The Unreliable Narrator free essay sample

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the narrator is a very pleasing, intelligent individual named Changez. Changez is speaking with an unnamed American man throughout the entire novel, and is doing so without the conversational input of the American. In other words, this novel is one strung out monologue, seeing as Changez is the only one to speak or think. This puts the reader in a situation in which he or she has no other choice but to listen to the narrator and take everything that he says at face value. It is very easy to believe everything that Changez says in the beginning, but the more and more one connects with the narrator, the harder it becomes to be so gullible. Changez is a young Muslim man with an intense resume consisting of a flawless Princeton education and a highly grossing finance job with a well-respected firm. The stories of his time in America and encounters along the way seem like an innocent attempt to make conversation with an American man that is obviously not familiar with his surroundings. We will write a custom essay sample on The Unreliable Narrator or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Changez is an extremely well-spoken young man and is very personable when dealing with the American. He is very likable and has a mouthful of stories from his travels that he gladly shares with the American man. The real reason for Changez’s initial approach to the American is unknown, so one assumes he is just a very hospitable and gentle-natured person. As the story gets deeper and deeper into Changez’s life, one discovers his feelings towards the man and his country might not be so innocent and friendly. There are two instances in The Reluctant Fundamentalist where Changez’s truthfulness is in serious doubt, and where one might wonder if Changez is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so to speak. On page one hundred and eighteen, Changez is talking about a near violent incident with a man after work in the parking lot. He describes the situation, from the initial flaring of tempers to the, minus the swearing, peaceful ending. After the story is told, Changez remarks to the man that he has no idea what the man looks like and cannot remember what type build or estimate of age that the man possessed. That statement right there seems to make me want to second guess exactly what I am reading. Furthermore, Changez goes on to say that he simply gave him the gist of the story and that is what matters most. After that unnerving statement, he proceeds with saying, â€Å"I am, after all, telling you a history, as I suspect you-an American-will agree, it is the thrust of one’s narrative that counts, not the accuracy of one’s details. † Now, that whole sentence right there made me think twice about the entertaining and fun little Changez that I knew. He has gone off to say that the details in history are simply just embellishments of the truth, whereas, that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. In history, the only thing that matters is the accuracy of the details. So now we have Changez just telling stories for the fun of it and carelessly leaving out the possible truths of these tales. A situation such as this is a great way to implement an unreliable narrator into the text. Now we are forced to listen to a narrator who could or could not be fabricating truths of his own accomplishments and journeys. The Unreliable Narrator free essay sample The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the narrator is a very pleasing, intelligent individual named Changez. Changez is speaking with an unnamed American man throughout the entire novel, and is doing so without the conversational input of the American. In other words, this novel is one strung out monologue, seeing as Changez is the only one to speak or think. This puts the reader in a situation in which he or she has no other choice but to listen to the narrator and take everything that he says at face value. It is very easy to believe everything that Changez says in the beginning, but the more and more one connects with the narrator, the harder it becomes to be so gullible. Changez is a young Muslim man with an intense resume consisting of a flawless Princeton education and a highly grossing finance job with a well-respected firm. The stories of his time in America and encounters along the way seem like an innocent attempt to make conversation with an American man that is obviously not familiar with his surroundings. We will write a custom essay sample on The Unreliable Narrator or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Changez is an extremely well-spoken young man and is very personable when dealing with the American. He is very likable and has a mouthful of stories from his travels that he gladly shares with the American man. The real reason for Changez’s initial approach to the American is unknown, so one assumes he is just a very hospitable and gentle-natured person. As the story gets deeper and deeper into Changez’s life, one discovers his feelings towards the man and his country might not be so innocent and friendly. There are two instances in The Reluctant Fundamentalist where Changez’s truthfulness is in serious doubt, and where one might wonder if Changez is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so to speak. On page one hundred and eighteen, Changez is talking about a near violent incident with a man after work in the parking lot. He describes the situation, from the initial flaring of tempers to the, minus the swearing, peaceful ending. After the story is told, Changez remarks to the man that he has no idea what the man looks like and cannot remember what type build or estimate of age that the man possessed. That statement right there seems to make me want to second guess exactly what I am reading. Furthermore, Changez goes on to say that he simply gave him the gist of the story and that is what matters most. After that unnerving statement, he proceeds with saying, â€Å"I am, after all, telling you a history, as I suspect you-an American-will agree, it is the thrust of one’s narrative that counts, not the accuracy of one’s details. † Now, that whole sentence right there made me think twice about the entertaining and fun little Changez that I knew. He has gone off to say that the details in history are simply just embellishments of the truth, whereas, that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. In history, the only thing that matters is the accuracy of the details. So now we have Changez just telling stories for the fun of it and carelessly leaving out the possible truths of these tales. A situation such as this is a great way to implement an unreliable narrator into the text. Now we are forced to listen to a narrator who could or could not be fabricating truths of his own accomplishments and journeys.

How to Write Dialogue

How to Write Dialogue How to Write Dialogue How to Write Dialogue By Michael Dialogue refreshes. Seeing quotation marks on a page has been proven to increase readability, which means that readers find the page more interesting. And you want your readers to stay interested. Dialogue breaks up gray text and gives your eyes a break too. Dialogue uses basic rules for punctuating and formatting: When the speaker changes, hit Return and start a new line (which Maeve Maddox demonstrates in Formatting Dialogue.) Put punctuation, such as the closing comma, inside the quotation marks. A colon can be used in a script, but in other forms of writing, you dont routinely punctuate dialogue with a colon. TOM POLHAUS: Heavy. What is it? SAM SPADE: The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of. Here are some suggestions for more effective dialogue: Do something, dont just talk. Conflict creates action out of dialogue. If everything is dialogue, its a play. In real life, people do things while they talk, and they dont talk all the time. Dont be yourself. New writers need to find their voice, but when you write dialogue, its not your voice now, but anothers. If they all sound like you, they all sound the same. Figure out what makes your characters different from you perhaps age, life experiences, or social status and how those differences affect their speech. Whos speaking, please? If its hard to tell the characters apart, your reader will be confused, bored or frustrated. Ali Hale gives several solutions in Dialogue Writing Tips. For example, you can have each character speak at his or her own rate, fast or slow, terse or wordy, big words or little words, long sentences or short, rude or polite. Vocabulary can also distinguish characters. They may express agreement in different ways: Aye, Yup, Ja, Okey dokey, Absolutely, For sure, dude! Indubitably. Limit extreme dialect. In the 1800s, authors would represent a regional or cultural group by phonetically spelling their pronunciations, leaving out dropped endings, and so forth: Och, dat wuz frightnin an no dout!. Unfortunately, deliberately adding misspellings and apostrophes makes your writing harder to read. Maeve Maddox and Kate Evans provide a better way in Showing Dialect in Dialogue and Writing Dialogue In Accents and Dialect. You dont have them with Hello. In fact, start your dialogue after the greeting. Leave out the fluff, pleasantries, and repetition. Real speech can be so repetitious that professional transcriptionists have special keys to avoid typing words such as Okay and Fine. Some people can have an entire conversation using only the word Fine. But dont put it in your novel. Skip past the boring details. Really, its not the details that are boring, but the vague parts. How are you doing? Fine? Glad to hear it. How is your family? Fine? If a dialogue doesnt advance the plot or expand the character, omit it. People all over the world say Looks like rain every day everyone can agree on the weather but you dont need to do it in your story unless the rain would ruin an important action or object. You dont have to use complete or grammatical sentences. Real-life dialogue isnt like that. People interrupt themselves, pause, change their minds, and so on. Show their motivation. Or at least, show they have motivation, even if what it is remains a mystery. They may not be telling the truth or telling everything, but they have reasons for saying what they do. Dont have the maid tell the butler what he already knows. Yes, dialogue is a great way to feed details to your reader, but it needs to reflect what your characters would have actually asked. Is Heathcliffe Manor dark and dismal? Yes, as you remember from working here for the past thirty years, the previous owner had most of the windows painted over. Try it out, out loud. Reading your writing audibly to yourself (or someone else) helps you decide whether your dialogue is natural. It may cause you to shorten parts of it by showing you that you need to breathe. Avoid the info-dump. Sometimes at the beginning and the end of a detective novel, someone says: First, tell me everything you know about the murder. Tell me, how in the world did you figure out that the butler did it? But an info-dump isnt as much fun as revealing information naturally. This gold mirror must be four feet wide! How will we get it downstairs? From this one piece of dialogue, we can surmise that strangers are moving rich people out of a multi-story house. Limit the cast. The more characters there are, the more confusing the conversation can be. If its hard to distinguish character voices spread through the story, its even harder to distinguish them when theyre all talking at once. About dialogue tags A dialogue tag tells you who is speaking. Writers and teachers disagree about what else it should do. Call a taxi, she said. Taxi! he shouted. Where you wanna go? the driver said gruffly. Some teachers want their students to choose from the hundreds of alternatives to said, telling them, Said is dead.: Stop the presses, he bellowed. Everything will be fine, Kate reassured them. Yall need to meet my grandson, she gushed. Only the Shadow knows, he whispered. J.K. Rowling is notorious for her adverbial dialogue tags, which she usually places in the middle of a dialogue. Three examples from a single page of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone: Oh yes, everyones celebrating all right, she said impatiently. You cant blame them, said Dumbledore gently. I know that, said Professor McGonagall irritably. On the other hand, Stephen King advises writers to avoid adverbs and use nothing but said: â€Å"While to write adverbs is human, to write ‘he said’ or ‘she said’ is divine.† He also says, â€Å"I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs. Journalists are taught to use only two verbs in dialogue tags: said and asked. Adding adverbs or using more colorful verbs compromise their objectivity. I agree with Stephen King. The word said doesnt distract from the dialogue itself. It is unnoticed and unobtrusive. Dialogue is a character talking. A dialogue tag is you talking. The writers rule is show, dont tell, and when you add an adverb to a dialogue tag, you are telling. You are also drawing attention to yourself. When it comes to verbs, I distinguish between active verbs such as croaked or whispered and descriptive verbs such as threatened or urged. Saying he croaked shows your reader the sound of the speakers voice, something which they wouldnt otherwise know. Saying he threatened is a crutch the reader should be able to see the threat in the dialogue itself. I never say ‘She says softly.’ If its not already soft, you know, I have to leave a lot of space around it so that a reader can hear that its soft.† Toni Morrison More suggestions for dialogue tags: Dont use impossible verbs. Several commonly used dialogue tags represent actions that cant really be performed while speaking. Thats not necessary, laughed Bob. If this could happen in real life, this would sound more like: Thats (ha ha) not (ha) necessary (ha ha), said Bob. Laughing and talking simultaneously is not possible. Avoid Tom Swifties. The authors of the Tom Swift adventures of a century ago didnt limit themselves to said because they believed in elegant variation. As a result, dialogue tags with obtrusive verbs and adverbs have been parodied in a class of puns called Tom Swifties. Someone has let the soup boil over! Tom said hotly. Its pouring rain outside, Tom stormed. Ill hold the flashlight for you, Tom beamed. I prefer pancakes, said Tom flatly. Dont be like Tom. Is this dialogue tag necessary? Sometimes you dont need one. In a conversation between two characters, the reader can assume that alternate lines are spoken by the same character. Heres an example from Leo Tolstoys War and Peace with some of the dialogue tags removed: Forgive me! Natasha said in a whisper. Forgive me! I love you, said Prince Andrei. Forgive Forgive what? Forgive me for what I didid. Can you use an action tag instead of a dialogue tag? You dont need a dialogue tag if you have just identified the speaker in a different way. The detective abruptly snuffed out his cigarette. How about you and me working together? In this case, he reader understands that the detective is speaking. Dialogue is not just for fiction. Try including dialogue in everything you write, even scholarly papers and business memos. Seeing quotation marks brightens the eyes of an academician as much as anyone else. Instead of formally summarizing what your employers said to you, why not quote them word-for-word? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsThe Parts of a WordEbook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

Essay About 50 Shades of Grey

Essay About 50 Shades of Grey In 2012, British author E. L. James’ erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey first took the Western world by storm, in North America and Europe, garnering much attention due to its explicit content. As the first installment of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, the book portrays a deepening relationship between a college student, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Gray, in Seattle, Washington. It gained notability for its erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission and sadism/masochism (BDSM). Since then the book and the trilogy, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, has sold millions of copies worldwide, long ago entering into best-seller status, and been translated into dozens of other languages. Not bad for a book that was originally self-published as an e-book and on a print-on-demand basis. Tides turned in 2012 when Vintage Books acquired the publishing rights. And the rest is history. Though readers couldn’t get enough of the book, critical reception of the book leaned on the negative. Critics thought the quality of the prose was generally poor; that despite the racy scenes, it wasn’t written very well. Nonetheless, just before Valentine’s Day 2015, Universal Pictures produced a film based on Fifty Shades of Grey, the first book in the Trilogy, which also received generally unfavorable reviews. It premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in early February 2015. But it still went on to be an immediate box office success, making more than $400 million in the box office. It cast film stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey. A sequel to the film is planned for a 2016 release. At its core, Fifty Shades of Grey, the movie and the book (and even Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed) is all a story of transformation done out of love. Christian Grey, though successful and extremely wealthy, has a dark past – a physically abusive childhood that leaves him angry and distanced from other people and into perverted sexual practices. Anastasia then interviews him for a college paper, and over time they have an attraction that turns into a sexual relationship. At first, Christian engages in his kinky sexual games with the innocent, naà ¯ve and inexperienced Anastasia. The BDSM becomes too much for her: she begins to have feelings for him and desires for a normal relationship with romantic lovemaking. She gives him an ultimatum; she is done with the BDSM and tells Christian she will stop their relationship and leave him unless he can demonstrate a capacity to love her and show appropriate, sensitive feelings for her. It works, too. He changes for her. Throughout Fifty Shades of Grey, the book and film, Christian is also falling in love with Anastasia. The reader, or film viewer, knows this but speculates that he masks his emotional vulnerabilities with dominating, exploitative sexual practices in which he involves her repeatedly. It appears, at first, he is taking advantage of the young inexperienced girl. Using her for sex, for her body. But in the end of the first story, we learn that he transforms and embraces his more sensitive, selfless and romantic side in order to keep her. The two subsequent stories of the Trilogy focus on their relationship after they decide to date and try a serious relationship. All in all, Fifty Shades of Grey is not your classic romance story. But it may be the romance story of today’s world and society. In many regards, the story sets precedents on what can be included in and considered art and literature and film. Twenty years ago or longer, this story would have been considered risquà © and pornographic in nature. The story is a testament to the ever-changing views on sex, and is a nod to sex, even kinky sexy, becoming part of the mainstream media and world of entertainment – and not just something done behind closed doors but part of many people’s everyday life. If you are reading this article, youre most likely looking for information about the book or the movie. Or the case may be you need an essay written about the 50 Shades of Grey story. Whichever the case, is the right place to go to. Our writers can do professional research, report and essay writing on any topic there is, including  the one this article is dedicated to. To get academic writing assistance, simply visit our order page, place your order and work will start immediately. We guarantee outcome  will exceed your expectations.

Political Science Analytical Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Science Analytical Book Review - Essay Example olliers underlines a positive and profound role of G8 in promotion of new standards o life and new economic policies aimed to support failing states and their economies. If nothing is done, the poverty will grab developed states and their economy. Paul Collier is an expert in this field working for many years as director of research for the World Bank and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University. His book, In The Bottom Billion, is based on careful data analysis and personal opinion of the author, statistical results and predictions made by the key economists and bankers. Paul Collier presents an interesting and impressive picture of the modern world trying to inspire the developed nations change their policies nad help underdeveloped nations. Collier is rights that poverty is a global phenomenon and a single nation cannot improve its standards of living and economic situation without support of G8 and other international institutions. The main strengths of the book is a clear and argumeneative description of events and economic processes supported by economic data and statistic analyses. The most simple but impressive explanation of poverty is that: â€Å"poverty is simply the default o ption when economies malfunction† (157). The world faces an increasing disparity in the economic development an increasing arms race as the wealthier nations develop and stockpile weapons weapons of destruction in an attemp to guarantee safety. The problem with the balance-of-powers solution and the attempt to reach a standoff by deterrence is that the balance itself is not a stable process, and the continual need to rebalance imbalances produces poverty. It is not possible to think of the relationship between rich and poor nations without thinking of modernization and development among the peoples of the Third World. To avoid oversimplification or the equation of development with Westernization it might be better to speak of "social

History of Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of Germany - Essay Example Although nominally a league of equals, in practice the empire was dominated by the largest and most powerful state, Prussia. The period of Bismarck was considered a golden era under whom, Germany rose to become one among the greatest powers of the world. The imperial crown was hereditary in the House of Hohenzollern, the kings of Prussia. The last king in the Prussian era was William II. William became internationally known for his aggressive foreign policy positions and strategic blunders which pushed the German Empire into political isolation and later into World War I. Under William II, Germany no longer had long-ruling strong chancellors like Bismarck. William II wanted Germany to have its "place in the sun" like the British Empire and set Germany to begin colonial efforts in Africa and the Pacific. With much territory in Africa colonized, Germans got only a small share. This created a fight for power, which eventually triggered World War I. Emperor William II abdicated the throne and then Government received an armistice on November 11, 1918 which marked the end of World War I. It also signed the Humiliating Versailles treaty. The imperialism was succeeded by the democratic, yet flawed, Weimar Republic. It was doomed from the beginning since even moderates disliked it and extremists on both the left and right loathed it. It eventually brought Nazis led by Adolph Hitler to power. Nazism or National Socialism refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party under Adolph Hitler; and the policies adopted by the government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It established a kind of imperialism on Germany and despised Jews and communists. It ruled Germany during the pre-war period and Hitler became "The Fhrer". He started World War II citing the humiliation of Germany in World War II. Germany was defeated by allied forces in the War. Following Germany's defeat in World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, Germany was split, representing the focus of the two global blocs in the east and west. International plans for the unification of Germany were made during the early years following the establishment of the two states, but to no avail. During the summer of 1989, rapid changes took place in East Germany, which ultimately led to German reunification. Only in 1990 would Germany be reunited. Towards end of the Century, Germany became the centre of attraction in European Union. It is one of the most industrialized and developed nations of the world. (The Causes of World War One (2004)) German Education: The German Empire had a strong influence on German culture, including its education. Kingdom of Prussia was among the first countries in the world (if not the first at all) to introduce free and generally compulsory primary education, consisting of an eight-year course of primary education, Volksschule. Under the German Empire the school system became more centralized. More secondary schools were established, and the state had the right to set standards and to supervise the newly established schools. Four different types of secondary schools developed: A nine-year classical Gymnasium (focusing on Latin and Greek or Hebrew, plus one modern language), a nine-year Realgymnasium

Critique of Utilitarianism Theory

Critique of Utilitarianism Theory Utilitarianism as an independent ethical position only arose in the eighteenth century however fundamental utilitarian ideas can be found in the thoughts of philosophers such as Aristotle. It is a philosophical theory of morality or how one should act which has historical roots within the liberal tradition. The aim of utilitarianism is to make decisions on the basis of a calculation of consequences. As a moral theory, There are however many critiques of utilitarianism which vary as they have different reasons and different targets due to the fact utilitarianism isnt a single coherent theory but a cluster of related theories which have developed throughout the years. In this essay I will be explaining some of the problems with utilitarianism as a theory and discussing whether these problems are insurmountable, for which I think they are. As a theory, utilitarianism is usually thought to start with Jeremy Bentham, however, similar ideas were evident in the writings of David Hume in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1)and Francis Hutchinson, whom David Hume studied under, in his An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (2). Utilitarianism tells us an act is moral insofar as it creates the greatest good for the greatest number. It tells us to take the amount of happiness distributed between sentient beings and look at which distribution is going to maximise the amount of happiness. It gives a systematic answer. Throughout the past two centuries utilitarianism has been very influential within practical disciplines of politics and economics. As a result, utilitarianism has had an influence modern life, particularly public policy. What could be more important when making political deliberations than aiming to make peoples lives better and less unhappy? One of the first utilitarian theorisers, Jeremy Bentham, is famously credited for being the founder of the doctrine. Bentham defined utility as instrumental to happiness. He believes that all judgements of good and bad can be based on pleasure and pain. He is seen as an advocate of psychological hedonism. In his famous introduction of An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1979), Bentham states Nature has placed man under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. Therefore, pain and pleasure provide the basis for his moral theory of what we ought to do. Initially, he began his career by studying law and then moved on to moral ethics in order to advise legislators. He was primarily interested in improving the law and his goal for the legislator was the utilitarian principle or the greatest happiness principle. Therefore, his advice was not initially aimed for individuals and their life choices but for the legislator. Although Bentham sees pleasu re as the key of explaining how human beings act, he relies more often on the concept of pain when constructing his legal theory. While he does endorse act-utilitarianism, his sanction-based theory of obligation is more applicable to the legal system he was so interested in improving. John Stuart Mill is also one of the most well-known utilitarian thinkers and defenders of the theory. His celebrated thoughts can be found in his famous essay: Utilitarianism. Mill observes something of a crisis in moral thinking. Philosophical thinkers have been unable to come to a consensus on the principle of what constitutes right and wrong. Mill argues that having such a foundation is necessary to legitimise morality. This is why the theory of utilitarianism is so important. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill categorise and measure utility and pleasure in different ways. Bentham uses the hedonic calculus which decides the value of pleasure by seven measures of quantity: duration, intensity, certainty or uncertainty, remoteness or propinquity, fecundity, extent and purity. Bentham is well-known for his treating of all pleasures as of equal value. By this he means not that all pleasures are of exactly equal, but that the legislator who his work on utilitarianism is aimed at should not be valuing one pleasure above another. John Stuart Mill however saw pleasures in two categories higher and lower pleasures. A criticism of John Stuart Mills utilitarianism, and the first problem with the theory that I shall be addressing, is his categorisation of higher and lower pleasures. The difference between these pleasures is founded on sort and not degree, therefore this makes comparison of the consequence of actions far more difficult to calculate. Higher and lower pleasures cannot be measure or compared as they are of a different kind. How would Mills version of utilitarianism be applied in situations in which bother higher and lower pleasures are involved in the calculation? In relation to John Stuart Mills classification of higher and lower pleasures, a common criticism of simple versions of the theory such as Benthams utilitarianism is that they reduce the subtleties of human life to a stark calculation of animal-like pleasures, with no concern for how these pleasures are produced. This gave utilitarianism a bad name and it was often mocked as a doctrine only worthy of swine. (philosophy of the classics, mill utilitarianism). John Stuart Mill defends utilitarianism from such criticism with his version which differs from Jeremy Benthams simple version: Mills differentiation between higher and lower pleasures puts forward that intellectual pleasures are intrinsically more valuable that physical pleasures. Bentham however treats all pleasures as equal to each other. So, when utilitarianism is described as a doctrine worthy only of swine, Mill argues that it is better to be a dissatisfied human being than a satisfied pig; and better to be a dissatisfied So crates than a satisfied fool. His defence is that human beings are capable of intellectual pleasures as well as physical ones, whereas pigs cannot enjoy intellectual pleasures. In his view, humans who have experienced intellectual pleasures will prefer them to lower, physical ones. Those who still are lead astray by lower physical ones are falling for immediate sensual gratification, even though they know full well that higher, intellectual pleasures are more worthwhile. John Stuart Mils idea of higher and lower pleasures has been viewed as flawed in itself. It has been criticised as a self-serving idea. For example, an intellectual will view his preferred enjoyments as a higher, more important pleasure. Therefore, as an intellectual, it could be argued that Mill himself is biased towards what constitutes as higher and lower pleasures. A further and harsh criticism of utilitarianism is that the theory would justify slavery. This is as long as the slaves were happy or the overall happiness gained by the beneficiaries of the slavery was calculated as than the slaves unhappiness. Bentham fiercely denies this to be the case, as he argues that the choices of human beings give the best inclination of what makes humans happy, and slavery by definition is never a choice and therefore slaves can never be said to be happy. Bentham is also well known for his application of utilitarianism as the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This can subsequently be translated to mean that utilitarianism sacrifices the unfortunate few the powerful many. Therefore it has been argued by some that regarding the slavery example mentioned previously; if the vast economic benefits of slavery outweighed the unhappiness of the slaves then slavery is still favoured by utilitarianism. Bentham argues against this however as he claims the greatest happiness for the greatest number should be applied in a way that the interest of the powerless many should be more important than the interests of the powerful few. Another fundamental criticism of utilitarianism is that it ignores justice. A classic example of this criticism was given by H. J. McCloskey McCloskey, H.J. (1957) An Examination of Restricted Utilitarianism in The Philosophical Review, Vol. 66, No. 4 (Oct., 1957), pp. 466-485. If framing an innocent man for a crime that would reduce the further riots and pain that looking for the real guilty person would incur, utilitarian theory would suggest that this would be the optimal choice as although an innocent man will suffer, for a greater number of people less pain will be caused, incurring in a calculation of more pleasure overall. Therefore, if the sole aim of utilitarian theory is to maximise pleasure and reduce pain for the greater number, justice will be ignored in situations such as this example. Bentham however argues that it is a serious misrepresentation to say that utilitarians would be willing to ignore justice and punish an innocent man in the name of the greater good. ADD t o benthams defence. Another problem with utilitarianism is the impracticality of calculating the utility of actions in real time. The calculation of utility is said to be self-defeating as by the time the best utilitarian course of action has been calculated and decided, the opportunity to take this action may well have passed. How can one calculate which of all possible actions will maximise the most happiness overall. What if one is in a dilemma and has a decision to make quickly? In high pressure situations, one usually does not have time to sit down and make exact calculations regarding which decision will bring about the most happiness and minimise pain. Mill deflected this objection with the response that humans learn general moral principle though experience that can later be relied on in such situations. Exact calculations are not necessary for each situation in life as this would be impractical. In chapter 2 of his essay Utilitarianism, Mill replies to such criticism: In such circumstances, one should follow common-sense moral rules, which summarize lots of human experience, and tend to guide us toward actions that promote general happiness and away from actions that tend to dampen it. Also, one can cultivate habits and train individual character, so that people become disposed to act in ways that are happiness-promoting. I feel his reply is valid as utilitarianism as a theory is still in use when making decisions in ordinary situations without exact calculations. It is logical to assume common sense moral rules as guidance when making decisions without needing to apply exact calculations. A further problem of John Stuart Mills utilitarianism is that strict application of some utilitarian principles can result in unpalatable consequences. This has been argued by many of utilitarianism critics and there are plentiful examples of scenarios where consequences of utilitarianism being applied leads to unacceptable consequences. A great difficulty with utilitarianism is that for one to truly take on a core principle such as the greatest happiness for the greatest number, is very demanding. Everything action an individual undertakes would become a moral obligation to help a greater number of people. It requires the actor to be impartial regarding his own happiness and desires and focus neutrally on the happiness of others over one sown. as between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator. (jsmill utilitarianism chapter 2) What makes this so demanding is the excessive amount of strangers in need of help and the indefinite opportunities there are to make sacrifices to maximise their happiness. This is also a problem as there is no differentiation between helping your friends and family before complete strangers. For example, choosing to work excessively and earn as much money as possible to help those in poverty wou ld be the correct utilitarian choice as it does the most good for the most people. We would become charitable cogs and ignore our human nature to have personal leisure time for example and engage with our individual wants and needs. This ties in with the criticism of utilitarianism that it ignores individuality and individual rights which is a main topic of criticism. As a theory, utilitarianism cannot respect the rights of individuals mill defends. Taking into account John Stuart Mills defence, I personally do not think that utilitarianism looks at individuals as unique and groups people together without regard for their individuality. One would become a martyr for greater happiness, disregarding ones own, apparently less important wants, needs and desires. Utilitarian thinkers argue that the world would in fact be a much better place if we did live by principle. I disagree and feel that in this sense utilitarianism is overly demanding and has a lack of respect for individual righ ts. This is a key problem with the theory that I do not believe is insurmountable as it would deter individuals from engaging with the theory. Act-utilitarianism is too demanding Therefore critics of utilitarian argue this overly demanding theory would leave one with a life of hardship and austerity. Bernard Williams is an infamous critic of utilitarian theory. He states that we need a sense of integrity and commitments to justify any morality. He effectively argues that utilitarianism misses moral agency. His example of this problem with utilitarianism is the differentiation between an act and the consequence. It is hard to justify that the action rather than a possibly terrible consequence is what makes an action immoral. Too much egoistic weight is placed on personal actions. For example, the action of shooting someone with a gun rather than the victim dying is what is wrong with such a scenario for a utilitarian. Williams argues that we do not judge actions by their consequences and this notion of utilitarianism should be rejected no matter how plausible it may seem. Williams believes this way of judgement removes what it is to be human from the scenario. Moral decision should preserve our psychological identity and integrity. John Stuart Millss proof of utilitarianism has also come under constant criticism. His answer the question why maximise happiness? is controversial. Mills claim is that happiness is pursued as an end in itself and is the aim of all human activity. If someone claims that they pursue virtue as an end in itself, Mill argues that this is just an ingredient in their life of happiness and just a means leading to the same end: happiness, pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Virtue is just part of their happiness. So for Mill, the question of why maximise happiness? is in fact a question of why happiness is desirable. His analogous answer to this is that The only way we can prove an object is visible is by demonstrating that people can actually see it. Therefore the evidence that happiness is desirable is that people desire it. This evidence of proof has come under much criticism as it is argued by Henry Sidgwick that itis based on a bad argument. First of all he criticises the comparison of what is desirable and what is visible. Visible means can be seen however desirable doesnt actually translate to can be desired. In fact it is more correctly translated to mean should be desired. This weakness of John Stuart Mills analogy makes it hard to compare what people do desire to what people should desire. Therefore, his proof of happiness being desirable is based fully on bad argument. As the fundamental aim of utilitarianism is the maximise happiness, the fact that Mill has difficulty proving that happiness is what the people desire is a fundamental problem with the theory that I do not feel can be ignored. It is also argued that if John Stuart Mill had given a correct analogy, his argument would have lead to a selfish version of utilitarianism compared to the utilitarian approach that the greatest happiness for the greatest number its aim. In Mills example, individuals wanting their own personal happiness will add up to an aggregate happiness. Therefore, it is argued he needs a far stronger argument than his given analogy to prove that general happiness is what all people should aim for. It is clear that utilitarianism, although often considered a simple theory which declares that the morally right action in any circumstances is the one which is most likely to maximise happiness, is actually a very complex cluster of related theories which have developed rapidly since the 18th century. Throughout this time many features of utilitarianism have come under constant criticism and as a normative theory it has been widely accused of being unworkable. I do believe that utilitarianism has flaws which John Stuart Mill as the theorys key defender has been unable to explain adequately. A lot of Mills utilitarianism is defendable such as how he deals with the objection that the calculations are impractical. However some of his answers to criticism do not persuade me that the problems with utilitarianism are surmountable. I sympathise with the criticism that utilitarianism is overly demanding and following rule utilitarianism strictly would lead to a life of austerity and self-de nial. As a moral basis for some decision making I think utilitarianism could have use in society today, however, as moral theory I do not think that it upholds and the problems within it are insurmountable. The criticisms I have mention in this essay are not exhaustive.

Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley

Striking the Balance of High-performance and High-value Rob Parson, a young banker with strong relationships with the important players and a proven track record in the financial services, made significant gains in building Morgan Stanley’s reputation and revenues in the financial services sector (â€Å"Rob Parson,† pp. 90, 93). He has thorough marketing and product knowledge, approaches and works with clients brilliantly, and pursues the business aggressively and successfully (â€Å"Rob Parson,† pp. 95, 96, 97). However, from the 360-degree evaluation, his â€Å"soft skills† do not appear to be as strong as his technical ones. He needs to improve his interpersonal skills, respect and trust his colleagues, and adapt to Morgan Stanley’s organizational culture (â€Å"Rob Parson†, pp. 87, 93). Being a high performer, should Parson be promoted to Managing Director? I think not. First of all, Managing Director needs to command respect for knowledge and insight among people both inside and outside the firm (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 102). From the evaluation, instead of being open to others’ ideas, Parson always thinks that he has the right answer (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 91). Second, Managing Director needs to acquire highly developed organization skills (‘Rob Parson†, p 102). Contrary to the average score of 3. 80 for professional skills, Parson was scored at only 3. 13 for his management skills (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 100). Without competent management skills, Parson will have difficulty communicating with, motivating and empowering employees. Thirdly, the ability to articulate departmental visions and strategies is an important responsibility of managing director (‘Rob Parson†, p 102). Coming from smaller investment banks, Parson kept the same work style, which conflicted with Morgan Stanley’s culture and norms(‘Rob Parson†, p 91). He will not lead a good example to employees in demonstrating Morgan Stanley’s vision and strategy. In many organizations, there are high performers like Parson who works great as an individual, but does not fit well in the organization’s value system. Both performance and value are critical factors for the health of an organization. What are some of the ways to strike the balance between the two? First of all, enhance performance by aligning organizational value with employee’s goals. When Rob Parson was invited by Paul Nasr to join Morgan Stanley, he accepted the offer primarily because he wanted to work with Nasr, not because that he would be a good fit with Morgan Stanley’s culture (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90). Before long, conflicts will surface and a series of problems will occur. How to minimize the misalignment? The organization needs to clearly communicate its mission and vision statement to its employees. Then employees should be encouraged to find similarities of their goals and the statement. If a gap exists, managers can work with employees to identify key characteristics of the two and find a common ground. In Parson’s case, because his personal vision is not aligned with Morgan Stanley’s, he faced problems when working with other colleagues and got frustrated by not understanding what he did wrong (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 92). If his goals had been aligned with Morgan Stanley’s, he would have had a more effective working relationship and without doubt, his performance would have been greatly enhanced. Second way to achieve the balance is to drive organizational value through sustained performance. Assessing employees’ skills, investing on training programs and fostering an environment for continuous improvement are strategies for a sustained performance. Rob Parson may not be ready to be promoted to Managing Director, but inevitably, he has great potentials. What steps should be taken to make Parson a more effective leader? do something to utilize RP’s energetic, entrepreneurial nature that organ Stanley needed to penetrate the sector? _ First, I recommend that Nasr provide Parson constructive feedback and coaching. Nasr was worried about the potential risk of losing him(â€Å" Rob Parson†, p92), but if conducted in an effective way, feedback can help Parson understand more about himself and others, while coaching can help him reflect on discoveries from the feedback and make action plans for improvement. The existing 360-degree evaluation has provided factual basis, and Nasr can work together with Parson to explore unconscious mind behind certain behaviors and discuss what impact these behaviors had on others. Second, align Parson’s goals with Morgan Stanley’s vision. Before he went to work at Morgan Stanley, Parson knew that he was not the typical Morgan Stanley type (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90), however, one does not have to be one particular type to share the same vision with the organization. I recommend that Nasr sit down with Parson, go over Parson’s personal goals, and help him identify common theme with Morgan Stanley’s vision. The more aligned Parson’s goal is with Morgan Stanley’s, the more Parsons will feel being part of the team. Parson brings Morgan Stanley experience and talent in an area it needs improvement, and Morgan Stanley provides Parson the platform to utilize his skills and expand career horizon. The link between Parson’s goals and Morgan Stanley’s vision will help Parson take ownership of Morgan Stanley’s vision greatly. Thirdly, I recommend forming a knowledge sharing community in Capital Market Services. Parson was consistently commended for his strong marketing knowledge and relationship management skills (â€Å"Rob Parson†, pp 95, 96, 97), both of which many employees lack. Other employees also have valuable experiences from different functions, which Larson was not open to listen before. â₠¬Å"Lessons learned† and â€Å"Lunch and Learn† can both be examples of implementing the knowledge sharing. Gathering collective expertise and wisdom from employees will bring team closer, and add value to achieve Morgan Stanley’s goal of becoming the world’s best investment bank (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p87). The process knowledge exchange will provide Parson more opportunities to interact with colleagues in a different environment, where everyone’s goals are aligned to enrich their knowledge base. First of all, get his buy-in of Morgan Stanley’s culture. Before he went to work at Morgan Stanley, Parson knew that he was not the typical Morgan Stanley type (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90). I recommend that Nasr sit down with Parson, go over Parson’s personal goals, and help him identify common theme with Morgan Stanley’s vision. The more aligned Parson’s goal is with Morgan Stanley’s, the more Parson will feel be in the team. Second, I recommend that Nasr conduct feedback session between him and his peers, encourage conversation to discuss conflicts and observations. Use this as an opportunity to increase the openness and appreciation of new style and idea among the team as well. To learn and understand more about each other, May be used as an opportunity to create synergy. Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley Striking the Balance of High-performance and High-value Rob Parson, a young banker with strong relationships with the important players and a proven track record in the financial services, made significant gains in building Morgan Stanley’s reputation and revenues in the financial services sector (â€Å"Rob Parson,† pp. 90, 93). He has thorough marketing and product knowledge, approaches and works with clients brilliantly, and pursues the business aggressively and successfully (â€Å"Rob Parson,† pp. 95, 96, 97). However, from the 360-degree evaluation, his â€Å"soft skills† do not appear to be as strong as his technical ones. He needs to improve his interpersonal skills, respect and trust his colleagues, and adapt to Morgan Stanley’s organizational culture (â€Å"Rob Parson†, pp. 87, 93). Being a high performer, should Parson be promoted to Managing Director? I think not. First of all, Managing Director needs to command respect for knowledge and insight among people both inside and outside the firm (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 102). From the evaluation, instead of being open to others’ ideas, Parson always thinks that he has the right answer (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 91). Second, Managing Director needs to acquire highly developed organization skills (‘Rob Parson†, p 102). Contrary to the average score of 3. 80 for professional skills, Parson was scored at only 3. 13 for his management skills (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 100). Without competent management skills, Parson will have difficulty communicating with, motivating and empowering employees. Thirdly, the ability to articulate departmental visions and strategies is an important responsibility of managing director (‘Rob Parson†, p 102). Coming from smaller investment banks, Parson kept the same work style, which conflicted with Morgan Stanley’s culture and norms(‘Rob Parson†, p 91). He will not lead a good example to employees in demonstrating Morgan Stanley’s vision and strategy. In many organizations, there are high performers like Parson who works great as an individual, but does not fit well in the organization’s value system. Both performance and value are critical factors for the health of an organization. What are some of the ways to strike the balance between the two? First of all, enhance performance by aligning organizational value with employee’s goals. When Rob Parson was invited by Paul Nasr to join Morgan Stanley, he accepted the offer primarily because he wanted to work with Nasr, not because that he would be a good fit with Morgan Stanley’s culture (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90). Before long, conflicts will surface and a series of problems will occur. How to minimize the misalignment? The organization needs to clearly communicate its mission and vision statement to its employees. Then employees should be encouraged to find similarities of their goals and the statement. If a gap exists, managers can work with employees to identify key characteristics of the two and find a common ground. In Parson’s case, because his personal vision is not aligned with Morgan Stanley’s, he faced problems when working with other colleagues and got frustrated by not understanding what he did wrong (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 92). If his goals had been aligned with Morgan Stanley’s, he would have had a more effective working relationship and without doubt, his performance would have been greatly enhanced. Second way to achieve the balance is to drive organizational value through sustained performance. Assessing employees’ skills, investing on training programs and fostering an environment for continuous improvement are strategies for a sustained performance. Rob Parson may not be ready to be promoted to Managing Director, but inevitably, he has great potentials. What steps should be taken to make Parson a more effective leader? do something to utilize RP’s energetic, entrepreneurial nature that organ Stanley needed to penetrate the sector? _ First, I recommend that Nasr provide Parson constructive feedback and coaching. Nasr was worried about the potential risk of losing him(â€Å" Rob Parson†, p92), but if conducted in an effective way, feedback can help Parson understand more about himself and others, while coaching can help him reflect on discoveries from the feedback and make action plans for improvement. The existing 360-degree evaluation has provided factual basis, and Nasr can work together with Parson to explore unconscious mind behind certain behaviors and discuss what impact these behaviors had on others. Second, align Parson’s goals with Morgan Stanley’s vision. Before he went to work at Morgan Stanley, Parson knew that he was not the typical Morgan Stanley type (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90), however, one does not have to be one particular type to share the same vision with the organization. I recommend that Nasr sit down with Parson, go over Parson’s personal goals, and help him identify common theme with Morgan Stanley’s vision. The more aligned Parson’s goal is with Morgan Stanley’s, the more Parsons will feel being part of the team. Parson brings Morgan Stanley experience and talent in an area it needs improvement, and Morgan Stanley provides Parson the platform to utilize his skills and expand career horizon. The link between Parson’s goals and Morgan Stanley’s vision will help Parson take ownership of Morgan Stanley’s vision greatly. Thirdly, I recommend forming a knowledge sharing community in Capital Market Services. Parson was consistently commended for his strong marketing knowledge and relationship management skills (â€Å"Rob Parson†, pp 95, 96, 97), both of which many employees lack. Other employees also have valuable experiences from different functions, which Larson was not open to listen before. â₠¬Å"Lessons learned† and â€Å"Lunch and Learn† can both be examples of implementing the knowledge sharing. Gathering collective expertise and wisdom from employees will bring team closer, and add value to achieve Morgan Stanley’s goal of becoming the world’s best investment bank (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p87). The process knowledge exchange will provide Parson more opportunities to interact with colleagues in a different environment, where everyone’s goals are aligned to enrich their knowledge base. First of all, get his buy-in of Morgan Stanley’s culture. Before he went to work at Morgan Stanley, Parson knew that he was not the typical Morgan Stanley type (â€Å"Rob Parson†, p 90). I recommend that Nasr sit down with Parson, go over Parson’s personal goals, and help him identify common theme with Morgan Stanley’s vision. The more aligned Parson’s goal is with Morgan Stanley’s, the more Parson will feel be in the team. Second, I recommend that Nasr conduct feedback session between him and his peers, encourage conversation to discuss conflicts and observations. Use this as an opportunity to increase the openness and appreciation of new style and idea among the team as well. To learn and understand more about each other, May be used as an opportunity to create synergy.