Love, Fear, Sexuality and Society Essay Example for Free

Love, Fear, Sexuality and Society Essay The dawn of the 16th century, brought with it the evolution of great knowledge, an era of enlightenment, with not only the new growing social lifestyle of people but also the evolution in their thinking. The idea of love and fear therefore was the one established and molded into a new sculpture by the revolutionist and philosophers; and how we know the right and wrong today is what was established through the writings of these intellectuals’ years ago. Founder of political sciences of the 15th century, Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was an Italian born writer, philosopher, and politician; who through the strength of his pen and intellect was able to give the world a new perspective of the never dieing entity, love and hope. As a man of Renaissance, while holding a high political position, his writings are also a combination of his deep political thought and insight. He is most famous for his short novel, The Prince, which is his realistic approach towards the political discourse of that time period, exhibiting the advance towards power. â€Å"The Prince,† originally written in 1513 (however got published in 1532), is known as a political treatise, for its formal exposition of the ideology of political affairs. It is usually alluded to being called as a piece of act which represents the word â€Å"Machiavellian,† which refers to the playing politics in a ruthless way in order to retain power and position; moreover many critics have also states the story to be satire. The novel is a form of guide for a ruling or an expected prince, of how he can attain his throne, and then make sure that he remains in power and control. The idea of attaining the power is placed as crucial and primary to all, even where principality comes secondary to its approach, which he does so by dictating old examples of rulers, and making his own generalizations and hypothesizes upon them. According to Machiavelli, the first moral of ruling is to have an economically and politically stable country, and then it is upon the ruler as to how he would protect it even if the ways used by him were cruel, they remained justifiable as long as they kept her power sustained. The main purpose of the book was to explain Machiavelli’s ability and knowledge in politics, not promoting love and prosperity between powers, but rather working by conquering people’s fear and force. There are various themes discussed by the author in the book such as military and defense, which are the prerequisites of a firm state, having a fortified and well protected area, with no help being taken from allies as that would be a burden of favor, and stand brave in the battlefield. The book quite rigidity states that attributes such as mercy, religiousness, and principality, are good virtues too possess, but are not for a prince to adapt, as he at times has to work against them in order to defend his land. Also that a prince is better at being known as a miser than as a generous ruler, as it would weaken his economic status as well as bring grief upon people with larger taxes, thus having a bad reputation would be better than rather ending up with nothing. In answering to the idea of love and fear Machiavelli states that â€Å"it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. † (Machiavelli, Chapter 17, pp 60) He believes that commitments made under fear, are always kept firm; while a prince should also be careful that he is not feared to the point of hatred. Creating fear within the commandment of an army is necessary in order to gain their respect, and it should be brought upon the garrison even if the prince has to turn towards cruelty. Through the book the author emphasizes the fact that the only power which kept a prince from winning over his land and also his people is actually his ability to rule, rather than his fortune. He dictates the examples of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus; Hannibal who maintained a strong fear throughout his army, which consisted of soldiers of various races, and it was this fear of his which kept the army sturdy and united through out his reign; while Scipio, no matter had great abilities but is famous for the mutinies and trouble he had to face from the side of his own army. Virtue for Machiavelli did not carry a moral tone but it was rather based upon skill, courage, physical and mental capacity. However, in chapter of 8 of his book, the author mentions that no matter cruelty is important for governance but it should be properly utilized to attain a goal, but if it is made repetitive and arouses constant fear amongst the citizens then the prince does not contain any ability. It is not necessary for him to be loved, but he should be close enough to his people that he is not even hated, and thus requires both wisdom and courage; and above that the peripheral point should be established by which the prince is feared but not hated. And who could understand the complexities and the queries of life in a more powerful than the searcher of the nature, Plato, one of the greatest Greek philosophers. Born in 427 BC in Athens, Plato was the student of Socrates, and had his theories as an explanation and an elaboration of those presented by his master. Most of his writings are found in the form of a dialogue between him and Socrates, discussing numerous fascinating topics. Gorgias, is one of the most famous dialogues written by Plato, in which he defines a man’s virtuously right and proper nature. (Plato, 1994) It is believed to be a transitional dialogue, in which Plato represents Socrates teachings towards him in an indirect manner. This dialogue is seen to be carried out between Socrates, Gorgias and Callicles who are both rhetoricians, Pollus and Chaerephon who are both philosophy students; and the dialogue begins from Socrates side to prove the rhetoricians for being only people of sheer words. This dialogue is famous for the themes which it carries such as that of morality, philosophy and spirituality; forms into a debate between truth and falsehood. Socrates in his dialogue proving refutation explains that it is worse to inflict evil upon somebody rather than being an innocent victim of it and the most, unhappy man of the world would be the one who doesn’t meet his just punishment. While the best cure for an evil man would be when he meets his justice; paying for his sins. He believes that a wrong doer should be left on his own, his body to rot in the pain of his own guilt; and only with time when he realizes his guilt would his sins be forgiven and he move towards becoming a better and stronger person; no matter the rhetoricians disagree with his thought, as they believe that such treatment would be doing more evil than benefiting for good. Socrates ends the dialogue by explaining that on the Day of Judgment, man would be scrutinized and judged naked so that there are no hindrances for what he truly is. He believes that the evil doer’s body would be brandished by their sins, and they would be identifiable. According to Socrates, in the dialogue a mans virtue should be his ultimate goal, which should be based upon principles, and truth; while those who tend to love their own self alone and indulge in self pampering, are the selfish ones, as their self gratification would never cease but would only continue to get bigger with hunger of power and indulgence. Creating fear and causing pain to others is the greatest evil, as identified by Plato; and becomes the most significant theme of most of Plato’s writings because of the unjust and evil death of his teacher Socrates; which destroyed his vision of the truth and its enhancement in nature. The dialogue however, concludes by declaring virtue as the â€Å"good life,† which can only be attained via the compliance of principles and correct behavioral methods. Both the books â€Å"Prince† and â€Å"Gorgias,† believe in the achievement of power, not only to gain a greater control but also to satisfy and pamper one’s own self; and agree to the fact that once in power. An individual might stray from principality and truth for long term benefits seen at a larger scale; but should refrain from evil as it would create hatred as well as lead to god’s in the life of Hereafter. However when Machiavelli describes the attainment of power as man’s vital goal, Plato believes into its attainment but to a certain level alone could one sacrifice his principles to achieve it; after which he would be nothing but an evil dweller, increasing his part of sins. Both the writings show the difference between the thought of a politician, who take s the world in more of a materialistic manner, and that of a philosopher who takes a deeper look into things and does not talk about an individual alone or his unitary life; but talks about all the third parties affected by his actions and his spiritual life which would also be affected by his balance of truth and falsehood. Compare and describe the relationship between sexuality and society in the authors read so far. Writers since centuries have talked about how sexuality and society work together, complimenting each other, which evolve gradually with the society giving more leverage and promotion at an open arena to sexuality, as it grows wider and is able to compensate more liberal point of views openly. â€Å"Don Juan,† is a classic story which has been told and retold since centuries; its legendary tale being changed and evolved with the evolution of time, it has seen changes according to the prevailing circumstances and the notions of the writers who dwelled with its story line. Don Juan, as announced by the Spanish or Don Giovanni as told by the Italians, is the tale of a social libertine, an individual who has given of all the norms and rights of the society, such a person who does not believe into the limits of religion or morality. The legend of Don Juan talks about such a person who indulges himself into the pleasure of seducing women and enjoys winning over them. One day, Don Juan meets the dead spirit of the father of a girl he has seduced; casually and not knowing it he invites him to his house for dinner. In return to this compliment, the father invites Don Juan to his graveyard for dinner, when he accepts the invitation and extends his hand to the spirit, pulls him into the grave and takes him into the bottomless pit of hell, where he is to burn in the redemption for his unforgivable sins. The oldest version of Don Juan to be placed in writing is believed to be written by Tirso de Molina, by the name El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra. Later a revised edition was written by Moliere, in 1665; who was also made to make continous ammendments by the critics, who took as a largely shameful act; and was not until 1185, that the orignal play was allowed to be acted without censorships. However, the society at that time failed to accept the play, as they found it too liberal and outspoken, which broke the barriers of religion and offended the prestiege of the king. Thus it laid down as least cost effective, and as the protagonist himself is portrayed as a catholic, thsu it further offends the teaches of the church by portraying them as hypocrates and evil doers. On the other hand, the representation of Don Juan in that era represents how sexulaity was missed used even in those times, but hardly any writteen record is seen because of the fact that the rulers didn’t want any such tales to be spoken of openly; theey were then brought under the case of adultery. Don Juan, also is the symbol of evil, a womanizer who cannot attain his forgiveness, he has sined so much in his life that even his good deeds are shadowed by his hypocrite nature. Every action of his holds insincerity and cannot be forgiven, and when eventually it is symbolised that he has been taken into the hell, it shows that the world did not contain any less painful avenge for him; and his death brought peace to all the woman who had suffered because of his flimsy character. Therefore by the story of Don Juan, conceived in the early 17th century, it can be seen that sexuality was miss used even in that time period but the society perferred to keeep it hidden and secretive, burrying such evil facts and tales which spoke against the religious and moral norms of the ruling powers. Evil of the society was thus only a hushed talk in those times. â€Å"The Prince,† a guide for the rulers of the world written by a government official of Florence, Italy, Niccolo Machiavelli, in the 16th Century; helps us know today of how gravely was the impact of politics and the attainment of power and prestige in the lives of people of that era. As the book states different tips and ways in which a prince could govern his kingdom in thee most efficient way winning both his commandment upon army and his position. Machiavelli also believed that gaining love from his people was not the most important part of ruling; a prince could never be too generous and lenient with his folk; however it was of vital importance that he managed his fear upon them so that he would respect him and treats him with the power and gratitude that he deserves. A ruler was not always successful through his inheritance or his economic strength; but he was turned into a symbol of esteem through his ability; which not only shined in his character but also was represented by the society which he ruled. Thus the prince held great responsibility for his own self and the lives of all those, whose protection was sworn onto him. To take even a deeper analysis into the lives of the people of the 16th century, we might take a look into the analysis of the book â€Å"Leviathan,† written by Thomas Hobbes in 1660. After looking through the time via the perspectives of a story teller, and then a politician, we take into the account of the era through the notions formed by a political philosopher; this book did not only establish a political thought in the minds of thee people but was also significant enough in influencing and establishing the entire Western political philosophy and laying down the perspective for the social contract theory. The book was first written by Hobbes at the time of the English Civil War, where he saw chaos and trouble through out the society. In such times Hobbes believed that the only thing which could keep the community together would be a strong unified governing system which would act as a central body in decision making, keeping away the evils of chaos and civil misbehavior. The theory represented by Hobbes believes that if man is left without a government to live in a free market, operated by no restrictions, then he lives the life of nature, whereby everything is free for anybody, which in the long run would lead to war, poverty, frustration and hatred. To prevent this, a social contract needs to be established which would establish a civil society, and distribute the scarce resources in a much more efficient way. This is a form of a commonwealth, which would help establish a protected civil society. The book can be divided into four parts, whereas the one which represents the society and its relation to sexuality is book one, â€Å"of Man. † Chapter 6 of this book discusses the theme of the involuntary emotions which arise inside a human being, over which he holds no control, known as passions. He describes these motions of man as animal instincts, categorizing them as â€Å"vital,† and â€Å"voluntary. † Vital being those which formulate the metabolism and are innate, while the later are those which man learns with the course of his life. He by this formulates the idea that human nature is actually a by product of his metabolism. His innate motions form desires known as endeavors, which raise love and hatred in man, which then form an aversion in a human being. While some of these desires are born with man, while some re learnt so with time and experience, and it is then from these appetites and aversions that passions arise which are known to be specific to human nature, of which those which qualify to be his appetite are those things that he likes, while those which fall into his aversions formulate his hatred and are evil. Then Chapter 11 and 13 of the book describe how manners differ in human beings and how he would respond to his conditions of misery. Hobbes further here describes how power in man could be self created and that which is instrumental attained from his society. However a man may differ from another due to his different manners which come from his ability to negotiate between power and fear; and it is through this knowledge that the society can in the end attain peace; when fear originates from ignorance and a person’s lack of foreseeing the future. Hobbes then concludes this part of his book with the thesis that when a human being lives in a society without any social contract, at that time he is living in a â€Å"state of nature,† and when a society is bent into such a living then it is nothing more than just a flake of imagination having no true existence. As Thomas Hobbes states: â€Å"In such condition, there is no place for industry . . . no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation . . . no commodious Building; no instruments of moving . . . no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. (Chapter 13) References Fort, A. ,B. and Kates, H. , S. 1935 Don Juan or The Stone Death. Minute History of the Drama. New York: Grosset Dunlap. p. 47. Retrieved on Nov 27, 2007 from. http://www. theatrehistory. com/french/donjuan001. html Hobbes, T. (1651) The Leviathan. London: Andrew Crooke. Chapter 13 Machiavelli, N. (1908). The Prince, (1513). ed. W. K. Marriott. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Pp 60. Plato. (1994) Collected Dialogues. eds. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Fossils Nurse Essay Example for Free

Fossils Nurse Essay A fossil is the prehistoric remains of a plant or an animal. Fossils are usually are kept at their best when they are buried under many layers of sand and mud. Under the great pressure from the ground, the sand and the mud become sedimentary rock. The minerals combine forming a mould of the plant or animal under the ground. A fossil can be a trace fossil or a body fossil. A body fossil is what actual organic material from a creature or plant (like a bone). Trace fossils are signs of plants and animal activity that have been preserved in rock. For example, dinosaur tracks, trails and dung are all trace fossils. A body fossil is usually composed of bones of an animal. Preservation of the â€Å"soft† tissue of a body is rare especially over long periods of time. Most body fossils are made when an animal dies and falls, or is washed into a steam, and is covered with mud. In a few cases, though, fossils have been preserved by freezing (as with mammoths in Siberia and Alaska) or when the animals have become stuck and died in a tar pit (such as the famous La Brea tar pit near Los Angeles, California). Sometimes a fossil is the result of a volcanic eruption. Ash and mud from the volcano can cover animals and plants killing them at the same time. Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It is also the study of organisms that have inhabited our planet. An important part of geology is the study of how Earths materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time. Fossils are linked to geology because, it is the study on how the world has build up over the years and fossils are animals and plants from over the years. They have changed over time because they have become smaller and form in different ways like freezing and volcanic eruptions. Over the years fossils have told us about life forms we had no idea about and is proved with the fossils or bones we have today in museums. This is how fossils are linked to geology.

Analysis Of Three Poems English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Three Poems English Literature Essay The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Poets from different countries created numerous outstanding works. Here are three poems Ive read which are of great reputation. They are My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun, The Red Wheelbarrow and How Do I Love Thee. The first poem was written by William Shakespeare who is a world famous writer. He is well-known not only for his plays especially tragedies, but also for his 154 sonnets. Not like most sonnet, just as you can find in the title, it depicted a different lady who is not so beautiful. This poem is number 130 out of the 154 sonnets, so we can call it Sonnet 130. It is William Carlos Williams who wrote the second poem. What interesting is his primary occupation was as a family doctor and writing poems was his off-hour hobby, but I believe he is much more succeeded in poetry than as a doctor. The Red Wheelbarrow is a traditional American poetry which is so much different from a sonnet. It is often considered as the masterwork of American 20th-century, although it is the shortest poem I have ever known. The third poet is Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. This is Sonnet XLIII in Sonnets from the Portuguese. Its also a sonnet, but it is in the model of Italy which is popularized by Petrarch. This means the third poem and the first one have great differences. Because of these widely different poems, the world of poetry can be so splendid and vibrant. And I am now going to analyze these three different poems in the aspects of satire, image and theme. When reference satire, we cannot ignore the Shakespeares sonnet number 130, which is a successful poem that effectively use satire to convey a sincere theme while maintaining sonnet structure, and using literary devices as a source of irony. Let me expound it from the beginning. The first quatrain illustrates the appearance of his lover. Her eyes are not beautiful, her lips are not so red, her breast are dun and her hair is bad. No one will think her beautiful, so do I. People who study sonnets are used to praises of beauty and extraordinary spirit yet, instead of introducing a surreal love interest Shakespeare begins his sonnet in such an unconventional method of satire. This ironic method completely overturns the traditional idea of sonnet and successfully hooks the reader. The next two quatrains continue describe how his lover is just a common woman. There is no flushed cheeks and no fragrance breath. Her voice is not like music and when she walks, treads on the ground. We all kno w the fact that conventionally metaphors and similes are used in love poems as a tool to express praise. But in this case, the speaker in sonnet 130 proves his love by depicting his lover that none of these metaphors or similes apply to her since they are exaggerations. In this way, the sonnet 130 enhances its theme by satire. Things change in last two sentences: And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare; As any she belied with false compare. By abandoning literary devices for sincerity, Shakespeare concluded his poem. It makes me believe that sincerity and realism is worth more than false comparisons. And when the theme of the sonnet is concluded with sincere language like this, the readers, including me, then understands Shakespeares use of satire. To conclude, this poem satirizes the over-the-top descriptions that poets had traditionally used to praise womens beauty. Regarding to images in poem, no one can deny the fact The Red Wheelbarrow is one good example. In this poem, three images form a beautiful picture which is unforgettable and meaningful. The poem is so begins: So much depends/ upon/ a red wheel/ barrow. The first two lines look like a child discovered a miracle, and what followed on is the wheelbarrow, the first image. But the picture is so vague now. Then, it goes glazed  with  rain/ water. The second image here is water or rain and it shows that this scene is just after a rain. The last sentence beside  the  white/ chickens reveal the last image, the chickens. Just from the images, we found the poem begins from the abstract things (so much) to stationary object (wheelbarrow), then goes to moving object (rain), and ends with living animals (chickens). These images can simply sum up into from silence to vitality, which is a healthy and progressive development. Furthermore, we can draw a more specific picture if we notice the a djectives. The wheelbarrow is vividly because there is a word red to modify it. We can find the atmosphere so relaxed because the wheelbarrow is glazed with rain other than became dirty. It is said the chicken is white, which is opposite to the wheelbarrows red. In a sense, the imagery in the Williams poetry just like a colorful painting shows the picture of our daily life: an agrarian scene, most likely the yard of a farmhouse, where a wet red wheelbarrow stands among some white chickens. With a strong visual stimulation and the contrast of dynamic and static, this is no longer a simple poem that has only 4 clauses but an ingenious work which has brilliant images.

My Response Phase Portfolio - Hot-Seating, Roleplay, Cross-cutting, :: Drama

My Response Phase Portfolio - Hot-Seating, Roleplay, Cross-cutting, and Marking the moment. My Response Phase Portfolio Hot-Seating When we Hot-seated Johnny we found out a lot of information about the character. Little things such as "How old are you?" helped. By Hot-seating we learned that even such things , that matter so little can help develop a drama. We could also find out personal details that he probably didn't want anyone else to know. By doing this we could then decide how to develop the plot and characters. For example, If I asked Johnny "Where do you live?" and his reply was "By the Sea", we could produce a scene on the beach. This is just a typical example of how Hot-seating helps. Roleplay When we did a short Roleplay we could see how Johnny acted towards life, and this allowed to take a sneak at what everyday life is like for Johnny. We also got to see how he acted towards family and friends. On rare occasions we might be able to see how Johnny got himself into this situation. This helped us explore the text because we could see how he acted and what he does, If there are any problems and could those problems be solved. For example we might see Johnny in a pub with a drug gang after him because he owes money. We can now understand and see how and what life is like for Johnny. We (As an audience) could then decide whether to deal with the problem or just let it get out of hand. This is just an typical example of how Roleplay helps. Cross-cutting When we used Cross-cutting we saw how Johnny got himself into this bad situation of a drinking problem. This helped because we could see how others reacted to his drinking problems. For example we found out that Johnny's parents really did care for him, even though Johnny went around telling people his family were dead and that they wouldn't care anyway. We found this strategy helped because we could see what life was like before and while his problem occurred. Marking The Moment We marked the moment when we was developing our first scene in our drama. The scene was about Johnny in a pub, he was there drowning his sorrows. However when he thought life couldn't get worse 2 drug addicts came in asking for their money. Johnny had to tell them that he didn't have the money and they didn't like it. So they beat him up and leave him on the pub floor, threatening him before they leave. and he was being chased up by drug addicts for there moneyText Box: .

Heaneys Mid-Term Break, Clarkes Baby Sitting and Jonsons On My First

Heaney's Mid-Term Break, Clarke's Baby Sitting and Jonson's On My First Sonne all deal with unhappy reflections about human loss, isolation distress and the harsh reality of life. The poems concerned in this essay mirror notions of human importance and bonds. Heaney's 'Mid-Term Break', Clarke's 'Baby Sitting' and Jonson's 'On My First Sonne' all deal with unhappy reflections about human loss, isolation distress and the harsh reality of life. All of these poems are written in first person narrative voice, with honest blunt diction, allowing us to understand their pain by the relation some people have with the issues raised in each of the poems. The main themes of the poems are Parental roles, childhood and relationships. The triplet of poems all deal with unhappy reflections about human loss, isolation and distress and are written in the first person narrative which allows us to make their pain seem very real by a creation of Pathos. Thematically, Heaney and Jonson explore the abrupt and painful loss of a family member. Heaney is forced to grow up and endure th...

Analysis of T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

Analysis of T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' demonstrates the effects of social and economic pressure in the life of a Victorian man. T.S. Eliot shows us, in an ironic monologue, how the reality of age and social position paralyzes his character with fear. The poem opens with six lines from Dante?s ?Infernio?. This particular stanza explains that the speaker is in hell and the message can only be told to someone else in hell. The speaker tells us that it is OK for the listener to hear the message, since in order to hear you must already be in hell and no one ever returns from there. So the message will never leave. I believe Eliot uses this message to infer that only a reader who understands the loneliness and desperation of Prufrock can truly understand the poem. However, in my research, I have found as many different interpretations of the poem as I have found readers. Most agree; however, that Prufrock is speaking to the reader when he says ?you and I?(Line 1). Many readers also agree that Prufrock is a lonely man, but what type of company he desires seems to vary greatly. Interpretations include sex, social company, long term love, and even death. I believe Prufrock yearns for the sense of belonging, both with a female and with his society. He struggles with issues of sex, age and social change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The beginning lines of the poem(1-25) paint for a very descriptive picture of the street where Prufrock is walking. It also alerts the reader of Prufrock?s distaste for this area and this society. He describes it as ?have deserted?,?muttering?.?one-night cheap hotels? and ?sawdust restaurants?.(5-7) He contrasts that with his destination of a ?room where women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo?(13). Prufrock doesn?t give the reader much insight into his thoughts until line 26. From this line forward, we get a glimpse of what it must be like to be Prufrock. He tells us ?There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet?(27-28), indicating repression. He must ?prepare? himself mentally to be able to put on the correct social image before he makes his ?visit?(12). The rest of the poem simply reinforces his struggle between the way he would like to be and the reality of his life. He begins to ponder the ?overwhelming question?(11) ... ...e is ?almost ridiculous--/ Almost, at times, the Fool.?(118-119)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although many of the comments and interpretations of ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? that I have read seem to believe that the last 4 stanzas are a sign that he may break out of his shell. I believe it is the surrender of all hope and the recognition of the inconceivability of his desires. I think lines 120-130 are Prufrock?s way of telling us of the dream of youth that he will leave behind. He will not ?wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled?(121) nor ?wear flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.? These are the customs and actions of young passionate men. Men whose physical appearance and less stuffy lifestyle will attract the ?mermaids?(124). He concedes ?I do not think that they will sing to me.?(125) Prufrock leaves us with the thought of how life and society can force us from our dreams and sink us with reality. ?We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seeweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown.?(129-131) Works Cited: Eliot, T. S. ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.? Collected Poems 1909-1962 . New York: Harcourt Brace, 1963.

Elderly or Old Age Stage of Development

Participant’s Cultural BackgroundThe elderly woman is a Caucasian living in the United States and has been living within the culture of the west throughout her life. Therefore, her life has not been adversely affected by other cultures. The Western culture is such that it emphasizes individualism and independence thus each person seeks autonomy through education, employment and involvement in various social activities. Information provided to me indicated that she was a teacher before she retired and involved herself in community work. In particular, her social work revolved around providing guidance and counseling services to young adults and adolescents.According to Schulz & Jutta (1996, p. 704), aging is not universal and affects people in different ways as influenced by diverse factors that the individual is exposed to, among them being education, social support, diet and nutrition. These factors mediate the process of aging thus determine the success or failure of aging. Generally, the participant had been influenced by the factors especially education, nutrition and social support. The participant had been influenced by education owing to the fact that before her retirement, she had been a teacher and lived with her family who provided her with social support and adequate nutrition.She is a Caucasian thus culturally, her family is keen on her diet and wellbeing. Setting where participant was observed I observed the participant in her home where she lives with her family for a week. I was able to make my observations constantly because the participant does not live far from where I reside. The house is medium in size and houses six people with the participant being the oldest. She lives with her son, the son’s wife and their two children as well as a nanny. There is an open back yard behind the house where there is a swimming pool and a garden with flowers and grass.The elderly woman spends most of her day in this area with the assistance of a nurse and in some occasions in the company of her son and grandchildren. She generally deals with various aging issues. For instance, she is dealing with retirement and decreased income, dealing with loss of spouse and getting ready for her own period of death. She does not engage in energy demanding activities such as walking long distances, climbing the stairs, lifting heavy objects, among others. She claims that whenever she involves herself in strenuous activities, she breathes a lot.According Leahy, Grafe and Fuzy (2004, p.  124), when people grow older, their blood circulation becomes less efficient hence they become sensitive to diverse things such as energy demanding activities and extreme temperatures. In general, I made my observations within the compound in which the participant was residing in. During my one week of observation, I did not see her travel but she always saw her family off whenever they were going out. Behaviors displayed At this stage of development, t here are a number of behavioral characteristics that can be observed in the elderly participant physically, socially and psychologically.This is because the individual is likely to have retired, thus undergone significant evolution. 92 years of age means that the person is shifting towards the end of his or her life cycle. It is often a time when they can spend time with their grandchildren, engage in leisure activities and overlook the issues that caused stress and anxiety in the prior decades. The participant was participating in some activities that enabled her to enjoy her aging. For example, in the mornings, I would see her in the garden either trying to trim the flowers, water the garden or plant more flowers in the flower pots.Although the pace of engaging in the activities was slow, she seemed to enjoy doing that work and it sometimes required the intervention of the nurse to stop her from gardening. According to Peck’s theory, during old age, an individual experience s Ego Differentiation vs. Work Role Preoccupation where the elderly individual is prone to cling to lifestyles that he or she previously lived or engage in activities that enhance their self esteem (Saxon, Saxon & Etten, 2002, p. 26). The participant had slower responses as well as reflexes.When she is asked about something, I observed that she took a while before she responded. In addition, she seemed to be forgetting various instructions within a short period of time especially in situations when the instructions or information given were verbal. I realized this after she asked my name a couple of hours after I had told her. However, she had definite memory of visual gestures because she could spot her son’s car from a distance. According to Leahy, Grafe and Fuzy (2004, p. 123), aging affects the person’s ability to remember and concentrate because it affects memory.It is difficult for the old to think fast and logically due to old age. However, the degree of memory loss differs with individuals. In most cases, the elderly often experience memory loss of recent activities whereas past activities are easily remembered. The elderly woman has lost several things ranging from independence, friends, health to family although she may have increased wisdom. The elderly are faced with some developmental tasks such as bending with declined physical energy and loss of well being. This is indicated by her behaviors such as having difficulties picking up things when they fall.For example, during one of my observations, she was walking towards the car but her hat was blown off by the wind. However, she was not able to bend and pick hence was assisted by her grandson. In addition, her reaction to the hat that had been blown off was slow in both speed and verbal response. Saxon, Saxon and Etten (2002, p. 26) point out that in the process of aging, Body Transcendence vs. Body Preoccupation influences the elderly to an extent that for older adults with the capa city to rise above preoccupation with their health, they have the ability to engage in activities that grant them individual satisfaction.Her vision, taste, hearing, and smell are quite poor. For her vision, she usually has difficulties reading and noting details in some visual objects and this explains the reason why she always wears her spectacles. She is not able to see small sized objects. For example, in case a button falls on the carpet, she cannot find it. Her taste is also poor because she always complains about food and drinks. For instance, she often complains about food having inadequate salt which is rarely the case or that the fruit juice given to her is tasteless.Her hearing has been impaired by old age because when communicating with her, one has to speak loudly or talk close to her ears. On several occasions, her grandchildren are forced to almost shout so that she can hear them. This has brought frustration to the participant owing to the fact that she finds it stre nuous to communicate with those around her. In the course of my observation, I noted that the participant did not have a good sense of smell. I made this observation when the nanny burnt the food and while everyone else was finding fault in the strange smell, she just said, â€Å"I don’t smell anything†.Schulz & Jutta (1996) point out that during aging, it is common for the elderly to loose their senses of smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight. This is attributed to the decline in the ability of the senses of the body to function adequately. In conclusion, it is evident that old age results to changes in diverse aspects of life to psychological and physical changes in the life of the elderly. Aging affects persons differently depending on factors such as nutrition, social support, education and diet.Conversely, aging generally results to a decline in the ability of the body to function due to a decline in the capacity of a number of body parts to function e. g. respir atory system, urinary system, circulatory system, nervous system, and musculoskeletal system and hence affecting the activities they get involved in. Therefore, at old age, the elderly should be well taken care of because they do not have the ability to function effectively as they used to in their previous years (Leahy, Grafe & Fuzy, 2004). References Leahy, W., Grafe, J. & Fuzy, J. L. (2004). Providing Home Care: A Textbook for Home Health Aides. Albuquerque: Hartman Publishing Inc. Saxon, V. S.S, Saxon, V. S. & Etten, M. J. (2002). Physical Change & Aging: A Guide for the Helping Professionals. New York: Springer Publishing Company Schulz, R. & Jutta, H. (1996). A Life Span of Successful Aging. Journal of American Psychologist. Vol. 51 (7), pp.702- 714