Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Sales

Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman    Willy Loman, the lead character of Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, believes in "the myths of the capitalistic society"(DiYanni 412). This essay will examine the impact of the capitalistic myths on Willy Lowman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in the myth that popularity and physical appearance are the keys that unlock the door to the â€Å"American Dream†. We are first introduced to the importance of popularity and physical appearance when Willy is speaking to his wife, Linda, about their son Biff.   â€Å"Biff Loman is lost,† says Willy.   â€Å"In the greatest country in the world, a young man with such personal attractiveness gets lost.†Ã‚   In this quote, not only is Willy confused about how Biff’s good looks can’t help him get a job, but also because his son can’t get a job in a country like America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in appearance, in phoniness, in popularity with those he regards as important in the capitalistic machine. An example of how Willy depends on popularity to help achieve the dream is seen when Willy is having a flashback in which he’s speaking to both Biff and Happy about having his own business. The boys ask their father if his business will be like their Uncle Charley’s.   Willy responds by saying that he’ll be, â€Å"Bigger than Uncle Charley!   Because Charley is not- liked.   He’s liked, but he’s not- well liked.†Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most significant example of Willy’s belief in the popularity myth also takes place in one of Willy’s flashbacks.   Again, he is speaking to his sons about becoming successful.   He tells them, â€Å"...the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ... ... slogans for his own beliefs: â€Å"Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built.† But his blind faith cannot sustain him: â€Å"That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car†.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each day Willy must run faster and stretch his arms out further in his attempt to catch the dream. When he is too tired to run, Willy is spewed out of the capitalistic machine as a worn-out and useless part. Willy then gives all that he has remaining so that his son can collect the insurance money and thereby pay his entrance fee to the capitalistic machine. The same machine that destroyed Willy. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Compact Edition. McGraw Hill, 2000. 395-530. Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman" in Literature, Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Fourth Edition. Harcourt, Inc. 2000.

Gamer: violent video games Essay

Everyone nowadays plays video games. From kids to adults, we all go through the phase of video games. Some are violent others aren’t. So which ones are good for you and which aren’t? Well I believe that video games in general are just games. They do not harm anything or anyone. Violent video games do not cause violent behavior. Just because you go around shooting people on a television doesn’t mean your going to run around the street killing people. This misconception is often misunderstood. It’s just a game. Your sitting next to your television pushing buttons on a controller. Let’s say your playing a violent war game like Medal Of Honor. This game is based off of World War One and World War Two. Of course there is a lot of killing involved, but during a war isn’t that what you expect? Besides the whole killing factor I personally believe that these kinds of games are benefitial. You get to learn what weapons were using during that time period, you learn key events, and most of all you get a historical background of the time period covered. To me this is a unique way of learning. The younger generation tend to play war-like games, which in my opinion is really good. Young kids like shooting and action, but what they don’t know is that they are actually getting more than just that. They are learning what made the United States today. People often look past all those details and just argue that violent video games cause violent behavior, but I am at disbelief. Another reason why I think violent video games don’t contribute to violent behavior is because there is actually no scientific proof. There is no proof out there that violent games cause violent behavior. So what’s wrong with a little bit of machine gun action? Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact some studies show that violent video games actually help with stress and help you relax. Lets say your coming home from work and you had a miserable day. Your boss made you angry because he made you stay late. So you turn on your video game system when you get home ,and decide to shoot some people in the game to help you deal with your stupid boss. So instead of fighting your boss you get to take it out in the video game. It helps you meditate and get your feelings out in an unrealistic envirnment. It’s just too much fun. Who wouldn’t want to run around in a game and blow stuff up? I mean it’s not like I can just go down the street to the store and ask if I could purchase an rpg. Violent video games don’t affect people that way. Ask someone next time, what is the difference between a violent video game and a violent movie? There is none. Only difference is in a video game you have more control than a movie. More control is more fun, and more fun is always good. Just think about how many people just purchased the new GTA 5. That game is probably the most violent game ever produced, and yet people are still staying sane. In my opinion, violent video games have nothing to contribute to violent behavior. Violent behavior is adopted from real violent experiences or encounters. If someone wants to go run down a street and kill someone they will. A video game does not determine that, and never will. We have plenty of pshycos in this world to worry about some video games. Let the people who want to play them. play them. Violent or not at the end of the day it’s just a game.

The Case to Keep Drugs Illegal

The Case to Keep Drugs Illegal The article, â€Å"Don’t Legalize Those Drugs†, by Barry McCaffrey was made to claim that the current United States policy against drugs is indeed successful and should not be abolished. McCaffrey claims, â€Å"Drug use imposes an unacceptable risk of harm on the user and others,† then proceeds to provide substantial support for this claim. He also claims â€Å"harm reduction†, or the softening of the drug laws, would have a negative effect on our countries well-being.The strength of McCaffrey’s argument is his ability to support his claims. One of his main supports is that â€Å"Substance abuse wrecks families†. He then provides perceived facts about child maltreatment, death rates, and other problems in families with substance abuse issues. He also discusses crime outside of families and how having legal drugs, our crime rate would actually increase because people on drugs are more likely to commit crimes.He u ses the statistic that says â€Å"in 1997, a third of state prisoners and about one in five federal prisoners said they had committed the crimes that led to incarceration while under the influence of drugs. † There are many warrants that connect McCaffrey’s evidence to his claim. The most obvious one is the accuracy of his sources. There are many facts that are based on percentages and surveys but there is not a clear sample size. How many people are being surveyed or where are the statistics being gathered are all valid questions.He also says that â€Å"studies show that the more a product is available and legitimized, the greater will be its use†. This needs many warrants, what study actually shows this and how can it be proven that use will be more common? Finally, he stands firm against â€Å"harm reduction† and claims this will make drug use greater, but one could definitely argue that â€Å"harm reduction† would help drug abuse. McCaffrey dis cusses how he believes drug policies can be improved without being abolished as a counter argument to those who believe the current system is unsuccessful.He talks about how prevention is the true solution to our country’s drug issues. Also, his defense to those who argue for choice, he says that we have agreed consistently against things that can cause harm to us. Fore example, wearing a helmet when on a motorcycle therefore, the drug issue is no different. Overall, this is a well written argument and McCaffrey does a great job supporting his claim and making claims against counter arguments. Works Cited McCaffrey, Barry R. â€Å"Don't Legalize Those Drugs. † Washington Post June 1999, n. pag. Print.

Od of Whole Food Market Essay

Introduction Organizational behavior and structure are key factors in leading a company to be efficient and successful. Organizational diagnosis models have been created to allow companies to audit themselves to be sure that they are utilizing these key factors correctly. When a firm conducts an organizational diagnosis it is performed to identify strengths and weaknesses in its systems thus developing measures to improve the organizations performance. Knowing which model to use is crucial because misusing models could lead to inaccurate findings. In the following pages I will discuss and compare numerous models to include the 7S Model, the Congruence Model, and the Burke-Litwin Model. After discussing a few issues that Whole Foods Market (WFM) is facing I will recommend which model is best suited for them and explain why. Force Field Analysis This model uses an organizational diagnosis to identify driving forces affecting a company (Falletta, 2005). Force Field analysis enables a company to identify what causes change and what hinders change within a certain organization. This will allow an organization to develop measures that will allow the organizations driving forces to be maximized while the restraining forces are at the same time limited to allow the organization to be more efficient. The drawback to this model is that it is extremely simple and is not the best model for defining specific problems it more or less will allow a company to reach a desired state of affairs and nothing else. Leavitt’s Model This model has task variables, technological variables, structure variables and human variables. The model can be used to evaluate how to change in one of the variables will affect the others, and is best applied in analysis concerning organizational structure and human resources. The strength in this model lays in its simplicity but this can also be viewed as a weakness because the output from the model cannot provide direct causal statements relating to the variables. Likert System Analysis This analysis is best applied in an organization to examine issues relating to motivation, communication, interaction, goal setting, decision making,  control and performance. The Likert System is important in analyzing management systems within an organization and how they affect performance (Falletta, 2005). This model evaluates employee perceptions and how they affect individual and group performance. The main strength of this model is that is uses determined scales which make assessment more qualitative and easier. The drawback of this model is that it is really only good for examining the social aspect affecting an organization and doesn’t consider what affects that processes, structure and the environment have on an organization. McKinsey 7S Framework Variables that are examined in this model include style, staff, systems, skills, strategy, structure, and shared values. This model is applied in an organization to investigate whether or not their inputs such as structure, skills, and strategy align with company objectives (Falletta, 2005). A change in any of the variables will eventually cause changes in the other variables. The model has strength in the form of being able to analyze essential variables that affect an organizations performance and it is simpler to use than some of the other models. However, the model does not take into consideration environmental effects on a company’s effectiveness and operations. Burke-Litwin Model This model includes the following variables; management practices work unit climate, mission and strategy, organizational structure, leadership, task requirements and individual skills, individual needs and values, culture, systems, motivation, and finally individual and organizational performance. The Burke-Litwin Model can be used to investigate not only internal but external factors that influence an organization and further goes to show how the factors interact (Martins & Coetzee, 2009). Most believe this to be one of the most robust and overall better OD models to use for analysis because it provides the nature and direction of influence of organizational variables. This model also provides a difference between transformational and transactional dynamics. The strength of this model is that it is able to analyze organizational structure, task requirements, individual skills, and the external environment all at the same time. Congruence Model This model contains inputs, throughputs, and outputs and is best used in an organization to identify the degree to which the needs, objectives and structures of one part of an organization are congruent to the needs, objectives and structure of another part (Falletta, 2005). Its strength is in the obvious ability it has to show organizations how to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The model’s main weakness is that it does not evaluate effect of demands made by the environment (Nadler & Tushman, 1980). Current Issues WFM is Facing Perhaps the largest issue that WFM faces is the price of their goods. The fact of the matter is not everyone who wants natural and organic foods can enjoy the WFM experience. There is no surprise in the fact that organic and natural food is more expensive than other groceries and in times of economic downtown if customers don’t feel they are getting a good deal then they will most likely seek cheaper alternatives. What this means is when someone’s budget shrinks they won’t be able to purchase as much at WFM vs. one of their competitors. Another issue that is just as important to WFM is new entrants to the organic and natural foods market with companies like Wal Mart, Kroger and other larger, cheaper supermarkets. These big name companies are starting to create their own private label brands to compete with WFM but since a majority of their business is derived from products that aren’t natural and organic they can cut prices in this segment of the market to attract customers to their store while not taking a huge loss in profits. The final issue facing WFM is the threat of substitute products and services. One major competitor of WFM is Trader Joe’s Co. who also offers upscale groceries such as health foods and organic produce. One strength of WFM over Wal Mart and Kroger are their unique store atmospheres that most big box stores lack but companies like Trader Joe’s threaten WFM with their own â€Å"Mom and Pop† substitute atmosphere. Another company like this was Wild Oats which WFM was able to acquire to lessen some of their competition. What Model is Best for WFM? Given the set of organizational diagnosis models from Falletta, I believe the most useful one for analyzing Whole Foods Market will be the Burke-Litwin Model. According to Falletta, and many others in the realm of OD say that this model provides a strong approach for analyzing relationships among leadership an d strategy, financial decisions and operational issues. All three of the issues that WFM is facing I believe could benefit from some changes via this OD model. The fact that this model investigates internal and external factors influencing an organization and further helps show how factors interact sets this model ahead of many of the earlier OD models that exist and some even discussed above. For example an external factor like how the economy is doing largely affects WFM because customers know there are cheaper alternatives and early OD models like the Force Field Model would not be able to use this factor to help better situate the company. The Burke-Litwin Model however will take the external environment into consideration during its diagnosis. In fact all three issues listed above that WFM is facing can be categorized as dealing mostly with external environment issues. Something that only an open systems model could handle. Another reason I believe that The B-L Model should be used by WFM is the fact that it can distinguish between the culture and climate of an organization and also between transformational and transactional dynamics (Falletta, 2005). Obviously in the big picture this fact is important because almost no other model does this. This is important for WFM because their brand, image, store atmosphere are crucial in keeping their customers and getting new customers so not being able to diagnose these areas correctly could be traumatic for them. I think transformational and transactional leadership principles can largely affect an organization . Specifically I think that if a good transformational leadership principle is enacted throughout an organization it is visible to the outside through things such as employees motivation and personality towards customers. This is important for WFM because of the type of atmosphere they are trying to create inside their stores. Using this model could help diagnose this variable and give another reason to customers to shop at WFM and not at one  of its competitors who is offering a substitute product. I believe the same principle applies to the variables of climate and culture. Most of the other models combine these two variables but as we know now these two variables need to be set apart and the B-L model is the model that allows for that. As already mentioned above the companies climate and culture are two things that can be controlled and if used effectively cannot only help the business for obvious reasons but I believe these are two variables that would especially help WFM because these are variables that outsiders can pick up on when things are going good or even wrong. Take Apple for example, the climate and culture of this company create a mysterious phenomenon that brings its customers closer to the company. You can’t say this for Microsoft or Samsung. This is something that WFM could use more of to again out compete with Trader Joe’s. Conclusion In closing, since the 50’s there have been numerous OD models created and each one building upon the last. Organizations today now have many options when it comes to OD and which model to use but knowing which model to use is just as important as getting an accurate OD. By comparing all the models and identifying the issues an organization currently has one can better diagnose the situation. For WFM I believe the Burke-Litwin Model would best suit them and solve the issues described above.

Discuss the concept of adolescence as a social construct Essay

Adolescence describes the transitional stage in a teenager’s life, from childhood to adulthood, where an individual evolves physically, psychologically, emotionally, cognitively and socially. It is a defined social category that is expressed through immaturity and unpredictability and allows an individual to learn and discover their sense of self and identity. The idea of adolescence came into perspective after children were expected to take on adult roles as soon as they were mature enough to, going straight from puberty to adulthood. As society changed and moulded, so did the ideas about life stages, which is evident in Erikson’s theory. Adolescence is the perfect example of our modern societies ‘social construction’. A social construct is a sociological theory based upon categorised groups in modernised cultures, devised by social constructionists who view knowledge of reality as ‘established’. Adolescence was invented because of these social constructions in westernised cultures which depend entirely on the society in which it is used. Although the concept of adolescence is commonly used and referred to in westernised cultures, it does not exist in most developing countries as they aren’t exposed to the resources which educates them about it. Instead of going through adolescence, teenagers in developing countries go straight from childhood to adulthood and have no time to develop interests or a sense of identity. Erik Erikson established a theory about the life stages of a human, starting from infancy and ending at maturity (65+). Through the use of a ‘maturation table’, Erikson was able to emphasize a wide and cohesive set of life skills and abilities that function together within an individual. Although he discussed all of the life stages, he focused on the adolescent period more thoroughly as he felt that it was a crucial stage for an individual to develop their identity. The ‘identity versus role confusion’ is a crisis which is typically evident during early to middle adolescence. It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stability between developing a  sense of forming a unique identity while still being accepted and â€Å"fitting in† with society. Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new ‘self’ with others. However, if an individual is unable to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which can result in a lack of understanding, leading to disconnection from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they will be unable to become emotionally mature adults, according to Erikson’s theory. This period of an individual’s life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations. A westernised culture that embraces the life stage of adolescence are the Indigenous Aboriginals of Australia. The aboriginals embrace adolescence by engaging in a tradition known as â€Å"Walkabout†, which passes a boy from childhood to adulthood. Although this tradition has been around for centuries, some Aboriginals in today’s society still partake in it but have adjusted some of the regulations. Walkabout refers to the journey an adolescent boy undertakes, alternating from a laid back playful child to a responsible and mature man. Throughout this deeply spiritual and reflective stage of an Aboriginal boy’s life he will experience a greater connection to the land and nature, which ultimately becomes a part of their identity as a man. At the beginning of time the ancestors created paths for the men to follow while going on Walkabout, leading them through songs and ceremonies that connected them to important waterholes, food sources and landmarks. These paths were known as ‘songlines’ and essentially enhanced their cultural and spiritual connection with the land and their ancestors. After 6 months of living in the wilderness and exploring who they are as a person, they return with a sense of wholeness within themselves and with world around them enabling them to pass through adolescence and into adulthood. Sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Saharan desert and is one of the most challenging places for an adolescent to live. Most of the teenagers that live in Sub-Saharan Africa aren’t given the opportunity to experience adolescence as they tend to go straight from being a child to being an adult  and taking on fully fledged adult responsibilities. The health and safety of an adolescent girl in this area can be placed at risk, as they are often forced to abandon childhood before they’re ready, limiting their chances to grow as a person, gain an education and a sense of identity. Being a young girl in Africa, it is not only unfortunate, but also very common to fall pregnant and have a baby at the age of 16 or younger. Due to this, many girls have to leave school and are forced into the world of adulthood. Enduring motherhood at a young age can make a girl particularly vulnerable to violence and most girls that live in Sub-Saharan Africa may experience abuse at least once in their life. Sexual violence and pressured sex is common, especially among female adolescents and young women. Younger mothers are more likely to experience complications or death due to pregnancy and childbearing. In Australia, teenagers experience what it’s like to go through adolescence by developing a sense of identity, achieving independence, developing a positive state of mind and discovering skills for future life stages. Although all these things can positively impact the period of adolescence, some teenagers may use this to their advantage and can endure in some dangerous behavioural activities. The most common adolescent activity that most Australians experience, is schoolies. Schoolies marks the end of tertiary education and adolescents embark on this by going on a holiday with their friends of choice, partying and experimenting with alcohol and even drugs. From youth to adulthood, schoolies week is seen as a transitional period of an individuals life which marks the transition from the discipline of school to the plunge of freedom that they partake in. In conclusion, adolescence is a period of ones life where an individual can embark on new experiences, gain a sense of identity, learn about themselves and discover who they are as a person. Although not all people go through adolescence, it is a major growing period for a person’s life and if they choose to embrace this positively it will b enefit them for the rest of their lives.

Avocado Leaf Plasticity Essay Example for Free

Avocado Leaf Plasticity Essay INTRODUCTION: Phenotypic plasticity, or differing phenotypes from one genotype in different environmental conditions, is a way for sessile organisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Valladares et al., 2007). Plasticity was expected to be abundant, however, it did not occur as often in nature due to resource limitations and environmental stress (Valladares et al., 2007). An experiment by Matos tested the phenotypic plasticity to light availability in shade and sun leaves of coffee trees (Matos et al. , 2009). Their research indicated that â€Å"compared [to] sun leaves, shade leaves had a lower stomatal density, a thinner palisade mesophyll, a higher specific leaf area, and improved light capture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Matos et al., 2009). The sun leaves were described as â€Å"generally thicker with an enhanced quantity of palisade mesophyll† (Matos et al., 2009). Our objective was the presence of phenotypic plasticity in avocado trees based on the differences in the morphology of shade and sun leaves. In our study, we asked whether there is a difference in surface area, length-to-width ratio, mass, specific leaf mass, and color between shade leaves and sun leaves in avocado trees. We hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in surface area, length-to-width ratio, mass, specific leaf mass, and color between shade leaves and sun leaves. METHODS: We collected our seventy samples of avocado tree (Persea americana) leaves, in equal amounts of sun and shade leaves, at an avocado tree grove located north of Building 3 and University Drive at Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, October 24, 2013 at 9:00 am. They were randomly and interspersedly collected throughout the grove. We split the grove into five areas, split into five teams of two, and was assigned to one of the five areas. Each team picked a number for the trees in their region and a random number was selected from a random number table to select a tree corresponding to that number. A random number table was used to pick the corresponding quadrant, branch, and leaf.  This process was done twice on each tree in the understory for shade leaves, and in the canopy for sun leaves. Each leaf was measured for its surface area, length-to-width ratio, mass, specific leaf mass, and color. Surface area was measured by a leaf area meter in squared centimeters. Length-to-width ratio was measured by measuring the length (vertically along the bridge of the leaf) and the width (horizontally on the widest part of the leaf) with a ruler in centimeters, and dividing the length by the width. Mass was calculated by a balance in grams. Specific leaf mass (thickness) was measured by dividing the mass by its surface area in grams per squared centimeter. Color was measured by having three reference leaves provided by the instructor, indicating light (L), medium (M), and dark (D) leaves and compared our collected leaves. After recording all of the data, these data were then input into a statistical program called StatCat to determine normality through a normality test. The data for surface area, length-to-width ratio, mass, and specific leaf mass for sun and shade leaves were both normal, therefore, we chose a paired sample t-test for all of them. A normality test was not needed for color for sun and shade leaves due to it being a nominal scale data. The number of light, medium, and dark shade leaves were tallied up according to color, and the same was done for the sun leaves. A contingency table was made in Excel, and used in StatCat to test our hypothesis. The paired sample t-tests were also done through StatCat, which then gave us the appropriate results to test our hypotheses. RESULTS: Shade leaves had a significantly larger surface area than sun leaves (t = -3.7313, P = 0.00069; Table 1). Shade leaves had a significantly larger length-to-width ratio than sun leaves (t = -2.7162, P = 0.01031). Shade leaves had no significant difference in mass than sun leaves (t = -1.4871, P = 0.1462). Shade leaves had a significantly smaller specific leaf mass than sun leaves (t = 5.82093, P = 1.5Ãâ€"10-6). Shade leaves were significantly darker than sun leaves (X2 = 18.417, P = 0.0001). Avocado Leaf Plasticity. (2018, Oct 27).

Research paper based on millennial generation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Based on millennial generation - Research Paper Example Correspondingly, the objective of this research paper is to clearly understand the various perspectives of the Millennials and to determine the competencies of first-line supervisors, middle-level managers and corporate leaders, as needed to ensure employee engagement, commitment, and satisfaction within the organizations. When studying the key perspectives of the Millennials, it can be observed that during their relatively short time period till date, they have observed, experienced and came across the major boom and downfall scenarios in the world. Being young, they have witnessed the terrorist attacks, downfall in the global economy, wars and many other aspects, which has affected the geo-political and communal weather of the modern world, largely. Such scenarios have helped the young generation to learn about the various developmental needs and the changes taking place in the United State as well as across the world (Norcott & Emerson, n.d.). However, all these perspectives have shaped the ideologies of Millenials, as quite apparently different from those of the earlier generation such as the Baby Boomers, creating awareness regarding various inequalities currently persisting in the global dimension. These perspectives have further assisted them to understand their social responsibilities and stri ve harder to change the world in a more uniform way. The Millennials commonly believe that technological innovations have greatly transformed their life and have relatively revolutionized the global community. It is worth mentioning that many Millennials inherit the same values and cultures, as their forefathers, but new technology and tools have apparently increased their awareness as compared to Baby Boomers. They believe that they are not primarily focused on the issues affecting the stability and welfare of the United States, but are also concerned about the issues become affective globally. Contextually, it can be observed that