Rape Culture Oriented Feminism Sociology Essay

Rape Culture Oriented Feminism Sociology Essay Part of the current feminism strive is to raise awareness of what is known as rape culture. Rape culture is a socially constructed concept that depicts a culture in which sexual violence and rape are belittled, tolerated, and even justified in society. This concept is related to some specific behaviors such as womens causal role, rape stereotypes, sexual objectification, and trivialization of rape along with sexual discrimination. Legally, rape is defined as forced sexual intercourse between a man and a woman against the womans will (or the mans). In many states, the legal definition of rape does not include marital rape. In others terms, husbands which force their wives into sex are not punished by law, as rape is only seen as illegitimate sexual intercourse, i.e., the wifes exception implies that rape is rape if and only if the man commits the act on a woman other than his wife. This would suggest that sexual violence is not always considered as an act of rape. Even more, this implies that the law might consider sexual assaults as tolerable. For a forced sexual act to be sanctioned as rape, the man should not have conjugal rights over the woman. In other terms, the laws acceptance of a violent sexual act depends on the relationship between the victim and her rapist. According to the feminists rape culture theory, sexist behaviors contribute to the normalization of sexual assaults towards women. The root of rape culture is -according to the theory- the objectification and domination of women in a highly patriarchal society. Rape culture exists today because of the socially constructed image of sex as being an act of male domination over women. It is the traditional perception of how men and women are to behave which is the cause of rape being so trivialized. Men are expected to have sexual dominance in the relationship whereas women are pictured as passive, subordinate creatures. The contrast between men and women in the socially constructed sexual culture can be seen in dating for instance. In a date, a man is expected to buy gifts, dinner, drive the date of/from location to location and shower the woman with attention. Society has accustomed men to expect sexual rewards for their actions. The man thinks he has a right to sexual favors because of what he did on the date. This reasoning puts women as legitimate for sexual aggressions, and gives justifications for men to reason what they might do. When society produces rapists by encouraging values such as domination, anger, aggression, violence and rejecting the idea of men expressing and sharing their feelings, it fosters a rape culture. The rapists are also victims in the sense that they are frustrated by not being able to nurture their need for love and affection through more normal, healthier ways; hence acting through violence. Social conditioning through media holds a huge part of responsibility in rape culture oriented societies. Men and women are made to behave and think in a very specific way from a very early age through school and popular culture. Women and girls should act properly and in a ladylike manner, men should be strong and unemotional. This socialization process, this distribution of roles and behaviors creates the imbalance of power between men and women, giving the floor to male domination over female subordination, and indirectly training women how to be raped, and men how to be rapists. Some rules which train women how to be ladies actually contribute to a lot of rape situations. For instance, a lady should not make a scene just because she is at discomfort. During a sexual assault, wouldnt this entitle that the woman should stay quiet, in order to preserve ladylike qualities? A lady should always trust and be kind to strangers which offer to help. This rule gives rapists plenty of situations where they can trick women into thinking that they are actually willing to help them whilst having planned the rape act. Another rule claims that a lady should always graciously smile when spoken to. A potential rapist might consider a woman acknowledging him with a smile as her being consenting to the situation. Social conditioning has also leaded us to deem as true a set of prejudicial beliefs, called rape myths. These stereotypes provide aggressors with justifications and legitimization for their acts of sexual violence. Feminists claim that rape myths are fundamental to the patriarchal society which supports control and domination relationships. Not only do those stereotypes and lies present assaulters with excuses for their acts, but they also move the responsibility of the act away from the aggressors and lay it on the victims. Some examples of rape myths include: Black men rape white women, Provocative female clothing is the cause of rape, its the victims fault, She was asking for it Even more dangerous is womens acceptance as the ones to blame for rape and the hostility some women show towards other women which were rape victims, by saying and believing in claims such as She provoked the rape, Men are unable to control themselves, rape is only perpetrated by sick men. The new trend nowadays, and from what I hear around me when I ask people about the causal role of women in a rape situation is to say that women should not dress in an alluring way then blame men for raping them. Society is full of sick men, and women should be prepared for this. Raped women actually had it coming. A study done in Germany where participants (students) were given a set of questions, tried to measure to which extent rape myths were accepted and it tried to study the correlation between the desire for sexual dominance and the inclination to accept rape and rape myths. The results of this study supported the feminist theory which claims that rape is much more linked to the desire for men to express their dominance and control over women than to simple sexual arousal. There are three main theories which suggest different factors as support for the proliferation of rape culture. The first theory, gender disparity, claims that rape is the main instrument for patriarchal societies to keep oppression and control. As discussed earlier, the imbalance of power in the relationship between men and women is a direct cause of the objectification and subordination of women versus the domination and demonstration of force of men, which encourages rapist behavior. The second theory, cultural overflow, claims that rape myths and gender socialization are not the only causes for sexual violence, as other components of culture might serve to justify and trivialize rape. An example would be the aspects of violence in our everyday life. Violence in schools, in media, and in governments can be generalized or extended to relationships, thus condoning rape acts. The third theory, social disturbance, suggests that elevated rates of rape might reflect disturbance in social lives such as divorce and relocation. A generalization of the theory would be that deviant acts in general mirror social disorganization which disturbs commonly agreed on social mores. Although I agree with the fact that feminists have done well in raising awareness against rape in societies, and (to some extent) to how society might have contributed to the increase of rape rates through popular culture and mass media, I think there are some issues with rape culture as an entity proposed by traditional feminists. Traditional feminists rape culture theory mainly insists on gender imbalance as being the cause of rape proliferation in society. However, and as the Cultural Spillover theory suggest, other factors and other components might cause increase in rapes rates. The war in Bosnia (92-95) was infamously known for wartime rape. Many Muslim women in Bosnia were raped by Serbs at the time. Rape becomes a weapon of war in this case. It is not intentionally or (at the least solely) directed towards the individual victim, but rather used as any other tool to hurt the enemy. The rape during the Yugoslav conflicts was consequently labeled as genocide rape or rape warfare. Many examples in India, South Asian, and Middle Eastern and South African countries show similar patterns where the culture of war and violence tends to lead to a tacit acceptance of rape in society. Rape as a war weapon can be much more effective than any other weapon as the lasting effects of such an act not only hurt the individual on the long term but the society as a whole. Through children born in time of rape warfare, the society is relentlessly reminded of the war and the enemy. It is one of the most degrading and brutal attacks that could be carried on the enemy. Victims of rape in war time live in isolation from their family and community, especially if they have a child born from the rape act. Another issue with the traditionalist feminist view on rape is the binary structure and the rather monolithic perspective on the matter. There is this tendency to represent men as evil animalistic rapist creatures and women as helpless submissive victims. The feminist cause is first and foremost a fight for equality. As a movement which condemns rape as a result of gender inequality, the irony here is the separation between genders which label the man as a rapist and the woman as a victim. The theory depicts all men as potential rapists and sex offenders, controlling and dominant. Across my research, I noticed that most of the literature on rape culture only highlights female oriented violence. Such discrepancy makes it appear as if male oriented violence does not exist, and that female victims are much more prevalent. Such unfairness in research contributes to the rigid binary representation of the matter. The danger in doing such propaganda (i.e. labeling all men are potential sexual aggressors) makes it sound as if being a man is enough to identify the person as someone likely to rape. Even the definitions I encountered on feminist blogs and journals define rape as the act of sexual violence towards a woman by a man without her consent, but not vice versa. A similar distortion can be seen when talking about domestic violence as it is now assumed and taken for granted that men are the wife beaters. While feminisms original strive is to gain and maintain equality between the genders, rape culture theories create a serious loophole as such distortions and discrepancies actually put women as the harmless gender on higher grounds for moral superiority in comparison with men as the harmful gender, which creates gender imbalance all over again. By acting as such, feminists negate their goal of gender equality. It is not anymore the battle for equal rights; it is the fight for moral superiority that is at stake here. Hence as much as rape culture following the feminist view trivialize and encourage rape, rape culture also benefit this feminist view of men being animalistic and unable to control their urges in comparison with women. A third issue with rape culture is the labeling itself of the entity. What does rape culture exactly encapsulates? I am concerned that the focus of feminists on rape culture might exclude other abused victims which were not subject to rape but other types of violence. For instance, domestic violence victims doesnt necessarily mean rape victims. Arent those women excluded from the movement because of the fact that they were not raped? Sexually harassed women are not necessarily raped too, where do they stand in the rape culture movement? By choosing a label and identifying an entity such as rape culture, Rape acquires a special place in the feminist movement, as women who were raped gain a unique status which makes them a priority over other women. The problem here is that, by giving rape this privileged status, by making the focus rape and rape culture, the feminist movement creates this gender-separatist, discriminatory entity which shadows other gender related issues. Other society problems are as important as the rape issue, yet we do not have a child molesting culture entity for instance. Furthermore, one can actually draw a pattern of similarities between the feminist rape culture movement and the traditional white feminist movement, because both are discriminatory in a way. The white feminist movement does not represent black and Latino women for instance. Similarly, rape culture feminists do not represent battered women or women who were not raped but were still victims of sexual harassment. Rape culture oriented feminism does have some good arguments as socially constructed behaviors and gender roles do impact on rape behaviors. However, and to draw the analogy with the white feminist movement, victimized women which were raped as a product of the imbalance of power between men and women in society represent only a small part of the rape victims and situations, as much as white desperate housewives with college degrees who are forced to stay at home only represent a small portion of oppressed women. Just as white feminism should evolve to include other women in the group, rape culture oriented feminism should also change by broadening its area of interest and not limiting itself only to first: physically raped victims and second : physically raped victims outside the sample society provided by rape culture oriented feminism. Wartime rape victims, which are ignored by this feminist movement currently should also be part of the strive. Furthermore, the movement should also reconsider the monolithic view it gives of society which separates men and women in a negative way. Rape culture oriented literature so far is very biased in terms of who does the aggressions. It should also recognize that not all men are aggressors, because of the unfairness and incorrectness of such accusation, and move towards a more cooperative image between the genders rather than the hatred one it currently gives. Work cited: Rape Myths. Research Advocacy Digest

Training Scenario In Indian Industry Management Essay

Training Scenario In Indian Industry Management Essay Training  is an educational process. People can learn new information, re-learn and reinforce existing knowledge and skills, and most importantly have time to think and consider what new options can help them improve their effectiveness at work. Effective trainings convey relevant and useful information that inform participants and develop skills and behaviors that can be transferred back to the workplace. The goal of training is to create an impact that lasts beyond the end time of the training itself. The focus is on creating specific action steps and commitments that focus peoples attention on incorporating their new skills and ideas back at work. Training can be offered as skill development for individuals and groups. In general, trainings involve presentation and learning of content as a means for enhancing skill development and improving workplace behaviors. Organizational Development  is a process that strives to build the capacity to achieve and sustain a new desired state that benefits the organization or community and the world around them. (from the Organizational Development Network website) OD work implies creating and sustaining change. An OD perspective examines the current environment, the present state, and helps people on a team, in a department and as part of an institution identify effective strategies for improving performance. In some situations, there may not be anything wrong at the present time; the group or manager may simply be seeking ways to continue to develop and enhance existing relationships and performance. In other situations, there may be an identifiable issue or problem that needs to be addressed; the OD process aims to find ideas and solutions that can effectively return the group to a state of high performance. These two processes, Training and Organizational Development, are often closely connected. Training can be used as a proactive means for developing skills and expertise to prevent problems from arising and can also be an effective tool in addressing any skills or performance gaps among staff. Organizational Development can be used to create solutions to workplace issues, before they become a concern or after they become identifiable problem. http://traininganddevelopment.naukrihub.com/images/1.JPG ROLE OF TRAINING TRAINING SCENARIO IN INDIAN INDUSTRY TRAINING PROGRAMS IN RETAIL/FMCG SECTOR Some of the training programs that are given in the retail sector are: Sales Training On-the-Job Training Seminars/Workshops Customer Relationship Management Online Course Group Study Computer-Based Training TRAINING IN BANKING AND INSURANCE SECTOR Favourable economic climate and number of other factors such as growing urbanization, increasing consumerism, increase in financial services for people living in rural areas etc, has increased demand for wide range of financial products that has led to mutually beneficial growth to the banking sector and economic growth process. In the insurance sector also, rapid expansion has created about 5 lakh job opportunities approximately in the past five years. These openings are mainly in the field of insurance advisors or marketing agents. The eligibility criteria for this job is graduation with some experience in marketing or become insurance agents after completing school but this needs some relvant training. Earlier there were no training programs as such for insurance agents but on-the-job training only that was given once the new agent was appointed. But now the scenario has been changed, with the coming up of big players like  ICICI Life Insurance, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Life Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance, etc in this sector, people whove had some formal training are preferred while recruitment because it can be helpful in the insurance field. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN IT/SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY With the growing investment by IT companies in the development of their employees many companies have now started their own learning centers. As an example, Sun has its own training department. Accenture has Internet based tool by the name of My Learning that offers access to its vast learning resources to its employees. Companies are investing in both the technical training, which has always been an essential part in IT industry, as well as in managerial skills development. Companies now kept aside 3-5% of revenue for training programs. As an example, some of the major players like Tata Elexi and Accenture are allocating 7% and 3% respectively of the companys overall revenue. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR Programs are available for the following areas: Food Production Food and Beverage Service Front Office Housekeeping TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN KPO SECTOR With the expected increase in number of employees, training has become the core of KPO industry as well. No matter how much qualified the person is he needs to be trained on processes. As the name itself implies, knowledge, this sector requires high level of functional know-how as well as domain know-how. There is a constant need of well-planned training programs as the work profile requires understanding of market research objectives and methodologies. This sector requires behavioral training as well as training to handle stress because of odd working hours. If a person is committed to deliver quality, and is willing to learn with positive attitude then definitely KPO is the right place to work for him. EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING FOR AN EMPLOYEE IN AN ORGANISATION Companies invest quite a bit on the training and development of their employees. On the other hand, there are companies which refrain from investing in training. This is partly because they doubt whether such investments would pay back anything to the organization. However, today, most managers in companies appreciate the importance of training and want to invest in their employees training and development. Human Resources (HR) departments in companies could play an important role in capitalizing this opportunity and put in place systems and processes to make training more effective. Here are a few actions that HR could take: LINK TRAINING TO OTHER SYSTEMS: Training is part of the development process. However, development would mean understanding the capabilities of individual employees, identifying gaps and focusing on the right training for the right person. We can see that this leads to linkage of training with recruitment and performance appraisals. Recruitment, i.e., the entry point of an employee in the company, is the best starting point for tracking capabilities of employees. Capturing the profile of an employees capabilities at this stage helps the company build on his strengths and develop them further. Similarly, performance appraisals which are a periodic exercise, give adequate opportunity for organizations to take stock of the capabilities of employees and identify the gaps or the desired capabilities that need to be developed, and which emerge either from the career aspirations of the individual or business plans of the company. MAKE TRAINING A SYSTEMATIC ACTIVITY: An employee receives a call from a Manager out of the blue one day, who asks her to attend a training program on communication to be held two days later. The employee is unprepared. There are other priorities lined up for the week. Suddenly, the employee is having to do her bit to either re-prioritize, or re-schedule activities, or, worse still, stretch herself for the next two days to complete some of the high priority assignments in a hurry so that she can attend the training program. All this only leads to the employee going to the training program in a totally unprepared frame of mind. A positive and receptive mood, that is necessary for learning, is absent. The time and the money spent on the program turns out to be a waste. This is a common scenario in many companies treating training programs as one off events to which employees need to be sent. HR can do a lot to take control and make training a lot more of a systematic activity. Planning for programs adequately beforehand, preparing the employee with reading material or exercises, sending alerts and other communication related to the training at different stages before the program-all these would help. In all, planning well in advance, preparing the employee, laying the foundation for an eagerness to optimise the benefit derived from the program-all these will help. TRACKING OF TRAINING ACTIVITIES: Many companies have metrices such as number of man days of training. Some track them periodically, but most do not. It is necessary to compare the tracking of training to that for compensation. Compensation is tracked meticulously, analysed in depth across departments, levels, functions and so on. The same level of meticulousness, however, is missing in the case of training. Metrices, however, need to be carefully analysed and presented to the stakeholders periodically, to help them focus their efforts and plan for the training in a systematic manner. FEEDBACK LOOP: Measuring training effectiveness has always been a challenge, given the fact that the direct correlation between the training effort and results on the job cannot be clearly established. However, no one can deny that training contributes in a very significant manner to both improvement in the knowledge, skills and performance of a companys employees, as well as the overall business performance of the company.. Such training- performance correlation has been well established, and thus, the best employers worldwide invest significantly and systematically in training their personnel. Notwithstanding the fact that the direct correlation between a training program and improvement in the performance of an employee who has undergone such a training program, is by now indisputable, collecting feedback on the impact will help in fine tuning the efforts made towards training. In this context, there exist three stages of process for collecting feedback on training. Timing is very important here. The first stage is immediately after the completion of the program. The main objective of this feedback is to get to know how well the trainer delivered the program, the usefulness of the content and effectiveness of the methodology. The second stage would be the collection of feedback thirty days from the completion of the program. The objective here would be effectiveness in retention, and the question to be asked is this: are the learnings from the program still retained by the employee? BLEND OF METHODOLOGIES: Learning styles differ from one individual to another. To elaborate, the manner of teaching and learning different subjects can vary. What works for a training program on a technical subject may not necessarily work well for a behavioral area, and vice versa. With the leveraging of technology and proliferation of the net learning culture, learning is no longer confined to the traditional manner of training. Each of the methodologies have their respective advantages and disadvantages. A particular methodology may work well in a specific context and not so well in another. The cost would also vary from one methodology to another. It becomes the responsibility of the training personnel to choose the most appropriate methodology for the appropriate organizational context, for a particular subject and for the appropriate audience. Instead of trying to choose what works best, one may choose to provide two or three options with the same objectives, i.e., learning and improvement in the capa bilities of the employees. What would help in effective implementation of all the factors mentioned above:   A good and comprehensive training management system. Such a system covers all the areas mentioned above and involves all the stakeholders, employees, managers, HR/training function and the leadership. Trained and dedicated personnel to manage the training. It is desirable to have a dedicated team to oversee the training process in a company. However, given the size of companies today, some small ones may not be able to dedicate full time personnel. In such cases, the responsibilities need to be clearly built into that of the HR system of these companies.

Cause and Effect Essay - The Causes of America’s Social Problems

Cause and Effect Essay - The Causes of America’s Social Problems The causes of social problems exist on many levels. When we ask why social problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and war exist, each time we determine a cause, we can ask "why" again, as children often do until they are hushed. Poverty exists because some folks can't find jobs or the jobs pay poorly. But then why is the wage level so low? Because of the tax and land-tenure systems. Why do we have those systems? Because special interests pay to legislate it. Why do special interests get away with it? The voting structure lets them. Why does that structure exist? The voters don't demand to change it. Why not? When we dig down through all the layers to the roots of the causes, we find three fundamental causes of social problems: ignorance, apathy, and greed. The ultimate remedy for social problems therefore must confront all three root causes. It does little good to just run down the street shouting "share the rent!" or "stop war!". Uttering a slogan does no good unless it arouses sympathy. As an example of the interplay between ignorance, apathy, and greed, consider the problem of pollution. Suppose the most efficient preventative is a pollution charge based on the damage caused by each pollutant. However, the government regulates pollution instead, a policy failure that needlessly reduces employment and economic growth. One possible cause is ignorance. But suppose the best policy is known. The owners of the polluting industries seek to influence legislation to prevent the best policy. Because of their campaign contributions and other favors, the government adopts the poorer policy. The cause in this case is greed, both by the influence seeker... ...es for social problems, including the economics, politics, and ethics of the problems and solutions. Then when they educate others, they must at the same time invoke their antipathy to the problem and arouse their sympathy with the remedy. When the masses are roused with sympathy and armed with knowledge of the remedy, the few greedy opponents will either be swayed themselves to join the righteous battle, or be overwhelmed by the greater force of the righteous revolution. To remedy social ills, replace ignorance, apathy and greed with knowledge, sympathy, and charity. Works Cited George, Henry, 1879, Progress and Poverty. New York: Schalkenbach Foundation, 1971 Henry George Foundation web site, www.henrygeorge.org Accessed on 8-26-04. Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Ed. C.I. Scofield. New Scofield Reference Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.

Essay on the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon :: Song Solomon essays

Defying the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon    Throughout slavery, myths were created that tainted the image of the African American woman. These myths promote the misconceptions that African American women are promiscuous and are virtually useless. These myths caused these women to be degraded in the eyes of others as well as themselves. In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon womanhood is defined in ways that have destroyed these myths. Womanhood is defined according to one's sexuality, spirituality, beauty, identity, relationships, and motherhood.    Song of Solomon begins with one of the most arresting scenes in our century''s literature: a dreamlike tableau depicting a man poised on a roof, about to fly into the air, while cloth rose petals swirl above the snow-covered ground and, in the astonished crowd below, one woman sings as another enters premature labor. The child born of that labor, Macon (Milkman) Dead, will eventually come to discover, through his complicated progress to maturity, the meaning of the drama that marked his birth. Toni Morrison''s novel is a romance of self-discovery, a retelling of the black experience in America that uncovers the inalienable poetry of that experience, and a family saga luminous in its depth, imaginative generosity, and universality. It is also a tribute to the ways in which, in the hands of a master, the ancient art of storytelling can be used to make the mysterious and invisible aspects of human life apparent, real, and firm to the touch.    Milkman's independent aunt, Pilate, serves as the best but not the only example of the retention and use of African ways and culture. Pilate is seen as a conjure woman and this fact is made evident by her unnatural birth and the distinguishing feature of being born without a navel. This sets her apart from the rest of the community giving her almost immediate supernatural status. Not only can she be seen as a conjure women she should also be seen as a keeper of African cultural ways. She proves to be the the strength and preservation of her heritage and culture. Pilate in keeping with the African Spiritual culture seeks to repair the relationship of Macon and Ruth at Ruth's request. So with this knowledge gained from what seems, another world source, Pilate gives to Macon's wife Ruth a greenish powder to put in Macon's food to induce him to become sexually active with Ruth again.

Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic? :: Scarlet Letter essays

Arthur: Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic? In Nathaniel Hawthorne's torrid tale of The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character, is confronted with a number of circumstances, both in and out of his control, that lead to his ultimate demise. While it can be argued that Arthur is a tragic hero, he lacks the underlying goodness and strength essential for him to fulfill this role. Otherwise, it may be demonstrated that Arthur meets all the criteria as a tragic hero, though there are other discrepancies to be noted. Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, lives his life under the watchful yet admiring eye of the townspeople of Boston and, as a result, becomes a slave to the public opinion. His sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight. He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for fear that he will lose their love and they will not forgive him. He is too weak to admit his sins openly and in their entirety. Instead, he allows his parishioners to lift him in their esteem by confessing, in all humility, that he is a sinner: "The minister well knew--subtle but remorseful hypocrite that he was!--the light in which his vague confession would be viewed." (127) They love him all the more for his honest and humble character, and this is Arthur's intent. Even as he plans to run away with Hester four days after their meeting in the forest, he comforts himself with the knowledge that he will give h is sermon on predestination on the third day, and thus will leave his community with fond memories of his final exhortation. Arthur's flaw can be found in the fact that he chooses to value the public view above those of Hester, his love, and God, his master. Arthur, punishing himself for his ugly secret, which his need for public affirmation will not let him reveal, gradually kills himself through guilt and masochistic ritual. His inward trouble drove him more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred. In Mr. Dimmesdale's secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders; laughing bitterly at himself all the while.

Pit and the pendulum analysis Essay

Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† takes place during the Spanish Inquisition. The morbid short story consist on an innocent man’s fears coming to life after he is sentenced to death. â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† showcases the theme of terror and cruelty by developing descriptive setting, intense plot, and creative irony. Setting is a major part of the thesis because it captures the readers attention to see what the character sees. One of the most influential setting Poe creates is when the main character is engulfed in total darkness. The quote, â€Å"the blackness of eternal night encompassed me,† help the reader fully imagine what it would be like to see absolutely nothing creating a sense of terror of not knowing what’s around. Another impactful setting was when Poe writes the pendulum scene. The pendulum quickly starts to descend swinging back and forth, all the while â€Å"ravenous† rats circle around you like p redators waiting to devour what’s left. Read Also:  Topics for an Analytical Essay The theme, cruelty, is more than clear in this setting, trapping the reader in true suspense. Further more, Poe builds a sense of suspense and suspicion with the uncertainty of the fate that is to come to the main character. â€Å"It seemed evident that mine was not, at least, the most hideous of fates.† Through out the story the character always manages a way to cheat his death. However, that doesn’t stop his torturers. With this in mind, Poe intensifies the plot by providing more nail-biting situations. For example, when the character has to choose his death. The walls are closing in on him, forcing him to either jump into the pit or get crushed to death. What could be more terrifying? The building up of the plot promotes the theme, terror, by having the main character make the ultimate decision. It is all too ironic the fact that despite all the character’s best efforts to save himself, he fails because the enemy is there to impede them. For instance, â€Å"w hen the motion of the hellish machine ceased and I beheld it drawn up, by some invisible force†¦ My every motion was undoubtedly watched. Free!- I had but escaped death in one form of agony, to be delivered unto worse†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, when he gives up all hope at the end of the story, he is surprised to have been saved by General Lasalle. The sick recognition of irony supports themes such as terror and cruelty by showing how the character  succeeds only to fail, just to be saved in the end. In conclusion, Poe does an impeccable job at developing the themes of terror and cruelty by truly including the reader in every aspect of the story. â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† by Edgar Allan Poe proves to be outstanding in all perspectives of settings. He always keeps the reader interested through the suspense of the plot. The irony in the story oozes out of every word. The themes are easy to pick out only because the story is so well developed.

Benifits of Foreign Travel Essay

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the benefits of traveling to other cultures. Title:Another Life Thesis/Central Idea Sentence: It’s very important and beneficial to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually, but few ever think to use traveling as a tool to assist in the restoration of all three. Introduction: [Attention Getter] Taking a vacation is on everybody’s to do list but according to a study conducted by the Families and Work Institute only about half of Americans use their full 2 weeks of vacation each year. Motivate audience to listen] I found this odd, but when I examined my own life I found I haven’t taken an actual vacation in over 10 years. [Credibility]It just something I’ve always seemed to brush off by saying â€Å"Oh well, I’ll just take a nice vacation next year, but the following year the same thing happens and before you realize it you haven’t had a vacation in over a decade. Europeans embrace this idea of vacation almost religiously. In Europe vacations are guaranteed by law. In countries like Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, employers are required to provide up to 20 days of paid leave. Americans, on the other hand, get an average of 12 days every year and on average use about half. [Central Idea] It’s important to remember that we are not machines and that we can and do become burnt out. When this happens it can affect everything from our productivity in the work place to our personal relationships with our spouse, children, friends, and family. Depression can become a real side effect and take control of a life we once loved. So it is important to catch a break from our everyday life and take time to â€Å"Stop and smell the roses† (Unknown). Travelling to foreign cultures is just one way to experience different thoughts and ideals for dealing with day to day life. [Preview of points]While many Americans realize the importance of staying fit by exercising it is way more important and beneficial for healthier, happier living to understand that staying fit means more than lifting weights or going for a run, but working out our bodies, our minds, and our spirit in order to live a true healthier life style. Transition Sentence: So let’s begin by discussing the physical benefits of foreign travel. Body: I. First and most obvious there will be a few physical benefits from foreign travel that will be very noticeable from the very first day. A. Walking 1. Whether you vacation in Europe or Asia it really doesn’t matter so long as you get away from America or Canada. Everyone else in the entire worlds seems to walk everywhere. This may sound scary for those who haven’t seen the inside of a gym in a while or in some cases ever, but after awhile you won’t even notice how much you’ve walked. You’ll become so immersed in all that you’re seeing and experiencing that it’s not until you return to your room at night or until you sit for a while that you begin to notice that both you’re feet now have a pulse. 2. The second sounds a bit unbelievable, but after a few days of walking around and once I begin to recognize the landscape. I usually have made a few friends with some of the locals even if I don’t speak the language. There is a lot than can be said with hands, faces and a smile, but once this happens I can’t help but to begin to feel like this could be my second home. B. Food 1. While Europe and Asia do have fast food franchises most will opt out in order to experience more of the culture being visited. This is very true especially if you’re a fan of the food back home. In my case nothing beats authentic Spanish Paella or Italian anything. But in most cases you’ll be eating a bit healthier while visiting and may not even notice. Most food around the world is not processed like it is here in the states. Don’t get me wrong Wendy’s and McDonalds can be pretty delicious, but I’d rather eat real food everyday; I just can’t cook as well as those guys in Italy or even the guys Olive Garden for that matter. . Throughout the day you may dabble in a few different wines, but for the most part you’ll find water to be the beverage of choice. Unless, you’re a beer or soda connoisseur wishing to try some of the local but undiscovered to â€Å"you† refreshments. Towards the end of the day you may finish a bottle or two of wine, but in your defense†¦ One, you’re in a new country representing America and you wouldn’t want to be rude. Two, wine itself in reasonable quantities is actually good for the blood stream therefore good for your heart so â€Å"BAME, Double Whammy†! Three, what better way to socialize with locals or other fellow tourist than over a couple glasses of wine or beer under a star lit canopy dinning â€Å"Alfresco†? II. Next we will discuss a couple of the mental benefits that you will become aware of throughout the trip. A. So, First in order to begin this awesome adventure it is absolutely crucial to learn this one lesson about vacation otherwise you should’ve stayed home and burnt every dollar you spent for this trip. So here is the first mental benefit of going on vacation. It’s learning how to actually take a vacation! The very first thing we must learn is actually the most difficult we must be honest and true to ourselves that we are on vacation for the sake of nothing more than our own well being and revitalization. With that being said we must let go of our old lives if only for the week or two we are on vacation. 1. So first, it’s absolutely important not to work, discuss work or think about work even as a second thought. Your life back home is on pause until you return. 2. Second sever any and all easily available ties to your life back home. Of course if you have children and have to check on them that is an exception, but leave your cell phone, laptop and tablet, PDA, pager in your room. Give the number to the front desk to anyone back home in case of emergency. There is always someone at the front desk and you never have to worry about reception. 3. The first two steps is to ensure that your mind receives the break it deserves from normal life. B. So now that you have accepted the fact that you’re on vacation and are enjoying or not enjoying all this walking. You will definitely notice things that are different; compared to home. 1. Your mind will definitely become broadened by every one of your senses. As every sense becomes titillated each sensation will become forever locked in your memory and you may notice to compare a lot what you experience to something similar back home. 2. As each day passes you may begin to see how differently other cultures deal with life problems. I mean everyone around the world has to deal with work problems, relationships, and out of control children, but its how we deal with them that tends to get the better of us. You may take a few notes just by watching how people just seem to not sweat the small things in Europe and Asia. It seems to me they as we as Americans live to work, the rest of the planet works just enough to live. Perhaps that’s why they get more vacation and work less hours. When was the last time an American labor force took a siesta? III. Finally we will discuss the spiritual benefits that come from foreign travel. A. First off, I must make myself clear that when I use the word spiritual I do so in a general sense of the word. I do not mean to use it in direct connection towards any God or religion. While most people do believe in a supreme being of some kind some believe in science or no God at all, but regardless of what we believe we all have a sense of self therefore we all have a sort of spirit. 1. A very possible but unlikely event of spiritual revitalization is the adaptation of religion. 2. A more likely form of spiritual revitalization may perhaps come from the peace and tranquility that one may find while visiting a spa or in a quiet location away from everything. 3. Once a peace has been given to the spirit, you will become refreshed and ready to continue with life annoying little problems but after a while you will become more aware of when you need a break. Transition Sentence: So let takes one last quick look at all we have covered today. Conclusion: We now know that a vacation is a lot more than time away from work. We have discussed the three parts of us that benefit from vacation the physical, mental and spiritual and the importance of keeping all three areas in shape in order to obtain a more happy existence.