Modern Christianity view and perspective on Death and Dying

Table of Contents Introduction Christian view about death Christian beliefs about the life after death Common legends and Myths about death and dying Christian burial ceremonies and rituals Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Death is a big enemy to humanity; few people if any would rejoice the death of a loved one. Even though some people see death as ‘promotion to glory’, many people fear death to an extent of shunning any discussions or thoughts about it. Death is a great mystery that religion, science, and philosophy find hard to fathom.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Modern Christianity view and perspective on Death and Dying specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Many questions about death and the state of the dead arise in people’s minds and rarely do they find satisfactory answers. What exactly causes death? What happens after one dies? Is there a possibility of one living agai n? Such questions cause people to develop many theories, myths, and legends to explain this. Many groups of people in the world therefore have varied views and perspectives on this topic. Modern Christians face this same uncertainty, because in as much as they use the same source of information, their interpretations vary and so they come up with diverse views and perspectives. Christian view about death Christians who believe in the Bible view death as a condition brought about by sin. When God created man, there was no death until the sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit. Therefore, death is a condemnation that resulted from this disobedience. Christians hence now admit death as part of their lives in this world; as Solomon said, there is a time to be born and a time to die. However, many Christians refuse to accept the reality of death and as a result, many of the beliefs that they hold talk about death being a transition to a better life. For them that accept the rea lity of death yet believe in Jesus Christ are not hopeless for there is the promise of life after death. They believe they will be changed on His second coming to immortality, but as long as they live in this world, they will be forced to care for the dying, prepare, and have the courage to face their own death. However, the many Christian denominations today have different understanding of the Bible on this topic, giving rise to varied views, perspectives and beliefs. Some Christians believe that death is safe to the people of God and that it is a necessity to fit in the complete delight of God (Anderson 104). They also consider that bliss of heaven starts immediately one dies and that one does not have to wait until the day of resurrection.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, these Christians believe that by death, God often removes his people out of the way of great troubles and temptations (Anderson 105). This means that these people should be willing and even longing to die. This belief holds that once one dies, the soul ascends to heaven in the bliss and that only the body remains in the earth. The Roman Catholics hold a similar but slightly different belief. The church teaches that there is a place called purgatory where most people go through, to be tortured and purified so that they can later on qualify to get to heaven. Ray puts it that, â€Å"Not only did one have to earn enough to live, but also to pay off the ‘spiritual mortgage’ for the dead as well† (104). This teaching makes many who believe in this doctrine to fear death and be emotionally distressed when they think about their loved ones suffering in the torture of purgatory for do not know their own fate. Some Christians believe that when somebody dies he or she does not cease to exist but starts another life in a higher place as another human being or as an animal, either in this world or in another world. According to Essene, â€Å"Death is an automatic and nearly immediate entrance into a greater sphere of learning, growth, and service to which you are well-accustomed already. You simply live at that higher level of purpose, joy and understanding†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (172).This belief called incarnation is a bit complex, but there are Christians that strongly hold to it. Some even go ahead to make a wish of what they would like to be on incarnation. Another common belief is that once a person dies, he or she is in a state of unconsciousness in the dust of the earth awaiting the resurrection either to eternal life or to judgment at the second coming of Jesus. The basis of this belief is on the biblical teaching of the dead seen as sleeping (Bowker 97). This puts it clear that when people die, they do not know what is happening around them or to their loved ones on earth, but are unconscious of their surroundings until resurrection. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Modern Christianity view and perspective on Death and Dying specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Christian beliefs about the life after death Various denominations and individuals vary on the belief they have on life after death. Most of the Christians believe in a form of Heaven or bliss where the dead enjoy with God. Others believe that after death the person is freed from pain, trouble and suffering. Another group of Christians, probably the minority, believes in a state of unconsciousness where the dead do not know anything that is happening around them until the morning of resurrection breaks. Barnes explains it appropriately that â€Å"In the Scripture sleep is used to intimate that death will not be final: that there will be an awakening out of this sleep, or a resurrection. †¦filling the mind with the idea of calm repose after a life of toil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Barn es 297). A little big group of Christians believes that sinners or the wicked go through punishment in hell. There is a variation of this belief on whether this hell is eternal or for a time; also whether the torture is bodily or spiritual. The Catholic Christians believe that sinners pass through purgatory for purification from their sins before the go to heaven. The period that one takes in this place varies from one person to another, probably with the sins committed on earth. Personally, I believe that all the dead are in their graves in an unconscious state, awaiting resurrection at the second coming of Jesus. At that time, the righteous and unrighteous dead will resurrect and join the living. The righteous living and the ones who will resurrect then will meet Jesus in the sky and go with him to heaven. All the unrighteous will die again to await judgment and condemnation. This is recorded in 1Thessalonians 4: 13-18. After judgment, sinners will take their punishment in the lak e of fire, which is a means for the cleansing of sins from the earth. However, this fire will not be eternal but it will consume until everything perish. Then God will make the earth anew. Common legends and Myths about death and dying There are very many myths all over the world about death, given the different cultures that exist in society; however, there are some, which are most common across the cultures. One is the belief that â€Å"it will not happen to me† (Vernon 146). Most people do not take a thought at death because they think they are either too young or that it is not anywhere near them. They forget that them that die do not expect it. Another belief is that it will occur in old age. People do not see death coming in their tender age or at the prime of life. They think that it will ultimately come when they have accomplished all their dreams and old enough not to long for anything anymore; unfortunately, this does not always happen.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many young children die, young people and them in their prime of life. Some think that they will have lived life to its fullest before they die. On the contrary, many die through accidents and unexpected deaths, as opposed to what they always assume. There are they that think that their family members around their deathbed will surround them as they die while others think that when they die, they will not owe anybody any money (Vernon 147). This of course does not happen. However, apart from these myths that cut across the world, there are some common cultural myths. An example of such is the myth about the owl and deaths. In some cultures, owls are associated with death and bad omen (Vernon 153). Proponents of this belief claim that when an owl settles near one’s house and starts hooting, a very close person to the occupant or someone he or she knows will die soon. Many people testify its truth, although it is superstitious. Among the legend that tries to explain, the origin of death is the one of a chameleon and raven. It puts it that God sent a chameleon to tell people that they would never die. Unfortunately, the chameleon as well known is very slow. It took long time to reach to man and pass the message. By the time, he reached, he stammered from tiredness, and before he could deliver the message, a raven, which had been sent later, came very fast and delivered another message that men will be dying. This is the kind of explanation small children hear before they learn to read their bibles. From the modern Christian point of view, some people refer to Bible stories as legends. Although many Christians believe that the Biblical accounts are true to the last word, writers as C.S. Lewis and Andrew Greeley refer to some bible stories as ‘true myths’ (Anderson 200). Many Christians may not take this kindly, but it happens. Christian burial ceremonies and rituals Unlike other religions, Christians take time to mourn for the dead before they bury them, which may take a period of some days. During this period, friends, relatives, and brethrens to the bereaved attend the mourning period to comfort them. The corpse is laid in a coffin and sweet smelling perfumes are sprayed allover to ward the pungent smell that comes from the corpse. In some cultures, people take enough time to view the body and pay the last respect before burial, while in others, because of the fear people have for death, the coffin is closed immediately from the mortuary until it is laid to rest. Christians bury their dead in the earth; usually six feet deep, however, some lay them in monuments or cremate them. Cremation is not a common practice in Christianity but the Catholic Church is slowly adopting it (Herbert 190). Other denominations however have reservations about it. Mourners and the bereaved then lay wreaths around the grave as a show of the last respect. During funeral services, the officiating minister offers prayers for the family and frien ds. Catholic priests plead with God to forgive the dead person of his/her sins that he/she has committed in his/her lifetime. However, some Christians say this is not Biblical since no man has power to change the destiny of the dead for one chooses his/her destiny by the kind of lifestyle he/she led whilst alive. The Catholics also continue praying for the dead so that they may not take a long time in purgatory (Hapgood 360). Some Christians differ with this belief. Most Christians read the Scriptures to encourage the mourners and give them hope. The period of mourning of the family members and relatives varies from culture to culture. Conclusion Death is an enemy to many, and many fear it. Due to this fear, many theories have been developed, some for the purposes of comforting people and giving them hope and no reason to fear. However, some of these teachings and beliefs may be misleading and could make people believe in what is not real and turn away from the reality of their comf ort. In the many theories and beliefs put across, some of them have a great level of truth especially after keen bible analysis. Unfortunately, due to the many teachings and beliefs, there is more of confusion than knowledge of the truth. Similarly, this confusion dominates the varied beliefs on life after death. Due to cultural differences, myths and legends of the dead and dying are even more diverse. To harmonize the differing beliefs concerning death and dying, people should study the bible without personal interests to defend or justify their stand, but with the interest of knowing the truth. The ceremonies and rituals of the dead vary in various denominations. Therefore, a big challenge comes to the Christians; why is it that they study the same book; the bible, and believe in the same super natural being who is God and do not have similar understanding of the same source of information and God? Theologians and Christian leaders should think about this, and try to admonish any personal interests in search for the truth and the truth alone. Works Cited Anderson, Allan. Zion and Pentecost: The Spirituality and Experience of Pentecostal and Zionist/Apostolic Churches in South Africa. Tshwane: University of South Africa Press, 2000. Barnes, Albert. Notes on the New Testament. Luke and John. London: Grand Rapids press, 1978. Bowker, John. The Meanings of Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Essene, Virginia. â€Å"Jesus – Secret Truths–What Is Life?† Life Times, 1. USA: Naval Institute Press, 1978. Hapgood, Isabel. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church Englewood: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, 1922. Herbert, Thurston. â€Å"Christian Burial.† The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Ray, Anderson. Theology, Death and Dying. New York: Berkley publishing group, 1986. Vernon, Glenn. â€Å"Myth-conceptions concerning death-related behavior.† Journal of R eligion and Health 16.2 (1977): 140-156. This research paper on Modern Christianity view and perspective on Death and Dying was written and submitted by user Allan Powers to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

running in the past essays

running in the past essays Nabokov, Peter. Running in the Past: Trade Networks and Messengers. Indian Running: Native American History and Tradition. 1981. In Running in the Past: Trade Networks and Messengers, Peter Nabokov illustrates the importance running has played in the ability of Native Americans to keep up communications by showing the importance of runners in the Pueblo revolt in 1680, the reliability of the Cocomaricopa newsboys, as well as the efficiency of the Iroquois messengers. In 1680, a Pueblo uprising was started in New Mexico. The leader of this revolt was a man they called Pope. He was a religious man who was enraged by the Spanish rule in their territory. Since the Spanish settled in the Pueblo territory, they had created havoc for the Indian religion. Therefore, Pope sent out runners, with the plans of the revolt, to all 70 tribes of the Pueblos. Some runners traveled over 300 miles to reach distant Hopi villages. After these messages were delivered, the runners were sent on a second mission. They were to deliver bundles of knotted cords, which were used as countdown devices. A knot would be untied each day, and when all the knots were untied, the Pueblos would attack. The plan worked out perfectly and the Pueblos defeated the Spanish, and gained their religious freedom back. Another great example of the importance of runners was the Cocomaricopa newsboys. They were usually 25 to 40 year old men who trained with a strict diet and daily practices. These men were allowed through enemy territory, even in times of war, to deliver messages and keep up communications. The Cocomaricopa runners were legendary endurance runners. John G. Bourke, a traveler in the Colorado River area, reported that one runner covered a 200 mile distance in less than 24 hours. He also reported that he paid a runner two dollars to make a twenty-one mile trip through deep sand in which he comp...

Was the Paris Peace Conference a failure or a success Essay

Was the Paris Peace Conference a failure or a success - Essay Example There were a number of provisions in the treaty the most controversial and important one was that Germany accepts the full responsibility for the cause of World War 1. It levied heavy economical impositions ($31.4 billion) that took a number of years to pay up. Hence, this led Germany unsatisfied. Though financially weak it was not morally weakened. Therefore the treaty failed to subdue Germany in the right manner so that it later took a hostile step bringing much havoc in the world. 2 The Big Four Delegates from 32 different countries met at the Paris Peace Conference; however, four people took active participation in the drawing of treaties and were known as the Big Four. The members of the Big Four were David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of The United Kindom Georges Clemenceau - Prime Minister of France. Woodrow Wilson - President of the United States of America and Vittorio Orlando, Prime minister of Italy. The defeated countries suffered the conclusions of their talks. Wilson wo rked hard to have his Fourteen Points included in the league. He was specifically concerned about the League of Nations.

Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example It specifically aims at integrating both theoretical and practical approaches to render a holistic understanding of the probable impacts. The paper in this connection aims to focus on a consumer branded company like Dulux. Marketing mix elements of the company would be studied along different parameters related to product, brand, advertising among others top reflect their impacts upon the buying behaviour of the consumers in the global paint market. Marketing Mix Stimuli of Dulux Concept of Marketing Mix Stimuli Marketing Mix of any Consumer Brand is generally constituted of parameters like Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Each of the different elements related to the Marketing Mix create a different stimulus on the consumer pattern and behaviour. Designing of specific attributes related to the marketing mix elements tends to considerably influence the psychological, behavioural and the social and cultural elements of the purchaser and thereby governs the decision-making process related to purchases. The influence of marketing mix on the consumer decision making process finally gives rises to different types of stimuli related to the choice for a particular brand, the amount of products to be procured, timings and the process of procuring such products among others (Lantos, 2010, p.314). The set of marketing stimulus generated owing to the composition of such different marketing mix elements leading to the emergence of final purchase decisions is reflected in terms of the S-O-R or the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model as is rendered below. Figure 1 (Lantos, 2010, p.314) The Case of Dulux The study of the marketing mix stimuli for Dulux would be conducted based on analysing the efficacy and the impact of the consumer brand depending on parameters related to product, brands, advertisements, packaging and point-of-purchase displays. Analysis of the brand depending on the above parameters would contribute in getting a holistic picture of the marketing mix elemen t of the consumer brand. Products The product range of Dulux encompasses several sub-products that contribute in the painting and designing of both the interior and exterior parts of a building. Different types of paints and colour solutions are rendered for the same that in turn help the consumer to choose from a wide array of different products. Similarly other products for the designing of walls and other wooden products are also featured by the company (Dulux, 2012). Brands The marketing mix of Dulux again is constituted by a host of different brands that in turn contribute in offering a total paint solution to the customer in terms of best colours, coatings, textures and also in rendering refinishing products for needs of painting an automobile. The range of aesthetic beauty coupled with finishing products for timber and automobiles contribute in creating avid consumer attention (Dulux, n.d.). Advertisements The advertisements of Dulux focus on creating a high sense of consumer appeal through the process of rendering considerable creativity and innovation. Advertisements of

Toni Morison Analysis | Feminist Postcolonial Approach

Toni Morison Analysis | Feminist Postcolonial Approach Although Toni Morrison is known for her epic themes, vivid dialogue and richly detailed characters but this essay focuses on her approach towards feminist post colonialism. At first I will give a brief overview of the term feminist post colonialism and demonstrate how feminist discourses and post colonialism shared many similarities. Further this essay examines the construction of radicalized and gendered identities in Morrisons fictional work. I will also explore how these identities are constructed and created in fiction by using a feminist postcolonial approach. Morrisons text by addressing historical issues critically and in so doing attempting to heal historical wounds; it may also seek to change it. She focuses on the damage that the black women characters suffer through the construction of femininity in a radicalized society. I will extensively focus on Morrisons novel Jazz, Beloved, and The Bluest Eyes and elaborate how by using different narrative techniques such as characte rs, plot, setting and imagery to mirror the atrocities done to the Afro American women. Key words: Post colonialism, feminism, slavery, African American women, Harlem renaissance, Beloved. Nobel Prize laureate, Toni Morrison is considered to be one of the most popular and most important authors of the 20th Century. Much of her literary work has actively challenged the stereotypes that have been imposed on African American women throughout history. The characters in her novels are beautifully portrayed in order to allow the reader to explore their journeys and the way in which they are presented. The expression of the black female voice is characteristic of Toni Morrisons novels. Morrison, through her black female characters portrays the collective experience of black women in America which are shaped by the past experience of slavery and by the patriarchal capitalist American society. Patriarchy in America dates back to the colonial period when male authority and female submission was essential to the subsistence economy and to the social set-up. This society marginalized woman and gave them meager and indirect access to power in the community. Before going into the de ep analysis of Morison works from the feminist postcolonial perspective we must consider how both feminism and postcolonial interlinked. Feminist discourse and post-colonial theory shares many similarities. Firstly, both discourses are political and concern themselves with the struggle against oppression and injustice. Moreover, both reject the established patriarchal system, which is dominated by the hegemonic white male, and also deny the supposed supremacy of masculine power and authority. There are a significant number of literary texts that are written from both a feminist and post-colonial standpoint. Feminism, in its various forms, is a popular and powerful vantage point for postcolonial thought, and each of these texts presents a number of ways that colonization-and the consequences which last well into postcolonial eras. These texts often share views on the individuality and disparity of the subject, as well as agreeing on shared strategies of resistance against dictatorial external forces. These texts deal with the double colonization of women by both their male counterparts and the dominant colonial powers .Specially, it becomes clear that the female body becomes a thing of commodity, an item to be owned, controlled, or abused for sexual gratification by those in power. Ultimately, as one move both with and through feminist perspectives, it reveals that colonization works by creating a system of interlocking oppressions such as race, gender, sexuality, class, etc. The writings of Toni Morrison are identified with formerly colonized peoples and shaped this web of interlocking oppression in her own way. She wrote with postcolonial perspective and we find the traces such as magical realism, oppression of women, search for home and self-identity, homelessness, rootlessness, language, gender stereotype, classism, racial differences etc. throughout her writing. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality this statement by the Swedish academy is an appropriate description of Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison. Her novel Jazz which was first published in 1992 is set in Harlem of the 1920. It reestablishes an essential aspect of African American history_ the Harlem renaissance. Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual movement that was significant to the emancipation of African American at the beginning of 20th century. Setting her novel at the backdrop of this movement, she regenerates a black historical past and has given life to it. Morrisons Jazz looks back upon the Harlem Renaissance from a late 20th century perspective and revolves around the stories of African American characters Violet, Joe and Dorcas. In Jazz, Toni Morrison wants to create a novel that explores the essence of jazz. In her introduction to Jazz, Morrison writes, I wanted the work to be a manifestation of the musics intellect, sensuality, anarchy; its history, its range and its modernity. Due to this Morrisons novel not only reflects the evolution of Jazz music but also captures the soul of the jazz movement. Morrison molds the settings, plot lines, characters, and structure of her novel to recreate the rich history, revolutionary spirit, and progressive style of jazz. Morrison uses the settings in Jazz to reflect the history of the jazz movement. It also addresses its influence on the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, Morrison uses flashbacks to addresses significance settings associated with the Great Migration. Moreover, she uses the settings in the novel to reflect the connection between jazz and African American culture and history. Morrison addresses the spirit of anarchy that was embodied in both the jazz movement and Harlem life. Morrison structures the plot lines, narratives, and characters of Jazz to reflect the elements of musical anarchy, as well as to reflect the violent and anarchical spirit of the jazz moment and life in Harlem during the Renaissance. The chaotic and violent aspect of the lives of African American woman living in Harlem during the Renaissance is reflected in the actions of Violet. The lawlessness in Jazz is shown when we are confronted with the horrible action of Violet attacking the corpse of her husbands lover. Further we find out that Joe Trace is the girls murderer and are drawn deeper into the chaotic, violent world of Harlem. The actions of both Joe and Violet Trace result from their inability to accept the changing views regarding gender. Likewise, Joe Trace illustrates the possessiveness of African American males and the refusal to accept the new views to gender power. Joe kills Dorcas because she attempts to leave him. Joe is actually tied to old views of sexuality. He links sex with possession. When Dorcas rejects him and seeks sexual fulfillment in another, Joe Trace speaks out against her use of gender power. The domestic violence that spread through Harlem during this period resulted from the violent rejection of changing sexual and gender norms. In addition, it reflected the chaotic and anarchical spirit of the jazz age time when both violence a nd sensuality were at the forefront of the musical, intellectual, and cultural lives of African American life. The importance of sexual expression cannot be denied when discussing the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz Age. Sexual expression became a landmark of jazz music, dance, and culture. Morrison points out the sensuality of jazz music through the sensual relationship between Joe Trace and Dorcas. The relationship between Joe and Dorcas is passionate kind of love. Their relationship revolves around secret sexual encounters and passionate emotions. When Morrison writes playful fingers examine and caress, we picture lovers caressing each other and jazz musicians playing their instruments. Morrison uses sensual characters, plot lines, and language to mirror the sensuality of jazz and the boldness of sexual expression associated with the Jazz Age. In Jazz, Morrison reflects the structure of jazz through her modernist composition. Morrison mimics jazz composition in her creation of the novel. She uses numerous voices, structured plot lines, disconnected sections, bold and poetical language, and sensual plot lines and imagery to elaborate her ideas about that age and the situation prevailing in Harlem at that time. Through her use of various elements of modern fiction styles and structures, Morrison brings to life the boldness, sensuality, tension, and history of jazz. In Jazz, Morrison addresses the importance of African American culture and musical forms on the ideas of the Jazz Age through her characters, settings, plot lines, and modernist structure, in order to mirror the jazz history, spirit, and structure of African America art and thought. Toni Morrisons Beloved, offers significant insight into power relations through her female protagonists. The most critical type of colonial oppression experienced by the women of Beloved is physical that is concerned with controlling and taking benefit of the bodies it subjects. Sethe and her family have the direct experience of being owned by white slave holders. Women in this novel often suffer violent and controlling sexual abuse that is either not present or in much less drastic forms for the colonized men. In Beloved, a particularly disturbing form of this oppression happens when Schoolteacher and his boys restrain and violate Sethe. Morrisons novel, however, not only shows the female body oppressed, but also struggle for individuality and self-ownership. Denver, when thinking about her family considers the situation a slaves body is in both materially and under colonial ideology: Grandma Baby said people look down on her because she had eight children with different men. Colored people and white people both look down on her for that. Slaves not supposed to have pleasurable feelings of their own; their bodies not supposed to be like that, but they have to have as many children as they can to please whoever owned them (Morrison 246-7). Even in the cruel reality of sexual slavery, women like Baby Suggs are able to reclaim their humanity by simply enjoying sex. One of the glaring ironies, or hypocrisies, of colonialism is that it condemns the colonized for the very things it forces them to do. It condemns the enslaved woman for being sexually assorted, yet at the same time forcers her to have as many children as pos sible. In Beloved, colonial power over the sexual life of the female body is a horrific reality, but freedom is as close as ones own physical selfhood. Slaverys destruction of identity is another postcolonial theme from feministic point of view in the novel under discussion. Beloved explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual devastation done by slavery. The most dangerous effects of slavery are its negative impact on the former slaves senses of self, and the novel contains multiple examples of self-alienation. Paul D, for example, is so alienated from himself that at one point he cannot tell whether the screaming he hears is his own or someone elses. Slaves were traded as subhuman or as commodities whose worth could be expressed in dollars. Sethe was also treated as a subhuman. She once walked in on schoolteacher giving his pupils a lesson on her animal characteristics. She seems to be isolated from herself and filled with self-loathing. Yet her children also have volatile and unstable identities. Denver conflates her identity with Beloveds, and Beloved feels herself actually beginning to physically disintegrate. There is a sense of complete loss of self and existence among most of the characters in the novel. Due to the inability to believe in their own existences, both Baby Suggs and Paul D become depressed and tired. Baby Suggss fatigue is spiritual, while Paul Ds is emotional. Other slaves-Jackson Till, Aunt Phyllis, and Halle went insane and thus suffered a complete loss of self. Yet Sethes act of infanticide illuminates the perverse forces of the institution of slavery. Under slavery, a mother best expresses her love for her children by murdering them and thus protecting them from the more gradual destruction wrought by slavery. Where slavery exists, everyone suffers a loss of humanity and compassion. For this reason, Morrison suggests that our nations identity, like the novels characters, must be healed. Crucially, in Beloved, we learn about the history and legacy of slavery not from schoolteachers point of view but rather from Sethes, Paul Ds, Stamp Paids, and Baby Suggss. Morrison writes history with the voices of a people historically denied the power of language, and Beloved recaptures a history that had been lost-either due to willed forgetfulness or to forced silence. Magical realism as a dominant literary mode in Toni Morrisons Beloved can be considered as a decolonizing agent in a postcolonial context. Morrisons narrative in Beloved, takes the advantage of both realism and magic to challenge the authoritative colonialist attitude and so can be alleged as a powerful and efficient method to project the postcolonial experience of African-American ex-slaves in the Unites States. It also provides an alternate point of view to Eurocentric accounts of reality and history to attack the solidity of Eurocentric definitions. It is also a consequence to mirror the hidden and silenced voices of numerous enslaved generations of African-Americans in the history of United States. Beloved is written from the marginal point of view of African-Americans who do not have social and political power. It is the story of Sethe, an ex-slave, who grieves the fact that she murdered her baby girl in order to save her from a life of slavery. She mourns so much that her grief becomes manifest into a body of a young woman named Beloved, a ghost in the beginning, the same age that Sethes dead baby would have been had she lived. The presence of two opposing discursive systems of magic and real in Beloved can reflect the tensions between the colonized and colonizer discourses in a postcolonial context. Applying postcolonial terminology, realism represents the hegemonic discourse of the colonizer while magic refers to the strategy of opposition and resistance used by the colonized. Magical realism can also provide a way to fill in the gaps of cultural representation in a postcolonial context by recovering the fragments and voices of forgotten histories from the colonized point o f view. In other words, magical realism may serve as the transformative decolonizing project of imaging alternative histories. The magical realism of Morrisons text by addressing historical issues critically and in so doing attempting to heal historical wounds, not only can reflect history, it may also seek to change it. Thus, Beloved can be read as a postcolonial historiographic intervention, a strategic re-centering of American history in the lives of the African- Americans who are historically dispossessed. Toni Morrisons novel, The Bluest Eye examines the construction of radicalized and gendered identities in fictional texts, specifically in Afro-American writings. In the novel, Morrison challenges Western standards of beauty and elaborate that the concept of beauty is socially constructed. Morrison also recognizes that if whiteness is used as a standard of beauty or anything else, then the value of blackness is diminished and this novel works to subvert that tendency. In demonstrating pride in being black, this writer does not simply portray positive images of blackness. Instead, she focuses on the damage that the black women characters suffer through the construction of femininity in a racialised society. As Paul C. Taylor argues, a white dominated culture has racialised beauty, [in] that it has defined beauty per se in terms of white beauty, in terms of the physical features that the people we consider white [people] are more likely to have (Taylor, 1999, 17, emphasis in original). Therefore, in the process of trying to achieve beauty, as Taylor further argues, the experience of a black woman à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ differs from the experiences of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Jewish and Irish women (Taylor, 1999, 20). This can clearly be seen in the ways that the black women characters in Morrisons novel suffer in trying to conform to Western standards of beauty. The Bluest Eye tells the story of an eleven year old black girl, Pecola Breedlove, who wants to have blue eyes, because she sees herself, and is regarded by most of the characters in the novel, as ugly. The standard of beauty that her peers subscribe to is represented by the white child actress, Shirley Temple, who has the desired blue eyes. The novel starts with the description of an ideal white family but in the near-parodic style of a school reading primer, where we meet Dick and Jane and their lovely parents living in a nice and comfortable house with a lovely dog and a cat. The Dick and Jane text functions as the hegemonizing force of an ideology ([focused by] the supremacy of the bluest eye) by which a dominant culture reproduces its hierarchical power structure (Grewal, 1998, 24). As Donald B. Gibson also demonstrates, the Dick and Jane text implies one of the primary and most insidious ways that the dominant culture exercises its hegemony, through the educational system. It reveals the role of education in both oppressing the victim and more to the point teaching the victim how to oppress her own black self by internalising the values that dictate standards of beauty (Gibson, 1989, 20). In contrast to this hegemonic identity, the main black characters are depicted as various and very different characters located in three hierarchical families: first Geraldines, then the MacTeers and at the bottom, the Breedloves. The novel shows how these black characters respond to the dominant culture differently and this refutes easy binary social distinctions. Pauline Breedlove, Geraldine, Maureen Peal, and Pecola are black characters who try to conform to an imposed ideal of femininity. They are absorbed and marginalized by the cultural icons portraying physical beauty: movies, billboards, magazines, books, newspapers, window signs, dolls, and drinking cups (Gibson, 1989, 20). Pauline Breedlove, for example, learns about physical beauty from the movies. In Morrisons words, along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion (Morrison, 1970, 1999, 95). Consequently, in trying to conform to the ideal of white femininity, the black women characters despise their blackness which in turn leads to self-hatred. They see themselves through the eyes of white people and their worship of white beauty also has disastrous effects on their own community. Geraldine, for example, represses her black characteristics which are not fitted to white femininity as she strives to get rid of the funkiness (Morrison, 1970, 1999, 64). Being well educated and having adopted Western ways of life, Geraldine draws the line between coloured and black. She deliberately teaches her son the differences between coloured and black: Coloured people were neat and quiet; niggers were dirty and loud (Morrison, 1970, 1999, 67). However, not all the black characters admire or are in awe of Western standards of beauty. The novel also shows black people who are aware of the danger of adopting Western standards of beauty. Claudia, the young girl narrator, at the very beginning of the novel, describes herself as indifferent to both white dolls and Shirley Temple. She also realizes that she does not really hate light-skinned Maureen but hates the thing that makes Maureen beautiful. As children, Claudia and her sister Frieda are happy with their difference, their blackness: We felt comfortable in our skins, enjoyed the news that our senses released to us, admired our dirt, cultivated our scars, and could not comprehend this unworthiness (Morrison, 1970, 1999, 57). This may suggest that Claudia resists the pressure to conform to a white vision of beauty. Therefore, Claudias consciousness can also be read as decolonising her mind from colonial oppression as she frees herself from white standards imposed on black people. As Grewal argues, individuals collude in their own oppression by internalizing [the] dominant cultures values in the face of great material contradictions (Grewal, 1998, 21). Quoting Terry Eagleton she also argues that the most difficult thing in emancipation is to free ourselves from ourselves (Grewal, 1998, 21). Through Claudia, however, the novel suggests that some are capable of challenging this, but for the victims of such oppression this awareness may come too late. Conclusion: There are many literary texts and writers who have written from feminist postcolonial view but Toni Morison stand head and shoulder above due to her fictional writing about Afro American community in general and for black women in specific. There are many works of Morrison which make her distinguish among others. We find several post-colonial themes in her novels like slavery, homeliness, rootlessness, cultural clash, mimcry, question of identity, language, magic realism, marginlizatin etc. but these all themes has been presented through a female point of view that how these things add suffering in the woman life. The postcolonial vision of black identity and specifically black woman identity is that Morrison attempted to shape in her novels. These novels have primarily focused on how black people have been spiritually and physically victimized throughout the oppressive black history in the United States. She presented the question of identity of black community, that how they were n eglected even as a human being. In her novels we see complexity of colonial relations between blacks and whites. When we analyse these fictions it reminds us the work of postcolonial theorists like Frantz Fanon and Homi Bhabha, which particularly integrates the concepts of mimicry, ambivalence, and hybridity. Morrisons fiction in the frame of postcolonial theory very aptly presents postcolonial black identity.

Inflation: Definitions Essay

Inflation: A persistent increase in the price level, measures how much more expensive a set of goods and services has become over a certain period, usually a year. Consumers believe that low stable and predictable inflation is best for economy, too high and too low are not good. Measuring Inflation: To measure the average consumers cost of living, government agencies conduct household surveys to identify a basket of commonly purchase items and then track the cost of purchasing this basket over time. Consumer Price Index: (CPI) The cost of the basket when measuring inflation at a given time expressed relative to a base year. Consumer Price Inflation: The percentage change in the CPI over a certain period, most widely used measure of inflation. Ex: base year CPI is 100 and the current CPI is 110 inflation is 10 percent over the period. Core Consumer Inflation: Excludes prices set by the government and the more volatile prices of products such as food and energy that are most affected by seasonal factors or temporary supply conditions focuses on the underlying and persistent trends in inflation and is also watched closely by policymakers. Deflation: A persistent decline in the price level GDP Deflator: A measure comparing the prices of all goods and services produced in the economy during a given year to the prices of those goods and services purchased in a base year. Gross Domestic Product Deflator: (GDP) The overall inflation rate for not just consumption good but all goods produced in an economy, more broader coverage than the CPI. Inflation Rate: The percentage increase in the price level from one year to the next. Inflation Targeting: A policy used to maintain low and stable inflation used by many central bankers. Introduction of New Goods: Increase variety, allows consumers to find products that more closely meet their needs. In effect, dollars become more valuable, which lowers the cost of, maintain the same level of economic well-being. The CPI misses this effect because it uses a fixed basket of goods, thus the CPI overstates increases in the cost of living. Nominal GDP: Values output using current prices. It is not corrected for inflation. GDP measured in terms of current market prices, value of all final goods and services produced in the economy during a given  year, calculated using the prices current in the year in which the output is produced. Price Indices: Are designed to remove the effect of price changes. Price Level: A measure of the average prices of goods and services in the economy. Quantity Theory of Money: The relationship between money supply and the size of the economy. Real GDP: Values output using the prices of a base year. Real GDP is correct for inflation. GDP measured using constant base year prices. It is the total value of the final goods and services produced in the economy during a given year, calculated using the prices of a selected base year. Real Income: A proxy for the standard of living, when real incomes are rising, so is the standard of living and vice versa. Real Interest Rate: The nominal rate minus the inflation rate. Substitution Bias: Over time some prices rise faster than others, consumers substitute towards goods that become relatively cheaper, the CPI misses the substitution because it uses a fixed basket of goods. Thus, the CPI overstate increase in the cost of living. Supply shocks: Disrupt production, such as natural disasters or raise production costs such as high oil prices. Can reduce overall supply and lead to cost push inflation in which the impetus for price increases comes from disruption in supply. Unmeasured Quality Change: Improvements in the quality of goods in the basket also increase the value of a dollar. The BLS tires to account for quality changes but probably misses some, as quality is hard to measure. Thus, the CPI overstates increases in the cost of living.

Report Information from ProQuest Essay

Abstract: The social and psychological needs of an employee must be understood in order to motivate him to complete the assigned tasks. Unless the leaders fully support the premise that organizations must have a high degree of communication to meet employee’s psychological needs, it will remain stagnant. This may further give rise to grapevines and conflicts which adversely affect the organization. Effective internal communication is needed for management to develop and sustain a competitive advantage for organizational performance and improvement. Transformational leaders have a  tremendous influenceontheworkplaceandorganization’sculture. If they wish to institute change, their leadership styles must be strategically aligned to accommodate the organizational culture. McKinsey’s 7S framework is a model for analyzing organizations and their effectiveness. It looks at the seven key elements that make organizations successful: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. It can be aligned with any organizational issue that needs to be corrected. Utilizing past literature, survey questions, and interviews, this research paper will find out the strategy and implementation issues in communications flow that the private service sector faces and how a leader can initiate and bring change by alignment with McKinsey’s 7S Framework. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Links: Linking Service, Linking Service, Linking Service Full text: Headnote Abstract The social and psychological needs of an employee must be understood in order to motivate him to complete the assigned tasks. Unless the leaders fully support the premise that organizations must have a high degree of communication to meet employee’s psychological needs, it will remain stagnant. This may further give rise to grapevines and conflicts which adversely affect the organization. Effective internal communication is needed for management to develop and sustain a competitive advantage for organizational performance and improvement. Transformational leaders have a tremendous influenceontheworkplaceandorganization’sculture. If they wish to institute change, their leadership styles must be strategically aligned to accommodate the organizational culture. McKinsey’s 7S framework is a model for analyzing organizations and their effectiveness. It looks at the seven key elements that make organizations successful: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. It can be aligned with any organizational issue that needs to be corrected. Utilizing past literature, survey questions, and interviews, this research paper will find out the strategy and implementation issues in communications flow that the private service sector faces and how a leader can initiate and bring change by alignment with McKinsey’s 7S Framework. Keywords: Change Management, McKinsey’s 7S Framework, Organizational Communication, Transformational Leadership Introduction An organizational setup is a conjoint effort of leaders and followers who work for the accomplishment of certain predefined objectives. The leader’s role is paramount and he has the ultimate responsibility of taking the resources in the desired direction. The concept of leadership has evolved across a period of time. Balgobind (2002), in a comparative study of different transformational leaders, has found that in the past the leader was transactional who was aware of the link between effort and reward. This kind of leadership was responsive and its basic orientation was to deal with  current issues. These leaders would rely on standard forms of inducement, reward, punishment, and sanction to control followers. They motivated followers by setting goals and promising rewards for desired performance. Leadership depended on the leader’s power to reinforce subordinates for their successful completion of the bargain. But times have changed and so has the role of a leader. The leader of today is transformational. These leaders arouse emotions in their followers which motivates them to act beyond the framework of what may be described as exchange relations. Leadership is proactive and forms new expectations in followers. Leaders are distinguished by their capacity to inspire and provide inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and idealized influence in the followers. They create learning opportunities for their followers and stimulate them to solve problems and possess good visioning, rhetorical and management skills. They motivate followers to work for goals that go beyond self-interest. The success of any organization depends largely on the processes and flow of internal communications. The flow of information can be one way or two ways, formal or informal and personal and impersonal. The relationship between employees is based on personal, professional and ethical roles. The communication flow has a great influence on the kind of relationships that exist in the organization. As long as the right messages are conveyed within the defined limits of authority and responsibility, it is helpful for goal attainment. But there are instances when the formal channels of communication are not used and the need to exchange and share ideas gives rise to grapevine communication. The messages are distorted and the incorrect information is spread across. Many times this exchange results in conflicts and strained relationships. If the situation is not taken care of it may affect the organization greatly and may even result in a loss of job for some and may put the organization in severe crises. This situation needs to be corrected and a leader’s intervention can bring a positive change. McKinsey’s 7S framework is a model for analyzing organizations and their effectiveness. It looks at the seven key elements that make the organizations successful: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. It can be aligned with any organizational issue that needs to be corrected. The private service sector plays a major role in the growth of any economy and employs large number of people. The interrelationship across all levels is largely dependent on the communication flow in this sector. Most of the information is not communicated in the right manner and employees resort to grapevine for their satisfaction. As such the communication problems in this sector multiply and threaten the survival of the organization. Based on present survey and past studies, the paper aims at highlighting the role of a transformationalleaderinsolvingthecommunication problems related to the private service sector. The McKinsey’s 7S Framework has been aligned with leader’s role for bringing organizational change and excellence. Literature Review Transformational leadership theory has captured the interest of many researchers in the field of organizational leadership over the past three decades. This theory was developed by Bums (1978) and later enhanced by Bass (1985, 1998) and others (Avolio &Bass, 1988; Bass &Avolio, 1994; Bennis &Nanus, 1985; Tichy &Devanna, 1986). Bums (1978) first introduced the concept of transformational leadership in his research of political leaders, establishing the concepts of transforming leaders and transactional leaders, and concluded that leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of motivation. The major premise of the transformational leadership theory is the leader’s ability to motivate the follower to accomplish more than what the follower planned to accomplish (Krishnan, 2005). Transformational leadership has four components: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass, 1985). Bums postulated that transformational leaders inspire followers to accomplish more by concentrating on the follower’s values and helping the follower align 06 November 2014  these values with the values of the organization. Furthermore, Bums identified transformational leadership as a relationship in which the leader and the follower motivated each other to higher levels which resulted in value system congruence between the leader and the follower (Krishnan, 2002). Leaders have a tremendous influence on the work place and effect on the organization’s culture. If leaders wish to institute change, their leadership styles must be strategically aligned to accommodate the organizational culture (Sheahan, 2012). The effectiveness of organizational communication is determined by leadership and leadership traits that allow for an open path of communication with employee and organization (Pirraglia, 2012). McKinsey’s 7S framework provides a strategic approach to HRM. It was developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, two consultants working at the McKinsey &Company consulting firm. The basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. These seven features are interrelated and have to be considered jointly to achieve a better integration between HR practice and organizational strategy (Talwar, 2006, p.210). The staff element within the McKinsey 7S Framework refers to employees and their need for development and motivation. Style refers to the actions and behavior of senior executives, rather than what they say. The conduct of top management is an extremely valuable management tool that conveys and reinforces strong messages to stakeholders, particularly employees, throughout the organization (Fleisher and Bensousan, 2007, p.49). A range of highly respected management scholars including Armstrong (2008) and Adair (2009) have emphasized the importance of formulating and promoting shared values within organizations. System relates to processes and procedures that are necessary in order to conduct the business (Murphy and Willmott, 2010). The disadvantages of a tall hierarchical structure have been specified by Dlabay (2011) as inflexibility to respond to changes in the marketplace, loss of communication messages between the layers, de-motivated workforce etc. Johnson (2006) defines corporate strategy as a plan aimed to achieve corporate objectives, Skills, for the organization relate to competencies and capabilities required within the organization in order to achieve organizational objective in an effective way (Schuler and Jackson, 2007). Communication is one of the most dominant and important activities in organizations (Harris &Nelson, 2008). Fundamentally, relationships grow out of communication and the fu nctioning and survival of organizations is based on effective relationships among individuals and groups. In addition, organizational capabilities are developed and enacted through â€Å"intensely social and communicative processes† (Jones et al, 2004). Communication helps individuals and groups coordinate activities to achieve goals, and it’s vital in socialization, decision-making, problem-solving and change-management processes (Berger, 2008). The focus of organizational communication is on the whole system, rather than on parts of the system (Katz &Kahn, 1996). The study of organizational communication centers on processes of interaction, means by which people obtain information, form opinions, make decisions, merge into the organization, leave the  organization, and create rapport with one another (Shockley-Zalabak, 1999). Through communication, people coordinate their actions to achieve individual and organizational goals (Shockley-Zalabak, 1999). Effective organizational communication can be achieved through transformational leadership and will generate greater organizational and employee performance within small organizations (Dario Martinez, 2012). Effective communication is needed for management to develop and sustain a competitive advantage for organizational performance and improvement (Avolio, Lado, Boyd &Wright, 1992; Rowe, 2001). Effective communication succeeds when employees support the leader and the organization if there is a belief that employees’ efforts will be rewarded. Leadership succeeds when initiating response or responding to change and leadership is inextricably linked to the credibility of those leading. Constituents will become willingly involved to the extent that they believe in those sponsoring the change (Kouzes &Posner, 2003). Methodology and Data Collection The experiential survey has been used for the purpose of the paper. Data is qualitative in nature and has been collected through primary and secondary sources. The questionnaire consisted of open ended questions related 06 November 2014  to communication flow and processes. Five private service organizations comprising of hospitality, academia, telecommunication, retail, and insurance were included in the survey. Ten employees from each sector have been taken in the survey and their experiences related to communication problems in the organization have been considered for the purpose of study. Analysis The analysis is based on present survey and past studies. The findings revealed that organizational communication is one of the most important determinants of sound interpersonal relationships within the organization. In a reputed retail store, information was not transmitted through proper channels. There was ambiguity regarding the instructions communicated to employees. This caused discomfort and conflicts in the organization and affected the quality of work. The General Manager-Marketing of the retail store admitted that most of the miscommunication led to conflicts which were difficult to resolve. When asked about the negative influence of past workplace experience on the present organization, the HR Manager of a well known hospital revealed that most of the employees were always thinking about their past work environment and their self-fulfilling prophecies were leading them to live with fear and poor emotional management. In many organizations, most of the information was not communicated to the employees and the decisions were thrown at them. The instructions were not seriously obeyed and the employees turned violent during work. The Area Manager of an insurance company revealed that closed communication gave rise to violent behavior in employees. Grapevine communication has prominence in all organizations and has its own benefits but the Principal of a Technical College revealed that their organizational communication largely depended on grapevine and it was a major cause of dissatisfaction among the employees and resulted into high turnover. The employees of a telecom company expected encouraging behavior from their senior manager. A lower level employee revealed that the absence of compassion in communication and humiliating remarks of their departmental head was extremely offensive to their self-esteem. When these findings were considered around the elements of the McKinsey’s 7s model, it was felt that the 7s model could be linked to the problems related to organizational communication as: Strategy – Improper communication flows give rise to conflicts and hamper the organization’s image. It is important to make the right communication strategies for conflict resolution and sustainable advantage. Structure – Most organizations use formal channels of communication. This results in choking of essential information giving rise to grapevines. The organizational structure has to be designed in a way that information is not choked. Systems – The internal processes and procedures facilitate good communication and it is important to understand how effective they are in maintaining the correct flow. Skills – Communication can flow smoothly if the staff possesses the right skills. Staff – The staff can facilitate effective communication and value needs to be attached to communication skills during recruitment and selection. Style – The management is responsible for promoting a culture of open communication. Shared goals – The organizations’ belief system and attitude towards communication is at the core of other elements.