Social Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Psychology - Essay Example taurant and hotel management about it, because he was my friend and I didn’t want to compromise our friendship and working unity over something like this, I didn’t say anything. Another time, I also took food from the cafeteria, along with P.M. He took most of it, but I kept a couple of sodas. The third time, I stole three steaks on my own. I think I wouldn’t have finally been fired for stealing, if I had done the right thing and reported P.M. This itself could be considered counter-factual thinking, though, because it is not rationally based: the past happened, and I cannot go back and change it, to make it fictional. I also saw these events with P.M. as being progressive and related to each other, but counter-factually, this could mean I was just ascribing meaning to them which they didn’t really have. B-Some psychologists suggest you can reduce cognitive dissonance by restoring positive self-evaluations that are threatened by the dissonance. Elliot and Devine (1994) refer to this as self-affirmation. Give an example of a time in your life when you reduced an unpleasant internal state in some self-affirming way. One time, I was able to overcome a bad situation in my life in a self-affirming way, using my sense of morality. I wanted to list examples of their morality may be more prone to give an accounting of their personal beliefs than what they see to be a proscribed function of weighing behavior by a set standard. â€Å"An affirmation is more effective when stated in the present tense. For example; "I now have a wonderful job." Avoid affirming something in the future tense, e.g. "I am going to have a wonderful job" or the results will always be waiting to happen† (Self, 2010). Therefore, ethics is perhaps a better measure of district leadership practice than morality, as it is seen as being less intertwined with belief systems than it is with more generalized (good or bad) behavior in relation to oneself and others. Like morality, ethics are

First Degree Murder Defenses Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

First Degree Murder Defenses - Assignment Example As per the US state law, murders are claimed to be 1st degree, if the following criteria are fulfilled. The basic elements of this form of murder are â€Å"willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation†. The â€Å"1st-degree murder† in some states of the US is considered as applicable for ‘felony murder rule’. This implies that if any accidental death occurs due to the reason of some violent felonies, such as burglary, abuse, kidnapping,  and robbery, it is also regarded as 1st-degree murder. With reference to the provided case, Kim is convicted of the murder, which was accidental in nature. However, the alleged surrendered herself to the police after she identified and realized the death of Michael Thomas (Thomson Routers, 2014). Contextually, defenses are sub-categorized into two forms ― first, the defendant should have submitted justification that he/she had not committed the crime of murder intentionally and second, is he/she should have condemned the crime. To justify their actions regarding the suspect of murder, victims usually use the subsection laws of self-defense and defense to other individuals (Thomson Routers, 2014). As per the US state of law, ‘1st-degree murder’ is a severe offense, which can result in unforgiving punishment. The degree of punishment may, however, vary in different states due to rudiments of crime and ways of defense. The degree of sentences to condemned murderer also depends upon the state law, decision of the court and strict legal rules who determines the concerned facts about the case. Again, the punishment of the victims of the 1st-degree murder may also vary as per the evidence and justification provided on the basis of sub law of self-defense and defense to others (2Thomson Routers, 2014). As per the case statement, Kim Johnson was charged with ‘1st degree murder’ for the killing of Michael Thomas. She claimed for self-defense and defense to others as well. She argued with justification that as per the law of self-defense, Michael Thomas would have entered the premises by seeking her permission.

Basic Hazardous Waste Management essay 2 (Blackman, 2001)

Basic Hazardous Waste Management 2 (Blackman, 2001) - Essay Example Another site Valley of Drum, was used for same purposes the waste material is processed here this was affecting the environment badly. In order to monitor all such activities and make them legal and harmless for the people government decided to set the rules and regulations as a result interim standard was written in 1986 and it was finalized in 1991 by the congress.(McNulty, 2009) The government decided to train people in order to attain the maximum success of saving their lives. These people are supposed to clean the hazardous waste material safely. The two paragraphed standard was written in which all the details of how to train people and their how to assure their health while they are working on specific site are mentioned. (McNulty, 2009) The key components that must be followed to evaluate the case given in description i.e. evaluate an abandoned industrial paint manufacturing facility with a good size field of 250-300 unknown, unmarked drums in the open field next to the manufacturing building are to analyse the operations carrying on in the manufacturing plant of paint factory and then cleaning up the waste material from the site next to the plant. The unmarked drums should be processed and identified; action should be taken if the steps against the standards of HAZWOPER are taken. MTBE stands for methyl tertiary butyl ether, chemical used in composition of fuels. This chemical is affecting our environment badly; it is used in fuel manufacturing companies. In United States of America MTBE is used in motor vehicle fuels as oxygenate and in gasoline as well. The main issue with the usage of MTBE is when it leaks from underground gas tanks and get mixed with

Animals and the Myriad Ways They Can Kill or Heal Us Essay - 3

Animals and the Myriad Ways They Can Kill or Heal Us - Essay Example This is in as much as the sting from the bee itself is fatal if the subject in discussion has encountered a fierce be attack from many bees whose result is incapacitation if not death. On the bright side, controlled bee stings are probably one of the first natural cures for arthritis (Krylov et al., 2007, p. 23). In the ancient civilization of countries like Egypt, India, Greece, Babylon and china bee venom was used for apitherapy. The bee venom in itself is composed of very complicated mixtures and combinations of peptides, very low molecular components and proteins (Bogdanov, 2012). In this mixture the main compositions are proteins and peptides. Its fresh counterpart mainly differs from it in regard to the volatile components but the biological activity is similar. Polypeptides: the constituents of polypeptides are the very small organelles that are composed of more than one amino acid with the main component of it being the melittin. This main component contains 2840 daltons and as a result it assumes a tetrameric form (Giri, et al., 2010, p. 95). The melittin and the protein electrophoretic patterns are typically of the honey bee species. Proteins: this component in itself is one that is catalysts specific in its reaction and since bee venom has around 5 enzymes, there is existence of very small quantities of very minimum or low molecular compounds which in themselves are not similar in any way (Bogdanov, 2012, p. 6). These may include amino acids, sugars, minerals and catecholamines. In the case of sugars, we see that they have been identified in bee venom preparations which is collected with a collector while preventing the likelihood of a contamination by pollen and nectar thus in most cases if not all, it usually does not contain carbohy drates. Composition of the dry matter of bee venom: The protein group has components that include Phospholipase A2, phospholipase B and hydraluronidase. Its counterpart i.e. peptides has

Service blueprint for Coyote LocoServices marketing Essay

Service blueprint for Coyote LocoServices marketing - Essay Example The lines of visibility refer to the management decision on what a customer should see and which waiters will be in contact with customers. The decision of the manager is to keep resources such as the chef out of sight so that the customer will believe that the staff are working hard. The internal interaction consists of the interaction between the marketing staff and the restaurant assistants, the relationship between the kitchen staff and the chef, the janitorial crew and the kitchen helpers. The company recently retrained its staff to reduce flight delays and improve interaction with customers. The result was more passengers and the continued profitability of the company The five tangible cues or indicators of quality from the customer's perspective are these: a.) tangibles - which refers to the physical facilities, equipment and the appearance of personnel; b.) reliability -which refers to the ability to perform the promised service accurately; c.) assurance - which refers to the willingness to help the customers to provided excellent service; c.) responsiveness - which refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust in the customer; and d.) empathy- which refers to the caring and individualized attention the restaurant p[provides to its customers. All the steps in the process are necessary to attain a high quality of service.Standardization is possible and advisable throughout the process for as long as quality, reliability an d responsiveness are observed by all the employees.The potential fail points are located in the waiting time and the transaction time. Waiting time is incurred in the preparation of the menu and the drinks which may result in lower customer satisfaction. The possibilities to reduce the perceived time is by providing cable television for the customers to watch, magazines and newspapers in the area, offering of free drinks and engaging banter with the customer.They could be designed out of the process, or what service recovery procedures could be introducedThe potential measures of performance are as follows: excellent technical quality, right image of the restaurant based on the promise of service provided by advertising and market communications and excellent functional quality. The technical quality knowledge giver is expected to know the offering in depth and detail so that information about its utility and application can be provided on demand. He or she must also be technically competent to deliver the service expected, adapting as needed to varied or changing customer need. The first service is provided by the chef and his kitchen staff. The second level of skill pertains to functional quality which is also known as customer relationship. Here it is often as simple as whether the service -giver treats the customer as a unique and important individual to be served. The waiters and service managers carry out the second type of service which consists of welcoming the customer, providing them the menu cards and collecting their bill. Service with a smile is easy to propose, difficult to impose. Smiling is

The Political Theory of Alexander Hamilton and Its Reflection in American Political System Essay Example for Free

The Political Theory of Alexander Hamilton and Its Reflection in American Political System Essay Alexander Hamilton was one of those political thinkers whose theory shaped the political profile of the young American nation. A theoretician of republicanism, author of about a half of the Federalist papers, signatory of the Constitution, friend of Washington and somehow an aristocratic idealist, Hamilton left a legacy, which continues to influence America until now. This legacy can be found in Hamilton’s works on political philosophy and state building. In turn, these works were written not only by a Founding Father, but by a man, thus every piece of Hamilton’s political writing is deeply personal, reflecting not only abstract mediations, but practical experience. In this paper, I will attempt to analyze certain Hamilton’s ideas to prove that his theory had a strong relation to drafting, adoption, application and interpretation of the basic American constitutional instruments. In this theory, Hamilton managed to reconcile such controversial matters as liberalism, aristocratism, democratic values and political centralism. This complex theory became a practice of American government and American people. Accordingly, America is still affected by Hamilton’s individual reflections, insights and mistakes. Review of Literature on the Subject Hamilton’s personality and Hamilton’s political views have attracted scholars ever since 1800-s, this, for the purposes of this paper I will review only certain landmark works presenting various approaches to the subject. An example of Hamilton’s comprehensive biography is â€Å"Alexander Hamilton† (2004) by Ron Chernow. This book presents a classical view of Hamilton as a national hero and a founding father. Another classical approach is demonstrated in â€Å"Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government† (1970) by Gerald Stourzh. The book offers an image of Hamilton as a patriot of the Republic and influential theoretic of centralized government. Another approach to research on Hamilton’s heritage is presented in classical â€Å"Alexander Hamilton† by Henry Jones Ford first published in 1900. The book presents Hamilton as occasional figure torn by inner controversies, admirer of Britain and a latent monarchist. A contemporary view of a famous conflict inside the federalist movement, including conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson is available in â€Å"Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character† (2000) by Roger G. Kennedy. Hamilton’s view of human nature Even the most perfect political system would not work in case it contradicts human nature. A government and a people consists of individuals sharing all virtues and weaknesses peculiar to human species. Thus, Hamilton’s starting point was understanding of human nature, including nature of those men who are vested with authority. As put by Hamilton himself, principles of human nature â€Å"are as infallible as any mathematical calculations† (Stourzh 76). Rosano argues that Hamilton’s â€Å"predominately and radically liberal conception of human nature is based on Locke’s concept of liberty, Hobbes’s concept of power, and Machiavelli’s concept of the â€Å"effectual truth. † (Rosano 61). This rather tricky combination was a result of Hamilton’s controversial views formed by demonstrative superficial idealism and deep inner skepticism. This controversy, probably, has never been resolved by Hamilton himself. His nature was profoundly aristocratic, what he proved by his duel with Burr. Hamilton chose to die as a nobleman in spite of submitting a dispute for judicial consideration as a profound democrat would do. On the other hand, Hamilton admired the ideas of European Enlightenment with their call to democracy and self-government. Perhaps, Hamilton would be happy to see a free community of noble individuals without vices; however, he realized that such vision is practically impossible. This antilogy made Hamilton skeptical about human nature itself. He pessimistically noted that, â€Å"A vast majority of mankind is entirely biased by motives of self-interest† (Stourzh 78). Later Hamilton claimed such views openly when he wrote of â€Å"deductions for the ordinary depravity of human nature† (Federalist No 78). These Hamilton’s position corresponds to Hobbes’s concept of corrupted human nature which has to be oppressed by the government in order to preserve peace and stability (Stourzh 73). Surprisingly, Hamilton simultaneously managed to admire the theory of Hobbes’s eternal opponent Locke, who worshiped the natural state of man as a supreme value. To what extent has Hobbes advocated power, to the same extent had Locke strived for recognition of human rights. Hamilton shared the ideas of the latter when he wrote: â€Å"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power† (Stourzh 14). According to Hamilton, implications like love, liberty, desire of happiness, and public good are deeply rooted in every heart (Rosano, 63). This makes a contrast to his early writings of human corruption. It appears that Hamilton suffered from mismatch between that what he wanted to see and that what he actually saw. This should be taken into account when analyzing Hamilton’s political heritage. For him the government was an instrument for bettering human nature and prevention of its corrupted manifestations. Deep understanding of Hamilton’s political theory is impossible without consideration of this peculiarity. Hamilton’s Political Theory Theoretical views on politics shared by Hamilton are best reflected in the Federalist papers, about a half of which were authored by Hamilton personally. Seemingly, there is no crucial issue which Hamilton would not touch, yet his primary concerns were necessity of Consitution, separation of authority between the federal government and the states, powers of the central government, as well as issues concerning national bank, national debt, national armed forces and navy. Hamilton venerates the people as a source of national will, yet this will has to be presented by someone, and this â€Å"someone† is likely to be corrupted. Hamilton’s response was a system of direct ties between the people and the central government, which would not be interrupted by intermediaries in the person of local authorities. In his letter to governor Morris Hamilton wrote: â€Å"it has ever appeared to me as sound principle to let the federal government rest, as much as possible, on the shoulders of the people, and as little as possible on those of the State Legislatures† (Chernow 774). This view caused Kapstein to assert that â€Å"No other American statesman has personified national power and the rule of the favored few so well as Hamilton† (Kapstein 36). And indeed, in his most influential theoretical work reflected in the Federalist papers Hamilton speaks as an advocate of a stronger union between states which is likely to secure rights of the people inside this state. According to his idea, a slimsy confederation of half-independent states is likely to sink in inner conflicts, thus making the rights of the people insecure and the entire union vulnerable to foreign invasions. To justify this view Hamilton once more referred to the corrupted human nature by observing that â€Å"to presume a want of motives for such contests as an argument against their existence, would be to forget that men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious† (Federalist No 6). Envy, national conflicts, territorial disputes, apportionment of national debt, senseless scholastic debates, disputes upon private contracts: all this, According to Hamilton, is likely to ruin a Union (Federalist No 7). Thus, the Confederation appeared to be insufficient to preserve the union. Powers of states had to be strongly limited for the common good. Central government could impose such limitations only. Hamilton’s idea of the central government is quite authoritarian, causing allegations of monarchism and betrayal of ideals of freedom. Hamilton’s views on this subject were strongly affected by his personal experience during the Revolutionary war. The work of a procurement officer performed by Hamilton during the war was not heroic but very necessary. During this period Hamilton desperately fought against Congress’s foot dragging in every matter of supplying the army (Kennedy 36). This pretty logical idea has been reflected in the Constitution and the American Bill of Rights, although there are at least two basic problems with it. Firstly, elimination of state authorities with aim to reduce the influence of human corrupted nature is a two-edged sword. The problem is simply raised from the state level to the federal level. A federal government controlled by unworthy people was probably Hamilton’s nightmare, especially in a situation when the states have no considerable opportunities to oppose the corrupted central government. The second problem is in delegation of powers. Mutual consent may be a good theory; however, it is never practically achievable. Thus, there exists a notable problem of defining those powers which have to be delegated to the central government and which should not. One more criticism of Hamilton’s theory came from his opponents like Jefferson. A strong central power will have a strong army and police to enforce its decisions and protect the union. These institutions are likely to be used by the central government to expand its powers against defenseless states (Stourzh 198). As regards matters of finance and taxation Hamilton, surely, advocated centralized taxation and centralized banking system based on national debt. According to Hamilton, this would enable to centralize and effectively apply the resources of a nation (Federalist No 30). Yet this idea, as understood by Hamilton himself, would bring about the issue of inequality, since those who borrow assets to the central government would tower over the rest of the people (Kapstein 37). Some response was provided by Hamilton when he wrote that â€Å"The loans it might be able to procure would be as limited in their extent as burdensome in their conditions. They would be made upon the same principles that usurers commonly lend to bankrupt and fraudulent debtors, with a sparing hand and at enormous premiums† (Federalist No 30), however, it appears that Hamilton simply tried to escape the problem. As a Secretary of the Treasury, he obviously realized the need for centralization of assets through banking and taxations system, however, as a freedom idealist, he could not have avoided the view of national indebtedness as a burden imposed on every free person. Current situation with national debt demonstrates that Hamilton simply chose the bad from between bad and worse. Centralized financial and taxation system did enable to preserve the Union in hard times, however, currently America faces the negative consequences of such preservation. This is Hamilton’s theory where the roots of the present situation are found. In his conclusive remarks to the Federalist Papers Hamilton notes that â€Å"there would appear still to remain for discussion two points: the analogy of the proposed government to your own State constitution, and the additional security which its adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and to property. But these heads have been so fully anticipated†¦that it would now scarcely be possible to do anything more than repeat† (Federalist No 85). However, American national history proves that these crucial issues were far from explained both in the time of Hamilton and in the following decades. Hamilton has not offered a universal solution; he simply suggested one of the possible models which, as any models, had its strong and weak points. Perhaps the USA survived thanks to these strong points. However, this does not mean that the weak points never revealed themselves. Practical Application of Hamilton’s Theory The most notable practical application of Hamilton’s political teaching is the Constitution of the United States of America, whose most furious advocate Hamilton was. The Constitution follows a model for division of powers proposed by Hamilton, including a single legislative body consisting of representatives of the people, a unified executive system, unified judiciary. Exclusive right of the central power to solve the issues of taxation and public debt. In accordance with Hamilton’s idea, the Congress has a militia under its command. Thus, Hamilton’s political model was eventually reflected in the organic law of America. Application of this organic law appeared to be more complicated. Not less important than the adoption of the Constitution were sharp debates about its application in the late 18th and early 19th century. Perhaps the most controversial issue around these debates was Hamilton’s doctrine of implied powers, contrasting Jefferson’s idea of strict interpretation of the Constitution (Kapstein 37). The doctrine of implied powers began to flourish already after Hamilton’s death in the judgments of John Marshall, Hamilton’s confederate, who served as Chief Justice. Centralization of American government was completed after several rulings rendered by Marshall in such landmark cases as Marbury vs. Madison (1804) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Cohens v. Virginia (1821). At that, the Constitution shaped by Hamilton was used as a mighty tool for centralization. In Marbury vs. Madison Marshall determined that the judicial power of the United States is extended to all cases arising under the Constitution. To support this Marshall created a pretty logical construction pointing out that as long as the Constitution is a supreme law, the Supreme Court is empowered to review all cases where the Constitution is concerned. This was the first application of Hamiltons implied powers doctrine, but far not the last. Another direct reference to the doctrine was the Supreme Court judgment in McCulloch v. Maryland, where Chief Justice Marshall put a period to application of Hamilton’s idea of centralized power and centralized banking. By determining that the Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitutions express powers, in order to create a functional national government and that the State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government (Smith, 89) the Supreme Court made the states entirely dependent on the central government in every matter related to the Constitution. Deserves noting that by referring to implied powers Marshall laid grounds not only for application of Hamilton’s political heritage, but for subsequent violations of Constitutional rights. Thus, just few years after Marshall’s death, his theory proved to be a double-edged sword. Conclusions Rosano fatefully observes that Americans are happy and â€Å"the founders are celebrated because they had the chance to prove their virtue; they were virtuous because they loved liberty and the public good as well as fame† (Rosano 72). This passage is very much applicable to Hamilton. A revolutionary hero and a prominent author, he presents a perfect set of virtues admired in America. It is hard to find another figure which would be so momentous for America as Hamilton was, perhaps with exception only for Washington. However, being a momentous figure, Hamilton gave America not only liberty and virtues, but a sense of helplessness against central government, as well as long-lasting problems such as national debt. The controversies of Hamilton’s theory made American political system controversial. Numerous attempts to fix this by subsequent amendments and court decisions prove that Hamilton’s model is viable, but far from ideal.

A comparison of Old Mrs Chundle Essay Example for Free

A comparison of Old Mrs Chundle Essay Old Mrs Chundle is a short story set in a village in southern England. It was written by Thomas Hardy between 1880 and 1890. It is a story of a kind popular at that time, a gripping story which is amusing but also has a character we can sympathise with. It is set against the background of country people to whom religion and the clergymen who represented religion were very important. Clergymen were treated with great respect and people attended church services regularly, with the church activities being a main focus of their lives. This was especially the case in rural communities. A Visit of Charity is a short story set in a very different place, a small town in America in 1949. It concerns the activities of a Campfire Girl, which is a kind of Girl Guide, and the sort of group which middle class girls of that time would join. These girls would take the aims and activities of the Campfire Girls seriously, and the story is about Marian, who is visiting the elderly in order to acquire points. She needs points to obtain a badge. Both stories have a common thread which makes them comparable, although they are so different attitudes to and treatment of the elderly and to charity, in the sense of caring for the elderly. Both concern the interactions between a do- gooder ( Hardys curate) and Weltys Marian) and old ladies (Mrs Chundle and the old ladies in the Home) In Old Mrs Chundle we meet the curate, new to the parish, who wants to create a good impression, certainly to his superiors. He is a refined young man who sketches he thought he would make a little water colour sketch. He does not speak in the dialect of the locals which shows how he is socially above them and more educated than them. He uses patronising phrases such as my good woman. He is not able to understand what makes a person like Mrs Chundle tick, as he does not have any experience. The rector, who is from the same social background as the curate, has learned a few things from experience, and warns the curate you should have left the old woman alone. The curate cannot understand why anyone would lie about going to church. He is not able to cope when things become difficult or messy and he gives up. When the smell of Mrs Chundles oniony breath blasts into his face from the ear trumpet, such a unpleasant incident as could be expected from an elderly person, is outside of the curates ideal world. He is disheartened and discouraged easily when faced with a setback. He immediately plans to back out of helping Mrs Chundle, preferably without telling her. This shows the curate as a rather cowardly person. It would have been better for him to explain to Mrs Chundle that his idea had not worked, and that he would try to think of something else. He only wants to help her in a superficial way in order to promote himself as doing the job as he thinks it should be done. He cannot cope. He avoids going to see Mrs Chundle after the pipe is removed so as not to have to discuss it with her, and by the time he does go, she is dead. He then feels guilty at having let her down and that she thought so highly of him she put him in her Will, and kneels in prayer. However this is only for some minutes, then he rose, brushed the knees of his trousers and walked on. In other words, he brushed Mrs Chundle away. The image of him brushing dust off his trousers is a symbol of brushing away the old lady. However, the death of Mrs Chundle upset him his eyes were wet and Hardy tells us that the curate was a meek young man. The curate stood still thinking, and perhaps he was considering how badly he had handled the situation. Hardy leaves us to wonder whether the curate really does not care about what has happened, or whether during his reflections he has considered better ways of dealing with people in the future. Mrs Chundle is portrayed as an independent and capable old lady she grows and cooks her own food, and runs a comfortable home. She respects the clergy I dont want to eat with my betters. She has never travelled. No one seems to have helped her overcome her deafness and she is pleased by the curates efforts, enough to put him in he Will. Yet she does have neighbours who care about her. The gulf between the social class of Mrs Chundle and the curate is emphasised by the fact that he is never named and she is. Marian, in A Visit of Charity is by contrast a young teenager. She is going to visit some old ladies whom she does not know in a Home, for the purpose of earning Campfire Girl points. She does not really want to do this as she is frightened of what she might find. She only takes a plant to earn an extra point. Her main interest is to get away as quickly as possible- any old lady will do. She probably feels under pressure from the girls in her group to acquire these points, so as to be the same as all the other Campfire Girls. The nurse at the home is impersonal and cold. She is not very responsive to Marion as she has seen Campfire Girls before and knows why they have come. She represents the institution she is dress in white (a cold colour) her hair is like a sea wave (the sea is cold and you can drown in it). The language used in the two stories helps to set the scenes and enable the reader to picture the situations and understand the characters. In A Visit of Charity, the scene is set at the beginning as a very cold day. The American term Campfire Girl shows us that the story is set in America and the description of Marions clothes gives us an idea that the time is late 1940s to 1950s. The atmosphere in the story is cold. The Home is on the outskirts of the town, isolated rather than in the cosy centre. The city is said, ironically, to have beautified the Home with dark prickly shrubs. The author uses the ideas of hot and cold, light and dark to paint a rather grim forboding picture of the Home. The character of the nurse is given formal language, which symbolizes the coldness of the Home. She speaks curtly and strangely formallyAquainted. Instead of do you know or have you met. She refers to the plant by its Latin name multiflora cineraria instead of as a pretty plant. She says Visitor! to the old ladies, as if this was a command instead of an introduction. The nurses speech is short sharp and sparse which is unfriendly. Her mode of speaking adds to our image of the treatment of the old ladies being a time wasting duty or unpleasant job rather than them being treated as people who need care. The two old ladies have a conversation rather in which they repeat what each other say Did not Did so. Pretty flowers they are not pretty. By use of this kind of repetition, there is emphasis on the pointlessness of the conversation, and the pattern of the words, pretty and not pretty draws the readers attention to this. One of the old ladies refers to the plant as stinkweed and the adjective stink could refer to the ladies or to the Home. During the visit, in the old ladies room, Marion has difficulty speaking Marion breathed. She also forgot her own name. Yet a sharp contrast is presented when she leaves the Home to go back into her own world, because she shouts a command to the bus driver wait for me. In the Hardy story, the language often reflects the different age in which the story was written and uses words or constructions which strike us as old fashioned for example, had not been a week passed on his way hither. The curate had a cambric handkerchief. The language used in the speech of Mrs Chundle is strange to us but if read aloud, the patterns reflect her west country dialect. The words given to the curate and to the rector contain only formal language ,similar to the story itself. The language is quite stilted, compared with that in A Visit of Charity, which is more similar to todays language. Hardy conveys the warmth of Mrs Chundle in her dialect, and in the detail of her home a wood fire sounds cosy. Her foods are warm boiled bacon onion stew and they are homely. The rector is put across as a warmer, gentler character than the curate. The rector has been in his job for thirteen years which conveys an older more experience man. He chuckles which softens him compared to the curate. Old Mrs Chundle consists of formal old fashioned English, and speech dialect. A Visit of Charity consists of less formal English, because it is American and was written later. The speech is not in dialect. There is more variety of language in Old Mrs Chundle. The old ladies in A Visit of Charity are portrayed as insane and physically repulsive like a sheep bleating. The Home is horrible. It smells like the interior of a clockThe old ladys hands were claws and one of them screamed. The whole place made Marian feel sick. Eventually Marian escaped through the heavy door. The whole experience made her scared of old people, since these old ladies were presented as being so unpleasant and frightening. The grimness of the Home is conveyed by the imagery of the heavy door through which Marion escapes (as if from a prison). The picture is completed by the prickly plant outside of the heavy door. If the Home were warm and welcoming and a kindly place, the door would have been described as being made of a warm type of wood and there would have been pretty or attractive plants and flowers as a welcoming sign. The imagery of a kind of prison frontage, coupled with the day being cold gives us an impression of the attitudes of the Home. Whilst Mrs Chundle is portrayed as an eccentric deaf old lady, she is shown as real and warm, with a home. She has neighbours and is part of a community. The curate tried to bring her into the church. However, the old ladies in A Visit of Charity are portrayed as mad and disgusting, made more so by their horrible uncaring surroundings and impersonal carers. The two stories show how care of the elderly had changed in the years between when they were written from being respected within a community to being degraded in a Home, and only visited for the visitors motives. At least the curate, although he does not entirely have Mrs Chundles welfare as his main concern, does do something to help her, but nothing is done for the old ladies in the Home. A further contrast between the two stories is shown in the way we are introduced to the elderly people. In Mrs Chundle, our character is referred to by name frequently and she has a charming way of speaking in the west country dialect; dialects often depict warm, simple types of people. In A Visit of Charity the nurse tells Marion there are two in each room and Marion wonders of what are there two. The nurse is actually referring to elderly people but shows by this expression no respect for them. She also does not greet them by name she rudely announces visitor not even explaining who the visitor is. This shows how the old ladies in the Home are regarded with contempt and as of low importance, certainly not as proper human beings. The thoughts of Marion likening some of her experiences in the Home to sheep and bleating enhances the impression conveyed to us of the care or other wise of the elderly ladies. One old lady does refer to her room mate as old Addie but it is not clear whether that really is her name or just ranting on the part of the old lady. These two stories illustrate the giving of charity in different ways. In the Old Mrs Chundle, the curate tries to help the old lady mostly because it is his job, but she is shown as being in a community that cares. Although the efforts of the curate were short lived and perhaps not from purely selfless motives, the neighbours cared for her and she lived in her own home and was happy in her own way. The curate was not really cruel to her and she appreciated him more than he deserved. However, in A Visit of Charity no caring character appears and no character gives anything to the old ladies the nurse is doing a pain job and the girl is gaining points for herself. The old ladies get nothing from these two people. It is probably rare for anybody to totally give of themselves for nothing in return, but in these two stories, the character who gains most is clearly Mrs Chundle. The stories illustrate the fact that the best care and concern comes not from paid workers ( curates or nurses) but from the people in the community (in the Hardy story the neighbours, but they could be family). Care of the elderly in the late nineteenth century rural England and immediately post war America is not really comparable. However, there has been for many years a decline in care in communities and the help of neighbours family or religious organisation and an increase in care from social workers medical workers and paid homes. This is a trend in societies in the western world, where the elderly are increasingly thought of a nuisances (the government does not want to increase the Old Age Pensions as it thinks the money can be better spent, and hospitals do not want to treat old people as some doctors find it more cost effective if the old person dies) rather than as assets to be respected for their knowledge and experience. The contrasts in attitudes to and care of the elderly in the two stories studied reflect these trends.