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Conflict is a result of real or perceived opposition to another’s values actions or interests. This can occur internally or externally. Conflict work groups can affect the organisation as a whole and conflict resolution can produce a positive outcome for both parties involved. Constructive conflict is where the benefits outweigh the disadvantages it generates productivity, shared decisions that are beneficial to the team. The process of constructive conflict is just as important as the end result. Destructive conflict often stems from guidelines that have been rigidly set and in most cases this type of conflict produces negative results. Opposing teams in conflict are often subjected to personal attacks, threats and hostility. On a whole; defeat of the opposition is the main goal, rather than coming to a resolution that both parties can agree with.

On the contrary to the destructive conflict, constructive conflict has a strong belief that all parties involved can be a winner and the goals involved from both parties are flexible which means a common link between both parties can be found. Beneficial conflict relies on a flow of communication and a willingness to accept change. Poor conflict management often limits positive interaction and reproduces destructive conflict. The following are a few causes of destructive conflict: feeling of inadequacy, hopelessness, lack of empathy, fear of change and lack of understanding of different views.

Overall constructive conflict fuels conversation, employees develop a better relationship between themselves and their superiors – collaboration increases as well as productivity and in turn promotes equality; on the other hand destructive conflict promotes inequality and causes friction between relationships. Respect is often lost between co-workers this often leads to frustration and resentment which also leads to low productivity and unfinished tasks that have been set.

Methods of Dealing With Conflict Within a Team

Prepare for resolution by firstly acknowledging the problem for it to be managed and resolved. In some cases, the problem may start off trivial and members of the team may ignore these first signs. As a team discuss the impact the conflict is having on team dynamics and performance. Everyone involved must agree to cooperate to resolve the conflict. This can be done by putting the team first and putting aside your own ideas and opinions. Communication is paramount, and everyone involved need to talk about the issue and discuss their feelings and understand where the other person is coming from to move on.

First one must understand the situation – clarify positions within the team of everyone to identify the nature of the conflict objectively, by listing facts, assumptions and beliefs underlying each position and what information is the basis of their beliefs. Analyse the team by breaking off into smaller groups and seek out which facts and assumptions are true. These areas will bring about new areas of agreement along with new ideas and solutions. It is important not to criticize or judge the perceptions of other people, but instead listen to all ideas presented. Each team member needs to be heard and acknowledged to have a solution. After the group dialogue, and the facts are uncovered team members step away from their emotional attachment and see the issue at hand more objectively.

Lastly reach an agreement – with all facts and assumptions considered, the team can see the best action to take to reach an agreement. If it needs to be taken further, a timescale must be put in place to agree what needs to be done, by whom and see which decision making and evaluation need to be employed, and make sure that the team is committed to work with the outcome of the proposal, analysis and evaluation.

When the conflict has been resolved you should celebrate and acknowledge the contributions everyone made toward the solution, in turn building team cohesion and confidence in their problem making skills and can help avert any further conflict. This process can help solve team conflict both efficiently and effectively. First gain understanding of the different perspectives and using the understanding to expand your own thoughts and beliefs about the issue.

Throughout the novel “The Outsiders” author S.E. Hinton gives many examples of how conflict doesn’t solve problems. Her novel is one of engagement, entertainment, but also gives really good messages. One of these is that conflict doesn’t solve problems. She shows that people do it so that they seem tough and to scare other people, but in the end all it does is cause a chain reaction from others and the conflict continues. In a split town where rival gangs fight for land, peace and fight against each other, it is very much a town of conflict.

Hinton shows that whilst conflict can temporarily solve problems, in the long run, it is just a continuous effect. This was shown when Johnny and Pony were walking back from the drive in and they were jumped by the Soc’s. The Soc’s saw Johnny and Pony with the Soc girls and decided that jumping them and beating them up would solve the problems. The greasers know not to walk alone and they know that “it’s rough all over.” The fight started after Pony said to the Soc’s, “Soc’s are just rich kids with mustangs and corvairs.” This is an example of how Johnny and Pony fighting back against the Soc’s didn’t do any good, because they ended up on the run as fugitives, and ultimately resulted in Johnny’s death.

In the split town of Tusla, gang fights are a way of life. It’s a way of proving how tough you are, and which social class you fall into. Most fights are just little continuous spats between the two gangs, but every now and then, it gets out of control. When the greasers and the Soc’s decide that the only answer to resolve their issues is a rumble, everyone is excited and upbeat about it. But Pony realise that they’re not that different to the Soc’s, this is evident when he says, “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.” The rumble is won by the greasers in the end, but there are many injuries. Dally rushes back to the hospital to give Johnny the good news, but even Johnny realises that “there’s no point in all this fighting.” Johnny’s death soon follows this, and Dally realises that his whole life of fighting has been a waste of time, and he is soon killed.

Finally in this novel, there is a so called man v self conflict. This is the kind of conflict that involves a fear, choice or decision. Pony tries to hide away from this and is evident when he says “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.” Pony is different and more insightful than any of the other boys in the novel. He wants the fighting to stop so that everyone gets along and that everyone is equal. He realises that they aren’t that different when he says, “They grew up on the outside of society. They weren't looking for a fight. They were looking to belong.” However he gets caught up in the incident at the park and has to go on the run. At the end of the day, Pony just wants to get by in life, and receive a good education, but because of the conflict that goes on, nothing is easy in life.

The outsiders is a story about, friendship, courage and, unfortunately, conflict. Hinton clearly shows that whilst it may solve problems temporarily, conflict does not solve problems for the future.

In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the author, R.L. Stevenson uses the views of a repressive society and Dr. Jekyll’s conformity to show when people are held under harsh principles and expectations some are forced to find an outlet to compensate for the things that are not socially appropriate. Jekyll was born into a wealthy and respectable family, from a young age there were many things expected from him. Jekyll was expected to respect his elders, do good by his fellowmen, and live a respectable life. What people didn’t know was Jekyll was starting to feel temptations to do things that did not fit into his family's guidelines for his life, he was forced to bury them to live up to his family's expectations.

Repression played a huge part in Jekyll's life, he constantly felt the need to push his feelings and temptations down for fear of how someone might view him if they found out what he was thinking. Concealing these feelings and temptations at such a young age caused Jekyll to have a split personality, “...I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life”. Jekyll felt immense guilt for his temptations but having a separate person to blame those temptations on, Hyde gave him a sense of relief. Jekyll talks about the dual nature of man “... that man is not truly one, but truly two”. He believes there is strictly a good side and a bad side in him that is separated by a trench. This trench he physiologically gives him the ability to only feel guilt when he is physically Jekyll, Hyde does whatever he wants with no remorse.

Hyde is pure evil, he is all of the bad parts of Jekyll bottled up; he was a mad man who did whatever he wanted, and he embodies all that was socially unacceptable in the Victorian Society. There were very few people who knew of Mr. Hyde, but of those who did, not a single person had anything good to say about him. “Mr. Hyde, who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike”. Hyde did many questionable things but a crime that really stood out was when he murdered Sir Danvers Carew. Mr. Carew was a very important man and was highly respected in the community for his job and being a gentleman. Hyde's motive had to do with the fact that Mr. Carew was everything Jekyll was supposed to be. All those feelings that Jekyll had once repressed rushed back causing Hyde to lash out.

A great example of a repressive Victorian society is in the movie “Mary Poppins.” The father, Mr. Banks is searching for a nanny who will straighten out his children and make them act properly. Mr. Banks represents a social tradition in the movie, similar to Stevenson’s Victorian Society, meaning he is well kept, has a good job, and rules the house. Marry Poppins brings organized chaos into the house which allows the children to have a creative outlet and simply gives them the opportunity to be children. Mr. Banks' logic is what helped create a repressive society in the first place. It is the idea that people need to act a certain way in order to be accepted.

This idea still has an immense impact on society today, especially when it comes to teenagers. In my life, the outlet I use for repressed feelings is music. Nowadays, there are a lot more standards and expectations for teenagers, this has to do with social media and the standards we hold ourselves to. Repression happens when a thought or memory is too painful to deal with so our mind subconsciously pushes out the thought or memory. This way we don't think about it, but it still has the power to affect the way we act and view things.

Jekyll is always one to follow the rules, he is an exceptionally good looking man, and he is very respected in the community for being a doctor. Given these circumstances, nobody would ever guess that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person for they were mentally and physically different. Even though there were physical differences it was clear the Hyde did not want to be seen by many people, “Will you let me see your face?’ asked the lawyer. Mr. Hyde appeared to hesitate”. Hyde seemed to want to stay anonymous but he showed Lanyon his potion and practically turned himself in. If it were not for Jekyll going mad and losing control of his transformations, the community would have never been able to catch them.

As a reader, one may wonder if Lanyon’s death had anything to do with repression. Lanyon died a few days after Jekyll had shown Lanyon that he had a separate side, Hyde. Lanyon explains to Utterson at a dinner party that he will no longer be friends with Jekyll but he can not tell Utterson why. “ Someday, Utterson, after I am dead, you may perhaps come to learn the right and wrong of this. I cannot tell you”. It is possible that the stress of having to keep Jekyll and Hyde’s secret killed Lanyon.

Jekyll knew from a young age the difference between right and wrong. Although as he grew up there was a side of him that chose to not abide by the social rules. This allowed Jekyll to truly do whatever he pleased but his pleasure did not come without a price. Hyde ended up killing a man, now he is forced to live with that guilt for the rest of his life which brings us back to the beginning. If Jekyll had been raised in a home where the standards weren't so high, he was able to explore, find himself, and be a child. Rather than being told what to do and already having his life planned out for him. Things might be different, Jekyll may not be the respected doctor he is, but he also may not have been a murderer.

In conclusion, a repressive society and Dr. Jekyll’s conformity is used to show that when people are held under harsh principles and expectations some are forced to find an outlet to compensate for the things that are not socially appropriate. There are going to be impossible standards that people are expected to live up to if they want to fit in with society. When living in a repressive society one is forced to push away their feelings while pretending that they are practically perfect while living the flawless lives that were planned for them. Some people may be able to handle this type of staged lifestyle, but every once in a while you may come across a Jekyll and a Hyde. These are the few that couldn't handle the pressure of society's expectations and found other ways to compensate for their socially inappropriate behaviors.

References

1. Doane, J., & Hodges, D. (1989, October). Demonic Disturbances of Sexual Identity: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr/s Hyde. In NOVEL: a Forum on Fiction (Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 63-74). Duke University Press. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/13455790)
2. Laroche, R., & Tachet des Combes, R. (2021). Dr jekyll & mr hyde: the strange case of off-policy policy updates. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 34, 24442-24454. (https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper/2021/hash/ccb421d5f36c5a412816d494b15ca9f6-Abstract.html)
3. Egan, J. J. (1966). The Relationship of Theme and Art in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920, 9(1), 28-32. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/74/article/368929/summary)
4. Garcia-Vallejo, J. J., & van Kooyk, Y. (2015). DC-SIGN: the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Immunity, 42(6), 983-985. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074761315002198)
5. Clunas, A. (1994). Comely External Utterance: Reading Space in" The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". The Journal of Narrative Technique, 24(3), 173-189. (https://www.studocu.com/it/document/universita-della-calabria/lingua-inglese/jeckill-appunti/10088386)

Everyone needs to express themselves. Many in society are fighting vigorously to make individuals conform to society’s standards. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Emerson, JFK, and Ken Kesey all realized the fact that self-expression is one of the most essential aspects to a successful life. Ken Kesey, through one flew over the cuckoo’s nest mirrors the societal struggle between conformity and self-expression and alludes to the pitfalls which result in school, church, and life when society tries to eliminate self-expression.

The actions that Nurse Ratched takes throughout the book symbolizes and mirrors the way society teaches individuals to conform. Kasey conveys, by punishing the characters who express their ideas, that in one flew over cuckoo’s nest conformity is valued and rewarded over self-expression and individualism. Nurse Ratched shows her lack of respect when she says, “If Mr. Taber chooses to act like a child, he may have to be treated as such. We’ve tried to be kind and considerate with him. Obviously, that’s not the answer. Hostility, hostility, that’s the thanks we get. You can go, Mr. Taber, if you don’t wish to take your medication orally.” The patients’ standard of living is directly tied to their ability to express themselves. When Nurse Ratchet shuts down Mcmurphy’s attempt to express his frustration she is directly shutting down his ability to change his circumstance. In One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, when patients lose their individuality they lose their freedom.

Through the character Nurse Ratched, Ken Kesey reinforces the idea that conformity and cooperation is to be strived for. She features a “Plaque of cooperation” in her area which clearly illustrates the qualities she values. She rapidly tries to suppress McMurphy’s individuality when she says, “Mr. McMurry, could you come here please.” By refusing to call him by his name she is disrupting him as a person, and his identity.

In stark contrast to Nurse Ratched, Ken Kesey uses the character McMurphy to champion the benefits of self-expression and individuality. McMurphy is a character with little regard for societal norms. He refuses to accept his situation and instead fights to change his surroundings. In Ken Kesey’s book the control panel symbolized the patients struggle to express themselves. “I could lift it all right. Well, hell, right over there you are: that thing Billy’s sittin’ on. That big control panel with all the handles and cranks. That’s hard enough, ain’t it? And it damn well should be heavy enough.”(Kesey 96). Just as the patients struggle to express their ideas, McMurphy struggles to lift the control panel. The control panel symbolizes the journey the characters go through.

One of the clearest examples of non-conformity in One Flew over the cuckoo’s nest can be seen when McMurphy nonchalantly passes out pornographic playing cards. “Well say, here we go, I brought along my own deck, just in case, has something in it other than face cards - and check the pictures, huh? Everyone different. Fifty-two positions.” This sets the stage for how McMurphy will act going forward in the book. He inspires the patients to reject the status quo. Because of his repeated refusal to conform the patients eventually change their situation and create a better life for themselves.

Society is extremely effective at teaching the individual to conform. In a famous experiment called Solomon Asch conformity experiment, researchers set out to investigate the extent to which social pressure could cause a person to conform. The study took place in 1951 and had 50 male students participate in a ‘vision test’.

“Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison line (A, B or C) was most like the target line. The answer was always obvious.?The real participant sat at the end of the row and gave his or her answer last. There were 18 trials in total, and the confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 trails (called the critical trials).? Asch was interested to see if the real participant would conform to the majority view. Asch's experiment also had a control condition where there were no confederates, only a ‘real participant’.

When the participants were under no pressure to conform, less than one percent of them chose the incorrect answer, however, seventy five percent of the people answered incorrectly at least once when under social pressure to conform. The experiment, which model’s society and the story of One Flew over the cuckoo’s nest, shows that people often know what the best course of action is. However, individuals frequently make choices which will be a detriment to themselves based solely on pressure from others. Researchers, in this experiment, stated, “Most [participants] said they did not believe their answers but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought of as peculiar” (Asch, 4). Just as in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, participants in the experiment changed their behavior due to pressure.

A universal struggle exists between the freedom for individuals to express themselves, and society rewarding conformity. Society does not practice but rather claims to value individuality. In school, politics, and church, conformity is rewarded. John F. Kennedy famously recognized this phenomenon when he said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” JFK recognized the fact that despite the appearance of individuality, people in society were under constant pressure to conform.

The first-place children learn to suppress their individuality and creativity is in school. In the first-grade class room, teachers are presented with students exploding with energy. In this environment, it is seen as necessary to create rules, which limit student behavior. “The findings revealed that teachers perceived student problem behaviors as those behaviors involving rule-breaking” (Sun & Shek, 1). This step is the beginning of a long process society puts individuals through which teach kids to conform. This process quickly becomes dangerous when leaders do not have their followers’ best interests in mind.

One such leader was Adolf Hitler, who recognized the fact that children are very moldable and susceptible to this sort of conditioning and took advantage of it in his rise to power. He said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed. Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it. He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future” (Adolf Hitler, 2). The events that arose out of Hitler’s regime showcase the drastic effects which can result when individuals in a society stop questioning authority. The Nazi regime was a massive disaster which could easily repeat itself if we continue teaching conformity.

The pattern of teaching people to conform continues throughout high school. 'They decide to teach us about people like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Booker T. Washington... We learn about how these people expressed themselves and conquered and we can't even express ourselves in the hallway” (anonymous college student). This student points out the irony that many high schoolers are faced with. High school students are forced to learn about individuals throughout history who questioned authority and refused to conform. They are then expected to adhere to a strict uniform which suppresses personal choice, self-expression, and individuality.

In one flew over the cuckoo’s nest the patients are akin to children in school. They are required to adhere to a strict schedule, strict uniform, and given very little freedom to express their individuality. The patients, like children, are mentally deficient and seen as unable to make decisions on their own. Just as a classroom which restricts personal choice leads to underperformance, so do the conditions in the ward. Ken Kesey draws our attention to these problems through the character Nurse Ratched. She implements harsh rules and a strict schedule which suppress the patient’s ability to express themselves. “Rules? PISS ON YOUR FUCKING RULES!”. Kesey uses McMurphy 's insubordination in an incident between Rachet and her ward rules to teach the audience about the importance of individualism and the impudence of compliance. 'What would it be like if everybody was to brush their teeth whenever they felt like it?' McMurphy asks sarcastically, aware of how Ludacris such a pointless rule is. This altercation shows how regimented Nurse Retched was in her approach to running the ward. We see how important order is to Nurse Ratchet when Billy Babbitt killed himself. Nurse Ratchet was more focused on sticking to the schedule then helping her patients. “Nurse Retched: The best thing we can do is go on with our daily routine.” This caused chaos leading to McMurphy, an avid fighter for individuality, trying to strangle her. All of this could have been avoided if the patients were granted even a sliver of freedom and individuality.

In a study led by Phyllis Moen from the University of Minnesota found that best buy found that employees who were given flexibility over their time were more productive, less stressed, and healthier overall.

Throughout History we see people using power to make others conform. The most notable example of this is Hitler and his Nazi party. He created the Nazi’s and used propaganda to encourage conformity to this standard. Those who did not fit into his mold were villainized and made outcasts. To further grow his power, he went on to villainize those who disagreed with him. He portrayed the Jews as a threat. This gave him the justification he needed to grow his power. Those who did not conform to his ideology he had killed. While this is an extreme example it isn’t isolated. Stalin used the same techniques to gain power.

In Society, just as in life, people are divided into groups. In life people are often labeled as “Mexican,” “Smart,” and “Dumb” just as in the book people are divided into groups. McMurphy breaks down the barriers dividing them and treated all individuals as if they were an interesting person with a personality. He talks to Broman, whom people believed was unable to talk, and became the first person to realize that he could understand people.

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Ken Kasey showcases the value in a life filled with self-expression and shines a light on the techniques used throughout society to compel conformity. By showing a direct correlation to people’s ability to express themselves and their quality of life he makes a compelling case for individuality.

Works Cited

• https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/business-podcasts/how-to-crush-your-enemy-totally/
• Kesey, Ken. The Viking Critical Library One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ed. John Clark Prat. Rev. ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Prin
• https://www.businessinsider.com/best-buy-flex-work-program-2011-12
• https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/nov/25/kanye-west-tom-ewing-on-music
• Sun, Rachel C F and Daniel T L Shek. “Student classroom misbehavior: an exploratory study based on teachers' perceptions” TheScientificWorldJournalvol. 2012 (2012): 208907.

A man of his word in the twentieth century is viewed as a man that is affable, neighborly, and decent. Confucius had a similar meaning of what a refined man was nevertheless he decisively depicted what a man needed to do so as to be viewed as a man of his word. In the Analects of Confucius, an interpretation by Chichung Huang, he deciphers Confucius lessons about existence. There are four fundamental things that Confucius applied to his lessons: culture, wholehearted earnestness, honesty, and good lead. His lessons resemble laws so as to keep society others conscious; Confucius considers it the Way of humankind. A refined man falls into every one of the classifications however one thing that a man of his word esteems the most is good direct.

The courteous fellow’s prudence speaks to a high comprehension of Confucius’ lessons on moral lead. He genuinely values moral direct, ‘The refined man appreciates excellence; the little man values land. The man of his word treasures organizations; the little man values favors’ (Huang68). In numerous occasions, Confucius makes correlations between little men and prevalent men, otherwise called a respectable man. This instructing states that what a man of his word truly is worried about his ethical direct. This educating additionally causes the noble man to appear to be better than the little man by contrasting how a little man is more intrigued in close to home interests than by ethicalness. By a courteous fellow valuing foundations, is additionally a genuine case of good lead since he esteems his customs. A man loving his ceremonies is additionally a man of culture in Confucius’ eyes. Besides, the Master in his lessons says that wonderful ladies can turn into an interruption to men who love temperance. Confucius says, ‘It is everywhere! I have never observed any individual who adores uprightness as much as he cherishes lovely ladies’. Man of honor doesn’t succumb to delightful ladies or desire since they need to have high ethics. Men can keep esteeming temperance on the off chance that they disregard desire.

Once in a while Confucius guides his lessons to more youthful men and children to help make them others conscious and show them what makes a gentleman. The Master stated: ‘More youthful siblings and children ought to be dutiful to their folks at home, respectful to their senior siblings abroad, careful and honest, love all the huge number and keep near empathetic men. On the off chance that subsequent to rehearsing these, they have vitality to save, they should utilize it to gain culture’. What Confucius portrays in this exercise falls into practically the entirety of the four primary concentrations in his lessons. First he says that the men must be authentic particularly with their folks and senior siblings; a man of honor is wholeheartedly earnest. Confucius advises more youthful men and children to: ‘love all large number and keep near accommodating men’; a man of his word esteems moral lead and hence hold near the individuals who esteem the equivalent. Confucius additionally accepts that it is significant for men to find out about their way of life.

Something else Confucius accepts makes a respectable man, is having the option to keep away from corrupting activities. By a man going without virtues he is likewise esteeming ethicalness. He expresses that there are three primary things that a courteous fellow avoids, ‘The honorable man has three abstentions: in pre-adulthood when his sap has not settled, he refrains from sex; in the prime of life when his sap is overflowing, he goes without pugnacity; in mature age when his sap is melted away, he refuses eagerness’. Each of the three abstentions enable men to keep esteeming ethics even through mature age. A refined man goes without desire which is shortcoming Confucius finds in second rate men. Additionally predominant men ought not be forceful nor narrow minded. Men of their word should set a model for some in to follow so as to keep up an accommodating society.

Something else that a man of his word should esteem honesty and earnestness. An approach to be honest is to esteem quickness of activity over words. When talking it is imperative to follow up on what is said. At the end of the day Confucius says, ‘The man of honor considers it disgraceful if is discourse surpasses his activity’. Confucius training today would resemble the buzzword that activities express stronger than words. On the off chance that a man would talk and not satisfy his words it would be viewed as dishonorable and he would not be trusted. Hence a refined man would prefer to be quick in real life so he can surpass his words. In the event that a man isn’t honest nobody will regard him or trust him. A refined man needs to consistently be honest so as to be trusted and regarded. Confucius expresses: ‘The man of his word must be trusted before making the individuals drudge. In the event that he isn’t believed, they will view themselves as tyrannized. He should be trusted before criticizing. In the event that he isn’t believed, the sovereign will see himself as criticized’. This statement doesn’t really imply that a courteous fellow is just honest to have individuals do work for him. A respectable man is inherently true and certified and in this manner individuals think that it’s simpler to confide in a courteous fellow.

Anyway nobody is impeccable including courteous fellows. Gentlemen are fit for submitting botches however the distinction with an honorable man and a little man is that the respectable man will be earnest about his blunder and right it not at all like the little man who attempts to conceal his slip-up. One of Confucius pupils stated, ‘The respectable man’s blunders resemble obscurations of the sun and the moon. At the point when he makes one, everybody sees it; when he adjusts it, everybody admires him’. The man of his word is somebody that individuals gaze upward to in light of the fact that they’re generally ethically great so when he commits an error everybody who admires him sees his blunder. So as to keep on being idealistic and appreciated, a noble man fixes his slip-up and afterward again everybody who admires the honorable man can see his ethical achievement. The little man commits errors however not at all like the man of honor he doesn’t fix it. Confucius delineates the little man’s exertion after a misstep, ‘When the little man commits an error, he generally overlooks it”. The little man isn’t honest like the predominant man. The little man doesn’t commit his error known to society, rather before anybody sees his mistake, he attempts to disguise and cover it. Confucius additionally makes it realized that men of honor in this statement are better than little men since little men are untruthful Therefore, as per Confucius, to be a respectable man intends to be honest considerably in the wake of embarrassing activities.

Confucius is viewed as an upstanding honorable man and perceiving how regarded him and his lessons are who might contend with that. Courteous fellows are decent in light of the fact that they are straightforward in all cases and furthermore amazingly exemplary. A prevalent man likewise values his way of life and practices his ceremonies not at all like the little men who ignore their customs. Confucius accepted that man of his word were great men to lead and show society the Way of Humanity. Man of honor in Confucius eyes didn’t need to be prevalent in rank or class, they simply must be unrivaled in the Way of Humanity.

Works Cited

1. Huang, C. (1997). The Analects of Confucius. Oxford University Press.
2. Chen, Y. (2005). Confucianism and Its Implications for Modernity. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 18(1/2), 37-54.
3. Gardner, D. K. (2007). Confucianism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
4. Ivanhoe, P. J. (2019). Confucianism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
5. Legge, J. (2010). The Chinese Classics: The Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean. Forgotten Books.
6. Li, C. (2001). The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning & the Doctrine of the Mean. Dover Publications.
7. Liu, X. (2007). Virtue and moral agency in Confucius and Aristotle. Philosophy East and West, 57(3), 343-371.
8. Nivison, D. S. (1996). The ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese philosophy. Open Court Publishing.
9. Van Norden, B. W. (2016). Introduction to classical Chinese philosophy. Hackett Publishing.
10. Yao, X. (2000). An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press.

One Direction – the biggest boyband in the world. Not only have they gotten so many achievements, like over 200 awards and holding Guinness World Records, but they have also stolen the hearts of more than a million girls worldwide. They have those girls emotionally attached to them and their music, making the girls also feel a sense of support.

People say fangirls only like One Direction because of their looks. The way you can just look into Harry Styles’ eyes and see the Pacific Ocean in a soothing shade of green. You can see sparkling stars aligning to form the most glorious constellations. The way that Niall Horan’s smile is so genuinely sweet makes warmth rush through you. Seeing his smile paints a ray of sunshine all over your face. The way that Liam Payne’s tattoos just stick out giving you a satisfying feeling. The tattoos don’t let your eyes leave them, but instead lead you to the cute face he’s making, reminding you of a newborn baby’s face. The way that Louis Tomlinson’s eyes are always sparkling and the corners always crinkling of happiness reminds you how you felt as a child on Christmas morning. Although, this is all true, it is not the main reason why those girls like One Direction.

There is some sort of emotional attachment that girls have to these 4 boys. It’s like they personally know them but most of the girls have never even met them. Liam Payne is always acting like the father of the group. You always want the rest of the boys to do something bad, so you can see Liam reprimand them like a father would reprimand his 8-year-old son. It gives you the rebellious but sad feeling that you used to get when you did something wrong and were reprimanded for it. Harry Styles is always telling jokes that are so bad they are funny, so everyone is always laughing. You feel like you will die from laughing so much but you’re still always waiting for the next joke. Louis Tomlinson is always jumping around acting like a 5-year old kid and doing silly things to make everyone laugh. You feel a happy nostalgia remembering how you used to do things like that when you were young. You would never want Louis to leave your sight. Niall Horan is always asking for food and laughing like there’s no tomorrow until his ribs hurt. You always get hungry seeing him eat and his laugher will always put you in a good mood, no matter how bad you were feeling. And when these boys go away after finishing an interview, concert or tour, everyone is extremely sad, so sad that it would seem like they had a bad breakup. Everyone is waiting until these boys come back.

It’s not only these boys that have an affect on you. It’s also their music. Listening to their music brings you to a state that is not your own. You seem to feel what you do not feel and understand what you do not understand. The harmonies pass like breezes through you, bringing tears to your eyes. The instruments in some of their songs play a sad and silver tune and then it rises angry and with excitement underneath. Its as if the music understands you – how you feel and what you’re going through. Their music is telling the reality of everyone’s life stories. Their music comes to you in waves – first your innocent memories, dreams and struggles and then sharp joys, sorrow and despair. In the end you feel so much emotion but you can drift off into your own world while listening to their music. It seems as if these 4 boys know what you’re going through but you also know what they’re going through.

The presence of these boys singing or doing anything, even if its through a video on YouTube, makes you feel happy. The messages they convey through their behaviour, looks and music don’t let you down, they give you support and let you know that at the end of the day everything will be alright.

Works Cited

1. Barthes, R. (2013). Mythologies. Hill and Wang.
2. Bennett, A. (2010). Popular Music and Youth Culture: Music, Identity and Place. Palgrave Macmillan.
3. Frith, S. (1996). Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. Harvard University Press.
4. Grossberg, L. (1992). We Gotta Get Out of This Place: Popular Conservatism and Postmodern Culture. Routledge.
5. Holmes, T., & Redmond, S. (2006). The Troubles with Boy Bands: Popular Music and Young Femininity. Gender and Education, 18(2), 121-142.
6. Marshall, L. (2010). Boyband Superfans: The Construction of Adolescent Girl Identity in Popular Media. Journal of Youth Studies, 13(6), 655-669.
7. Negus, K. (1999). Music Genres and Corporate Cultures. Routledge.
8. Ring, K., & Travers, M. (2018). The Impact of Boy Bands on Music Industry Convergence: The Case of One Direction. In M. T. Danczak, K. K. Ring, & M. C. Bowman (Eds.), Music and the Play of Power in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia (pp. 23-45). Routledge.
9. Taylor, T. D. (2017). "Out of the Darkness and Into the Spotlight": Fandom, Race, and Image Repair in the Boy Band One Direction. Communication and Sport, 5(1), 99-118.
10. Tick, J. (2000). From the Piano Bench: Popular Music and Female Fandom in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. American Music, 18(2), 174-189.

In Hamlet, the philosophy and ideas of Stoicism make their appearance onstage and shape the themes and dialogue of the play. Stoicism, which praises the superiority of reason and civilization over the more base element of emotion, is the backbone of much of the conflict in Hamlet. Hamlet's dedication to his Stoic beliefs ends up causing many problems for him as well as setting up a dichotomy between reason and emotion that marks the play. Hamlet considers emotion to be the opposite of reason, and therefore any actions that come as a result of emotion are undesirable.

Hamlet finds that he must reason himself into a state of murder before he can exact his revenge on Claudius, but a murderous state is one that can only be reached through emotion for Hamlet. This philosophy of Stoicism leads Hamlet to believe in a man-versus-beast and reason-versus-emotion dichotomy, but it is only through the consideration of conscience that characters can know whether or not they are behaving morally. Hamlet's belief in these false dichotomies wastes time and ultimately causes further harm to his family and friends, but Hamlet's respect for his conscience is what preserves his morality, as it is the only fixed star in the play. Because of this, conscience can be seen to be the most important element of the three in Hamlet, as it is ultimately what defines the goodness of a character, distinguishing heroes from villains.

Hamlet has been studying in Wittenburg and has become a follower of the Stoic philosophy. The Stoic philosophy instructs its adherents "self-control and detachment from distracting emotions" (Stoicism, 1). Stoics regard the world to be chaotic and "an unruly and often unreasonable entity," which can be seen as a cause for the dichotomies set up between man and animal (Stoicism, 1-2). Stoicism "holds that passion distorts truth, and that the pursuit of truth is virtuous," showing why Hamlet believes in the reason versus emotion dichotomy (Stoicism, 2). Stoics "do not seek to extinguish emotions, only to avoid emotional troubles by developing clear judgment," which we can see clearly exemplified by Hamlet's behavior in staging the "Mouse Trap" play in order to "catch the conscience of the King" (Stoicism, 3) (2.2.606). Because of the teachings of Stoicism, Hamlet distrusts his emotion and passion, preferring to suppress them and try to reason a solution; Hamlet eventually realizes that this is counterproductive, towards the end considering excessive thinking to be "some craven scruple/ Of thinking too precisely on th' event" (4.4.44-45).

Hamlet further questions the value of stoicism in the soliloquy "To be, or not to be" (3.1.58). The soliloquy is essentially Hamlet questioning whether or not Stoicism has the best solution for dealing with "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," which Stoicism advises "to suffer" (3.1.60). Stoicism advises Hamlet to "suffer" his "sea of troubles," but Hamlet has begun to question whether or not it is "more noble to take arms against [them] and, by opposing, end them" (3.1.59-62). This soliloquy is framed around the essential division addressed in Hamlet between reason and emotion. Hamlet reveals in his soliloquy that it is not the sleep of death that prevents him from taking his revenge (or killing himself, for both options end with Hamlet dead), but his fear of the "undiscovered country" of death. (3.1.81) The fact that Hamlet finishes his soliloquy unresolved to take action shows his adherence to his Stoic ways, choosing to continue to suffer "th' oppressor's wrong" (3.1.73).

Does Stoicism ultimately act as a barrier to Hamlet's revenge, or must he simply have reason enough to act, as he does when his mother dies and Laertes admits the king's treachery? The answer is unclear, as Hamlet does not always remain true to his beliefs, as is the case when he rashly kills Polonius. However, the evidence points to Hamlet's eventual reliance on extreme emotion to provoke his most important deeds, such as the slaying of Polonius and the murder of Claudius.

Hamlet is incapable of bringing himself to a murderous state through rational arguments -- he is only able to do this through frenzied states of emotion. Hamlet lives in a world where emotions are disparaged as bestial, but it is these bestial emotions that Hamlet requires to exact his revenge and to stay alive. Hamlet argues that a man who only sleeps and feeds is "a beast, no more" (4.4.39). Hamlet describes the mad Ophelia as "Divided from herself and her fair judgment, / Without the which we are... mere beasts" (4.5.83-84). Hamlet has very clearly separated himself from the beasts, with reason and "fair judgment" on his side and "bestial oblivion" on the other. Hamlet only confronts his mother because of the frenzied state he is in following the "mouse trap." He kills Polonius in a state of wild emotion that Gertrude calls "a rash and bloody deed," and he finally does so only after the death of his mother and his being assured of his own imminent death by Laertes' poison (3.3.26). Thus, Hamlet must have his own mother and father murdered and his own death assured before he can become incensed enough to kill Claudius! This is not an act of reason; it is an act of emotion.

Stoicism manifests itself through the idea of conscience in Hamlet. The nobility of conscience is discussed by Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes. Conscience has a few properties in Hamlet. First, it serves as a sort of guideline for morality. Pangs of conscience afflict Claudius after seeing the play, when he admits "How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience!" (3.1.49-50). Seeing his sins committed onstage by actors inflames Claudius' conscience and reminds him of his own lack of morality, how he acted in a bestial manner and killed his own brother. Conscience works here to shame him. Hamlet's conscience also alerts him to the immorality of his mother's incestuous marriage to his uncle: "O, most wicked speed, to post, with such dexterity to incestuous sheets... but break my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (1.2.156-159). Even Laertes, considering the treacherous murder of Hamlet, declares that it is "almost 'gainst [his] conscience", even though he already damned "conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit" of hell (5.2.250) (4.5.130). Hamlet dismisses the idea that sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths was immoral because "they are not near [his] conscience" (5.2.59). Furthermore, Hamlet invokes conscience to argue that the murder of Claudius would be moral: "is't not perfect conscience,/ to quit him with this arm?" (5.2.69). Conscience is the representation of morality within Hamlet. Characters, whether good or bad, can judge the morality of their actions by how their conscience speaks to them. Whether or not they listen to their conscience, however, determines whether they are heroes or villains.

Hamlet enters this play as the equivalent of a modern-day ideological young man: filled with lofty ideas of philosophy he believes can help him in the real world. With the murder of his father, the dishonourable marriage of his mother, the loss of his kingship to his uncle, and the death of his love, Hamlet finds that he cannot live both honorably and stoically. To revenge his father's murder, he must follow the only guide to morality within the play, conscience, and allow his emotion to take over. Only when Hamlet combines emotion and his conscience towards achieving his goals does he become a truly effective revenger. Conscience and Stoicism are at odds in Hamlet as to which is the true yardstick of morality, but Hamlet certainly comes out on the side of conscience. Villains are afflicted with pangs of bad conscience while Hamlet's conscience is clear as he takes just actions. Because of conscience's triumph of morality, Hamlet eventually abandons Stoicism for its rival: emotion. Emotion and conscience, both natural components of human beings, are the characteristics of the true hero that Hamlet becomes.

Works Cited

1. "Stoicism." Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. 15 Nov. 2005 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism >
2. Wells, Stanley and Gary Taylor, eds. The Complete Oxford Shakespeare. New York: Oxford UP, 1987.

The relationship with Japan has always been a difficult one but throughout World War II it has only gotten worse. Japan held off supplies from the United States, while they planned to attack Pearl Harbor. There were many casualties as a result of this attack. Americans do not handle their own getting hurt and they will not stand for it. How hard should the United States fight back, is the real question. Should the US have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?

The United States is out to cause pain to Japan. During World War II their citizens had no problem throwing grenades at the United States Soldiers. The attack on Pearl Harbor has caused an abundance of mistrust among the United States and their Japanese American inhabitants. The United States showed so much grace to Japan but that time is over. When they attacked Pearl Harbor over 2000 U.S military lives were lost, almost 20 navy boats were destroyed, and 68 civilians were even killed. There is no standing for this. The atomic bombs were built to protect this country, is this not the moment the country has been waiting for? The moment where the bomb is dropped so the world can be reminded that you do not mess with the United States. They cannot forget that we will protect our own, and when they hurt one of us, they hurt all of us. Due to the atomic bomb only ever being tested underground, is it not known how much damage will be caused. At this point though, all that matters is that Japan feels some of the pain our country is having to go through because of their actions.

As much as we all want to see mass destruction, the United States also does not want to be seen as abusing its power either. The leaders of the country should be the most affected because the pain we are feeling as a country was a direct result of their commands. The United States has never sent off an atomic bomb before on another country as a weapon. The bombs have been tested underground but they have never been tested to their full capability. It has to be remembered that there are families there as well and not all of Japan has wronged the United States. The country as a whole did not decide to cut us off from certain supplies or to attack our Pearl Harbor. Many families are hurting because someone they loved is gone. Some children do not have a father, some women do not have a husband. To want to inflict this kind of pain on families is almost torturous, it will affect generations to come. The United States is one, we support our own, and We help our neighbors. Do the Japanese people do the same or will we be leaving families alone with no help? At what point do we need to sit back and wait for a more civilized plan? At what point is it too much?

Our President Harry Truman has had the Manhattan Project going on in secret for quite a while now. There has been lots of hard work done on this atomic bomb and this would be the perfect moment for the United States to use it. Japan was given the chance to surrender but they chose to ignore the warning. The United States is constantly reminding their military to protect the country, now it is time to use one of the biggest weapons known to man. The Navy lost thousands of men on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. The men are still healing, they cannot just continue to be sent overseas where they have to remember to trust no one due to the fact that they never know if that sweet old grandma is going to pull a grenade out of her armpit and chuck it at them. If Japan wants to not heed the warning the United States so graciously gave them, then it is not our responsibility to protect them. The United States must put their people first and that includes their military. At some point sending people overseas will not suffice, more must be done. The leaders of the United States need to fight and protect their men for once like they are always expecting others to do.

On the other hand, the military understands why President Harry S. Truman would not want to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. The Manhattan Project has spent years working on the atomic bomb. The question remains is it ready to drop, will it ever be ready to drop? I know many people within the Navy and other military branches would rather just go back over to Japan rather than drop a faulty weapon. No one is quite sure what the repercussions of this decision will be. Those within the military know how to fight to get the job done, and when they signed up they knew what they were getting themselves into. As much as I think everyone would like to stand back and let the government handle this, it is known that they can not solve this all by themselves. They need help and there are people standing at the sides ready to jump into battle to get revenge for their fallen brothers and sisters. To get revenge for the families who lost someone because of Pearl Harbor. Why drop a bomb that may or may not work, when they United States has people they know can get the expected job done.

The United States was sure to let it be known to Japan that their refusal of surrender would lead to total destruction. This action would also provide a great message to other countries around the world. The Soviets are getting too big for their britches and they need a reminder of who the United States is. By dropping the atomic bomb, there is a chance that is could be the final blow of World War II and then the United States can finally put that behind them. By doing the bomb over sending the military back over, the American soldiers would be protected, and it would avoid making citizens more mad because of the unwanted military personnel around their towns. Some people are worried about the radiation but after consulting with multiple scientists they claim that they do not foresee that as an issue. Japan is not listening or wanting to come to any compromises. Japan will never accept the idea of peace so as a country we must become more aggressive. We have run out of choices. The Manhattan project was created for a reason, and now is the time to put all those hours to use. It is time to drop the bomb.

The Manhattan Project has been underway for a few years now but no big tests have been done on the atomic bombs. The United States has tried to establish peace with Japan but we have not been at it for a very long time. Americans are already on edge from the Pearl Harbor attack on top of being in a World War, this would only add to the stress the country is feeling. The entire world is fragile right now, this could only make things worse. This could cause another attack on American soil which is not needed right, it is never needed. I was shown how Americans react when their own is hurt, like during Pearl Harbor. We have no idea how their people will react. There is also no way to confirm that the atomic bomb will do what we want it to. What if we drop the bomb and it never goes off? That would just anger them more, which is frankly something we do not need, and if it does go off, when then? The United States has no idea how many casualties will come from this. Finding a way to make them abandon their plan of dying before they surrender is still possible. There has to be a way to get peace.

In the end, there were positives and negatives to each of the choices. On August 6, 1945, Harry S. Truman made the decision to drop to have Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The blast was much bigger than expected and as soon as the bomb exploded, more than 80,000 lives were lost. By the end, it was estimated that more than 200,000 lives were lost due to the bomb explosion itself and many perished due to radiation sickness.

Table of contents

1. Repercussions of the Alaskan King Crab Shutdown
IntroductionEconomic Effects of the Federal ShutdownSocial Ramifications on the National CommunityThe Japanese Markets and Illegal Fishing
2. Conclusion

Repercussions of the Alaskan King Crab Shutdown

Introduction

In the year of 2013, the U.S. government shutdown from October first through the sixteenth in reaction to the political schism between the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic Senate regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or, as Americans commonly know it, Obamacare and the legislative budget for the fiscal year of 2014. The bureaucratic chasm not only froze government spending and programs, it effectively slowed local and global businesses to a damaging halt.

As a result of the shutdown, approximately “[t]hree billion dollars were lost in government services” and about $2 billion dollars were lost from industry closures, particularly the Alaskan king crab industry, which plays a critical role in the Alaskan economy, as countless jobs relating to a specific trade were drastically damaged. With the federal standstill damaging multiple state and international businesses, Alaskan state legislators and federal representatives must now revise national policies to promote economic and social stability in order to recoup the lost revenue from the fishing industry closure and aid the individuals affiliated within the trade.

Economic Effects of the Federal Shutdown

Commercial fishing is one of Alaska’s major economic activities which is why many crabbers and fishermen, both local and international, were disgruntled with the repercussions of the shutdown on the fishing industry. An increasing lack of payment to employees were prevalent through the majority of Alaskan occupations, from fishermen to federal personnel, with approximately “16,390 civilians” affected by the shutdown. 3 This shared consequence of the inability to generate an adequate profit from commercial fishing has essentially left Alaskan legislators a massive workload; so, in order to regulate federal jobs while avoiding furlough, “federal offices are reducing hours” to avoid any additional layoffs.3

Unfortunately, mandatory furloughs precipitated the standstill of several jobs such as preventing the federally-run National Marine Fisheries Service from issuing permits to fishermen. Without permits, fishermen could not recoup their losses as the start of the season was already delayed and individual quotas for the season could not be distributed, preventing fishermen from acquiring the proper paperwork they needed to avoid the overreaching of their annual catch limits. Consequently, American fishermen and citizens are now blaming state legislators and federal representatives for their income losses.

Social Ramifications on the National Community

Although the economy was immensely overwhelmed by the shutdown, a social outcry was heard in America as a considerable amount of captains and fishermen had to subsist with reduced salaries. With “[r]oughly two-hundred million dollars” at stake, captains such as Keith Colburn, owner and operator of the Wizard, estimates that about thirty percent of his annual income will vanish. Scott Campbell Jr., who has worked for the Alaskan crabbing industry since the age of eighteen, is another individual affected by the shutdown. By the end of 2013, Campbell Jr. received a relatively low pay check of about $30,000 for his work during the crab season. In addition to the lowered paycheck, Campbell had to work extra jobs after the Alaskan crab season was over in order to support his family, similar to the many fishermen who depend on the Alaskan king crab season to sustain their families for the rest of the year.

The reverberating effects of this social unrest have prompted successive pleas from many affected citizens “calling for” Alaskan legislators to end the economic halt as soon as possible. Escalating social and economic pressure have sparked increased activity among legislators with the demand that they are “not on furlough”, demonstrating the significant correlation between federal activity versus the economic struggle of blue-collared workers. Meanwhile, rippling effects of the shutdown are also altering global businesses interwoven with Alaskan fishing waters.

The Japanese Markets and Illegal Fishing

Although various industries and fishermen, such as Captain Colburn, were impacted, there is also one other problem: the booming Japanese markets during the holiday season. Mark Gleason, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, states that “Japan drives the [] lucrative yet narrow business cycle” of the market, setting domestic and international prices for the season. In order to satisfy Japan’s “holiday appetite,” the season’s catch must be shipped to processing plants then exported to Japan by November, otherwise it could cause severe profit losses.

Alaskan king crab fishermen also fear the Russian crab industry will claw its way into the United States’ market share due to the government shutdown grounding boats on Alaskan ports. Mark Gleason explains that a bulk of “Russian product [is] in Japanese cold storage” and if Alaskan fisheries cannot deliver, then Russian markets could potentially take American profit as well as alter king crab prices. With risks such as illegal fishing harming the united market of Alaskan king crab, it is no wonder that many desire for this standstill to end.

Conclusion

The economic decline and social frustrations of the shutdown have become detrimental consequences of the unprecedented government shutdown on the crabbing industry, forcing Alaskan legislators and federal representatives into immediate action in order to ensure, not entirely commercial success, but financial survival. To prevent any further losses, Alaska state legislators should pass new maritime laws to allow temporary suspension of licenses in case of crisis so that fishermen can freely conduct their businesses in Alaskan waters while also enforcing an equal tax to compensate revenues for the Alaskan economy. Another potential resolution could be the distribution of federal subsidies to organizations that support the Alaskan king crab industry so that lost revenue can be reimbursed to fisheries and their employees while simultaneously reducing deficits and generating enough jobs for the Alaskan state. If federal and state laborers unite under the common of goal of defending America’s commonwealth then forthcoming financial, political, or ideological hardships and divisions can surely be conquered.

As one of the great stylists of the twentieth century, William Faulkner explores the South’s haunting past throughout several novels. His novel Light in August is one of many set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional place in Mississippi, where he explores the fallout and change in the early to mid 1900’s caused by Reconstruction. In this novel, Faulkner uses a strange protagonist, Joe Christmas, to reveal that society’s moral and social values. Joe, a man allegedly from racially diverse parentage, is never proven to be part black. His alienation from white society, however, is just one example of the influence of the white supremacist theology on the people with whom he interacts. Faulkner also seeks to illustrate how religion can be misused, becoming nothing more than an instrument of racisms. The interactions between Joe Christmas and the townspeople reveal that truth and fact are ambiguous and not always consistent; but that it does not stop public opinion from casting judgment on what they interpret as the truth.

Joe Christmas is alienated by society because of his presumed race and behavior. Christmas is brought up in a white orphanage and appears to be white. However he is ostracized by the other children and becomes the subject of racial slurs. During his time at the orphanage, the dietitian notes that, “They have been calling him nigger for years.” (133). Additionally the dietitian asserts,to her own benefit, that he should be moved to an orphanage for black kids and tells the matron that, “I don’t see how we failed to see it as long as we did. You can look at his face now, his eyes and hair.” (134). Even though the dietitian wants to get rid of Christmas because he threatens her job security, her comment originated from the fact that he must not have resembled the other white children. Faulkner deliberately keeps the race of Christmas’s father a secret. Earlier, Christmas is described as not black, but foreign. Later on, Mr. Hines, Christmas’s grandfather, recounts how when he asked the circus manger about the employee that his daughter slept with, the manager initially replied that he was black, but then moments later changed his answer and replied that he wasn’t sure. When Christmas is talking with Joanna, when she questions his race, Christmas is forced to answer “I don’t know it.” (254). Even though Christmas’s race is never confirmed, the townspeople in Jefferson judge him to be black on the word of Joe Brown, an unreliable man who illegally distilled alcohol with Christmas, and then seek retribution for murder with religious and social undertones.

Faulkner’s fictional county embodies the racial bias and strong influence of religion that was present in the south in the early 1900’s. Faulkner uses a unified town voice to articulate the opinions and moral assumptions of that society. In his novel Faulkner often uses the word “them” or “they” to describe the town. For example, “They believed for a while that he helped do it.” (in relation to Joe Brown’s responsibility for the murder) and

“They would have not have suspected him then if it hadn’t been for a fellow named

Brown, that the nigger used to sell whiskey while pretending to be a white man and

tried to lay the killing and the whiskey on Brown, but brown told the truth.” (pages 420, 449).

The town speaks as one voice and chooses to believe Joe Brown because he is white. In addition to the way he writes, Faulkner highlights the segregation of whites and blacks and the implied racial superiority of whites in his description and imagery of the town. In his childhood, the dietitian describes the difference in conditions between the white and black orphanages, commenting that “It’s bad for the child to have to go to the nigger home, after this, after growing up with white people.” (135). The dietitian's comments imply that the black orphanage is not as good and that that the company of black people is undesirable.

In Jefferson City the blacks and whites live in different areas and go to different churches. Joanna Burden and Rev. Hightower are ostracized by their peers because they choose to associate with black people. Joanna was ostracized for being an abolitionist and promoting equality. Rev. Hightower also shows kindness to blacks and is considered suspect for his actions. The town views blacks as inferior people and views voluntary interaction with them as suspect.

Caucasian racial superiority is reinforced by the influence of religion. Mr. Hines is described as expressed of “twofisted evangelism which had been one quarter violent conviction and three quarters physical hardihood.” (343). This quotation reveals how Faulkner emphasized certain words by removing the spaces, in addition to making the story line a discontinuous time sequence. This quotation shows how devote Mr. Hines was to his religion. Mr. Hines made it his task to go into the country side and hold revivals at black churches. During these revival Mr. Hines made speeches with “violent obscenity, {and} preach to them humility before all skins lighter than theirs, preaching superiority of the white race.” (343) Mr. Hines justified barging into churches and screaming at the congregation as his divine calling to help save their souls. Mr. Hines delusions were perpetuated by the combination of religion and racism. Towards the end of the book, Percy Grimes kills Christmas as an act of patriotic and religious duty. After he is dead, Grimes castrates Christmas in a symbolic crucifixion so that Christmas “would let white women alone, even in hell.” (464). The strong influence of religion did not stop persecution of blacks and illustrates the important entanglement of white superiority and religion in the town.

In addition to a enigmatic past, Faulkner does not even say that Christmas actually killed Ms. Burden. Faulkner describes how her throat was slit and that Christmas carried around a razor blade, but Faulkner never does more than hint at the relationship between Christmas and the crime. Christmas’s conviction is perpetuated by the racism of the town that drives people to get rid of him because he is a “guilty black man”, and therefore an inherently sinful being that deserves to rot in hell. Christmas is sought out because people in the town feel that it is their duty to make the town safe for moral white people. Faulkner’s novel shows the backwardness and shortcomings of the south during the 1900’s and how prejudicial stereotypes were still pervasive and powerful in that society.