Changes of Human Mentality and Construction of the Physical Body Diary of a Madman and Metamorphosis - Literature Essay Samples

Lu Xun and Kafka’s utilization of the physical body allows for the presentation of personal criticisms towards aspects of modernity and the social, political and economic changes of the movement. Modernity, due to its nature of bringing about change, encourages the development of thoughts and feelings across the ‘body’ of humanity, which in turn is reflective on the personal mentality of each individual. Kafka and Lu Xun, by creating protagonists which show such stark physical, through physiology and behavior, invite their readers to think about the changes for themselves, and not only how they reflect on the mentality of the characters but also on themselves as ‘victims’ of modernity – relating to the victimization of thousands through recent war, uprising and revolution. Kafka’s own introduction to his text, ‘Metamorphosis’, portrays the need for internalized mentality to be brought out through the physical in order to mak e it plain and understandable. He writes: â€Å"I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me†1 as if he cannot find a way to explain the changes of modernity in relation to himself – it would be difficult to convey such a feeling through thought alone, so there is a need for physicality to explain fully. Interaction with the environment is both physical and mental, and Lu Xun and Kafka as modern authors try to emphasize this and present change as a response to modernity. Consumerism, as a modern ideology, having emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, enforced the development in the production, acquisition and trading of goods that allowed for gross economic growth of modern nations. Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ encompasses this ideology in reference to culture through Cannibalism – that one strand of culture may be consumed by another due to economic pressure. Lu Xun’s protagonist, when reading the theories of Confucius, describes how he â€Å"began to see words between the lines, the whole book being filled with the two words – Eat people†2. This statement can be read by Lu Xun’s audience on two levels: one being the actual Chinese tradition of Cannibalism, as the supposed â€Å"madman† relates, â€Å"my brother told me that if a mans parents were ill, he should cut off a piece of his flesh and boil it for them†2. The realism of the practice in traditional Chinese medicine i s particularly relevant here, since the consuming of one body by another for the purpose of appearing as â€Å"good† becomes a metaphor for the social bodies and political strands, such as the rise of Capitalism in the West, Communism in the East must, in order to gain power, metaphorically consume the other, by ingesting and then digesting, therefore destroying its influences. The diarist, upon examination by his doctor, speculates that â€Å"he simply used the pretext of feeling my pulse to see how fat I was; for by doing so he would receive a share of my flesh†2. The diarist in this case is no more than a victim of the consumerist society of the West and its influences in China – he is aware of his nature, being used in a social â€Å"pretext†, that will ultimately lead to his destruction in order for the rise of others. Lu Xun’s construct of the social acceptance of Cannibalism by seemingly all accept the madman, who is convinced within the bou ndaries of a â€Å"persecution complex†2 and therefore aware of potential harm, could be seen as representative of the collective mentality of modernism that is believed by a particular ‘body’ of people. The idea of the physical body, whether that be personal or collective, is required in this way to categorize different strands of modern politics. As Oswaldo de Andrade argues in the ‘Cannibalist Manifesto’, â€Å"The spirit refuses to conceive without a body. Anthropomorphism†3. Lu Xun plays with the idea of literal consumption of human body to show this mental change, or corruption, from popular modern idealisms – questioning the stance of China in the development of modernity. Moreover, much alike the malleability of society and the ease of social change and reformation shown through Cannibalism in Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’, Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ displays a similar changeability of the social norm through the presentation of the human body – anthropomorphic traits are lost in the development of social mobility, as if the general hierarchy of all beings is broken down – an unknown and unidentified body is instead given to those who are consumed by the idealisms of modernity. Kafka suggests that the human body is trapped within the limitations of the society it is part of – his protagonist, Gregor Samsa, is recognized as being â€Å"the boss’s creature, mindless and spineless†1. His body is completely controlled and defined by his society, he himself does not have a â€Å"mind† to be able to think freely, or a â€Å"spine† to be able to argue for his rights. In esse nce, he is no more than a creature, easily manipulated, constrained and owned by society. Kafka comments on the nature of modern confinement through the body which becomes â€Å"mindless and spineless†, a â€Å"creature† – losing all human features which allow for freedom of thought or movement so that the body is trapped. Kafka’s protagonist has a deep understanding of the problems within modern society, recognizing that â€Å"they had just gotten used to† him working, â€Å"the family as well as Gregor, the money was received with thanks and given with pleasure, but no special feeling of warmth went with it anymore†1. The modern world, in which Gregor is forced to work without the â€Å"slightest negligence†1 for fear of the â€Å"gravest suspicion†1, is cold and alienated. The emotion that used to be felt before the changes of modernity has been lost, and since emotion is more commonly associated with humanity as a species, it renders an image of humanity being â€Å"condemned†, trapped within the limitations of society, rather than having the freedom of â€Å"pleasure†. As Lillian Robinson argues in ‘New Literary History’, â€Å"Modernism denies us the possibility of understanding ourselves as agents in the material world†6 – any sense of what is personal, agency in general, is removed for humanity to become â€Å"mindless and spineless† like the â€Å"creature† in Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’. This strange body is the image of social reformation and political change. Breaking away from human naturalism, the idea of the unnatural is prevalent within the modern era because of changes within society – Lu Xun’s presentation of artificial Cannibalism emphasizes the idea of the unnatural being prevalent within the modern era because of its strangeness, like Cannibalism is to contemporary Western Civilisation, despite its welcome in Eastern medicinal practice. All that is new seems unnatural – and just as Kafka’s animalistic body, Cannibalism and what it represents in terms of the Chinese identity is unnatural to Lu Xun’s modern readers because it does not happen in their society. The madman questions whether Cannibalism has been accepted into to his village, a microcosmic portrayal of wider Chinese culture, so readily â€Å"because it has always been like that†2, and wonders whether it was he than had been â€Å"in the dark†2, away from a reality where the corruption of the body was normal. Xiaolu Maâ₠¬â„¢s ‘Transculturation of Madness’ suggests that there is a â€Å"belief that his insanity allows the madman to reveal the truth, and that Cannibalism does play a significant role in the Chinese national character†4. Ma Xiaolu argues that madness, a phenomena of transculturation during the modern era, is effected by the geographical placement of the sufferer, and allows for varying manifestations of madness to occur in literature. In Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’, that manifestation lies within the corruption of the physical body, and is relevant within China throughout the slow break away from the dynastic eras and towards a time of republic. The unnatural nature of cannibalism, or at least how western society perceived it, is the basis for Lu Xun’s questioning but also glorification of the tradition; it becomes a weapon against the post-colonial European nations attempting modernization of the East as it becomes representative of the European body attempting to consume, receiving a â€Å"share of flesh†, taking over the physical Chinese body by changing their mentality to better suit that of modern Europe. The action in Lu Xun’s novella appears as wholly physical, however, despite the clear mental reaction to it. This physicality may be suggesting the grotesque nature of the body of modernity so clearly seen in ‘Metamorphosis’. Behavior, such as madness, as a representative for the ‘strange’ is exchanged in Kafka’s text by the appearance, the physical body, of his protagonist – although from this a series of strange behaviors evolve, it is the transformation in itself – the ‘Metamorphosis’ as Kafka so aptly describes it. The animalistic body of Gregor is used to show the grotesque nature of modernity in physicality. Kafka describes the creature, after a run in with his father, as having a â€Å"pathetic and repulsive shape†1, a â€Å"serious wound, from which he suffered over a month – the apple remained embedded in his flesh as a visible souvenir since no one dared to remove it†1 – the apple is left behind as part of his body after the incident, as described by Kafka as a â€Å"souvenir†, a reminder of the ugly confrontation between the radicalized body of Gregor who, having understood the constraints of society, has broken a way from them through his transformation and his father as his opposite illustrates the tension between the oppression of tradition and the rise of modern thinking. Vladimir Nabokov argues, in one of his series of lectures about literature that â€Å"the Samsa family around the fantastic insect are nothing else than mediocrity surrounding genius†5. The actual act of â€Å"metamorphosis† in Kafka’s novella allows for thought beyond the body, and Nabokov invites us to think about the mind and the meaning behind construction in this way. Gregor’s physical body makes him â€Å"genius† because he is able to break away from what is seen as â€Å"normality†, whereas those around him remain the same throughout the story. The unknown creatures body is easily unrecognizable to us in comparison with a typical human figure, and possesses an aura of strangeness about it – much like the escapism of modern life that Gregor seeks; his modern world be comes unrecognizable as he attempts to run away from what is deemed as normality – it consumes him so much mentally that his physical body changes. Later, Kafka describes his protagonist as â€Å"completely covered with dust; he dragged along with him on his back and along his sides†1, and the reason for this is â€Å"his indifference†. Kafka is making use of visual reminder, as is clear with the apple, to explain the mentality of certain characters and the possible parable of his tale, his own hidden comment on modernity. In this way, the physical body becomes an example – something that makes Gregor’s stand out from the rest as a genius not only in his mind-set, his difference in physicality and break away from anthropomorphism is more effective. Similarly, Lu Xun’s use of the persecution complex allows for him to subtly comment on the nature of Chinese politics without fear of harming his reputation in any way – steering clear of being seen as radical. The use of primitivism and use practice of Cannibalism is what allows Lu Xun’s commentary regarding traditions of the East to work in this way. Xiaobing Tang argues that â€Å"the human body is subjected to direct inscription of social meaning†9 – agreeing that the physical body can often comment on its surroundings, and that the body of Cannibalism relates directly to Lu Xun’s meaning in writing ‘Diary of a Madman’ as part of the New Culture Movement – perhaps to break away from traditional Chinese values by presenting them as unnatural. The changing mentality of modernity through generating fear about Cannibalism acts as an allegory for the changes that those who were part of the New Culture Movement believed in; their most apt cause was in the disillusionment of Chinese culture. The disillusionment is continued in Lu Xun’s novella through the loss of human identity, and the relation of humanist qualities to those of animals, as Kafka attempts in ‘Metamorphosis’: â€Å"the fierceness of a lion, the timidity of a rabbit, the craftiness of a fox†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"some men have changed into fish, birds, monkeys†2 – different men have been transformed into different animals, perhaps representative of different social standing and culture, but all are constrained by the tradition of Cannibalism, never hoping â€Å"to face real men†2, the men of modernity because they are primitive in thought. Those who surround the protagonist, however, relate to him as if he is clinically mad as they are unable to see his type of insight, his rage and therefore radicalism against the naturalistic and traditional Chinese way of life which the generalized villagers are stuck in. He refuses to be consumer by the cannibals on two levels: literally, and metaphorically being consumed into the beliefs of the main ‘body’ of society – the madman in like Kafka’s genius creature. Comparing the anthropomorphic and animalistic bodies similarly allows for a commentary to be made by Kafka on modern society; having a family dynamic which is recognizably human penetrated by a creature which is alien and other reflects the differences between traditional and modern values by presenting a comparison, similar to how Lu Xun shows the disillusionment with traditional Chinese values by mocking them. It is not until looking closely at the description of Gregor that it can be realized how drastically different he is from human form: â€Å"hard, as it were armour-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes†1. This description of the creature’s body, how the body has morphed, the nature of human physiology is clearly shown to either match or mismatch with ones surrounding society – showing an externalization of changing internal ideals, bringing inside adaptations out by constructing a body that is totally alien, and alienated, to represent internalized ideals of the same standards. In Kafka’s text, his fascination with morphology and the act of metamorphosis acts as a representative of the change that modernity brings – those who are stuck in tradition cannot understand this change, they are stuck within their ways and therefore cannot adapt. Despite Gregor’s change making him appear â€Å"helpless†, once he has gained command over his body his feat can be described as nothing less than spectacular – having the ability to move with ease, climb both floor and wall and transforms the tiny bedroom into his own world of exploration. As his body develops to the â€Å"savage†1 world around him, his mind becomes open to endless possibilities. Madness is the mental manifestation of modernity. The obsession faced by Lu Xun’s protagonist, stuck within a persecution complex – convinced of ill-treatment at the hands of others – despite facing nothing but help from his brother and doctor, and fascination from others, proves the diarist’s madness. If Cannibalism is what he fears of the past, then madness is what he fears from the future – knowing that the villagers have already labelled him as a â€Å"madman†, he worries about his transformation through madness. The language used by Lu Xun to describe the physical manifestations of madness relates his protagonist to â€Å"a hound gone wild that assaults, without distinguishing them, his master and his masters guest†9, as described by Xiaobing Tang, shows the madman to be more like an uncontrollable animal, with great physical wildness, rather than a mentally ill human being. Again we are given animalistic imagery in relation to th e madman’s mind: â€Å"I could not tell whether the slippery morsels were fish or human flesh†2 he slowly is less able to distinguish between the body of tradition and the body of modernity, but as an audience that makes us more aware of the struggle occurring between them. Although the physical is not directly linked with madness in Kafka’s novella, the surreal, recognised by Freud through his theory of dream logic, is a key link between the bodily imagery of Gregor and his thought processes, and in turn makes links with modernity. The thought process of Kafka’s protagonist often differs greatly from those which we would call normal in subjective terms. His reaction to his change, the way in which he responds and his initial fight and then succumbing to his new found animalistic, radicalised ideas show us many different viewpoints in regards to modernity. We are invited to think about just the mind in Kafka’s novella since the normal body is remo ved, all emphasis is placed on the mind and the decisions made, the changing thought processes and the adaptations of Gregor. Lillian Feder describes madness as, in her study of ‘Madness in Literature’ as â€Å"a state in which unconsciousness processes predominate over conscious processes†11. Feder argues that madness in literature is actually representative of many things other than just itself – madness can reflect on a multitude of cultural problems and can even be read as a rejection or breaking away from these social norms; the physical state of madness is representative of a personal domination over the surrounding realities, and this is how Kafka is able to draw connections between his physical representation of Gregor and his mentality towards modernity. His unconscious processes, the thoughts that go on behind what we see as the obvious – the animalistic body – are what reveal insight and truth, as was often thought of those classic ally who were deemed mad. Lu Xun’s society would have believed that madness was an illness that was strictly related to physiology and not mentality, as explained by Xiaolu Ma, â€Å"Madness in traditional Chinese medicine is explained in terms of disharmony and imbalance of the body†4 – Kafka may too be using this basis also to comment on the changing construction of modernity and the acceptance, even welcoming, of the mad, the strange and the unnatural. In conclusion, both Kafka and Lu Xun are able to manipulate the presentations of the body in order to slowly reveal details about the internal thoughts and feelings towards modernity of their character, which are also reflective on their own beliefs as members of changing societies. Alexander Bain argues: â€Å"there is no example of two agents so closely connected as body and mind†10 – this idea is most definitely utilised by both authors who use mind to represent the body, and body to represent the mind interchangeably throughout their texts. Works Cited 1 Kafka, Franz. â€Å"Metamorphosis†. Penguin Classics, 2015. pp. 83-145 2 Lovell, Julia. â€Å"Lu Xun: Diary of a Madman†, The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun. Penguin Classics, 2009. pp. 21-31 3 De Andrade, Oswaldo. â€Å"Cannibalist Manifesto†. Latin American Literary Review. Vol. 19, No. 38. 1991. pp. 38-44 4 Ma, Xiaolu. â€Å"Transculturation of Madness: The Double Origin of Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’†. Literature and Medicine. Vol. 33, No. 2. 2015. pp. 348-367 5 Nabokov, Vladimir. ‘Franz Kafka (1883-1924): ‘The Metamorphosis’†. Lecture of Literature, Edited by Fredson bowers, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980. pp. 275-308 6 Robinson, Lillian S. and Lise Vogel. â€Å"Modernism and History†. New Literary History. Vol. 3. 1971. pp. 177-199 7 Vuilleumeir, Victor. â€Å"†ªLe Corps Souffrant chez Lu Xun : Allà ©gorie Muette de L’obstacle et Appropriation de la Modernità ©Ã¢â‚¬ ª †. Extrà ªme-Orient Extrà ªme-Occident. 2015. pp. 47-84 8 Lee, Chia-Yi. â€Å"Beyond the Body: Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Gibson’s Neuromancer†. Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies. Vol. 30, No. 2. 2004. pp. 201-22. 9 Tang, Xiaobing. â€Å"Chinese Modern: The Heroic and the Quotidian†. Post-Contemporary Interventions. Duke University Press, 2000. 10 Bain, Alexander. â€Å"Mind and Body: The Theories of Their Relation†, 2nd edition. London: Henry S. King, 1873. pp. 2–4 11 Feder, Lillian. ‘Madness in Literature†. Princeton UP, 1980.

Piaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development - 1525 Words

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development consists of four stages, these stages include the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. When a person transitions from stage to stage they go through assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. The first stage, the sensorimotor stage, takes place from birth to two years. Piaget divided this stage into six substages. As an infant, I was always hungry. I was bottle fed, so I had to develop a simple reflexive behavior, such as sucking the nipple of the bottle. Simple reflexes refer to the first month after a child is born. At around two or three months old I experienced a primary†¦show more content†¦The first substage occurs between the ages of two to four. As a child, I often played with tea sets and my friends and I would have little tea parties. When the glasses of the tea sets would touch and make a soun d, we would say the glasses were hitting each other. This represents animism, because glasses are inanimate objects that cannot actually hit each other. The second substage begins at the age of four and ends at the age of seven. When I was this age, my favorite word was why, I would always ask questions. I had to know why things happened when they did. For example, when I first saw an ambulance drive by, I asked why there were sirens going off on the car. Our car obviously didn’t have sirens when we drove, so I wanted to know why that ambulance made noise. This represented intuitive thought, because I showed interest in reasoning in why the ambulance was different from our car. The third stage is the concrete operational stage, which lasts from seven to eleven years of age. In this stage, children begin to reason when the logical reasoning can be applied to concrete examples. An example of this for me was when I would eat candy with my friends, we all wanted the same amount s o everything would be fair. According to Piaget, if we could decipher the amounts correctly even if the candy pieces were different shaped, we would be successful at completing concreteShow MoreRelatedPiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1289 Words   |  6 Pagesare many great cognitive theorists, but the one that comes to mind is a development psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget. One of his prized declaration was in 1934, where he declared that education is capable of saving our society from collapsing whether its violent or gradual. Piaget had a key effect on education and psychology, and because of that effect he made many contributions to learning and to cognition. One of most important contribution was a model that was made by Piaget. 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Oedipus Rex Imagery of Blindness and Sight as a Medium to...

In the play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, an honourable and admirable Greek king named Oedipus rules the town of Thebes. He is left in mental turmoil and decay as his unknown, corrupt and immoral past is slowly revealed during his quest to find the culprit who murdered King Laius. The newly exposed past suddenly transforms his glory and respect into shame and humiliation. After he learns about his wicked past he stabs his eyes, which lead to his blindness. During the course of the play, references to blindness and vision constantly recur, giving the reader an enhanced and more insightful look into the themes of the play. Some themes that are expressed through these references include truth and knowledge, guilt, and freewill versus†¦show more content†¦This pushes him to an extreme emotional limit because it represents that his entire life had been a lie and his former noble existence was all false. His desperate attempt to free himself from the world and from knowledge expresses a universal idea that humans are still unknowing and insignificant when compared to the greater spectrum of life. This relates to the theme because it shows that even though the search and curiosity of knowledge is natural, transgressing the limits can be dangerous because sometimes knowledge can be too much of a burden for humankind to handle, however inevitable, necessary, and inescapable it may be. Another aspect of the theme that was observed through references of blindness and sight is guilt and disgrace. From the beginning of the play, Sophocles establishes the theme of guilt which can be seen throughout the play, as Oedipus tries to find the person who was guilty for the murder of King Laius. His search to find the guilty individual leads him to the truth which is that he murdered King Laius, who was his father, and that he married his mother Jocaste. After finding this out, he enters an epiphany of guilt and shame as he recognizes this morbid fact. He says after blinding himself â€Å"If I had eyes, I do not know how I could bear the sight of my father, when I came to the house of Death,

Historical Information Invisible Man - 2002 Words

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The Treaty of Madrid which caused the Portuguese’s attention to the land ofRead MoreLiterature And The English Literature Essay1537 Words   |  7 Pagesparticular subject or leaflets and other printed matter used to advertise products or give advice. One of the most popular forms of literature would be English literature. If one would look up the definition for English literature, the best descriptive information would be that it’s impres sion and format is over one hundred years old, and continues to be one of the most common studied forms of art, as far as written, studied in high schools and universities around the world. English literature is basicallyRead MoreCharacter Development In Ralph Ellisons The Invisible Man1547 Words   |  7 Pagesexperiences to weave a more realistic story. The historical background of a writer helps glean on information about that person’s unconscious and subconscious processes that become apparent within an author’s literature. As the author develops their thoughts throughout a novel attempting to paint a clearer picture of their purpose, their own persona becomes a part of the literature. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to further this claim by taking information from one’s childhood, inner taboo thoughts andRead MoreAnalysis Of Colin Calloway s The Essay1328 Words   |  6 Pagesdetails of their job. our hearts fall to the ground book split into fourteen parts, which provide a historical record and secondary articles putting these reports inside their historical connection. Each section explains, to explain the drama the simple Indian had to stay from the white man settlers and their avarice for property and growth. From the carnage of entire families, the explosion of the invisible assassin, and the forced absorption into the keeping systems were just some reasons for why theRead MoreArnt I a Woman? Essay examples1659 Words   |  7 Pagesthe grueling experiences of the African American female slaves on Southern plantations. White resented the fact that African American women were nearly invisible throughout historical text, because many historians failed to see them as important contributors to America’s social, economic, or political development (3). Despite limited historical sources, she was determined to establish the African American woman as an intricate part of American history, and thus, White first published her novel inRead More Deborah Gray White’s Ar’n’t I a Woman? Essay examples1629 Words   |  7 Pagesthe grueling experiences of the African American female slaves on Southern plantations. White resented the fact that African American women were ne arly invisible throughout historical text, because many historians failed to see them as important contributors to America’s social, economic, or political development (3). Despite limited historical sources, she was determined to establish the African American woman as an intricate part of American history, and thus, White first published her novel inRead MoreGender Roles in Vietnam761 Words   |  4 Pagescollectivisation, and decades of continuous wars, severe economic stagnations, and marketing liberalisation. Meanwhile in the South of Vietnam, they had greater access to information and perspectives from the West through several decades causing implications upon marriage and family for the Vietnamese people. Likewise, the different historical trajectories between North and South Vietnam affected the extent to wives and husbands in these two regions, sharing unpaid domestic tasks. Due to the unpaid household

The Selection And The 2005 Film Beowulf And Grendel

Society has come a long way since the Middle Ages culturally and intellectually and can be clearly viewed throughout English literature. With this change comes a more abstract and evolved way of thinking. With that said, there is a massive distinction between the concepts and characters of the original text of the selection and the 2005 film Beowulf and Grendel. These differences include how the creators of the selections from the two societies use certain aspects to attract the attention of the audiences during their respected times in history and how the characters are portrayed in each works. In the epic poem of Beowulf it is evident that the religion displayed throughout the text is Christianity due to the number of biblical allusions presented throughout the text. For instance, Grendel was the name of this grim demon...he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel the E ternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from committing that murder. (102-109) is an example of a biblical allusion that demonstrates the distinction between good and evil and describes that the character of Grendel is an evil creature. In addition to this, the poem explains that good and evil are completely separate descriptions of people, or in this case creatures, in this world. You can not be both good and evil. During this era, all evil things were to be destroyed. In the worldShow MoreRelatedChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagespress, books were rare and precious (Bingham and Scholt 1980). Amusing books written specifically for children would have been economically and psychologically impossible (Townsend 1996). Children would probably have listened to adult works such as Beowulf, Song of Roland, El Cid, King Arthur, and Robin Hood. Children and adults also enjoyed folk tales and literature rich with fantasy and imagination, as myth was the way they made sense of their world. While there were no manuscripts devoted specifically

Role of a Butler Free Essays

Throughout history, the word â€Å"butler† has always been associated with service. The dictionary defines a butler as â€Å"The principal manservant of a household. † This definition remains true even when the butler is employed in a hotel. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of a Butler or any similar topic only for you Order Now When a guest checks in and has occupied his suite, then this becomes his household. The butler caring for him becomes the â€Å"manager† of the suite (household) and in effect an employee of the guest. Services butlers offer differ from place to place, but their activities are basically centered around making the guest more comfortable and sparing them from having to do tedious and time consuming task. A hotel butler is an ambassador who sells the hotel just as much as anyone else and should be considered a key player in a team of professionals striving to deliver a level of personalized service that exceeds not only the expectation of the guest but will add a point of difference from the service provided anywhere else. Butlers are trained to provide a very personal, and detailed service to their guests. Their main function is to take care of their guest requests, bookings, reservations, problems, complaints, supervise and co-ordinate every service that the guest receives in suite and to ensure guest satisfaction by paying attention to the smallest detail from arrival to departure. Butlers are given the awesome responsibility of contacting guests before arrival to determine their wishes and ensure everything that they like and want to do is arranged before their arrival. They personally greet guests on arrival, take care of their needs and introduce them to the facilities if they are not familiar with them. They ensure suites are ready, they unpack their suitcases, iron, clean and mend anything that is broken. They provide whatever room service needs the guests may have, from making reservations, purchasing items, bringing and serving food. Butlers are often expected to provide morning wake up drinks, lay out clothes, and keep the guest moving smoothly from one engagement to another. When the time comes to leave, the butler packs the suitcases and ensures a smooth departure. Having developed a close relationship with the guests, he then stays in touch and ensures the guest returns. A good butler should be multi-skilled and possess certain natural character traits in order to excel at his or her job. They need to possess good organizational skills and communication skills so they can carry out their tasks and perform their job in an efficient manner. They should be flexible and accommodating to a guest’s needs; capable of dealing with people of all ages and from different cultures; friendly, loyal and very subtle and unobtrusive. They have a responsibility to take ownership of any problems while removing worries and chores from the guest experience; and in the same breath foster that one of a kind unique relationship with them. As an individual who has developed a passion for guest satisfaction and one who works tirelessly in delivering flawless services in a highly professional manner, I am convinced that the role of a butler is an excellent job opportunity for me and I most certainly do possess all the above mentioned character traits that exemplifies a superb butler. How to cite Role of a Butler, Papers

Happy and Unhappy Families free essay sample

Enmeshed families may be emotionally involved and display some warmth, but experience high levels of hostility, destructive meddling, and a limited sense of the family as a team. Disengaged families are associated with cold, controlling, and withdrawn relationships. Researchers assessed families using parent and teacher reports and through direct observation. Participants came to the lab annually for three years, making two visits one week apart. Both parents and their child played Jenga, an interactive game, for 15 minutes. On alternate weeks each parent interacted alone with the child for ten minutes divided between play and clean up. Parents were also videotaped discussing two topics intended to elicit disagreement. The study evaluated how parents related to one another, noting characteristics such as aggression, withdrawal, avoidance and ability to work as a team in the presence of the child. Researchers assessed the emotional availability of parents, whether they provided praise and approval or ignored the child during shared activities. We will write a custom essay sample on Happy and Unhappy Families or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They also noted how the children related to their parents, noting whether attempts to engage them were brief and half-hearted or sustained and enthusiastic. The study found that children from disengaged homes started school with higher levels of aggressive and disruptive behavior and more difficulty focusing and cooperating with classroom rules. These behaviors tended to increase with time. Children from enmeshed homes began with no more disciplinary problems or depression and withdrawal than those from cohesive families. However, as children from families with either type of destructive relationship pattern continued in school they began to suffer from higher levels of anxiety and feelings of loneliness combined with alienation from peers and teachers. While the study identified a clear connection between family characteristics and behavior at school the researchers caution against concluding that dysfunctional relationships are responsible for the majority of difficulties encountered. They point to other relevant risk factors, including high-crime or deprived neighborhoods, peer pressure and genetic traits. Lead researcher Melissa Sturge-Apple, an assistant professor of psychology concluded: Families can be a support and resource for children as they enter school, or they can be a source of stress, distraction, and maladaptive behavior. This study shows that cold and controlling family environments are linked to a growing cascade of difficulties for children in their first three years of school, from aggressive and disruptive behavior to depression and alienation. The study also finds that children from families marked by high levels of conflict and intrusive parenting increasingly struggle with anxiety and social withdrawal as th ey navigate their early school years.