The American Dream Of Mice and Men - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2617 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/05/29 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: American Dream Essay Of Mice And Men Essay Did you like this example? The Great Depression began with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. In the aftermath of this economic downfall many citizens of the United States were left unemployed. In the following years roughly 12 million American men and women would be forced to leave their homes as they had no means to earn a living. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The American Dream Of Mice and Men" essay for you Create order Incapable of generating an income many people were unable to buy food, or afford the resources to live. However, various farmers did not feel the full effect of the crash on Wall Street because a lot of them did not invest in stocks as so many others in urban areas did. Also, because many farmers could provide their own food supply, they did not have to worry about food shortages like countless other people in the United States (Worster 10). Unbeknownst to the farmers however, there was another crisis looming. The Dust Bowl. In 1931 intense sandstorms would start to blow from the Southern Plains to the East Coast. This would cause what could be described as a large, thick blanket of sand and dirt that would cover most, if not all of the farmlands in the Great Plains region. This layer of grit would make the area virtually uninhabitable (Worster 10). The following years would prove to be challenging for many Americans since the Great Depression was coupled with the Dust Bowl. It has been accepted that many of John Steinbeckrs writings are a reflection of the common man during the Great Depression. An era when people were ill-treated due to their class, gender or race. Of Steinbeckrs many works, his novel Of Mice and Men is cited as being one of the best to capture this difficult time and its numerous harsh realities. One such painful reality was that the American Dream had become more of a nightmare. A nightmare that would taunt the nationrs populace. Success, freedom and the promise of prosperity were not only the ideal dream of many but seemed so far out of reach. This ideal dream was once defined by James Truslow Adams in his 1931 writing of The Epic of America, in which he wrote; The American dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve the fullest stature of which they are capable of, and be recognized by others for what they are regardless of the circumstances of birth and position (Adams 10). In John Steinbeckrs Of Mice and Men, the central characters George Milton, a rough jaded man and his simple minded companion Lennie Small roam from town to town in search of work. Aside from just working together. They are friends. Both having a shared dream to own a piece of land that they can work. The problem with the American dream is the concept that The United States is a classless society. A place that is equal on all fronts. However, America as it turns out is not these things. Not to the extent people think anyways. America has its flaws. The idea that America is a place that an individual wont be judged because of their gender, race, class or religion is not true. Aside from these unfortunate facts there is another problem many people fail to see in their pursuit of their version of the American dream. The problem is that many people associate the achievement of happiness with prosperity of material goods. This is exactly what James Truslow Adams was against. He stated in his writing of The Epic of America that men and women would achieve their fullest stature. The stature was supposed to be a personrs reputation. The individualrs achievement through their ability to turn nothing into something. For some people it meant turning a piece of land into a bountiful farm. For others it could be starting a small one shop business and expanding it. When people did well with these ventures they would invest back into themselves, back into their business. There came a time however when the individuals that were working the dream had used their means to purchase things. Others would see how well they were doing because of the things they had, not the work they were doing. These material goods became status symbols. This disconnect often lead people to lose sight of what Adams had in mind. Though it could be argued the idea of owning their own land was more of a way for George to reassure Lennie that he wouldnt leave him. George would be unable to achieve their version of the American dream without Lennie because the dream was a place where they could both be free. It was also a place where George could let Lennie be himself without fear. Throughout the novel it is illustrated that their relationship is emotionally one-sided and dysfunctional at times, however, George still cared deeply for Lennie and the dream wasnt a dream at all without his friend. From the first few pages it is demonstrated that George is Lenniers benefactor. He tries to take care of Lennie, a grown man with the mind similar to that of a small child. George is regularly cited as keeping Lennie out of trouble. The origins of their friendship began when they were children. They grew up together in the same town. Lennie had an Aunt by the name of Clara. It is presumed that Aunt Clara cared for Lennie, before instructing George to care for him when she passes away. George has noted that he used to make fun of Lennie because he was mentally slow. With that said, George reminisced that Lennie started following him to work. Lennie has been with George ever since, with their relationship changing from acquaintances to friends. During the course of the novel Georgers good intentions of being Lenniers caretaker are shown to be compulsive and defeating. Often times leading to George and Lennie having to find work elsewhere. This behavior demonstrated by George could be characterized as co-dependency. George is in a dysfunctional one-sided relationship, where Lennie relies on him for nearly all of his emotional and self-esteem needs. This relationship enables George to develop a sense of reward and satisfaction from being needed by Lennie. Georgers caretaking is another effect of co-dependency, Lenniers problem is that he is unable to care for himself because of his disability. In the 1930rs there wasnt much information in regards to mental handicaps like Lennie. This lack of understanding by people at this time in history is what scares George. George wants to help Lennie so much that he does so to the point of giving up who he is. According to Darlene Lancer, a Mental Health Therapist, it is natural for people to feel empathy for someone, but individuals who are co-dependent put others needs well before their own. The individuals who dominated the relationship, in this instance George, would suffer from resentment toward his companion and guilt for feeling angered toward him. Which is exactly what George does with Lennie. In Michael J. Meyerrs One is the Loneliest Number: Steinbeckrs Paradoxical Attraction and Repulsion to Isolation/Solitude he states that, George often finds his companion to be more of a trial than a blessing since his mentally challenged friend impedes [George] from the pleasures in life he most desires: eating good food, drinking whiskey, playing cards, shooting pool, and enjoying the sexual company of women. Such impositions anger George, and he is constantly contemplating how comfortable he would be if he did not have to worry about Lennie. (Meyer 298) This evidence supports the theory that George and Lennie are co-dependent. However, it is evident that George and Lennie do care deeply for each other. Their relationship being described as complicated at best. Georgers resentment paired with his guilt could be one of the main factors keeping them together. This dysfunctional relationship paired with the devastation of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression would prove difficult for the friends as they pursue their dream. As stated previously, George and Lennie had a shared dream. A dream that had developed over their time together. At times Lennie would pressure George to tell him the story of their ranch. The ranch they were working toward purchasing. George would describe the land has lush, with crops they can tend to. As well as having rabbits for Lennie to tend to because Lennie has a penchant for soft things. Their shared dream epitomizes Adamrs The Epic of America. The importance of this dream is the driving force that keeps them going in a time in history when all anyone wanted to do was give up. Itrs also an enabling tool George uses to sooth Lennie, further cementing his role as Lenniers caretaker. Most importantly, the story and its details have important meaning for the pair. The land represents freedom. Freedom from having a boss, freedom from the brutalities of the world and its people. It offers a sustainable resource for food and shelter, if Lennie were to cause trouble there, they wouldnt have to leave. They could handle it internally, since they would become their own boss. The ranch offerrs the men the opportunity to make their lives richer and better as Adams had suggested in The Epic of America. However, purchasing land during this point in America history was almost impossible with the lack of employment opportunity as previously mentioned. With the Great Depression the deck was stacked against George and Lennie. Everyone was looking for work. Everyone wanted the same comforts as George and Lennie. The few people that could afford to hire workers paid meager wages. The situation left George and Lennie making attempts to save their earnings. However, there were times that George would spend their savings on creature comforts. He would go out and drink or spend their savings on other frivolous things. He spent it because in the back of his mind he knew that it was only a dream. It wasnt going to come true. The idea of actually saving enough money to purchase the land lead him to the fear that they could fail. For George it was better to keep it a dream. It was easier to say that they werent making enough, or to blame Lennie for his incompetence when they had to move on. It was easier because it kept them from failing. Keeping it as a dream offered George a respite from all the ugliness the world had to offer at that time. As much as the story was used to sooth Lennie, it also soothed George. This is where the hopes of both men become entwined. It would further solidify their bond as friends and deepen Georgers co-dependency with Lennie. When the two get to their next work site they find comradery with the existing ranch hands. Most of them face the same issues as George and Lennie. All wanting a safe place. All wanting freedom and an opportunity to prosper. When they hear George and Lenniers plan to buy land and start their own ranch many of the men are seduced by it. At one point Candy, a fellow ranch worker, offers to join the menrs venture. This offer suddenly makes their dream a reality. George can no longer dismiss the idea as impossible. When this offer is made George is finally able to realize his dream and make real efforts to reach their goal. Plain and simple. It was their dream together, they both came up with it. They both helped shaped the idea of their utopia. Lennie wanted rabbits, George just wanted to own and work their own land. For George it can be said that just having the land and working it wasnt just about possession. The land represented the freedom America boasts so much about. With the land comes stability, a place to call your own no matter what. Granted there are certain assurances they would have to go through to keep their land but otherwise it was theirs to do with as they saw fit. Thatrs what George wanted, a place of his and Lenniers. The emphasis is ?AND Lennie, without Lennie, there wouldnt really be a point for George to own the land, George would have no one to care for. No one to shelter and no one to love. Despite the comfort and stability the land would offer George, he is still able bodied with an able mind. He can thrive in the world that was shaped by the tragedies of the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. He would be okay without a home, traveling from place to place. Whereas his companion Lennie would otherwise suffer. Without George there was a very good chance that Lennie would have done something that would cause authorities or un-understanding people to put Lennie in a sanatorium or jail. Today it is understood that both of these places in this time of history where riddled with mismanagement and mistreatment of their patients or inmates. Often times treated inhumanly. Or the other option would be that Lennie would be tried for his crimes and killed as a result. George understood that some people would act with prejudice towards Lennie. It is a fear that keeps him from abandoning Lennie. He would rather flee with Lennie than risk a chance of him being treated unfairly. This is another factor that keeps the two from separating. It has been established that Lennie suffers from mental health issues that hold him back. Lennie is unable to remember anything. He is also unable to comprehend serious situations. There is an instances in Steinbeckrs Of Mice and Men when Lennie has a mouse. Lennie would pet the mouse because it was soft and this feeling offered him comfort. However, it isnt until later that itrs discovered, Lennie had killed the mouse. There came a time when the mouse bit Lennie and as a reaction Lennie had pinched its head. Lennie fails to realize his own strength. This moment in particular is important. Itrs important because it demonstrates Lenniers inability to comprehend death and the consequences of his actions. The death of this mouse isnt the first instance of Lenniers negligent actions. It has been cited throughout the novel that there have been several instances similar to the mouse. Lennie has killed a puppy in his excitement. Another situation involved Lennie hurting a woman in a previous town George and he worked in. With Lennie being an exceptionally special case because of his mental illness it could be argued that he could learn from his mistake despite his set back. Lennie is capable of physical labor. Lennie understands the importance of owning their own land and the benefits it brings. Lennie is compassionate as demonstrated when he tells George that he could have all the ketchup for his beans if he wanted. These examples show that Lennie can learn if given the chance. Rather than have Lennie face the consequences of his actions and learn from them, George rescues him. George enables Lennie under the guise of helping him. The reality is, although with good intentions, George is further stunting Lenniers growth out of fear of society treating him unfairly. Darlene Lancer has stated that it is easier for the dominating person in the co-dependent relationship to fix themselves rather than the let the other figure it out and work through the problem themselves. George then justifies his action because of Lenniers mental health issue.

Book Review of Novel-the Canterville Ghost - 2684 Words

Book Review of THE CANTERVILLE GHOST * About the Author Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of Londons most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams and plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment which was followed by his early death. Wildes parents were successful Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After†¦show more content†¦Wilde obviously intends to satirize American materialism, but he pokes fun at English traditional culture as well. American vs. British society: â€Å"The Canterville Ghost† is a study in contrasts. Wilde takes an American family, places them in a British setting, then, through a series of mishaps, pits one culture against the other. He creates stereotypical characters that represent both England and the United States, and he presents each of these characters as comical figures, satirizing both the unrefined tastes of Americans and the determination of the British to guard their traditions. Sir Simon is not a symbol of England, as perhaps Mrs. Umney is, but rather a paragon of British culture. In this sense, he stands in perfect contrast to the Otis family. Sir Simon misunderstands the Otis family just as they misunderstand him, and, by pitting them against each other, Wilde clearly wishes to emphasize the culture clash between England and the United States. * The historical background and its connection to the story During the nineteenth century the 2nd Industrial Revolution was developed, which produced an accelerated technology out of new products and industries. There was also a technological breakthrough. This caused a great rivalry between the countries regarding the economy and politics, especially between The United States and England, who were the two world powers at that time. Oscar Wilde relates thisShow MoreRelatedOscar Wilde s Life And Accomplishments1949 Words   |  8 Pagespersonality alone that made Wilde infamous. He was an author with amazing talents. He created entire worlds with his work. He was exceptionally creative, death, he wrote published many works. Some of his more popular being A House of Pomegranates, The Canterville Ghost, and A Woman Of No Importance. He also wrote poems and essays such as Athanasia, La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, The Sphinx, The Decay Of Lying, and The Soul of A Man Under Socialism. These are among the stories and plays that made Wilde a legend

Organizational Behavior Micro and Small Manufacturing

Question: Describe about the Organizational Behavior for Micro and Small Manufacturing. Answer: Introduction Head quartered in London, United Kingdom Barclays is a British multinational banking and financial services company. With customers exceeding 48 million globally Barclays operates in over 50 countries across Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and North America including Kenya. Barclays by assets is the fourth largest bank in the world. Retail and business banking and corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management are the two businesses in which the bank is organised. The corporate banking, investment banking and the wealth and investment management are the three units which are covered by the corporate and investment and wealth and investment cluster covers. While the four business units of Barclaycard, Africa retail business banking, UK retail and business bank and Europe retail and business banking are covered by the retail and business banking cluster. The segments of local business and small to mid-sized enterprises most subsidiaries of Barclays operate un der corporate, retail, card services and treasury services with cross functional relationships for support and assistance. Barclays has been the top provider of financial services in the market. This is possible because of its financial strength coupled with extensive local and international resources for a very long time now. A confidence has been built in Barclays leadership and management due to consistent financial performance among the banks shareholders and the industry. The best example here would be of the Kenya branch of the bank. This Kenya bank has built a network of 117 branches and has established more than 230 ATMs. The bank provides internet and mobile banking along with a Customer Service Centre which operates 24 hours a day (Apostolis, 2012). Business climates over the world present diverse challenges to the bank because of its multinational nature. The bank also operates in diverse clusters. Decisions made at headquarters can affect subsidiaries world over. The increasing globalisation and interconnectivity has increased recently and as the bank hire employees across all nationalities, races, and cultures it is difficult to manage them effectively without planning (Burisch, 2002). These people bring with them different values, beliefs, attitudes, personalities and deal with situations in various emotional spaces and get motivated differently. The bank has successfully managed to develop workable and standard organisation behaviour so that an effective system for day to day activities can be implemented. Literature Review The success of MNC like Barclays depend highly on polices and principles adopted and implemented at the organisations subsidiaries. The organisational principles relevant to this paper are personality, attitude, work motivation and work place emotions. According to Mattews, et al, it is difficult to measure emotions at work place, also many traits because emotions cannot be quantified but this has never been a constraint to understand the affects of positive emotions and negative emotion in an organisational setup (Mattews, et al., 2007) The success of Barclays if fully attributed to the quality of service and the quick responsiveness of employees handling customers as it operates in a service industry (Stephenson, 2013). Customers must be attended first before anything else, is one of the values adopted by the bank i.e Customer First. This is the attitude encouraged at the bank to strengthen customer services and employees according to Dempsey the nurses leave their jobs because they thought they cannot deliver care that hey valued. Thus it can be true for any organisation if the employees do not belief in themselves it could result in job dissatisfaction (Dempsey, 2009). Organisation behaviour at Barclays promotes job satisfaction which in turn is the overall attitude towards their jobs of the employees. The amount of pay, opportunities, promotion, supervision, work itself, favourable work environment and relationship among co-workers are the features that drives job satisfaction at any organisation. Organisations need to develop standard organisation behaviour to promote employee promotion based on merit. Organisations need to develop policies and practices that encourage not only job satisfaction but also provide efficient reward management. A personality comprise of traits like attitude, skills, qualities and grooming. Though there are characteristics common to personality development. There are various theories regarding personality development. For example, aggressiveness, humbleness and being respectful, assertiveness, and with a good listening ability are the traits expected in a customer service executive. To develop a strong base of loyal cu stomers it is important for any organisation to hire employees with positive attitude and personality traits. The level of motivation of the entire work force is influenced by the employees full acquiescence to the organisational culture and behaviour (Devlin, 2008). The intrinsic urge to perform at work is brought out through motivation. This also affects the psychological and emotional wellbeing of the staff. Accordingly behaviour and urge directed towards goal is activated through the level of motivation among the employees in the organisation (Abeid, 2015). The management needs to develop a highly motivated work force for the organisations culture and behaviour to be abided by at all times and the staff would embrace the values of the organisation (Kahn, et al., 2005). To encourage competition among the employees towards production the organisation can take into consideration several factors cas part of organisational culture. A few factors could be job enrichment, flexible time, and empowerment and employee stock ownership plan (Patterson, et al., 2005). For responsible growth recognition for good performance and achievement jobs are to be designed to offer the above mentioned opportunities. As stated by Halimah, 2016 providing emotional intelligence training has proved effective in motivating the employees. (Yusof, 2016). According to Christine, et al motivation is not part of the emotional intelligence construct though it is another major factor. Thus it is evident that for high performance emotions and motivation are two important factors (Christine, et al., 2007). Many scholars believe that letting employees schedule work according to their time management would help the organisation in the longer run. (Huq, 2016) According to Dr. Rozana, 2010 letting employees to occasionally schedule their work would result in making the employees more accountable and responsible and help to eliminate the feeling of being micromanaged (Huq, 2010). To be able to resolve their work related problems and make decisions in their area of operation wo uld empower employees. This empowerment through making work related decisions without supervision would develop a sense of satisfaction in the employees Research methodology The choice of research method depended on the objectivity, sustainability and reliability to determine the organisational behaviour based on the environment and nature of the industry. Three methods were used alternatively to determine employees feelings concerning organisations culture. To collect data from 25 employees in different ranks within the organisation online questionnaire wars conducted. Also 15 randomly selected walk-in-customers were selected for interview purpose. Secondary data was collected through company reports and other relevant research conducted which are cited accordingly. Analysis and Development There is a need to focus on employee wellbeing by the organisation; the organisation need to get on a personal level so that there is an increase in employee motivation. A key tool to attract, retain and motivate employees these days is employee stock ownership plan (Bernoff Schadler, 2010). A benefit package should be implemented such that the employees can own company stocks. The employee stays motivated works harder and also aims to protect the organisation. The employees are aware that their services directly affect the organisations performance which in turn affects them. Low stock prices because of low performance by the employee. Equity Bank was the one to adopt this strategy making the bank the fastest growing bank in Africa. Thus the organisation need to implement new incentives and employee wellbeing based policy; this can be done by the HR department. The company needs to provide tasks that offer challenging responsibilities and helps the employee to be engaged completely and offer scope for personal development while enabling greater utilisation of skills. To develop a workable interaction model within the organisation the management need to understand personality of employees which in turn would develop a good organisational behaviour. Findings and Recommendations The research was conducted of Barclays PLC Head quartered in London, United Kingdom Barclays is a British multinational banking and financial services company. The organisational behaviour principles adopted and applied in the respective subsidiaries results in the success or failure of an organisation. There is need for EI as a vital skill among employees as it results in job satisfaction, increased commitment and performance enhancement. As stated by Halimah, 2016 providing emotional intelligence training has proved effective in motivating the employees. (Yusof, 2016). There is a need to develop new ideas and innovations to enhance employee satisfaction (Croxword, et al., 2005) Effective and efficient Human resource management can help the organisation to enhance employee performance at all levels. At Barclays bonuses are given out to the top executives even though the bank had not performed well because it is considered that the executives have given their best in tough environment. According to Treanor giving out bonuses if organisation has suffered losses can be fairly considered as meaningless and is definitely not justified (Treanor, 2008). Thus there is a plausibly necessary to develop a new motivational plan based on high commitment HR system (Marchington Wilkinson, 2005) Thus the recommendations to Barclays Bank in short would be: Adoption of a standard employee motivational plan Adoption of flexible time plan Adoption of employees stock ownership plan Employee empowerment Training Development Programme for employees Conclusion Helping employees to achieve higher level of work and motivating them is a multidimensional process for any organisation. Approaches by organisations had been made to address and provide extrinsic motivation and lower- order needs; but there is a need to promote employee well being and happiness. Accepted or not factors like emotions, personalities, attitudes and motivation play a very crucial role in any organisations overall performance. There is therefore a need to keep an open eye towards factors like these and develop effective and efficient training and development programs to help employees. Employee engagement and empowerment programs are call of time at Barclays. At Barclays the employees are given very clear instructions about the behaviour acceptable at the organisation thus including more positive organisational climate and helping employees to connect with this climate would enhance employee wellbeing and ensure that the employees are supported. This approach would help Barclays to climb up the ladder and become a number 1 bank in the world from its 4th position. References Abeid, A. H., 2015. Investigation of Workplace Environment: The Case of Selected Micro and Small Manufacturing Enterprises in Tanzania. International Journal of Engineering Research Technology , 4(6). Apostolis, D. R., 2012. Barclays Bank (Kenya). s.l.:DIC Press. Bernoff, J. Schadler, T., 2010. Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, Transform Your business. Boston: Harward Business Review Press. Burisch, M., 2002. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF BURNOUT: THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF DISPOSITIONS AND EXPERIENCES. Work Stress, 16(1). Christine, A. M., Jordan, P. J., Troth, A. C. Lawrence, S. A., 2007. Testing the links between emotional intelligence and motivation. Journal of Management Organisation, 13(3). Croxword, H., Abramson, F. Jablonowski, A., 2005. The Art of Better Retail Banking: Supportable Predictions on the Future of Retail Banking. England: John Wiley Sons Ltd. Dempsey, J., 2009. NURSES VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR RELATED TO FALLS PREVENTION. ournal of Clinical Nursing, 18(6). Devlin, S., 2008. Employee Satisfaction and Emoytional Intelligence. ALA-Allied Professional Association, 5(5). Huq, R., 2010. Employee Empowerment: The Rhetoric and the Reality. s.l.:Trinity Press. Huq, R. A., 2016. The Psychology of Employee Empowerment: Concepts, Critical Themes and a framework for Implementation. s.l.:Trinity Press. Kahn, H. et al., 2005. TALKING ABOUT WORK STRESS: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR STRESS INTERVENTIONS. Work Stress, 19(2), pp. 121-136. Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A., 2005. Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development. illustrated, reprint ed. s.l.:CIPD Publishing. Mattews, G., Zeidner, M. Roberts, R. D., 2007. The Science of Emotional Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns. illustrated ed. Michigan: Oxford University Press. Patterson, K. et al., 2005. TALKING ABOUT WORK STRESS: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR STRESS INTERVENTIONS. Work Sress, 14(2). Stephenson, J. R., 2013. Barclays - Bankers or Bandits. England: Shiel Crest Publishers. Treanor, J., 2008. "Barclays director lands 14.8m bonus"- The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/feb/20/barclaysbusiness.executivesalaries [Accessed 26 September 2016]. Yusof, H. M., 2016. Unleashing the Power of Emotional Competency Development Program on Leaders Self-Motivation. Asian Social Science, 12(5).