The significance of endings in The Great Gatsby The Kite Runner and Audens poetry Essay Example for Free

The significance of endings in The Great Gatsby The Kite Runner and Audens poetry Essay Write about the significance of the ways writers end their narratives in the work of the three writers you have studied. In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Fitzgerald creates a sense of finality in the last chapter through the repetition of the word ‘last’, which suggests to the reader ‘the party was over.’ Also the repetition relates to the end of Nick’s experiences and relationship with Gatsby, creating a subdued tone in the ending of the narrative. Fitzgerald references the colour ‘green’ once more, which is symbolic of Gatsby’s dream, the use of it in this final chapter signifies the sombre end of the dream and pursuit of Daisy. Fitzgerald’s construction of a tone of finality within this final chapter in relation to Gatsby’s dream reflects the loss of hope, considering the dream has been a symbol for hope for the entirety of the novel. Fitzgerald’s further utilisation of colour similarly reflects the loss of hope. The ‘motor-hearse’ was described as ‘horribly black’ which heavily contrasts the vulgar displays of colour in Gatsby’s life ‘pink rag of a suit’, this compounds the fact that Gatsby is indeed gone, thus ending the narrative in a pessimistic tone since neither Gatsby, nor his dream succeeded. Coupled with this is the pathetic fallacy, used to parallel the sombre feeling of death and loss, there was a ‘thick drizzle’ which has ominous connotations. Also, the fact the rain has only been described in one other instance over the whole narrative builds tension since it’s not an ordinary description ‘he spoke of the rain in a worried, uncertain way.’ However, despite this pessimism throughout the final chapter, Fitzgerald uses the final line to reference Gatsby one last time and reflect his passionate struggle to realise his dream. ‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’ This metaphor shows that despite Gatsby’s life being full of obstacles ‘current’, nothing stopped him relentlessly trying to achieve what he wanted ‘so we beat on.’ Through this Fitzgerald references the reader and demonstrates the human need to dream and to be challenged and suggests to the reader that despite obstacles and hardship in our own lives ‘tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further’ and ultimately we should never give up until we have secured what we dream of. This ends the novel with a moral message directed specifically towards the reader through the character description of Gatsby, creating a sense of closure in the reader. In ‘The Kite Runner’ Hosseini uses descriptions of how Amir’s ‘mind flashed back’ to his childhood with Hassan and the profound detail of Sohrab in the final chapter, in order to epitomise Amir’s guilt which spawned from ‘a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975’, and which has been the central aspect in the novel. Amir says his ‘hands are stained with Hassan’s blood’ and he prays ‘God doesn’t let them get stained with the blood of his boy too.’ The ‘blood’ is suggestive of Hassan’s rape which is the source of Amir’s guilt and the fact that Amir ‘pray(ed)’ shows how he feels utterly powerless suggesting he is overwhelmed with guilt. Hosseini creates a detailed explanation of ‘Sohrab’s face’, his ‘slanting bamboo-leaf eyes so much like his father’s’, this comparison exemplifies Amir’s guilt over his cowardice and disloyalty towards Hassan which is compelling him to devote himself to his son in repentance. Alternatively this concern over ‘Hassan’s boy’ could reflect Amir’s genuine care and love of his friend and half-brother Hassan, especially since ‘blood’ is mentioned which has been symbolic for the brotherhood between the two characters Amir and Hassan. Hosseini’s description of Amir’s deeply rooted guilt in this final chapter ends the narrative positively since the reader ultimately sympathises with Amir, as his heavy conscience reveals his benevolence towards Hassan and presents him once more as an appealing character. Hosseini also significantly parallels Amir and Hassan in the closing lines of the narrative to suggest that Amir did finally receive redemption for his betrayal of Hassan, this ends the narrative in a light hearted manner composing a positive ending. Hosseini says that Sohrab ‘took hold of the string’ of the kite which symbolises the bond now formed between Amir and Sohrab, since the kites always were an omnipresent symbol for friendship within the novel. Therefore Hosseini suggests that Amir and Hassan have reconciled through Amir’s bondage with Sohrab. The final line of the narrative ‘I ran’ shows how Amir running the kite for Sohrab, mirrors the actions of Hassan, suggesting Amir has at last been redeemed of his disloyalty, because he has changed. He is running for Hassan’s son, the personal pronoun ‘I ran’ shows he is no longer selfish and his superiority demonstrated before has vanished. Similarly, Hosseini suggests Amir finally receives redemption since Soraya ‘had a glimpse of the mother she might have been’ in her eye, ‘had her own womb not betrayed her’ which shows she has finally become a mother and subsequently, Amir a father. This symbolises redemption because Amir’s infertility had been a symbolic punishment for his cowardice towards Assef during Hassan’s rape ‘someone†¦had decided to deny me fatherhood for the things I had done.’ However the fact that now he is able to be a father to Sohrab suggests he no longer needs to be punished. In ‘As I Walked Out One Evening’ Auden uses the ending of the piece to consolidate the overall theme of the power of time, which permeates the poem. Auden describes the setting ‘late in the evening’ in the final stanza of the poem, which contrasts the beginning where the time frame was simply identified as ‘one evening.’ This suggests time has elapsed between the first and last stanza. Then Auden says ‘the lovers they were gone’ which suggests that because of the passage of time their love has ended, ‘gone’ showing love to be fragile against the vast power of time. Furthermore the comparison between ‘the lovers they were gone’ and ‘the deep river ran on’ shows how despite the lovers perishing in time the ‘deep river’ has remained unchanged from the beginning of the poem where it was revealed to be a ‘brimming river’, a synonym for full or ‘deep.’ This rhyme between ‘gone’ and ‘on’ and the parallel description of the river from the beginning shows the ‘lovers’ haven’t impacted upon anything, which presents love as an inexorably insignificant force in life, a key theme within the poem. In ‘O What is That Sound’ Auden uses meaningful absence in order to reflect the uncertainty in the voice of the poem and to create an exciting ending. In the poem Auden describes ‘scarlet soldiers’ en route to the ‘broken lock and splintered door’ where the voice of the poem is residing. Auden uses the final stanza as a climactic moment in which to suggest the soldiers have reached their destination and are about to harm the voice in the poem. The final line the soldiers’ ‘eyes are burning’ has ominous connotations and implies the impending doom of the voice. Similarly the propounding ‘b’ sounds in ‘broken’ and ‘boots’ symbolises the loud movements of the soldiers which reflects their close proximity and subsequently emphasises their threat, creating a tense exciting ending as the reader fears for the fate of the voice. However the ‘b’ sounds could also reflect the aggressiveness of the soldiers and equally show their threatening presence. Auden also rises the threat of the soldiers and tense tone of the poem at the end through the lack of questions presented in the final stanza. In the previous stanzas, two voices were present explicated through repetitive questions and answers, however in the final stanza there is only description of the soldiers ‘turning, turning’ which increases the pace of the poem and reflects the imminent danger since the voice is now all alone, which allows the reader to vicariously experience the situation of the voice in the poem, spawning an exciting ending.

Kathakali make up Essay Example for Free

Kathakali make up Essay Like all performing arts, Kathakali require facial make up. Professional Kathakali make up artists usually classify the make up process for Kathakali characters into five basic sets. These are the Pacha which is reserved for the mythological characters that belong to the hero Dhirodatta; Nala, Yudhishtra, Rukmangada, Arjuna and Bhimsena are just some of the characters who are treated with the Pacha make up. The next one is the Kathi or Katti which means ‘Knife’ and is characterized by the marking on the nose and forehead. Following it is the Kari which is characterized by the make up style that involves the putting of black in the face and red colors on the cheek bone complimented by the elongated black eyes like those found in characters like Ravana, Kamsa and Duryodhana. The Thaadi or Tadi is the one that refers to the beard of characters like Rakshasas and Dussasana (red beard), Vali and Sugriva which are the monkey kings and Kali (black beard), and Minukku. Female characters in Kathakali which are generally good-natured, like the Sages, Sadhus, Brahmins and Rishies, rendered with the Minukku make up, which represents the characters’ traits of spirituality, piousness, restraint, simplicity and equipoise. Make up for Kathakali is difficult, taxing, tedious and elaborate. It is difficult to make and create as it is difficult to remove too. A webindia123. com article on the make up of Kathakali characters notes how ‘it takes about four hours to wear and two to take it off’. The make up artist should be very particular with the colors since it symbolizes the emotions and the ‘gunas’ or their attributes. The make up artist should know when to make the eye appear lotus like and when to apply a square patch of black collyrium to make the character look more frightening. Looking at the performance of the Dryodana-vadham play, a section taken from the Mahabharata and conducted in the classical Kathakali way, a prospective make up artist can see not just the need for the consistency in make-up between characters who needs to appear with similarly shaded faces. In the Dryodana-vadham, two characters are featured in the performance namely Arjuna and Krishna. Both characters are wearing green base make up with white beard and reddish lips. During the play, war has broken out involving members of the same clan and Arjuna, the third of the five Pandava brothers, was the chosen leader. Arjuna is depicted as riding towards battle atop his war chariot. He is accompanied by Krishna who serves as his driver. They stop to look out over the enemy and Arjuna was distressed to see many of his relatives in the enemy chariots. Because of this, he tries to stop the battle. Arjuna is the one wearing the gold and red adorned circular head dress while Krishna is the one wearing the silver-hued head gear. From the dancing of the characters, their elaborate bodily movements and the sometimes severe heat brought about by the spotlight when performing inside a poorly air-conditioned theater, it is clear that the make up should be done perfectly so that it will hold and not melt or disintegrate throughout the performance. A Chouttikkaran can guide a make up artist in putting make up. The Chouttikkaran is tasked with this along with his other tasks since he has an active role in both the training stage and the performing stage. There are several characters in a Kathakali plays and all of them deserves different make-up treatment. There are characters in Kathakali play that portray men who are endowed with positive attitudes like piousness, or Satvik, and majestic, kingly air or Rajasic. For this particular type of character in the play, a make up which is predominantly green is expected. Acting as adversaries to these kinds of men are equally kingly and majestic male characters but is endowed with what is called a ‘tamasic’ characteristic. This means that these characters are those who are possessing evil characteristics in the play, and to be able to distinguish them from the pious, kingly men, those who have evil inclinations in the play like Ravana who is the popular demon king in Kathakali plays are colored with a very dose of red applied over a green background. But the mark of the true evil is found in the Chuvanna Thaadi or the Red Beard, the characters in Kathakali which is adorned by a very heavy red make up along with a red beard. Kathakali plays also features other characters aside from those mentioned earlier. Some other Kathakali characters include the uncivilized hunters Kari/ Karutha Thaadi or the black beard. The required make-up for these characters is usually characterized by a heavy black base complimented by a black beard. Kathakali plays also feature women characters, and for these women characters, the typical predominantly yellow make up on the face is required. For characters like the Monkey God Hanuman and the Sun God Pazhuppe, make up artists decorate the faces of the individuals portraying these characters by using a white beard or Vella Thadi to indicate their roles and characteristics. Aside from the colors of the make up particularly in the face, a Kathakali play also requires its make up artists to be knowledgeable in the enhancements of several facial parts of the different characters which adds depth and personality in every character. Some of the common facial parts that require elaborate exaggeration and enhancement include the moustache and the nose. The teeth are also exaggerated as some characters require appearing bearing fangs protruding from the mouth. The chin is another important aspect of the facial make up and design since the beards of the characters are supremely important in the successful portrayal of innate characteristics of each Kathakali persona. Make up artists craft a chutti or a chine mask for the characters, and this is one aspect of Kathakali make up that requires a very thick application of make up as well as other facial attachments. The usual way for the making and application of the chutti requires the make up artist to create a series of white ridges starting and developing evenly from both parts of the chin until it reaches the cheek. The stress of applying the makeup on the actors takes its toll on both the actors and the make up artists as well. Because of this, the make up artist and the actor / actress are expected to be truly dedicated to the performance of the Kathakali for them to be able to endure such stress. Stress generally results from the fact that first, Kathakali make up is usually long, the quickest procedure finished after three hours. The long work usually strains the muscles involved in the delicate and precise application of the make up. Some artists experience strain in the muscles found in the eyes, the lower back and the arms. The eyes are strained because for hours, the eyes are generally focused on the detail of the make up on the face as it develops. Actors are usually lying on a sleeping position, making it impossible for make up artists to sit down while providing the make up. They instead spend the entire time putting the make up on the character standing up and moving around as they decorate the face from one side to the other, straining the back. Make up artists are usually expected to be ambidextrous, meaning they can use both hands with equal results. This is important in applying make up especially if the process takes a long period of time like in Kathakali since this allows for the other arm to rest. Using just one arm in applying the make up can tire the make up artist faster. Another reason for the build up of stress is the need to combat fatigue. Fighting off tiredness and fatigue especially during the long and tedious hours of putting make up for Kathakali characters so that the focus on detail and make up aesthetics is constant can build up stress since the body is not relaxed anymore. Five main colors are very noticeable in Kathakali character’s make up, and these colors are designated because they represent the characters’ ethos. Green is the representation of the character’s ‘Sattivika’ nature, or the characteristic of the character to be pious and god-fearing. Red is the representation of the character’s ‘Rajasic’ nature, which refers to the disposition of being violent and totally ambitious. The ‘Tamasic’ nature is represented with the use of the color black, which is commonly used to refer to persons with evil personalities, although this is not always the case since sometimes it is also the color used to represent characters in the Kathakali which are aborigines as well as off-beat characters. Example of which is the character Kirata, who is actually Siva disguised as hunter. Yellow is the representation of the passivity of the characters, which is why it is commonly found in women characters in Kathakali. Yellow is also the similar coloring of other characters in the story like Narasimha, the Lion-God, the yellow hue used for the make up of the character representing adbhuta or wonder. White is the representation of the spirituality of the character. White is the basic make up of Hanuman and other half-human gods in the Kathakali which are characterized as benign sometimes and ferocious in other times. The make up in Kathakali plays is characterized by the use of vibrant and wide range of colors, and this is because colors in the face of the characters are generally symbolic as these colors indicate who they are and what the characters’ particular characteristics are. These colors indicate whether they are male (the use of pacha or green color in the face) or female (for female, the face make-up is usually that of yellowish tone, but aside from the yellow hue, female characters also wear black and red make up colors on their face, including the character Surpanaka of the Ashuras), human or god (god characters are assigned with the white beard) and good or evil (like the use of the red color in the face of Ravana and the and the uncivilized hunters who are considered as evil in the play).

IKEA SWOT and Competitive Analysis

IKEA SWOT and Competitive Analysis (S)trengths Strength includes characteristics within the organization that adds value to the business and resulting in the ultimate success of organization. These factors are usually cited as skilled management, manufacturing facilities available and good profit product line available in business. (Finlay, 2000) IKEA has strong internationally brand name recognition. IKEAs branding attracts the major demographic customers. Business model of IKEA is unique in its construction as it has no direct competitions on like for like basis. IKEAs products offer values to customer by delivering low price and innovative products. IKEA carries degree of specialist skills and knowledge within key production areas. (Edvardsson Enquist, 2009; Lewis, 2005; Torekull Kamprad, 1999) (W)eaknesses Weaknesses address the internal factors within the business. Those factors that prevent the achievement of successful projects are mainly barriers in communication channels, insufficient resources and conflicts between departments. (Finlay, 2000) IKEA promotes the low pricing model but services to customers are not satisfactory. Retention of customer focuses that customers should be happy fully with the business services. To repeat business with the same customer base IKEA has to work out on its services that are given to customers. Practices of ecommerce have become necessary for businesses to compete with modern technological world. IKEA needs to adopt such practices for the efficiency of its business. (Ikea, 1995; Levine, 2007) (O)pportunities Opportunity factor in SWOT analysis deals with the external elements that will help the business in the completion of successful projects. Strong network of vendors, healthy relationships with suppliers and prevailing good market conditions these all add values to the project. (Finlay, 2000) Opportunity available to IKEA is growing demand for green products and growing demand for low price products by the customers. Due to liquidity crunch and high inflation demand for low price products is increasing. IKEA is moving towards the global status because of the development of Eastern and European models. (Edvardsson Enquist, 2009; Lewis, 2005; Torekull Kamprad, 1999) (T)hreats Final factor of SWOT analysis is threat. Threat represents the external factors that can threaten the success of project. Threat is the negative public image towards business, week vendor relationship, inadequate resources and unavailability of market for the final product. (Finlay, 2000) Various competitors are entering in market and offering the low cost household and furniture products and causing the threat to IKEAs business. Due to recession in economy, trend of consumers spending and disposal of income has reduced. First time buying pattern by consumers is also threat as consumers spend less when they enter in the market. (Ikea, 1995; Levine, 2007) Context and Key issues Wal-Mart is indirect competitor of IKEA. Wal-Mart runs a chain of large stores whereas IKEA deals only with the home furnishing. Wal-Mart offers extensive products and home furnishing is from one of its product lines. Wal-Mart is biggest public company while IKEA is private company. Wal-Mart has world recognized retail brands as IKEAs. IKEA has no direct competitors but Wal-Mart has to compete with the direct competitors also. IKEA focuses on the low priced product strategy which will affect Wal-Mart as more customers are moving towards IKEA for home furnishing. Wal-Mart strategy is focused on human resource management and development and IKEA strategy gives emphasize to low price products to customer. Services given to customers by IKEA are not up to the mark. Wal-Mart can grab customers form IKEA by focusing on the services and by giving values to customer. Retention of customer is possible when their desires are fulfilled along with these desires customer demands good services from the company. Those companies that are providing good customer service are becoming successful. Wal-Mart by using the information technology to assist its logistic systems can precede the IKEA. Information technology can become the core competence of Wal-Mart and by using this core competency Wal-Mart can excel IKEA. (Lewis, 2005; Maon et al., 2007; Tong Tong, 2006) IKEA can compete vigorously with Wal-Mart by fulfilling the demand of customers. Demands for greener products, demands for low priced products and demand from low carbon footprints are increasingly. IKEA by serving these demands can gain the opportunity to become successful and strong competitor of Wal-Mart in home furnishing product line. IKEA by developing the Eastern and European models can increase its market shares and Wal-Mart profitability can decline. By providing customer with low priced products IKEA can attract the customer in this economic recession period where customers are not spending their income. By offering the low priced products to the customer Wal-Mart can do extremely well with IKEA. Due to inflation and down trend in the buying pattern of customers this strategy can gain success to the company. To overcome the threat of low buying pattern of consumer Wal-Mart can take better measures than IKEA as Wal-Mart is running huge retail business than IKEA. IKEA is providing only home furnishing products. It has more skills and knowledge as it is dealing only with this product line and also IKEA is providing innovative and less price products. IKEA strengths have increased from Wal-Mart in home furnishing products because it is focusing only on this product line. (Lewis, 2005; Maon et al., 2007; Tong Tong, 2006) Conclusion IKEA and Wal-Mart differ in number of ways. For the constructive comparison market segmentation and target market for both IKEA and Wal-Mart has to be considered. Target market of IKEA is only consumers of home furnishing while Wal-Mart deals with huge target market. Influence of IKEA on Wal-Mart is less because Wal-Mart is running huge industry. Market segmentation of Wal-Mart is different from IKEA like Wal-Mart focuses on different demographic segmentation, Psychographics and life style segmentation and behavioural segmentation. Target market of IKEA is different as it is only providing products to consumers who are keen in home furnishing whereas home furnishing is only the niche of Wal-Mart. Strategies of IKEA and Wal-Mart are also dissimilar. IKEA focuses on the low priced and innovative products to customer whereas Wal-Mart focuses on the human management and development of human skills. IKEA has no direct competitors so it does not directly influence other businesses through its strengths and weaknesses. Healthy competition is always done on one to one basis. Weakness of IKEA is also that it has no direct competitor. Presence of direct competitor boosts the company performance. References Edvardsson, B. Enquist, B. 2009, Values-based service for sustainable business : lessons from IKEA, Routledge, London; New York. Finlay, P. 2000, Strategic management : an introduction to business and corporate level strategy, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow. Ikea, A. S. 1995, Democratic design : a book about form, function and pricethe 3 dimensions at IKEA, IKEA, Almhult, Sweden. Levine, J. 2007, Forbes Life Billionaires Ikea, Forbes., pp. 328-. Lewis, E. 2005, Great Ikea! : a brand for all the people, Great brand stories, Cyan, London. Maon, F., Swaen, V., Lindgreen, A. University of Hull. Business, S. 2007, Corporate social responsibility at IKEA : commitment and communication, Hull University Business School, [S.l.]. Tong, C. H. Tong, L. I. 2006, Exploring the Conerstones of Walmarts Succes and Competitiveness, Competitiveness review : CR., 16 (2), pp. 143-9. Torekull, B. Kamprad, I. 1999, Leading by design : the IKEA story, HarperBusiness, New York.

Anthropology and Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God and

Anthropology and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jonah's Gourd Vine Zora Neale Hurston described the study of anthropology as a spy-glass, an illuminating lens (1). Anthropology is defined as the scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans (2). Through this study and with the aid of an essay defining human nature written by Cardinal Jean Daniello, we can take a closer look at the behavior of the characters in Hurston's novels Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jonah's Gourd Vine. Hurston uses her anthropological lens to create complex characters in these two works. Hurston began her study of anthropology at Barnard College in the 1920s where she concentrated on African American culture and folklore. Hurston became the first African American to chronicle African American voodoo and folklore (1). The publications Mules and Men and Tell My Horse are works that directly incorporate her anthropological field notes on Black folklore and tradition (1). Hurston’s background with anthropology was the foundation for her future fiction writings. The title of her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, reflects Hurston’s passion for storytelling and folklore because it is inspired by a biblical story. The story tells of Jonah, who has a beautiful plant growing around him. However, God destroys it because Jonah does not appreciate it and it leads to his fall. Therefore, the story becomes a metaphor for the fall of John Pearson. In the novel, Hurston utilizes the personal experiences with her family to create complex characters in the story. It centers on John Pearson, a man who lusts after many women. John’s desire for women at times appe... ... imply the fixity" that some people want it to. John's behavior is not a product of human nature. What is natural is not an excuse for a person's wrong-doing. No characters in these novels share the same imperfections. Everyone is flawed, but there is still control. Under Hurston's anthropological lens, one can better understand her complex characters and their motivations in these stories. Works Cited 1) American Feminist for Anthropology. "Zora Neale Hurston." April 10, 2005. http://sscl.berkeley.edu/~afaweb/Hurston%20Bio.htm. 2) www.dictionary.com 3) Danielou, Cardinal Jean. "Does Human Nature Exist?" April 10, 2005. http://www.ewtn.com/library/THEOLOGY/NATEXIST.htm 4) Hurston, Zora Neale. Jonah's Gourd Vine. HarperCollins Publisher: New York, 1990. 5) Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. HarperCollins Publisher: New York. 1998.

Rainbow Boys Essay -- essays research papers fc

The question of sexual identity is asked to many professional athletes when they are first diagnosed with HIV or tested positive for the AIDS virus. Magic Johnson is a five time championship winner with the Los Angeles Lakers, awarded MVP three times, and played amongst the first nine Olympic All-Star teams (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame). Despite these great achievements in his life, his contact with the HIV virus caused him to face much discrimination. Although Johnson’s source of the virus has been unknown, many people have â€Å"misconceptions of AIDS as an exclusively gay disease† and thought that Magic was homosexual because of his positive test (Stewart). During an interview with Arsenio Hall, immediately after admitting his infection, Magic was asked about his sexuality. In response to this question Magic responded that he was â€Å"far from being homosexual† (Stewart). Magic Johnson’s acknowledgment to contacting the virus lead many a ctivist to feel that his â€Å"disavowal of homosexual activity put a barrier between gay people with AIDS and everyone else, reinforcing the stereotype that gays ‘brought it on themselves’† (Kantrowitz). This idea that gays brought it on to themselves reinforces the discrimination that HIV positive and AIDS people face throughout their lives. The misconception that leads people to discriminate against HIV positive individuals assumes that all people who are infected are homosexual and causes one to lose his or her identity. Due to his pop...

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman :: essays research papers

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† explores the restricted societal roles of both Jane and John. Gilman, a strong supporter of women’s rights, focuses on her account with depression through this story (Hill 150). Traditionally, the man must take care of the woman both financially and emotionally while the woman’s role remains at home. Society tends to trap man and woman and prevent them from developing emotionally and intellectually. Although Gilman focuses on the hardships of the woman, she also examines the role of the man in society. Repression generated by social gender roles hinders men and women from acquiring self-individuation. The repression of Jane ties into her lack of exposure to emotional and intellectual stimulus. Jane’s feminine emotions towards her environment aid in her restraint. Representing the dominance of masculinity over the restrained female, Jane observes the female figure, who looks as if she is behind bars, in the pattern of the wallpaper (1156). The woman who unsuccessfully attempts to climb out of the pattern symbolizes Jane’s frivolity in trying to alter feminine societal roles (1158). Significantly, the maternal instincts of Jane remain enslaved due to her surroundings. The nursery, containing windows â€Å"barred for little children,† represents the suppression of Jane’s motherly duties (1150). Jane is unable to take care of her own baby. The garden which Jane can view through her barred windows, stands for her fertility which she is incapable of obtaining (1149). Intentionally, Jane’s intellectual prowess remains held back. Beginning to â€Å"writ e for a while† in a journal against the wishes of those around her, represents the suppression of Jane’s attempt at creative stimulus (1149). The yellow wallpaper hinders Jane’s recovery in that it confuses her whenever she attempts to decipher its’ meaning (1151). John’s repression results from the absence of his feminine side. Spirituality, a part of the human psyche of which John lacks, accounts for his repression. Jane feels that John â€Å"has no patience with faith,† justifying his stubborn behavior and the detraction of his masculinity (1148). An ideal attribute for one attempting to obtain self-individuation is a concern for faith, which is not present in John (1148). John’s scarcity of feminine emotions accounts for his repression. John shows no understanding of Jane’s need for an intellectual stimulus, signifying his lack of intuition (1150). For John, everything must be â€Å"put down in figures† (1148) in order for him to make sense out of anything, illustrating his stronghold on the stereotypically obstinate man (1155).

Deception & Ethics in Mediation

One of the basic tenets of the mediation process is that, as far as possible, everything that is said is truthful. Under this assumption, the mediation process will be an attempt to resolve two different views of the truth. However, what happens when there is intent to deceive on the part of one of the participants, or worse yet on the part of the mediator? This is a complex issue that cannot be determined solely by considering the foundations of ethics or of the practice of mediation. Instead, the issue must be understood from a dual perspective of the ethical appropriateness of deception and its potential usefulness within mediation. Ethically, there can be no question – neither a Kantian nor a utilitarian ethical approach allow for the use of commonplace lies in mediation. However, from the perspective of human relationships, it must be accounted for that people do deceive, and that it is part of our communications and social fabric. Thus, there is a dual ethical position for deception in the mediation process – while morally it is wrong, pragmatically it is commonly used and may be useful for helping negotiating parties to come to a decision. In order to clearly understand this argument, it is important to understand what deception is. A naive understanding of deception is that it is simply lying, which is certainly included. However, there are a number of other elements of deception, as well. One formal definition of deception that could be used is â€Å"a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief that the communicator considers to be untrue in order to increase the communicator’s payoff at the expense of the other side (Gneezy 386). This definition is useful because it includes a number of key characteristics for understanding deception. First, it is deliberate – that is, the deceiver is not simply misinformed or lacking in information. Second, is an attempt to create a belief in the other person; without this intent, it is difficult to say whether something is truly an expanse at deception. Third, it is an attempt to influence the outcomes of the decision, rather than simply being for no purpose or for some other purpose. Finally, the attempt at deception may be either successful or unsuccessful, and thus even if the negotiation partner figures out what information is being withheld, it is still incorrect. This definition can be extended by common knowledge examples of deception, such as lying actively; lying by omission; and manipulation of data and statistics. Krivis (1) identified a spectrum of deceptive practices that can be further used to understand this concept, including: â€Å"Honesty, Exaggeration, White lies, Partial Disclosure, Silence As to Other Party’s Mistake, False Excuses, [and] Fraud. These types of deception are of course not mutually exclusive, but may be seen in combination with each other. Also, as Krivis (1) noted, many of these behaviors are common within our society and do not even pose a significant moral quandary for the majority of those that undertake them. There are also distinct philosophical approaches to deception that address the ethical approaches and considerations. The two main ethical approaches to deception can be characterized as Kantian, or virtue-based, and utilitarian. In the Kantian view, lying is always wrong, because it violates the moral imperative (Alexander and Sherwin 396-397). That is, â€Å"lying is an offense to all humanity, and, most importantly, to the liar himself (Alexander and Sherwin 397)† because it promotes falsehood and uses the liar’s intellect in a debased manner. The utilitarian view is not as absolute, but it still does not cede that lying is an acceptable moral choice most of the time (Alexander and Sherwin 398). Specifically, the potential gain from the lie must be greater than the harm caused to society from the lie in order to be morally defensible. However, given that lies â€Å"degrade the background trust that supports human interaction (Alexander and Sherwin 398),† this is a very high bar for the benefits of lying to overcome its consequences, even under the utilitarian ethical structure. Thus, it is clear from a pure ethical analysis that the use of deception in negotiation is wrong. However, it should be noted â€Å"professional rules of ethics simply require negotiators to abide by the morality of the marketplace, rather than the rules of law (Krivis 3). † Thus, neither a strictly legalistic nor a strictly legalistic approach to deception is demanded. It should be noted that not all fields of study take an ethical approach to deception, but sometimes use a more pragmatic approach. For example, in classical economics deception is often seen as an attempt to increase the payout from n economic transaction, in which individuals will engage if the incentive is high enough to do so (Gneezy 384). This approach could best be described as a utilitarian or consequentialist approach, in which what is most important is the outcome, rather than the intent of the lie (Gneezy 384). This approach is similar to many such approaches used in mediation analysis, in which rather than taking a normative view regarding what people should do, theoretical and pragmatic approaches to deception deal with what people do – that is, they use deception routinely (Krivis 1). The use of deception is highly context-dependent and may not always occur, but it should always be considered in the range of possibilities for how a negotiation will occur (Krivis 2). The question of whether deception is ethical in a mediation context should be asked not only within the context of a philosophical framework that is applied generally, but also within the framework of mediation itself. Given the nature of mediation, it is natural that considerable research has been done into the area of deception and its effects. There is no question that deception is a commonly used tactic in mediation, and that it works. One study compared the uses of deception in negotiating dyads, comparing its use in competitive and less competitive negotiation frames (Schweitzer, DeChurch and Gibson 2123). The researchers found that competitive negotiators, or those that engaged in highly aggressive tactics intended to promote their own point of view, used both deceptive and non-deceptive negotiating tactics in order to achieve their goals. In particular, they were found to use deception both more aggressively and to a greater degree than cooperative negotiators (Schweitzer, DeChurch and Gibson 2137). Thus, this cannot be questioned. However, this finding does not make a clear statement regarding why this would be undesirable; there is nothing inherently wrong with one side or another prevailing in a mediation discussion, and so the evidence against deception must be stronger than it simply being a path to winning a negotiation. This evidence can be found in the effects of the deceptive behavior on perceptions and outcomes also found by this study. The study found evidence that the use of deception influenced the other party’s beliefs about the negotiating situation, leading to an estimation of the deceiver’s situation that was significantly different from reality (Schweitzer, DeChurch and Gibson 2137-38). Significantly, the researchers found that even though the negotiators paired with a competitive negotiator were disbelieving regarding the claims made, they still were not able to determine what the actual situation of the negotiation was. Finally, the use of deception on the part of one negotiator resulted in a less positive outcome for the other participant. Specifically, it resulted in a change in the ultimate decision of the non-deceiving negotiator, a transfer in the surplus received from the non-deceiving negotiator to the deceiving negotiator, and an increase in the amount of profit received by deceivers as compared to those that did not use a deceptive strategy (Schweitzer, DeChurch and Gibson 2139). This clearly demonstrates the shift in value that is seen in cases where mediation and negotiation is accompanied by deception. While one party has benefited, the other party, which has been exposed to deception without warning beforehand, has been harmed. Thus, there is a distinctly negative outcome that can be seen from the use of negotiation in this context. There are certainly problems in implementing an ethical prohibition against lying in the mediation context. This is not unique to mediation, however. In the legal context, deception is not treated as strictly as it could be. It is generally considered under a utilitarian ethic, rather than a Kantian ethic (Alexander and Sherwin 394); that is, there may be considered to be some justification for lying if the greater number of people is served. However, as Alexander and Sherwin (394) noted, the penalties for lying in a legal context are not commonly as strict as those that would be promoted by a pure utilitarian philosophy. Although there are a number of potential reasons for this, such as the cost and infeasibility of enforcement, Alexander and Sherwin (394) posited that this might also be because of the recognition that lying may at times be beneficial in a legal context. However, this does not mean that in an ethical sense, this position has to be accepted in mediation. In fact, if it is accepted that one of the purposes of mediation is to come to effective solutions without involvement of the legal system, and then this calls for a noticeably different approach to the use of deception. However, the legal approach to deception is actually highly relevant to mediation, because of the frequent use of lawyers by parties in the mediation process. As Krivis (2) notes, there are a number of specific approaches that lawyers use in order to achieve their negotiation goals, although these approaches need to be carefully managed in order not to venture into fraud. Some of the potential deceptions that may be found in this context include exaggeration (for example, exaggerating the strength of the case); being deceptive about intent to settle; and inflating the settlement expectation in order to achieve a better outcome (Krivis 2). It is clear that currently mediation practices and ethics do not prohibit the use of deception, as long as it does not venture into specific areas such as fraud. However, should this be prohibited? Evidence discussed above indicates that deception can be used to unfairly rich one party at the expense of another, offering one reason why this should be the case. Another reason for a stronger prohibition against deception is the cross-professional nature of many mediators, who also play roles as lawyers, social workers, and other professions (Laflin 479). Given that these professions have vastly different ethical standards and practices, it would be to the benefit of the mediation profession to have a specific set of ethical expectations that could be promoted. Laflin (480) notes that lawyer-mediators may have particular difficulty with the ethical concerns inherent in mediation, given the relative focus on adversarial rather than cooperative outcomes. The implementation of stronger prohibition against deception would certainly be one way in which the norms of mediation, rather than the norms of courtroom argumentation, could be enforced. However, this does raise the question of how this prohibition against deception could be implemented and enforced. Given the relatively accepted nature of deception in many of its more subtle forms, it would be difficult to determine how this could be implement with any great degree of success. Deception, commonly understood as lying, can be understood as a range of more subtle behaviors that reflect a range of potential manipulations of implementation. Deception is commonly accepted from an economic point of view and routinely engaged in, even though using a strict ethical evaluation it cannot be defended except under very severe circumstances. However, the mediation environment must deal not only with the philosophical question of correctness, but in the outcomes of mediation and the effects that are seen from deception. Research has shown that the use of deception in negotiation leads to a transfer of surplus from the non-deceptive party to the deceptive party, which provides a clear rationale for why, under a pragmatic viewpoint, deception would also be a negative activity. However, in practice deception is commonly accepted both within the legal system and within mediation practices, as long as this deception does not venture into fraud. There are a number of potential reasons for this, including the acceptability of deceptive practices such as exaggeration and white lies within the wider society and the requirement that lawyers should protect the interests of their client. There is certainly justification for reform of mediation norms and ethics in order to prevent the use of deception. However, given the difficulty that is involved in detecting fraud, this may be a very difficult reform to make. Deception is not acceptable in every situation. Deception in negotiation can provide a bargaining advantage. Deception in negotiation can also come at a cost.