While analyzing the theme of violence against women (VaW) in The Sopranos, the most significant aspect is to investigate the purpose of depicting violence in the TV show. Thus, the major research question will be Does The Sopranos endorse or criticize VaW through the frequent depiction of the scenes of cruelty? The hypothesis of the research paper will be The portrayal of VaW in The Sopranos promotes the vicious treatment of women by men. To check the hypothesis, the primary and secondary sources will be addressed.
Among the primary sources, there will be TV series episodes and scholarly articles focused on the gender (sexual) inequality theory. Secondary sources will include academic papers on VaW and the concept of patriarchy.
To find an answer to the research question and prove or reject the hypothesis, it is necessary to analyze all sources carefully. The theme is closely related to the sexual inequality theory, and Brewer and Smiths article helps to understand this issue better.
In their research, these scholars investigate the impact of sex-based inequality on female victimization. Brewer and Smith conclude that social aspects, such as the level of education and the degree of poverty, have a more significant effect on womens victimization than gender aspects (187). However, researchers remark that their findings do not necessarily reject the possibility of victimization to be influenced by gender inequality (Brewer and Smith 187). They suggest analyzing the question from different perspectives and with a larger sample.
In her article, Yodanis investigates the relationship between VaW, gender inequality, and fear. The scholar argues that females occupational and educational status is closely associated with the prevalence of VaW (Yodanis 655). Moreover, Yodanis notes that such prevalence differs between countries and, thus, those with the lower status of women tend to have higher levels of violence (655). As well as Brewer and Smith, Yodanis concludes that womens social status is the decisive factor in mens predisposition to demonstrate cruelty against them. The author argues that gender inequality has a twofold nature: on the one hand, it is structural and on the other hand, it is ideological (Yodanis 656).
The ideological character of patriarchy is manifested through values and norms associated with females roles and status in society. Meanwhile, the structural aspect involves females access to various social institutions and their position within them (Yodanis 656). Yodanis argues that VaW is not less related to gender inequality than it is to fear (661).
In the article analyzing the interview with The Sopranos creator, David Chase, Johnson discusses the perceptions of violence in the TV show by the audience and offers Chases justification of such depiction. Johnson remarks that the creator and writers of the show are familiar with ongoing debates in feminism over sexuality and power (Johnson). However, despite such awareness, The Sopranos makers do not seem to acknowledge the extent to which they advertise VaW, considering the viewers reaction as misinterpretation (Johnson).
In one of Chases interviews, he tries to redirect attention from the theme of cruelty to the larger fields of cultural violence, such as family values and capitalism (Johnson). Still, as the author remarks, The Sopranos seems to make a knowing reference to the history of the feminist sex wars (Johnson). Therefore, it is viable to assume that the makers of the TV series intentionally portray VaW as a promotion of such behavior among men.
Works Cited
Brewer, Victoria E., and M. Dwayne Smith. Gender Inequality and Rates of Female Homicide Victimization Across U.S. Cities. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, vol. 32, no. 2, 1995, pp. 175-190.
Yodanis, Carrie L. Gender Inequality, Violence Against Women, and Fear: A Cross-National Test of the Feminist Theory of Violence Against Women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 19, no. 6, 2004, pp. 655-675.
Specific purpose: To teach my listeners the method I use to speak confidently in public and learn new skills.
Central idea: Trying to attain perfection and fearing mistakes will only make you commit more errors, even in trivial situations. To succeed and attain confidence, one needs to overcome their fear and focus on being good, not perfect.
Introduction
Attention Material
Hook: What comes to your mind when you are told to present in public?
Many people are afraid of speaking publicly and making mistakes while doing so, believing that people will notice and think ill of the speakers competence.
WIIFM? By using my method, students can learn to manage their fear of public speaking. They will become able to use English excellently and deliver their points in a manner that resonates with the audience.
Orientation Material
Public speaking is a stressful affair since one is constantly afraid of failing in front of a crowd of people.
People obsess over perfection and criticize themselves unjustly for every mistake they make while speaking (Grieve, 2019)
You do not need to be perfect (Preview main points) I was once an international student who also strived for perfection until this tendency led me to freeze up during a self-introduction, following which I learned that it is all right to feel scared and make mistakes and overcame my fear.
(Transition: Let me share my story &)
Body
As an international student, I wanted to perfect my English
I started my first class as an international student wanting only to master English.
To me, speaking English perfectly meant never making any mistakes (DiRiesta, 2018).
However, this desire only led me to make even more mistakes instead of reducing their number.
(Transition: But how did it do that?)
In a practical situation, I froze up and was unable to speak a single word.
At one point, I was asked to introduce myself in front of my classmates.
My brain went blank, my heart started racing, and I kept quiet for seconds.
I forgot every single word in English because I was focused on not making mistakes.
I learned that its OK to make mlistakes.
As long as the message is delivered, people are willing to overlook smaller mistakes (Humphrey, 2017).
Feeling scared is OK, and one should strive to be good, not perfect.
I still feel fear, but it motivates me to succeed by overcoming it instead of stopping me from functioning.
Conclusion
Summary
Being able to make mistakes and go on gives you more control over how your speech occurs. As a result, you can deliver the message successfully and create an excellent speech despite the problems.
In these circumstances, fear motivates you to be better and persevere through difficulties instead of collapsing under their weight. As such, it is healthy to acknowledge it so that it may be overcome.
Clincher
The things that I have learned from my past failures at public speaking have enabled me to deliver this talk with confidence. If you take what I said to heart, you, too, will be able to speak publicly without making the mistakes that I have made.
References
DiResta, D. (2018). Knockout presentations: How to deliver your message with power, punch, and pizzazz. Morgan James Publishing.
Grieve, R. (2019). Stand up and be heard: Taking the fear out of public speaking at university. SAGE Publications.
Humphrey, J. (2017). Impromptu: Leading in the moment. Wiley.
Death is one of the topics that are considered by all people at certain period of their lives. In the vast majority of cases this topic evokes fear and despair as almost all people are afraid of death. Of course, there are people who accept this inevitable stage and have no fear. However, these people have their reasons and they have their specific ways to overcome the universal fright. These reasons are religious in character. However, it can be interesting to understand why the rest of the people are so afraid of death.
Body
Some may assume that people are afraid of pain which is often associated with death. However, this reason is secondary as many people have to live in pain due to chronic diseases. Therefore, it is not the pain that makes people tremble at the very thought of death. In fact, the major reason is the fear of the unknown. People do not know what happens next. It is universally acknowledged that people are more afraid while anticipating than when overcoming some constraints.
Of course, death is the greatest challenge that leads to something unknown. Notably, some people claim that they are afraid of non-existence as they hate the idea they will not exist anymore. Nonetheless, no one knows for sure what happens after death and this is more frightening. This makes people feel uneasy.
Conclusion
People need to know everything that happens to them. They want to understand the reason of their lives. Of course, they wish to understand the secrets of death. However, people are not able to understand these secrets and this unawareness makes them feel desperately insecure. People are not afraid of death itself, related pain or non-existence. People are afraid of the unknown.
Fear has always been the social lever that made it possible to control people and prevent suicides and the most terrible crimes. As Vonnegut pointed out, The deepest sort of respect is the uncontrollable fear. As we fear, we think, and as the fear disappears, we stop thinking about the consequences. And some people understand it well and make good use of it&
According to Machiavelli, fear is something that underlies the modern philosophy that he is speaking about. This is the philosophy of being a prince, of belonging to royalty.
Of course, you might ask me what kind of a prince would the one who fears make. The royal decency and honor should not allow a royal person to have any fears or even to get frightened. This is the policy of the sword and stone-cold face, and thy hands shall not tremble as you go through the ordeal.
However, the idea of a man who can eat the monsters of his own fancy has been long gone. It has been proved by modern psychologists that if a person has no fear, he is either crazy or already dead. No third solution can be possible.
Still it is of a great interest to see the way the great philosophers of the past dwelled upon this certainly scientific problem.
As Machiavelli points out, fear is an integral part of the policy of a prince, in case it bites not his royal majesty, but the people of the state.
He explains it in very plain words. Such is the human psychology that they can obey in two cases. The first is when they respect the person who gives them commands. The second case is the one when they are afraid of the person in charge.
In both cases, the crowd will obey. But the very thing is that the former situation is much less certain than the latter. The fear is something that glues the crowd as long as the reason for it exists. Meanwhile, the respect, which is harder to control, once gone, never returns. And since that certainly means a farewell to the reign of the one who was feared, the conclusion is undeniable. The fear is something that glues society together.
Nevertheless, a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he doesnt win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their women. (Machiavelli 90)
This is rather a cynical viewpoint, which is, actually, the most attractive feature of Machiavellis policy. I mean that speaking very cynic things and expressing the ideas that even modern politics could blush about, he still spoke sincerely and with the due care of the monarchy and the state. It was all the government business that he was into.
That is what we have on the one hand. Meanwhile, on the other, there is the man whose influence on world politics was just as mighty and powerful, and whose ideas were put to practice by several governments. Welcome, Thomas Hobbes, the politician that could read peoples minds just as easily as the evening paper!
Hobbes addresses the people with quite a different message. His policy lacks the sentimental Renaissance vignettes that Machiavelli is so good to draw at. Thomas Hobbes speaks openly and at times even rudely, cutting the peoples weak points like a professional surgeon.
Hobbes idea of fear as a part of politics underlies the very manner of ruling a state. This manner can be called totalitarian, but we shall not hurry with loud words.
According to Hobbes, the thing that can control the human mass is a fear of punishment. At this point he is quite close to the standard and, I would even say, banal, comparing the king, or the emperor, or whoever, to a father of all the citizens of the country. Like a father can punish a child for misbehaving, the monarch punishes the citizen of his state. this is how he puts this idea, making a link between the fear and the commonwealth:
THE final cause, end, or design of men (who naturally love liberty and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths, is the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby; that is to say, of getting themselves out from that miserable condition of war which is necessarily consequent, as hath been shown, to the natural passions of men when there is no visible power to keep them in awe, and tie them by fear of punishment to the performance of their covenants&. (Hobbes 62)
Thus, Hobbes literally takes liberty as a dangerous factor that prevents the had of the state from keeping things in order. That is rather unexpected compared to Machiavellis opinion. However, again, the impact of the century and its morals must be taken into account, and the confusion must be resulting from the fact that Machiavelli was the founder of the contemporary political views and that he outran the time he was living in.
Back to Hobbes, it would be a mistake to consider him a totalitarian monster. It was just that he expressed the ideas that were the only possible way out for his country at his epoch. When the state is crushing down, Utopia is of no use.
Taking a closer look at both theories, I would like to say that each of them can prove right in due time and a certain state. Of course, Machiavelli is much more humane and has a more contemporary viewpoint, but there are the states which need a certain time to acknowledge their rights and get used to them.
It has also occurred to me that different layers of society might demand different approaches. What works right for the intelligence, proves wrong with the lower class. and, vice versa, if you are wanted to succeed in governing the upper class, you have to learn certain rules and try to achieve some compromise.
However, Hobbes realizes that it is far not that simple with the theory of fear that he exercises, and he adds that when uncontrolled, fear can become a weapon against the monarch himself:
Of all passions, that which inclineth men least to break the laws is fear. Nay, expressing some generous natures, it is the only thing (when there is appearance of profit or pleasure by breaking the laws) that makes men keep them. And yet in many cases a crime may be committed through fear. (Hobbes 204)
I want to drive your attention to the fact that Hobbes not only considers fear as the weapon for total control, as Machiavelli does but also explains that this could be the reason for people to act in a particular way. In other words, in contrast to Machiavelli, who shares the idea of the monarch to control peoples minds and emotions completely and being able to order them what to fear and what not to, Hobbs emphasizes that people can have fears of their own, which might drag certain actions of these people. A dangerous idea as it is, it questions the very power of the monarch. However, we must admit that it has a lot more common sense than the idealistic concepts of Machiavelli, who was considering the ideal people and the ideal monarch.
The key idea of the fear theory is not to go too far. Otherwise, this might lead to the consequences scarier than Worlds War I and II altogether.
However, that is as far it goes for both authors, If dealing with the ideas of each one, in particular, I would say that there are a few remarks I would like to voice now.
Perhaps, I shall start with Machiavelli.
I totally agree with the great maestro concerning the fear of the masses and that it can be a weapon to rule the state. Yet I think that his addressing, with a heavy load of a mentoring tone that kills any wish to improve ones skills of a future conqueror, is of lesser influence. It is very soft and parental, and it does not make the impact of the king speaking to his citizens. Machiavellis philosophy is far too soft for the XVI century.
His fear theory is the theory of harmony and understanding, and he is speaking about the place where every single person would obey the laws for they contribute to the overall commonwealth and prosperity, and about the laws that would not rip people off their possession and be as fair and transparent as laws can be, serving the justice and the state. This is impossible even nowadays, and, of course, it was twice as impossible 500 years ago.
But concerning his subjects, when affairs outside are distributed he has only to fear that they will conspire secretly, from which a prince can secure himself by avoiding being hated and despised, and by keeping people satisfied with him, which is most necessary for him to accomplish& (Machiavelli 99)
I think you will agree that those days it sounded more than impossible, it sounded ridiculous. A monarch cannot be just to everyone, and he always has to choose between the less of two evils.
In terms of Hobbes ideas of the perfect reign and the fear as the cornerstone for the control over the country and the people, I would say that he exaggerates too much. It is a good idea to make people understand that there are actions that may result in being punished and imprisoned, but using the fear of losing freedom or life to make people act the way the monarch wants is more than a half-baked idea, at least for the modern society. Someday the people will revolt, and the mutiny can result in worse than the budget money stolen or several cities burnt down. That may result in losing authority. When such a thing happens, nothing else can be done. This is the end of the monarchs reign.
Still, they both have expressed the ideas that even modern politics still needs and makes good use of. they have built a fundament for the future political science to develop and suggest new ideas and new means of ruling a country. As Hobbes said,
Good success is power; because it makes the reputation of wisdom or good fortune, which makes man either fear him or rely on him (58).
And maybe someday as the political sciences develop so great that people will have no urge in being controlled to make the good citizen and prevent crimes, the promised commonwealth will glow upon the countries of the entire world, the peace, and justice to be the common principles of life.
& Or, at least, we can still dream of this day to come.
Works Cited
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. New York, NY: Forgotten Books, 1950. Print.
Machiavelli, Nicola. The Prince. Trans. W. K. Marriott. New York, NY: Plainn Label Books, 1952. Print.
Pity has a strange dialectic, at one moment it requires guilt, the next moment it will not have it, and so it is that to be predestinated to pity is more and more dreadful the more the individuals misfortune is in the direction of the spiritual. But Sarah had no blame attaching to her, she is cast forth as a prey to every suffering and in addition to this has to endure the torture of pityfor even I who admire her more than Tobias loved her, even I cannot mention her name without saying, Poor girl (Kierkegaard unpaged).
A contextualization of the passage
The passage is taken from Problem 3 which is supposed to illustrate the experiences of Abraham who intends to kill his son in order to demonstrate his devotion to God. In this particular section of the book, the writer intends to speak about such a concept as pity from an aesthetic viewpoint. It should be noted that Kierkegaard pays close attention to this notion because he needs to discuss such a character as Sarah who suffered a great number of misfortunes in the course of her life.
More importantly, Kierkegaard wants to determine whether this feeling can be applicable to this person and what kind of effects this feeling can produce on an individual, his/her self-esteem, and attitude toward others. Thus, it is important to show how exactly Kierkegaard approaches this question in his discussion and how he applies his arguments toward Biblical and literary characters. The selected passage can throw a new light on the ideas of Kierkegaard, and his attitude toward many ethical issues.
An exposition of the meaning of passage
First, it should be noted that this passage illustrates the conflicting nature of pity and the reasons the influence of this feeling should be reassessed. To a great extent, the argument of Kierkegaard is supposed to highlight the idea that pity usually requires some feeling of guilt from a person.
One of the arguments that the philosopher makes is that this feeling is intolerable to an individual. To a great extent, this feeling belittles a human being, and in the long term, this emotion can only lead to the bitterness of the individual who is a subject of pity.
This is one of the reasons why later Kierkegaard wants to speak about the detrimental effects of pity by looking at Richard III who was eloquently described by William Shakespeare. This cruelty of this person can be largely explained by the fact that other people felt only pity for him, but paid no attention to other qualities of this person. This example is vital for understanding the ideas of Kierkegaard and his opinions on ethics and art.
The most important element that should be taken into consideration is that the author focuses on the so-called predestination for pity which means that the compassion is the only feeling that some person evokes. This concept is important for describing such a character as Sarah. In his opinion, this predestination can only harm an individual because he/she can be obsessed with the feeling of his/her worthlessness. In the long term, he/she can become even more alienated from other people.
As it has been said before, this experience can only embitter a person or make him/her make more miserable. This opinion is important for Kierkegaard who wants to readers to evaluate the impacts of pity on a person. To a great extent, Kierkegaard believes that this feeling only highlights the weaknesses of an individual.
This is one of the main conclusions that can be drawn from this particular passage. As it has been said before, Kierkegaard wants the readers to look at various situations describes in the Bible from an aesthetic viewpoint, and such an approach can lead to the re-assessment of various ethical principles and norms that are usually deemed to be conventional by many people.
It seems that this discussion is important for explaining the ideas of Kierkegaard who tried to present a re-evaluation of various questions related to philosophy, theology, and literature.
The significance of the passage
It seems that this passage is important for understanding the many views that Kierkegaard could have held on art, ethics, or religion. It can help readers gain deeper insights into other questions that this philosopher examines in his book. To a great extent, he wishes to show that an individual should first try to display respect for another person, rather than only pity because in this way one can better empower an individual.
The ideas of this philosopher contradict the ethical principles according to which a pity is critical for the morality of a person and his/her interactions with other individuals. Nevertheless, one should keep in mind that Kierkegaard looks at Biblical characters from an aesthetic perspective. This is one of the reasons why he presents a dramatically different discussion of many ethical norms. This is one of the reasons why this passage should not be disregarded by people who study the works of Kierkegaard, his ethical and aesthetic views.
Poes short fiction offers a broader range of themes and greater psychological complexity. The uniqueness of his style is that Poe puts readers into the world of fantasy and strong emotions and feelings. Many of his works mixed with murder and suspense depicting the worlds full of cruelty and violence. One of the most unnerving qualities in Poes fiction is the construction of tales that feature human mind. His works center upon interior crises where the human mind is under assault. Thesis Fear of premature burial dominates in many Poes stories as a reflection of troubles and hardship he experienced all his life.
Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston. When he was only two years old, Edgar lost both his parents, traveling actors. Frances and John Allan were to bring Edgar into their home, although that Frances had to convince her husband to assume guardianship over. The main personal problem of Edgar was that he was never legally adopted by John Allan (Silverman, p. 2). Allan treated his foster child kindly, although real affection came from Allans wife. Frances was apparently devoted to Poe during his childhood (Carlson, p. 5). During Poes adolescence, John Allan became increasingly impatient and demanding. In England, he attended Manor School at Stoke Newington. Then, the family moved back to Virginia. Poe attended the University of Virginia only one year and was expelled for his gambling. He started his career as a poet and writer in Baltimore in 1930s. From 1831 to 1835 Poe lived in poverty in Baltimore. He tried unsuccessfully to find work as a schoolteacher, an editorial assistant, and for a spell may have even rejoined the army. During these years, he struggled to make a living, occasionally writing poems but never making enough money to secure a decent diet or purchase sufficiently warm clothing (Silverman, pp. 15-17).
The theme of fear of premature burial dominates in most of his stories and can be explained as a result of desperation and emotional distress. The Gold Bug, The Tell-Tale Heart and The Murders in the Rue Morgue etc. depict fear of death and scenes of murder (Silverman, p. 212). In Poes stories of revenge, the fear of death helps to undercut the protagonists criminal plan. Most of these tales reveal a desire to be caught or at least a need for self-punishment that is as strong or stronger than the urge toward violent crime and the attendant anarchy of its brief personal freedom (Jacobs, p. 43). For instance, in The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat the police arrive and stimulate a desire on the part of the narrator to confess his crime and undergo punishment from the state. In The Masque of the Red Death and The Tell-Tale Heart, clock imagery is associated with the destruction of criminals (Bloom, p. 122). Poes characters commit their crimes and almost instantaneously activate some principle of judgment. These tales of homicide often conclude with the understanding that the destruction of another human being (Bloom, p. 56). Bloom underlines:
in his 1844 tour de force, The Premature Burial, Poe wrote, the boundaries which divide Life from Death, are at best shadowy and vague. Describing one of those cessations& of vitality known to result in accidental burial, he mused, where, meantime, was the soul? The question of the souls whereabouts during sleep and after death has a long tradition in Western philosophy, stretching back to Plato and Aristotle (Bloom, p. 127).
In the short stories, Poe tells readers about his true feelings and emotions, fears and distress. It is possible to say that inner feelings and fears are more real for his protagonists than elements found in reality (Bloom 23). Poes first-person narrators force the reader to enter a world of fear. Following It is a world of gross distortion, unreal construction, and irrational propensities toward violent behavior. For instance, the protagonists in The Tell-Tale Heart, The Imp of the Perverse, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Masque of the Red Dead all emerge from similar conditions (Jacobs, p. 38). They spend too much time alone, divorced from meaningful social community, family, and friends. Fear of premature burial is expressed through obsessive behavior and delusions. As this occurs, thoughts of murder and the pursuit of selfish pleasures are inevitable consequences (Bloom, p. 115).
The Cask of Amontillado is one of the best exampled of fears and doubts experiment by Poe. Montressor meets Fortunato on an Italian street and entices him home to his wine cellar. Fortunato has no awareness that he has insulted Montressor. Montressor sealed him between two stone layers by building a wall in front of Fortunato. Poe writes: not only punish, but punish with impunity (Poe, p. 76). Foe portrays ability to assess and judge situations accurately. Poes narratives of murders and murdering pivot around acts of violence and the criminality; the darkness of these stories is not lightened by any degree of love or affection (Bloom, p. 145).
The Masque of the Red Death is an example of Poes fear of death and premature burial. This story suggests an imaginative nature of the plot. Overwhelmed by images of costumes, bejeweled masks adding to the allure and mystery of beautiful and privileged people, and a decadent environment of rich colors and sounds, Poe portrays sudden death and premature burial: black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes,.. there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all (Poe 45). In the Tell Tale Heart, Poe creates the world of fantasy using unique symbols and settings (Jacobs, p. 32). The narrator claims to be totally sane, he admits that there never existed a real motive for murder; it was just that the old mans eye vexed him: As the narrator spends a week preparing himself to commit the crime, he forms a bond with the old man, acknowledging that the victims terror of death is likewise shared by the man who will bring death into the bedchamber: Many a night, just a midnight, when all the world slept, [terror] has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him (Poe, p. 65). These fears and terrors can be found in many stories of homicide and revenge. Following Joseph Patrick Roppolo: a parable of the inevitability and universality of death. Death cannot be barred from the palace, he argues, because it is in the blood, part and parcel of our humanity, not an external invader. Hence, according to Roppolo, the spectral figure is not a representation of mortality (which is already present) but a figment of the imagination: mans self-aroused and self-developed fear of his own mistaken concept of death (Bloom, p. 120).
Using the themes of death and fear of premature burial, Poe puts readers into the world of monsters and murders. Critics (Bloom, p. 34) admit that alcoholism was the main caused of emotional distress and fear of death.
Many of Poes protagonists have much in common with Poe himself. Poe witnessed in losing his mother and wife to tuberculosis, and both at the age of twenty-four, took on an obsessive quality for Poe the writer, since the two most important women in his life essentially bookended his artistic career with their strikingly similar deaths (Davidson, p. 54), These fears and terrors were mirrored in many stories including The Black Cat . For instance, after disposing of wife and cat, the narrator of The Black Cat says, My happiness was supreme! The guilt of my dark deed disturbed me but little&. I soundly and tranquilly slept; aye, slept even with the burden of murder upon my soul (Poe, p. 76). The burden of murder, proves too heavy for these men to bear (Bloom 145). They descend into self-punishment that is narrated from within the lonely silence of the tomb, the jail, or the lunatic asylum. The black cats in this tale possess certain supernal qualities that certainly confound the narrator. The wife of protagonist in The Black Cat: made frequent allusion to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise (Poe, p. 51). It is a story that confronts the issue of alcoholism and the destructive effects that it produces upon marriage. When the narrator confesses that my disease grew upon mefor what disease is like Alcohol (Poe 54), he reflects a thought that Poe himself understood. Alcohol produced violence and aggressive behavior (Bloom, p. 140).
Poes alcoholism not only cost him friendships and important connections because of he quarreled violently with others, he also spent time in jail for public drunkenness. In creating the narrator in The Black Cat, Poe invested him with many of his own character flaws while drunk; the narrator is not meant to be Poe himself, but Poe used many of the particulars of his own experience in rendering the narrators personality. Similar to this story, in The Masque of the Red Death Poe reminds readers that the devastating and incurable effects of the Red Death, with its horrible bleeding at the pores, isolates the victim from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men (Poe, p. 57). In the end, it is Prospero himself who is shut out from the aid and sympathy not only in his selfish pursuit of pleasure and arrogant exclusion, but in the very manner in which he dies: alone in the black room, face-to-face with Death. Critics (Davidson 61) admit that death of his young wide Virginia had a great impact on his physiological well-being and addiction. Poe lived another two years after the death of Virginia, and they were perhaps the most miserable of his life (Bloom, p. 116).
Poe died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore. Similar to many of his tragic characters, he faced the same tragic death. Following Silverman, alcoholic was hurrying him to the grave. Similar to the writer, Poes protagonists feel elation; they awarded themselves psychologically at the same time that they have eliminated the oppression and fears of death. It is possible to say that fear of premature burial and death is caused by life troubles (death of his relatives) and intoxication state which led him to distress and anxiety.
Works Cited
Bloom, H. The Tales of Poe. Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Carlson, Th. C. Biographical Warfare: Silent Film and the Public Image of Poe . The Mississippi Quarterly 52 (1998): 5.
Davidson, Edward H. Poe: A Critical Study. Harvard University Press, 1957.
Jacobs, R.D. Poe, Journalist & Critic. Louisiana State University Press, 1969.
Poe, E. The Complete Stories. New York: Everymans Library/Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Silverman, K. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, New York, NY. 1991.
Despite the decrease in the global crime rate, the fear of crime has grown significantly over the last decades. There are several implications that are needed to be kept in mind while examining the causes of the fears increased popularity. Curiel and Bishop (2017) report that the rate of victimization, meaning the rate of actual crime taking place, is opposite to the rate of fear of crime. For example, the areas that are most secured with the lowest number of crimes tend to be more fearful than people from the areas where the crime rate is high.
One explanation for the heightened feeling of fear among individuals is that the rate of violent crime is still high, even though the general crime rate has decreased. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 17 out of every 1,000 residents age 12 or older and living in an urban area were victimized by violent crime in 2009 (as cited in Greene and Heilbrun, 2018, 9. 46). Moreover, Curiel and Bishop (2017) suggest that the instances of victimization are distributed unevenly across the areas, which distorts the image of crime for some individuals. In other words, people may not realize that the crime rate is decreasing when they think about the areas with a high concentration of crime.
Furthermore, technological advancement made it possible to report and document more instances of crime. With the development of the Internet, the public is more exposed to current criminal activity. Police identify more criminals, which creates a solid, vivid face of crime, regularly appearing on TV and Internet news. Therefore, people right now are more informed about their threats to their safety than during the times, where instant access to the information was not possible, which may be the factor for the increased level of fear of crime.
Does Franklin Delano Roosevelt have any legacy? It is evident that that the weak nature of the presidential office in America has never changed after several decades.
It may be justified to argue that the state of welfare is not admirable at all because it is largely in a state of chaos. Criticism has been leveled against the Sacrosanct Social Security plan that was once admirable in the face of the American public and the world at large.
Although the above questions may be mind boggling, the Freedom From Fear book by David M. Kennedy offers the best opportunity to reflect such terse questions.
The book is indeed an eye opener since significant historical events have been neatly engrossed in a narrative form with special focus on political administration of justice (Kennedy 2003, 86-88).
The author has offered a detailed account of the Roosevelt era in the book. Individuals who have deep passion for political history of the United States may simply describe the entire book as an old-fashioned history that is good enough for highlighting our weak political systems.
There are a number of major military, economic and political queries that Kennedy keenly pursues in the book. The author also inquires some of the major decisions and the architects behind the landmark decisions that have dearly affected the wellbeing of Americans.
From the outset of the book, there is predomination of dead white males. This does not imply that the author is attempting to sideline the interests of vulnerable groups such as minorities, children and women.
The era of the anti-lynching law debates could not have allowed the author to dissect certain segments of the population. It is also interesting to mention that the Japanese internment was a grueling issue during the depression years.
Nonetheless, it may be unfortunate that the author clearly ignored the American pop culture when compiling the key tenets of the book.
Whereas the latter omission may be judged bitterly by critiques of this book, it is interesting to note that the era of the Great Depression has been dramatically discussed by the author to the best satisfaction of the reader. In any case, what could be the purpose of filling the pages of the book with the American pop culture?
What could have been the historical significances of Citizen Kane, Louis Armstrong, Mickey Mouse or Jack Benny in the economic and political wellbeing of Americans?
After the end of the First World War, the American public was mainly interested in forging austerity measures that would positively transform political and economic growth. The author has indeed tackled some of the most intriguing issues of the Great Depression era.
For instance, the emergence of totalitarianism and the New Deal have been critically examined in the book (Kennedy 2003, 107).
The author has also aroused and retained the attention of his readers by documenting a historical account through a number of surprises. For example, Herbert Hoover receives a very kind treatment from the author. It is not common for presidents to be lauded by most elites in society.
The author observes that Herbert was a scholarly and reflective person. He equates him to an astute political philosopher. Kennedy also posits that the former president was a real source of help and inspiration during the First World War.
Nonetheless, the author has negatively described the character traits of Herbert Hoover to the extent that the audience may begin to feel sorry for the former president. At some point in his description of the politically-correct individuals, the author remains too rigid.
Some of the historical weaknesses of political leaders during the Great Depression era are quite callous. He asserts that Roosevelt and the whole of his administration never knew the strategies to adopt during the Great Depression era.
By 1938, the New Deal was concluded. It followed the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards (Kennedy 2003, 201). The author does not merely give an account of the piece of legislation that ended the New Deal. He pauses in the middle portion of the book to appraise the effectiveness of the Act.
This approach assists the reader to cultivate deeper thoughts and insights before proceeding with the subsequent chapters. The author critiques the much-taunted objectives of the New Deal by arguing that it never managed to redistribute income or end the Great Depression.
According to Kennedy, the deal merely offered job security to Americans. Needless to say, the author is quite elusive when examining aspects such as market security, financial security and life-cycle security in relation to the New Deal.
The Second World War has also been given an expansive view by the author. War and foreign affairs are tackled in the second part while the first section mainly dwells on domestic affairs. The astounding productive capacity was the main reason behind the success of the United States.
The author repeatedly revolves around this theme. Perhaps, it was not necessary for Kennedy to overemphasize the economic strength of the United States against other global players bearing in mind that the country was already an economic powerhouse even before the advent of the First World War.
By the end of the first part of the book, there is no doubt that Kennedy has managed to persuade his allies and friend in the same measure.
The author has skillfully articulated and tossed his arguments on both sides of the debate. He has highlighted the leadership pros and cons of both Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Reference List
Kennedy, David. 2003. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press.
Does Franklin Delano Roosevelt have any legacy? It is evident that that the weak nature of the presidential office in America has never changed after several decades.
It may be justified to argue that the state of welfare is not admirable at all because it is largely in a state of chaos. Criticism has been leveled against the Sacrosanct Social Security plan that was once admirable in the face of the American public and the world at large.
Although the above questions may be mind boggling, the Freedom From Fear book by David M. Kennedy offers the best opportunity to reflect such terse questions.
The book is indeed an eye opener since significant historical events have been neatly engrossed in a narrative form with special focus on political administration of justice (Kennedy 2003, 86-88).
The author has offered a detailed account of the Roosevelt era in the book. Individuals who have deep passion for political history of the United States may simply describe the entire book as an old-fashioned history that is good enough for highlighting our weak political systems.
There are a number of major military, economic and political queries that Kennedy keenly pursues in the book. The author also inquires some of the major decisions and the architects behind the landmark decisions that have dearly affected the wellbeing of Americans.
From the outset of the book, there is predomination of dead white males. This does not imply that the author is attempting to sideline the interests of vulnerable groups such as minorities, children and women.
The era of the anti-lynching law debates could not have allowed the author to dissect certain segments of the population. It is also interesting to mention that the Japanese internment was a grueling issue during the depression years.
Nonetheless, it may be unfortunate that the author clearly ignored the American pop culture when compiling the key tenets of the book.
Whereas the latter omission may be judged bitterly by critiques of this book, it is interesting to note that the era of the Great Depression has been dramatically discussed by the author to the best satisfaction of the reader. In any case, what could be the purpose of filling the pages of the book with the American pop culture?
What could have been the historical significances of Citizen Kane, Louis Armstrong, Mickey Mouse or Jack Benny in the economic and political wellbeing of Americans?
After the end of the First World War, the American public was mainly interested in forging austerity measures that would positively transform political and economic growth. The author has indeed tackled some of the most intriguing issues of the Great Depression era.
For instance, the emergence of totalitarianism and the New Deal have been critically examined in the book (Kennedy 2003, 107).
The author has also aroused and retained the attention of his readers by documenting a historical account through a number of surprises. For example, Herbert Hoover receives a very kind treatment from the author. It is not common for presidents to be lauded by most elites in society.
The author observes that Herbert was a scholarly and reflective person. He equates him to an astute political philosopher. Kennedy also posits that the former president was a real source of help and inspiration during the First World War.
Nonetheless, the author has negatively described the character traits of Herbert Hoover to the extent that the audience may begin to feel sorry for the former president. At some point in his description of the politically-correct individuals, the author remains too rigid.
Some of the historical weaknesses of political leaders during the Great Depression era are quite callous. He asserts that Roosevelt and the whole of his administration never knew the strategies to adopt during the Great Depression era.
By 1938, the New Deal was concluded. It followed the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards (Kennedy 2003, 201). The author does not merely give an account of the piece of legislation that ended the New Deal. He pauses in the middle portion of the book to appraise the effectiveness of the Act.
This approach assists the reader to cultivate deeper thoughts and insights before proceeding with the subsequent chapters. The author critiques the much-taunted objectives of the New Deal by arguing that it never managed to redistribute income or end the Great Depression.
According to Kennedy, the deal merely offered job security to Americans. Needless to say, the author is quite elusive when examining aspects such as market security, financial security and life-cycle security in relation to the New Deal.
The Second World War has also been given an expansive view by the author. War and foreign affairs are tackled in the second part while the first section mainly dwells on domestic affairs. The astounding productive capacity was the main reason behind the success of the United States.
The author repeatedly revolves around this theme. Perhaps, it was not necessary for Kennedy to overemphasize the economic strength of the United States against other global players bearing in mind that the country was already an economic powerhouse even before the advent of the First World War.
By the end of the first part of the book, there is no doubt that Kennedy has managed to persuade his allies and friend in the same measure.
The author has skillfully articulated and tossed his arguments on both sides of the debate. He has highlighted the leadership pros and cons of both Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Reference List
Kennedy, David. 2003. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press.
The main assumptions of the study are that gagging is:
a connection between mental perception and body reaction.
more likely in fearful children.
predictable.
According to Katsouda et al. (2018), an unwanted intervention in the oral cavity causes gagging, since there is a connection between the gagging center and the cerebral cortex. Consequently, some children can react with gagging to a dental procedure if they have dental fear, and this process, in turn, causes anxiety. Moreover, this reflex prevents dental treatment physically, if a patient cannot spot gagging during the procedure, and mentally, when a child or an adult does not want to return the dentists office.
The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between:
dental fear and childrens subjectivity assessment.
dental fear and objective measurement of gagging.
subjectivity assessment and objective measurement.
The purpose is to determinate:
if gagging can be predicted.
features for improvement of the pediatrics work.
The authors in this paper investigate the existence of a persistent connection between childrens fear of dental treatment and gagging. The scientists also try to identify the relationship between certain types of settings and the possibility of gagging. The results can be useful for dentists and pediatricians, since they might help to find new approaches to eliminating fear in children and safe dental procedures. Preventing measures in childhood could also help with decreasing the number of adults who experience dental anxiety and gagging.
Material
Sampling criteria
Age between 4-12.
Speak the Greek language.
Visited a dentist during a school year.
Did not require emergency care.
Did not have physical or mental disabilities.
Final Sample 734 children (385 boys and 349 girls) who have visited either a university paediatric dental clinic (UC) or at a private paediatric practice (PP).
For the research, the authors got access to two different dental sites in the city of Northern Greece. One of them has a higher price, but shorter waiting lists (PP), and another one has long waiting lists but lower prices (UC). Children who have mental or physical impairments, or emergency needs and do not speak Greek cannot participate in the study because their peculiarities can cause the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of results.
Methods
The main instrument for data collection survey:
The Gagging Assessment Scale.
The Childrens Fear Survey ScheduleDental Subscale.
The Gagging Problem Assessmentdentist part.
The main instruments and methods for data analysis:
SPSS version 21.
Pearsons chi-square.
Spearmans rho.
Mann-Whitney U test.
The Gagging Assessment Scale (GAS) is a questionnaire in which children answered questions about their feelings during a regular dental procedure, for example, tooth brushing. The Childrens Fear Survey ScheduleDental Subscale (CFSS-DS) is the second type of questionnaire that measured childrens fear of procedures in the dental office. The Gagging Problem Assessmentdentist part (GPA-de-f/SF) is the pediatric test during which the dentist examines the gagging reflex by touching six anatomical sites in a childs mouth with a dental mirror. Standard instruments of statistical analysis were used to analyze data.
Results
Dentist objective measurement of gagging.
Total of 209 children (28,47%) gagged.
Among them:
30.13 % were sent to UC and 26,55% to PP.
Boys 34,03% and girls 22,35%.
Average age 7.14 .
The average age of children who did not gag is 7.76.
During the test conducted by the dentist, about 30% of the children gagged. Children fell into this category if touching at least one of the tested places caused gagging. Almost all children have seen the dentist before (91,3%), and gagging is not related to the history of previous visits. The difference between those who experienced gagging in UC and PP clinics is insignificant. However, in general, a noticeably higher number of boys responded to the dental touch than girls. In addition, young children also showed a greater tendency to gag.
Number of younger children who gagged was significantly higher.
Most often children gagged because of the touching transition to the soft palate.
GAS and CFSS-DS
Total children who completed the survey: GAS 93.19%, CFSS-DS 91,83%.
Mean age of children who completed survey: GAS 7.74 years, CFSS-DS 7.75 years.
Children who did not complete: GAS 5.82 years, CFSS-DS 6.00 years.
Among children who had visited the dentist before 97,52% completed GAS, and 95,35% finished CFSS-DS.
Among children who had not visited the dentist before 50,68% completed GAS, and 58,06% finished CFSS-DS .
Age and previous visits of the dentist were not related to GAS and CFSS-DS score.
Children who did not answer the GAS missed the question, How do you feel when the dentist is working on your back teeth (Katsouda et al. 2018, p.173). Children who did not finish CFSS-DS did not answer the question about drilling teeth. These problems are related to the fact that children have not previously visited the dentist or did not have such procedures. Among the children who completed both tests, boys more often identified themselves as gaggers, but girls showed a higher score in fear of dentists.
Total results
Children who were rated as gaggers had a higher score :
in GAS (U=33629.000, P<0.001).
dental fear (U=31955.500, P<0.001).
fear of returning (U=46605.000, P<0.001).
There is also a correlation between GAS, CFSS-DS, and fear of returning.
Children who gagged because of the touch during the test with the dentist had a higher predisposition and dental fear for both sexes and all ages at UC and PP clinics. In addition, these children had a greater fear of a return to dental procedures. In this case, the fear of returning to the dentist did not depend on the gender of the child or the type of setting in which he or she was examined. However, children who self-identified themselves as gaggers were more afraid to come to the dentist.
Discussion
The main points of discussion:
30% of children gagged.
Children from UC had a higher tendency to self-report.
Boys self-report more often than girls.
No self-reporting difference in the PP.
Education of parents influences gagging.
Socio-economic status of parents influences fear.
According to the study, U! parents had a higher level of education and socio-economic level than PP parents (Katsouda et al., 2018). Possibly, this fact was reflected in the choice of a clinic where the adults brought their children, since UC is cheaper than PP. In addition, the data indicate that dental fear in children who visited the UC is higher than in children who have been treated in PP. Consequently, there may be a link between parental income and education and gagging in children, although this assumption does not yet have precise confirmation.
The main points of discussion (cont.):
Tendency of self-identification related to gagging.
Score in the GAS related to fear of returning.
Score in the GAS related to the CFSS-DS score.
Boys have a higher tendency for gagging.
Younger and fearful children gag more often.
Gender predisposition is relevant only for children.
A childs predisposition to gagging in routine dental procedures can indicate gagging during treatment, and children can self-identify it. The predisposition and fear of dental treatment are associated with the possibility of gagging and increase it, and the process itself grows the childs fear of repeated procedures. In addition, boys and younger children are more prone to gagging, but this fact does not confirm the same tendency in adults, since reflexes can appear and disappear with age.
Conclusion
The main findings:
Dental fear and gagging are connected.
Gagging depends on gender and age.
The patients dental fear influences gagging.
Self-evaluation and real gagging related.
The results of the study showed that gagging could occur in 30% of children aged 4 to 12 years. Fear of visiting the dentist is one of the leading causes of gagging during examination and treatment, but the reasons for its occurrence have not been fully researched. Children who self-identify a predisposition to gagging are also more likely to demonstrate it during the dentists test. In addition, boys and younger children are more likely to experience gagging regardless of the setting. The limitations of the survey make it possible to expand research and continue to study the issue by including more variables in it and obtaining more accurate data.
Reference
Katsouda, M. et al. (2018) Gagging prevalence and its association with dental fear in 4-12 year-old children in a dental setting, International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 29(2), pp. 169176.
