I was completing my undergraduate degree, I took a lot of time to reflect and self-assess my strengths and areas I would like to grow and improve upon. The area that I feel that has always been the most important for me and that I continue to always seek improvement is the Social Worker’s commitment to their Client. The client’s best interest should always come first, in spite of your own personal beliefs, society’s stigmatizations and in some cases the client’s own wants. Sometimes this has been the most challenging part of my work experience; therefore, I look to take courses during my masters program that can improve and strengthen my communication skills with my clients; especially when the right choice for a client may not be the most difficult choice. Competence is a principle I value and always remember to use. I am aware that the class curriculum, field practice and prior work experience are all indicators of my abilities in social work practice. I am confident in my abilities in working with others and understand the importance of teamwork. Therefore, as I continue to work in the field and various social service agencies, I understand the  importance in building a network of more experienced professionals in the field of social work, in order to be able to consult with them and learn different practices used in the field. An area that I look to further expand my skills is in techniques in interviewing the client. Because of my work experience, I am confident in working with disabled people and children on an individual and group basis, yet since my experience is limited, I feel I can further improve upon my interviewing skills through more education and field practice. Through various assignments in my previous courses and wo rk experience, I have realized there are better ways of asking questions to get effective client feedback. I continue to explore different interview methods and approaches when it comes to dealing with different clients. No matter how difficult the client or their circumstances, I am ready for the challenge. I currently work at the Mental Health Association of Essex County in Montclair New Jersey as a Recovery Counselor. At this agency we help mentally disabled adults and homeless at-risk teenagers integrate into independent living. We provide assistance with employment opportunities, with obtaining social security benefits, financial counseling and provide transportation to various support service agencies. In addition, we help our client’s secure permanent housing through state funding programs. My family is very supportive of my going to graduate school and they are willing to help and support in any way that they can. In retrospect, I always knew I was destined to choose a career path in public service, the most influential people in my upbringing service the public in one way or another. My father is a 24 year veteran in the Newark Police Department, not only is he a sergeant but he has also served as a Deputy Mayor and City Council Member during his tenure. My mother has worked for the past 22 years in the Division of Welfare, specifically working with the women and children’s program. In addition, my step mother, brother and aunt serve as police officers for many years. After gaining some work experience in the field, the decision to further pursue a masters degree at the Rutgers University School of Social Work seemed like the natural next step to take in order to further enhance my career and skills. Once admitted to the masters program, my preference is to intern in a school setting in order to gain a more centralized experience in the area of guidance counselor and social work. As a professional social worker with a masters degree from  Rutgers University School of Social Work I see myself as an advocate within the school system, where I can work one-on-one with children as a guidance counselor or family social worker. I believe that furthering my education coupled with my passion for children is where I am best suited to affect the most change and make an impacting difference. In addition, being a successful Latina is important to me, by setting a positive role model for others younger that I to follow as an example to the community, specifically being able to communicate professionally not only in English but in Spanish as well. Rutgers School of Social Work has the best masters program in the area and I feel that they will provide me with the best credentials to be successful in the future as a social worker. Thank you for your consideration of my application.

International Marketing Planning and Strategies Essay

McDonald’s is a world-famous company that provides fast- food in China. In the course of offering its services, it faced stiff competition from its rival Kentucky Fried Chicken company. The management therefore had to put into consideration some local business practices such as quality of food, staff welfare and other environmental issues. McDonald’s restaurants in China were being operated as joint ventures along with other local companies. This ensured elevated brand quality and effective management control as compared to its competitors in the market place. Additionally, its ability to quickly adjust to the varying local conditions made it to take advantage over many other competitors (Ko, 2008, 1). Through the invention of the new technology and vast capital, the company developed its own internal supply network which made them to have access to both domestic and export markets. The development of infrastructure enabled it to get its supply from within the country thus saving cost of importation. McDonald’s implemented the traditional Chinese culture which enabled it to quickly make its way to the market. For instance, it decorated its restaurants with designs symbolizing traditional Chinese culture. It also offered special festive items such as Prosperity burger during the Lunar New year. This attracted many people to eat from their restaurants. The company kept on adjusting its menu in order to capture the favorites of the people. Due to the rising competition in the market place, McDonald’s had to partner with Sinopec, a petroleum company, in order to build drive-through restaurants in most of its petrol stations in China so that it captures many customers to counter the high rate of competition. They had also to collaborate with the Chinese online shoppers so as to attract internet users for their foods and other promotional items. The company carried out an advertising campaign to bring awareness to the people of McDonald’s products. McDonald’s took advantage of young Chinese customers’ social influence. Despite the fact that it was offering its food at higher prices, the young generation viewed this restaurants as trendy places to socialize with their friends and families. They also preferred the restaurants’ site as they offered good atmosphere for relaxing. McDonald’s engaged in national campaign and took benefit of Beijing hosting the Olympic Games. They used the Chinese slogan which made it to attract many customers which made it to improve its business operations. Opportunities and threats McDonald’s faced great challenges, for instance, the rising inflation in china made it to raise its prices for almost all its products in order to make up for the surging cost of materials. This made the level of consumers to decline drastically. It also faced social threats and critics which pointed out that they did not apply health and environmental standards observed in China (Ko, 2008, 3). The transformation of China to a developed nation posed a threat to McDonald’s as it was uncertain whether it was going to sustain its momentum of operation. Marketing strategies To sustain its operations, McDonald’s should carry out some marketing strategies such as engaging in successful community and media relation program that will enable it to have increased coverage and reputation without spending a fortune. Another strategy is to set up joint promotions. In this case, McDonald’s must identify uniqueness and behavior of its frequent customers, look for other non-competing businesses already reaching them and then formulate a technique to set up joint promotions. They can also make use of emerging market trends and take advantage of increased sale opportunities before their competitors.

Comparison of Adverts

In this essay I will talk about advertising, and the affect it has on the people who view these adverts. Advertising is the way people show consumers what they are selling. There are many types of advertisements including print and verbal, they affect people in many ways, mainly by showing people things they need or want for aspirational reasons. The adverts which I have chosen are an advert from Perfect Pizza. The company sells pre-cooked pizzas which you can buy in store or have delivered. My first impressions of the advert are that it's very colorful and you are instantly drawn to the images of the pizzas, and the large bold writing. I found this advert in my letterbox as they deliver them to you, so you know what they are selling. The advert uses formal as well as informal language; many bits of the informal text are explanation texts, and the formal parts for information. It's presented in different colors and sizes, and is spaced out in different places. The text informs you of what is being sold and what the prices are, it also draws attention to itself. The sentences are short, only five words per sentence, but there are a few writing techniques including alliteration. The text is basically factual or as factual as they want you to believe, but when you advertise prices you have to be correct and factual. On the whole the text is very informative, it tells you everything you need to know that will convince you to buy the product, and the information helps you to make the decision by showing you what you could be having. The figures that are used are in pounds and are bold, maybe this is to draw the attention of the reader, so they can be amazed at how cheap the product is. And this would link in with the company slogan, which is ‘Great Taste, Great Value' this really speaks for itself, a great taste for great value. The key words in this advert are the words deal and only. These words suggest that the sale is part of a deal, or that it's not at the ordinary price. And only, suggests that the price is very low, or the ‘deal' does not last long. Maybe because the deal is that good it can not last forever, otherwise the company would go into bankruptcy. The images are of the pizzas, which they are selling. They are spaced out all over the advert, around the writing. Finally there is also a picture or potato skins, which show they sell more than pizzas. There are no people in the picture which is quite surprising as they might have included a picture of a person cooking the pizzas. I believe that this would make the advert more appealing to the consumer. The advert is in color, a reason for this would be so that it appeals to the younger generations, who are more likely to buy these pizzas. But I know that it was done in color for a specific purpose. There are no patterns in the picture, but there is red strip that runs along the top and the bottom. This is to bring attention to the text inside of it, which is very important as it contains the small print. It's the small print which can usually trick many people. The whole advert is laid out professionally, the images; the information, the logo and the slogan are all put on the front to draw attention to it. Perfect Pizza is placed at the top of the advert so it's the first thing you see. The fact that is a family corporation would be enough to convince me that the pizzas would be well made and would taste great. This advert is similar to the Domino's Pizzas adverts, which sponsor The Simpson's. Because the Simpson's are so famous I know that Domino's will have an advantage over Perfect Pizza. This advert appears in food magazines, because it's selling food. It's trying to sell itself by showing you what you could have, but I think that this company is in the shadow of another company. I will now analyze my second advert. The company ‘French Connection' is trying to sell people a sale. French Connection makes quality clothes and sells them off at really fair prices. The advert attracts my attention really well for the following reasons. I found this advert near to the front of the newspaper, so it must be very important because only important adverts get to the front of the paper. The advert uses formal language in the advert. The language is bold and stands out well, the sentences are short but get the message across well, it just tells you what you need to know. The key words in this advert are ‘Sale' and ‘French Connection' mainly because the word sale means a cut in price, and French Connection is a well respected country. The slogan is not on the advert, which is a bit unusual as it's the slogan that sells most of their clothes. In the illustrations the words ‘ Last Big Deal' are superimposed so that they stand out. The text is yellow and the effect is red, the background though is black. So it looks attractive and stands out. There is no picture of the product, but the company is well known, so people know what they are selling anyway. Because French Connection specialize in clothes. This advert links in with the adverts from ‘NEXT' and ‘Adams' which are both major clothes producers. French Connection; seem to have some competition from these brands, which would increase the popularity of the company. This advert appears in many women's magazines and a few men's, because they sell both male and female clothing. This is because they want to broaden their horizons, so more people see their adverts. It's trying to sell the sale which they are holding at one of the bigger stores. So if you want great products at cheap prices you should take note of this advert. Both adverts appeal to me greatly as I am fond of both companies, and they both use good advertising techniques. I would buy both of the products as the pizzas are great and the clothes are really fashionable. I believe that the adverts would appeal to their target audiences, as they are really well made, and really stand out to the consumers.

Analysis of Usable Websites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of Usable Websites - Essay Example Another site is that of http://www.mint.com/. This is a website that is used for personal finance. This website is fantastic in design because it guides users of the various forms of saving and transacting with money. it makes the whole process simple. New users take really minimal time to register for an account with them. It is very fast to use and makes use of web 2.0 technologies. It is interactive and is therefore categorized under web 2.0. Another website that is designed well is that of gmail.com. This is a website that is commonly used by many people for email services. The good thing that makes this site usable is that has simple features that make it simpler to use than other email services. It is possible to view Microsoft Office documents in mail attachments without changing the experience of the users. Some of the badly designed websites that make them not usable include http://www.creativewithak.com/. With this website, the design is poor. It is not clear where the user will click in order to move around the website. Another issue with the website is that it is difficult to know where the home page located. The users find it hard to navigate around the website. There is poor interactivity of the site with components. It is far from being categorized as a web 2.0 (Dhillon & Mishra, 2007, p. 34). Another poor website that is poor in http://www.marcecko.com/#/. This website is poorly designed because the owner is a businessman who has many enterprises and probably wants us to know about these ventures. It is difficult to start. The last website that needs to be looked into is that http://contentof.com/ which is also poorly designed. There is no order of information. This site is not laid down correctly as there are many issues that should be looked into that should reflect the requirements of the website.  Ã‚  

Marcel Duchamp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marcel Duchamp - Essay Example The paper "Marcel Duchamp" focuses on the important figure in the art, Marcel Duchamp. Particular to that was the avant-garde movement known as the Dadaists and the Surrealists: "the mission of the early 20th Century avant-garde thus consisted in undermining the idea of art's 'autonomy' in favour of a new merging of art into what he calls the 'praxis of life'." The work being examined in the following, falls within the genre of this movement, and thus, one of the running themes explored throughout this discussion, will address how L.H.O.O.Q. can be understood as an expression of the avant-garde of his age, and how this fits within the agenda of the Dadaists. In introductory terms, Dadaism is a movement that sought to deconstruct the relationship of art to the power structures that financed it, so to speak. By challenging the power relations surrounding the work of art, the further agenda of exposing the essentially "bourgeoisie" values are likewise a theme that is incorporated into t he actual pieces or works of art themselves. In 1915, Marcel Duchamp moved to New York City from Paris. In Duchamp's own words, he was not moving to New York so much as he was fleeing the art community in Paris which he believed was burdened by the history and traditions of European art. As he states: â€Å"If only America would realize that the art of Europe is finished – dead – and that America is the country of the art of the future. Look at the skyscrapers! Has Europe anything to show more beautiful than these? New York is a work of art, a complete work of art . . . And I believe that the idea of demolishing old buildings, old souvenirs, is fine . . . The dead should not be permitted to be so much stronger than the living. We must learn to forget the past, to live our own lives in our own time.† [Kalaidjian, Ed., 2005, 195]. In terms of the back drop of rejecting history or the tradition of art, the work in question eventually came to be known as a 'ready-ma de'. That is, a found object which has been altered or modified in a way, and then presented as a work of art. The work in question [APPENDIX A] is a reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which is arguably, the most famous work that is housed in the Louvre in Paris. As far as the modifications go with this particular work, Duchamp has merely added a mustache and titled the work with the initials L.H.O.O.Q.. This title is supposed to be a pun or a play on the French: â€Å"Elle a chaud au cul" and as translated into English, the phrase means "She has a hot ass" [Seigel, 1995, 119] . There is an interesting controversy about the work, that it is germane to the very meaning of the work itself. One of the important aspects of a work like this, is the very capacity for it to be photographed and reproduced. Indeed, the technique involved with the work in the first sense involves photography insofar as the image itself is initially a photograph of the Mona Lisa: "photography was crucial in disseminating Duchamp" [Hopkins, 2004, p. 46]. The contemporary twist on the controversy occurred in 2006 when the art critic and editor of Art in America, had to issue an apology for misunderstanding the authenticity and provenance of a reproduction of Duchamp's famous work: â€Å"I was wrong in 'Dada Lives' to claim that Francis Picabia's bungled 1920 reproduction