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Born on December 14th, 1916 Shirley Jackson was a well-established American writer until her death on August 8th, 1965. She primarily wrote horror, mystery, and supernatural stories. Within her two-decade long career she wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories, with some of her most prominent works including: “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Bird’s Nest”. Among those short stories dwells a controversial and dark story called “The Lottery”. “The Lottery” tells of an annual ritual held in a distant land, shrouded in a dark and uneasy feeling. It is not until the final lines of the short story that the story takes a very sudden turn and our suspicions are confirmed.

Shirley Jackson did not write “The Lottery”, to simply expose an evil tradition carried on in a foreign land, but to expose the “evil traditions” we in the modern world have followed mindlessly for centuries. Through the expert use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the author is able to convey her thoughts about the everyday evils carried out without a second thought by most, and that evil could sprout from anywhere. This story is set in a small village in a distant land, on a beautiful summer day. The story begins with the author painting a wholesome picture, with blossoming flowers and richly-green grass fields. Children innocently play and collect rocks in their pockets as their parents and families assemble in the square of the town for the conducting of the annual lottery. As the families gather the reader is able to infer that the village social structure is highly patriarchal, with children disregarding their mothers’ commands, but being very quick to action when told by their fathers.

They focus their attention on a local volunteer and business tycoon Mr. Summers as he carries a black box onto the stage, followed by the town’s postmaster, Mr. Graves. These two men carry out the annual lottery every year, however not even they can remember the proper protocols, or details of this long-running ritual. Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers begin the procedure and proceed to call the names of a handful of villagers. The chosen few approach the black box, near the two men, and pull out folded slips of paper. The chosen are comprised mostly men, however they are joined by a few women, including a twelve-year-old girl and Mr. Hutchinson’s wife, Tessie. This seemed to gain some reluctant reaction from the crowd, however not a strong enough reaction to obstruct the Lottery. The chosen few line up on stage, put on display for their entire community, holding their own slips of paper. Mr. Summers commands the few to open their folded slips of paper, which are followed with some sighs of relief, along with a sense of intrigue. Tessie seems to have a heavy, black dot on her slip, while the other slips remain blank. Following the order to “finish this up quickly” from Mr. Summers, the villagers seem to approach Mrs. Hutchinson, however reluctant, without hesitation.

The words “This isn’t fair” leave Mrs. Hutchinson’s mouth, right before she in struck in her head with a rock. The story takes a dark turn as the townspeople, including the children who collected stones earlier, stone Mrs. Hutchinson to death as she lets out one final scream, “This isn’t fair, this isn’t right”. This short story takes an abrupt and macabre turn when it is finally revealed that the ritual is a means of selecting a person to be sacrificed and stoned by the other villagers. This short story was published by the New Yorker in 1948, which is absolutely crucial to the story’s analysis. A post-World War 2 America was revolted by the senseless violence and barbaric ritual explained in the story and demanded action be taken. However, the readers were unaware that the story was completely fictional, and that the author was not simply telling them a story, but was intending to shed light on the “evil traditions” we practice in our very homes and communities without second thought. Shirley Jackson accomplishes the intention by an astounding use of symbols, irony, and imagery. One of the many symbols in this short story, and perhaps the most obvious, would be the Lottery itself.

The Lottery is held annually and it is not just an isolated tradition, but a regional tradition as explained in the story. It is a tradition that has been carried out continually for generations, without hesitation or moral revulsion. However, it is nothing but a systematic, and arbitrary construction of evil. Jackson, through this story, condemns blindly following traditions simply due to familiarity, or routinization, as many of the most heinous acts of violence were executed by people with the same ideals and reason. For example, the holocaust had just taken place before the publishing of this story, and it is known as probably the most evil and heinous deeds carried out by humans against other humans. The murders committed by the Nazi party were not seen as evil or heinous by those involved, and this was due to the routinization of murder and the glorifying of it by people with high authority. This could also be seen in “the Lottery” with three of the most powerful men in the community being responsible for conducting this ritual annually, and the villagers not questioning their decisions and actions.

Another symbol within this story that heavily reinforces peoples’ stubbornness to change would be the Black Box. Although the Black Box is worn and falling apart, the villagers revere the box almost as a religious artifact, and are very reluctant to let it go, much like the Lottery itself. This had caused a great amount of controversy among the readers of this story due to a “…tapping into the universal fear of arbitrary condemnation and unsanctioned violence”. Jackson responded to those upset by saying, “she wanted to dramatize graphically the ‘pointless violence’ in peoples lives, to reveal the general inhumanity to man”. Shirley Jackson does an outstanding job using imagery to influence the readers’ thoughts about the story and its outcome. For example, the reader is first greeted by the lines, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” From this line alone the reader can inference that the story is that of a kind, tender, and wholesome theme. This kind of imagery can be found throughout the short story reinforcing the wholesome image manifested in the reader’s mind. Children play innocently on a beautiful day, men and women socialize with neighbors and a sense of community can almost immediately be felt, making the situation relatable to most people. The story fulfills our expectations; however, it does not stop there.

The story takes a very abrupt and macabre turn when the reader discovers that the Lottery is an arbitrary way of executing villagers annually, and that it is done so without hesitation. The author used tender terms and relatable situations heavily influencing the reader to infer a specific outcome of the story, only to completely catch the reader by surprise with a dark, horrid, and ultimately realistic theme. In conclusion, Shirley Jackson wrote “The Lottery” as a means to tell the modern world something they did not wish to hear or believe, that blindly following traditions because it’s done by a vast majority of people or its being asked of by someone of high or ultimate authority, does not make it just or right. She wished to raise awareness that evil could be anywhere, and it might not always seem obvious at first, but that it could be born from a simple “tradition”.

Works Cited

1. Jackson, S. (1948). The Lottery. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
2. Boudreau, K. (2015). Tradition and Tessie Hutchinson: Causes and Effects in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". Academic Exchange Quarterly, 19(4), 1-7.
3. Carroll, M. (1989). On Defending "The Lottery". College English, 51(2), 156-161.
4. Collopy, R. M. (2019). Tradition and Symbolism in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". Journal of Language and Literature Education, 7(1), 42-55.
5. Franklin, R. L. (2000). Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": The Authorized Graphic Adaptation. Hill and Wang.
6. Hattenhauer, D. (2005). Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": A Critically Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press.
7. Kelly, J. P. (1997). Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": The Authorized Dramatization. Dramatic Publishing.
8. Oehlschlaeger, F. (1975). "The Lottery": Symbolic Tour de Force. American Literature, 46(1), 100-107.
9. Parkinson, D. (2010). Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and the Possibility of Evil. Notes on Contemporary Literature, 40(3), 9-12.
10. Van Alstyne, K. (2017). “I Remember That Day”: A Critical Companion to Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery”. Routledge.

As the quote by Wyland says, “The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” I found this quote and took it into a different direction. This was by viewing women as the “ocean” and the “heart” as men, it shows through this quote and could be based on this essay because the women in the households are inspiring their husbands to do their best and giving them joy. This essay is focused on Brady highlighting the expectations and responsibilities married women are expected to fulfill in their marriages primarily focused for their husband and children. Brady also states that she wants to have a wife so that she doesn’t have to be dependent on another person, she is trying to say that she wants to play the role as the husband. So what is Judy Brady's main thesis in the essay? Brady’s thesis is that women’s roles in marriages are unequal to men, in which they are the ones dealing with all the responsibilities of the family. Her purpose for this essay is to influence women to speak up for their rights and to move away from the stereotype of women taking care of everything in the house. “I Want a Wife” is an essay outlining the evidence of women being treated poorly and unequal to men. Some people to be more specific men, would say that is okay and that is their job but it is just simply them following the society during that time. I could understand both clarifications because of evidence, language, intended audience, method and structure.

This was published in December 1971 in New York Magazine. This essay was written as a speech for a rally in San Francisco in 1970. I believe the target audience is women to show them that they are cruelly being treated in their society. In my opinion, the women were resistant in these suggestions to stand up for their rights because of the society or year they were living in and they didn’t want to go against what others were saying. At the same time, they wanted to be receptive because they wanted change and were probably tired of being treated badly. The writer should have approached the intended audience in a strong and hard core way by showing how men treat them daily with a skit, and providing people of authority who would help to change stereotypes so the women would not feel as though they were alone, to also speak about their health and how stress affects their interactions with others. This is also in small way intended to men also to describe and show ways in which they are poorly treating their wives.

The examples throughout this essay were suitable, relevant for this particular type and it had sufficient amount of evidence to support her reasoning. I could say this because through majority of the examples given, Brady has outlined the responsibilities and the roles that the men expect their wives to do. All of these examples show us that the women were being treated unfairly when viewing it based on the recent times, but, in the 70s that was the rule for the women to take care of the men and children by doing all duties. As doing a research to see whether women were allowed to, it only came into existence in the early 70s. So, it could be assumed majority of the women were still playing the role of housewives. This reassures us that the fact that her evidence is sufficient, supporting and suitable to the topic.

Method and structure always play an important role to determine whether an essay is good or not. The modes of development which were used in this essay were description and narration in which she opened the essay by telling a story about her being a wife and wanting one for herself. Then the descriptive part came into which she described all the responsibilities or duties that a wife was expected to do in the 70s.The mode of development which was dominant was description. I can say this because Brady never said she just wants a wife to take of her and her children, but she specifically outlines all the responsibilities men expect women to do around their house and for their families. The order and the organization of this essay is developed in an excellent way is which she puts her points together by least important to most important. So, she starts off from the wife having to take of the children, then to take care of Brady’s physicals needs, a wife who doesn’t complain, one who will take care of Brady’s social life and wife that is sensitive to Brady’s sexual needs. Then she ends her essay by having a rhetorical question in which she makes the readers question who wouldn’t want a wife to show how important wives are in marriages. The modes and order of this essay is effective for the points Brady has pointed out because it has made her point seem truthful. She has chosen the correct mode of development because it has helped to put the reader on her side of the argument. To realize that women are treated unequal to men, they do everything and most times the men get recognized.

Lastly, one of the main roles that help develop a good essay is the language being used throughout the essay. The tone in “I Want a Wife” is sarcastic, humorous and seems to me like a casual conversation that you would have with someone. That she describes having to do the same jobs before when she was in a relationship. Now, she doesn’t like this job wants a wife to do it for her and to take care of all the family needs. All of this is humorous because she is trying to say that women are being treated unequal to men but wants a wife so she can live the unbothered life as men are doing. The tone is unsuitable to me because if you are going to be speaking about such a strong you shouldn’t be taking the approach that there will be jokes and that sarcasm will be throughout the essay. The word “I want a wife” is repeated multiple times to emphasize the responsibilities or roles a wife has to do or is expected to do. The figures of speech present in the essay repetition in the word of “I want a wife’, Brady uses this to show the selfish life of the husband and that the men expect women to do everything for them. The other figure of speech which is present in the essay is irony, to add a little humor to this serious issue. It is used to show the gender specific roles like the phrase specifying the role of the woman “I want a who will work and send me to school”. The thing I find humorous in this essay is that if it was not stated that a woman wrote this essay, I would have thought it was a man. The last device I found in this essay was hyperbole and this is the device that was easy to find. Brady overexaggerates all the responsibilities and duties that a wife has to do, she does all this to make her point clear to the readers. This exaggeration can be seen by the line” A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me.”, this shows us that the women in marriages are viewed as slaves for their husband and family. The last line is” My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?”, puts emphasis on the fact that wouldn’t want a wife or a person whom they can have them do all the responsibilities and duties needed.

In conclusion, this essay has showed the evolution of women from the 70s to now as in which women are not forced to stay at home and take care of all the family’s needs, but they now get a chance to work and the family’s responsibilities is shared between husband and wife. Thanks to women standing up especially Judy Brady we now have gender equality. “I Want a Wife”, used irony and humour to make a serious situation funny. It had me engaged from start to finish and I believe it had the readers of this essay engaged. It was quite enjoyable.

Works Cited

• Brady, Judy. 'The ’70S Feminist Manifesto That’s Still A Must-Read Today'. The Cut, 2017, https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/i-want-a-wife-by-judy-brady-syfers-new-york-mag-1971.html. Accessed 13 Mar 2019.
• Kennedy, X. J et al. The Brief Bedford Reader. 13th ed., pp. 460-461.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. References

Thesis statement: In this paper, I will discuss about the incident at Morales. I will identify some ethical, technical, and economical issues. I will also identify the stakeholders and some social and political constraint on some solutions. Finally, I will state some alternate actions and evaluate them according to basic ethical values.

Introduction

Introduction: Ethical responsibilities continue past the U.S. borders. Wherever the engineer practice, they should prioritize the safety and health of the public. The professionally duties of the engineers extend beyond the contract with a client or customer; the lives of workers and citizens are in their hands. Depending on social and economic conditions, this usually defines how an engineer fulfills its professional duties.

Body

Topic sentence: Ethics is a crucial component for business decision making in engineering practices. Different engineers have different perspectives and can disagree with solutions when faced with difficult ethical issues. Some problems were resolved in the video by negotiations, but some other ethical issues remained untouched. In the video, Fred faced many challenges that tested his ethics. He neglected engineering ethics when making some decisions. Evidence & citing: An example of this was when Fred had to buy materials for the construction of the plant. Due to costs being cut, Fred must decide on buying either the cheaper or more expensive materials. Chuck believed that it was completable if cheaper materials were to be used which would affect the quality of the plant. Fred disregarded the implications of the substandard materials and insisted on purchasing the substandard pipes and connectors. Commentary: Those substandard pipes and connectors were not able to withstand the extreme conditions that they were going to be used in. The group knows this will most likely cause a problem in the future, but Chuck states that the problem will no longer be on their hand and it will be the manufactures problem then. This is ethically wrong because the company should not purposely throw problems over to another department. Although Chuck is giving upper management what they want now by staying within budget, this in the long run would not benefit the company. If Fred would have raised concerns about the costs, the company could have improvised on spending rather than cutting costs.

Topic sentence: An environmental issue that occurred during the video was what the impact of the wastewater created by the plant could have. Evidence & citing: Phaust neglected the environmental ethics by designing the manufacturing plant in Mexico due to its lack of environmental laws. The company’s desire to make profit and dominate the market encouraged the management to disregard the ethics. Maria discovers the environmental implications that the plant could have on the plant and water and begs Fred to have his reservoirs lined properly. He did not line the evaporation ponds to stop the evaporation of the dangerous chemicals at first which is ethically wrong. Fred hesitated and didn’t share his thought with Chuck or Wally at first. Luckily, Chuck agrees to line the reservoirs in the end. By talking to Chuck before bringing it up with Wally, Wally got angry with him. Commentary: This broke the code of ethics because he promised Wally that he would go talk to him first about everything.

Topic sentence: Finally, he insisted on settling for a lower cost standard sensor instead of the more expensive, but reliable ones. After Fred went through the decision-making process to conclude that a particular flange and coupling were to be used in his plant, it was too late to go back and change it. Right or wrong, the choice was now made, and it was time to see how it would hold up during the process. Evidence & citing: When Wally comes to inspect the plant, he points out to Fred that there was some residue around the pipes which was caused due to the lack of the durability that the coupling was rated to. Wally does not like that the signs of failing were appearing so early in the process, and Fred reiterates that this could have been avoided by spending more money on stronger alloy materials. This failure was due to a change in the chemical make-up of the mixture which in return caused the plant to increase the temperature and pressure by two times. Commentary: This eventually led to the sensors malfunctioning and forcing the plant manager to operate the plant manually. Ultimately, this malfunction resulted in the manager’s death due to the rapid deterioration of the couplings and the pressure within the pipes. Conclusion

Conclusion paragraph: In the end, the most important job for an engineer to do is to maintain the health and safety of the people. This also includes the safety of the surrounding environment and the society no matter where the location is. Engineers are able to design indestructible things, but do not have the budget to provide for the lasting infrastructure. So instead, engineers design things to accept failing tolerances. This was shown in the incident at Morales where the engineer was faced with ethical decisions that had to be managed. I personally believe that Fred felt the pressure from upper management and did not handle the situation ethically. I believe that as an engineer, especially having a P.E., he needed to be confident and hold his ground when facing these ethical issues. Being able to do this is the most important quality that any engineer can have.

References

1. Martin, P. (Writer) & Martin, P. (Director). (2003). Incident at Morales [Motion Picture]. http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/docs/Incident-at-Morales-Study-Guide.pdf

Introduction

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Thesis statement

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

Topic sentence

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

Evidence & citing

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

Commentary

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Conclusion paragraph

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad aboutthe topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

Most highschool students will 't sit up for their year to be over as a result of they feel exhausted by the seven long periods of categories and to not mention ennui. John Taylor Gatto, a former New York state teacher of the year wrote a piece of writing known as 'against school.' Gatto criticizes the varsity system for his or her inability to satisfy the students’ expectations and for golf shot limits on their ability to be told. The kids feel neglected, and therefore the lecturers feel helpless as a result of they need to figure with students un agency don't seem to be inquisitive about the materials they're given. Gatto mentions however united states of america high faculties became suffering from adapting to the prussian education system. In keeping with gatto, the aim of highschool is to control the coed 's mind to form a harmless, and manageable society to learn the govt. That shouldn 't be the aim of colleges, however i feel that the author presents true facts of why the govt would wish that. Therefore, education ought to serve to assist all students open their minds to the unknown, to strengthen their skills, to assist them observe choices for his or her future lives, and to encourage the students’ minds and hearts to be told new things. Gatto’s recommendation for an improved system of education is to not have a rigid establishment, however to supply facilitate to students un agency are in low-level categories, and update the teachers’ teaching ways, therefore the government won’t benefit of the scholars un agency do poorly in faculties.

In fact, the author reminds that concerning James Bryant Conant 's influence within the college system (Gatto 36). Conant is chargeable for having most of the Prussian education system in most folk high faculties just like the months of faculty years, and therefore the group action of thousands of scholars that head of a similar high school (Gatto 36). The Prussian’s system wished to control a person’s talents to favor the government, to break the students’ important thinking by implying their own commonplace to form a manageable society (Gatto 36). The standardized take a look at leaves students World Health Organization didn’t have a decent score within the test to be placed in low-level categories. He says that government 's purpose is to assign a gaggle of individuals to finish the mission of looking at over and dominant a society whose expectations are low in order that the government will lead while not being challenged or questioned. In this case, oldsters and academics ought to work along to encourage each student to try to their best to not let the government place a hold on their dreams and goals.

In addition, he explicit that we tend to don 't want mandatory establishment like high faculties to’ get a decent education. He mentioned concerning presidents and scientists World Health Organization didn't head to school, however they were able to realize the simplest way to teach themselves (Gatto 35). They didn't attend to a rigid establishment, however they were able to bring home the bacon success. Once the person Thomas Edison began to head to college, he was kicked out as a result of his teacher thought of him tough to manage. He was able to self-educate and have become an excellent creator (Gatto 35). I feel that we tend to might still use the college system to profit the scholars World Health Organization couldn’t become educated otherwise. Each student learns otherwise, like some students learn rather more in visually learning vogue, others sense modality, et al in an exceedingly proprioception vogue. For this reason, students ought to include the chance to interact in numerous category settings to encourage them to be told and hopefully become higher students.

Not to mention, Gatto’s points out that the $64000 purpose of the college system in his essay that has dangerous impact on one in all my friend’s life. In keeping with Gatto, 'School are meant to tag the unfit-with poor grades, remedial placement, and different punishments'. As associate example, faculties let students had poor grades throughout the year to pass the grade solely by attending to academic session. I actually have a lover whose dreams were shattered because of the system we’ve got currently. Andrea 's eleventh-grade year was terribly tough for her as a result of her mother died at the start of the college year. She struggled with depression, and once being in honor categories for past 3 years, she began to struggle along with her categories. Once she reached twelfth grade due to her low performance in her junior year, she was place in medium level categories. She felt discouraged and someone did solely what she required to try to graduate. All of the result was that she lost her chance to induce a scholarship to a university that she attending to unreal forever. I would like to raise the college board academic and, why always wait until we see them later to bring attention to a student 's dangerous grades rather than warning your students at the beginning of their failing grades? The college system ought to target students like Andrea to supply to message support to assist them address their personal issues. Academics ought to be operating with the fogeys and people had specific students to administer them a warning sign to assist them retreat to on the right track as before long because the initial failing grade comes in.

Furthermore, the author points out that the college system prepares an outsized cluster of scholars that had a poor performance in their academic years to perform labor work once they get out of school (Gatto 37). The author reveals that 'School is supposed to work out every student 's correct social role. This can be done by work proof mathematically and anecdotally on accumulative records' (Gatto 36). Moreover, the scholars become plagued by the records of their tests leading them to be placed within the lowest level of sophistication. These students get out of school while not a purpose, not having the ability to search out employment, or finding employment that has solely an occasional financials gain. They’re ineffective to satisfy the necessities of a decent steady job or apply for a scholarship. Therefore, the college system ought to encourage and supply facilitate for the scholar do poorly and with a foul tutorial record.

Given this points, the college system should let lectures be a lot of involved the scholars in their learning method and apply new techniques with the aim to have interaction the students to participate, study and focus at school. I utterly perceive that lecturers should follow a syllabus within the category to let their students pass. But, student lectures might to pay longer mentoring students as people than instruction an entire category. He believes that student ought to be allowed to specialize in subjects that they’re curious about. Given this points, lecturers would have the benefits of teaching a category is concentrated on the fabric rather than having to manage students who are uninterested and rude.

To conclude, Gatto’s recommendation for a more robust education system shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt as a result of students do want the assistance to upgrade from an occasional category to a higher one, update the teaching’s techniques to inspire students to find out, and not let the government profit on the facilities I agree all of what Gatto mentions in his article, however I think that we tend to do want school for kids that can’t be educated otherwise. It's plain that the college system wants major changes for the sake of the scholars. New activities within and outdoors the school room, and serving to learn in several category settings can inspire students to get entangled in learning. Folks and lecturers play a significant role during a kid's life and future. Therefore, the aim of the college ought to be arrange a private to become his or her best, and to become an advantageous. They work along to create a positive modification within the establishment. The college system mustn’t serve intellectually to the scholars with surrounded by morals within the students.    

In Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon, the names of people and even of places take center-stage as arguably the driving motif of the book. Names are used to create Biblical allusions and delineate legacy among related characters, but one of the most significant contributions this motif makes to the story is examining the importance of being able to accept and embrace one’s name for the sake of developing a healthy sense of identity; the text considers this issue in depth primarily by exemplifying how reductive of identity it is to have a name imposed rather than embraced.

The reductive qualities of the imposition of a name stem from the fact that the individual on whom the name was imposed must be defined, at least partially, by something outside the self, even in the eyes of the individual in question. Identity becomes particularly problematic for both self-perception and the perceptions of others when it is based in any capacity on something that is not actually part of the person being identified. First and foremost, this principle applies to the name, Milkman, because Freddie bestows it upon Macon Dead III by simply spreading the name and its pertinent gossip throughout the community in which Macon Dead, Jr. owned many rent houses. Milkman neither embraced nor affirmed the name personally, but the reductive elements of imposition also pertain to the real name, Macon Dead, inasmuch as constructing an independent identity is that much harder for an individual who inherits his father’s name.

Beyond the names, Milkman and Macon Dead, though, there is the more inadvertent example surrounding the name, Shalimar or Solomon, which can also be viewed similarly. The name is imposed upon an entire town in Virginia after all, and as a result, the legacy of the man who bore the name is treated like the town’s own history; moreover, people in Shalimar, Virginia all seem preoccupied with being able to prove their relation to the original man, and these things prove reductive to the town both collectively and individually. The name, Shalimar, causes Solomon’s identity to encroach upon seemingly each individual by establishing a sort of ideological sign value to relation to Solomon; in other words, it is consistent with the discourse of Shalimar, Virginia that one’s identity should, indeed, relate to Solomon in some way, which is emphasized more than simply identifying self based on self alone.

Problems arise and abound as a result of the imposition of a name and the resultant misappropriation of identity. One major reason for this is the fact that it affects not only the individual—the object of the imposition—but also anything or anyone with whom the individual’s identity is shared as a consequence of said imposition. In Milkman’s case, this pertains to both his mother and his father. It creates a rift between him and his father, and it serves as a sort of nomenclatural symbol of his mother’s unwillingness to separate him from herself and actually individualize him.

Early in the text, Morrison addresses Macon Dead, Jr.’s sentiments toward the name, Milkman, on more than one occasion, and by and large, Macon II despises the name, discerning via context clues that it could only be pejorative in nature. “This disgust and the uneasiness with which [Macon Dead] regarded his son affected everything he did in that city. If he could have felt sad, simply sad, it would have relieved him. Fifteen years of regret at not having a son had become the bitterness of finally having one in the most revolting circumstances” (Morrison 15). The reality of Macon Dead’s problem with Milkman is that Milkman is, at this early point in the book, proving somewhat unlikely to be the male heir Macon Dead had wanted. Macon is anticipating disappointment in his son, and he loathes it; all of which is the collateral damage wrought by the imposition of a name on one individual.

Milkman’s relationship Macon Dead remains problematic to varying degrees throughout the text. The initial disappointment abates with time, but this says nothing of Macon Dead’s resentment toward his wife, Ruth:

Macon was delighted. His son belonged to him now and not to Ruth, and he was relieved at not having to walk all over town like a peddler collecting rents. […] Everything had improved for Macon Dead during the war. […] and less often did he get angry enough to slap her. Particularly after the final time, which became final because his son jumped up and knocked him back into the radiator. (Morrison 63)

This physical altercation is a pivotal moment, and its significance comes from Macon Dead delighting in his son and, within the same paragraph, trespassing into the jurisdiction of the inordinate intimacy between Ruth and her son. Granted, it is perfectly normal for a child with no such intimacy with the mother to seek to defend her from abuse, but the point is simply that this intimacy would likely have only exacerbated that fact.

Later in the text, when Ruth learns from Freddie that Hagar is out to kill Milkman, she becomes aware of the aforementioned, inordinate intimacy—the facets thereof that make it problematic:

Ruth was relieved. For a moment she imagined that Pilate, who had brought her son to life in the first place, was now bound to see him dead. But right after that moment of relief, she felt hurt because Milkman had not told her himself. Then she realized that he really didn’t tell her anything, and hadn’t for years. Her son had never been a person to her, a separate real person.

This passage is indicative of two sides of the issue of identity, both dealing with the imposition of the name, Milkman. For Ruth, there is a budding revelation that she has robbed Milkman of what Dobie refers to as individuation—one’s maturation into a “psychologically healthy, well-balanced adult” (Dobie 64). For Milkman, though, the nickname is indicative of the lack of completeness or self-sufficiency to his identity because it is dependent upon the abnormality of his relationship with his mother during his formative years and, thus, dependent upon Ruth herself.

More evidence that the imposition of a name is damaging to an individual may very well be the positivity of a name the individual embraces. It is interesting to note that Milkman responds positively to his father from time to time and that, on such occasions, Macon Dead, Jr., of course, refers to him by his real name. One of the earliest examples of Macon speaking to Milkman as an equal, actually supplicating while using Milkman’s real name, appears when Milkman mentions the tarpaulin in Pilate’s house. Speaking of Macon, the text reads, “He turned to his son full face and licked his lips. ‘Macon, get it and you can have half of it; go wherever you want. Get it. For both of us. Please get it, son. Get the gold.’” He calls Milkman both “son” and “Macon,” never Milkman, and as may have been expected, Milkman most certainly obliged, responding positively to his father’s supplication and arguably to his father’s consistent use of his real name.

In essence, a name as an imposition is shown in Morrison’s work to be a hindrance to identity. Milkman, of course, ultimately endeavors toward self-discovery, yet part of the significance of the name, Milkman, can be viewed as a sign to suggest that he is beginning his journey of self-exploration at a deficit; in other words, he not only lacks understanding of self but even misunderstands self as something other than what is purely him. In this and many other ways, as with the relations of Shalimar and the legacy of the name Macon Dead despite Milkman’s father’s disdain for it, the imposition of naming is shown to have, at least, an indirect yet reductive impact on identity from several perspectives simultaneously.

Works Cited

Dobie, Ann B. Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism. 4th ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2015. Print.

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Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Vintage International, 2004. eBook.

Every day, Americans spend their hard earned money on material things that either satisfy a need or provide some form of gratification or pleasure. Should an individual feel remorse buying such items on a daily basis knowing that those few dollars spared can rescue a child in need? In Peter Singer’s The Singer Solution to World Poverty, he passionately argues that all Americans, especially those who spend lavishly, should donate a significant amount of their income to charity. Although Singer presents an intelligent, honorable and persuasive argument, his intentional use of the devices of morality and human instinct to persuade the reader into the “righteous” act of giving to solve world poverty is flawed and nonsensical.

Singer’s essay illustrates strong arguments that humans possess an innate and natural tendency for kindness toward their fellow man. People should think twice when buying that expensive clothing, car or bag. Are humans inherently selfish? Do we purchase such luxuries in life because we deserve such items for happiness? How about the happiness of the impoverished who have no food, no shelter? Singer asserts that money spent on such luxuries can be better spent on providing aid to a poor child, this in turn will provide true happiness. Man’s basic instinct of helping the less fortunate of society is evident with the popularity and wide acceptance of the acts of kindness seen in social media today. Besides the moral aspect of giving, kindness also imparts a deep sense of satisfaction and gratification. To Singer’s argument, wouldn’t a few dollars donated to feed a hungry child be more gratifying long term than the purchase of an expensive item which can only provide temporary pleasure or gratification? Foregoing the luxuries in life is a simple task that each individual can and should actively participate in.

Singer provides the reader with a well-built argument in addressing the importance of donating and ending world poverty but certainly fails to take into consideration the many complexities of human nature. While man possesses many positive inherent “moral” attributes, man also has inherent character flaws that in many cases will hinder the acts of kindness that should prevail in the idealistic world. We live in a society that is focused on the needs and desires of “me only”, survival of the fittest mentality. In our busy, complicated and competitive society, the needs of our immediate family are our top priority. In most families, meeting the financial needs of our family outweighs the needs of others. Sacrificing and donating money to a world aid organization may result in undesirable outcomes for a man and his family. Is the happiness one achieves from providing for his family not important? Singer’s argument is also flawed in that he underscores the fact that it should be acceptable for people to donate according to their means. He should not put a specific dollar amount to be expected from an individual. If a poor working class family donates less than $200.00, that should be acceptable and not questioned or ridiculed. For example, a middle-class working couple with two teenagers and elderly parents living in a single household, paying a monthly mortgage of $3,500 along with other monthly expenses will compromise their ability to meet their own expenses if they are compelled to donate to charity. In reality, a large percentage of the population is concerned in meeting their day-to-day basic needs struggling to pay their bills and living from paycheck to paycheck. Singer generalizes the population to be collectively able to spare money for the impoverished, which overall hurts his argument.

Singer appears to reiterate “the simplicity” of solving world poverty, “Again, the formula is simple: whatever money you’re spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away”. This statement undermines his argument in that, solving a national issue like world poverty is not as simple as he portrays it to be. In his essay, Singer didn’t take into account the future economy of America or another nation willing to provide aid to poor nations. Garrett Hardin, another psychologist, wrote Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor which states economic stability can be achieved when nations generously provide foreign aid to needy nations. Both cases, however, present different and opposing arguments. Hardin states that excessive foreign aid can result in the poorer nation becoming dependent upon the privileged nation’s resources, which will ultimately lead to a depletion of resources in both nations over time. Singer’s essay only mentions the obligation of people to contribute to charity but does not provide alternate solutions to world poverty. He is quick to denounce the United States Government for its inability to maintain its “fair share” of overseas aid, “We know, too, that at least in the next year, the United States Government is not going to meet even the very modest United Nations-recommended target of 0.7 percent of gross national product; at the moment it lags far below that, at 0.09 percent,…”. In order to validate his claim, it would have been necessary to provide a more in-depth solution as to how our government can support impoverished communities while providing for its own country’s needs. Singer basically fails to provide specific ideas and solutions as to how to solve the complex problem of world poverty.

Although strong in his argument regarding the very controversial issue of world poverty, Peter Singer’s The Singer Solution to World Poverty, is not realistic and fails to convince the reader that forgoing one’s luxuries are worth the satisfaction of solving world poverty. Human nature and man’s desire for fulfillment is a big factor that hinders and prevents the fruition of Singer’s moral and righteous ideas. Man’s “survival of the fittest” instinct will naturally only allow him to fulfill the needs of his family first. Luxuries or not, man will not accept Singer’s argument that we should sacrifice expendable income for charities. Singer also neglects the Government’s responsibility in solving world poverty and fails to provide any solutions in dealing with such a longstanding problem. Many factors must be considered in order to devise a viable plan to prevent the suffering and poverty that continues to exist in our world. 

Works Cited

1. Singer, P. (1999). The singer solution to world poverty. The New York Times Magazine, 5, 60-63.
2. Hardin, G. (1974). Lifeboat ethics: The case against helping the poor. Psychology Today, 8(10), 38-43. https://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_lifeboat_ethics_case_against_helping_poor.html
3. Williams, B. (1973). A critique of utilitarianism. In J. J. C. Smart & B. Williams (Eds.), Utilitarianism: For and Against (pp. 77-150). Cambridge University Press. https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/williams.htm
4. Singer, P. (1972). Famine, affluence, and morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1(3), 229-243. https://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972----.htm
5. Asghar, R. J., & Blakemore, E. (2009). Peter Singer’s argument for utilitarianism. In A. Bailey (Ed.), Philosophy of education: An anthology (pp. 173-178). Blackwell.
6. Campbell, T. D. (2005). The morality of spending money on others. Journal of Social Philosophy, 36(2), 204-217.
7. Donaldson, S. (2009). The ethics of global poverty: An introduction. Routledge.
8. Temkin, L. S. (2009). Equality, priority, and compassion. Philosophical Review, 118(3), 325-358.
9. Dambudzo, M. (2018). An ethical review of poverty. Ethics and Social Welfare, 12(3), 234-249.
10. Uzgalis, W. (2017). John Locke. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Throughout Robert Eberts career as a movie critic he has become very well known and respected in that field. With his influence and knowledge in the industry he is able to sway people into trusting his opinion and take his words as factual. This is clearly represented in the article “Video Games can never be art”. The article by Robert Ebert is not effectively written, due to the lack of substantial evidence. Ebert uses his biased opinion to sway the opinions of the readers. His uses pathos by using aggressive words to support his biased opinion. Finally Ebert uses Ethos, using his credentials and influence in the movie tritic stream as his evidence. By using his credentials and influence he ends up contradicting himself throughout the entire article, hence making it very effective.

Ebert starts off with examples from a convention, where a lady by the name of Kellee Santiago, provides examples of video games that in her opinion are representations of art. Ebert replies to Santiago’s speech by saying “The three games she chooses as examples do not raise my hopes for a video game that will deserve my attention long enough to play it. They are, I regret to say, pathetic. I repeat: "No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets. " This comment reveals that Ebert only believes art can be art when it is recognized by society. What happens with bad artists? Are they not still artists? Abstract art was once not accepted in the art community, and now it is world renowned. Therefore Ebert is biased because he only believes that “good art, is art”.

Later on in the article Ebert writes “Some of these paintings are masterpieces, most are very bad indeed. How do we tell the difference? We know. It is a matter, yes, of taste. ”, yes a matter of taste. Couldn’t one argue that video games are art, since it’s your taste? This statement reveals that the only reason he doesn't believe video games are art, is because they are not his taste. The only thing Ebert effectively writes about in this article is his opinion which is, in fact, biased. While reading this article, Ebert uses pathos in his vocabulary. Throughout the article he uses words such as “brainless” to describe players of video games. By using this type of language, Ebert is able to (hopefully) influence readers into thinking that video games make you brainless, therefore embarrassing video game players. As much as Ebert displays his distaste for the industry, he still does not provide any sort of evidence explaining why they can never be art. “ These days, she says, "grown-up gamers" hope for games that reach higher levels of "joy, or of ecstasy. . . . catharsis. " These games (which she believes are already being made) "are being rewarded by audiences by high sales figures. " The only way I could experience joy or ecstasy from her games would be through profit participation. Robert Ebert states this about the video games  was describing. This is in fact Ebert stating his opinion, again. As well Ebert is using his credibility as a well known critic. By saying that it discredits video games to whomever is reliant on Ebert’s opinion. Neither one of Ebert’s arguments explain, and give any evidence why videogames are not art.

The only effectively written part of this article is Ebert convincing the audience that he really does not like video games. No substantial evidence was given, which is shown through his lack of evidence. He creates the illusion that he has evidence by What Ebert effectively writes about is his distaste for video games. As a well known movie critic, Ebert comes off as quite arrogant, and he d0esn’t seem to realize or care that he contradicts himself throughout the entire article. He starts off by completely contradicting himself by saying “Video Games can never be art”. Before Ebert became a well known critic, he fought to classify movies as an art form. Therefore instead of disagreeing with Kelly Santiago, it would make much more sense for him to support her, seeing that she is essentially doing the exact same thing as Ebert did. “But when I say McCarthy is "better" than Sparks and that his novels are artworks, that is a subjective judgment, made on the basis of my taste (which I would argue is better than the taste of anyone who prefers Sparks)” , there goes Ebert again talking about taste. The only reason he says video games can’t be art is because they are not his taste. Ebert’s taste, is not proof that video games can not be art. Ebert is relying on his reputation to support his argument, by sounding confident, and providing his biased opinion.

Conclusion

Throughout this examination of Ebert’s article, no actual evidence was given. Yes, Ebert was able to give evidence as to why he has this opinion. The article gives the illusion of actual evidence, but it is Ebert’s biased language, use of pathos and ethos that truely sway the audience. Once the entire article is read and research is done about Ebert and his career, one is able to see how he contradicts himself. He does so by discrediting Kelly Santiago, and shunning video games. He is an excellent critic in this article, but only with criticizing his own opinion. In the past Ebert was passionate about classifying movies as art, wouldn’t Santiago be doing the same revolutionary battle with video games? Perhaps the issue here, is that Ebert is unwilling to accept change. The only effectively written part of this article is Ebert convincing the audience that he really does not like video games. No substantial evidence was given, which is shown through his lack of evidence. He creates the illusion that he has evidence by What Ebert effectively writes about is his distaste for video games.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Introduction to Michael Porters Framework
Threat of substitutesBargaining power of buyers
3. Bargaining power of suppliers
Competition Rivalry
4. Conclusion

Introduction

The Starbucks Cooperation is one of the world’s leading coffee roasters and retailers of speciality coffee. From opening its first store in downtown Seattle in 1971, the global expansion of the Starbucks name has been rapid and strategic. In 2018, Starbucks accounted for 29,324 stores worldwide of which 15,041 of them are based in the firm’s home nation of the United States. This dominance within the American retail coffee and snacks sector has given them significant market power in determining industry trends. As a result, Starbucks strategically balances its customer loyalty, premium value coffee and homelike atmosphere within its shops to surmount its competition and excel with the American population. When discussing the concept of strategy, it is important to note that it encompasses the means in which an organisation achieves their premeditated objectives. In order to successfully implement objectives and goals, whether they be profit or customer orientated, businesses and organisations need to formulate a strategy in which they work by. This includes understanding the strategic position of the organisation and setting out outlines and principals on how a company would address these goals.

Introduction to Michael Porters Framework

By using Michael Porters Five Forces framework, we can analyse and evaluate the industry environment by investigating external influences that shape the competitive market and through this theory, organisations can devise an optimal strategy to achieve success market. The five forces used to formulate these influences are the power of suppliers, the threat of entry and of new competitors, industry rivalry, threat of substitute products and finally the power of buyers. When we apply Porter’s five forces to Starbucks, we will be able to investigate the external environment that may affect Starbucks’ competitive environment.

Another key area of Porters 5 forces framework is the threat of new entrants. This area concerns the extent of how a new entrant could pose a threat on existing competitors within the same industry. Due to the competitive nature the retail coffee industry with the United States, it is argued that there is a moderate threat of entry from new competitors within the sector. This is due to the fact that it is considered to be only moderate level of initial investment in order to be able to operate within the industry. In relation to Starbucks, it can be argued that they may feel a considerate threat from new entrants as smaller coffee retailers can quickly establish themselves on a localised scale due to the fact that they have lower supply needs and offer no switching costs for consumers. On the other hand, large and established brands such as Starbucks lead the industry as they have advanced economies of scale and extensive brand development which has been achieved over a number of years. This plays favourably to Starbucks because due to their advanced and large global scale they have the necessary funds and developed distribution systems to be able to expand outside of the localised areas and thus, outside of the United States. Although this is a relatively easy market to penetrate, larger firms such as Starbucks hold an advantage as they have more of a focused and developed customer service strategy which is apparent in all their stores. This consequently results in loyal customer retention who continually return to the Starbucks store.

Threat of substitutes

Included in Porter’s 5 forces framework is the potential threat of substitute products within the industry. This takes into account when a close substitute of a specific product exists within a market, it therefore increases the probability of consumers switching to alternative retailers for cheaper options or purchasing other commodities in place of the industry’s product. For example, the price of a product determines whether customers are going to purchase it, if already established companies seek to charge higher than new entrants in order the diminish the level of threat, this can ultimately lead to customer migration and a loss of profits. In the case of Starbucks it can be argued that the threat of substitutes is very high as products such as caffeinated carbonated drinks like canned energy drinks and products from Pepsi and Coca-Cola are on the rise. These products pose a threat on Starbucks’ in store sales as they have a significantly lower retail price and can be bought more readily from supermarkets. In addition, it could be defended that these substitutes threaten companies such as Starbucks as they are more convenient and accessible to customers; they do not require waiting in queues, face to face interaction with employees or as stated earlier, products like these can be purchased outside of Starbucks’ outlets. In order to keep up with this trend and lower the threat level from these products, Starbucks have developed their own range of canned ready-to-drink products in partnership with PepsiCo, such as canned their Nitro Cold Brew. On their website, they market these products as ‘a premium experience’ that can be taken anywhere you want. Starbucks is strategically trying to overcome threats by new entrants by expanding their range of products by keeping up with market trends. For example, in 2012 Starbucks acquired American tea retailers Teavana Holdings Inc who produce and market premium tea products. This move by Starbucks further cements their customer retention, by expanding into alternative products, under the same brand name of Starbucks. Nonetheless, the threat of substitute products competing besides Starbucks does amount pressure onto their margins; with the demand to be conceiving new ideas or rival products to reduce this threat and to be continually gaining competitive advantage.

Bargaining power of buyers

The bargaining power of buyers concerns the pressure and influence customers/consumers can put on firms to gain a reduction in price or an increase of quality of the product/ service being displayed. This power can have an impact on the competitive environment as it influences the industry’s ability to gain profits. The bargaining power of buyers can be determined by factors such as the bargaining leverage of customers and the price sensitivity of the buyer. If the bargaining leverage is high, this results in greater price sensitivity which effectively gives the buyer a large amount of power. It potentially can have a detrimental effect on their trading as products are being marketed at a lower price, therefore profits are lost and consumer surplus is higher. In terms of Starbucks and the bargaining power of suppliers, negotiations on price for primary buyers like individual customers are incredibly difficult. This is partially due to the vast scale of this business; it would not be possible to charge exclusive prices to different customers. Due to the ample choice of takeaway coffee retailers within the USA, customers have the choice to swap to alternative retailers that offer the same premium coffee, but at a lower price. To some extent, it may be argued that Starbucks gives an opportunity to their consumers to bargain their prices due to their 25¢ reusable cup discount which was introduced in 2018. This discount encourages consumers to bring their reusable coffee cups and in return they receive a 25¢ discount off their order. Starbucks have also introduced their own line of reusable plastic coffee cups in order to encourage consumers to partake in this scheme. This strategic choice made by Starbucks aptly offers consumers a sense of bargaining powers while simultaneously benefitting from those who do opt into the discount scheme by offering the means to do so, such as purchasing one of Starbucks’ own brand reusable cups.

Bargaining power of suppliers

It is a known fact the relationship between producers within an industry and their suppliers is comparable to the contact producers may have with consumers. Suppliers have a large influence over the profit potential and competition of an industry, this is because suppliers have the ability to raise prices of supplies and modify the quality of merchandise sold to the producers. As included in their 2018 annual report, Starbucks have coined the Starbucks Global Social Impact Strategy, this aims to act ethically and sustainably when sourcing their coffee and in addition contribute to local communities. Due to the vast number of retailers of speciality coffee and the many suppliers of Arabica coffee beans, which is commonly used by retailers, companies have to differentiate their products in order to retain competitive advantage. This means that companies such as Starbucks look for higher quality goods in order to be distinct from other retailers, such as outsourcing from premium coffee farmers. Due to this demand, these farmers have the capability to negotiate with producers as speciality farmers are not short of clients, resulting in a high bargaining power for Starbucks’ suppliers. On the other hand, due to the sheer scale of the Starbucks corporation within the USA and the large supply requirements, their financial loyalty to suppliers holds a considerable weight. This consequently means that suppliers have a low bargaining power against Starbucks as their trade with the global brand is vital to their production.

Competition Rivalry

Continuing on, one of Porter’s 5 forces includes the intensity of rivalry with an industry. It considers the amount of competition within the environment in which an industry operates in how much impact this may have on profit. For example, a very competitive market can have many negative effects for the companies involved as there is less room for negotiation of prices and lower profit margins. Considering the intense nature of the speciality coffee market in the USA, the competitive rivalry in this sector is very high. In the case of Starbucks, it falls into the monopolistic competition category. This means that it exists in a market where there are a high number of retailers of the same product/service and therefore many buyers of these products. In order to try competing with this, retailers try offer a differentiation of the product. As previously mentioned, Starbucks holds the largest market share within the United States with 39.8%. Although this figure dominates the other key players within the speciality coffee industry, it could be said that this amounts pressure onto Starbucks to upkeep this influence within the industry and to be continuously creating strategic and innovative ways to keep their already existing clientele while also attracting more customers. On the other hand, it may be argued that although this amounted pressure on Starbucks creates high competition, Starbucks dominates the industry through their product differentiation by offering high quality coffee products and services. Since 2018, Starbucks have extended their service by partnering with food delivery service, UberEats. Starbucks currently have 15 million users every month using this service across more than 500 cities across the USA. This venture gives Starbucks the upper hand within the industry as it creates more convenience for the customer and gives Starbucks another operating cash flow margin outside of their drop-in stores, thus increasing their competitive advantage. Positively, Starbucks maintains their competitive advantage within the industry by acknowledging and implementing their high customer service and strategic branding, which conclusively results in high customer loyalty towards the Starbucks brand.

In order to successfully assess the strategic choices made by the Starbucks cooperation, it is important to determine what is are the future choices of the firm. To do this, we can apply a SWOT analysis. This strategy incorporates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding competition within the industry, specifically in the USA and its internal project planning. The strengths of the Starbucks Company refer to the internal factors that influence their success within the industry. As a major player within the American retail coffee industry, it can be said Starbucks have successfully developed an accomplished business model. Starbucks keep their core values at the forefront of their decisions. This includes creating a luxury coffee drinking experience, which diversifies them from competition. Through this focus on quality and service, Starbucks retain loyal customers and therefore sustaining the profitability of its business. In order to identify the flaws within the Starbucks, it is important to analyse internal factors that may affect profitability. The Starbucks brand relies heavily on the US market and currently 49.8% of all Starbucks coffee outlets are in the USA. This means that Starbucks is very sensitive to economic variation and could result in instability for the brand. The second part of the SWOT analysis focuses on the external factors that could promote business growth and opportunities. The Starbucks Corporation can boost their sales through the expansion of emerging markets. An example of this is that Starbucks have invested in the expansion of drive thru hubs for customers, in place of their usual dine-in outlets. Starbucks anticipates that 80% of their current shops will have a drive thru option by the end of 2019. In terms of threats towards the Starbucks business, in March 2018 the superior court in California, Los Angeles ruled that producers of coffee in the state must have a cancer warning label on as a cause of the carcinogens in the drinks. This as a result led to people avoiding products such as these, leading to a loss of customer retention and damaged brand equity.

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Conclusion

Starbucks continually drives to pioneer the retail coffee industry within the United States. This is thanks to their effective implementation of strategic choices which has given them the chance to develop their strategic position outside of the US and into new emerging global markets, such as Asia. In order to sustain this success, Starbucks must play close attention to internal and external factors influencing their business and how to keep up with the everchanging climate of this industry and to stay on top. Starbucks’ biggest weakness can be said to be their pricing strategies, if they hope to stay on top, they must offer more competitive prices as other players within the industry are starting to offer a similar quality of beverage, but at a fraction of the price that Starbucks does. Ultimately, if this change is implemented, Starbucks could attract more customers and gain more profit. Overall, it can be said that Starbucks are strategically successful due to the impact they have had not just within in the speciality coffee industry, but globally; by redefining the household commodity of coffee, into a developed customer experience.

Table of contents

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Conclusion
4. Works Cited

Abstract

Relationship Science has aided our understanding of human behaviour and is the foundation of human conditions. Many theorists have contributed to the field of Relationship Science (particularly Bowlby’s (1969) Attachment Theory). The attachment theory is fundamentally based on the idea that humans need intimacy in order to form close relationships (Hazan and Shaver, 1990). Research shows that one’s experience of attachment in childhood, can have an effect on their adult relationships with significant others. However, there are limitations to this claim. This essay aims to provide a critical evaluation of the key concepts of the attachment theory (in both infants and adults) and its contribution to Relationship Science.

Introduction

Relationship Science can be defined as the Science of Intimate Relationships. Relationship intimacy is generally used to define sexual familiarity with significant others as well as strong emotional attachments (i.e. love) (Jamieson, 2007). Relationship Science has had difficulty finding its voice among other Sciences over the years. Many questions have been asked as to whether Psychology and Relationship Science is a “real” Science.

The main benefit of Relationship Science is that it has helped to improve our understanding of human behaviour. Relationships are the foundation of human conditions as we continuously live our lives relationships and they are great contributors to one’s quality of life (Berscheid, 1999). According to Kelley et al. (1983), relationship science is an essential Science as it is necessary for further development of social, behavioural and biological sciences. Social Sciences have played a role in helping us to understand behaviour in natural environments (i.e. the way people behave in their on-going relationships).

It has been critiqued that Relationship Science is based on Psychological Myths and Therapeutic Techniques with poor empirical evidence. Bradbury (2002) argued that one key issue with relationships is that they are a complex topic to try and understand which therefore means that they are difficult to define. Lilienfeld (2012) observed that many people may misunderstand psychological principles in their personal lives and tend to make assumptions about real human experiences. However, Fincham and Beach (2010) argued that Relationship Science is beneficial for incorporating human concepts.

There are many different theories that have supported further research and development of Relationship Science.

Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory is a highly regarded theory that has provided the foundation for the development in the field of Relationship Science as it aims to explore the intimacy of relationships in one’s lifetime. This theory states that human beings need intimacy in order to have close bonds within their relationships. It has been useful in understanding the dynamics of behaviour in close relationships (i.e. caregivers and close partners.

Attachment begins in infancy and continues throughout one’s lifetime. John Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory is fundamentally based on the idea that human beings (as well as other species) need emotional intimacy from infancy to adulthood. Bowlby (1969) claimed that human beings are born with the attachment behavioural system and this motivates humans to seek closeness to significant others. He argued that the development of attachment to the caregiver depends on the quality of caregiving that is experienced within parent-child relationships and believed that parents are a secure protection base for infants (Bowlby, 1969). The three major systems associated with Bowlby (1969) are attachment, sex and caregiving.

Mary Ainsworth’s (1969) attachment theory derived from Bowlby (1969) and also contributed to the field of Relationship Science. She observed attachment styles in infants and separated attachment into three main categories; secure (the child uses the caregiver as a safe base to explore their environment), anxious-ambivalent (the child usually has very clingy and dependent behaviour but will reject attachment from the caregiver when they try to interact) and anxious-avoidant (the child is emotionally and physically independent from the caregiver).

Mary Ainsworth (1969) carried out a laboratory procedure called the Strange Situation. It was designed to examine the balance of attachment and exploratory behaviours under conditions of low and high stress in one-year olds. In this experiment, the mother and infant were introduced to a laboratory play room where they were joined by an unfamiliar woman. Whilst the stranger played with the baby, the mother left the room for a short time and then returned shortly afterwards. This was repeated several times. Ainsworth found that infants explored the playroom and toys more energetically in the presence of their mothers rather than in the presence of the stranger. The children considered to be anxious-ambivalent would cry and want contact but would not cuddle the mother when she picked them up. Instead, they showed ambivalence by kicking or hitting their mothers. The anxious-avoidant group of children avoided their mother when she came back in the room (even though they searched for her while she was gone).

Data showed that those infants that had been ambivalent or avoidant towards their mothers had a less harmonious relationship with them at home than those who had interaction or contact with their mothers when they were reunited (Ainsworth, Bell & Stayton, 1974). There were some limitations to this experiment because it can be considered unethical to distress children of such a young age. Another consideration is that just because the children reacted in a certain way when reunited with their mothers, that does not necessarily mean that they do not have a good relationship at home. It could simply mean that they reacted the way they did because of their feelings towards the situation at the time. Another limitation is that this experiment is based on separations in stressful situations rather than non-stressful situations. Behaviours of being separated and reunited should not be the only factors that one can use to define attachment.

One limitation of Bowlby and Ainsworth’s theories of attachment are that both theorists base their argument on the idea that the mother is the primary caregiver for infants. However, children have more than one caregiver in their childhood (i.e. fathers and siblings). Harris (1998) argues that a child’s peers have more of an influence on them than their parents. She argues that the care that a parent gives their child when they are born does not necessarily have an effect on their attachment styles later on in life. She believes that parents do not shape a child’s personality and character as children tend to learn more things from their peers (as they want to fit into society), than they do from their caregivers. The attachment style of an infant at the age of one is not necessarily the way it attaches at an older age (i.e. the stability of attachment depends on the stability of one’s environment).

Researchers of attachment have identified four major styles of attachment in adults (Bartholomew and Horowitz, 1991). These are; secure (positive beliefs of self and close others), fearful-avoidant (low feelings of self and negative expectations of others), preoccupied (feeling that others are not invested in them in the same way that they are with others), dismissing-avoidant (denying the importance of close relationships and have a strong commitment to independence).

The work of Bowlby (1969) and Ainsworth et al. (1978), has become the foundation for the study of attachment and intimacy in adults. While infants are assumed to have an inborn tendency to bond with their primary caregivers, adults have some control over the degree to which they become attached to others. Bowlby (1969) suggested that early interactions with significant others arise expectations and beliefs that potentially shape social perceptions and behaviour regarding what relationships should be like in adulthood. Avoidance in adulthood reflects the degree to which individuals feel comfortable with closeness and emotional intimacy in relationships. People who score higher on avoidance tend to be less invested in their relationships and strive to be more psychologically and emotionally independent of their partners.

According to Hazan and Shaver (1987), working models of attachment continue to guide and shape close relationship behaviour throughout life. As people build new relationships, they rely partly on previous expectations about how others are likely to behave and feel towards them. The theory suggests that early caregiving experiences can partly influence how people behave in their adult romantic relationships.

Satisfying intimate relationships tend to be the most important source of many people’s happiness. Equally, isolation and loneliness can contribute to psychological and physical disorders (Bartholomew, 1990). People tend to develop emotional bonds with their partners in adulthood and are motivated to maintain these relationships overtime. The attachment theory shows that although most secure attached individuals find is relatively easy to trust their partners in adulthood (particularly due to the love and affection they received in their childhood), many insecurely attached individuals find it somewhat difficult to trust their partners (due to the lack of affection received in childhood).

Avoidance may stem from either the fear of intimacy or the lack of interest or motivation to become intimate with others (Butzer & Campbell, 2008). In infancy, attachment behaviour is only adaptive if someone (i.e. a parent) is available to provide protection and support. A parent provides protection and care to the infant. However, in adult relationships, these roles (attachment and caregiving) are more difficult to separate. Either partner can be characterised at one time or another as stressed, threatened or helpless and hence needing responsive and supportive care from the other. Similarly, either partner can be characterised as being more helpful, empathic or protective. In a long-term relationship, the attachment and caregiving roles are frequently interchanged.

One of the main limitations of Bowbly’s (1969) attachment theory was that it was mainly studied on infants. Hazan and Shaver (1990) further developed this aspect of relationship science and explored adult relationships and attachment. They found that adults who lacked attachment also lacked intimacy. One criticism for this theory is that in non-Western societies, fewer children are closely attached to their caregiver. Eastern cultures do not tend to show a lot of affection to their children at a young age. However, children still grow up in society and become well-adjusted in adult romantic relationships. This therefore means that although attachment at a young age can impact close relationships in adulthood, there are other factors in the place of attachment that are helping to form these close relationships.

Butzer and Campbell (2008) carried out an experiment based on adult attachment, sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. 116 married couples aged 21-75 completed a questionnaire based on their relationships. Results showed that participants with higher levels of anxiety and avoidance had lower levels of sexual satisfaction. However, those that were more avoidant also reported to have lower levels of sexual satisfaction. The relationship between sexual and marital satisfaction was stronger for those individuals that were anxiously attached compared to those that were attachment avoidant. Although this experiment was useful for exploring adult attachment, one limitation of this study was that majority of the participants that filled out this questionnaire were undergraduate students. It can be argued that these students have not had the chance to be involved in a long-term relationship.

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Conclusion

The attachment theory has contributed to the field of relationship science as it is evident that attachment plays a key role in the formation of intimate relationships. Attachment can help to shape human behaviour. One can argue that the love received from a caregiver in infancy has an effect on their formation of close relationships in adulthood. However, the idea of sexual satisfaction in relationships is not explored as much. Research of relationship science and attachment has been useful for practicing psychologists. It has enabled the practice for marital counselling and has allowed psychologists to understand the key issues behind divorce and separation (i.e. the reasons for the lack of intimacy, satisfaction and emotional difficulties in relationships). Relationship Science is a developing field and has potential for future development

Works Cited

1. Ainsworth, M. D. (1969). Object relations, dependency, and attachment: A theoretical review of the infant-mother relationship. Child Development, 40(4), 969-1025.
2. Ainsworth, M. D., Bell, S. M., & Stayton, D. J. (1974). Infant-mother attachment and social development: Socialization as a product of reciprocal responsiveness to signals. In M. P. Richards (Ed.), The integration of a child into a social world (pp. 99-135). Cambridge University Press.
3. Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7(2), 147-178.
4. Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226-244.
5. Berscheid, E. (1999). The greening of relationship science. American Psychologist, 54(4), 260-266.
6. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books.
7. Bradbury, T. N. (2002). Research on the nature and determinants of marital satisfaction: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(4), 964-980.
8. Butzer, B., & Campbell, L. (2008). Adult attachment, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction: A study of married couples. Personal Relationships, 15(1), 141-154.
9. Fincham, F. D., & Beach, S. R. (2010). Marriage in the new millennium: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 630-649.
10. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511-524.

Self-restraint in the society is paramount among its members. Mistakes committed by members of the society are punishable as either criminal activities or some are taken as light mistakes. When a member of the society commits a criminal activity he or she is subjected to court procedures. The court will determine whether he or she guilty or innocent. Unlike in the traditional society where offenders were treated equally in regard to their criminal activity, in juvenile justice system the juveniles and adults are treated differently. Crime and delinquency are at times in a peak of prevalence and acquired frequency during the juvenile period. The juveniles who are offenders aged 18 years and below face the juvenile system which towards the late days of the nineteenth century when the system was introduced, the juveniles became a subject to the juvenile system while the adults are directed to the criminal justice system. In the early ages courts were used to try children as young as seven years. This was until early 19th century the juvenile system was formed. The juvenile justice system is used to control and reduce crimes committed by adolescents and teenagers in the adult days. This paper discusses the how effective is the juvenile system of justice.

Adults are remarkably mature agents to make their own consequential independent decisions and are subject to consequences of their own actions while juveniles are considered forces of nature who still lack the ability to make their own decisions but use their family members and older friends as their decision maker this makes them presumed to be under control restrained. The juvenile system of justice is an issue to debate in many nations since there is no proven time or passage rite that determines when a juvenile can make his or her own decision. Normally crime is noticeable in youths during their adolescent stages. The unique state of adolescent brings tension to the juvenile justice as children cannot face court orders due to criminal offences. This lack of a definite time that a juvenile is considered adult the Juvenile justice system is faced with problems on how to punish the juvenile. Should the juvenile be given moral guidance or punishment as an adult who should face consequences of his or her own action?

Interpretations which try to interpret the effectiveness of the juvenile system are not all considered because some interpretations explain how the juvenile system is effective by in responding to offences caused by youths through satisfying itself. The United States juvenile system of justice is affected by key issues that affect its functionality. One, the juvenile is effective by providing an acceptable morally and legally response to criminal activities by teenagers. These offences are subjected to punishment which is also the same as in the adult system. However, this sanctions are less harshly and of very different quality unlike adult punishments. Two, acceptable symbolic gestures should be adopted by the juvenile system as a means of communicating to the public as stated by morris, while there was a notable decrease in the murder and sexual assault cases between 1975 and 2005,the number of male teenagers in the correctional facilities doubled for the period between 1990 and 2005. Morris depicts that in spite the juvenile justice system being effective in reducing criminal activities it failed in preventing teenagers from engaging in criminal activities such as abuse of substance, self-esteem improvement. The juvenile system is subject to gender bias in that the male are treated as adults who should face the court while teenagers from the female gender are considered children’s who should be protected from sexual assault cases. A fair juvenile court should consider all genders equal before the law. According to Leve, Chamberlain, and Kim reports female teenagers are involving in vital delinquency has increase in number in the past years. Effective measures should be instituted to make ensure the favored gender is also aware of the consequences of engaging in criminal activities.

In addition to the gender biasness in the juvenile system of justice, education in rehabilitation facilities is not the same as education offered in public schools. Leone and Wruble, depicts that the type of learning in rehabilitation centers is different from the federal standards stated under Individuals with Education disabilities Act for persons undergoing rehabilitation services. The divergence in education quality has enabled parents and guardians to demand for the right education to their children under the right conditions as the rest of the world. Only a few offenders in the juvenile system enjoy at least six hours a day in school. The wasted time can be used to better an offender for an improved life. Correctional facilities should provide advanced education than the public schools to make sure that afflicted person after rehabilitation is fit to engage with the community free from criminal activities. This disparity of the juvenile justice system to provide equal education shows that the system has a lot to do to be effective.

Detention practices and racial discrimination has also been a major inefficiency in the juvenile justice system. The system could be considered effective if it would manage to prevent most youths from involving in activities that are considered criminal. Youths detention rates are naturally higher for minority groups compared to the white majority. This is a clear implication of the system to be marred with definite groups who are detained from justice through arbitration. This has made the juvenile justice system a dumping site for juvenile issues having been contributed by detention and incarceration. Teenagers also overcrowd detention centers hence increasing exponentially as a result of increased violent ways to solve disputes among themselves. One of the things that contribute the juvenile system of justice to be ineffective in preventing teenagers is lack of imposing corrective measures leading teenagers to abrasive, criminal, and externalizing behaviors. Generally, a transformative effect is expected from the juvenile system on the offenders. Underwood, and Lamis argue that mental condition and risk of committing suicide is diagnosed by over 70% of those within the system indicating that the juvenile system provides a harmful life to the offenders in the correctional services. This implies that offenders are subjected to the negativity with much emphasis on their magnitude. This negativity leads them to a contemplate suicide as a route to escape from the society because they feel they are not fit to engage to the society again. This is a major factor that lowers the juvenile efficiency.

Due to increased inefficiencies, the United states government and the administrations of states have emerged with ways to improve the system in order to provide positive transformation of the young generations.According to Seigle, the juvenile system jails experienced by the end of 2011 had reduced through alternatives detentions. Judges and justice administrator’s collaboration and commitment have contributed to the achievement of resolving the juvenile system. Seigel postulates that raising youth’s outcomes within the system can be ventured through asses to the needs and risks of the teenagers. Moreover, research drives the decision made through justice and resource allocation. According to Seigel the best way to reduce criminalist is by using the youth to determine solutions. This can be done through improvement of the outcomes of the spheres of the youths.

In order to raise the standards of the juvenile system of justice and the make it more effective the following ways should be used: One, the first time offenders and minor offenders should be offered immediate intervention. Instead of using conventional detention, diversion and probation would be used at the correctional centers. Two: Offenders who commit serious criminal activity for the first time should be intensively propagated and supervised in order to control the change of their behaviors. Third, community confinement is important especially during offenders repeat property through implementation of residential or non-residential programs in the society. States should collaborate with significant stakeholders in the implementation of this strategies. Authorities should also have adequate training in order to sustain efforts required to sustain the system. An effective juvenile system should provide a morally appropriate approach and legal response to criminal behavior. Measures such as electronic tagging should be imposed to keep troublesome young men out of crimes this can be achieved by closely supervising them and direct control.

There are other strategies that can be used to streamline the juvenile justice such as avoiding unnecessary detentions, reducing re arresting rates, addressing racial disparities, and proper use of public finances in order to improve juvenile conditions. In addition it would be more advantageous when the exposed group is involved in understanding behavior change. The system should assist those leaving correctional services in getting back to the community by providing support, this will promote an advantageous perception of the juvenile justice system. The system can also reduce interventions between the community and the offenders this is due to the difference between the offenders in the institution and those in the community. According to Mears, Pickett, and Mancini research group of college learners were interviewed about their notion on the juvenile system and the treatment of the criminals. The results from the interview indicated that there was a failure of the juvenile system to deal with the criminals in an appropriate manner, hence making the system ineffective. Statistics showed that 67% of the interviewers seek the system to balance between the rehabilitation and punishment of the offenders. The public also gave their approach indicating that the approach was not strong. Leve, Chamberlain, and Kim (253) also gave their views that the authorities ought to consider the efficiency of the system, various family, individual and other hindering factors.

Today we have policies and programs that recognize behavioral issues within the juvenile system regarding youth offenders and target strategies. Family factors such as maltreatment during childhood leading to violent development ought to be considered and parental criminal history established. Children acquire a false belief that crime is a good way of life when parents frequently engage in criminal activities. Juveniles behaviors in school, neighborhoods, and peer relationship should be considered as they highly contribute to the behavior change of a teenager in his/her adult years. Delinquency effect and adolescent timing should be examined to make sure proper interventions are imposed to prevent the youth from engaging in the juvenile justice system in the early ages.

The juvenile system of justice should consider some of the following factors for it to be considered effective: One, the system should bring along legal and psychological response to the criminal. Punishment provided to the teenager should be severe when compared to adult punishments. Second, the system should be transparent to the public when communicating demonstrations actions that fair both on punishment and rehabilitation. Third, Criminal youths should be satisfied with the actions taken against their crimes. The juvenile system should use appropriate of resolving disputes to achieve this. The system should also prove to prevent youths from crime. The juvenile justice ought to achieve a transformative effect on the majority youths who have not gone through correctional facilities rather than the minority crime makers. The juvenile system should be experienced in such a way that the culprit comes out of the system with full understanding of consequences of criminal doings and having the scope to live a compelled life.

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The juvenile system of justice undergoes struggles in order to provide an effective service. This is well seen through gender discrimination, where females are favored in place of the males, unnecessary detentions which are used to prevent teenagers from involving in criminal activities. However, the juvenile justice system has achieved to reduce some of the crimes for example murder. Additionally, most youths in the system are filled with suicide thoughts indicating that rehabilitation process may be difficult to effect. In order for the juvenile system to create confidence to the public and other offenders; the government has undertaken alternative detentions such as probation and supervision have been used. Correctional centers have been funded and trained personnel used to handle juveniles. Research has also been used by the government to induce the teenagers with decision making through use of clear programs.

References

1. Leone, Peter E., and Pamela Cichon Wruble. 'Education services in juvenile corrections: 40 years of litigation and reform.' Education and treatment of children 38.4 (2015): 587-604.
2. Mears, Daniel P., Justin T. Pickett, and Christina Mancini. 'Support for balanced juvenile justice: Assessing views about youth, rehabilitation, and punishment.' Journal of quantitative criminology 31.3 (2015): 459-479.
3. Scott, Michelle, Maureen Underwood, and Dorian A. Lamis. 'Suicide and related-behavior among youth involved in the juvenile justice system.' Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32.6 (2015): 517-527.
4. Smith, David J. 'The effectiveness of the juvenile justice system.' Criminal justice 5.2 (2005): 181-195.
5. Leve, Leslie D., Patricia Chamberlain, and Hyoun K. Kim. 'Risks, outcomes, and evidence-based interventions for girls in the US juvenile justice system.' Clinical child and family psychology review 18.3 (2015): 252-279.
6. Scott, Michelle, Maureen Underwood, and Dorian A. Lamis. 'Suicide and related-behavior among youth involved in the juvenile justice system.' Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32.6 (2015): 517-527.