Life In Mexico Essays - Identity, Fanny Hill, Adolescence

Life In Mexico In her many letters, and through her journals, Fanny Calderon de la Barca has left us a very informative eyewitness account of nineteenth century Mexico. Although these writings can be very useful in studying this period of time, it is important to note some of the factors that may have affected what she wrote. Fanny Calderon de la Barca's own social identity was one of the factors that had the most profound impact on her writings and observations. It is because of this social identity that her writings can be used advantageously as a source for social history...However, it is the same social identity that will help alter and be disadvantageous to using her work as a source for social history. Through examples of her writing this paper will argue these merits and show how this work can and can not be used as a source for social history. It is important to understand Fanny de la Barca's social identity, in order to help clarify the pros and con's of her work. She was the fifth child of ten born. Her father was well to do landowner, as well as a legal writer in Scotland. Her mother was related to the Earl of Buchan, in addition to other noble Scottish families (pg.5). She was very well educated as a child. She did see and face some adversity growing up. This adversity and experiences help to shape her social identity, and her as a person. Her family went bankrupt, they were forced to move, soon after her father passed away. Her family moved to Boston where the remaining family members, her included, started a school. The school was temporarily successful and then closed due to a mishap. The family then moved yet again to Staten Island. Her childhood was filled with ups and downs. Throughout it all she maintained a positive attitude and grew as a result. It is obvious that losing a loved, especially one as close as a parent will have a profound impact on a person. Seeing her family go bankrupt and having to move many times has showed Fanny that anything can happen at anytime, even if your are financially secure. Experiencing these ups and downs in her family life helped to open her eyes to the trials and tribulations of others. This is apparent in her writing. She was able to understand better and sympathize with the people she would come in contact with. The moving around probably made her later travelling life much easier to become accustomed to. She never really settled anyplace for an extended period of time. Although Fanny was an outside observer, she was able to work objectively on the many things she saw and people she met. However, because of the time period she some times couldn't write exactly what she wanted to, especially when it came to certain government issues. Due to her husband's respected position in society she was able to meet many important people, generals and leaders. They were received and treated with respect just about everywhere. Sometimes even with a twenty-one gun salute, like the one from the Jason. She was able to make observations of what she saw as they traveled from place to place. This treatment had its own impact on her writing. Although she noted some of the negative things that she saw, such as the smoke blackened buildings on the way to Vera Cruz, etc., she and her husband almost always stayed in a nice and comfortable place or house. This kept her from witnessing and experiencing some of the problems firsthand. Also a lot of the information she gathered was from generals and governors, people such as Santa Anna. These were not true firsthand accounts from peasants and other lower class families. For this reason her information may have been biased. She was really analyzing the opinions of higher ups, and may have received tainted information, or limited access, in certain situations. An example would have been Mexico's breaking from Spain, the revolution and how it happened. Her own childhood experiences may have helped her in using her own insight on certain topics. This helped her form opinions where she may have been sheltered from certain information. This also could have adversely biased her writings. It is important to consider that these are Fanny's observations and opinions, and are affected by her, and the experiences in her life. It is my opinion that although she had seen and faced some adversity in life, Fanny basically led

The crucible role of abigail in the play Essays

The crucible role of abigail in the play Essays The crucible role of abigail in the play Paper The crucible role of abigail in the play Paper What is the role of Abigail Williams in the play The Crucible and to what extent did she cause what happened in Salem? As an actor or director what qualities to you consider important for this role? The Crucible is a play written by Aruthur Miller as an historical allegory for the 1950s communist witch hunt in America. However, The Crucible is mainly a play which allows the reader to see deeply into the human condition, the good and the bad and makes the reader think about loyalty, their own and the loyalty of others as they continue through the play. Throughout the play we see many sides of Abigails character which changes and develops as the situation in Salem does. In the play Abigail is evidently the villian; lying and manipulating her friends and other people in the village. Abigail plays one of the most important parts in the Crucible. She is a catalyst and a protagonist fuelling the fire, and starting many of the accusations in Salem. Abigail is first introduced as seventeen and strikingly beautiful, she is also decribed as an orphan which makes us initially feel sorry for her. Also from her description we assume she has good intentions. This stereotype is confirmed when she tells Parris, on page seven, that she did dance and that he should tell the town she confessed it. This is partially so that she would not get into any more trouble but also to stop the talk of witchcraft in the town, therefore meanning she began with good intentions. The fact that she did begin with good intentions gives the reader an idea that she did not intend to let the happenings in Salem get that far. During the play she sees an oppurtunity to further her station in the society of the time and to take revenge on the one person who is keeping her from the man she loves: John Proctor. Throughout the play Abigail shows one pure emotion which is love. I think that she truly believes John loves her as she is convinced hell love her yet as he knows her. She also feels quite vunerable as she saw Indians smash her parents heads and cannot believe that the man she loves has used her. Also one can argue that a corrupt society breeds corruption and this is so in the case of Salem. Compaired to some of the other so called role models in Salem, Abbie is not particularly corrupt. In some aspects Abigail is rebelling against a corrupt society, combatting modesty with running naked running through the trees and the working ethic by dancing in the forest. Miller has filled Salem with corrupt people. Ironically, the most corrupt soul is infact Parris the reverend of Salem a popous, proud man. He appears to only care about his repuation, and repeates my ministry to Abigail showing that he does not care for his job only his position. Also the Putnams, both twisted, greedy souls who in the play accused people so that they may buy their land. It seems that even though Abigail sent people to her deaths she did so in the name of love; not for pride or money. This is ironic as Miller shocks the audience by his use of twisted unrequited love and how far a person would go to try to be with the one they love. However, Abigail definatly sees a weakness in the society and exploits them as she slowly manipulates and gains control of the town for a time before she decided to run off to avoid a punsihment. During the course of the play, she sentences 17 people to their deaths where she could have confessed that she was lying, rather than reap a whores vengence on Elizabeth, John and the rest of the town. Abigail is menecing and spiteful, this means she showed no remorse toward the dead, but rather run away. We can see this towards her treatment of the girls. She uses the hysteria of the witchcraft they did to manipulate the girls as they are scared of her pointy reckoning and the fact that witchcraft is a hanging offense as in Salem society it is going against the thing they all believe they live for, their God. Abigail manipulates the questions asked to her by Hale and turns them to her own advantage to avoid being accused herself. When hale accuses her of witchcraft she blames Tituba, the black slave, saying she hears her singing her barbados songs. However when she decided she wants the spotlight back on her again she takes control of the situation again, this is key after Tituba confesses to working with the devil. Being a good christian, the main ideal of Salems society, Hale forgives her in the name of the lord and she starts to name witches. Abbie who is afraid takes control again so she cannot be named herself. She puts herself on a pedestal so that she can be in control of a life that would have been set for her otherwise. She becomes so powerful that Mary Warren cannot charge murder on her because Mary is afraid that Abigail will kill her. During court she changes the subject to suit her motives. This allows the judges to see only what she wants them to see. On page 87, at court when she believes she is being mistrusted she turns the arument around and acts as a victim. This shows great disrespect for the people she has sentenced to their deaths. She also changes the subject and refuses to answer questions regarding John, shouting that she will not have such looks and turns to leave when she is accused. To sentence many people to their deaths and create lies and deceit Abigail causes a great extent of what happens in the town of Salem using the lies and gossip in the town to her own advantage. Abigail has many different qualities throughout the play. I think the most important qualities is her outward appearance. The most noticable aspect of her outward appearance are her strikingly beautiful looks. If it wasnt for these John Proctor wouldnt have thought of her softly therefore her idea that John loved her would not have put her in so much trouble. Also her looks made her resent the corrupted society of Salem, mainly because of the way the men of the town treat her. We see this especially in the film, where she is wolf whistled at on the way to the Putnams house. She also appears to look innocent throughout the film and hides her feelings well. This enables her to lie convincingly to everyone in the village. We associate angels with being beautiful like Abigail, this strengthens the idea that she is infact with God instead of doing the devils witch. Abaigail also has the ability to be a convincing and manupulating. This is the other key quality to performing this role. She is convincingly threatening when she talks to the girls. This is her first main outburst, scaring the girls with a pointy reckoning. This fear she instilled allows her to control the girls. She also controlles Danforth outside the courtroom with a similar technique telling him to beware, realising what she has said she quickly changes the subject. However I believe that Danforth was very aware of Abigails power after that. Crutially Abigail has to be convincing in the courtroom or she would not have had such power of the town. This is crucial to the whole plot. If nobody had believed her then the plot would have taken a completely different turn; stopping the allegory as Miller had intended. There was many separate causes to what happened in Salem in the crucible. Many people believe it was completely Abigails fault. They are partially right due to the fact on the first few nights of her being in charge thirty-nine women were accused. But the question still stands to what extent of her fault was it. Abigail confessed to dancing and pleaded Paris to allow her to in the beginning. However this has to be weighed against her plotting and manipulating of the town which came to her at her beckon call. Also other characters in the town used the hysteria to their own advantages, for things like land. I believe that Abigail was mostly to blame, however she did not start the mess that happened, however acted at a catalyst, quickening the pace of the accusations and excecutions which eventually lead to the hanging of John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, two fairly upright names in the town. Her acting as a catalyst also lead to the power of theocracy breaking and good names being soiled because of her childish lust.

Leading in a changing world Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leading in a changing world - Coursework Example The team members are better involved as they own the entire process through their contributed views which are discussed and agreed to do. A team creates an environment in which each member can positively contribute more to solving problems and decision making. A team can be a very rich forum to identify talent and or weaknesses of participants. In a very positive way can help create synergies based on strengths and weaknesses of individual members. For a team to fulfil the primary role it is formed in improving organisational effectiveness, it is imperative that the teams are developed into working units that are oriented towards a set goal, mission or the reason for its existence. From an adaptation in Coventry University Journals, a team is formed through five major stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning or mourning. Forming is the primary stage in which members are meeting for the first time. They are characterised by politeness, positivity and impartiality; some might be very excited about their expectation. There could be some negative forces though like anxiety, unwillingness to fully participate, and some members might be very careful treading on some sensitive issues held by one. This is brought about by the perceived weakness not to give the whole ability to the intended purpose for the team. Storming is the second stage in the team formation in which the reality for the team formation dawns to the members. The roles are clarified for each member and how the team will work is clarified. The process might create or result in conflict as members confront each other as some might be uncomfortable with the perceived workload to be performed, and the approach used. What happens at point might either strengthen a team or break it as others feel that they are overburdened while others have less to do. The conflict and perceived inequity will cause some members to opt out of some roles or withdraw membership from the team. The third stag e is norming. The team, at this stage, settles on and starts respecting the team hierarchy, nominated officials and role heads. Specific skills are developed to facilitate the performance of the roles of each member of the team. Systems and procedures are developed by which challenges, tasks, and feedback will be performed, tackled and processed. At this stage, socialisation is enhanced and members will begin to help each other and constructively criticize one another. Stronger commitment to the team’s goals is developed, and progress is made towards achieving is made. At the performing stage, team’s hard work leads to substantial and tangible progress is made in achieving the vision with a solid structure in place which means that a team member can leave or join without affecting the activities of the team. The team leader, after delegating roles, can concentrate on observing and assisting where necessary individual members of the team who have issues. Closeness and c ooperation achieved thus far will entrench support to one another, foster trust, sharing of ideas and better way to tolerate one another. All goals are achieved at this stage. The last stage is what is referred to as adjourning or mourning. The team is disbanded at this stage after completing its role and achievements can be celebrated at this stage. Preliminaries can be set to for future