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The 21st century has introduce a new way of life in the dating world. Traditionally, whenever a person was interested in dating, he/she would have to actually meet the other person first then plan for a date from there on depending on the first impression both receive. Clearly, this methods did not leave a lot of options open. In some cases, friends would play matchmakers by organizing blind dates. Before, no one ever imagined that people would late be capable of meeting several matches in small duration and still do away with unlikely or unsuitable candidates, simply from the comfort of their own homes or workplaces.

In the current technological world, socializing and communicating with other people from different parts of the world without being physically close to them has become so simple, considering the evolution of the internet. Today, getting to know someone no longer needs knowing their voice, touch or even their face. A personal profile set up in an online platform can clearly narrate a person’s whole life story, and relationships can be formed between users simply through words which are conveyed as short messages in chat rooms. However, to what level does this impersonal fraternizing remain credible? There is a certain level of intimacy that the web-based dating platforms can never engender no matter the argument. Regardless of how far technology has transformed human nature, the society today is still incapable of innovating a technology which can be able to transmit sensory impulses. For instance, the internet can only provide human profiles and chat rooms to exchange lovely quotes. It cannot transmit a sense of touch like a pat on the back, kiss or feel. Thus, the whole basis for dating is via the internet is limited to epithets set by the owners of the profiles themselves. This is actually not a very accurate portrayal considering the fact that honesty is so scare both in cyber space communities and the real world. Old fashioned dating methods allows for a tangibility aspect that, from a persona opinion, will never exist in any online dating platform. At least not in the near future.

Whereas online dating offers the possibility that the real people behind the profiles may not be represented accurately, old methods of dating sets a very brief, precise and reliable standard; what you see, is what you get. Obviously, with this standards no one can be led astray into what they are not interested in. according to Sarah Algoe (2008), “Online dating is like walking into a dark cave. ” The metaphor she uses of the ‘dark cave’ is not a far stretch regardless of the idea that one cannot be able to certify whether the other person behind the online profile is being truthful and laying all the facts on the table about themselves (Dating Article Site, 2007).

Not only is dating in any online platform inaccurate, but it is also corrosive to the entire worldwide community. This avoids being labeled as an embellishment simply on the reasons that using this emerging technologies has actually made things impersonal to human kind, these ‘distancing technologies are keeping every person, well, some distance away from each other and out of touch as well (Bells, 2008). However, for some people, both online dating and traditional dating work hand in hand. According to Jullie Spira (2013), whether setting up an online dating profile leads to marriage or not, finding love online should be a part of everyone’s dating regime. Thus, if online dating is done in an appropriate way, it could be simple another service or method that will get people out there in the real world to meet other people offline and meet more people.

Total dependence on the internet is a position that kills us softly with promises of easy socializing. But when did personally meeting with a person become too difficult? Face-to-face conversation is an acquired talent, but a necessary asset. Nevertheless, this fact has not impeded on the progression of online dating to worldwide popularity. McLelland argues that “The stigma of going online to find your love has pretty much disappeared, and now, it is almost praised when you find someone through the Internet. ” Evidently, being able to find love online has recently spread all over the universe just like a plague exceeding the initial purpose of the creation of the internet.

Online dating can also be very devastating. Keeping matters organized might result in someone losing interest in the whole process. Paul (2014) argues that “Online dating has been shown to provide individuals with too many options to choose from. That leads to a lack of exclusivity where individuals find it difficult to be locked into one dating partner, when they know that hundreds of other potential dating partners are available. This also leads to delayed commitment to the person with whom they ultimately choose to date and start a relationship. ” Considering the levels of the influx of options, a person might not give a date a fair opportunity if there was someone more interesting that caught their attention. A practice like this encourages infidelity with various distinct options of people to select from.

On the other hand, as mentioned before, a person using an online dating platform cannot really tell if the other person is telling the truth, or if the information provided on their profiles and how they are represented might be false, meeting strange people especially online is potentially risky. Although this phrase cannot be verified, but it is somehow true. These online dating sites do not conduct a background check on their clients, thus, they entirely depend on the information the user decides to reveal. Other personal information such as places of birth, age or level of education can possibly be altered to fit a certain category in the online platform. Then, is dating online truly a better option? From a personal perspective, this actually depends on the person who seeks for love from online platforms. Whether marriage or just a casual relationship, online dating has caused high rates of break ups compared to traditional forms of dating. According to (Paul, 2014), in spite the intentions a person has when deciding to use online dating platforms, non-marital or marital relationships that are formed from an online experience are highly doomed to fail. Sixty percent of couples who meet online are living in non-marital romantic relationships and a minority are reported to be married. On the contrary, online couples have reduced chances of falling deeply in love with each other and get married compared to couples who meet physically. A bigger population of online dater are seeking more casual relationships instead of marriages. Hence, less relationships will merely result in marriage if both partners are equally interested in casual dating equally.

Subsequently, while most people can consider using the web-based platforms an easy way to socialize and communicate with other people without physically getting in contact with them, it should be limited to, and not encompass, online dating. These emergent technologies have managed to connect people, but it cannot succeed the limits set by real life itself. In order to really fall in love with someone it is essential for both parties to be in physical contact and not just pictures and lovely texts that most people nowadays scroll on the screens of their computers and smart phones. ReferenceBells. (2008,). Is online dating doing more harm than good?

Works Cited

1. Algoe, S. B. (2008). Online dating: Plenty of fish in the sea or swimming in a murky pond? Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 34(3), 369-383.
2. Bargh, J. A., McKenna, K. Y., & Fitzsimons, G. M. (2002). Can you see the real me? Activation and expression of the “true self” on the Internet. Journal of social issues, 58(1), 33-48.
3. Bells, K. (2008). The dangers of online dating. The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved from https://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3c4edf1e-26c4-44ab-a94c-5c5d505ec6e5
4. Dating Article Site. (2007). Online dating vs traditional dating. Retrieved from http://www.datingarticlesite.com/online-dating-vs-traditional-dating.html
5. Finkel, E. J., Eastwick, P. W., Karney, B. R., Reis, H. T., & Sprecher, S. (2012). Online dating: A critical analysis from the perspective of psychological science. Psychological science in the public interest, 13(1), 3-66.
6. Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American psychologist, 39(10), 1123.
7. McLelland, M. (2016). Online dating: A critical analysis from the perspective of psychological science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(3), 3-66.
8. Paul, A. (2014). Is online better than offline for meeting partners? Depends: Are you looking to marry or to date? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 664-667.
9. Spira, J. (2013). The perils of cyber-dating: Confessions of a hopeful romantic looking for love online. Morgan James Publishing.
10. Walther, J. B., & Parks, M. R. (2002). Cues filtered out, cues filtered in: Computer-mediated communication and relationships. Handbook of interpersonal communication, 3, 529-563.

Table of contents

1. Take of World Leaders on Russian-Ukraine War
2. Sanctions Against Russia From the U.S. and Other Territories
3. Russia Wants to Talk With Ukraine to End the War
4. Conclusion

In the early hours on 24th February 2022, Thursday, Russia attacked and launched the full-scale ‘Military Operation’ on its neighbor, Ukraine. It wasn't the beginning of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, but it was the start of wholescale war. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in eastern Ukraine. In a few minutes, the missile strikes were heard in most cities of Ukraine like Kharkiv, Odesa, and Donbas, including the capital, Kyiv, and not much later the Russian army invaded and entered the country.

The ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict started when Ukraine in 2008 requested to join the NATO a.k.a. North Atlantic Treaty Organization but Russia didn’t want it to join NATO. Whenever Ukraine has requested to join NATO to strengthen the security of the country, Russia has opposed its decision and asked the west to assure them that Ukraine will never be a part of NATO.

It is not the first time Russia has invaded Ukraine, a seven-year-long conflict that started in 2014 Russia invaded the Crimea Peninsula has internationally been recognized as part of Ukraine. Russia eventually annexed the Crimea Peninsula of Ukraine. Before the invasion began on 24th February 2022, Russian President Putin gave a fiery speech to the citizens of Russia and apparently to the people of the world: He said, “The People’s Republic of Donbas asked Russia for help. I decided to conduct a special military operation. It aims to protect people who have been bullied and subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. For that, we will strive to demilitarize and de-Nazification of Ukraine and will bring to justice those who committed multiple bloody crimes against civilians including Russian citizens'. Furthermore, addressing the Ukrainian army, he said, “We urge you to lay down your arms immediately, and go home. All servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Force who comply with this requirement, can freely, leave the area of military actions, and return to their families'. “Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any outcome.” Amid the invasion on 24th February 2022, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the citizens of Ukraine appealing to them to take up arms, “We are already handing out weapons, and will hand them out to defend our country to everyone who wants and can defend our sovereignty.”  “The future of Ukraine depends on every citizen. We broke off diplomatic relations with Russia. Ukraine is defending itself and will not give up its freedom, no matter what Moscow thinks.” “The Ukrainian armed forces are indeed involved in heavy fighting, repelling attacks in Donbas and other regions, east, north, south. The enemy sustained serious losses, and the enemy will sustain many more losses'. “Since this morning, we have wounded soldiers. In those hospitals, where blood is needed, please, I ask you to join and become blood donors for our defenders'.

After just a few hours of invasion by the Russian army troops, they seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located in northern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shymhal announced on 24th February 2022 that “Unfortunately, I have to say that, as of now, the Chernobyl zone, the so-called exclusion zone, and all the Chernobyl facilities have been taken under control by Russian armed groups'. After the seizing of the Chernobyl nuclear plant by the Russian army, President Zelenskyy announced that on Day-1 of the invasion only 137 Ukrainian people were killed. Out of 137, 10 of them were officers. 316 people have been wounded. The border guards who were defending the Zmiinyi Island died a heroic death. They all will be awarded posthumously the title of the Hero of Ukraine. He said that he is and will remain in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv with his family as they are not traitors but citizens of Ukraine and will fight for its freedom.

Take of World Leaders on Russian-Ukraine War

The NATO member and United States President, Joe Biden, addressed the world on the night of Thursday, condemning Russia’s ‘unprovoked and unjustified' attack on Ukraine, he told the media that: “We have been transparent with the world, we have shared declassified evidence about Russia’s plans, and cyber attacks, and false pretext so, that there could be no confusion or cover-up about what Putin was doing'. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war and now he and his country will bear the consequences'. In addition, he announced the sanctions imposed by the U.S. government on Russian Federation.

Another NATO affiliate, the United Kingdom spoke on the Russian-Ukraine war. UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson made a statement on 24th February 2022 after the hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “Shortly after 4 AM (GMT), I spoke to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine to offer the continued support of the UK because our worst fears have now come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accurate'. “President Putin of Russia has unleashed war in our European continent. He’s attacked a friendly country without any provocation and any credible excuse'. “Innumerable missiles and bombs have been ringing down on an entirely innocent population. A vast invasion is underway by land, by sea, and by air'. “Today, in concert with our allies we will agree on a massive package of economic sanctions designed in time to hobble the Russian economy and to that end, we must also collectively cease the dependence on Russian oil and gas that for too long has given Putin his grip on western politics'. “Our mission is clear, diplomatically, politically, economically, and eventually military. This hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure'.

Moreover, Prime Minister Johnson showed his support to the people of Ukraine with his words and asked them to keep the hope and morale up. China’s President Xi Jinping said that he talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone, talked to him about the invasion, and asked him to solve it through negotiation. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Russia’s attack and invasion of Ukraine. He stated that Germany stands in solidarity with Ukraine and its citizen. He said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law and nothing can justify this heinous act.

Sanctions Against Russia From the U.S. and Other Territories

The White House on Saturday released a statement that “We commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system'. Along with its allies, the U.S. has blocked Russia’s second-largest financial institution, VTB Bank. Sweeping restrictions on Russia’s military to strike a blow to Putin’s military and strategic ambitions. Exports on all U.S. -origin items like software, technology, and equipment to the Russian Defense Forces are banned. Russia-wide restrictions on choke-off Russia’s import of technological goods are critical to the diversified economy and Putin’s ability to project power. This restriction applies to the manufacture of semiconductors, navigation, lasers, sensors, encryption security, telecommunication, avionics, and maritime technologies using U.S. origin software and technology in foreign countries. Full blocking sanctions on Russian elites and their family members: Nikolai Patrushev and his son Andrey, Galina Ulyutina, Igor Sechin and his Ivan, Sergei Ivanov and his son Sergei, Andrey Puchkov, Yuriy Soloviev and two real estate companies he owns Alexander Vedyakhin.

European Union has decided to freeze any European assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

United Kingdom - Boris Johnson on Friday announced that the Uk government will impose the Uk’s largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia and target the banks, and wealthy Russians who enjoy high-class London lifestyles. It has been announced that the British government will freeze the assets on major Russian Banks, and stop the major Russian businesses to raise finance in the UK. The British government has also banned the landing of Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot in the United Kingdom. Ban on export of high technology exports and the extractive industry.

Canada has also announced the sanctions against Russia on Friday, 25th February 2022 targeting more than 62 individuals and organizations, including elite banks, and called off all the export permits. The Czech Republic has announced on Friday that it has banned Russian airlines from flying to the central European countries. Prime Minister Petr Fiala declared that Prague will exit from the two international banks set up in the Soviet era and the finance ministry will see the access of Czech Republic funds to the Russian-owned enterprises.

New Zealand has banned Russian travel and forbid trade with the Russian military and security forces. Australia has targeted many Russian elite citizens and lawmakers and condemned China’s move of easy trade restrictions with Moscow. Taiwanese government announced that it will impose restrictions on Russia’s export as the world’s largest contract chipmaker and will comply will all the export-control rules Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan will inflict sanctions on Russia’s financial foundations and will halt the military equipment exports with Russia.

Where Does India Stand on Russian-Ukraine Crisis? On the day of the attack and invasion, Thursday, 24th February 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the cabinet committee meeting to discuss the security issues. In the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar were all present with PM Modi in a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. PM Modi requested him to solve the conflict verbally with the government of Ukraine and also discussed the safe rescue of Indian students studying in Ukraine. At the United Nations Security Council on Friday, 25th February 2022, the draft resolutions arranged or sponsored by the U.S. were supported by countries like Albania, Poland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Estonia, New Zealand. However, India, China, and UAE ‘abstained’ from voting and kept the diplomatic stance. India’s ambassador to the United Nations T.S. Tirumurti issued the statement which explained India’s ‘abstain’ on the vote on the draft resolution by the U.S. India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine. India has chosen to abstain from this resolution.

More than 20,000 Indian students are stuck in warzone Ukraine. They are all hiding in the different bomb shelters like subway stations, bunkers, the basement of the buildings and worried about their safety. Many of them posted their situations on social media and appealed to the government of India for the rescue.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar informed that he spoke to Slovakia and Hungary’s Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and Péter SzijjártÓ about the safe evacuation of Indian students on 24th February 2022. The central government of India has also launched several helplines for the Indians stuck in different cities of Ukraine.

More than 300 Indian students were evacuated from Ukraine to Romania on 24th February 2022 via buses. The first Air India flight for the evacuation left from Mumbai, India to Bucharest, Romania on Saturday, 26th February 2022 at approx. 3.38 a.m. IST and landed in Bucharest at 10.45 Indian Standard Time. The first batch of Indian students evacuated from Ukraine through Romania landed in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at around 7.50 pm with more than 210 students and so far 400 plus Indian students have been evacuated from Ukraine. This rescue operation has been named ‘Operation Ganga.’

Russia Wants to Talk With Ukraine to End the War

Russia invaded and attacked Ukraine on 24th February 2022 and claimed to have destroyed 118 Ukraine army vehicles, 87 army tanks, 28 rocket launchers, 7 aircraft, 7 helicopters, 9 Ukrainian UAVs. Russian missiles have hit buildings in the city of Kyiv. Ukrainian civilians have taken shelter in various bomb shelters. More than 250 civilians have been killed since the invasion started, and around 2,00,000 civilians have left Ukraine, informed UN. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated in public videos that he is not willing to leave the country, he will stay with his family and protect his nation. He has briefed that Ukraine has withstood and repelled the enemy attacks. Zelenskyy has requested the people of Ukraine to take up arms and fight for their country. Men who fall under the age of 16-60 are prohibited to leave the country and asked to join the Ukraine army and defend their country. On 25th February 2022, Friday, President Putin said that he is ready to talk with Ukraine to come to a possible solution to stop the war. He said the talks should be held in Belarus and is keen to send the delegation there. He asked the Ukrainian army to overthrow their government and take charge of the nation as it is easier to talk to them than the terrorists and the gang of drug addicts and neo-nazis referring to the Zelenskyy government. Ukraine turned down this offer. On 27th February 2022, Sunday, Putin again presented the proposal for talks to Ukraine. Putin proposed to talk in Belarus but the Ukraine government again declined the offer saying that the talks should be set up in places where safety is guaranteed like Warsaw, Baku, and Istanbul. As of Sunday, February 27, 2022, Russian troops have entered the second-largest city of Ukraine, Kharkiv, and Sumy. Attacks are still going on in the capital city of Kyiv as the Russian army is nearing central Kyiv.

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Conclusion

As of 2023, the conflict has not been resolved and the situation remains tense. The Ukrainian government, with the support of the international community, continues to call for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and for Russia to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is also worth noting that the issue is not only political but also humanitarian, with the situation of human rights in the region, particularly in the annexed Crimea, being of concern.

Happiness is more important than Success (essay)

Inner happiness gives a person success, not because of the people’s perception towards you. You get all the money, honor, pride, even fame but when the happiness is not there, it wouldn’t be worth it at all and you will still feel like something is missing here. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”. It was a very well saying said by Albert Schweitzer, an Alsatian polymath and he was a great philosopher as well because this say goes for all the people out there being so conscious of their success in life compared to happiness. Sometimes parents want the children to be what they want and not what the children want and in order not to baffle the parents, the children winds up following what the parents state and undoubtedly they become successful in what the vocation chosen by the parents but the happiness factor is still missing in their children’s life as it’s not what they have chosen and wanted in life. It doesn’t have any fairness as well. It clearly shows that happiness can never be compared with the success of a person as it clearly shows that happiness is above all this. I feel regardless of the amount of a triumph that I get the opportunity to accomplish throughout everyday life, the satisfaction factor must be there on the grounds that occasionally even certain victories, we probably won’t be upbeat about it since it possibly not the one that you needed but rather if it’s something that you needed brings you achievement and which satisfies you, at that point it’s like, “killing two birds in one stone”. Actor Robin Williams, one of the finest and successful American actors as well as the top comedian who reached the peak of success in the film industry end up dying because of the depression that he had in his life and he couldn’t take it at all end up taking his own life. Did the success that he earned and worked hard for throughout his life helped him out to fight his depression? This reminds me of what Eric Edmeades, the professional speaker for motivational speaking once said. “Success in life is most easily measured by the number of days you are truly happy”. And this proves again that happiness should be an important purpose in a person’s life.

Until the very end of now, I still believe that happiness is the most paramount intention in a person’s life. Some might not agree with me because they feel that happiness might not be the one because other more crucial things are way better to be the purpose in life. For instance, some might have a perception where survival might be the purpose in life compared to anything else. If you see from the materialistic way of reasoning, you might want to say that money is absolutely the entirety and they say that it’s undeniable. We can’t have any excitements, live in an agreeable way of life and so forth. Especially in this technologically advanced world, money is like a ticket for us to survive. We can’t buy anything that we want, and we can’t enjoy our life. But if we didn’t give that much importance to money and we focus on happiness in our life, we will never have the thought of being materialistic at all in life.

Works Cited

1. Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. Penguin Press.
2. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Free Press.
3. Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2018). Advances and open questions in the science of subjective well-being. Collabra: Psychology, 4(1), 15.
4. Diener, E., & Chan, M. Y. (2011). Happy people live longer: Subjective well-being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, 3(1), 1-43.
5. Newman, D. B., Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2014). Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(3), 555-578.
6. Kesebir, S., & Diener, E. (2008). In pursuit of happiness: Empirical answers to philosophical questions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(2), 117-125.
7. Pressman, S. D., & Cohen, S. (2005). Does positive affect influence health?. Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 925-971.
8. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1-11.
9. Huppert, F. A. (2009). Psychological well-being: Evidence regarding its causes and consequences. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, 1(2), 137-164.
10. Veenhoven, R. (2015). Happiness in Nations: Subjective appreciation of life in 56 nations 1946-2013. Springer.

As example, from 00s to 70s expenses during that time are not high it is totally enough if every month they just only earn about 70 $ for the family so teenagers at that time can do a part time job after school and earn enough for his family. But nowdays, it is totally different because everything are expensive and to build a family you must have a good financial status and it means you have to haved a certificate to make sure you have a good job. They are three causes why teenage marriage are not a good idea which are, financial problem, lack of life experience and don’t know how to balance between families and friends.

The first cause of why teenage marriage are not a good idea is because, financial problem. we are live in an era that required money to move anything so as we know most of teenager are totally broke it is because they are, jobless and only hope a help from their parents. According to Brownfield. A ( 2017 October 1st ) teens need their parents to provide stability in their turbulent lives. When someone get married they are totally not their parents responsible anymore it has to be their own responsibility to find a money for their family. So that’s why it is totally not a good idea for a teenage to get married unless they have their own business and stable financial status. It is also to make sure there are no issue between your partner in the future that can ruin your marriage.

Other than that cause of why teenage marriage are not a good idea is because, lack of life experience. Teenage is a third stage of human life and a first stage of human can think equally. It means they are still young and soft to adapt a big problem. Whenever they can’t find a solution of their problems they will act first without thinking the effect of the decision they have made and end up it will bring to divorce.

According to Pratap ( 2016 December 10th ) most of the teenage marriages fail because people at this age are still immature to make the most important decisions like marriage. It is better to get married at adult age because when were in teenage moment its actually a time for someone to enjoy their life and a beginning to start knowing world but not a time to have a family.

Last but not least, cause of why teenage marriage are not a good idea is because, don’t know how to balance between families and friends. As we know teenager are likely more spent their time with friends compare to family and sometimes they even trust friend more than family. So whenever they get married they still feel they can enjoy like before as example, chat with friends at mamak’s stall untill late morning, go for a riding trip on weekend and etc. According to Smart Teenagers (2009) most teenagers who marry don’t fully grasp the meaning of commitment. Imagine if one day they had a children and one of them are acting like this, it totally will affect the child because they didn’t get enough attention since baby.

In a nutshell, this essay tell that the causes of why teenage marriage are not a good idea is because, financial problem, lack of life experience and don’t know how to balance between families and friends. Marry at a young have their own pros and cons but teenager have to be smart in making a decision as example, make sure your financial status is in good condition before you get married and find someone that willing to stay with you even you are not in a good condition, not someone that stayed with you when you were rich and handsome only. By having a good plan and trust the marriages will stay last long eventhough its all start when both of you are still teenager.

Works Cited

1. Dumas, T. M., & Ellis, W. E. (2019). Wedding Bell Blues: The Consequences of Adolescent Relationship Transitions for Mental Health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(4), 697-709.
2. Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., & Ennett, S. T. (2007). Lankford, T. J. Understanding and Preventing Adolescent Dating Violence: The Importance of Developmental, Sociocultural, and Gendered Perspectives. Adolescent Dating Violence: Theory, Research, and Prevention, 13-32.
3. Fussell, E., & Furstenberg, F. F. (2005). The Transition to Adulthood During the 20th Century: Race, Nativity, and Gender. The Future of Children, 15(1), 21-47.
4. Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2010). Adolescent Romantic Relationships: An Emerging Portrait of Their Nature and Developmental Significance. In R. J. Crouter & A. Booth (Eds.), Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Risks and Opportunities (pp. 127-150). Wiley.
5. Hallfors, D. D., Waller, M. W., Bauer, D., Ford, C. A., & Halpern, C. T. (2005). Which Comes First in Adolescence—Sex and Drugs or Depression? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29(3), 163-170.
6. Manning, W. D., & Cohen, J. A. (2012). Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution: An Examination of Recent Marriages. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(2), 377-387.
7. Nock, S. L. (2005). Marriage as a Public Issue. The Future of Children, 15(2), 13-32.
8. Robbers, M. L. P., & Leunissen, J. M. (2021). Understanding the Effects of Adolescent Marriage: A Person-Centered Approach. Emerging Adulthood, 9(3), 187-202.
9. Thornton, A., & Young-DeMarco, L. (2001). Four Decades of Trends in Attitudes toward Family Issues in the United States: The 1960s through the 1990s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1009-1037.
10. Weitzman, L. J. (2005). The Marriage Contract: Spouses, Lovers, and the Law. Psychology Press.

Promising a new life full of wealth, happiness and opportunity, the American Dream brought over five million immigrants to the United States in the twentieth century. Through her memoir Heartland, author Sarah Smarsh reveals the less publicized perspective by taking the reader on a journey through her childhood, which was full of prejudice, poverty, and struggle. Smarsh recognizes the threats that poverty posed to her family, such as unsafe working environments and abusive relationships. She outlines the patterns which confined each generation before her and how, one by one, each of her family members fell victim to poor education and low-paying jobs, trapping them in a cycle of poverty. Although Smarsh herself is successful in breaking the cycle of extreme poverty in her family, a glimpse into her own background and family history demonstrates that the American Dream is not, at its core attainable.

Originating in 1931, the American Dream promises freedom and opportunity for all in the United States and creates high expectations of American life. James Truslow Adams, who coined the phrase “American Dream,” thought that “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement’ regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. Based on individualism, it promises equal opportunity for everyone and even led millions to emigrate from their home countries to pursue the idealistic “white-picket fence” life for which America is most well-known. The United States, whose reputation promises a surplus of jobs, wealth, and a perfect family life, guarantees both immigrants and American parents liberty and security for their children to do and be anything in the ‘land of opportunity’.

Despite what Americans are promised, every day they are forced to face the harsh realities of the American Dream and learn that the perfect society may not be achievable. One of the most limiting factors of American life is social class and the restricted class mobility that has existed throughout our country’s history. The American Dream promises that no matter your current state, anyone with purpose and work ethic can rise through the ranks and find success; however, the cycle of poverty says otherwise. While a high school diploma itself is free, children whose parents are unable to provide them with a college degree are limited significantly when pursuing career opportunities and will be forced to accept low-paying jobs. These children in turn will face the same struggles as generations before them, and likely start the cycle again. In other words, the prospects of children are dictated by their parents’ economic standings, and without being born into a family with money, one simply does not have much social mobility.

This idea that one’s success or failure is dictated by the lives of his or her parents is a common theme throughout Smarsh’s story and is evidenced in the repeating influences which constrain her family and keep them trapped in the cycle of poverty. One of these patterns is teen pregnancy, into which both she and her mother are born. Throughout her memoir, Smarsh acknowledges these pregnancies as a major contributor to her family’s poverty by writing to her unborn daughter August and emphasizing that by not giving birth to a child, she saves him or her from becoming a part of this cycle. She talks about her teenage years and how they were a crucial period in her life, as she was determined not to allow a pregnancy to force her into codependency, saying “there are men…whom a woman without economic means will have a harder time escaping”. Determined and remarkably clear-minded, she stays on a “warpath of accomplishment” because she carries with her a belief that she “deserves to be seen and heard in a manner no person she knew had ever been”. She credits this persistent mindset and her evasion of teenage pregnancy to her grandparents’ support.

Another pattern in her family which Smarsh is able to escape is a lifestyle of constant movement and relocation. Because of difficulties and abuse within her marriages, Smarsh’s grandmother constantly moves around the country as a young adult, causing Smarsh’s mother Jeannie to move nearly fifty times by the time she reaches high school. This lack of stability is another cycle throughout her family’s history and is an inhibitor of social and intellectual growth. In order to achieve the elusive American Dream one must obtain an education; however, if one is forced to change schools constantly because of a threat of physical abuse, then a child’s education is no longer in his or her control. Smarsh details how her mother often missed opportunities due to switching schools midyear, such as sports tryouts and auditions for school plays and cites this as another reason that her mother remained stuck in a life she had not asked for. If she had not had the option of staying with her grandmother, Smarsh recognizes that she too would have been forced to switch homes and schools each year and would have fallen behind in her own education. Individuals should not have to choose between depriving their children of opportunities and living in a dangerous environment. This reinforces the nonexistence of the American Dream, demonstrating that no matter how hard we work, there are sometimes forces outside of our control which have the ability to set us up for failure.

While it could be argued that by becoming successful and breaking the cycle of her family’s poverty, Smarsh proves the existence of the American Dream, her success was not achieved by simply trying harder than the rest of her family. Belief in the American Dream leads to the denial that poverty is a problem and leads many to assume that people who are poor must be lazy — Smarsh’s family is anything but. Despite each member of her family facing more challenges due to poverty than many of us can even imagine, each generation manages to keep themselves afloat and provide for their family, which I would consider as success. The reason Smarsh is able to “get out” is not by simply working hard, otherwise every family member before her would have achieved the same thing — in her words, “if you are poor, you are likely to stay poor, no matter how hard you work”. She is successful because she grows up observing what poverty does to her family and is able to pinpoint and counteract the series of events which seem to be turning points in her family members’ lives.

Although Smarsh recognizes hard work as a factor of her success, the real message of her story is that belief in yourself and your ability to enact change is what really makes a difference. In her deeply thoughtful memoir, she provides the necessary insight that although there are many aspects of life that are out of our control, acknowledging them is the first step to overcoming them. While it is true that not everyone in America has an equal opportunity for success, the way in which we handle our individual challenges is what sets us apart in the end. The American Dream is misleading — we cannot simply ‘pull ourselves up by our bootstraps;’ grit and hard work lead to success, but alone cannot grant the American Dream.

Works Cited

1. Adams, J. T. (1931). The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
2. Florida, R. (2017). The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class-and What We Can Do about It. Basic Books.
3. Fussell, P. (2019). Class: A Guide through the American Status System. Simon & Schuster.
4. Gordon, L. R. (2016). What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction to His Life and Thought. Fordham University Press.
5. Jensen, R. (2017). The Culture of Celebrity. Routledge.
6. Jones, J. M., & Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity Development of Diverse Populations: Implications for Teaching and Administration in Higher Education. Routledge.
7. Loury, G. C. (2002). The Anatomy of Racial Inequality. Harvard University Press.
8. Murray, C. (2012). Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. Crown Forum.
9. Putnam, R. D. (2015). Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. Simon & Schuster.
10. Smarsh, S. (2018). Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth. Scribner.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. ” This was quoted by Charles Darwin, the man behind the theory of Darwinism and natural selection. Natural selection is when an organism can adapt to the environment by changing the genotype, or the construction of genetics of their offspring. By doing so, it increases the chance of survival of their species for generations to come. Natural selection is “the preservation of a functional advantage that enables a species to compete better in the wild” (Darwin’s theory of Evolution. com). The species will slowly and slightly have variations, not suddenly adapting and becoming more endowed, but gradually beneficially mutating certain features and physical health of the species over time. Darwin believed that more superficial species evolved into complex ones through time, and the small variations turned the species into a whole other creature. Darwin’s theory of genetic variation can be seen played out in sports.

Genetics plays a great role in the outcome of a person’s success in their chosen sport. In many sports including swimming, gymnastics, basketball, rugby and sumo wrestling, genetic variation plays a role in achieving the pinnacle of the sport. For example, in a sport such as swimming where a millisecond can determine 1st or 2nd, the arm span of the athlete will affect the pull of the stroke leading the athlete to victory or to defeat. Michael Phelps is now a retired swimming legend known for his seven world records, 23 Olympic gold medals, and the title of most decorated Olympian of all time. With a towering height of 193cm and an arm span of over 2 meters, Phelps has a great genetic advantage over his competitors. His lengthy arm span which is over 3 inches longer than his height, allows him to pull his body through the resistance of water with optimum speed and propulsion. His lower body is shorter than expected resulting in less resistance through the water. His massive palms and size 14 feet act as paddles and flippers to pull and kick ideally. All the genetic advantages that Michael Phelps received help him to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Although genetics does play a role in sport, without exercise and training, no matter how genetically capable the athlete is, they will not accomplish the high standards that a professional athlete would. Exercising frequently whether in a gym or in a specific sports environment improves the cardiorespiratory system, ligaments, tendons, bones, as well as the muscular system. High-level athletes, don’t win Olympic medals after training for a day, it takes years of hard work and dedication towards the sport to become the best. For example, Vanessa Ferrari, an Italian Olympic gymnast placing fourth in the 2012 London Olympics has a genetically petite figure of 146cm. Her short height and light weight allows her to flip and tumble with great speed packing all her rotations into one jump. The average gymnast is very petite and lean. Vanessa got her petite figure through genetics; however, in order to have the power to lift her body and tumble, she requires lots of muscular strength. Through long-term training, the athlete has developed muscle hypertrophy, with so a body fat percentage of 14. 6 which is well below the average. With such a low body fat percentage, Vanessa Ferrari’s vast majority of the weight is muscle. Starting this vigorous and technical sport at the age of 11, and now training twice a day, the gymnast has put tremendous effort and time into achieving the high standards that she has today. Training this often has strengthened her ligaments and tendons, as well as densifying her bones, providing a lower risk for injury. It has also given her a massive amount of strength and power through muscle hypertrophy, leading her to a gold in 2006 all-around world champion.

Another example would be Serena Williams, a professional tennis champion winning the Wimbledon seven times. With one tennis match lasting up to 3 hours, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance, as well as a great respiratory system, is vital to perform at the highest level. Serena Williams training program consists of a couple of hours of skill-based training, followed by one to two hours of gym based training working on her strength and cardiovascular endurance. Serena also includes yoga and Pilates three times a week in her exercise program for core strength. By training consistently for a long period of time, capillarization takes place, an increase in hemoglobin, and the heart size increases, leading to more stroke volume. With more capillaries diffusing oxygen and carbon dioxide, the body can respire at a quicker rate, leading to less fatigue in the muscles, and more energy improving the performance of the athlete. A larger heart can pump a greater volume of blood consisting oxygen around the body to provide more oxygen particles to respire with.

As the body adapts to the intense training over time and improving their fitness, the athlete becomes more compatible to their sport, allowing them to compete at an elite level. In conclusion, Darwinism does play a role in sport. For a professional athlete, where competitors train roughly the same amount, genetics can be the deciding factor between a gold and a silver; however, a wise person said, “A trophy is earned in the hours that no one is watching”, meaning that training is the key to success in any sport. As much as an athlete is genetically advantageous, training with a great amount of intensity, and consistency without quitting strengthens the body, mentally and physically, providing the athlete with the skills and fitness needed for the sport. For a typical athlete, genetics does not matter as much since competitors can achieve a similar level through improving from harsh training sessions.

Recent decades have seen a depth of research on the historical virtues and disadvantages of random selection or lottery and how these could be adopted to address deficiencies of modern day democratic institutions, to the extent that the question whether lottery is a democratic institution has given rise to many debates and deliberations. In this paper I am going to argue that the lottery is not a democratic institution by discussing my view of what democracy is, summarizing main benefits of sortition and arguing that there are no democratic elements in a lottery.

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In his paper “The Original Meaning of Democracy”, Ober (2008) claims that democracy is “the collective capacity of a public to make good things happen in the public realm”. The word democracy stems from two Greek words, “demos” meaning the people and “kratos” meaning power. Democracy can be categorized into two types: representative democracy and direct democracy. At its most basic level, representative democracy is a system where citizens elect government officials to represent their interests.

According to Sorensen (1993) representative democracy is a system of “a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies, at least through regular and fair elections, such that no major social group is excluded.” Direct democracy, on the contrary, is characterised by citizens directly participating in decision-making by voting on issues and proposals instead of for officials to represent them.

The lottery was introduced as a means of selecting candidates to the Council or boule and to the courts and facilitated descriptive representation, i.e. participation of individuals from traditionally excluded backgrounds (Headlam, 1993). The phenomenon has been known as sortition and denotes the selection of citizens for public office by lot (Engelstad, 1989; Stone, 2012). It was to facilitate the prevention of the corruption of power and domination (Walzer, 1983) through randomly selected citizens so that the odds of a charismatic tyrant taking power would be very low. To further strengthen the transparency of the institution, the assembly saw its members participate in the “equal rotation” every year (Goodwin 2005).

While sortition may be viewed as having many plausible benefits, it is important to understand its disadvantages to the democratic process. Firstly, the random selection narrows the chances of selecting highly skilled and motivated officeholders and allows candidates with little or no experience into the decision-making process which might lead to inefficiency in government. Secondly, with random selection at its heart, there is a danger of allowing into that process a group or an individual whose views would not be reflective of the population they are to represent which could disturb the legitimacy of the selection process and the “consent of the governed”. Closely linked to the “equal rotation” or random selection is the issue of enthusiasm or lack of it for the often complex workload associated with the new role that an individual or a group have assumed advocating for their constituency. In representative democracy politically ambitious individuals or groups would display their leadership and act upon issues related to public responsibility, thus representing their constituents.

Finally, accountability and the “liberalism of fear” (Shklar 1998) which have become important features of representative democracy and lead to the possibility of the serving members of the elected body to be re-elected are not to be found in sortition which features absence of the mechanism that would allow the public to manifest its satisfaction or lack of it with the governing body (Manin, 1997).Having considered both the virtues and disadvantages of sortition, it appears that lottery falls short of becoming a democratic institution as it neither encourages political competition between skilled and motivated bodies nor offers accountability for the interests of the governed. It further seems to be undemocratic and leads to lack of transparency and inefficiency. However, a model that would incorporate sortition as a way to keep the powerful in check and descriptive representation that would allow inclusion and fairness among the constituents and aligned with the Athenian tradition (Aristotle Politics 1317b 22, quoted by Mulgan 1984) might prove a way forward for modern democracies.

Bibliography:

1. Engelstad, Fredrik. 1989. “The assignment of political office by lot.” Social Science Information 28, 23–50, 1989.Goodwin, Barbara. 2005. Justice by Lottery. 2nd ed. Exeter: Imprint Academic.
2. Headlam, James W. 1933. Election by Lot at Athens. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Manin, Bernard. 1997. The Principles of Representative Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. Mulgan, Richard G. 1984. Lot as a democratic device of selection. Review of Politics 46: 539-56.Ober, Josiah. 2008. The Original Meaning of Democracy: Capacity to Do Things, Not Majority Rule 15, no. 1: 7.
4. Shklar, Judith. 1998. The Liberalism of Fear. In Political Thought and Political Thinkers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
5. Sorensen, Georg. 1993. Democracy and democratization: processes and prospects in a changing world. Westview Press.

Rich, dark chocolate is packed with powerful heart-healthy antioxidant flavonoids. A study reported in the British Medical Journal found that regularly eating chocolate decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke by 39 percent. Another study found that those who ate a chocolate bar weekly reduced their chances of dying from a stroke by 46 percent.

Chocolate contains both serotonin, a neurotransmitter that acts as an antidepressant, as well as a chemical called phenylethylamine (PEA) that enhances mood.

A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who ate candy several times a month lived almost a year longer than those who ate no candy at all. Researchers believed the antioxidant phenol, which is also found in red wine, may be responsible for the increased longevity of candy lovers. They also speculated that cacao, from which chocolate is made, can reduce oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and can enhance immune function.

A 2011 animal study found that a flavonoid in licorice called glabridin reversed learning and memory problems caused by Type 2 diabetes and also improved the memory of non-diabetic animals. In addition, a study conducted at the U.K.'s University of Hull found that dark chocolate increased levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol in Type 2 diabetics. "Chocolate with a high cocoa content should be included in the diet of individuals with Type 2 diabetes as part of a sensible, balanced approach to diet and lifestyle," said researcher Steve Atkin, Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology."This study demonstrates that it can offer a potential reduction in cardiovascular risk without detrimental risks on weight, insulin resistance or glycemic control.

Chewing gum can be a sweet way to reduce stress. Studies indicate that the repetitive action of chewing gum stimulates areas of the mind that increase attention and self-control, while lowering areas related to stress. Chewing gum also increases serotonin levels.

Studies at the University of Cincinnati found that peppermint helps people concentrate better when taking tests, and some educators are even encouraging their students to eat a piece of peppermint during tests. and a study at Wheeling Jesuit University found that peppermint made drivers more alert.

Peppermint candy made with real peppermint extract can ease gas and bloating and an upset stomach. A chemical in ginger aids upset stomachs by relaxing the intestinal tract. Carrying a few pieces of ginger candy in your pockets may help with nausea, gas, and other minor stomach upsets, including motion sickness.

Researchers at an affiliate of Georgetown University Medical Center found that a compound in cocoa beans slows the growth of cancers and speeds their destruction. The chemical, known as GECGC, was the most effective against fast-growing cancers. It showed positive results against colon, cervical, and one line of leukemia cells, and was found to be effective at the concentrations similar to those a person might eat.

A British study found that two ounces of chocolate was more effective at suppressing chronic coughs than codeine. Chocolate contains theobromine, which calms the vagus nerve, the section of the brain that triggers coughs.

Whether you believe it or not, Thomas Sanders has made his mark in the sands of American entertainment industry. The iconic internet personality has garnered much fame through uploading comedy sketches on YouTube, Vine, and Instagram. He has built a huge fan base on social media and has recorded some awards in his name. It might interest you to know that the young champ isn’t just a YouTube comedian; he is also a talented actor, scriptwriter, and singer. He has released several hit singles and has appeared in several musicals such as Heathers: Te Musical, Singin’ in the Rain, and Les Miserables. In addition, he has guest-starred in Disney Channel show titled Bizaardvark and has worked as a co-anchor of the Disney XD show titled Walk the Prank. Learn more about Thomas Sanders, his sexuality and girlfriend below.

Thomas Sanders Bio

Born in Gainesville, Florida on April 24, 1989, Sanders was raised in a core Catholic family. He is the third out of four siblings; he has two older brothers named Christian and Patrick, as well as a younger brother named Shea. During his middle school, Thomas developed a keen interest in singing and theatre; he often appeared in several dramas and singing competitions organized by his school. He went on to graduate from the University of Florida where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2011. While at the University, he also worked at the Gainesville community theatre and after his graduation; he started working with an Engineering firm and also combined it with a part time job in the theatre.

Sanders joined the online video sharing community called Vine as Foster_Dawg in April 2013. He started uploading several funny videos on his Vine channel. He garnered fame following his ability to mimic people; in his first viral video, Thomas was mimicking Stewart Griffin, an online character from the animated series Family Guy. He recorded got his breakthrough when he uploaded a live series while narrating different people. Thomas is also popular for hosting the Disney Channel series titled Pranks with Friends, Musicals in Real Life, Misleading Compliments, Shoutout Sunday, and Pokemon Pranks, among others.

Through his constant engagement with his fans, Sanders vine became the 17th most followed account on Vine with over five million followers in 2015. Following the shutdown of the online sharing community in January 2017, the internet star continued to make short videos on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. He created popular hashtags such as FanArtFriday, SupremeArtSunday and SuperArtSaturday.

Furthermore, before joining Vine, Sanders was already on YouTube as at 2007. He opened his first official YouTube account in 2009 after which he started uploading several video contents including comedy, musical, social justice, and pranks. He collaborated with other popular YouTubers such as The Gregory Brothers, Anthony Padilla, Lilly Singh, and Hanna Hart, just to mention a few. He further started a YouTube series titled Sanders Sides in 2016.

Asides from his social media career, Sanders is also a talented singer and has released several singles including Snow in Venice in 2013 and Proud of Your Boy in 2015. Alongside John Cozart, he released RIP Vine: A Song in 2016 and the following year, he released Tomorrow never Came, among others. He has appeared as a guest on the Disney Channel series titled Bizaardvark in 2017; after which he anchored a special episode of Walk the Prank alongside David Lopez.

Is Thomas Sanders Gay?

While there have been lots of speculations swirling about the sexuality of many celebrities; Thomas Sanders has also been caught in the web such speculations. Many of his fans have been itching to have a glimpse of his love life and relationships but were getting fewer answers instead. However, coming out from the closet, the star made a shocking revelation regarding his sexuality in June 2017. He revealed that he is gay, notwithstanding the fact that he has portrayed both bisexual, straight and gay in his videos. This revelation raised several eyebrows amongst his fans; nevertheless he has been accepted for who he is. Sanders have joined the long list of celebrities who have come out openly to reveal their sexual orientation and since then, he has aligned himself with the LGBT community.

Since Sanders revealed his sexual orientation, some of his fans have come to accept it while others have wanted him to reveal who his partner is. However, Thomas Sanders hasn’t been so vocal about his sexuality in his videos. He enjoys keeping his personal life away from the limelight. Currently, he is not in any known relationship; he might have been in a few relationships but enjoys keeping them under wraps. He is focused on reaching the climax of his career.

Table of contents

1. Bibliography
Primary SourcesSecondary Sources

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman can be measured against Aristotle’s notions of tragedy expressed in his Poetics, involving a fall caused by hamartia and hubris, and an eventual recognition and reversal of fortune, culminating in the audience experience of catharsis. Despite this enduring model for tragedy, Willy Loman, the central character of the play, is not necessarily a tragic hero in this sense, and does not fulfill all the above criteria. Arguably then, Miller is presenting a modern society in which tragedy has no place, and indeed, is not possible. On the other hand, this classical concept of tragedy is not appropriate for modern society, and other measures of the Tragic, or a reinterpretation of tragedy may be what Miller is presenting.

A fundamental feature of Aristotelean tragedy is a tragic hero of high standing, who makes a mistake, hamartia, causing a fall from grace. It can be argued that Miller’s drama asserts this improbability of attaining high status in his plays Death of a Salesman and All My Sons, as neither protagonist comes from a particularly elevated background. In Death of a Salesman, Linda makes clear Willy’s inability to meet this requirement: ‘I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being (…) Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person’ Whilst this isn’t tragic in the Aristotelean sense, Death of a Salesman can be seen as a more ‘democratic tragedy’. Willy may be nothing special, but he is a human being, and thus the tragedy is our humanity and our ultimate insignificance. The failure of ‘attention (…) paid to such a person’ in the play, culminating in Willy’s suicide reveals the craving for ‘attention’ in the socioeconomic capitalist system in which monetary wealth measures the ‘greatness’ of a person. Miller asserts the improbability of reaching a high status, and the precarious, and indeed, ultimately unfulfilling and irrelevant, status financial authority gives; this can be seen in Willy’s suicide at the end of the play, despite the family having paid off the mortgage. Nevertheless, the tragedy of the loss of selfhood and therefore inability to meet Aristotelean criteria for tragedy is tragic in itself. Miller reimagines tragedy in a more complex modern form, shifting between person and culture and examining their influences on each other (imitating the tensions of democracy), thus reflecting the perils of capitalism. Feminist critic Linda Kintz has noted that Death of a Salesman offers ‘a nostalgic view of the plot of the universalized masculine protagonist of the Poetics’, critiquing both the treatment of women in the play, and the notion of Aristotelean tragedy itself as an inherently flawed and limiting concept. Linda is marginalized from the capitalist power systems, which give value and status, and thus devaluing her. Furthermore, Linda is characterized as a subservient housewife, as elucidated in Happy’s response to her hanging his washing, ‘What a woman! They broke the mould when they made her.’ The mold of Aristotelean tragedy has been broken, yet both society and Miller still inadvertently assert the improbability of a truly ‘democratic’ Tragedy in modernity via the application of male value systems.

The hamartia, or mistake, required in Greek Tragedy, is frequently caused by hubris, excessive pride or confidence. Willy’s character teeters on the edge between self-delusional and self-assured, making assertions such as, ‘I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!’ This self-confidence is undermined by his use of an economic metaphor, highlighting the fact that he is indeed, ‘a dime a dozen’, used and discarded by the capitalist system, and rendering his insistence baseless. Whilst the process of naming is often a moment of self-definition and power, such as in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, ‘This is I, Hamlet the Dane’, the gradual fragmentation of Willy’s mind and diminishing sense of self and grip on reality, causes these words of attempted self-definition to be meaningless. As Miller himself has commented: ‘But he was agonised by his awareness of being in a false position, so constantly haunted by the hollowness of all he had placed his faith in, so aware, in short, that he must somehow be filled in his spirit or fly apart, that he staked his very life on the ultimate assertion.’Willy’s ‘false position’ is conveyed through fantasy narrative, including his stories of his brother and father, claiming ‘we’ve got quite a little streak of self-reliance in our family’. Willy is thus telling an approving narration of his life. In some ways, Willy can be seen as lacking hubris, as a self-delusional and pitiful character. Alternatively his blindness and folly can also be viewed as a major character flaw. In some ways, Willy is depicted as a modern day King Lear, with his blindness to reality causing him to be flung into madness. Nevertheless, his appeal to his boss, Howard, reveals an insightful critique of capitalism, ‘You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away- a man is not a piece of fruit!’ This declaration comes across as strangely pathetic due to the tension between Willy’s assertions and desperate begging for a job. Likewise, Willy’s egotistical image of his financial success and hero-worshipping sons in the first act reveals his insecurity of failing to achieve the ‘American Dream’. Schlöndorff’s presentation of this scene in bright, garish colors in his 1985 film production of Death of a Salesman conveys the constructed and false nature of this daydream. Perhaps it is this ongoing tension between failed potential and reality, and refusal to face the obvious truth, that is the source of Willy’s hamartia as he embodies the word’s literal translation of ‘missing the mark.’ This consequently causes the discretization of his character and his downfall. Indeed, Willy is literally fallen, often found slumped over, on his knees, and ‘beaten down’. Matthew Roudané comments that ‘Miller presents no fewer than twenty-five scenes in which Willy's body language and dialogue create images of the fall, the falling, or the fallen.’ It is in flashback, at the end of the scene when Biff discovers Willy’s affair that we are given the stage direction ‘Willy is left on the floor on his knees’, a movement that is prophetic of the downfall the Willy will later suffer.

The ‘improbable possibility of tragedy’ is most clear in Death of a Salesman due to the lack of obvious anagnorisis, and Willy appears to have no moment of true recognition or revelation. Whilst there is the inevitable realization that his dreams of success will not materialize, Willy remains delusional throughout. In the last scene, the apparition of Ben appears, representing Willy’s misconceptions of his worth and purpose, and culminates in the misguided sacrifice of his own life. Willy’s had an overtly sentimentalized view of his own death: ‘Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket? (…) It’s very smart, you realise that, don’t you, sweetheart?’ In actuality, Willy represents the inhuman, hollow, and perverse logic of the American Dream. A failure to sell his products has resulted in his failure to ‘sell himself’, yet his suicide for life insurance money is ultimately a delusional disregard for what he did have- the love of his family. His perceived ‘magnificence’ of monetary wealth is a result of his self-value being placed in a capitalist framework. If anything, the epiphany of the play comes from Biff, who comments that Willy ‘never knew who he was.’ This insight exposes Willy’s continual under appreciation of himself, including his erroneous motives for suicide. Thus, Willy has no anagnorisis, and does not even succeed in the individual’s quest for personal dignity and integrity that can be said to be characteristic of the modern tragic hero. Willy remains until his death ‘a man distracted from human necessities by public myths’, ignoring the true love and care of his family in order to chase the illusion of the American Dream.

It can be said, however, that catharsis is present in Death of a Salesman. The last lines of the play, in the Requiem, are Linda’s ‘We’re free… we’re free…’ This ‘freedom’ perfectly expresses the purging of emotions felt at the end of the play, and even the characters themselves feel the relief of the pressure of Willy’s ideals, failures and expectations. Parallel to this is the pity and fear evoked by Willy’s suicide. Willy’s struggle to find himself is universalized, as Miller comments: ‘I think Willy Loman is seeking for a kind of ecstasy in life which the machine civilisation deprives people of. He is looking for his selfhood, for his immortal soul’ The sympathy for Willy’s suffering, combined with the audience’s acute fear of the possibility of experiencing this themselves, leave a collected feeling of both pathos and a determination to avoid the same fate as the characters. The meta-theatrics of Willy’s bad performance as a character in the role of a salesman that both society and he has constructed, urges the audience to not live in bad faith. This aligns with Yeats assertion that ‘tragedy must always be a drowning and breaking of the dykes that separate man from man’. Thus, the catharsis has a unifying effect, which is necessary in a modern, individualistic society, and technological ‘machine civilisation’ which has an isolating effect. All the same, as Leech points out, Willy is not tragic in the Aristotelian sense, as ‘he is the victim of the American dream rather than of the human condition’. Whilst the themes of family cohesion and death are universal, the specific causes of Willy’s tragedy, and the audience’s feelings of catharsis, rely on an understanding of a specific, geographically located, socio-cultural and economic situation. Therefore, through catharsis, Miller asserts the ability and need for tragedy in modern society, but a tragedy that is not Aristotelian in genre, rather a re-imagined modern style of tragedy.

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Ultimately, Death of a Salesman does not render tragedy implausible. Instead, Miller encompasses both ancient and contemporary ideas of tragedy and of tragic heroism. Whilst ‘the play embodies, for many, the peripeteia, hamartia, and hubris that Aristotle found essential for all great tragedies’, this can also be contested. Miller undoubtedly, does not find these ‘essential’: Willy Loman is a ‘low man’ and his anagnorisis and peripeteia are delusions, not genuine realizations of his mistakes or of larger truths. Death of a Salesman is a descent into artificial constructions and performance, continued even after Willy’s death with Linda preserving this falsehood in her questioning of why no one attended his funeral. Thus, the characters remained unmoved, and it is the audience who experience the ‘afterwash of the tragic’, a ‘false consciousness (…) being broken into by real consciousness’. This effect of Death of a Salesman reflects the influence and primary aim of Tragedy in both its ancient and modern contexts, to evoke response in the audience and consumer.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

1. Aristotle, ‘Poetics’ in Classical Literary Criticism, T Dorsch, ed., trans., (London: Penguin, 1965)
2. Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman, (London: Penguin Modern Classics, 1961), p. 40, 52, 61-62, 65, 107, 111, 112, 121.
3. Shakespeare, King Lear, R.A.Foakes, ed., (London: Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 1997).

Secondary Sources

1. Bigsby, C. W. E., Modern American Drama, 1945-2000, (Cambridge University Press, 21 Dec 2000), Online resource: Google Books, last accessed 15 Feb 2015, p. 86.
2. Death of a Salesman, dir. Volker Schlöndorff, perf. Dustin Hoffman, (CBS, 1985). Film.
3. Kintz, Linda, "The Sociosymbolic Work of Family in Death of a Salesman" in Matthew C. Roudane (ed.)
4. Approaches to Teaching Miller's Death of a Salesman (New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1995), p. 106.
5. Leech, Clifford, Tragedy, (Routledge: 1969), p.38.
6. Miller, Arthur, Conversations with Arthur Miller, Matthew Roudane, ed., Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1 Jan 1987, Online resource: Google Books, last accessed 15 Feb 2015, p.38.
7. Miller, Arthur, Introduction to Collected Plays, (New York and London: 1958), pp. 31-6.
8. Roudané, Matthew, ‘Death of a Salesman and the Poetics of Arthur Miller’ in The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller, ed. Christopher Bigsby, Cambridge University Press, London: 22 Apr 2010, Online resource: Google Books, last accessed 15 Feb 2015.
9. Yeats, ‘The Tragic Theatre (1910)’, in Essays and Explorations (London: Macmillan 1961), pp.238-45.