Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Free Essays on Tragedy Of Macbeth
ââ¬Å"The Tragedy of Macbethâ⬠In Shakespeareââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Macbethâ⬠, many things go wrong that lead up to such a great tragedy. Macbeth was persuaded to make many wrong decisions and was said to be seduced by the devil. Because of his change of character from good to evil, Macbethââ¬â¢s attitude towards other characters is significantly affected. The character in a perfect tragedy should be of high status. This is true of Macbeth because throughout the length of the play his status never drops because he ascends from being Thane of Glamis to Thane of Cawdor and finally, to King of Scotland. Macbeth is very ambitious, courageous, and a moral coward: all these things lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. Through the development of this tragedy, Macbeth has turned from a fine-natured person to an evil person. The witches predictions of Macbeth are what led up to Macbethââ¬â¢s tragedy. If Macbeth would have never ran into the witches who told him of his future, he would have never thought to be king. His evil side was established after he knew he was going to be king, and he didnââ¬â¢t have patience, he had to kill everyone in his way to the throne. His ambition and strong belief in witches had brought him to a tragic end of his life, and caused many people to lose their lives. Macbethââ¬â¢s ambition defeated his good nature. Macbeth wanted to ensure that he would reach his ambition without problems. Itââ¬â¢s fine that Macbeth knew he was going to be king, but the way he chose to get to the throne was the wrong way. He let the fact of becoming king get in his way and change his life for the worse. Macbethââ¬â¢s life would have been much happier if he let what was said to happen just happen how it was supposed to. He would have lived a much happier life and not a life filled with regret and guilt. All of Macbethââ¬â¢s actions of getting to the throne backfired on him and led to his downfall. Macbeth would have never guessed that Macduff wou... Free Essays on Tragedy Of Macbeth Free Essays on Tragedy Of Macbeth ââ¬Å"The Tragedy of Macbethâ⬠In Shakespeareââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Macbethâ⬠, many things go wrong that lead up to such a great tragedy. Macbeth was persuaded to make many wrong decisions and was said to be seduced by the devil. Because of his change of character from good to evil, Macbethââ¬â¢s attitude towards other characters is significantly affected. The character in a perfect tragedy should be of high status. This is true of Macbeth because throughout the length of the play his status never drops because he ascends from being Thane of Glamis to Thane of Cawdor and finally, to King of Scotland. Macbeth is very ambitious, courageous, and a moral coward: all these things lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. Through the development of this tragedy, Macbeth has turned from a fine-natured person to an evil person. The witches predictions of Macbeth are what led up to Macbethââ¬â¢s tragedy. If Macbeth would have never ran into the witches who told him of his future, he would have never thought to be king. His evil side was established after he knew he was going to be king, and he didnââ¬â¢t have patience, he had to kill everyone in his way to the throne. His ambition and strong belief in witches had brought him to a tragic end of his life, and caused many people to lose their lives. Macbethââ¬â¢s ambition defeated his good nature. Macbeth wanted to ensure that he would reach his ambition without problems. Itââ¬â¢s fine that Macbeth knew he was going to be king, but the way he chose to get to the throne was the wrong way. He let the fact of becoming king get in his way and change his life for the worse. Macbethââ¬â¢s life would have been much happier if he let what was said to happen just happen how it was supposed to. He would have lived a much happier life and not a life filled with regret and guilt. All of Macbethââ¬â¢s actions of getting to the throne backfired on him and led to his downfall. Macbeth would have never guessed that Macduff wou...
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Film assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Film assignment - Essay Example In analyzing the role of Songlian, the film uses her character to depict the role of women in the traditional Chinese tradition. Songlian is placed in a homestead which houses mistresses (Yimou, 1991). The house is owned by Master Chen who has four mistresses. Songlian is the fourth mistress. Her arrival in the house was well prepared for as she was pampered. However, this was not the case of all mistresses in the house. Each mistress was pampered upon request by the master (Yimou, 1991). For this reason, there was competition on the mistress who could capture attention of the master. As a woman, Songlian was subjected to discrimination. Firstly, her marriage to Master Chen was the only way that she could be accepted in the society. A married woman could be more respected than a woman who could not. This argument could be justified by the fact that Songlian and other mistresses were content with their position. However, this exposed them to dangers and risky moments. For instance, Songlian is punished for lying about her pregnancy. At the end of the film, she is almost going mad due to her tribulations under Master Chen (Yimou, 1991). One may point out that marriage in form of ownership was responsible for the poor life led by Songlian. Songlian was also from a poor background which made her more vulnerable. From her familyââ¬â¢s perspective, her marriage to Master Chen was the only hope for the family. In addition, her family could not be able to protect her vulnerability in the hand of Master Chen due to their class differences. For this reason, Songlian was required to sublimit and be respectful to her husband regardless of her living conditions. Her dowry payment gave her husband the right to control her life completely. From the film, it is an obvious assumption that the Songlianââ¬â¢s gender and social class made her very vulnerable. In addition, the traditional Chinese culture did not provide much hope for women. The culture had mandatory requirements from
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Military Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Military Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy - Essay Example This policy is unfair and unethical because there is no proof that gays cannot serve well in the military. When we think about the issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, it becomes clear that this is not just a homosexual issue. Instead, it is an issue about discrimination against people who have served the military well. A Short History of Gays in the Military Gays have been recorded as being part of the military as far back as Plato and the Greeks. They understand the value of having gays in the military. Although Plato's time accepted gays in the military, there were problems as time went on with each war. As far back as the Crusades, gays were persecuted when they were found to have same-sex affairs during the 14th Century. In 1816, during the Napoleonic Wars more gays were persecuted, hanged and whipped if they were found to have same-sex affairs (Webley, 2010). By 1778, George Washington discharged a soldier from his military command and by 1916, the U.S. Military prohibited homosexua lity in the Articles of War. There were many ways to screen out gays from the military throughout the years, and by the Vietnam War, homosexuality was seen by some as a way to get out of military service, especially during this war which was difficult for everyone to understand. However, one man, Perry Watkins, was discharged from the military after 16 years of service because he was a homosexual in 1984; he sued the military and won the case in 1990 (Webley, 2010). This short history shows that gays and lesbians have been serving in the military for probably every war that has ever been fought, and there has always been a concentration on whether they should be open or closeted while they were serving. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy In 1993, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was enacted to stop people who were homosexual from talking about their lifestyle or from practicing homosexuality while in the military. The reason this was enacted was because the military believed that if i t were allowed, it would "create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability" (Burrelli, 2010, Summary). This was not a law, but rather a policy that was in place to make sure that service members did not talk about their sexual orientation and that they were not asked about it when they entered the service or as they continued. In other words, homosexual service members were to keep quiet about who they were and how they lived in order to serve next to heterosexual service members. In 2010, the act was repealed as unconstitutional and the military was ordered to stop enforcing it. It is the opinion of this researcher that this was the right thing to do because everyone should have the opportunity to serve in the military regardless of their sexual orientation. When this policy was put into place, thousands of military members had to leave the military based on their sexual orientatio n or live a lie in order to serve as those who were not homosexual served (Obama, 2011). In having this policy in place, it made many men and women have to hid who they were which made them feel isolated and afraid. President Obama acknowledged that this was another sacrifice that these men and women had to do that was not fair to them. The repeal of this policy will not happen quickly because the
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Rethinking Court Decisions on Middle-Income Mothers and Its Effects on Research Paper
Rethinking Court Decisions on Middle-Income Mothers and Its Effects on Their Children - Research Paper Example As children grow old, the society gives them jobs classifying them into their respective gender, either male or female (Ruether 647). Over time, people have accepted that the role of the women in the home, apart from giving birth, encompasses taking care of the homestead their children and the husband (Philbrick and Margaret 618). Being responsible for giving birth, automatically, the women assume the role of caregiving and nursing of the baby. They breastfeed, cook for the child, wash and even train them basic things such as talking and walking (Laxmi 95). Traditionally, men hold the responsibility of providing for their families. This role thus keeps men away from their families and their children most of the time. They are mostly busy at work or doing business in order to provide for their families. Currently, the world changes in a dynamic way. Subsequently, there is an increase in the family needs. With the cost living rising constantly, men are obliged to stay away more from th an ever. They thus leave their homes with their wives, who have to be around for the sake of the kids (Laxmi 95). Only recently, thanks to the gender equalization and sensitization campaign in the society, changes occur in these roles. Women now hold bigger roles than before. Proponents of gender equalization argue that women and men should hold equal roles in the society. While this is possible literary, practically, it is impossible. Men still hold the role of paying the hefty bills in the home, such school fees. This burden grows even bigger for the middle-income families, most of who live in urban areas. Coupled with rent and other necessities in towns and cities, the burden grows bigger. Except in some unique cases, men... Rethinking Court Decisions on Middle-Income Mothers and Its Effects on Their Children In a family setting, mothers hold the biggest responsibility, especially in taking care of their homes. This role, naturally assigned to them from the very birth of the child, requires their presence, providing their children with attention at all times. Middle-income women have even a bigger responsibility, contributing to the family financial needs and taking care of their families. With all these responsibilities, women hold a very important role in the family. In court cases, judges and jury pass judgement according to the arguments presented by the advocates. Women involved in any case, whether rightfully or wrongfully convicted attract the suffering to the family. If a woman, holding the responsibility of taking care of the home, while at the same time contributing financially to the running of the home goes behind bars, children suffer and as such, there is the need to rethinking court decisions on middle-income mothers and its effects on their children. There is no point of causing suffering to a bigger group of people in order to punish a single person. This is like creating a bigger problem while struggling to solve a small problem. Reconsidering these judgements means seeking for alternative ways of punishing these women, rather than putting them behind bars. House jail could be an option as well as community service and hard labour. Where unavoidable, visiting the family on regular basis is important.
Friday, November 15, 2019
The merging of Colgate and Palmolive
The merging of Colgate and Palmolive COMPANY BACKGROUND Colgate-Palmolive Company CP is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products (including toothpaste and toothbrushes). Under its Hills brand, it is also a manufacturer of veterinary products. History In 1806, William Colgate, himself a soap and candle maker, opened up a starch, soap, and candle factory on Dutch Street in New York City under the name of William Colgate Company. In the 1840s, the firm began selling individual bars in uniform weights. In 1857, William Colgate died and the company was reorganized as Colgate Company under the management of Samuel Colgate, his son. In 1872, Colgate introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap. In 1873, the firm introduced its first toothpaste, aromatic toothpaste sold in jars. His company sold the first toothpaste in a tube, Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream, in 1896. By 1908 they initiated mass selling of toothpaste in tubes. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the B.J. Johnson Company was making a soap entirely of palm and olive oil, the formula of which was developed by B.J. Johnson in 1898. The soap was popular enough to rename their company after it Palmolive. At the turn of the century Palmolive, which contained both palm and olive oils, was the worlds best-selling soap. A Kansas based soap manufacturer known as the Peet Brothers merged with Palmolive to become Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet bought the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953 Peet was dropped from the title, leaving only Colgate-Palmolive Company, the current name. Colgate-Palmolive has long been in fierce competition with Procter Gamble, the worlds largest soap and detergent maker. PG introduced its Tide laundry detergent shortly after World War II, and thousands of consumers turned from Colgates soaps to the new product. Colgate lost its number one place in the toothpaste market when PG started putting fluoride in its toothpaste. In the beginning of television, Colgate-Palmolive wished to compete with Procter Gamble as a sponsor of soap operas. Although the company sponsored many shows in part, they were most famous for being the full sponsor of the serial The Doctors. George Henry Lesch was president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1960s and 1970s, and during that time transformed it into a modern company with major restructuring. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of Toms of Maine, a leading maker of natural toothpaste, for US $100M. Toms of Maine was founded by Tom Chappell in 1970. Today, Colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200 countries, but it is publicly listed in only two, the United States and India. In June 2007, phony Colgate toothpaste imported from China was found to be contaminated with diethylene glycol, and several people in eastern U.S. reported experiencing headaches and pain after using the product. The tainted products can be identified by the claim to be manufactured in South Africa by Colgate-Palmolive South Africa LTD, they are 5oz/100ml tubes (a size which Colgate does not sell in the United States) and the tubes/packaging contains numerous misspellings on their labels. Colgate-Palmolive claims that they do not import their products from South Africa into the United States or Canada and that DEG is never and was never used in any of their products anywhere in the world. The counterfeit products were found in smaller mom and pop stores, dollar stores and discount stores in at least four states. Colgate people around the world have built a reputation as a successful company with the highest ethical standards. Through living our values of Caring, Global Teamwork, and Continuous Improvement, and adhering to the highest principles of integrity, honor, and concern for the environment and others, we seek to: Provide safe and quality products of value to consumers Increase shareholder value Offer opportunities for personal and professional growth to all Colgate people Fulfill our corporate social responsibilities as a member of the global community Factors affecting the Business: Government Factors: Government does not have much influence on the FMCG industry in terms of regulations. There are consumer protection laws but they are not implemented as they should be. There are not much regulations involved in this industry. Only the companies which are listed on the stock exchange have to follow the regulations under the Companies Ordinance 1984. So the new entrants Political factors: Political factors are influencing this industry because the recent and order conditions have affected the whole economy which in turn affected the industry. Many of the factories of the big companies were burnt after the assassination of Benazir. Economic factors: The overall economy of the country is showing a stable growth. Therefore this industry is also showing a growth of 10%. But the inflation is growing rapidly which is not a good sign for the new entrants. Change in the interest rate also affects the industry. Hence the new entrants are also threatened by the increasing interest rates. Social trends: The social trends are in favor of this industry. Mass awareness is created through media. So people are shifting from their traditional methods of washing clothes, skin care etc to the modern methods. This is a good sign for the new entrants. People have become more educated and health conscious. High population growth is another opportunity for the new entrants. Technological change: The technology can support this industry well. If the whole system can be automated from the import of raw material to the finished goods then it would save time and money. This is a good sign for the new entrants. But in this industry technology does not play a major role because the traditional formulae of soap or toothpaste are not that much complicated INTRODUCTION Effective management is the key to the establishment and growth of the business. The key to successful management is to examine the marketplace environment and create employment and profit opportunities that provide the potential growth and financial viability of the business. Despite the importance of management, this area is often misunderstood and poorly implemented, primarily because people focus on the output rather than the process of management. Toward the end of the 1980s, business managers became absorbed in improving product quality, sometimes ignoring their role vis-a-vis personnel. The focus was on reducing costs and increasing output, while ignoring the long-term benefits of motivating personnel. This shortsighted view tended to increase profits in the short term, but created a dysfunctional long-term business environment. Simultaneously with the increase in concern about quality, entrepreneurship attracted the attention of business. A sudden wave of successful entrepreneurs seemed to render earlier management concepts obsolete. The popular press focused on the new cult heroes Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack (creators and developers of the Apple Computer) while ignoring the marketing and organizing talents of Mike Markula, the executive responsible for Apples business plan.* The story of two guys selling their Volkswagen bus to build the first Apple computer was more romantic than that of the organizational genius that enabled Apple to develop, market and ship its products while rapidly becoming a major corporation. In large businesses, planning is essential for developing a firms potential. However, many small businesses do not recognize the need for long-range plans, because the small number of people involved in operating the business implies equal responsibility in the planning and decision-making processes. Nevertheless, the need for planning is as important in a small business as it is in a large one. This publication focuses on the importance of good management practices. Specifically, it addresses the responsibilities of managing the external and internal environments. It can provide a basis for confronting the challenges of the 1990s. 3.0 Critical issue / problem for today business: Every new day bring the challenge for any business person, because to stay alive in the market you need to fight efficiently and smartly, as the world moving; complexity in every aspect of life is increase though technology has improved along but as much we belong to technology we get more depended. Following are the hot buttons for today business, and every business men more or less facing and struggling. Political instability and involvement: Every government is eager to impose taxes to earn more and more profit, due to recent shock of recession most of the industries are move toward bankruptcy or liquidate just because of high taxes and less benefit given by the government. It is common these day small business or large organization owners to be unaware of current legal issues that can hit them because continuous changes in the business policies and implication by the governments put them in trouble. The problem is that legal trouble can cost them. It can even cost you your business. After 9/11 money laundering and other compliance issues are more dealt in the organization standard operating procedure. Poverty and inequality of income: Due to high inflation and high unemployment rate continuously hitting the poverty level to increase, and that all because of inequality of income, contrary as the inflation increase the cost of business will also increase that thing put the pressure on the business man to reduce the prices because consumer start searching for alternative. Ethical issues in business: Ethics and moral compulsion are something that we all come across at one time or another. Contractual agreement not to exhibit unethical behavior. Releasing products with defects should be informed to the customers.Ã Even in a professional setting, all persons should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. Every businesses have their own code of ethics and the individuals within that business have adhere the compliance of the code conduct most of the organization investing lot of resource in order to maintain the ethic and code of conduct within the organization, even though regulatory bodies also penalized the organization if in case of non compliance. Ethical behavior in business is consistent with the principles, norms, and standards of business practice that have been agreed upon by society. Constantly Changing Economic Environment: Dynamic economic environment is a night mare for the Contemporary business, because already exist giant in the market is a serious threat for them, because most of them have made cartel and create obstacle for the new business men to enter in the market or survival. Economical changes like inflation , Balance of payment, unemployment and poverty is also hindrance for the growth of business, for the fighting against all these indicators, entrepreneur need specific skill and knowledge, because without that he / she cannot be able to run the business smoothly. Risk Management: Every organization is susceptible to low probability events that could have a potentially catastrophic effect. A small or new business is no exception although it is easy to ignore the probability of such events under the pressures of developing and maintaining a business. Identifying and quickly dealing with such unlikely events is primarily the responsibility of management. Also only management has the ability to assess the full potential impact of these events on the overall organization. Some of the potentially disastrous events that may affect your business are listed below. Theft of property Breach of laws Computer crimes Fraud Weather related damage Determine how vulnerable your business is to these and other such risks by assessing their probability and impact. Consider actions that you can take to lower the probability of their occurring, i.e. ways to control your risk. Review the checklist each year to ensure the future of your firm is not imperiled through neglect. Developing and Mentoring Employees: Managing the employees / labor is the critical issue for the business men in these days because as the dynamic environment is coming around, for competing with that we need to keep our staff in the phase of learning, and continuous training is required to make them up to date. Even though you may discover that certain events are affecting your business, be careful not to change the organizational structure of your firm without discussing it with your management team. Employees generally can accomplish goals despite organizational structures imposed by management. Because restructuring involves spending a lot of time learning new rules and implementing a new organizational structure is costly. The actual problem comes when the employee / labor are unwilling to change and create hindrance in the way, so fighting with this problem is the main issue for the entrepreneurs. 5. Negotiating and Managing Critical Relationships with stake holders: Developing / maintaining the relationship with all the stake holders is the important thing for the entrepreneurs because each and every one has its own importance, and without making good relation with them survival is difficult, for all the building relationship entrepreneurs need to have the negotiation and communication skills. Every day we have noticed that lots of entrepreneurs were lost their businesses just because they are lack with these skills and for understanding the critical relation with the stakeholders we must need to understand the importance, if we neglect the customers, so we lose business, if we neglect the good supplier so we lose the quality, if we neglect the distributor so we lose the perfection is services, and finally if we neglect the Government so we have to ready for the sanctions and implication / charges / penalties / abandon of business Managing global operation: When organizations become global they often end up paying a heavy price in terms of managing complex managerial issues and challenges. Host country languages Host Country Norms and Customs. Workforce management Unfamiliar laws and regulations. Unexpected Cost mix. Globalization has affected most of country business tremendously. A number of Multi National Corporations are operating and functioning in most part of the world. It is important to spend some time in understanding how globalization makes it necessary and pertinent for a MNC to disperse and spread its scope and function of Operation. It would be more correct if try to understand the philosophy of MNCs not operating in certain regions or certain particular countries. The western worlds call these the disadvantages of Globalization, if an organization decides to pack up its business and leave a host company. The common disadvantages which lead to a MNC forgoing globalization includes. Handing over proprietary Technology to host countries. Political risks. Poor Employee (Managers and worker) skills. Slow customer response time. Effective communication between interfaces difficult Competition with others Organization: Businesses since the beginning of time have competed against each other. On the basis of competition, various types of market exist for nearly all lines of products and services. We already know that absolute monopoly and perfect competition type of markets are not that pervasive, yet businesses try to avoid perfect competition and strive to go for absolute monopoly so they can enjoy no competition and exploit the customer sentiments for buying. We can identify the following common and widespread ways in which organizations can compete against other organizations. 1. Price: In our day to day routine observations, we often see that a lower price would attract more customers provided the product or service fulfils its intended use. Lower price helps an organization to increase its customer base. 2. Quality: is an important dimension by which superior raw materials as well as high Skillman ship would ensure that product manufactured or service developed is offered to the customer with something extra. That something extra is nothing else but Quality is always offered free of cost, we will discuss this when we study in details Quality Management and Total Quality Management. 3. Product: Differentiation refers to special features that make the product or service look more suitable to the customers like an automobile manufacturer decides to provide GPS system to selected customer at an additional price etc. 4. Flexibility is the ability to respond to changes. It may refer to changes in target sales, product feature like adding GPS device to all automobiles 5. Time refers to the period required to provide a product or service to a customer from the moment the order is booked to the delivery, also time required to rectify a shortcoming or mistake Common reasons why organization Fail: We can identify certain familiar reasons why Organizations fail to achieve a competitive advantage and end up losing out to their competitors. These reasons are universal in nature and find the same footing in Pakistan as well as any other place in the world. 1. Too much emphasis on short-term financial performance. Quite often, cost cutting, profit maximizing at the cost of social responsibility or employee motivation is a failed strategy pursued by organizations, which just hastens their status to oblivion. 2. Failing to take advantage of strengths and opportunities. This is in reality failing to hold on to proven successful strategies or core competencies. Sometimes a change in leadership leads to change in strategy, where just for the sake of glory and high profits, organizations forget their core competence and opt for strategies and tactic which cause their downfall. 3. Failing to recognize competitive threats. This reason is the exact opposite of failure to make use of the organizations strengths. Quite often organizations decide to pursue status quo and ends up bringing no new product or service or even no innovation in its existing product or service line leading to lack of customer satisfaction, decline in profits and finally being declared a failure. 4. Neglecting operations strategy. This is definitely the most important reason of failure; organizations often end up employing non productive techniques which lead to inconsistent and failed operations. 5. Too much emphasis in product and service design and not enough on improvement. Differentiation in terms of service and product, American companies in 1980s did that they never introduced incremental refinements rather went for big changes and thus lost to Japanese competitors. 6. Neglecting investments in capital and human resources. A total disregard to use the best resource Capital and human resources in the long run make or break an organization. 4.0 Conclusion: Successful management is founded on the mastery of a myriad of details and the success of the business is depended on the efficient management of all the resources and to make decision for best optimal purpose. While management schools teach the importance of focusing attention on major issues affecting the business, practical managers realize the major issues are the variety of small aspects that form the business. The small mistake leas to the business in to unrecoverable losses or bankruptcy, In an increasingly structured society, inattention to even one minor detail can result in significant disruption of the business or even its failure.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
An Analysis of Rebellion in George Orwellââ¬â¢s 1984 Essay
As a new society unfolds, so do new values and authority. In 1984, George Orwell presents a futuristic vision of the power of government as well as its social conventions. Primarily, Orwell uses Winston Smith to exhibit the effects that government control can have on morality. Winston lives in Oceania where ââ¬Å"The Partyâ⬠exploits its complete power by controlling people emotionally and mentally. However, this disturbs Winston who subsequently challenges The Party and is provoked into becoming a rebel. He recognizes that he is at the point of no return; consequently, he marches blindly ahead in the hope of defeating The Party. However, Wintonââ¬â¢s defiant nature is quickly extinguished after he is caught and tormented for committing subversive acts. The once rebellious Winston is then forever changed, as he becomes a loyal subject of Big Brother. Winstonââ¬â¢s challenge of Oceaniaââ¬â¢s imposed values and beliefs demonstrates humanityââ¬â¢s need and subsequent p ursuit of freedom. In Oceania, The Party is seen as the ultimate power; it imposes its authority and fear over its citizens with the use of technology. From the street corners to Winstonââ¬â¢s living room, the telescreens are used to monitor the thoughts and actions of its people. ââ¬Å"It was even conceivable, that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live- did live, form habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overhead, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinised.â⬠(Orwell 5). By not knowing which move is being watched or which words are being listened to, all privacy and freedom of speech is eliminated from their daily lives. The telescreens are used as a source of control and power rather than communication. They also display propaganda from the Ministry of Truth to support the Partyââ¬â¢s actions and power. The Party also uses the media as a tool for manipulation. Posters, slogans, and advertisements display messages such as ââ¬Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOUâ⬠and ââ¬Å"WAR IS PEACE; FREEDOM IS SLAVERY; IGNORANCE IS STRENGTHâ⬠. These slogans, in addition to presenting Big Brother as a symbolic figure, work together to complete the manipulation and control of its citizens. However, altering the history and memory of Oceania also enforces political control. History books opportunely reflect the Partyââ¬â¢s ideology which forbids individuals from keeping mementos such as photographsà and documents from their past. As a result, the citizens have vague memories of their past and willingly believe whatever the Party tells them. ââ¬Å"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the pastâ⬠(Orwell 32). By controlling the past, The Party ensures that they control the future, and through false history, the psychological independence of peopl e is controlled. By stealing peopleââ¬â¢s privacy, manipulating and manoeuvring their lives, and presenting altered history, the Party is able to exploit its power. Winston, a man with a conscience and a sense of right and wrong has no choice; he must fight for his beliefs. Big Brother, a symbolic figure for power, agitates Wintonââ¬â¢s morality. Although a member of the Party, he disagrees with the conventions of The Party. At first, Winston demonstrates his defiance using a diary as a secure place to keep his thoughts. ââ¬Å"DOWN WITH BIG BROTHERâ⬠(Orwell 20). Here, Winston expresses his feelings about the party. He is aware that having or expressing thoughts against Big Brother is viewed as a thought crime in Oceania; nevertheless he also knows that he cannot sit back and accept their philosophy. ââ¬Å"Thought crime does not entail death: thought crime IS deathâ⬠(Orwell 30). Winston has the good sense to be extremely careful when writing in his diary; he is paranoid about being caught and places himself away from the telescreen where he hopes he will not be detected. This action demonstrates his unwillingness to simply accept the party line and the governmentââ¬â¢s control. Another equally serious offence against the Party is his love affair with Julia. Well aware of the Partyââ¬â¢s stand on pleasurable sexual activity, Winston, nevertheless, can not and does not suppress his desire for her. He also discovers that he is not the only one with these forbidden feelings. ââ¬Å"That was above all what he wanted to hear. Not merely the love of one person, but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the Party to piecesâ⬠(Orwell 132). With the knowledge that he is not alone in this battle, Winston is even more committed and empowered to continue his defiance against the system. He recognizes that he must act cautiously and, in order to continue his affair without being caught, Winston rents a room above Mr.Charringtonââ¬â¢s shop. Another subversive act is Winstonââ¬â¢s communication with Oââ¬â¢Brien, a leader in the Party. Winton bases his trust of Oââ¬â¢Brien through the voices inà his dreams, the eye contact between them during hate meetings, and when Oââ¬â¢Brien turns off his telescreen when the two meet. ââ¬Å"Between himself and Oââ¬â¢Brien, and of the impulse he sometimes felt, simply to walk into Oââ¬â¢Brienââ¬â¢s presence, announce that he was the enemy of the Party and demand his helpâ⬠(Orwell 159) Trustingly, Winston reveals his views to Oââ¬â¢Brien, hoping that in the future, others will also join in the defeat of the Party. Oââ¬â¢Brien convinces Winston that he is member of the Brotherhood; Winston eagerly joins. The authority the Party enforces over Oceaniaââ¬â¢s citizens seizes Winstonââ¬â¢s morality and gives him the courage to increase the momentum of his rebellious acts. Unfortunately, a power far greater than his is watching his every move. As Winston continues his treasonous acts, he realises there is no way out; his optimism for a better future has him stride blindly into shark-infested waters. Winston realizes that by writing in his diary it is only a matter of time before the Thought Police capture him. ââ¬Å"Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no differenceâ⬠(Orwell 21). Intellectually, Winston realizes that he will probably get caught, but he cannot turn back. His affair with Julia boosts his ego and so he continues with the hope that other rebels will unite with him against the Party. Unfortunately, in his dream of defeating Big Brother, Winston becomes careless and his acts against the Party take him down a dangerous path, leading him into torturous consequences. Winston allows himself to take unnecessary risks, such as trusting Oââ¬â¢Brien. Unknowingly, the room he rents above Mr. Charringtonââ¬â¢s shop to meet with Julia is under surveillance. Mr. Charrington, a member of the Thought Police, uses the telescreen to capture Winstonââ¬â¢s sexual affair with Julia. As a member of the Thought Police, it is his duty to turn them in, and he does. He has the two arrested and they are sent to the Ministry. Winstonââ¬â¢s carelessness now comes back to haunt him. In his eagerness to find others who loathe the system, he trusted Oââ¬â¢Brien who led him to believe that he shares his hatred for Big Brother. However, Winston soon learns that Oââ¬â¢Brienââ¬â¢s intentions are quite different. When Winston is caught, Oââ¬â¢Brien visits him to ââ¬Å"helpâ⬠him through this wretchedness. However, Winstonââ¬â¢s misplaced trust is exploited whenà Oââ¬â¢Brien preys on his biggest fear. He is taken to Room 101 where he is tortured both physically and mentally with his ultimate revulsion: rats. Winstonââ¬â¢s fortitude collapses, changing his perspective. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦it was all right, everything was all right. The struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.â⬠(Orwell 311). Winstonââ¬â¢s physical pain and mental anguish help him to now embrace the unquestionable power and wisdom of the Party. The irony is evident: Winstonââ¬â¢s determination to defeat Big Brother is defeatedâ⬠¦ by Big Brother. In Winstonââ¬â¢s pursuit to gain independent thought, he struggles against the absolute power of the Party, thus demonstrating the battle between him and his government. In Oceania, the Party controls the people physically, mentally and emotionally in order to maintain their supremacy. However, the Partyââ¬â¢s abusive power subverts Winstonââ¬â¢s morality, aggravating him into rebellion. Once started, Winston realizes that he cannot turn back from his revolt, even though, intellectually he acknowledges that his battle could cost him far more than his freedom. He is driven to continue. Winstonââ¬â¢s fervour for change comes to an immediate halt after he is caught and punished for his disloyalty to the Party. A man forever changed becomes a loyal supporter of Big Brother. Orwellââ¬â¢s 1984 is a frightening journey of a manââ¬â¢s fight for freedom of thought and expression. In 1948, when the book was written it was considered a futuristic view of society. Today, many o f the events have already become a reality. Big Brother is indeed watching! Works Cited Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1964
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