Friday, December 27, 2019

Self Reliance As Defined By Webster s Dictionary - 905 Words

Self-reliance, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is the â€Å"reliance on one’s own efforts and abilities.† Emerson expands on that concept in his 1841 essay entitled â€Å"Self-Reliance.† For Emerson, self-reliance has many different facets. His main point is the importance of embracing individuality. He says, â€Å"not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him [man], and another none. It is not with out pre-established harmony, this sculpture in the memory† (2). This idea of divine predestination is central to his argument for believing in oneself. He asks the reader to trust his or her own thoughts. After all, all great thoughts from all great thinkers were unique to them. The world could not have benefited from Plato, or Luther, or Christ, if they had not trusted their own instincts and believed them true for all mankind. These great men were able to live in the world as in solitude, walking and functioning am ong others while trusting their own thoughts and accepting the fact that they were often alone in them. Emerson warns against living in the past, repeating the thoughts of others. Instead he would rather one live for oneself in the present, for â€Å"power ceases in the instant of repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state†¦ This one fact the world hates, that the soul becomes; for that forever degrades the past†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (26). Emerson does not mislead his readers into thinking self-reliance will be easy. In fact, he clearlyShow MoreRelatedConfidence in People806 Words   |  3 Pageswithout confidence struggle in the face of society because of their lack of charisma or drive. The people who lack self-confidence can barely get by each day without suffering some embarrassment because they are so afraid of their own dismay and folly. Confidence is a strong trust, earned by the strong actions and self-successes. The strength that people display instills the trust and reliance upon others. The person can have any amount of confidence desired because confidence has no limit or a measurableRead MoreIs Masculinity Defined Within The Comedy?2332 Words   |  10 PagesThe Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Masculine as â€Å"Male: having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man† (Merriam-Webster). While another source, the popular comedic Urban Dictionary, presents a more satirical definition of the word Masculine, Often defined as aggressive, strong, and unfeeling or stoic. Being masculine means in modern times, at least, no shows of emotion, no flamboyance, no hugging or even looking at other men, must be interested in sports and physical/violentRead MoreRape : A Common Form Of Violence Against Women1871 Words   |  8 Pagesand a common form of violence against women. Rape can be defined as intercourse or penetration (vaginally, anally, or orally) forced with violence, threat of force or wh en the wife is unable to give the consent. In fact, rape can be seen to be more prevalent in patriarchal societies with the rapidly increased of sexism from it. Patriarchy is often defined as a system of male dominance. According to Merriam and Webster, patriarchy is defined as a family, group or government controlled by a man or aRead MoreObesity in African American Women3793 Words   |  16 Pagespurchase nutritional foods for a proper diet. The stigma attached to obesity causes African American women to feel shame and guilt of self-blame (Crocker, Cornwell, Major, 1993). Emotionally, African American women tend to blame themselves for their obesity and will become withdrawn. Therefore, African American women may begin to experience insecurities and low self-esteem. There are several serious health risks that are associated with obesity. Obese African American women experience a highRead MoreObesity in African American Women Essay3669 Words   |  15 Pagespurchase nutritional foods for a proper diet. The stigma attached to obesity causes African American women to feel shame and guilt of self-blame (Crocker, Cornwell, Major, 1993). Emotionally, African American women tend to blame themselves for their obesity and will become withdrawn. Therefore, African American women may begin to experience insecurities and low self-esteem. There are several serious health risks that are associated with obesity. Obese African American women experience a high rateRead MoreSociety s Perception Of A Woman s Role Essay2212 Words   |  9 Pagesthis song, she specifically targets the wealthy, female celebrities she encountered in Hollywood, who occupy a cultural location elevated above that of the rest of their gender. P!nk believes wealth should stem from individual hard work instead of reliance on the labor of others. Because of women’s supposed subordinate role, many are encouraged to marry rich instead of working toward personal achievement, which diminishes the capabilities of women themselves. Society as a whole generally elevates theRead MoreCultural Analysis Thailand9709 Words   |  39 Pagesthe rest of Asia, is from a high-context society where communication is less verbal, but very clear. Strong bonds in the Thai community are imperative to these people, although it is within smaller groups. Respect of class, respect of seniority and self-respect are of vital importance to the Thais and their own place in society. There are less written rules in this nation as opposed to the more formalized written documentation in a low-context society. In a high context society, there is a strongRead MoreQuack Doctors4338 Words   |  18 Pagesresearch is to identify factors influencing quack practices in selected community or barangay in Catanuan, specifically the study will be conducted in Barangay 8 and 9, Catanuan Quezon. Quack practices include all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being.  The main context of quack practices is to relieve pain, postpone death, and make money (Jill, 2000).   With limited time given by managed care initiativesRead MoreAgeism in Healthcare6728 Words   |  27 PagesMather, 2011). Economic factors are key as they directly pertain to the likelihood of reliance on publically-funded healthcare programs, while â€Å"the marital status and living arrangements of the elderly are closely tied to levels of social support, economic well-being, and the availability of caregivers† (Jacobsen et al., 2011, p. 4). The importance of this population’s general health status is, of course, self-explanatory. First and foremost, despite slight recent increases in the amount of incomeRead MoreSame-Sex Marriage and Religion: An Inappropriate Relationship8330 Words   |  34 PagesBrittney Baker Key words, names, terms, concepts: California s Proposition 8, Prop 8; morals legislation; same-sex marriage, gay marriage; religion, religion and politics; separation of church and state; police powers; equal citizenship, equality; 2008 election. Introduction and Thesis The debate over same-sex marriage has been a prominent issue in our society over many years now, appearing in several ballot initiatives such as California s Proposition 8. The idea of allowing two people of the same

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Struggles Within the Middle East United States Supplying...

In October of 1973, a war between the Arabic states of Egypt and Syria and the state of Israel broke out known as the Yom Kippur War. Being vastly overwhelmed by the Arabic states in terms of sheer volume of troops and equipment, Israel turned toward its ally in the West, the United States. With profound diplomatic pressure from multiple Arabic states, the United States found itself in an increasingly difficult position. In an effort to create the best outcome for America in both the Middle East and the global theatre, the United States made the decision, knowing full well the possible consequences, to help supply Israel during the Yom Kippur War. On October 6th, 1973, during the Jewish holy day of atonement, Yom Kippur, a surprise†¦show more content†¦On October 10th, United States Deputy Secretary noted, â€Å"The Arabs are fighting better now than they did in 1967. The conflict dealt a blow to two myths, that of Israel’s inevitable military superiority and that of the Arab’s perennial Inferiority. The U.S. is trying to keep the Soviets out of the situation while maintaining our own position in the Arab world.† United States officials knew that the Egyptians, Syrians, and Israelis would be looking for ways in which to resupply their dwindling military resources in an effort to continue their war efforts. With Soviet influence in the Middle East, while not at its peak, a fear of potential communist-puppet states spread throughout the State department. With McCarthyism creating a deep-seated fear of communism, potential action by the United States was seen by various Arabic states and the Israelis. With various Arabic states realizing the potential for the United States to become involved, rather directly or indirectly, in the Yom Kippur War, a requirement to create a determent to that potential was the greatest option for the Arab world. Oil rich nations in the Middle East began to create and fan the flames of fear among various American oil companies, such as Exxon, during the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) negotiations in Vienna.Show MoreRelatedHow Has Realism Theory Played a Key Role in Israeli and Palestinian Relations 2189 Words   |  9 PagesArabian societies have engaged in one of the most complicated and lengthy conflicts known to mankind, the makings of a highly difficult peace process. Unfortunately for all the world’s peacemakers the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the war between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is rooted in far more then ethnic tensions. Instead of drawing attention towards high-ranking officials of the Israeli government and Hamas, focus needs to be diverted towards the more suspect and subtle international

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Report for Bill Gates Leadership @Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Describe about the Report for Bill Gates Leadership. Answer: Introduction Bill Gates is one of the most charismatic and inspirational leaders that the 21st century has witnessed. Gates has been regularly featuring in Forbes Top 100 lists and was recently ranked as the richest person in America. Also, he has been bestowed with various awards including theNational Medal of Technology and Innovation,Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, Bower Award for Business Leadership and more. There is no denying that Bill Gates has had a very powerful impact on the world, and that he has led from the front. It is Bill Gates foresight and vision regarding personal computing that has been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry as a whole. Microsoft windows stands today as the worlds most successful OS only because of the exceptional leadership of Bill Gates (Mumford, 2013). The story of how Bill Gates, a student of Harvard University, dropped out to start one of the most successful company is probably known to everyone, in this report howeve r we look at leadership qualities of bill Gates that made him so successful. Analysis While growing up, Bill Gates was fascinated bycomputers and used to spent most of his time learning how to program. Bill Gates was aware that success cannot be achieved overnight and requires a lot of hard work. Pursuing his passion, he spent years working from his garage, coding and writing programs (Pavur, 2012). Even after setting up Microsoft and tasting initial success, Gates used to put in long working hours to understand his target audience and develop products that would speak to their business. Bill Gates understood that a leader should not be static and must be dynamic in his thinking. Microsoft continued to evolve under Gates to stay relevant. Gates knew that for Microsoft to maintain its leadership position, they had to continually improve and stay ahead of the competition. They didnt just rely on software packages but also added Microsoft Office, a web browser and enterprise solutions to their product lines (Day, 2010). Gates was the major driving force behind diversification of the Microsoft product line. This was the understanding he followed, and thus continuously brought in new product ideas and thus created a successful company. A complete analysis of Bill Gates would be incomplete without looking at the philanthropic and humanitarian efforts of bill gates. Bill Gates along with his wife Melinda Gates have taken the giving pledge where they have pledged to use majority of their financial wealth for philanthropic and charitable causes. Billions of dollars have been donated to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for charitable causes all over the world. They have provided an entirely new direction to philanthropy by tackling global issues like malaria, cancer and AIDS. Gates ability to envision philanthropic goals can be seen in thetreatment of malaria. He has a clear goal of eradicating malaria, and hes laid out a well-defined strategy. His abilities to envision and strategize are what make him a great leader (Serfontein, 2012). Leadership Qualities of Bill Gates Some of the leadership qualities in Bill Gates are as follows: Focus: This is probably one of the most important qualities that a leader must possess. It is paramount that one remains focused on the goal. A good leader always asks his followers to focus on a particular goal. Bill Gates always remained focused on the software industry. He could have ventured into other industries with the kind of success and resources he got, but he choose not to and focused on being the best in his field (Serfontein, 2012). He continued to focus on software and programming. He very well understood that the most important thing is to stick to ones core competence. Clear Thinking: It is very significant that leaders have a clear thought about what they want to achieve. Bill Gates always dreamt big and pursued his objective with determination. He always thought of competing with the largest of companies and never deviated from his thought. This is one of the most important traits that is needed in a leader. Passion: Bill Gates passion for software and computers is known to everyone. Even today after 30 years, he is pursuing his passion with utmost vigor. Continuous innovation and the hunger to create the perfect products can still be seen in his products. His leaderships skills combined with passion has helped him in attracting the very best latent because they believed in Bill Gates. He has single handedly created a worldwide operating software industry that any other company could not. Continuous Learning: A person must always strive to learn new things. Knowledge should be continuously improved and that is exactly what Bill Gates has done thought out his life. He still strives to learn from everyone (Serfontein, 2012). Not to be deterred by failure: Bill Gates has always maintained that actions speak louder than words. He always believed that whatever odds a person faces he should never be saddened. Bill Gates had cases against him in the court but that did not stop him from chasing his dream, making great successful products. Eventually he did emerged as a winner and thats what makes him a great leader. Bill Gates has a transformational leadership style. He is a visionary leader who has introduced lot of changes at Microsoft. He was able to transform the computing industry. The trait approach theory could be used to explain the leadership style of Bill Gates. The trait approach, suggests that certain persons are born with special traits that make them great leaders. Some of the strongest traits that Bill Gates has displayed are intelligence, skillfulness and competiveness, Determination, high integrity and sociable. If we look at the Leadership Style of Bill Gates, he is Task-oriented, Autocratic, Delegation and Transformational. As per the Fielders model there are two types of leaders: task-oriented leaders and relation- oriented leaders. Bill Gates has proved to be a task-oriented leader who expects performance from his employees and believes work is more important than relation building to achieve the goals of the company. Bill Gates has also displayed an Autocratic leadership. C ontrol is central to Bill Gates nature and the way he handles management. Bill Gates has very good knowledge about his work and thus likes to take every decision and decide on every major decision. Bill Gates was not used to delegation and was initially reluctant to delegate work. But with time he has understood the importance of delegation and has formed a team of capable managers and thus now delegates most of his work. Bill Gates has always had more technical competence than interpersonal skills. With experience he has adopted traits of a transformational leader whereby he tries to appeal to employees by motivation and support. It is important to analyze the leadership power of Bill Gates. In terms of power that he enjoys because of his position as the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates uses Rational Persuasion when dealing with high-level managers. Bill Gates also enjoys reward power which includes his ability to influence others thorough rewards. Bill Gates can decide employees increments and promotions. However, like a true leader, he has established a system in the organization and all the employee activities like appraisals are handled in a systematic manner through appraisals (Corbridge, 2010). Bill gates also had access to Coercive Power, which involves the use of punishment withholding rewards to influence compliance. Although Bill Gates is an autocratic leader, he has never made threats to employees has never used coercion with employees for personal gains. Bill Gates also enjoys a high level of Expert Power because of his extensive skill and subject knowledge. Bill gates also enjoys a high degree of Referent Power which is a measure of a leaders personal relationships with others influential and significant leaders (Hanson, 2015). It is seen that employees stay at Microsoft for longer tenure than most of the other companies. Having looked at the leadership style of Bill gates, let us look at some of the positives from the particular leadership style of Bill Gates. Bill Gates paid utmost attention to details, which has helped create an environment of high effectiveness and efficiency. Because of his delegation, which he was able to do because of rigorous hiring process , he has been able to create a strong pool of future leaders. Also, because gates possess a high level of expertise and knowledge, he is able to gain loyalty and trust of the employees. Next we look at the skill approach of analyzing a leader, which is a leader centric approach that emphasizes the competencies of the leader. Bill Gates has a very strong skill set that comprised of effective strategic planning skill, communication skills, Teamwork skills and Motivation skills (Aguinis, 2013). Bill gates is a task oriented person and very passionate towards his work. If we have a look at the contingency and Situational leadership theory, leadership style is a choice of skills, traits and behavior employed by leaders to communicate with followers. Leaders ca then be categorized as autocratic, democratic or laissez fairs styles. Bill Gates displays an autocratic leadership trait. Gates has established a clear chain of command in the organization. Bill Gates generally employs a more direct approach towards employees and usually prefers to tell his employee what to do and there is very little freedom given to employees. Great man theory says that Leaders are born to lead and they cannot be created. Bill Gates is certainly one leader that exhibited leadership traits from the very beginning. According to the contingency theory, effective leadership is contingent on matching the leaders style to the right setting i.e. a leader must match its leadership style with that of the setting in which he is operating (Javidan, 2012). Bill Gates has displayed a ta sk-oriented approach where he has mostly focused on completion of task at hand. Also, transactional leadership theory states that a leader ensures that his followers comply by making use of rewards and punishments. Whereas transformational leadership theory states that a leader does not only looks at day to day operation of the company but also looks at crafting a long term strategy for the company. Bill Gates has displayed a mix of transactional and transformational leadership. In the initial years he was more focused on transactional leadership wherein he was more focused on day-to-day work (Morse, 2010). But with time he realized the importance of strategizing and took a more transformational approach to leadership. So far we have seen the exceptional leadership skills of Bill Gates, but the leadership of Bill Gates is not without limitations. Bill Gates was of dominating nature, which at times hindered his followers ability to relate with him. Add to that the constant pressure exerted by him on his subordinates for results, made him unpopular among employees. Although Bill Gates showed traits of a charismatic and transformational leader he lacked employee relations. Employee relation is one aspect that a leader of Bill Gates stature could have improved (Babbitt, 2014). He is always said to be much more focused on work and less focused on employee welfare. That is another aspect that could be improved. Also, though out the life of Microsoft, there had been several litigations and Microsoft has lost several cases thus leading to some questions over the aggressive philosophy of Bill Gates. Another major criticism that is often heard is that Microsoft was not an innovative company. People argued th at Bill Gates only updated existing products and never really invented new products (Williams, 2010). Also there is criticism that Bill Gates was so focused on winning that he never allowed the competition to Build. He would either purchase the competing company in the initial stage or would completely altogether kill the competition. This never allowed the operating industry to completely innovate. Conclusion There is a lot to learn from the leadership attributes of Bill Gates. The above paper discusses the leadership style and attribute of Bill Gates. One of the leadership theories says that a leader is one who has multiple followers. Without followers it is difficult to judge the success of leaders. Bill Gates in that regard is an effective leader as almost the entire world not only follows him but also holds him in high regards. The exemplary skills and mindset that Bill Gates possesses makes him one of the most influential transformational leaders of the 21st century. He has proved to be a charismatic and visionary leader. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve and he focused all his energy on it. His unmatched passion and zeal to achieve the best helped him become a millionaire first and then richest man of the world for 13 continuous years. He has already achieved a high degree of success with his business venture. Now he has put his mind to Philanthropy. Bill Gates has dedicated a lot of time and finances in helping the emerging economies like Brazil, Africa and countries in Asia. He is now a global citizen touching the lives of hundreds of millions of people through his generosity. With the exceptional leadership qualities that Bill Gates possesses he is sure to taste success in philanthropy as well. As a 17 years old boy Bill Gates was quoted as wanting to rule the world. Today, Bill Gates is one person that can truly be said to have conquered the world. References Aguinis, H. (2013) Performance management.3rd ed.Upper Saddle River , NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: a meta-analysis comparing women and men.Psychological bulletin,129(4), 569. Fulop, L., Day, G. E. (2010). From leader to leadership: clinician managers and where to next?.Australian Health Review,34(3), 344-351. Hough, J., Serfontein, J. J. (2012). The relationship between strategic leadership, operational strategy and organisational performance. Kearney, E., Marggraf, K. (2014, January). The Effects of Empowering Leadership on Managers' Career Perceptions. InAcademy of Management Proceedings(Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 13384). Academy of Management. Kirkpatick, S. A., Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: do traits matter?.The executive,5(2), 48-60. Krystofik, M., Babbitt, C. W., Gaustad, G. (2014). When consumer behavior dictates life cycle performance beyond the use phase: case study of inkjet cartridge end-of-life management. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 19(5), 1129-1145. Mumford, M. D., Partlow, P. J., Medeiros, K. E. (2013). 4. Charismatic leadership in crises: its origins and effects on performance.Handbook of Research on Crisis Leadership in Organizations, 67. Morse, S. (2010) Utilising a virtual world to teach performance appraisal An exploratory studyJournal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 34 Issue 8/9 pp.852 868. Pavur Jr, E. J. (2012). Leadership for managers.The Psychologist-Manager Journal,15(4), 269-274. Pilbeam, S. Corbridge, M. (2010) People resourcing and talent planning: HRM in practice. 4th ed. London: Prentice Hall International. Pulakos, E., Hanson., R, Arad., S, Moye, N. (2015) 'Performance Management Can Be Fixed: An On-the-Job Experiential Learning Approach for Complex Behavior Change',Industrial Organizational Psychology, 8 (1), pp. 51-76 Yukl, G. (1999). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories.The leadership quarterly,10(2), 285-305. House, R. J., Shamir, B. (1993). Toward the integration of transformational, charismatic, and visionary theories. Shamir, B., House, R. J., Arthur, M. B. (2003). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory.Organization science,4(4), 577-594. Varella, P., Javidan, M., Waldman, D. A. (2012). A model of instrumental networks: The roles of socialized charismatic leadership and group behavior.Organization Science,23(2), 582-595. Williams, S. (2010). Strategic planning and organizational values: links to alignment.Human Resource Development International, 5(2), pp.217-233.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth Essay Example

The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth Essay How does Miller convey the characters of Abigail and Elizabeth and shape our responses to them? Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams are both characters central to Millers play. However, they are crafted to be total contrasts to each other both in character and in what Miller wants to show through them. what does he want to show? add a sentence here to connect to the rest Miller presents Elizabeth as the very religious and consequently very honest wife of John Proctor. QUOTE? Many people including her husband have an unwavering belief in her honesty. When John is in court he says That woman will never lie, Mr Danforth. She is conveyed in the play as having a strong loyalty to her husband whom she obviously loves a great deal. A proof of her love for John is seen when she is suffering a moral dilemma in court. John is more important to her than religion and therefore she tells a lie for him. Elizabeth also allows him to make his own choice of whether to confess, even though she wants him to live as she realises he could not live with himself if he confessed. We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She sticks to her principles throughout the play. For example she never admits to believing in witches, even when she herself is arrested. She says, If you think I am one then there are none. Through Elizabeth, Miller is trying to convey the importance of personal integrity. Elizabeth creates a great sense of morality for the audience and it is only when her character begins to degenerate in the middle of the play that she starts to lose some of her steadfastness. It is, however people like Elizabeth and Proctor in the end who use their integrity to eventually bring the situation under control. QUOTE SOMEWHERE IN THIS Miller shows Abigail on the other hand as having no regard for religion. The Puritan religion would have forbidden many of the things she does like dancing and shouting. QUOTE Her role in the play is as a servant girl, the niece of Parris, who has had an affair with John Proctor her former employee. She is conveyed as deceitful and manipulative. Millers first description of her character in the stage directions is as having an endless capacity for dissembling. Arthur Miller is warning us that nothing she does or says can be trusted. Abigails character does not really change through the play and she remains rather static. Millers main purpose in creating her was to start the drama and keep it moving. She starts the plot by introducing the idea of witchcraft to the townspeople and keeps it moving by constantly accusing more women and using her manipulative powers once again to play upon the fears of the townspeople. QUOTE In starting the drama she is not really the actual cause of the disaster, but simply, the spark to set off the bomb that had been waiting to go off in Salem. In such a small, strict community even trivial matters are stretched out of proportion to create a diversion from the monotony of daily life. Abigail played upon this property in beginning the drama. She also used the natural superstitions of the people of that time in Salem whose typical reaction to anything out of place was to blame it on witchcraft or demons. The presentation of the position of Abigail and Elizabeth in Salem is very different. The form of society of Salem was a theocracy which meant that the town was ruled by religion. Since Elizabeth is a religious woman and at the beginning of the play she is married to one of the most important men in the village, she herself is a respected and honourable member of the town. To completely contrast with Abigail, Arthur Miller has created the character of Abigail to have no apparent regard for religion. As a servant girl she is neither respected nor given much attention. Therefore Abigail has virtually no status at all. NO POWER- THEMES She is obviously not approved of or trusted by the other villagers either as she has remained without a job after her dismissal from the Proctor household. Her Uncle, Parris, raised this point. And yet it has troubled me called for your service. The villages also link her name with evil in gossip that her Uncle also questions her about. Your name in the town- is it entirely white? This gives Abigail motive for her behaviour as she wishes to become more important, gain respect and have people care for her. Her more sinister motive is revenge as she wishes to take Elizabeths place, as she believes that John belongs to her. Her hate of Elizabeth is established very early on in the play with Bettys allegation You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor. At the beginning of the play, however, we are not convinced that she will succeed. Later on, though there are moments where the audience feels that it is inevitable that Abigail will achieve her goal. Overall the two women are, as in most aspects, at the extremes of the scale. At the beginning of the play Elizabeth is one of the most significant women and Abigail one of the least significant. While Elizabeths position falls drastically in the middle of the play, Abigail gains esteem. At the very end of the play Elizabeth regains some of her lost respect and the revelation of Abigails true character banishes her lower than her former position in society. The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth Essay Example The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth Paper Through Abigail and Elizabeth Miller is showing the theme of good versus evil and light versus darkness in which they are also extremes on the scale. Elizabeth is representing the good and the light by standing up for herself and her friends. She also strives for the truth to be told although the revelations will affect her name and Johns. quote Abigail is representing the evil and the darkness by telling lies and abandoning her friends. Quote mw Throughout the play Abigails actions have been engineered to produce maximum effect and to shock the audience. Her strength of personality and stamina are used to control peoples feelings and behaviour both on the stage and in the audience. Much of her language is exclamatory, RELATE THIS TO THE SOCIETY SHE LIVES IN which adds to the tension and violence in the consequences of many of her actions. The exclamatory language used by Abigail has a greater impact because of the strict Puritan society she lives in. Nevertheless her actions are not always that of hate. There is one section in the play when she shows some affection and compassion. This is when she is talking to John near the very beginning of the play. We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The characters of Abigail and Elizabeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Here she is desperate to have John back and becomes very emotional when he will not take her back. And you must. You are no wintry man. I know you John. I know you . I cannot sleep for dreamin; I cannot dream but I wake up and walk about the house as though Id find you comin through some door. This is the one place where the audience is allowed by Miller to feel sympathy towards Abigail as he has made us think that she really is showing genuine emotion to him and she is truly upset. This section of the play though does not affect our overall judgement of Abigail but provides a reason for her motive of revenge for later on in the play. Abigails manipulative skills are first seen in use when she is talking to her uncle Parris at the beginning of the play. She manages to answer the questions without actually telling lies but leaving out part of the truth. quote Arthur Miller has also created her as an excellent actress so that her actions always seem credible. She manages to convince the court that Elizabeth Proctors spirit pushed a needle in to her. stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wifes familiar spirit pushed it in. This along with her leadership qualities provides the secret to her success in the play in commanding and ordering. An excellent example of this is when Abigail pretends to see Mary Warren in the form of a bird sitting on the rafters. All the girls spontaneously burst into screaming and shouting at her command and follow her cue. (ABIGAIL with a weird, wild, chilling cry, screams up to the ceiling) You will not! Begone! Begone, I say! Another example of Miller indicating her control over people is when she dares to threaten Danforth. (In an open threat) Let you beware, Mr Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it! There is- . USE OF SUPERSTITION AND HYSTERIA THEME For the people in the audience watching the play the scenery and atmosphere on stage would be that of Salem in 1692 in a Puritan society. The characters in the play would therefore react in slightly different ways than we would expect. The effect of Abigails actions would be different set in present day than in 1692. The NATURE/ESSENCE of the religion being Puritan meant that what the audience would see as small actions which were forbidden at that time would shock the characters in the play. Even if Abigail and the girls had only been dancing in the wood and trying to do witchcraft it would have been frowned upon. Elizabeths actions in the play are usually planned carefully with thought. They aim not to produce pain and suffering but to improve the situation, as she is sensitive and aware of the feelings of others. quote Although she reprimands people for wrong doing it is not with the violence or cruelty of Abigail. In her first entrance Miller demonstrates how Elizabeth tries to make the best of a bad situation. She quietly encourages John to tell the court of Abigails actions. God forbid you keep that from the court, John. I think they must be told. Elizabeth has a tendency to blame things on herself. She believes that Johns affair with Abigail was due to her own coldness. It needs a cold wife to promote lechery. However Miller seems to present the cause of her coldness as being attributed to Johns lack of openness. Like many characters she suffers a degeneration throughout the play and this is the low point in Elizabeths character as her behaviour shows reserve and an edge of restraint. She does manage to partly return to her original status and takes on a more central role towards the end. quote expansion Whatever Elizabeth is doing or saying her language is always refined and civil and she rarely shouts. She obviously has little self-confidence, especially at the beginning of the play, since she lacks aplomb to even to tell Mary Warren not to go into town. As Elizabeth says herself, She frightened all my strength away. It is at the end of the play when Elizabeth regains her compassion and clear-sighted opinions. Here she is able to eventually forgive John and allow him to take his decision. Elizabeth also takes on a more central role towards the end of the play Miller displays Abigail and Elizabeth as being very competitive towards John. In every act there is an emotionally charged scene between one of the and John. Should I keep this? In conclusion Miller has created Elizabeth to be a good, kind person and has challenged her, testing the extent of her morality. As an audience we are made to feel sympathetic towards by Miller her as he presents her as the victim. As Miller presents Abigail as one of the causes or certainly an acceleration of the hysteria, the audience is persuaded to feel no concern about her by Miller.