Conflict Management Essay Example for Free

Conflict Management Essay I have read the ACAP Student Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct Policy and understand its implications. I also declare, if this is a practical skills assessment, that a Client/Interviewee Consent Form has been read and signed by both parties, and where applicable parental consent has been obtained. 6th January, 2014. Today I reflect on a conflict that happened recently at work and at times can be an on-going issue within my workplace. Christmas/New Year is the busiest time of the year in the Deli department, and my manager is in charge to obtain enough staff to handle these shifts. Conflict escalated, when my manager began giving 30 hours to all the junior staff, while I was only receiving 8 hours a week. As a result, I was extremely angry with my manager, as I felt, because of my age, I was over-looked for shifts. My manager did not diffuse the situation by explaining her reasons and chose to ignore me, which resulted in this conflict situation initially evolving from a covert situation (non-cooperation) to soon showing attributes and levels from the overt spiral, from Eunson’s (2007) conflict spiral (p. 2). This finally resulted in complaining, which then began escalating to anger and eventually arguments between not only my manager, but with other staff members on my team. On reflection, I would normally not let a situation like this escalate to the point that it did. DeVito (2009), states that interpersonal conflict is inevitable, and that conflict can have both negative and positive effects, depending on how the conflict is handled (p. 278). I belie ve in this effect, this conflict actually did have a positive outcome. After stepping back to cool down, I approached my manager to ask why I had been overlooked. Seeing that I had calmed down, she explained to me that she had planned to give me extra hours in the New Year as she knew I would be taking the time off for study commitments. She explained her hands were tied from management and to make it fair, she divided the shifts between us over the Christmas/New Year period. On reflection of this, my manager was hoping for a win-win for all of us, though at the time I did not see this and chose to enter conflict. Perhaps if I had shown more empathy and better listening skills, for example; taking the time to listen to the needs of others, as well as stating my own needs (DeVito, 2009. p. 280) and worked for collaboration and negotiation instead of a I win-You lose competing attitude where my needs and desires came first and gave little thought to anyone else (DeVito, 2009, p. 279) this situation would not have escalated the conflict spiral (Eunson, 2007, p. 12) the way it had done. 14th January, 2014 Today I reflect on a conflict which happened today between my husband and myself. Based on Eunson’s (2007) conflict spiral model (p. 12), this conflict evolved from a covert situation (non-cooperation) and soon escalated to an overt situation (nagging, followed by a brief argument). My husband was required to complete some paper work for a government department and was given a due date but he had failed to complete it. This resulted in his payments being temporarily suspended. As a result, conflict between us emerged, and a heated exchange of words took place. I had asked him on several occasions whether he had completed this paper-work and each time, I was met with an â€Å"I’ll get to it† response. (Cornelius Faire, 2006, p. 37). states; Wherever possible, the task is to continue the win/win approach, to show others the value and beliefs of cooperation. In this instance, I felt that my husband was ignoring my request to complete this paper-work as not only would this affect his payments, but it would also have an effect of me, and the last thing I wanted was for us to continue bickering and escalate this situation further. After the way I handled my previous conflict at work, this time, I decided to approach this conflict from a different perspective and approach it differently. This time I wanted to keep the conflict in perspective (DeVito 2009) and not blow it out of proportion to the extent it would escalate further up the conflict spiral (Eunson 2007). Instead, this time I sat down with my husband and listened to why he hadn’t completed the paper-work. I needed to understand what he was feeling and why he was feeling this way and as a result discovered that he was unsure on some of the questions and didn’t quite know how to complete it properly. After going through the paper-work with him and helping him complete it, it was sent off and the issue was resolved and his payments restored. On reflection, because I feel I had used a better conflict management technique, and used empathic and objective listening skills (DeVito 2009) I was able to ascertain my husband’s reluctance in completing the paper-work which then resulted in me sitting down with him to help him through completing it. Integrated Statement Reflecting back over the past few weeks, I can honestly say I did not realise that there were different personal styles of handling conflict. Eunson (2007) lists five different approaches to conflict based on conflict analysts Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilman TKI mode. Until recently, my method would be to avoid conflict and rather than face and tackle the conflict head on, I would rather walk away from it. After reading through and analysing both Eunson (2007) and DeVito (2009) texts on conflict management, it did ot occur to me that I could allow conflicts to fester and grow (DeVito, 2009, p. 280) and I was facing a lose-lose situation. My conflict at work, where I now feel I was using the competing mode of I win-You lose (DeVito, 2009, p. 279) realised this mode was in fact causing more conflict within the workplace. Reading through the Thomas-Kilman TKI, I decided to approach my manager with the compromising approach. I knew I would never achieve the result I wanted, and therefore realised that a compromise would be an acceptable outcome where I would achieve at least some positive results. My conflict with my husband again proved I was willing to adapt and change my approach to this conflict. By collaborating with my husband and aiming for a win-win approach, by using effective empathetic and listening skills, this conflict was sorted out successfully. In summarising, I have discovered each of us is capable of using all five conflict handling modes. None of us can be characterised as having a single style of dealing with conflict. We each learn to adapt to the conflict at hand. Certain people may use some of these modes better than others and, therefore, tend to rely on those modes more heavily than others – whether because of their temperament or practice. By thinking a conflict through, and by using active listening skills and using empathy, we can all hopefully achieve a win-win solution to our conflict.

The importance of enterprise computing to enhance business performance

The importance of enterprise computing to enhance business performance Introduction Nowadays Information technology has a rapid growth. Almost every day there are new ideas to improve the performance of technology. It cannot be denied that people who lives today unconsciously depends on technology. Each task did by the people gets many help from technology. For an instance, a hand phone that help us to communicate with our colleagues, the internet that serve certain time information for us and many more technology which made our daily activity become easier. At least we can follow the technology progress so that we dont left behind. Technology has an important role both in our lives and business. A company or organization need to know about the technology to help them to running their task in easier way. They must change their manual way to the automatic one. The automatic system will help finishing several tasks easier. There are several benefits if an organization or a company applying the automatic system. One of the benefits is reducing the production time. Time is an important aspect furthermore now. One second its look like very expensive. Customer wants a product or services which available in certain time. This condition forces a company to work harder for supplying customer requirements. Another benefit is reducing a cost to hire an employee. The automatic system doesnt need many resources to handle the task. For an instance is a telecommunication company. The company doesnt need require many operators to answer customer question about their products or services. The customer only needs to dial a partic ular number suitable to the call center provided by the provider and they will be served by a voice system that will give all the information suitable with the customer requirement. With a hand phone, a customer can get all the information regarding their requirements anytime, anywhere they want. This is a fact that enterprise computing is helping to run a business whatever its scale or to made our daily activity easier. Suitable to the benefits offered by enterprise computing, it can be a references or as a base to keep developing an enterprise computing in the company it selves. Adopting an automatic system is a brilliant way for a company to keep producing and inventing for their own customer satisfaction. See how it is important of enterprise computing for a company to grow up their business and get more rating from their customer. Enterprise computing shouldnt only for a big scale business but also for intermediate and small business too. Essentially an intermediate and small business are need to make an invention to grow their scale to be a greater company that follow the competition with another company. In this case is about customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of work. There is a chance to grow up the scale of business to be the greater on is they can see the opportunity and keep adapt the technology which always change every time. It is because the technology can be applied to all business sectors. For an instance are healthy, agronomic, trading, farming and many others. It is why a company required the technology and enterprise computing in particular. The Enterprise Computing A company has its vision and mission to keep growing. It was suitable with their target stated before. A company commonly wants an improvement at all business sectors. Begin with the essential aspect such as competent human resources, smooth production process and of course good result for its customer. There is no company who wants regression happen on their business. Both Production Company and Service Company want a real improvement for their business. They want increase the effectiveness in doing their tasks, reducing production cost and get a good result. Then when the time has coming to a company to step their business level to the higher one. This company is on transition phase between small business to the intermediate or to the higher level. This phase force a company to change their system in doing all tasks. They must keep an eye to the technology trends. This is related to the pattern or the way how they do all the tasks. Usually it was triggered by customer requirements regarding their success providing a product or services. From the above illustration, a company must have a planning to make a brand new system for improving their available system now. In this case an enterprise computing is the best solution for a company. Enterprise computing offering an easier way to solve a complex task and produce a better results in the end. Enterprise computing it selves is an integrated system that helps a complex task by applying an automatic system or a computer. Enterprise computing has a tight relation with information and technology. In the other side information and technology has a rapid development. Because of that a company requires to follow the development of information and technology for applying enterprise computing it selves. Enterprise computing has a various methodology. It might be too complex to explain. But the main idea is changing the manual system to the automatic one. Imagine the old way of hiring an employee to the company. The HRD staff urgently needs to publish the recruitment opportunity with an advertisement. Then when the employee candidate know about the advertisement, he must be go to the company and asking whether the job still available or not. This way is wasting too much time. Let we compare with the automatic system. The HRD only need to post the job at the internet and providing a form for the employee candidate then when the registrant is enough, the HRD just need to call a several candidates to the next interview process. See how it more effective than the old way. High analysis technique and right implementation of enterprise computing are required. Enterprise computing is not an easy method. A company required to prepare all the plans in a good form and deep analyzing to what their requirement and in where aspect they need to change. The transition phase looks like a challenge for a company to determine their futures. It might be success or failed depends on what their plans before. They must think and forecast what probably happen with their plan yet. Then the percentage of success is higher then failed. In the end there will be a great result of changing their system to be an enterprise computing. There are several benefits of enterprise computing. But it also has a weakness. These two aspects required to analyze before applying enterprise computing for the company suitable with their own condition yet. Advantage and Disadvantage of Enterprise Computing There are several reasons why the enterprise computing might be failed to construct. As mentioned above that an enterprise computing required a deep analysis before implementing it to the current system. The company required to see from many points of view and recognize the information technology development. Then after all carefully analysis the plan should be conducted in a good form. The plan must cover all company requirements. The most important aspect to analyze before all steps of conducting enterprise computing are the advantage and disadvantage of it selves. With these comparisons, the expertise in the company can determine the best way and look for good opportunity to implement enterprise computing. Here are several main points of advantage and disadvantage of enterprise computing in improving business process. Advantage 1. Increase productivity This is the main advantage of enterprise computing. With the enterprise computing applied, a company is able to increase their production. Then they will be generating a product or services suitable to their customer requirements. 2. Reduce operational cost Enterprise computing doesnt need many resource involved in the system. For an instance is a process of recruiting an employee. The old system might be requiring a two or more HRD to handle the task. With enterprise computing applied, it might be able to do with only one HRD. The HRD only sit at the front of his desk and wait the candidates fill the recruitment form online. 3. Reduce operational time An instants product or service became a main aspect today. The faster is better. Enterprise computing is offering a minimal production time. The main concept is the different of conventional system and the automatic one. Automatic system is offering a better production time than conventional way. Each complex task can be done by automatic system without a problem. 4. Gain more result Customer satisfaction is the good result parameter for a company. Customer doesnt care how the process, they only want their requirement provided by a company anytime they need. This condition forces company to gain more result. Again enterprise computing is offering this. Disadvantage 1. Required high problem analysis It might be hard in the beginning of enterprise computing. As mentioned above that high analysis is required before conduct the system. There are many aspects to be analyzing in the beginning. Then the company did not made any mistakes in their planning. 2. Complex at the beginning The complexity of enterprise computing might be hard enough to implement for the beginning but it will not be a trouble anymore in the future. The complexity happens if there are no deep analysis to the problem occurred. This aspect also needs to get attention for developing enterprise computing. 3. Threat from external resource External resource such as a virus needs to get particular attention. The integrated system has a rapid data exchange inside the network. It triggers a new thread of virus attack. The system must able to defense itself from external threat. Installing a suitable antivirus is a good idea to keep the system running healthy and free from virus attack. Implementing Enterprise Computing Planning something is easier than implementing it. There are several main steps that need an attention to implement an enterprise computing to the current system. Here are the steps required. 1. Identify This is the root step of implementing enterprise computing. The entire problem needs to be identifying first. Each company has their own profile, condition and goal. They must gather its carefully. Essentially a company has a challenge to work more maximal. This is related to customer requirement. Customer has a requirement and a company need to satisfy them. If a company doesnt indentify it carefully, customer might be changed their mind to move to another company which can provide an interesting product. In the end this condition would be affecting to company income. Customer satisfaction is an instance of identification required aspect. A company must be more carefully in this step. So that the entire required aspect for developing would be indicate in a good pattern for smoothing the next step. 2. Analysis After the entire factor has been identified, the company needs to analyze it one by one. At this analysis procedure, a company required an expert. A good expertise can analyze a complex problem and break it down in to a part. Then each part is able analyzed by them. The main goal is to determine a plan and solving the problem suitable to a company profile. If each factor analyzed in a good ways then it will be easier to determine the plan. In the end of this step is a planning together with its functional concept and technical field that will be applying for the future. The concept of analyzing it selves must be applied at all business sector without ignoring a little aspect. So that the entire process will be generating a good plan which suitable to company profile. 3. Planning The entire factors that has been analyzed needs to determine a plan. For an instance are the determining of who will handle each task in the process, how far the anticipation if there any problem and the availability of the resource. The right plan will make a company easier to run the system in the future. In a planning process a company needs to compare with their condition right now. The goal is to use all available resource maximally. Then when the implementation is running this problem will not contradict against the internal condition of the company. A good determination of a plan will make the process smoother. The plan to develop an enterprise computing is only the beginning of all steps. The company needs to run this process faster and to the point to reduce the time. There are several complex steps forward. 4. Implementation Implementation is the main step of all recommended stages. The implementation step essentially is applying all plans conducted before. In fact, implementation is the most complex step. However a company doesnt feel afraid to face it. The prerequisite are they already identified, analyzing and planning a good strategy for this. Then at the implementation step they will not face a big problem. The implementation step needs a tight attention so that each plan conducted can be doing smoothly. Diligence of all staff also required at this step to prevent any problem occur that can be disturbing when running the implementation it selves. 5. Running The next step after the implementation of enterprise computing is running the new system. This is the time for the new system to get tested. A good testing is a testing process that covering all details of the system. Then if there any defect found, it can revise faster. A good system is a system with a minimum defect but usually there is no perfect system. Suitable with the previous statement, a company should be investigating the system carefully for their own benefits in the future. A company needs to compare the new system with the old one so that if there is any useful part of old system, it can be applied to the new one to get supported. 6. Maintenance Maintenance phase is a right step to review the new system which has done. At this phase, it might be raising any unpredictable defect. The defect raised can be the bigger or just a little. If this thing happened, the company needs to make a right problem solving in a certain time so that the running system will not disturb with any revising system. A stability of a system is a dream for each company in the world and its might be a prestige to another company for them. A company may get an award if they invented a new system that running smoothly. When the system is running properly then a company will get benefit of doing the entire jobs. They are six steps that need to get special attention from the company in developing an enterprise computing system. A company required to run the entire steps in the right way, so the process of developing an enterprise computing system can be running smoothly and generate a good system in the end. When building the system all staff need to work together. The goal is to gather all information regarding to the current condition of a company. It was important because each staff have a different point of view that maybe conducted to be a good idea. Then when the system is ready to use, all staff will know how to run the system properly. In the end it might be not easy to develop an enterprise computing system but for the internal improvement of the company this method can be implementing to the current system. Conclusion Great improvement of doing all tasks means great result too. This is a dream for each company. Then how to turn the dream in to reality is depends on the system applied. The enterprise computing is the important method. Learning how to apply it might be not easy as the theory but at least the concept of it covered the main sector of a business. With enterprise computing all task done effective and produce a good result. Its only requires a few resources to run the system. It means that the company doesnt require pay too much for employees salary. At this point, it can be conclude that the company reduces the operational cost. There are other benefits of enterprise computing. They are figured that enterprise computing is very useful to improve the business performance. The main idea of enterprise computing is business agility. A business performance is very important in this case. The complexity of each task is needed to break into a part. It is why an enterprise computing is very important here. Enterprise computing is able to do each task effectively. With its capability of doing task effectively, an enterprise computing is suitable for any kind of business sector. Talking about business agility means that the company needs to always ready for the external changes. For an instance if there is any new technology which made their current system left behind, they must adapt the new system as soon as possible. It is because keep the system always update are necessary for the company so that the behavior of the system always adapt the new technology. Enterprise computing not only applicable for big scale business but also for small or intermediate business scale. The different might be only the form of a system development. It cant be denied that big scale business has more chance to develop an enterprise system in a good form. A big scale business has more resource and of course more expertise to analyze the problem occurred. However the smaller business scale has a chance too, even with their restricted resources. Both of them have a same opportunity to improve their business performance. The ideas of enterprise computing are applicable for them no matter about their level. It was their right to be more success on their business.

The Impact of Marijuana Use :: Interview Essays

The Impact of Marijuana Use I conducted each of the following interviews. I obtained verbal consent from the individuals and informed them that their confidentiality would be completely protected. To insure their confidentiality is protected I am using pseudonyms for the individuals interviewed. They were also informed that they could stop the interview at any time with no questions asked and there would be no penalty of any kind if they chose to do so. Interview number 1; female, 47 years old, Africa Board Question (Q): Why do you use? Answer (A): (There is a long pause) †¦it's hard to put into words. I like it obviously, it seems to keep me centered and focused. (Q): What do you get out of it? (A): It is a solitary thing more than a group thing so it is not social, it's not a party thing. I like the quiet, and the focusing. (Q): How long have you used? (A): On and off since I was a teenager. (Q): What are the positives of using? (A): The focusing, it seems like my creativity is increased, and I like getting in touch with nature. (Q): What are the negatives of using? (A): Society's attitude, it seems like there is a lot of judgment placed on marijuana that is not necessarily fair or accurate. (Q): Why do you think society has a particular attitude towards marijuana? (A):I think because of the 1960s when people were experimenting with lots of drugs, people were dropping out of school. The establishment did not like people thinking for themselves so they medicated people with television and propaganda that inaccurately portrays marijuana. (Q): Do you feel addicted? (A) No because there have been times where I haven't smoked. When I went to Mexico I didn't use, it's not worth the risk, not worth jail time. I quit when I was pregnant and sometimes I just don't feel like using. Interview Number 2; female, 29 years old, Jasmine Grant (Q): Why do you use? (A): I don't anymore. It was a social thing. All of my friends were doing it so I thought "why not". (Q): What do you get out of it? (A): It made me feel accepted, not just because of peer pressure but also because my words seemed to flow better and I felt less self-conscious. I liked the way it took the edge off reality. It numbed a small piece of me and allowed me to relax. (Q): How long have you used?

Graduation Speech: Lets Change the World -- Graduation Speech, Commen

Look at us, the class of 2012, with our diversity and respect for one another, I can see that our society has changed enormously in the last forty years a mere decade before County High School opened. I would even say that most of the world has changed from judging people by their race or nationality to judging them by their character. Although the world has matured a great deal we cannot remain in this single state of maturity, we must continue to grow. Now is the time to make a change in the world again. The ambassador of this change is County High School's class of 2012. We can change the world this very hour, this very minute, this very second. The key to changing the world is in each and every one of you. By looking inside yourself and truly understanding who you are you can change the world. By finding out who you are now you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim of the void that lives in the people of today's society. People are in a sea of darkness this day. They continually look for something meaningful that they can hold onto, but are easily distracted by temporary pleasures. While the bell was sounding for them to find themselves they were at the club checking-out the people that just walked in. They were trying to get the high paying job so they could buy the luxury cars. They were trying to fill their emotional void with material objects and lustful fantasies. They never found out what their true delights were, they only listened to what society said could fill their heart and make their pain go away. They never knew themselves. Do not make this mistake in your life. Re-examine your life and find out what made you happy. What class excited your imagination? What was truly great about your past boyfriend ... ...test joys in life seldom come from material objects or non-challenging activities. To truly reach your potential you must conquer your fears and face the challenges that come before you. To be a great person you must be willing to do great things. Every person here is capable of excellence. It is my hope that you take these words and apply them to your life. You are graduating from high school and entering the world of possibilities and responsibilities. You have made friends, had relationships, and gained useful knowledge, all of which has prepared you to harness the possibilities and accept the responsibilities. The greatest lesson you can now learn is be true to yourself. Find out who you are and who you want to be. Fate will dominate your life as long as you let it do so. Take control of your destiny and help our world to become a better world for everyone.

Essay --

1.0 Introduction We had selected Apple Iphone 5s as our for our Fundamental Of Marketing assignment. We select this product it because more and more advanced technology exist in the 21st century. Nowadays, more and more modern human like to pursuit the trend of technology, and there is also one of the main reason that we chosen this product for doing research on marketing strategies, marketing environment, marketing mix and proposal to analysing of this assignment. This product(Iphone 5s) is a touchscreen smartphone that produced by Apple Inc. Apple is one of the most famous and reliable brand in the IT world. Its logo is with a silver colour apple on the back casing of the phone. Iphone 5s has a chip with 64-bit architecture, fingerprint identity sensor, a better, faster camera, and an operating system built specifically for 64-bit in order to bring more convenience to consumer. We were focus on how Iphone 5s competitive with other's brand's smartphone company in Malaysia's consumer market. Company background Apple Inc. is an American corporation that design software, hardware and other consumer electronics. Apple Inc.’s product lines are iPhone (smart phone), iPad (tablet computer), iPod (portable media players) and Mac book (Macintosh computer). Apple or "the company" was established in 1977. Besides that, the company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government and creative customers. It was co-founded by Steven Wozniak and Steven P. Job in Cupertino, California. Apple really started in basement or garage not at the expensive business location. This is the one of the reason so many people intrigued to the brand and could be the reason that the computers were such a success, they wer... ...can send email and text, browsing the web, shooting and sharing great video and photo, getting direction easily. Lastly, the entrepreneurs can organize contracts, access contracts, and have a detail schedule. Not only IOS 7 and Ultrafast LTE wireless function can use by them, they also can use the Touch ID, this is a security system which is using their own fingerprint to set the password, so others cannot open their phone to steal the information and idea in the phone. Positioning Having done the above 2 steps which are segmenting the market and selecting specific target market, positioning is the final part of STP process. According the Apple Inc.’s selling point, ‘’iPhone 5S, the most advanced iPhone ever, with our most forward-thinking technologies.’’ The iPhone 5S is the best smartphone that contains the latest advanced features Apple Inc. has created so far.

Who was the Real Monster? Frankenstein

The monster rose from the table. He stared at the creature whom he had created, then ran away in terror. He ran away because the monster looked nothing like anything he had ever seen before; it was monstrous and utterly terrifying. He thought it would harm him as monsters are commonly portrayed to do. What would any human do in a situation like that? Prejudice is not an emotion in itself; it is an offshoot of fear. He feared the monster, which is why he acted out of prejudice and judged the monster simply based on its appearance. Prejudice is an opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge based often on physical appearance.In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, readers often ask who the real monster is. Is it the monster himself for looking like a monster and killing many innocent people? Or is it Victor for creating such a terrible monster? The answer is neither. When examined closely, it becomes clear that the real monster in Mary Shelley’s novel is prejudice. Becau se of prejudice, Victor is scared of his own creation and disowns the monster. Because of prejudice, everybody is scared of the monster and never even gives him a chance to get to know them simply because of the way he looks. Because of prejudice, the monster kills his first victim.The prejudice against the monster is so great that it even convinces the monster himself that he is a monster and is not worthy of life. There are no characters in Frankenstein that are truly monsters; the only real monster is the prejudice instilled in these characters who do bad things. Victor Frankenstein created the monster with good intentions. In fact, he â€Å"had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation. . . † (Shelley 43). When the monster awoke, Victor feared his own creation. Victor prejudges his creation because he fears what it is capable of and runs away.Victor expresses his fear of his creation when he says, â€Å". . . but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dr eam vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room†¦ † (Shelley 43). Victor thought that the monster would be beautiful and amazing, but upon seeing that the monster did not turn out the way he had expected it to, Victor becomes scared and acts out of prejudice, leaving the room. After Victor leaves the room and retreats to his bed chamber, he awakes from his sleep and beholds the monster.Victor automatically becomes frightened and flees the room, thinking that the monster would harm him. Remember, prejudice is an opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge based often on physical appearance. Victor’s prejudice is evident when he says: I beheld the wretch- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkle d his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seeming to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs (Shelley 44).Simply the words that Victor uses to describe the monster, whom he does not even know, are terrible! Victor calls the monster â€Å"wretch† and calls his mouth â€Å"jaws† as if the monster is some type of animal. The monster even tries to speak to Victor, but Victor does not listen to what the monster has to say because Victor becomes scared of the monster based only on the way he looks. This is a clear example of prejudice. The monster reaches out an arm and, unknowing of what the monster will even do, Victor assumes that the monster is trying to â€Å"detain† him, but he â€Å"escaped and rushed downstairs†.Certainly, Victor’s behaviour is not commendable; however, his actions are a result of his prejudice alone. Not only does Victor prejudge the monster only based on the way he looks, everybo dy the monster meets prejudges him and is scared of him. In the monsters first encounter with a man, the man â€Å"turned on hearing a noise, and perceiving [the monster], he shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable† (Shelley 93).The man sees the monster and, without saying a word, automatically pre judges the monster to be dangerous based only on the way he looks then â€Å"[runs] across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appear[s] capable†. The man did not appear to be a bad man. In fact, his breakfast â€Å"consisted of bread, cheese, milk. . . † (Shelley 93) just like any other normal man. This man is not a monster for treating the monster poorly, it is clearly the prejudice instilled in him when he is overcome by fear that makes him run away from the monster.Upon the monsters second encounter with a human, he enters a house and sees a family who also prejudges him based only on the way he looks. The monster â€Å"had hardly placed [his] foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted† (Shelley 94). The people do not even give the monster a chance to speak. They do not even have the slightest clue what his personality is like. But, they prejudge him and automatically assume that he is a harmful person based only on the way he looks.Some of the villagers even â€Å"attacked [the monster], until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, [the monster] escaped to the open country. . . † (Shelley 94). Certainly, the people of the village do seem like monsters, attacking the monster and hitting him with stones. But, the villagers are not the true monsters. They are simply scared for the lives of their families, so they act out of prejudice and without even giving the monster a chance to present himself, they chase him away unwilling to give him a chance bec ause they do not trust somebody who is so horrific looking.It is clear here that it is solely the prejudice in them and nothing else that makes them drive the monster out of the village. Upon his third encounter with humans, the monster is living in a hovel that is joined to a cottage. Through a hole the monster sees the inside of the cottage and learns about the family that consisted of: a blind father, an unhappy son, and a sweet innocent daughter. The monster becomes attached to the family and â€Å"when they were unhappy, [the monster] felt depressed; when they rejoiced, [the monster] sympathized in their joys† (Shelley 100).The monster does everything he can to help the family out while remaining hidden. In fact â€Å"[the monster] often took [the son’s] tools, the use of which [the monster] quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days† (Shelley 99). The family was very happy about this, and â€Å"when [the dau ghter] opened the door in the morning, appeared greatly astonished on seeing a great pile of wood on the outside† (Shelley 99). Had the family found out that it had been some ordinary man helping them out, they would have thanked him and greeted him with joy.But, when the family saw the monster, â€Å"Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward and with supernatural force tore [the monster] from his father. . . † (Shelley 123). It is clearly evident here that prejudice is the real monster in Frankenstein. The old man is blind, and upon meeting the monster he does not run away, or faint, or attack the monster. The old man greets the monster and treats him just as he would treat anyone else. Remember, prejudice is an opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge based on appearance.The old man is blind so he could not prejudge based on the monster’s appearance however, Agatha, Safie, and Felix all see the monster and prejudge him based on his appearance alone; thus acting out of prejudice. The old man could not prejudge, which is why he did not treat the monster poorly. Again, it is clearly evident here that the people are not truly monsters; it is the prejudice in them that makes them behave badly. Throughout the novel, the monster is treated poorly because of prejudice.Ironically, he also kills his first victim: William, because of prejudice. At first sight, the monster says that William was â€Å"a beautiful child, who came running into the recess [the monster] had chosen, with all sportiveness of infancy† (Shelley 131). However, upon hearing that the child’s â€Å"papa is a syndic- he is M. Frankenstein. . . † (Shelley 131), the monster â€Å"grasped [William’s] throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at [the monster’s] feet† (Shelley 131). This clearly shows the monster’s actions are a result of his prejudice toward s his creator.Because he finds out that the William’s father is M. Frankenstein, he prejudges William to be just like Victor Frankenstein- the monster’s creator, and takes William’s innocent life. The prejudice against the monster is so great, that it convinces even the monster himself, that he is a monster! The monster’s creator, Victor, is prejudice towards him. The family the monster loves and cares for greatly is also prejudice towards him. Every single human other than the blind man who could not be prejudice, is prejudice towards the monster!Even a pure innocent child like William is prejudice towards the monster! It is absolutely clear through all of these examples, that prejudice is the real monster in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Prejudice is still evident in today’s world, with major issues such as racism, as well as events in the past such as the Holocaust. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley warns readers about prejudic e, and it is important that people are not prejudice in their lives today so that all tragedy can be avoided.

The Count of Monte Cristo and King Lear

It is man’s path to struggle with his destiny and writers have long written about such a battle in a man’s inner soul. In the works of Alexandre Dumas and William Shakespeare such a battle is best described in their comparable works, â€Å"The Count of Monte Cristo† and â€Å"King Lear†. It is the purpose of this paper to present either novel, and the main male protagonists in the stories and pit them against each other as well as have them share in their twined destiny of faults, failures and eventual redemption.Dumas weaves a story about a man, Edmond Dantes whose life becomes entangled in another man’s vengeance and is subsequently doomed to life imprisonment. These actions are out of the protagonist’s control as he is neither aware of the person for whom the letter is intended that he is carrying to Paris (it is actually supposed to be given to Bonapartist father) nor of the rival against him, Danglars. It would thus appear as though Dant es is allowing his destiny to be overtaken from his free will.In Shakespeare’s â€Å"King Lear† Lear also allows to be a rather flotsam figure on his own path, being lead this way and that, not from a guidance of reason but by happenstance, bad luck, and fate. Blindness is recognized in the play by Lear’s grotesque nature and how he cannot stand to see the world, or kingdom he created. In King Lear’s distrust of his daughters he one by one makes himself disowned by them I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad. I will not trouble thee, my child; farewell.We'll no more meet, no more see one another. But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; Or rather a disease that's in my flesh, Which I must needs call mine. Thou art a boil, A plague sore, an embossed carbuncle In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee. Let shame come when it will, I do not call it. I do not bid the Thunder-bearer shoot Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove. Mend when th ou canst; be better at thy leisure; I can be patient, I can stay with Regan, I and my hundred knights.† (Shakespeare II. iv. 1514). Blindness is a factor in either author’s tale. For Dumas, he allows his character to remain faithful to himself but also he makes him blind to the events and circumstances surrounding him. Dantes is sent to prison, but it is in prison where he finds Abbe Faria, who teaches his about philosophy, languages, music, history, and it is in this knowledge that Dumas allows the hero to gain self confidence that he would not have otherwise come to had he not been imprisoned.It seems that either author depends a great deal upon unusual circumstances and luck (either perceived as good or bad luck) to progress the plot forward for the characters. Both characters have to face where their loyalties lie, or where the people’s loyalties lie who surround them. In â€Å"King Lear† the focus of the married daughters who are proven to be evil and usurpers of their fathers power while the younger daughter, the innocent unmarried one proves to be the only supporter King Lear has although he blindingly distrusts her from act one.The theme of â€Å"King Lear† is suitably that of loyalty from the female caste whether in faithfulness or disloyalty. With the theme of loyalty there must also be a theme of vengeance as these two factors often walk hand in hand. It is proper for Dantes to want to seek vengeance on an unjust act done to him out of jealousy from Danglars. Although it takes Dantes nine years for his plan to put into action, it takes Lear merely three acts for his vengeance to take shape on Cordelia’s life and Lear’s blindness. For, what is the purpose of having a protagonist who does not learn anything?Lear learns of his mistakes with distrusting his daughter Cordelia and by trusting his other daughters- therefore, because he was blind to this distrust in a metaphorical sense he must be made blind p hysically in order to find redemption for his actions. Dumas takes a different approach in his protagonist’s story. Dumas gives Dantes an education as well as a treasure but the idea of vengeance swallows any joy he may have gleaned from his newly found position in life as the Count of Monte Cristo. It is with a heavy heart (after finding out about his father’s death) that Dantes goes to Marseilles and then on to other European cities.Despite this occupying thought of revenge, Dantes does manage to try and save Caderousse, but is unable to help the man because Caderousse's greed is his downfall. Although he is given two chances of redemption from Dantes he falls into a life of crime and is killed. Both authors need to have progression, change or punishment in their works in order for the reader to find the humanity in the protagonists, for, without their humanity Dantes’ revenge would be a fool’s errand and Lear would not have blinded himself after seeing the error of his ways.The parallels of greed in political power (another form of the grotesque in Shakespeare’s play) are presented in how Goneril and Regan seek political power by their ability to strip the King of all his train of followers, by rejecting the King’s title, and turning him out into the storm, â€Å"†¦entreat him by no means to stay† (III. 1. 297). Also, Edmund has high political aspirations by allowing Gloucester to be blinded for his own political gain, â€Å"Hang him instantly [Regan]†¦Pluck out his eyes [Goneril]† (III. 7. 4-5), and he usurps Edgar’s legitimate title as the future Earl of Gloucester.Furthermore, Kent and Edgar both lose their nobility, the Earl of Kent is banished for his honest defense of Cordelia, and Edgar loses his claim to nobility through the deceit and trickery of Edmund. Political greed was also seen with Caderousse as well as Dantes’ other enemies who have grown wealthy and more corrup t since he has been in prison. Both author’s hinge their characters on the edge of redemption and give them each a scenario in which they can either grasp this ultimate gift and be free of blame or hate, or they can become criminals of love and honor.The authors are the same in this account, they allow their protagonists to find their redemption: For Lear, it is blindness, for Dantes it is shown in the mercy he gives to his enemy Danglars. In their redemption either man finds love again: Cordelia’s for her father Lear and Haydee for Dantes. Bibliography Dumas, Alexandre. â€Å"The Count of Monte Cristo†. Penguin Classic. 1992. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"King Lear†. Penguin Classic. 1998.