19th Century Theories in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay

19th Century Theories in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment "I teach you the Superman. Man is something that has to be surpassed. What have you done to surpass him?" These words said by Friedrich Nietzsche encompass the theories present in Dostoevsky's nineteenth century novel, Crime and Punishment. Fyodor Dostoevsky, living a life of suffering himself, created the character of Raskolnikov with the preconceptions of his own sorrowful and struggling life. Throughout his exile in Siberia from 1849-1859, his sentiments of suffering, sorrow, and the common man surfaced and heightened, inspiring him to begin writing Crime and Punishment in 1859. The main motif in this novel is that of suffering. It is apparent that all characters, major and minor, experience some sort of internal or external affliction. The overall theme of the work is that all mortal men suffer, and that salvation can not be obtained unless this anguish is present. Dostoevsky's protagonist, Raskolnikov, must evolve and realize this fact to overcome his conflicts and reach the salvation of peace and tranquillity. Volumes and volumes of critique can be written on where this suffering originated, but Dostoevsky's main concentration and focus is not where, but why suffering must exist and how this suffering can be overcome. This is seen from the fact that throughout the six sections of the novel, only one section is focused on the origin of the torment - the Crime, and the remaining five sections are concentrated on Raskolnikov's path to overcoming this anguish - the Punishment. By focusing solely on the punishment, the internal an... ... all serve a justified purpose in benefiting his moral and rational states. He overcomes the common man through the salvation he obtains from this linear evolution of trials. He suffers not from Marxist classes, but from internal struggle, excluding him as a member of the proletariat, or common man. Though not physically or emotionally fit to survive, his confession becomes his salvation, his survival, and his disclaimer in the Darwin theory of surviving. The common man may survive because he is fit to survive, but Raskolnikov survives because he chooses to survive. Unlike Freud's theory that the everyday man lives his life through his ego, Raskolnikov makes his decisions based on his superego, doing things not just because it would be rational, but because that it the way it should be done. So then, "Is Raskolnikov a Superman?" Yes.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essa

Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of others for many centuries. Some examples of this include the Holocaust and slavery in the United States. In to Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee racism was the cause of much agony to the blacks of a segregated South. Along with blacks, other groups of people are judged unfairly just because of their difference from others. The prejudice and bigotry of society causes the victimization of people with differences. Some who are discriminated against are those who are born differently than the majority. One person that is treated unfairly is Calpurnia, as you can see when Aunt Alexandra tried to get Atticus to fire Calpurnia, because in her eyes, Calpurnia wasn't a good enough female role model (p.136). This is a prejudice action, because Calpurnia is as good as a role model as Aunt Alexandra, if not better. Aunt Alexandra is a bigot and doesn't see the character of Calpurnia, just the color of her skin. Another person who is treated like an inferior is Scout by her teacher, because she knew how to read. "She discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. (p.17)." Scout is treated like it is her fault that she knows more than the average child did. She learned earlier than others so she gets punished unjustly. Tom Robinson is also one who is discriminated by a biased community. Tom is found guilty by the jury in his case against the Ewells (p.211). The guilty verdict is a direct result of a racist...

Lack of Motivation/ work ethic in American youth

Every one is faced with the challenge of living his life amidst the challenges that it presents to the individual. The individual must determine the way he must live his life, the way he is supposed to live his life, and how to behave or react to the situations that life presents to him. In a way, all individual carries a goal in his life in order for him to get what he wants and what he deserves. Through these situations, one may feel overwhelmed and incapable of making the right choices at the right time. there are also several times in which a person will experience failure and be wrong about the decisions in his life. To understand the cause of failure, the emotions that contributes and results to failure, entails a sense of lack of interest for the individual to pursue his dreams or aspirations in life. All these things are a contributing factor to the development of motivation in the individual. Or the absence of which defines the lack of motivation. The paper will explore the concept of motivation. In doing so, the discussion regarding how motivation is developed and the reasons for the lack of it will be evaluated. Specifically, the paper will examine why American youths lacks motivation and work ethic despite the opportunities presented to them in a first-world country like the United States. To begin, let us define the concept of motivation. Motivation is defined as a noun that gives a person a reason to act (Encarta, 2006). It can also be defined as the desire of an individual to accomplish a goal or participate in any activity that promotes his goals and aspirations in life.   Motivation is the driving force behind the actions and behaviors of an organism. It is the internal state or condition that gives direction or desire to drive the person towards a goal-oriented behavior. Motivation should also be understood as based on emotions. It is the search for positive emotional experiences. A person motivated tries not to worry about the challenges or the negative ideas when facing challenges. Motivation is essential to be part of one person’s growth and life because simply, it involves the person’s performance in all learned responses to the challenges. One good theoretical definition of motivation is used by Abraham Maslow in his developed concept, the hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs explains how personality influences different fields of and within the individual. Maslow uses the hierarchy to reflect the realities of personal experiences. Maslow as a psychology theoretician is classified in one of the school of though in psychology which is the humanist approach. In the particular view, their approach is not based on mechanical forces, reinforcements or stimuli, unconscious instinctual impulses or how other psychology school of thought perceives it. Humanist believes that the individual’s potentials drive him to his success. Maslow attributed that the fullness of one’s potentials is contributed by a mentality of a fully functioning person and a person who has a healthy personality. Maslow attributed these characteristics to a self-actualized person. The contribution of Maslow in defining the character of an individual is essential for us in understanding why US teenagers lack motivation nowadays and lacks work ethics. In Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs, the basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing are instinctive needs. The basic needs are the first level in Maslow’s five levels of basic needs. The needs mentioned above the basic needs are understanding, esthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. It must be noted that the fist level of needs must be fulfilled first before the rest and above needs are fulfilled. The need mentioned by Maslow that is important in the development of one’s self is first the physiological needs. The physiological needs are biological needs that serve as the basic needs like oxygen, food and water. Second, the safety needs. The safety needs, after the physiological needs are satisfied, the need for security alarms the person. Take for instance an adult responding to an emergency or a child’s moments of insecurity. Third level is the need for love, affection and belongingness. After the two latter needs are satisfied, Maslow theorized that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. That is why this need is realized through socialization processes of the individual. The fourth level is the need for esteem. Both self-esteem and esteem from other persons becomes dominant at one point. Human needs stable self-respect and respect from other people. Without this realization, people tend to feel weak, helpless and worthless. After four below levels are satisfied, the top level emerges and becomes dominant. This is the need for self-actualization. This level is what Maslow attributed as the person in which he must be and was born to be. The self-actualization needs enable the person to feel restless, on the edge or even confused in his pursuit for his right state of mind. Maslow believes that this level makes an individual realize what he must be doing for his personal fulfillment. He also believes that the society is placing hindrances for a person to fulfill his self-actualization needs. Education is one of the hindrances that Maslow mentioned. This had caused the call for action of educators to respond to this need and focus on the potentials of the individual. After providing the basic theoretical concept for us to understand the lack of motivation and work ethics among teenagers, the concrete studies and reasons for such will be discussed and explored. Many studies had already contributed in the society’s understanding of how humans are motivated and the reasons for the lack of it. We mentioned earlier the theory conceptualized by Maslow, the Hierarchy of Needs, because the strong point in using this theory is the comprehension that the higher level of needs of the individual includes affiliation, recognition of talents and potentials, and competence. Motivation is a concept in life that that originated in the Latin word â€Å"motus† which means to move. Being motivated is an indication of a person’s strong will to overcome obstacles and challenges. It initiates action for the individual to move towards a direction beneficial for him. Motivation is regarded as a process of integrating and interaction between internal and external factors of an individual. LACK OF MOTIVATION In understanding the lack of motivation among teenagers in the United States, we must first give importance to the role of society and its means that reflects the lack of motivation among teens. Today, media and entertainment influence greatly on teenagers. Each of them is influenced through music, movies and others. These factors one way or another, without us knowing, is a contributing factor to one’s lack of motivation, the same way that these influences become a motivating factor in the formation of goals of teenagers. Some of them want to become rich and popular. Some wants to like the personalities that they admire. But in further discussion of the lack of motivation and work ethics among teenagers, several reasons can be attributed to such in a much larger perspective and theoretical framework. According to Stipek (1988), several reasons for the lack of motivation are brought by internal and external factors. Teenagers do not define goals that characterize their personal success. These goals initiate the motivation, the drive for the person to do something to fulfill them. Or even if they have goals, the goals and activities in which it is executed is the wrong method in fulfilling it. The goals may also be non-achievable goals. Another attributed reason for the lack of motivation is the negative feelings and emotions one person situates his or herself at. Teenagers also have the tendency to set goals for future endeavors, and if they fail, they lose the drive to try to achieve it once more. That is why goals must be set within bounds of achieving them in time. The prolong satisfaction of achieving goals in the distant future affects teenagers lack of motivation. The goals set by teenagers also are not reflected in their present-day activities. The activities they include themselves may be not related to the goals they have set. Stipek (1988) also mentioned that the important goals teenagers must achieve should not conflict their present-day activities. Motivation also comes with reinforcements and rewards. Lack of motivation can also be attributed to low incentives that teenagers get disappointed at. Another significant reason why teenagers lack motivation is the interference and influence of personal problems in their family, society and the activities they participate in. To address to this problem, parents and educators must share the same responsibility to increase motivation among teenagers to achieve success and realize their potentials. As we have discussed the reasons for teenagers’ lack of motivation, it is now the goal of educators, parents and the society in greater scale to act on this phenomenon. Parents and educators must encourage teenagers to become authentic, to listen to themselves and the inner voices that govern their emotions. Parents and educators must teach the teenagers to be different because the reality is, everybody is different. The media and the different personalities and figures in the society today greatly influences teens today and this brings several challenges for the development of one’s individuality. Teenagers want to be who ever they admire and see on television, which brought such problems as the reason why teenagers want to be skinny, undergo surgical procedures to look like their idols or be popular. They must teach teenagers to transcend the limitations and perception of cultural differences. They must also teach the importance of following their hearts desire, as clichà © as it may sound. Their calling, fate or destiny will be able to motivate them in achieving their goals. To this goal parents and educators must encourage teenagers to discover their potentials and develop the skills they inherently have. Also important is to instill in teenagers mind that life is worth to be experienced thus the need to do necessary actions to live life to the fullest and to their potentials. Parents and educators must also accept the teenagers for their own personality and must not give reasons for them to doubt what they want is not what they are supposed to do. Encouragement and reinforcements is very essential in overcoming the challenge with lack of motivation. from the real attitudes and perception of the teenagers, potentials are discovered and further developed into something the teenager will perceive as essential for him to achieve success and happiness. Also as the responsibility of parents, the basic needs must be satisfied. Included in which is safety, belongingness and esteem need. Parents must secure these needs before the teenager can focus on his personal development and achievement of goals. He will appreciate the things done for him to achieve success in life. As for the role of educators, they must refresh the knowledge and consciousness of teenagers for them to realize their importance in the society. In conjunction with satisfying the need for belongingness, teenagers are encouraged and motivated is they have an idea of their worth and importance of the role they play in the society. Teenagers must be taught to control the activities in their lives, to get involve in activities that are related to their goals. When an individual has control in their life, it naturally improves the condition of their life in all aspects. This means that teenagers must be taught to be aware how to grace under pressure and practice minimalism. Teenagers must also be encouraged by parent and educators to never give in to failure. They must let them understanding the failures is a natural occurrence that one has to learn and live in. parents and educators must also encourage teenagers to transcend into personal problems for their own benefits. With the growing alarm rate of divorced parents in the United States, parents must make it a priority to let teenagers understand the situation for them to realize that they are still important amidst the personal problems they encounter. Whether it may occur in the home or in school, the responsibility to overcome lack of motivation must involve the teenager to adhere to the situation and react to it in a positive manner. Although this is not an easy process as we are still govern mostly of our emotions, parents and educators must enforce teenager’s perception of a better life ahead of these problems and negative situations. Lastly, parents and educators must give teenagers the right to choose and present them with viable choices for them fulfill their potentials, goals and aspirations. Reference: Stipek, D. (1988). Motivation to learn: From theory to practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Mary, Rose. â€Å"Tips on how to overcome lack of motivation while working at home†. EzineArticles. November 1, 2006. December 1, 2006 Huitt, W. (2004). â€Å"Maslow’s hierarchy of needs†. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta State University. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from, http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html. Anonymous. â€Å"Adherance to Youth Guidelines.† 1. Maslow, A. H. â€Å"A Theory of Human Motivation.† Classics in the History of Psychology Christopher D. Green, 1943. Messina, J. J., and Messina, C. M. . â€Å"Testing Motivation in Recovery.† 2006. Perera, Karl. â€Å"Self-Motivation.† 2005.   

Soul Surfer Reaction Paper

1) How will you describe Bethany as a person? I would describe her as a person who found hope in the midst of her problem. She found her shelter and that was in Gods arms,she realized that there is still hope and that you shouldn’t give up in a dream that you already have. She tried to achieved it she failed but tried again she a strong,hopeful and a very inspiring model for all of us. 2) How will you describe her family? I would describe her family as a very supportuve,loving and caring family. In times when she needs them they are always there for her. They support for the things she do, that they know is good for her and everyone. They help her battle those sad situations together and protects from those people who they think can hurt her in any way. 3) How was the healing power love manifested in the movie? It was shown through their moral support and how they show how they care,love and support her in a way that assures Bethany they are always there for her when they need them. 4) How did her exposure to Thailand help her find herself? It help her find herself when she found out that the people in Thailand were scared of the sea. They are scared because of what they experienced which was worse than Bethany’s case. She taught them how to cling on hope and try to face the fact that there is always hope when a catastrophe happens. 5) What have you realized from the film? I have realized that I should not give up, those problems,catasrophe’s are just a test from God. Remember ther is always hope and you can always come running back to God’s loving arms for comfort and understanding. In your faith you can find your real self, you will have strength to face what

Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act - Essay Example Taxpayers finance roughly half of the total medical costs annually through Medicaid and Medicare (Hinman, 2011, 16). In view of this growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration recently signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to intensify its fight against childhood obesity. However, the ratification of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act generated varied responses all over the United States. In the view of some, the additional 6-cents for each meal given are valued, but others are dissatisfied with the extra 6-cents which is argued to be insufficient. This paper presents a comprehensive a discussion of the arguments for and against the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Ultimately, the author discusses its position in the debate. Overview The Obama administration recently released a new cluster of federal policies that would regulate the quantity of calories permitted state-sponsored school meals, prohibiting majority of trans fats at the same time as boosting the quantities of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The projects, proposed by the Agriculture Department, embody the initial large-scale overhauling of school lunch rules in the 21st century (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The guidelines would be valid to all partly and fully funded meals and may have an impact on a vast number of children. Supporters claim revamping the price in the country’s school lunches is fundamental in mitigating childhood obesity since large numbers of children take at least half of their everyday calories at school (Hinman, 2011, 16). However, a number of conservative detractors, headed by Sarah Palin, have denounced federal attempts to oblige nutritional intake and control school vending machines and bake sales as unwarranted government intrusion. A number of local school administrators and personnel have questioned the cost of putting into effect the new guidelines, with a large number of the suggested menu selections more costly to acquire and prepare. The U.S. is confronting an obesity outbreak, and the predicament of poor diets puts the future of the children and the nation at risk, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, emphasizing that the country confronts an enormous cost from poor diets in chronic health crises (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The rules are a reaction to the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. The $4.5 billion policy enlarges the population of students entitled to school lunch initiatives and raises the federal financial backing by 6 cents a meal (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). Aside from mandating calorie restrictions, the recommended policies demand cutting down sodium by at least half over a decade (Hinman, 2011, 17), increasing quantities of whole grains and forbidding bad fats. The Argument for the Healthy Hunger-Free Free Kids Act Many individuals and organizations within the food industry supported the implementation of the Act with eagerness like the Internatio nal Dairy Foods Association, the United Fresh Produce Association, American Bakers’ Association, and Grocery Manufacturers Association (Julian, 2010). As argued by Center for Science in the Public Interest’s director of nutrition policy, Margo Wootan, criticizing the legislation by the cost only is very crude since there are other resource-saving

Economic globalization reduces the possibility of conflict Essay

Economic globalization reduces the possibility of conflict - Essay Example From a critical point of view, when countries learn to depend on each other, they form long lasting relationships as the feel that they need each other for survival. On this note, they are committed to maintain harmony to ensure that this interdependence works out for all of them and that each country can uplift their economy. Since countries are unique entities with different resources, it is true that globalizing the economy will ensure that conflicts are reduced and each country can depend on its allies. On this ground, it is clear that the harmony that the world enjoys today is a result of health relationships that have resulted from the formation of a global economy. The end of the 20th century and the 21st century is a time when the world has experience harmony as a result of reduced conflict. The world economy structure has changed due to the formation of a global market where countries are free to venture. Unlike in the post war period, countries are free to invest across the world due to reduced barriers of foreign business entrants. As Barbie (1996) points out, there has been great economic integration to the extent that it is impossible to tell where a product was manufactured. Barbie gives the example of goods that are â€Å"made in China† but have actually been produced through operation integration. Countries have come together to venture in common markets to the extent of collaboratively producing one product. As countries exhaust their domestic markets, they are free to invest in foreign markets in the onset of market liberalization. In the 21st century business organizations have ventured in international markets to increase t heir profits by investing in unexploited markets. This kind of economic integration has resulted into reduced rivalry as countries learn that the domestic market is not enough for economic development. As a result, the new century has seen the number inter country wars reduced due to the economic cohesion that

Asset and Guest Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Asset and Guest Security - Essay Example Since pieces of art have been collected from the world class artists, painters and museums, the protection and safety of these things requires comprehensive security schemes, so that the confidence and trust of the artists and guests in the gallery could be sustained. Alarm System: The main objective behind an art gallery is the displaying of worthwhile art pieces for the visitors and guests, so that the lovers of art could appreciate and evaluate the talented and exquisite work accomplished by the artists, painters and sculptors in an eloquent mode. Incorporation and inclusion of security alarm system is highly advisable for the protection of these precious assets of art. The alarm system should be adjusted in such a way that it could cover the entire edifice of art gallery from roof to the main entrance and from doors and windows to the all the four walls of the building. There should be no other entrance other than the main gate, monitoring of which should be double-checked by the security staff. The security staff must note the identity and entry time of every guest, so that in case of any doubt or loss, the visitors could be traced out easily. The security guards should be provided with metal detectors so that no person loaded with the weapo n could have entry in the gallery. The guards should be loaded with the latest weapons in order to face any untoward situation. Special Security on the Roof of Gallery: It has aptly been stated that in art exhibitions, the thieves use the roof of the building as the easiest way through which they can slip with the object of art quite easily. â€Å"The experience shows that fifty percent of all thefts take place on the upper floors of a building, or even from the roof. Security measures should not be limited to motion detection inside the building; if permitted by the surrounding environment, it is ideal to have a security system that