Throughout both The Aeneid and Iliad these works, each of the main characters are “chosen” by the gods in some way and have gained favor not only because of their birth (the partial sons of gods or goddesses) but also because they are destined to fulfill a certain fate or prove themselves in some other way. This essay will argue that each author’s representation of the gods having a direct influence on he lives of mortals is symbolic of this “glory age” in which each author was trying to capture and it will also explore the ways these two protagonists are different and similar in terms of the societies they are shown to be living in as seen in both works.

The gods in both The Iliad and The Aeneid are shown not only to have a direct hand in the lives of mortals, but also, they are shown to be choosy about who they wish to help. The reasons behind their motivations and decisions isn’t based on any modern Christian notion of who “deserves” to have the honor “Greek religion embraced powers and fears of all kinds. As we have seen, its gods were within the world, one that they did not create. These powers—gods, nymphs, and other spirits—did not die (ordinarily) but were born. The Greek gods had favorite humans and intervened in human affairs, but they did not live within the human heart. They were powerful, but their power had limits.

 All gods, including Zeus, were subject to fate” (Powell 123). The fallibility of the gods is apparent in both works since they are capable of being defeated and they have emotional impulses that drive them to make decisions. They are not represented as being all-powerful, and are prone to vices and nepotism. Although The Iliad and The Aeneid  were written in entirely different eras with different political structures and cultural systems, both Homer and Virgil (as well as their readers) would have had a similar understanding of the gods and these characters. Both pieces were written during times of political and social strife, and this could be part of the reason why both texts, particularly Homer’s (since the Aeneid was written in a corresponding style) are heavily invested in depicting a “golden era” where mighty heroes of war lived long adventures and were aided by the direct hands of the many gods. There are many important quotes from both the Aeneid and Iliad that reflect these themes.

Achilles and Aeneas are similar in the sense that they have received favor from the gods, partially as the result of a sort of “divine nepotism” and also because they stand out from ordinary men because of their military or physical prowess. Both of these from The Iliad and The Aeneid characters are a mix of the two, thus making them worthy to receive the direct contact. Perhaps what is most strange, at least to the modern reader (steeped, whether voluntarily or not) in the traditions of Christianity, is that although Aeneas seems to deserve his gifts, Achilles does not yet has divine favor nonetheless.

While Aeneas is proud, he is not arrogant. He is a warrior, but he has the capacity for great love and sympathy and instead of abandoning his fellow soldiers in a time of need, he rallies them with a moving speech. In these ways he seems to be a hero worthy of the divine intervention and to make an even stronger case for that, he is the direct descendent of a god. Achilles, quite unlike Aeneas, is very aggressive and often without the sympathy or kindness (until the very end) shown by Aeneas. He is quick to react negatively and holds grudges. He is, in many senses, not worthy of what the modern reader might think of as a great person, but he has superhuman strength and is the descendent of a god as well. One cannot help but question why they receive equal intervention, but then again, the gods are seen as fickle and nepotistic in both works, sometimes favoring the wrong cause and proving them to be prone to making bad decisions.

The gods occupy a strange role in the Iliad and the life of Achilles. “The gods do not meet the expectations of the human characters. They do support the Greeks, but for reasons that have nothing to do with morality. They love and they hate, but they never talk about justice. Thus the narrator gives us the impression that Troy must in any case fall, that the Trojans are victims of a power that men, however virtuous, cannot conquer” (Kip 381). In the Iliad, there is a particularly poignant statement made by Ares in regards to his role in the lives of humans when he states in one of the important quotes from The Iliad by Homer, “We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows/ we suffer—thanks to our own conflicting wills— /whenever we show these mortal men some kindness. (Iliad 5.346-348). It is clear from this statement that the gods realize their failures yet they continue on the behalf of their chosen mortals, Aeneas and in the Iliad, Achilles. Both Homer and Virgil show that the gods are not perfect and that they are capable of recognizing their own faults. In a cultural/religious context, this is a potent statement since it reveals that this is not a society that believed in the ultimate righteousness of their gods, but rather knew that they were prone to same fallacies of mortals. Keeping this in mind is important in the analysis of the two protagonists of each texts since many of their actions are based on these gods’ wills and decisions. While they may react differently (Aeneas with submission and Achilles with rage and defiance) the fact remains that they are just as much out of control in some senses as the gods that, through all their bickering and self-interest appear to be.

One of the biggest differences in between Achilles and Aeneas in terms of their interactions with the gods and subsequent decision is the way they handle this divine intervention. In the Iliad, there seems to be an underlying tension that Achilles carries about the fact that so much is already determined for him. He already knows his fate and although he does have the choice to settle down to the life of comfort he wishes for, he still decides to go and fight (partially for the glory rather than because of any sense of duty, it seems). This tension is apparent when he is speaking with his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, and she asks him what is troubling him. Achilles’ response reveals quite a bit about his feelings about this intervention as he shoots back, ““Why tell you what you know” (Iliad I.423). This is an enlightening scene since it shows the way Achilles reacts in the face of the divine influences, even if this one is his own mother. It also reveals the extent to which he knows his actions are being observed and that there is perhaps some hostility in this. It could also be that this is a more modern interpretation of this line and Achilles is not in fact angry, but is merely stating a fact. No matter which way the reader chooses to look it at though, he still knows that the gods are watching and finds out later that they are prone to favoritism, error, and violence.

Unlike Aeneas in the Aeneid, Achilles is prone to fits of rage and although he may seem a bit daunted by the interference of the gods at times, they do serve to help him curb his very worst character flaw—rage. For example, when the reader is first shown how aggressive Achilles is, they also quickly learn that gods who favor him act as balancers to his anger. Recall the scene in which Achilles is ready to kill Agamemnon without a thought, but Athena intervenes and explained in one of the important quotes from The Aeneid by Virgil, “It was to check this killing rage I came from heaven, if you will listen. Hera sent me, being fond of both of you, concerned for both. Enough: break off this combat” (Iliad I.243-246). Not only are the gods then shown to have favorites between these two prominent men, they act as personality moderators and seem to know the outcome—presumably that Achilles will win this fight and kill Agamemnon.

In some ways, it only seems fitting that Achilles’ capacity for rage and outbursts of childishness are sometimes unchecked by the gods. After all, the gods themselves, while bickering about the fate of the mortal Achilles, are prone to their own angry outbursts and childish scenes.  Hera challenges Zeus’ decision to punish the Greeks in revenge for Achilles’ dishonor, and later she directly intervenes in the midst of a successful Trojan onslaught, angry at their successes. “In these instances her anger is not described in conjunction with a reference to thumos, but at other times she surely has a thumos—‘Now Hera, she of the golden throne … her thumos was happy’ (Iliad 14.155). Even Aphrodite admits to having a thumos when she addresses Hera: “Speak forth whatever is on your mind. My thumos is urgent….” (Iliad 14.195). Only Thetis among the goddesses is particularly liable to sorrow” (Koziak 1066). Again, as with the mortals that have been chosen, the gods themselves are victims to the same sorts of emotion (thumos)-driven battles that Achilles and Agamemnon are open to. When viewed in this context, the actions of the gods in both texts are seen as entirely fallible and one can’t help but question whether Aeneas has been somewhat more foolish that Achilles in devoting himself to their fickle wills.

Still even though one may question the issue of the reliability of the gods, the fact remains that Aeneas does put a great deal of stock in their will. On the other hand, the gods are beneficial—at least in their eyes—because they think they helping Aeneas overcome a flaw. Very much as with Achilles, Aeneas’ “negative” personality traits are counterbalanced by the actions of the gods. By calling a trait “negative” in Aeneas’ case, this would be his devotion to the vengeful Dido. The gods know that he has a prophecy to fulfill, thus they serve as constant reminders of his duty and don’t allow him to slip into a domesticated life with a woman that he obviously loves. When they send him the divine message that he must leave Dido, he obeys, and thus is obeying the will of the gods (who, when one really thinks about it, are merely playing off of his domestic instincts by invoking his father’s name). Although the personality traits are very different between Aeneas, the fact remains that the gods serve to make them hold true to their purposes by causing them to act in ways that cancel out their bad habits and undesirable ways of acting of believing.

It truly seems as though Aeneas, unlike Achilles, is more willing to bow down to the pressures of the gods—even if he might think they have erred in their judgment. “Aeneas has long been recognized as a sort of proto-Stoic, struggling with variable success to achieve self-control and obedience to Fate. At the beginning of his journey, however, he momentarily resembles an Epicurean philosopher even as he engages in an act of conventional pietas. When his attempts to uproot a small tree to deck his altar twice cause the bark to drip blood (Aeneid 3.24-29), he tries to discover the hidden cause of this bizarre phenomenon” (Dyson 449). This is a rare moment of symbolism in the text and reveals Aeneas to be searcher for truth. Strangely though, his truth is not found in his own emotions, which the gods seem to deem as secondary to his fate, but his undaunted belief in this will seems unshakable and the fact that he questions the smallest signs would lead one to believe that he wishes to know the meaning of things.

In this cultural context (gods playing a direct role in the lives of mortals) one sees clearly that both Homer and Virgil, by attempting to reconstruct a romanticized past of glorious wars and great heroes, must have these men being directed by something divine. What makes these two characters so similar is that they both are the children of one god (thus the nepotism angle) and that they both possess outstanding features. While Achilles is the strongest man, he is prone to violent outbursts, but the gods temper this flaw. While Aeneas has a strongly emotional side, this too is counterbalanced by the wishes of the gods. Even though they have these two things in common, it is clear that their biggest difference lies in the way they react in the face of divine intervention, but more importantly, how greatly they wish to put stock in entities that are prone to making rash decisions. It would be difficult to engage in any meaningful discussion about either of these heroic characters without mentioning the gods, thus this paper has sought to represent the two in order to compare and contrast Achilles and Aeneas.

Works Cited

Dyson, JT. “Fluctus Irarum, Fluctus Curarum: Lucretian Religio in the Aeneid.” American Journal of Philology 118.3 (1997): 449

Kip, A. Maria Van Erp Taalman. “The gods of the Iliad and the fate of Troy.” Mnemosyne 53.4 (2000): 385.

Koziak, Barbara. “Homeric Thumos: The Early History of Gender, Emotion, and Politics.” Journal of Politics 61.4 (1999): 1068.

Powell, Barry B., and Ian Morris. The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2002. 123.

The use and misuse of journalism as an instrument of propaganda is one of the central motifs in Orwell’s 1984, and the concerns that George Orwell articulates in his novel 1984 (as well as in other novels by George Orwell such as Animal Farm) are as relevant today as they were during the author’s own time, if not more so. The primary consequences about which Orwell worried because of media manipulation were individuals’ loss of a critical thinking faculty and the diminished capacity for self-expression. Contemporary readers of 1984 may justifiably have the same concerns.

As this thesis statement for 1984 by George Orwell attempts to unravel, one of the main concerns about the damaging psychological and sociological impact of the media is articulated early in the novel, when Winston Smith first engages in the subversive act of beginning a journal. Winston has been contemplating the act of starting a diary for some time, and, as stated in one of the important quotes from 1984,  “[f]or weeks he had been making ready for this moment” (Orwell 8). He had bought a journal in a shop, though he knew it was wrong to do so. He had also procured a pen and some ink. The reader gets the sense from this, among other quotes in 1984, that Winston is acting out of a certain urgency, that in fact, he has something important to record, for himself, certainly, and perhaps for posterity as well.

Indeed, the narrator of 1984 tells the reader that Winston planned the diary with the hope that he could “transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running inside his head…for years” (Orwell 8). Yet a curious thing happens to Winston when he touches pen to paper. At first, he is seized up with anxiety, realizing that he had thought so much about the act of writing that he had not thought much at all about what he was actually going to say. Initially, he draws a blank that is as pregnant as the page that is waiting for his words. The narrator of 1984 observes that Winston “… seemed not merely to have lost the power of expressing himself, but even to have forgotten what it was that he had originally.

The sense that Winston’s capacity for critical thinking and self-expression have been robbed from him are amplified by the fact that when Winston is finally able to translate his thoughts to the page the reader learns that Winston has not written in so long that his handwriting is tentative and “childish,” “stragg[ling] up and down the page” (Orwell 8). No one in Oceania needs to write because all thought and information, or more accurately, propaganda, are conveyed through telescreens. As Winston writes, in one of the important quotes from 1984 by George Orwell, his hand takes over and he abandons all “capital letters and finally even…full stops,” writing with an intense need about even the most seemingly mundane subjects (Orwell 8). He begins by describing the previous evening’s outing to the movies, and then describes the movie, which has obvious symbolic significance, and his own reaction, which is even more meaningful: “i dont suppose anything happened to her nobody cares” (Orwell 9). Winston is beginning to recuperate his capacity for critical thought and self-expression, as well as memory, which had eluded him earlier. The continued battle for self-expression however will be almost as difficult and as challenging as living in a repressive society where the media are instruments of hate, misunderstanding, and misinformation.

While Orwell’s novel may seem allegorical, it is not difficult to see that there are clear parallels between the kind of environment that he describes in the dystopic 1984 and our own fragmented world. As Cohn points out in his thesis statement for 1984 by George Orwell, an astute analysis of media tactics following the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, it is not even the intent to misinform or propagandize that is most dangerous. Equally as treacherous, and perhaps even more so, is the unconscious use of certain kinds of linguistic resources to subtly establish and consistently reinforce American dominance. Facts and information become distorted quickly when media outlets reports stories by using non-neutral words and descriptors that are by no means value- and judgment free. Speaking specifically of the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, Cohn, citing Fisk, writes that the United States’ media treatment of the Middle East region is characterized by euphemisms and misleading descriptors that convey subtle but clear messages about what Americans believe and for whom they should side. Cohn writes, “the ‘occupied territories’ are called ‘disputed territories,’ Jewish ‘settlements’ have become Jewish ‘neighborhoods,’ Arab militants are ‘terrorists’ but Israeli militants are just ‘fanatics’ or ‘extremists,’ and civilians killed by Israeli soldiers were ‘caught in the crossfire’” (25). Such reporting techniques are not unique to the American media’s coverage of events in the Middle East, though. Coverage of other countries’ and continents’ events, and our own domestic news is characterized by the same kinds of linguistic manipulations. Instead of reporting facts and trusting that comprehensive coverage of information will permit people to exercise their critical thinking and render their own judgments, the media are used to shape Americans’ opinions. Like Winston Smith, those Americans who question the “facts” or who deviate from the official interpretation of events and the opinions that should be adopted as a result are rendered suspect.

Orwell’s novel was an exercise in futuristic imagination, and a warning, of sorts, against a government and a society that robs its citizens of their capacity for critical thinking and reasonable, authentic self-expression. While many of the events and experiences described in 1984 may have seemed absurd at the time at which the novel was written, and may still seem exaggerated in some respects today, the reader who pays attention to current events and current media strategies realizes that the world as George Orwell envisioned it is not so different from the world in which we are living. Orwell was right to be concerned about these issues, and so should his contemporary reader.

Works Cited

Cohn, Majorie. “Understanding, Responding to, and Preventing Terrorism.” Arab Studies Quarterly 25.

Kosicki, Gerald M. “Problems and Opportunities in Agenda-Setting Research.” Journal of Communication43.2 (1993): 100-120.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Plume, 2003.

James Fenimore Cooper was one of the first novelists to enjoy great fame as a result of his literary career and although some may argue that this is because the subject matter was entertaining (rather than instructive or socially conscious, for example) the fact remains that he was able to introduce Americans to their own frontier. A writer in the style of romanticism, James Fenimore Cooper was enamored with tales of the outdoors and encounters with strange and often hostile people or forces. This material was well-received and because of his literary success James Fenimore Cooper was able to produce his large body of works throughout his lifetime.

James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, although the family soon moved to New York where his father, a prominent judge and member of the government set up a new town called Cooperstown. After an unsuccessful stay at college, James Fenimore Cooper joined the Navy and enjoyed some deal of success commanding a ship as a lieutenant. Many of his works would eventually reflect his knowledge of the ocean as a wild frontier just as he also wrote about the American frontier in a number of other stories and novels. Interestingly, aside from his military background, James Fenimore Cooper knew little about the American frontier although in many ways his story came to define it.

He began writing as a young married man and his stories that involved sentimental and highly romanticized plots, settings, and characters were extremely popular with the ever-growing number of readers in the United States. Many of his stories were simply tales of adventure although his most important work, “The Last of the Mohicans“ remains in the literary canon today because of  its complex portrayal of white and Native American interactions. While there are certainly elements of the tale that would be, at least in modern times, rather “politically incorrect” the novel does offer a striking realistic understanding of this relationship.

The Last of the Mohicans (as well as the other books featuring Natty Bummpo) explored such themes as the wide open country, the new population of the frontier, battles at sea, and living by one’s wits. While these themes were intensely popular with the general American public and gained Cooper notoriety with a number of other contemporary authors, his works were not always well-received in literary circles. For instance, Mark Twain thought Cooper’s works were akin to romantic drivel and he wrote a long piece entitled “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” in which he criticized James Fenimore Cooper’s stories for being formulaic, too much enamored with romanticism, and highly implausible. At one point, he writes,  “In his little box of stage-properties he kept six or eight cunning devices, tricks, and artifices for his savages and woodsmen to deceive and circumvent each other with, and he was never so happy as when he was working these innocent things and seeing them go” (Twain 89). Still, despite such harsh criticism from an American literary master, Cooper managed to continue enjoying great success.

James Fennimore Cooper seemed to have little trouble creating stories rapidly and although they generally dealt with the same general settings and themes, they brought him a great deal of success, both in terms of money as well as literary prestige. By the time The “Last of the Mohicans“ appeared on the scene, “James Fenimore Cooper had become a national figure, although critical judgment in New England condescended to him. He founded the Bread and Cheese Club in New York, a literary society of which he was the moving spirit” (Van Doren 288). This club flourished in the city as writers, both romantics and the emerging early realists came forth. Interestingly, James Fenimore Cooper was quite politically active in his community in support of liberal causes but he saved his views for the newspapers and other forms of non-fiction. Despite what he may have thought politically, his stories were usually removed from current debates and set in a land where such things did not matter. While he may have had something to offer readers politically, he instead offered them a chance to consider the American landscape and their relations with Native Americans. In addition to this, he also opened new avenues in romantic writing by incorporating adventure.

Aside from The Last of the Mohicans, Cooper’s most important literary contributions include The Spy andThe Pioneers. Fenimore Cooper also wrote a host of short stories. Again, both of these texts are romanticized adventures that offer his readers, both past and present, a new way to look at the American landscape and offers us a unique chance to consider how our relationships with our land and native peoples have changed throughout the years.

Twain, Mark. Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses. 1838.

Van Doren, Carl. The Cambridge History of American Literature Book II/Chapter VI: Brown-Cooper. New York: 1921.

The following are a few examples of adjectives in sentences that will highlight a few important points. You will notice that all adjectives are in bold lettering and upon closer inspection, you will notice that the bold adjectives are being used to describe the main subject (or subjects) of the sentences in question.

The girl took her blue ball to the playground.
The tall, lean man had a face that was long and grizzled.
The website offering extended definitions of adjectives was very simple but easy to navigate and full of useful information.

All three of these sentences with the bold adjectives range in their level of complexity. For the first sentence, the only adjective present is being used to describe (which is the main function of adjectives) the ball. If we wanted to get more descriptive in this sentence, it would be perfectly acceptable to add another adjective, say for example before the word “playground” that would describe what the playground was like. Did you notice that the first two sentences contained the adjective just before the subject they were referring to? That is quite common and often sounds the most natural when spoken.

As demonstrated above, there are no rules about using adjectives multiple times in a sentence and this is demonstrated even further in the second and third sentences. Notice that the last two examples use several adjectives, but they all describe different elements of the sentence as they refer to different subjects. The last example of adjectives, for example, has adjectives that describe not just the main subject of the sentence, which is the website, they also describe how easy it is navigate (thus clarifying a verb) and also describe what the information is like.

You might be wondering why the word “easy” is not in bold in the last sentence since it appears to be a descriptive word. While this is a word that is describing an element of the sentence, the word “easy” is not describing a subject of the sentence, it is rather modifying the meaning of the verb navigate. When you have a descriptive word that looks like an adjective, make sure to double-check that the subject is not actually a verb since that will mean that what you have is not an adjective, but an adverb.
There are various types of adjectives that apply to different situations you will encounter as you learn more about adjectives and proper grammar. Below are a few important types of adjectives you might want to learn more about so you can help decide what is and is not an adjective and how the adjectives should be properly used in sentences:

Extended Definition of Attributive Adjectives : What is an Attributive Adjective?
Part of the term “attributive” means that something has attributes that are being applied. Attributes are like characteristics; they are aspects of a particular thing, place, or person and the perfect way to reveal attributes is through the use of adjectives, since the goal of attribution is to describe and quantify. Attributive adjectives are the easiest adjectives to identify because they simply come right before the noun in question and directly apply to that subject distinctly. Here are a few examples with the attributive adjectives in bold.

She had long braids that hung across her freckled shoulders.
He took a deep breath and ran across the green meadow.

These are quite simple, see? All you need to do to determine if an adjective is attributive is to see if it comes in right before the noun it is describing. Remember that this can sometimes be tricky if you’re not careful and you could actually find yourself staring at an adjective rather than a
attributive adjective, predictive adjectives, absolute adjectives, substantive adjectives, Proper adjectives.

Some of the greatest dangers children face today are issues that can be address through any healthy and educated approach to mixed martial arts. For instance, obesity rates for young people are at an all time high and this is in part due to a lack of physical activity. Mixed martial arts encourage healthy behaviors and promote exercise that uses all parts of the body. Furthermore, unlike other forms of exercise that are simply physical in nature, mixed martial arts also requires mental agility—the ability to think quickly. Children who are overweight due to inactivity often sit and watch television or remain immobilized on their computers and mixed martial arts gets them moving both physically and mentally. These are young people who are sedentary and their only experiences with martial arts or self-defense comes from what they learn from the television. Unfortunately, the self-defense they learn on television has little to do with what might be required of them in terms of physical and mental agility. While they may think that watching self-defensive action and thinking about it might help them react with appropriate force in a threatening situation (such as forced abduction, for instance) the reality is they will be entirely unprepared. In short, mixed martial arts can address two valid concerns many parents have about young people; inactivity and its related effect on weight, as well as the ability to fight back if an abduction or other physical altercation occurs. The dangers posed by mixed martial arts alone, especially since no competitions would be allowed, are by far less drastic than the dangers this art form could protect children from.

One critic of mixed martial arts defines the fights that occur in competitive events “nasty, brutish and short” but does note that “while the lack of rules has always been one of the attractions of the sport, ultimate fighting has introduced limitations as the sport has progressed” (Shimo 53) and notes that the most “dirty” and violent of moves, including “hair pulling, eye gouging, and clawing your opponent are illegal” (Shimo 53) although these and other fighting tactics, including hits to the groin, still happen when fights are particularly intense. These are elements of mixed martial arts, but the sport has undergone a change as it has been forced underground and also forced to change some of its most brutal aspects. What is most critical to this discussion is that these negative aspects of the sport concern adults and how they choose to practice. For children, especially in the controlled environment being proposed here, these violent, aggressive, and injurious competitive situations would never be allowed to exist. Children in any mixed martial arts training program would be coached on how to make what they learn applicable only in appropriate situations and to understand that the benefits of such training are to be kept to the self, except in the case of a violent struggle.

Although there are problems with the current image of mixed martial arts, for this to become a truly accepted sport for children, there needs to be more oversight into the matter. One publication notes that “Currently, there is no single governing body for youth mixed martial arts competitions. Rules vary from location to location. In some organized matches, blows to the head and elbow shots are prohibited. A fighter can win when the opponent taps the mat or by a knock, which for kids means the opponent becomes unsteady” (Weekly Reader 970). This is still a rather violent set of circumstances without much consensus about rules. In other to overcome its negative associations, a better, more standardized set of rules to protect the safety of participants will be required if they are under a defined age. Additionally, those opposed to this sport for children, including many parents who refuse to permit their child to participate based on negative assumptions, will need to see that more oversight and regulation is being performed in order to accept this more widely. The sport has a long way to go to become accepted and more rules, such as requiring particular sorts of headgear and protective items, need to be firmly instituted and enforced.

The best way to counter both the negative stereotypes associated with mixed martial arts and to overcome bias by parents who fear their children will be seriously injured is to make people more aware of what this sport is actually about. Too many special interest groups who have pushed for a ban on the sport are blinded by the violence they see in select events and do not understand what a positive effect the practice of this sport could have on young people. This is a sport that requires physical and mental agility, empowers young people (especially if they are in a situation that calls for a necessarily aggressive or self-defensive act) and gives them self-confidence. It gets them away from the television and video games—which themselves come with more violence than this sport ever will if taught and practices in a safe, controlled, and restricted non-competitive environment. In short, children are going to be denied the opportunity to develop their mental and physical capacities through mixed martial arts based on a series of negative representations by the press. These groups make exaggerated claims about the overall danger of the sport outside of the competitive context and are thereby eliminating a possibility for some young people who are just waiting for the right sport to spark their interest in physical activity for life.

Works Cited

Shimo, Alexandra. “Nasty, Brutish and Short.” Maclean’s Magazine 10 March 2008: 52-55.

“Teen throwdown: should ultimate fighting for kids be banned.” Weekly Reader 5 May 2008: 970.

Nine methods of research/identify and choose most aligned
Historical – A historical method involves an attempt to recreate the past objectively and accurately, often in relation to the tenability of a hypothesis. This method is often highly reliant on the work and/or observations of others and involves “detective work” (Isaac 45) as the researcher pieces together evidence to support the hypothesis. In gathering this evidence, the researcher must be diligent in making sure there is integrity in the data used through a systematic and disciplined approach to the primary and secondary sources, which provide the material. This method has much in common with a critical review of literature as it addresses many materials as the source of support for the hypothesis, with an internal and external critical structure that examines issues related to (and not limited to) motivations of the authors, limitations to the study, and other aspects of contamination to the materials used.

Descriptive – As its name suggests, this requires accurately presenting a full description of facets and features of the topic of interest or the population in question. Unlike many other forms of research methodologies, description is limited in that it does not make attempts to draw connections, parallels, and form predictions; it merely describes or makes a full compilation of the issue at hand. These can include reports, surveys, and other data that can be collected, analyzed and accurately and without conjecture or the need for argument, described.

Developmental – These studies examine patterns and trends that demonstrate growth, declines, or general change across time. It examines not only the patterns and associated correlations between time and the declines or patterns of growth, but also looks at rates of change, general trends, and the factors that prompt the changes. These can include longitudinal and cross-section studies as well as more general developmental/change over time studies.

Case and Field – As Isaac most succinctly puts it, these studies seek “to study intensively the background, current status, and environmental interactions of a given social unit: an individual, group, institution, or community” (49). Case and field studies take a broad approach to their subject and seek to explore nearly every facet that has any influence on the subject, from a detailed history to an exhaustive analysis of the environment or context. While this is ideal for a broad examination of topic as it can allow for chronological structure, it can also be streamlined to fit with a narrowed-down hypothesis and become a highly detailed study of one sole issue. Isaac notes that despite the similarity between the two, a survey study looks at many variables across a small sample, whereas a case and field study is large in scope, encompassing numerous variables and possibilities.

Correlational – Correlational studies examine how variations across factors correspond to one other with the basis being on correlation coefficients. This is a valuable format for a study that seeks to examine many variables and relationships at once and is used for complex studies with large amounts of data to synthesize. It allows for a more nuanced set of results that does not simply prove or disprove something, but demonstrates the nuances by showing how far or distantly related (or not) variables are. It should be noted that this method tends to ignore cause and effect relationships and lends itself to ambiguous results.

Cause-Comparative or “Ex Post Facto” – This method seeks to define potential causal relationships by observation and then research into the factors that might lead to this cause and effect paradigm. One of the most important aspects of this research is that it relies upon data that has been formulated after all events in question are complete and requires the researcher to go back to prior studies or data to look for relationships, connections, and conclusions.
True Experimental – This type of study examines causal relationships through experimental and control groups; the experimental group receives the treatment (or other application) while the control, to test for effectiveness, for example, does not get this treatment/application. Random assignment is a crucial component to research of this type.

Quasi-Experimental – To approximate the conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not allow the control and/or manipulation of all relevant variables. The researcher must clearly understand what compromises exist in the internal and external validity of his design and proceed within these limitations.

Action – “To develop new skills or new approaches and to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or other applied setting”.. In essence, this is research with an immediate practical application.

My research methodology will be causal-comparative/Ex Post Facto, which will allow me to explore the relationship between how environment affects a leadership style and/or the supplemental issues of what impact a supervisor has on overall morale. Since the events have already transpired, I will go back through the data and, using external sources that explore similar possible connections, attempt to draw upon parallels that do or do not exist, depending on the final results.

For instance, without doing at least a preliminary literature review first, one might find that the central research question chosen has already been written about extensively and with a great deal of concurrence among the scholars, thus making it an unsuitable topic as the argument is far too easy and obvious. Since a solid research question rests on the writer’s ability to make a valid and contestable argument, only the literature review process would reveal that a topic is either “done to death” or has life left for a new reworking or new way of conceptualizing it. In addition to revealing these possibilities (or lack of them) a literature forces the writer to engage with other scholars who have worked with the same topic and to consider the nature of their research (for example, it’s limitations) and use this to further solidify the final product. This in turn leads to the revelation of new avenues in terms of broader theories to look at more closely and points to related sources that might not have been immediately discovered.

In terms of my own topic related to the effects of supervisors on employee morale in the workplace, I found that my initial research question, while interesting to me, was far too broad. An initial scan of the literature available revealed that this was indeed a topic that had been written about extensively and with the same conclusion—that yes, there is an observable impact on how employees relate to their supervisors (on many levels), thus reading several pieces on this topic led me to realize my topic needed refined far further. The next step I took was to look at the many pieces I had gathered as possible sources and to look for common themes in some of them. As this process continued, I was able to use a thematic approach to narrow down my topic and this guided me through long process of deciding what among this existing literature was still worth arguing and what would make the most valuable contribution from my questions. This process also prompted me to research theoretical principles I came across that were unfamiliar and required a process of sub-research areas. These secondary concerns then helped me form some rudimentary secondary/supporting questions. In short, writing a literature review is important because it forces evolution of the first working hypothesis—sometimes into something barely related to the initial idea.

While the focus of my research (or any research, for that matter) is incapable on its own of achieving the wide goals stated above, it will provide data and analysis that can be implemented within a practical scenario. While it is only one contribution among an existing wealth of related data, insight, and observation, it examines an important interaction that can be of benefit to employers, employees, human resources personnel, and anyone else concerned with personal and interpersonal dynamics, especially as they relate to hierarchal structures of hierarchy and subordination in the workplace. This research will not only aid in helping readers to understand this aspect of society (as it exists in our professional lives) but will allow for suggestions of possible future trends in the area of supervisory issues as they relate to employee morale.

To be more specific and less “global” in response to this question, this answer is suggesting that in a desire to achieve the greater overarching needs as a piece of social research, a synthesis of information and conclusions about how morale is directly related to the supervisory relationship (on both sides) can be formed and can provide informed speculation on the future of the trends analyzed while also indirectly suggesting certain truisms about our society at large. For instance, when reading in the literature that there is an observed lack of correlation between incentives and morale when compared to morale and a positive supervisory relationship, I need to consider the larger societal context, which is gleaned from valuable social research in other fields, as well as that specific to my topic. This collection of information can be absorbed and compared to conflicting data, as well as that which I have gathered on my own to form a singular conclusion that simultaneously refutes, corresponds with, and hopefully blazes some new ground. If I am able to do this effectively, I have achieved some of the most valuable targets in social research.

In the field of physics, which is one of the most predominantly male-oriented disciplines in the sciences, this is particularly the case. While there may be lip service paid to the idea that more women should enter into serious careers in physics and other mostly-male areas in scientific fields, there is little evidence to support the fact that they will enjoy the same opportunities and recognition of achievement as their male counterparts do. Viewed as a whole, women are not promoted or allowed advanced at rates even remotely close to those of men in the same areas with similar qualifications, experiences, and achievements (Olsen 347). Furthermore, employment-based disparities such as the opportunity for advancement are not the only hindrances many women expect themselves to face at some point in their career in the sciences. Other issues, such as lower salaries more generally (which will be addressed later) and a lessened ability to secure equal funding for research projects are matters for exploration.

One scholar notes that “science is a strategic site for the study of gender because it reflects and reinforces gender stratification” (Fox 655). Due to the historical connections of scientific inquiry in all of its forms, from mathematics to engineering and beyond, sciences are seen as a distinctly male-guided pursuit. Based on our knowledge of human history, when we consider scientific, technological, and empirically-based modes of inquiry, we are far too likely to associate only males with the greatest achievements in history. This is not the case because there were no women in the sciences, and it was certainly not the case because women were not inclined to participate (through intellect or desire) but rather, it was because the lines of gender were so deeply entrenched that it was not feasible to see women as fit for a life of scientific inquiry. While there are exceptions in Western history, such as Marie Curie, for instance, she stands out in the minds of many of a historical woman scientist of note without much competition. It is, in fact, quite hard to conjure the name of even 5 famous female figures in the history of the sciences and, at the rate our educational and professional scientific sector is going, this is not likely to change without a concentrated continued effort. This pattern of women going unrecognized in the field of sciences is likely to continue, especially as current practices and realities limit women’s alternatives, possibilities and consequently, their desire to enter or remain in the sciences as a field.

One problem with the unequal balance of men and women in the sciences begins within the context of higher education. While women are granted educational access and opportunities that are equal to those of men, at least as far as surface open-gender invitations are concerned, there is a definitive lack of women in the sciences. Of equal importance is the fact that where there are women in the professional scientific sector, they are often not valued to the same extent or in the same contexts as their male counterparts. While 53% of all women in the sciences at the doctoral level are in the educational sector, only 45 percent of men take this route (Fox 655). However, despite this moderate disparity in the genders, “in mathematical, environmental sciences, as well as engineering—women were just 6 percent of full professors as of 1995” (Fox 656). This is a striking example of the kinds of gender inequity present for women in these male-dominated fields and what is worse is that this sends a negative message to potential female undergraduates and graduate students in the sciences. Chances are, these women already know that they will face challenges being the minority gender in their field. Still, if they look around and see only a few female full professors out of the mostly female faculty choices and a strong emphasis on men only, the full effect of institutional gender bias will be clear and they will witness gendered limitations before they have even begun their own careers.

Higher education in the physical sciences is presenting its students with a tangible paradox; on the one hand it is presenting full, equal opportunities for all students regardless of gender, yet on the other hand, it is showing by example that even with equal attainment of educational goals, women’s achievements are less valued—even in the institutions that claim to nurture their development. Another study that examines the context of women in academia notes that in terms of academic leadership, there are several female department chairs across universities in the United States, although the majority of these women (56.8%) are in the arts and humanities (Neimeier and Gonzales 160). Of particular note in this same study, is that the fact that female chairs in the “mathematical and physical sciences and engineering accounted for 5.7% of AAU female department chairs” (160). While the study notes even greater gaps in academic leadership in business and architecture fields, this is important because it symbolizes the lack of inequity and possibility for advancement for females in the sciences. Just as the young female students mentioned above will look for women mentors in the sciences among their current full professors and find a notable lack thereof, it is even more likely the case that women students will not see any full academic leadership on the part of women in the sciences in their undergraduate, graduate, or advanced academic careers.

In an experimental effort, the University of Michigan increased its ranks of female faculty in the physical sciences over 40% and saw a corresponding increase in the number of female undergraduates entering into the program (Stewart et al. 373). What this action signifies is that there could be a strong link between demonstrated abilities for women to move up through the ranks in their male-dominated spheres of the science and new recruitment of women. With the abysmal numbers relating to the current state of male-female ratios in both professorships and leadership positions (department chair status) a large part of the problem could be easily remedied by simply granting access to more women in more positions of leadership authority within their departments. While this is not suggest that programs should place unqualified women in these positions as mere recruitment attractors, it does state that there are plenty of women in the sciences who are just as qualified as their male counterparts, but have yet to realize the same benefits and possibilities of advancements.

Memoirs of a Geisha is certainly not the first Hollywood film to emphasis Asian women’s roles as being tied to sexual servitude and female victimization. In her assessment of the film, The World of Suzie Wong (1960) Hagedorn notes that the main character, Suzie “and all the other prostitutes in this movie are cure, giggling, dancing sex machines with hearts of gold” (360). In fact, this “geisha” portrayal of Asian women in film is one of the most recognizable and most-used stereotypes, especially when a particular film has a setting based in a native Asian culture. Whether its American soldiers depicted in a Vietnam-era film with shy, appealing, demure mannerisms (Apocalypse Now [1979] among others) so common in this Hollywood version of Eastern prostitutes, or in Memoirs of a Geisha itself, the presence of this stereotype is consistently found in films across the span of cinematic history. In her commentary of film and her personal perceptions as an Asian woman, Hagedorn states that while in the Philippines there was not the geisha tradition as in Japan, demure beauty was “overtreasured” and “daughters are protected virgins or primed as potential beauty queens. And many of us have brought into the image of the white man as our handsome savior: G.I. Joe” (365). This value and cultural emphasis on beauty is part of the reason American viewers are able to fully accept, romanticize, and idealize the life of this “hooker with a heart of gold” trope without recognizing the serious problem of stereotype-based problems this film presents.

In the film in question, the lovely, sensitive and of course, exotically beautiful main character enters reluctantly into a semi-glamorous lifestyle as a geisha. This new lifestyle that the legally-underage maiden enters into is laden with enough difficulties (being stolen from and subjected to harsh treatment) to make it not seem as though it is glorifying prostitution too much while all the while using enough soft-focus on the camera’s lens to keep the viewer’s eyes misty with adoration. Even though there are these elements of hardship presented as the main character quests for her freedom (only to offer it up for a man) there is little doubt that the stereotype of the beautiful and exotic geisha/prostitute is being propagated to its fullest extent. By the end of the film, despite any of the negative associations with a life of prostitution the viewer has been presented with, what is left is a story that is, at its very heart, a fairy-tale romance akin to the story of Cinderella, minus the sex. This film perpetuates the idea that Asian women are in need of a male savior and more importantly, that they are naturally suited to entertain men in ways that are sexually explicit and implicit. Even more importantly—this is presented in the end as something entirely romantic; every woman’s secret dream, every man’s wildest fantasy–and reality’s farthest truth. This is a reality that only exists in the Western visual conceptualization, which is a process that Hagedorn defines as the “colonization of imagination” (366). This colonization is the engine that propels Hollywood forward, creating Asian women into “objects of desire or derision; we exist to provide sex, color, texture, in what is essentially a man’s world” (366). Given the cultural power of film as a medium, this is a painful state for Asian women to be in, and one that box office records do to offer promise to correct.

Some scholars posit the idea the geisha is seen as more than an international sex symbol, but more incorrectly, as a symbol of Asian femininity in general. “Since the mid-nineteenth century, there has been an enduring relationship between Western imaginings and the Japanese woman. Dressed in a kimono and made up as a geisha, she has often been used in illustrations and cartoons as an archetypal gendered symbol of her country, often to the exclusion of all other symbols” (Morris, 2002). While Hagedorn cites many other incorrect (not to mention potentially damaging) stereotypes of Asian women in film, this seems to be one of the most historically consistent stereotypes of these women that predates those of the “street fighter” or ninja that one more recently associates with films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, (2002) and related kung-fu or martial arts-based films. The Westernized image of Asian women, in this case Japanese women, as weak, demure, and in need of a savior (preferably one that is tall, handsome, and in military gear) is complicated with the addition of sexual servitude, but for many viewers, this only enhances the titillation element of the film. The meek females who are the sexual mercy of the highest bidder are compelling enough to generate best-seller and box office record-setting numbers, which indicates that this is not only a plausible stereotype, but an exciting one as well.

There can be little doubt that the prevalence of the Asian woman as a perpetual geisha; a weak, beautiful creature in need of a savior is appealing to Western viewers. With the stunning success of both the novel and film versions of Memoirs of a Geisha, one can realistically expect that Hagedorn’s criticisms will fall upon deaf ears in the mainstream context as we seem to cherish this version of Asian femininity far too much as a culture. “The world is crazy for geisha, a symbol of the Japanese mind, which has something in common with the Noh mask and the Japanese style of painting—‘Geisha chic’ and ‘Geisha Galm’ are our identity” (Narumi 314). We have melded together an incomplete, incorrect, limited, and even damaging understanding of Asian women through Hollywood films. Since success in American cinema is often tied to what is “hot” at the time, we can expect to continue seeing traces of this kind of representation of Asian women as it is clearly something that speaks to the romantic sensibilities of many viewers in the West. However, with this in mind, it is hoped that future filmgoers will begin to notice a disturbing trend of limitation in terms of gender representations and be able to critique what might otherwise seem to be harmless romance.

Hagedorn offers some stunning insights into how prevalent these stereotypes are in American film by highlighting seemingly endless numbers of examples for the particular stereotypes she sees as occurring most frequently. Through this process, her reader is unable to read such a critique without having seen at least one or two of the films and recognizing how prevalent these stereotypes are. However, by the mere act of identifying such inadequate, narrow portrayals of any gender of ethnic group, we can begin to overlook (and even criticize them ourselves) as they appear with stunning frequency. In a film such as Memoirs of a Geisha, one would be hard-pressed to be swept away by the romance after reading Hagedorn’s assessments and see this as another incredibly limiting and even damaging film in terms of adequate, representative versions of Asian femininity.

References

Morris, Narrelle. “Innocence to Deviance: The Fetishisation of Japanese Women .” Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context Issue 7March 2002 7 Dec 2008.

Narumi, Hiroshi. “Fashion orientalism and the limits of counter culture.” Journal of Postcolonial Studies 3(2000): 311.