Women of dystopias

Women of dystopias Women of dystopias prevailing female stereotypes in Huxleys and Orwells fiction Dystopias as a genre present an interesting aesthetic and psychological challenge. Their view of the future is fixed in the past or the present, and as such, are in danger of not transcending the limitations of their own cultural and sociological context. A certain aspect of dystopias is the ever-present human trait of wishing to â€Å"solve problems†. By projecting the issues of the present into the future, by removing the specific factors surrounding ones quandary, one wishes to see a clearer image, to achieve some sort of enlightenment. Dystopias are the perfect genre for that other common human trait (connected to the aforementioned penchant for problem-solving) of presenting the worst that may come to pass (sometimes metaphorically pointing a finger and yelling â€Å"I told you so!†). Yet in such exercises of the mind, the subject of authorial objectivity inevitably arises when writing a dystopia, how far removed should the subject matter be from ones perceived r eality? Since a dystopia is to significant degree a heavily satirized transmogrification of ones â€Å"real world†, this seems a contradiction in terms. Yet in not being sufficiently willing or able to remove oneself from the conventionally perceived notions and ideals of ones society, one runs the risk (as the author of a dystopia) of compromising the authenticity of ones fictional universe. An argument could be made that this is the case with George Orwells 1984 and Aldous Huxleys Brave New World; the fashion in which female characters are portrayed in both novels conjures up a sense of the misogyny of the authors, rather than a truly dystopian perception of women. The post-war (WWI in the case of Huxley, WWII in the case of Orwell) mentality and internalized misogyny of both Huxleys and Orwells time is palpably present in the characters of Linda and Lenina, respectively Winstons mother and Julia. By examining these crucial mother and lover characters in their most signific ant scenes, several interesting parallels can be drawn between the authors treatment of their female characters. The fact that both Huxley and Orwell focus primarily on the female archetypes of lover and mother is in itself quite revealing. The use of these archetypes is not limited to the figures of Linda, Lenina or Winstons mother and Julia; in Brave New World, every woman falls into either category. All women of the â€Å"modern world† are potential lovers their â€Å"pneumatic† bodies (an adjective interestingly enough only used in conjunction with womens bodies and furniture[1]) free for the taking (and freely offered up, at that). â€Å"Mother† as a term is used to describe everything that is the opposite of a carefree, lustful existence aging, sagging, embarrassment and taboo. No corresponding term exists to embarrass men as Huxley puts it, the term â€Å"father† is a â€Å"scatological rather than a pornographic impropriety†[2]. This hierarchy of shame resurfaces during Bernard and Leninas visit to Malpais the old man (the first old person whom Le nina sees) is described in three lines, whilst Linda, the Savages mother, is described in a lengthy paragraph, containing visual, olfactory and tactile references. This â€Å"grotesque† mother-figure is apparent in 1984 as well, although described in a rather more oblique fashion. The reference to â€Å"monstrous women with brick-red forearms†[3] (p.86), and the nomer â€Å"Mrs.† which â€Å"with some women one used () instinctively†[4] (p.22), all point to an internalized image of â€Å"motherhood† which Orwell uses to juxtapose with the virginal (and insipid) Katherine, and the lustful (and cunning) Julia. Motherhood, or rather the absence of any true motherhood (in the sense of being allowed to openly care for, and show affection for ones children) are central themes in 1984, thus one understands the need to extrapolate on the concept yet the occasionally dropped adjective, such as the aforementioned â€Å"monstrous† and the categorizati on of women into â€Å"Mrs.† and â€Å"non-Mrs.† types points to an external, rather than any internal set of values that could exist in the universe of 1984. The characters described in the novel have all grown up in â€Å"the system† (perhaps with Winston having a slight remembrance of life before Big Brother), thus it seems odd that for example Julia should use terms like â€Å"a real womans frock†[5] (p.149) accepting that these items (frocks and high-heels instead of the overalls and practical shoes of the Party) could be found amongst the proles, one is tempted to ask why Julia would refer to them as â€Å"real†. The term â€Å"real woman† is incredibly relative, and has through time come to refer to everything from Rubenesque figures and unpainted faces to willowy, dramatically made-up women. In this context, â€Å"real woman† could by default only refer to the overall and flat-shoe wearing, chaste women of the Party. This cognitive dissonance becomes an issue in Brave New World as well the Savages view of women is problematic at best. Having grown up amongst the people of Malpais, it is strange that he should become so completely enamoured with Lenina, to the point of regarding her beauty as not only exquisite, but normative. His world-view is explained through him having come into contact with Shakespeares works at an early age, yet this does not explain the curious exclusion in his consciousness of anything lustful, ribald or â€Å"risquà ©Ã¢â‚¬  in the very plays that he idolizes. His mother-complex is more explicable (at least in a psychological sense), yet becomes rather distracting in its one-sidedness. John is a protector-figure, a budding knight in white armour who unsuccessfully tries to rescue his mother from her self-initiated sexual behaviour. His attempted murder of Popà © is symbolical of a masculinity which is again a projection of an external masculinity onto that of the wor ld of Brave New World. â€Å"Mother, monogamy, romance ()†, the mantra that the â€Å"brave new world† has rejected is the one that he metaphorically repeats again and again to himself. Thus, the true conflict arises between him, and Mustafa Mond, arbiters of these two masculinities rendering the women secondary characters, objects of either feelings of lust, or protectiveness. As Goldstein rightly points out by quoting Easthope, this is present in 1984 as well, in the dynamics of Winston and OBriens relationship: â€Å"Winston, who frequently shows misogynist feelings, disavows Julia and heterosexual desire, accepts his unconscious homosexuality, and loves OBrien and Big Brother† (p.52).[6] In fact, in the light of this statement, what becomes increasingly obvious is the complete lack of intellectual women in either Brave New World or 1984. Women are incapable of introspection in either novel Julia is described as cunning and shrewd, but also as having a shor t attention span, and no real powers of analysis. Schweickart rightfully states that â€Å"Smiths question: â€Å"Julia, are you awake?† could very well be the title of a feminist retelling of 1984.†[7] (p.4), seeing as how Julia sleeps through Winstons perusal of Goldsteins book, and in general shows no interest in notions not concerning her sexuality. â€Å"Othering† women thus becomes a subconscious but constant theme in both Brave New World and 1984. What is not explained in BNW for example is why lust is exclusively sought by male bodies in female bodies homosexuality is mentioned once in the novel, in the past tense, by Mustafa Mond, referred to as the result of a monogamous, obsessive and repressed lifestyle. Yet surely, in a society where cumulative lust is valued beyond all, the gender-binary and heteronormative system of values described by Huxley would make no sense. This again points to a transposed, external set of values, which reference Huxleys world view, rather than anything objectively dystopian. The aforementioned comment of Julias (â€Å"real woman†) poses a similar dilemma rather than referencing the instances of illicit behaviour committed by Julia, it seems to reference Orwells concept of real womanhood. As Patai points out, Orwells oeuvre contains â€Å"a tension between his occasional appre ciation of women and his dislike of them, especially the abstraction that is usually referred to as the â€Å"feminine†[8](p.867). She extrapolates, saying that â€Å"although men [in the world of 1984] fear women because they may be spies, in general the assumptions of male centrality and female â€Å"otherness† have survived intact. Julias love for Winston makes him healthier, whereas OBriens attentions destroy him physically; but Winstons true alliance, as we have seen, is with OBrien, who engages him as a worthy opponent a recognition that means more to Winston than Julias love.† [9](p.867). This covert dismissal of his and Julias love is apparent in the terms that Winstonchooses to describe it with; it is a â€Å"hopeless fancy†, â€Å"yet he also dismisses the washerwomans song about such a hopeless fancy because he considers the song and the woman mindless and mechanical†[10] (p.46). The Savage is equally fanciful in his relationship with L enina he constructs an ideal to which she unsurprisingly fails to live up to, and goes from considering his hand unworthy to touch her to quoting Othello at her, and getting physically violent. Yet his disappointment is in her moral nature in her refusal to be passive, and to be worshipped by him. True kinship is masculine, in both 1984 and Brave New World. There seems to be a rather disturbing notion in connection with this male kinship; it is somehow connected to absent mothers, or rather mothers who could never truly live up to the ideal of motherhood (both a physical, and spiritual ideal, as we shall see). Winston keeps connecting his mother (who was first described as a statuesque, brave woman) to various â€Å"grotesque† (term as used by Orwell) figures of womanhood, most notably the woman who vomits copiously next to him in the preliminary detainment cell (â€Å"She might, thought Winston, be his mother.† (p.240)). The Savages mother, Linda, is also presented as the most grotesque female figure in the narrative of Brave New World (â€Å"grotesque† both as defined by the internal system of values of the novel, and the external ones of the author and readership). These absurd instances contain something of the freak-show within them a voyeuristic, almost fetishistic obsession with the female form, and within that category, the most â€Å"sacred† one, that of the mother. Within the context of the archetype, it is understood that â€Å"mothers† are not sexual beings thus the reference to the prostitute that Winston visits as being his mothers age, or to Linda sleeping with Popà © are playing with taboo, trying to titillate the readers sense of the inappropriate through reference to the heteronormative sense of order. Overall, one experiences a striving on the part of both authors to order women into easily identifiable categories (mothers and (m)others), thus not really challenging or redefining their own societies respective views on women. Thus, regardless of the fact that both Huxley and Orwell manage to create complex fictional universes (arguably Orwells being more sophisticated than Huxleys), their views on women are seemingly transposed in their entirety without conscious criticism or willingness to challenge the reader. Works consulted * Goldstein, Philip, Orwell as a (Neo)conservative: The Reception of 1984, The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 44-57 Published by: Midwest Modern Language Association, Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1315117 * Patai, Daphne, Gamesmanship and Androcentrism in Orwells 1984. PMLA, Vol. 97, No. 5 (Oct., 1982), pp. 856-870, retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/462176 * Schweickart, Patsy, Orwell Revisited, The Womens Review of Books, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Nov., 1984), pp. 3-4,Published by: Old City Publishing, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4019466 * Orwell, George, 1984, London, Penguin Books (1989) * Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World, http://www.hedweb.com/huxley/bnw [1] Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World, (http://www.hedweb.com/huxley/bnw/four.html â€Å"the pneumatic sofas† [2] Ibid, http://www.hedweb.com/huxley/bnw/ten.html [3] Orwell, George, 1984, London, Penguin Books (1989) [4] Ibid [5] Ibid [6] Goldstein, Philip, Orwell as a (Neo)conservative: The Reception of 1984, The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 44-57 Published by: Midwest Modern Language Association, Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1315117 [7] Schweickart, Patsy, Orwell Revisited, The Womens Review of Books, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Nov., 1984), pp. 3-4,Published by: Old City Publishing, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4019466 [8] Patai, Daphne, Gamesmanship and Androcentrism in Orwells 1984. PMLA, Vol. 97, No. 5 (Oct., 1982), pp. 856-870, retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/462176 [9] Ibid [10] Goldstein, Philip, Orwell as a (Neo)conservative: The Reception of 1984, The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 44-57 Published by: Midwest Modern Language Association, Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1315117

Consideration when building market-competitve compensation system Essay

Discuss and explain the considerations when building market-competitive compensation systems. A company that strives to be competitive in whatever market they belong to will always look for strategic and competitive advantages. Building a market-competitive compensation system is the first step needed to attract, retain, and promote high performing individuals who will help a company reach and maintain that edge over competitors, so it is imperative to get it right the first time: offer compensation that is far above the median wage and the company must lower its bottom line, leaving it less money to reinvest, pay stockholders, etc. Offer too low a compensation package and the company will not be able to attract the high performers it is looking for to drive the competitive advantages further. To build a market-competitive pay system a company must: Conduct Strategic Analyses – When a company conducts a strategic analysis of both the external market (industry profile, competitor information, long-term growth prospects) and internal factors (functional capabilities, financial situation) it is looking for the parameters or the limits that it can perform and grow with (Martocchio 146) . Assess competitor’s pay practices with compensation surveys – The textbook goes into depth the factors surrounding compensation surveys, much of which are better explained in a statistics class. It is understandably difficult for a company to develop an internal custom compensation survey, as training personnel who have never done this is difficult, not the mention a company’s competition is understandably resistant to releasing pay numbers to rivals! Published surveys do exist, however, and consulting firms are there, depending on the industry. The most important strategic considerations to develop in a survey are determ ining the relevant job market and choosing benchmark jobs within that market (150). Integrate internal job structure with external market pay rates – Using regression analysis, which â€Å"describes the linear relationship between two variables (i.e. simple regression) or between the linear composite of multiple variables and one other variable (i.e. multiple regression)† (380). In simpler terms, it is finding the sweet spot for the company pay based on external markets and what they pay and factors internal  to the company (relevant work experience, job value, etc). Determine compensation policies – A Company has three pay level policies to choose from: market lead, market lag, or market match. A market lead policy â€Å"leads† the way, establishing a pay which is higher than market trends but may result in reduced profits. This is, however, what a company may want to do to differentiate itself from the competition. Market lag policy has a company compensating employees less than the average. This is best suited to a lowest-cost strate gy and the claim can be made that those low costs are passed to the clients or consumers. Market match policy ensures the company is compensating its personnel the same as current market trends. It is a safe way to go but does little to help a company distinguish itself from competitors, but if it fits within the strategic goals of a company it is the way to go. Works Cited Martocchio, Joseph J. Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013.

Stages of Critical Thinking

Stages of critical thinkingHow to move to the next stageObstacles to moving to the next stage EXAMPLE: The Unreflective ThinkerExamine my thinking to identify problems that affect my thinking. Deceiving myself about the effectiveness of my thinking The Challenged ThinkerFiguring out that my thinking is causing me serious problems. Realizing that my thinking is not as perfect as I believe and develop awareness of how thinking operates for good or bad. The Beginning ThinkerMaking attempts to better understand how I can take charge of and improve my thinking.Recognizing and changing the problems in my thinking to and ways to develop as a thinker. The Practicing ThinkerActively analyzing my thinking in a number of ways. Develop awareness of the need for systematic practice in thinking. The Advance ThinkerHaving significant insight to problems at the deeper levels of thought. Developing understanding for systematic practice thinking and insight to deep levels of problem in thought, consis tent recognition. The Accomplished ThinkerContinually monitoring, revising and rethinking strategies for continual improvement in my thinking.To make the highest levels of critical thinking intuitive in every part of my life. Write a 150- to 200-word explanation of your current stage of critical-thinking development and explain why you placed yourself at that stage. Format your paragraph consistent with Associate Level Writing Style Handbook guidelines. Strategies to Develop Critical Thinking Now that you identified your current stage as a critical thinker, it is necessary to adopt strategies to develop your thinking. Of the nine strategies you read about this week, choose three that you can begin to practice.Identify the strategies and describe how you can implement each strategy in your daily life. EXAMPLE Strategy: Deal with my emotions. Implementation Plan: When I am faced with a decision, I will examine the positive and negative emotions associated with my decision. This will h elp me limit the influence of my emotions on my decisions. Strategy 1: Reshaping your character Implementation Plan: When having a discussion I need to be more open minded to other ideas. I tend to assume I know better than some people and will dismiss their ideas as good before I even hear them out to make an educated decision.Strategy 2:Analyze group influence Implementation Plan: It is easy to get caught up in a group decision and have to deal with group speak (for lack of a less political term) regardless of what the situation is. Having a better stance or backbone to make the right decision against the popular decision is imperative to good critical thinking. Strategy 3: Redefine the way I see things. Implementation Plan: I see things that are always my way. I need to open up and look at it in someone’s perspective. I need to be able to see it in someone’s eyes so I know what it feels like.

Social Work Ethics As Applied Ethics - 2008 Words

Benkova. K., an author of the article Social Work Ethics as Applied Ethics, describes â€Å"ethics as a systematic drive to understand our individual and social moral experience in such a way that enables establishing rules which are to govern people’s behavior, to define values which are worth sticking to, and also to encourage such character traits in people which oneself is worth to develop†(Benkova 2009). Social workers are responsible for human physical and emotional well-being. In order to help people, social workers have to make their decisions based on strong moral and ethical values. As claims DuBois B. (2009) â€Å"Social Work is a values - based profession. Values reflect preferences and inform choices† ( p.105). Warrick believes that the difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones is that in moral issues the choice is between right and wrong. In ethics, the choice is between two rights ( Warrick,1991). I strongly agree with this saying. After r eading a story about Belinda Lima and her co-workers, I also asked myself a question- â€Å"would I make a report to federal government about the client that opened up to me about his problems and relies on me?† I spent a good amount of time thinking about all pros and cons of this situation. I was being to myself as honest as I could, but I wasn’t able to come up with a definite answer. On one side- there is a person who trusts me, and despite all legal issues decided to speak to a socialShow MoreRelatedEthics Paper1177 Words   |  5 PagesEthics Paper Week 1 Assignment Rheana Willis 01/08/2012 Dilemma Choice 2: A married couple, both addicted to drugs, are unable to care for their infant daughter. She is taken from them by court order and placed in a foster home. The years pass. She comes to regard her foster parents as her real parents. They love her as they would their own daughter. 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