Explication on a poem by Blanche Farley Essay

The human mind is in a constant state of flux. More so, a woman’s. Blanche Farley’s The Lover not Taken, beautifully captures the vacillating moods of a woman in and out love, and lends a very daring outrageous image of a woman’s mind. ‘The lover not taken’, in the life of the woman in Farley’s poem would be the significant choice made in a woman’s life – one that decides her character, her destiny. In this, it is as significant as ‘The Road not Taken’. The poem is a beautiful play of comparison and contrast of thought and feeling, of idealism versus realism, the heart and the mind. All alone, Farley’s Madame Bovary waits in time, left to herself. The woman, already bound and claimed in marriage, caught in turmoil, stands pondering at the crossroads, on the verge of giving in to the charms of her new-found suave lover’s lovely hair and smile Unhappy in a marriage, a woman’s heart is unchained, still seeking love. Having found it, the temptation to infidelity looms large. Yet the sensitive niche, in which a woman places herself, prevents her from giving herself freely away to her feelings. Her hating to face the sensitive situation, wishing not to displease her husband nor her lover, yet poignantly wanting to have the cake and eat it, – the vagaries of a woman are picturesquely portrayed. Mulling and wanting, weighing the outcomes of each decision, it is not until the last two lines of the poem, that the mood of the protagonist is actually decided. It appears as if she were her own judge, laying before herself the facts and reasons over which of the two men she would choose and why, and how. Structurally, every line of the poem ends in a pause, a change of mood, a dilemma. The end of every line assumes the consequence of its own course. Are the smiles of her charming lover more endearing than solemn promises of her husband, which he wears in his wedding ring? Guilt-ridden, she does admit her husband is indeed true to her. Yet, what of her love? Awaiting a twist of destiny, expecting a ‘way leading on to a way’, she hopes to find happiness in her love. Hoping for her love to receive her some day, well knowing the grave consequences of adultery, she heaves a sigh of lament. The irresolute, hesitant nature of thought is reflected through the juxtaposition of words like ‘mulling’ and ‘wanting’. Her desire is more for, her lover’s ‘smile’ than her husband’s ‘claim’. She imagines if her blonde lover ‘dropped by some day’, she wonders in fear if her husband, having known about her affair, ‘would ever come back’. Her need to stay in a marriage is very strong, when she tries to think ahead in time, several years away, when she would be recounting her tale to someone, and rejoice at how loyal a wife she had remained. It is only the security of a marriage and a home, which can subconsciously provide her such a stable thought. How finally primordial instincts win over moral values is captured as a conclusion to the poem. Unable to give up either her marriage or love, the woman decides to play it safe, both in love and marriage. It is very ironical that the poem begins with the word ‘committed’. Is the woman really committed to the one who has a claim on her? The frail-minded woman torn between her lover and husband becomes ready to turn into an unconscionable adulteress towards the end of the poem! To reach home and call the lover marks the culmination of this complete turnabout. To enjoy both the comfort of home and the heart, is a secret she alone would know and unflinchingly cherish! Throughout the poem, there is a heavy sense of remorse and regret, and perennial guilt. She finds no peace with any of her feelings. Works Cited â€Å"Road Not Taken: Analysis†. 19 May 2010. MegaEssays. com .

Khomeini vs. the International Community Research Paper

Khomeini vs. the International Community - Research Paper Example The consequences and the overall aftermath of the crisis shall be evaluated. This paper is being carried out in order to establish a clear understanding of the US-Iran relations, especially during Khomeini rule and after the Iran hostage crisis. Iranian Revolution The Iranian revolution involves the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Demonstrations and protests were started in October 1977 mostly against what was viewed by the people as the oppressive and corrupt regime of Pahlavi (Kurzman, 2004). These protests escalated into a widespread civil disturbance leading into January 1978. These strikes severely compromised the stability of the country and culminated in the exile of Pahlavi by January of 1979 (Kurzman, 2004). Two weeks later, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran and the regime of Pahlavi collapsed a month after Khomeini’s return. After a few months, a referendum was held and resulted in the establishment of the Islamic Rep ublic under Khomeini’s Supreme Leadership (Kurzman, 2004). ...His ideas, however, were largely objected to by the international community, especially in the face of human rights violations and other actions which were against international human rights and related laws. Khomeini was in exile before the revolution broke out, and when he finally returned to Iran, it was to a victorious revolution and to the highest political seat in Iran. He was lauded as a political and religious leader. Even if he was not involved directly in the revolution, he was a major part of it (Moin, 2000). His letters and messages spurred the revolutionary ideals of the Iranians who were not faring well under American-supported Shah Pavlavi. Khomeini, in other words, represented a leader for Iran who was committed to the revolutionary ideas, which the people were clamoring for (Chauvel, 1979). Hostage crisis background Before the US-supported Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979, Iran relations and the US were more or less diplomatic (Christopher and Mosk, 2007). At that point, the US considered itself an ally of Iran and the Shah. President Carter was especially expressive of his support for the Shah, even if in actuality, the latter was highly disfavored by the people (Scott, 2000). The revolution by the people against the Shah eventually led to the unseating of the Shah. The US persisted in its support for Shah Pavlavi by allowing him entry into the US for cancer treatment. However this backfired on the U.S. at it led to strong anti-American sentiments from the people of Iran who wanted the Shah to be returned to their country to face trial for his crimes against his people (Scott, 2000).

The Nature of Love in the Philosophy of Kierkegaard Term Paper

The Nature of Love in the Philosophy of Kierkegaard - Term Paper Example Nevertheless, an accumulator of romantic and dutiful forms of love is Christian love. The way Kierkegaard develops his vision of different forms of love is illustrated by his quotations. Providing an in-depth analysis of the quotes, we’ll make an attempt to penetrate into the depth of the nature of love, following one of the greatest philosophers of the nineteenth century, Soren Kierkegaard. Romantic love The basis for discussion about romantic love was found by Kierkegaard in Plato’s Symposium. Plato presents mainly a male perspective on love, because there is more letters by Johannes to Cordelia. There are only three of them written by Cordelia to him in the preamble to â€Å"The Seducer’s Diary† under the male pseudonym â€Å"A† (Collins, 1953). An interesting character of the reflective seducer shows to the readers, that it is much more interesting to live and perceive love in possibility and not in actuality. This man is involved into interesti ng modeling of reflections and different modes of action. There is an interesting myriad of psychological states and having travelled across different moods it is only possible to perceive one or another thing or phenomenon. Thus, this character is an intermediary taster of different forms and aspects of love. He cannot experience it to the fullest extent, because of his unachieved selfhood, but on the other hand he cannot perceive all aspects of Christian love, because this form of love is too elevated for him. In this work Kierkegaard differentiates romantic love from Christian love. In his further work this differentiation remains, but there can be seen transformations and correlations between these types of love, which will be presented further on (Collins, 1953). Thus, it is surely claimed in this work that Christian and erotic love is incompatible. There is no sensuousness in Christian love [Sandseligheden], which is the integrative part of erotic love (Kierkegaard SV1 I 44; K W III 61 cited from Collins, 1953). In other words, erotic love is selfish and Christian love is selfless. The oppositions between Christian and romantic love is shown on two different levels: the aesthetic and the ethical ones. There is a perfect example illustrating the way Kierkegaard differs between ethic and aesthetical aspects in marriage and in one’s individuality. Wilhelm claims that: the ethical is a restricted civic virtue restricted and it is not a divine goodness. Eros and divine virtue are two parallels, which can never meet. Kierkegaard clearly differentiates between aesthetic and ethical issues: aesthetic reflections are selfish and individual, while reflections of ethical concerns are open for community, is full of transparency. An aestheticist is prevented from love perception to the fullest extent. He is a selfish individual and love is ad ipsum (or â€Å"for himself†). Further reflection of aesthetic perspective on romantic love can be seen in the ce ntral claim that romantic love is immediate and it is nothing more than an instantaneous desire. Moreover, love is not natural necessity or a result of reflective action or thoughts; beauty, instantaneous emotions are triggers of romantic love. In such a way, we can see that Kierkegaard focuses our attention on not very deep nature of romantic low. It is hollow and momentous. It is the first stair of the spiral stairs (Collins, 1953). Dutiful love There is a difference also between love in marriage and

Paper Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paper Proposal - Assignment Example The challenges begin right after birth, when members of the society expect the parents of the newly born baby to communicate the gender of the baby (Poisson 365). The society places a lot of undue attention, towards the gender of individuals, right from childhood. Two research questions are used in the study. First, do genderless individuals have adequate recognition in the society? Second, do genderless individuals possess capabilities and competencies needed for societal development? The two questions discuss the needs of genderless individuals in the society (Steensma et al 291). The primary data sources utilized in the research involves interviews and questionnaires. Parents will be given interview questions, to mainly determine if gender recognition plays a significant role in the development of their children (Hiffman & Hurst 205). Secondary sources will also be applied in the research to collect information. Textbooks, journal and magazines will be analyzed for information related to the areas of; gender differences, genderless individuals, role of gender in development, and scientific perspective towards gender differences and roles (Steensma et al

Marketing - Sunshine Foods, Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing - Sunshine Foods, Inc - Case Study Example The main cause identifiable with these problems is inappropriate business strategy that is not aligned with the changing market demands. Market demands include customer preferences and competitors’ offerings. Sunshine Foods Inc lacks focus on consumer requirements in terms of choice of quality, quantity and variety. Thirdly, its business strategy stalled at products with high potential sales volume resulted in limited sales potential by confining to bigger shops and excluding smaller retailers. This created limited market for the wide variety of Sunshine Foods’ products because the smaller retailers could not conform to the high volume sales policy, unaffordable in terms of cost and space. Next, lack of ownership is also a major contributor of low profits attributable to lack of focus on reducing operational costs. Lack of focus on employee retention and motivation caused the downfall of Sunshine Food Inc. Lack of co-ordination between production and sales department ad ded more problems. Lack of diversified expertise in the staff is one of the major problems in Sunshine Food Inc as most of its staff was from its parent company. Recommendations to improve the situation include strategic changes in different aspects of business; this should include change in corporate strategy, marketing and sales methods, research, and human relations. Firstly, the corporate strategy has to be aligned to the organizational goal of improving profits. Next, developing a research team to check profitable and non profitable products on a periodic basis will help the company assess customer requirements, market performance and efficiency of the strategies followed. This research can be used to formulate sales and marketing strategies accordingly. Sunshine Foods needs to expand its offerings to all kind of stores including smaller stores

Management Style essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Style - Essay Example In order to succeed in management, managers should possess some qualities. One of the qualities of a good manager is creativity. Creative managers have the ability to carry out projects within the organization effectively and efficiently. Moreover, creativity enables managers to combine all the organization’s resources and use them to enhance growth within the organization. The other quality that makes managers successful is through being team players. Good managers always ensure that they work with teams of employees and supervise the activities of each team to ensure that all team members are participating. Commitment is another good quality that a manager ought to possess; a manager should be committed to the success of the projects that the organization undertakes. With a committed manager, other employees in the organization can succeed even during trying times (Buchbinder, 2012). Buchbinder (2012) asserts that good managers should also be flexible and versatile. This implies that they can change their behavior based on the prevailing situation within the organization. In addition, flexibility enables managers to be open and accommodative to the views, opinions, and ideas of junior employees. Another good quality of manager is knowledge; managers should be well-equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge about management. Managers who are knowledgeable help employees learn about crucial aspects that enhance success and career growth. According to Buchbinder (2012), some managers possess poor qualities that can contribute to strained relationships with employees. One of the poor qualities that managers may have is being bullies. Some managers bully junior employees; this can be in the form of belittling and intimidating employees. This negatively affects the morale of employees and, in the long run, it can contribute to poor performance of the

Theoretical Positions of Freud, Adler, Jung, and James Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Positions of Freud, Adler, Jung, and James Essay Introduction Historically, some of the greatest insights of psychological analysis stemmed from the minds of ordinary men and women. In many respects, most psychodynamic theories come from psychoanalysis studies that have been conducted over the generations. Science has worked meticulously to establish quality and validation to structuralist perspectives; however it was functionalism movement that were more qualitative in nature. Although not directly associated with the movement, psychologists such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, and William James made is possible to explain the purpose of the human consciousness. They all wanted to discover a way to improve the quality of the lives of individuals rather than focus on laboratory research; a more direct approach to mapping the mind. Their variations in theory were designed to focus on the foundation of human behaviors and the best way to provide accurate analysis and treatment to those behavior motivators. Sigmund Freud: Perspectives and Major Disagreements Conscious and Unconscious: Freud’s Theories – Disagreement In regards to Freudian psychology, Vaughan wrote, â€Å"the imposing, assertive methods of the arrangement†¦made ideal the rise of forceful obstruction in its train (1927). James and Freud have the most significant differences in perspectives. James felt introspection and self-reflection is the way to understanding life within the mental states (Goodwin, 2008). However, Freud believes that behavior is regulated by the unconscious mind. This was made understandable through free association and dreams. Ultimately, Freud thought professionals could figure out the state and individual based the  state on the analysis of his or her dreams (Freud, 1911). But, self-reflection was what James believed (Hart, 2008). Freud’s Sexual Motivations – Disagreement Adler and Jung, who formerly related with Freud, found disagreements with Freud’s theory of sexual motivations and psychosexual developments (Vaughan, 1927). These men argued that placing extreme prominence on the motivation through sex would reduce individual behaviors to only one motivation that is fundamental (Vaughan, 1927). Adler wanted the theory he created to become the main stimulus and foundation through his psychological theories replacing Freud’s emphasis on sexual motivation. He would replace this with self-reflection (Vaughan, 1927). Freud would focus on forces held internally to include; sexual motivation, biological dispositions, and conflicts. Adler’s theories concentrated on social factors (Goodwin, 2008). The most similar views out of the four men where Jung and Freud (Goodwin, 2008). Again Freud would be questioned by Jung and his thoughts within sexual motivations, concluding the theories of analytical psychology (Goodwin, 2008). Although Jung ’s views can be comparable to Freud’s, Jung would extend the theory to embrace a perspective that was more advanced (Goodwin, 2008). Alfred Adler and the Individual Psychology Alfred Adler was an Austrian doctor, psychotherapist, and the main founder of the school of individual psychology. He strongly believed in the importance of the feeling of inferiority or the inferiority complex. The inferiority complex is well known as a major key of developing personalities. An inferiority complex is a lack of self-worth, doubting oneself, uncertain of ability, or feeling as if you are not up to standards. He believed this occurred in the subconscious and caused people to overcompensate. This resulted in people either doing exceeding well, or failing miserably resulting in behavior considered abnormal by society. He believed that people were whole individuals, and from that came his â€Å"Individual Psychology†. Freud disbelieved Adlers ideas and believed they were too contrary so he had all members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society expel Adler. Despite the fact Freud believed Adler to be incorrect, he still took his ideas seriously and called them,  "honorable errors†. Carl Jung Than we had Carl Jung who was an analytical psychiatrist who is considered as the prototype of the dissident through the impact of his scission and the movement that he created when he became analytical. He was the son of a swiss reverend of a community, he went to school and studied the medical field but he specialized in psychiatry he also worked for a renowed psychiatric hospital in Zurich. Carl Jung had a strong personality and was also thought of as quite facinating he was introduced to Freud in 1907. They hit it off and he would soon be facinated by the prestige and personality that Carl Jung had he soon seen in him the son that could keep the survival of psychoanalysis. He really believed in hm and was so into his personality that it didn’t even face him that Jung was not a jewish like he was. Soon after Jung was traveling to the US and became the first president of the â€Å"International Association of Psychoanalysis†. He traveled the world for a while and did several analysis throughout the US he also became more and more away from his studies as he was aging. But he still got to accomplish a lot and also got to fund his own schools which really attracted a lot of people he was a master in what he did and really got to accomplish a lot in the field of Psychology. Compare and Contrasts As you can see all of the psychologists mentioned above had the same goal: explain the purpose of the human consciousness. Freud as the first to develop the basis of all psychodynamic theories: psychoanalysis. Understanding certain behaviors requires insight into the emotional responses that motivate specific reactions; sexual development was paramount to human behavior. He believed that the human psyche consisted of three parts: the Ego, Super-Ego, and the Id; all parts of the sexual developmental process. On the other hand, Adler’s theory was more straight-forward: he believed that these three parts operated as a single unit; the central theme of functionalism. Alder was the first to establish the idea that an individual’s personality was a direct reflection of their conscious. The psychologist that met these two in the middle was Carl Jung. Like Freud, Jung believed all behaviors were triggered by motivators, only he thought that the motivator was based on an inferio rity complex; and like Adler, he believed that the human psyche acted as a single unit. Jung was most  significant for his use of word association to understand unconscious responses to external stimuli. His efforts proved that the unconscious mind is able to provided responses independent from the conscious mind. And finally, James William emphasized the notion of a â€Å"stream of consciousness†Ã¢â‚¬â€an active agent of mental action that is constantly changing (Goodwin, 2008). Although each psychologist had a unique perspective of how the human psyche operated, they made it possible to explain the consciousness. Conclusion Some of the greatest insights into psychological analysis included Freud’s psychoanalysis; Adler’s individualism; Jung’s analytical perspective, and James’s â€Å"stream of thought† analogies. Because of their extensive efforts to explore the human consciousness, they are often referred to as the â€Å"founding fathers of modern psychology. Together they validated the significance of functionalism over structuralism; the truth lies in the purpose not the design. Each psychologist provided a unique approach to establish what the purpose of the consciousness; the basis of all human behavior. Variations in their theories provided many different approaches to target those behavior motivators. These great psychologist collectively improved the quality of life for many individuals over the generations. References: 1. Freud, S. (1911) Interpretation of Dreams (3rd edition) Retrieved May 12, 2014 from EbscoHost 2. Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 3. Vaughan, W. (1927). The psychology of Alfred Adler. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 21(4), 358-371 EbsocHost 4. Durbin, P. (2004). Alfred Adler. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://www.alfredadler.org/alfred-adler 5. Fisher, M. (2010, May). Psychology History. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/adler.htm 6. Kowalski, R., Westen, D. (2005). Psychology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 7. Jung, Carl. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. Ed. Bonnie Strickland. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 347-348. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 19 May 2014