Role of Emotional Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Role of Emotional Intelligence Essay Summary: This article discusses the correlation of a leaders Emotional Intelligence (â€Å"the ability to understand and manage moods and emotions in the self and others†) (George) and how it plays a role in how effective that manager is. The author first relates how emotions, moods and feelings play a part in how humans deal with each other on a day to day basis. Ms. George points out that positive moods and emotions can have a positive effect on how we deal with life, and on the flip side how negative moods and emotions can have the opposite effect in our social and work lives. She states that â€Å"Feelings are intimately connected to the human experience. Feelings are intricately bound up in the ways that people think, behave, and make decisions.† Many people with the inability to show emotion find life difficult as even the smallest decisions are hard to make with no gage of how others may react or â€Å"feel† about your choices. The article is not so much about how leaders behave but more so how effective that behavior is in understanding their own and others emotions and moods. The author states there are four different attributes of one’s emotional intelligence; the appraisal and expression of emotion; the use of emotion to enhance cognitive processes an decision making; knowledge about emotions; and the management of emotions. The article explores each of these attributes and how having these skills can be useful to a leader in dealing with their peers and subordinates. In all the article points to evidence that good leaders also have a higher emotional intelligence (whether they are born with it or whether they learn it). It does not state that EI is the only determining factor when comparing a good leader only that studies show that there is a correlation. Behavioral Issue: The behavioral issue is how one can use their knowledge of moods and emotions to shape the way they and others react to any given situation. Emotional intelligence in leaders can therefore bring forth the desired results of the organization that they work for. The four different attributes of EI can be used to utilize leaders and those that they lead.  Leaders with EI can use the attribute of appraisal and expression of emotion, which â€Å"ensures that people are able to effectively communicate with others to meet their needs and accomplish their goals or objectives.† A leader who uses the knowledge of emotion, will understand what determines what a person’s mood might be (such as knowing that delivering bad news will probably bring on a bad mood) and what the consequences of these moods might be (moods may linger for some time increasing negative attitudes and poor results of the sought after goal). A manager with good EI skills can help enhance â€Å"cognitive processes and decision making† skills of others. If a leader can predict or imagine what the reaction of someone else could be given two different actions will have the ability to make a decision as to which action to go with to bring out the desired result for his company. A leader who can manage his own feelings may well be able to manage or evoke desired emotions from others (getting his team motivated and excited about a new project) and this can be instrumental in meeting deadlines and the projected goals of his team. In short, emotional intelligence can be very useful to a manager who is trying to be an effective leader. Opinion: In my opinion I think the article touches on a very interesting subject. I believe the idea of emotional intelligence is integral to one being an effective manager. This article states many instances when the ability to determine and understand your own feelings, emotions and moods as well as that of others can in effect shape the mood and actions of others. â€Å"Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.† (Goleman, 2004) I have personally known managers who display good EI (one who seemed to know how to always motivate me to do the best job possible no matter how lowly the task) and those who are most definitely lacking in the same skills (one who would berate me in front of customers and co-workers). â€Å"Every businessperson knows a story about a highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with solid—but not extraordinary—intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared†. (Goleman, 2004) I am finding that I am firm believer in the  use of EI tests prior to hiring is a solid business decision. That way, when social skills are needed for the open position, you are getting an employee that matches all of your needs not just the technical ones. Relevance to the Study of Organizational Behavior: All businesses or organizations need managers to help shape their employees attitudes and behavior to ensure their desired outcomes. Managers who possess emotional intelligence help to make this possible in the most effective way possible. This is relevant because it deals with employees and with that, employee emotions and how they will react to a manager with good emotional intelligence. Managers who can motivate, or actively manage the workforce by using EI whether natural or learned will ultimately make the company money. Although EI is not required for some types of jobs (jobs that require little to no human contact) there are still many jobs where a manager’s emotional intelligence can be utilized and can make a difference to the bottom line of the company, which is usually the desired outcome. References George, J. M. (n.d.). Emotions and Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. Goleman, D. (2004). What Makes a Leader? Retrieved from Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader

Bacterial Vector: Delivery of Plasmid Mediated DNA Vaccine

Bacterial Vector: Delivery of Plasmid Mediated DNA Vaccine Abstract / Introduction: The United Nations recently estimated that the worlds population has exceeded seven billion people. It is projected that approximately 16% of this population rely on fish as a principal source of the protein obtained from animals [1]. However, many wild stocks of fish have begun to collapse due to destructive overfishing and damage caused to aquatic ecosystems by climate change. Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic species under environmentally managed conditions and is increasingly used throughout the world as a major food production method, providing approximately half of the fish consumed globally [3]. Sustainable aquaculture will play an important role in meeting the food requirements of a growing population while reducing the impact commercial fishing plays on overexploited and endangered species. Of critical importance when raising aquatic organisms under densely populated conditions is disease prevention. In an aquaculture setting with large populations of fish in close quart ers, bacterial and viral pathogens can spread rapidly partially due to the efficacy of transmission in water [4]. Therefore, an important consideration in moving towards sustainable aquaculture is effective and efficient prophylactic methods for preventing infection. Reduction of labour and material costs is of major concern in aquaculture disease management, therefore manual vaccination methods, such as intramuscular injection, are not considered viable in this regard. Salmon are a fish species of major commercial aquaculture relevance and as such, disease prevention in these farming scenarios is of substantial economic and environmental concern [5, 6]. One disease of relevance to farmed salmon species is the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), a.k.a. Chinook salmon disease. It is a rhabdovirus whose genome encodes a glycoprotein, which presents as a viral antigen [7, 8], and is a pathogen that causes deadly disease in many salmonid species of fish. Since its discovery in the 1950s, IHNV has spread throughout North America, as well as to Asian and European countries. It causes necrosis and hemorrhage within infected fish, commonly in the kidney and spleen, and induces high mortality in young fry [9]. It can be particularly devastating in the densely populated aquaculture setting. Given the environmental sustainability and economic importance of commercially farmed salmon globally, it is therefore of importance to develop practical cost- effective methods for vaccinating large populations of fish against diseases such as IHNV. Gene based vaccines have been shown to be able to deliver plasmid-encoded DNA (pDNA) to fish cell cultures in vitro [10]. The protein produced inside the animal cell is treated as a foreign antigen, and can cause a protective immune response against a pathogen such as a bacteria or virus. Objectives / Methodology: The aims of this proposed research program are several fold. The objectives are to develop and test an appropriate bacterial vector for the delivery of a plasmid mediated DNA vaccine in an aquaculture environment. This vector will be assessed using molecular methods for efficacy within a suitable in vitro model system to examine the ability to deliver an immunologically relevant product of interest. This system will then be evaluated for effectiveness against pathogenic challenge within an appropriate in vivo model system. The hypothesis driving this proposal is that an engineered bacterial vector can effectively deliver a plasmid mediated gene vaccine within salmonid, and protect against a lethal challenge of a species and commercially relevant pathogen. Previous studies suggest that this is a worthwhile and meaningful pursuit in the global aquaculture context [11, 12]. Effective DNA vaccines against IHNV have previously been developed, however these types of vaccines have been hist orically delivered by intramuscular injection [11]. Several alternative methods of DNA vaccine delivery have been explored for including liposomes and ultrasound [13]. Though these methods present issues such as training, equipment costs, and sub-optimal vaccine delivery. An ideal scenario in an aquaculture context would involve a relatively inexpensive delivery vector (e.g. bacteria) carrying a vaccine, which can be easily dosed directly into the environment and induce a protective immunity within the population. The concept of using attenuated bacteria as DNA delivery vectors has been explored for some time [14, 15]. In prior studies, Escherichia coli have been shown to be capable of successfully acting as DNA delivery vectors to mammalian cells in vitro [12, 16]. For aquaculture settings, employing pathogens of human concern, even if attenuated, have regulatory and health concerns. For this reason delivery vectors such as E. coli are not ideal. In this study, an attenuated version of the salmonid pathogen Yersinia ruckeri, the cause of enteric redmouth disease (ERD) will be utilized. The rationale for using this attenuated vector is that it is a naturally occurring fish pathogen, in addition, it is not of human health concern. Furthermore, there is potential that the vector itself may induce immunity against ERD acting as a bivalent vaccine. Previous reports using attenuated bacteria as a vector for gene delivery indicate that release of pDNA is enhanced by death of the bacteria inside the host cell [17]. One strategy to achieve intracellular rupture of the vector is through the use of cell wall deficient bacteria. In this proposal, a strain Y. ruckeri lacking the ability to synthesize the cell wall component diaminopimelic acid (DAP) will be exploited. In the absence of an exogenous source of DAP, the bacteria cannot synthesize the peptide cross bridges of the peptidoglycan cell wall and will undergo autolysis during subsequent growth. Two engineered plasmids will be utilized for the proposed studies, one vaccine and one control. The vaccine plasmid will have the full glycoprotein from Y. ruckeri cloned in downstream of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. The control plasmid will have firefly luciferase reporter gene also cloned in downstream of a CMV promoter. To summarize these experimental components; bacterial vector strain ÃŽ ±, vaccine ÃŽ ² and control ÃŽ ³ plasmids:      Ã‚   ÃŽ ± Y. ruckeri 11.29Δdap Isolated from Chinook salmon, dapA mutant [18] ÃŽ ²pIHNV-G Complete IHNV glycoprotein (G) gene inserted into pcDNA3 (Fig.1), downstream of CMV promoter [19] ÃŽ ³pLUC Firefly luciferase reported inserted into pcDNA3 (Fig.1), downstream of CMV promoter [18] The proposed model of plasmid mediated vaccine delivery in this system is multi-step: Vector harboring plasmid pIHNV-G enters a cell via endocytosis or phagocytosis Facilitated by Δdap, pDNA is liberated in the cytoplasm via bacterial lysis pDNA is transported to the nucleus Encoded antigen is expressed and processed, inducing an immune response In vitro studies: Transformation of bacterial vector with vaccine and control plasmids Competent Y. ruckeri strain11.29Δdap will be transformed with either pIHNV-G or pLUC by electroporation or chemical methods. Successful transformants will be screened by growth on appropriate media agar plates supplemented with ampicillin and DAP. Examination of transfection frequency via flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy For tissue culture experiments, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) embryonic cells (CHSE-214), and normal rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) gill cells (RTgill-W1) will be employed. These cell lines are relevant to the species and aquaculture context of interest for this research proposal. Both are relatively easy to culture, e.g. not requiring increased [CO2] or temperature. Transformed bacteria (11.29Δdap-pIHNV-G, or 11.29Δdap-pLUC) will be co-incubated with sub-confluent layers of each cell line and transfection frequency / gene delivery with reporter plasmid will be assessed by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Quantitative assessment of vector invasiveness by gentamicin protection assay Invasiveness of 11.29Δdap, 11.29Δdap-pIHNV-G, and 11.29Δdap-pLUC will be quantitatively assessed by gentamicin protection assays. Briefly, each cell line will be co-incubated with the vector (11.29Δdap-pIHNV-G, or 11.29Δdap-pLUC) at a multiplicity of infection of ~100 bacteria per tissue culture cell and incubated for 2h. At 24 and 48h post-incubation, cell monolayers will be fixed and analyzed via fluorescence microscopy for luciferase expression. In vivo studies: Routine maintenance of rainbow trout treatment / exposure groups in aquaria Transformed bacterial vector will also used to treat O. mykiss in vivo through dosed aquaculture immersion. Adolescent O. mykiss fry will be maintained at 12 °C in appropriately sized aquaria with filtration and aeration and water quality factors (e.g. pH, NH3, Cl) with daily feeding and 5% water changes. In preparation for treatment, fish will be moved to separate isolated 40L aquaria with filtration with feeling and 25% water changes every two days. The proposed experimental treatment / exposure groups will be as follows: 11.29Δdap 11.29Δdap-pIHNV-G 11.29Δdap-pLUC Intramuscular injection of purified pIHNV-G Intramuscular injection of purified pLUC Intramuscular injection of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  vector, plasmid, or injection (anesthesia only) Exposure of O. mykiss with bacterial vector harboring vaccine or control plasmid For treatment with bacterial vector (with or without pDNA), experimental fish will be transferred from their 40L tank to sterile 4L beakers of water (aerated, 12 °C). Appropriate vector will be dosed into the beaker via serological pipette for a final concentration of approximately 107 cfu ml-1, and fish incubated for 1h [18]. Following treatment, fish will be transferred back to their respective 40L tank and maintained as previously described. Exposure of O. mykiss to purified plasmid or PBS control by intramuscular injection For injection treatments, fish will be transported to beakers of sterile 4L beakers of water (aerated, 12 °C) and an anesthetizing dose of Finquel added. Once visibly anesthetized (attenuated movement and muscle tone, reduced respiration) [20], fish will be treated. A volume of 100ÃŽ ¼L of purified pIHNV-G or pLUC resuspended in PBS, will be intramuscularly injected (1ÃŽ ¼g total plasmid), 100 ÃŽ ¼L PBS, or anesthetized with no injection, Once injected, fresh water will be added and fish were monitored until consciousness is regained, and transferred back to their respective 40L tank and maintained as previously described. Lethal challenge of O. mykiss with pathogenic IHNV and quantifying response to vectors After vector or control treatment (14d), fish remaining from each sample group will be challenged with 5104 pfu ml-1 of pathogenic IHNV [21, 22] for 5h. Mortalities will be recorded daily for 30d after viral challenge. At 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14d post vector treatment, or 3, 5, 7, and 14d post injection, fish will be removed from their respective treatment tanks and euthanized with a lethal dose of Finquel. The spleen and kidneys of each fish will be surgically removed, placed in an RNA stabilization reagent, and stored at -20 °C until processing. Organ samples will be homogenized with zirconia/silica beads in a tissue lysis buffer, RNA purified from the homogenate, and synthesis of cDNA performed. Gene expression of Mx-1, Vig-1, TNF-ÃŽ ±1, TNF-ÃŽ ±2, IFN1 and IFN2 [23] will be measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) relative to housekeeping gene ARP [24], and analyzed by the ΔΔCt method. In previous studies, levels of expression for the genes of interest in thi s proposal have been revealed to be altered in fish exposed to IHNV [19, 23, 25]. Discussion / Impacts: Salmonids, particularly rainbow trout, are globally one of the most scientifically studied and extensively farmed fish [26, 27]. As previously mentioned, aquaculture is utilized worldwide as a major food production method. This necessitates the demand for economically sustainable disease prevention techniques to help preclude economically devastating loss of business due to mortality. This research proposal aims to validate that an attenuated bacterial vector can effectively deliver a plasmid mediated gene based vaccine for IHNV to rainbow trout in vivo, and invoke an immune response that will protect against future exposure to the pathogen. It is postulated that exposure to 11.29Δdap-pIHNV-G will invoke the most significant immune response in treated fish compared to other treatment groups. Furthermore, this treatment will induce the highest level of protection from a subsequent lethal challenge of IHNV. If successful in this regard, an aquaculture based dosing method exploiting plasmid harboring attenuated bacteria would represent a relatively inexpensive and non-labor intensive vaccination method. Further investigating A 16K and 32K cDNA salmonid cDNA microarray have recently been developed and are obtainable through the Genomic Research on Atlantic Salmon Project (GRASP) [28].

Essay --

James and Descartes William James and Rene Descartes are both philosophers who created methods on how to find the truth in life. James created the pragmatic method and Descartes used reason. I think that these two methods are somewhat dissimilar for several reasons. The first reason, is because Descartes used his method to find proof in himself and urged others to use it to find truth in themselves as well whereas William James used the pragmatic method to help find the truth in two sides of an argument. In James’ first essay, he tries to explain what pragmatism is with a story about a camping trip he took with a few of his friends. The friends began to argue about whether a man and a squirrel pass each other while going around a tree but do not see one another. Pragmatism seems to be a little confusing at first. I had to reread the argument about the squirrel and the human a couple of times to understand what the argument was about. I personally agreed with the group who said the man did not go around the squirrel simply because physically, he did not pass the animal while going around the tree. When James explained what the pragmatic method was, I interpreted it as basically trying to find correctness in both arguments depending on how you’re looking at it. Descartes’ method is ultimately about finding the truth within yourself. He says that there are two types of people that would not benefit from his method: those who think they know more than they do and who lack the patience for such careful work, and those who are modest enough to think that they are more capable of finding out the truth if they follow a teacher. Descartes also creates a three to four maxim moral code to guide his behavior while he experiences his period... ...uire that â€Å"vital good†, if religion is true. I think that this is why I can’t fully agree with Descartes philosophy because I’m not a religious person. The majority of the time, I need physical evidence to believe in something. I don’t really feed into the â€Å"I think, therefore I am† philosophy because I wouldn’t want my religion/ my beliefs to be everything that I am. I do consider that humans have free will and are more than able to find the truth in something, but only if they are looking for it and doing anything whatsoever that is required to get the result you want, regardless of the methods used. It does not matter whether these methods are legal or illegal, fair or foul, kind or cruel, truth or lies, democratic or dictatorial, good or evil; we see this on an everyday basis in people’s actions which coincides with James’ statement â€Å"the end justifies the means†.

The Effects of Tobacco :: Papers

The Effects of Tobacco The smoking of tobacco became prevalent early in this century. The production of flue-cured tobacco, the development of cigarette rolling machines, and a public health concern over tuberculosis germs being spread through the cuspidors associated with snuff and chewing tobacco, all contributed to an increase in cigarette smoking. As smoking became more common, health problems emerged which seemed to be related to smoking. In the 1950’s, sir Richard Doll, a British researcher, studied the smoking habits of more than 34,000 physicians and found a strong correlation between smoking and disease. Throughout the 1950’s, research data on the effects of tobacco on human health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action." Since then, each Surgeon General has spoken out against smoking; the current Surgeon General proclaims smoking to be the number one preventable cause of disease and death. Medical science is in general agreement that use of tobacco endangers one’s health. Lung Cancer was the first health effect to be linked to smoking. Subsequent research has linked tobacco usage to heart disease, emphysema, and several other forms of cancer. Recent research has even suggested harmful effects to unborn children of smokers and to those non-smokers exposed to the side-smoke of smokers. One of the benefits of a free society is the freedom of choice for adults, so long as this freedom does not deprive other persons of their freedom The decision to smoke might appear to be one of those choices, since it is usually through that the health risks of smoking are borne largely by the individuals making the choice. Factors that complicate the simplicity of this argument are: 1) Smoking is a social custom and when one person smokes, other persons in the area are exposed to the smoke. 2) Adult smoking habits provide a powerful modeling which affects the habits of children and youth. 3) Society must bear some of the social cost (increased insurance premiums and various tax burdens) of death and disability brought about by the use of tobacco. The tobacco plant is believed to have originated in the Western Hemisphere. The cultivated species most often grown for North American and European tobacco products is Nicotiana tabacum. The leaves of the plant are prepared for smoking, chewing, or sniffing. In addition nicotine tobacco contains over 19 known carcinogens (most collectively known as "tar") and more than 2,000 chemicals. Prior to European influence in the Americas, tobacco was used by the Indians of Mexico and Peru for ceremonies, medicinal purposes, and to alleviate Error! Bookmark not defined.

evilmac Protagonist Becoming Evil in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth: Protagonist Becoming Evil The story Macbeth is like no other in plot and poetry. It sets itself apart from the rest by having a protagonist becoming evil. What makes Macbeth such a complicated character is the way his outlook keeps on changing throughout the play. This essay will prove that Macbeth is an evil man and was not overpowered by ambition to get what he wanted. This essay will also determine that certain characters like the witches did not force him to do evil; they simply triggered it. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as a hero in the Scottish army, that is ironic because Macbeth has defeated a traitor and he will become one. We feel that a person of his loyalty could never commit evil unless he had a good reason or if he would be provoked. After Macbeth's first meeting with the witches, we learn from his aside that he has thought about killing Duncan " My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical" 1(Macbeth 1.3.152). Macbeth also says " If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir." 2(Macbeth 1.4.157-159) which means that maybe he does not have to murder the king to gain that title. Luck has been very generous to him and might continue and make him king. Macbeth's true evil thoughts about being king are first shown when he finds out that king Duncan has named his son Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland. He now shows his evil and his true feelings. " Stars, hide your fires; Let not night see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." 3 (Macbeth 1.4.57-60) Macbeth is actually seeking help from the dark and supernatural. Macbeth is saying that he does not want to see the evil that he will commit until it is done. It is now known that Macbeth is capable of evil and would commit it. Upon meeting Lady Macbeth, we can assume that any evil done by Macbeth would be contributed by her influence. Lady Macbeth is a very powerful women and she has a-lot of power over Macbeth's decisions. After Lady Macbeth reads the letter from Macbeth, she says that he is in fact too noble to kill Duncan in cold blood but he would like to. " It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not

Human societ

The human society is a very complicated structure. It consists of a huge quantity of members, each of them with their own thoughts, emotions and experiences. The notion of â€Å"society† unifies all those members and therefore, they must correspond to the standards of that society. They have to elaborate some special mode of living, thinking, behaviour in order to be like other. â€Å"Being like all† – that’s the main motto of human society of all times. Within the complex structure of society one can be happy and rich, other unhappy and poor but everyone tries to be like the rest.But it is well known that each rule can have its exceptions. So, the human society has. There are people who are not able to find their place in the society. Each of them has his own reasons. One just doesn’t want to be like all, the other just can’t behaviour like people around him and so on. In the world literature the notion of the â€Å"outsider† has been rather often discussed. Among these discussions the view of â€Å"outsider† by Thomas Mann and Albert Camus are one of the most interesting. Tonio Kroeger in the novel of the same name by T. Mann is rather a typical outsider. So, what made him to be so?Surely, he is an artist and the real artist is always a little bit different from the crowd. But there are many talented artists which are not outsiders at all in their real life. Tonio is a lonely artist. These two words- â€Å"lonely artist† are able to explain the Kroeger’s problem. The first word is â€Å"lonely† and the second is â€Å"artist†. The â€Å"lonely† is the reason and the â€Å"artist† is the consequence. Kroeger has become an artist because he was lonely and couldn’t find himself in this life. All he can do is creating art describing the reality around him but he is not able to live in this reality.He realizes that his inability and suffers a lot because of tha t. Some of the events of this story must be perceived in symbolic manner because of Kroeger’s difficulties in being like other. His homosexual sympathy to Hans Hansen hasn’t to be understood as just a physical sexual expression. This sympathy symbolizes the Kroeger’s aspiration for prestige bourgeois life as Hans was the bright representative of same. Kroeger couldn’t find himself in this bourgeois life but was eager of living like his â€Å"ordinary† contemporaries. That’s why Hans attracted him. Kroeger lived in constant paradox within him.His heart was the heart of an artist but in his veins the bourgeois blood was flowing. He wanted to be as easygoing and careless as his friends but he couldn’t be so because his mind was depressed all the time by the events of the life around him and he could only describe them in his art. That was the main reason of Kroegen’s being the outsider. The main thing Kroeger had to learn during h is life was that probably his outstanding skills as an artist were conditioned by his withdrawing from the ordinary life. In other words, if he had been an ordinary bourgeois personality he wouldn’t have been a gifted artist.The main reason of his unhappiness was that he didn’t want to understand that simple thing: it is not possible to connect things which can not be connected – the commonplace satisfied life and the delicate, sensitive vision of the artist. Should Kroegen understand that in time, the life would be much easier for him. But he understood that later. Perhaps, that’s the fate of each real talent – to pass through many difficulties in order to find oneself in the art. The ordinary always remains to be ordinary. It is not worth to follow it.We must follow things that we have skills for and there always will be place for the ordinary in our life – it will come into our lives by itself. But if talented person tries to overtake the ordinary or to live between the ordinary and the exalted he or she is doomed to unhappiness and misfortune. Precisely that started to happen with Tonio Kroeger. When he understood that it is not possible to find compromise between â€Å"the Dionysian† (all the passionate and emotional) and â€Å"the Apollonian† (rational and reasonable) he decided to combine them in his art and that was the unique correct decision for him.Albert Camus in his â€Å"Stranger† gives us the other notion of outsider. Meursault – a man of absurd in the world of absurd, – that’s the Camus’ vision of the problem in case. When after the first sentence of the novel -â€Å"Maman died today† follow the indifferent meditations of the protagonist regarding when died his mother – today or yesterday, we understand the Meursault is completely indifferent to the notions of time, place and many other phenomena of our real world. All along the novel new ar guments prove that. Meursault lives being ruled by purely physical instincts.His life consists of a number of patterns (ways of behaviour) which he uses every day. For example, he becomes sad because Sunday came and broke the customary way of his everyday life. The heat produced by the sun when he goes back from the funeral of his mother worries him more than the very death of his mother. In other words the Meursault activities look completely paradoxical for other people, but not paradoxically for him. Camus presents in his hero his understanding of life in general and of truth in particular. To say more, Meursault believes sincerely in justice and truth.But he has his own notion of that â€Å"truth†. Yes, he doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral. But on the other hand he never says lies. He doesn’t see any sense in acting like the rest of people. He just shows his own true emotions or indifference in each particular moment of his life. He is independent i n the full meaning of this word. He doesn’t believe in God, he lives by his own motives. Society tries to find some meaning in his behaviour but all in vain. It is not possible to find sense in absurd. Otherwise, it will not be absurd any more. Thus, Meursault embodies the Camus’ notion of so-called â€Å"relative truth†.That is not all society’s truth but the truth of one person. Yes, he guns down the Arab but he believes in justice and doesn’t try to avoid it. Certainly, it sounds terribly but that is Camus’ absurd vision of the truth. On the one hand Meursault’s activities are horrible as that his â€Å"relative truth† makes a lot of harm to other people but on the other hand he is not eager of making harm to anyone, he never lies, he is just living his own life which is right to his opinion. This difference between Meursault’s truth and society’s truth makes Meursault to be the outsider.He can’t underst and the sense of the society’s existence (to say it more exactly – he doesn’t even want to understand it as it is not important for him) and the society, in its turn, can’t find out any meanings in the mode of Meursault’s life. Nevertheless, Meursault has learnt his lesson towards the end of the story. When we see him sentenced to death it is already possible to speak about â€Å"new† Meursault. It doesn’t mean that he has completely changed his moral perception. He still doesn’t believe in God and is sure that after death there is nothing but non-existence.But he started using his memory what he has never done before. He remembers his father and understands all the â€Å"advantages† of human memory. He had never resorted to his memories and lived only following his physical impulses. When being in prison he understood how good it can be – to remember something that has happened once. Meursault starts to distingui sh the past and the future. His imagination and feelings work like they never did before. He realizes that both imagination and feelings (spiritual, not physical feelings) are rather useful in regular life.Only in prison he begins to perceive each new day like a gift (as there were few left before his death penalty) without classifying them in days which are good and in days which break his customary way of life. In other words he began to understand that his life was not as correct as it seemed to him before. But he started to understand that too late when his life was going to be cut by those who haven’t managed to find some meaning in his life. Both Tonio Kroeger and Meursault realized the mistakes of their existence.Kroeger understood that he was unable to learn living like other people because the problem which was, by the way, created by himself was already too significant and complex for him and he had to find some area in which he could get rid of that immense moral t ension. That area became his art for him. Meursault couldn’t change his life because he was already sentenced to death for the actions of his previous egoistic â€Å"self-life†. These two protagonists are similar in this respect as they both realized the necessity to change their lives. Nevertheless, there is a clear difference in â€Å"being outsider† between Kroeger and Meursault.Kroeger was a brightly expressed outsider as he couldn’t find himself in his society and that was hurting him a lot. He really was out of society’s side. He crossed successfully with the society within his professional skills only when he was describing that society in his works. As to the commonplace reality- he was an unhappy man. Meursault, contrary to Kroegen, represents another type of outsider: â€Å"outsider within society†. Meursault was the member of society and that’s why society was astonished by his behaviour. He was a stranger within society an d that made his activities paradoxical.Kroeger experienced pain because he was outsider and the society didn’t care a lot about it. Meursault didn’t suffer a lot because of being outsider – but society suffered because of his activities. Speaking about the outcomes made by each of these two protagonists it is necessary to say that Kroeger’s conclusion was more successful than Meursault’s. Kreoger found the decision of his problem in his art and Meursault had not already time for the correction of his mistakes as he realized them under the threat of guillotine. Being outsider means to not coincide with the public’s opinions and norms of life.T. Mann and Albert Camus showed us that the notion of the outsider is poly-semantic. Tonio Kreoger and the stranger Meursault are both outsiders but each in his proper manner. Kroeger is an â€Å"outer outsider† (he wants to be within the society being like all) and Meursault is an â€Å"inner out sider† (he doesn’t feel himself to be outsider but the society consider him to be so). Regarding Mann’s story it would be helpful to conclude that it is not worth to follow the common opinion and try to be like all. The most important thing is to preserve the skills and the lofty given to you by the nature.As to the Camus’ novel, it is possible to learn from it that being honest only for oneself is not enough, it is also necessary to thing about the society you live in and that one’s notions of truth are not always common for all. The society was created by people precisely in order to find the compromise between different people’s opinions. Both Kroeger and Meursault have become outsiders by themselves. The conclusions they have made from their mistakes are rather consoling. So, hope that Mann and Camus’ novels will serve as good examples for many for not being an outsider in the future.

Conflicts Stimulate Maturity Essay

Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is the first in a trilogy relating the trials and tribulations encountered as an adolescent in New Mexico. Many consider it to be â€Å"classic† Chicano fiction in that it portrays New Mexican traditions and lifestyles the average reader had most likely never encountered while transcending a mere portrait of the southwest by representing Antonio’s rites of passage into maturity in a manner to which nearly anyone can relate (University of New Mexico). The reader follows along as Antonio moves from childish innocence to newfound maturity through a series of crises and conflicts. They begin with Ultima’s arrival and end with her death, stimulating Antonio’s spiritual search and moving him closer to adulthood. Along the way, Antonio struggles through a duality of conflicts, convinced he must choose only one side of his heritage but made uncertain by his loyalties and beliefs for each. Maturity is finally reached when he realizes the solution is to fuse the differing elements in his family. In this way he finds satisfaction for both his inner needs and external influences. The conflicts triggering Antonio’s maturation are the result of the dualities in Antonio’s life: his mother’s versus his father’s families, the Catholic religion versus curanderismo, Western versus Chicano culture, and myth versus reality. His family’s heritage is one of the impetuses to Antonio’s soul searching. On his mother’s side is a heritage of Catholicism and farmers who worked off the land; on his father’s side resides a Hispanic people who made their living as vaqueros on the llano. His mother wishes Antonio to become a priest while his father wishes he carry on in the Marez tradition. This conflict is made clear through Antonio’s dream of his birth: his mother’s family brings him gifts of earth – â€Å"fresh green chile and corn, ripe apples and peaches, pumpkins and green beans† (Anaya, 5), while his father’s family destroys them and provides, instead, â€Å"a saddle, horse blankets, bottles of whiskey, a new rope, bridles, chapas, and an old guitar† (Anaya, 5). While both families rely on the earth and its bounty to provide, they have dissenting attitudes. It is the goal of the Marezes to â€Å"live free upon the earth and roam over it† while the Lunas â€Å"live tied to the earth and its cycles† (Lamadrid, 498). Antonio asks Ultima: â€Å"Now we have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, and yet I am of neither. I wonder which life I will choose? † (Anaya, 38), voicing his concerns over the ability to pick just one lifestyle. According to Black (155 – 157), Antonio’s coming-of-age involves separating from his family while integrating features from both sides. The young man is expected to physically separate from his mother as his brothers have done. Though they occupy little of the text, Andy and Gene also play significant roles in Antonio’s life. In their minds, â€Å"all their lives they had lived with the dreams of their father and mother haunting them†¦. † (Anaya, 62) and Gene avers, â€Å"We can’t be tied down to old dreams†: (Anaya, 62). The brothers are relieved, then, that Antonio is the scapegoat who can please their mother by embodying her dreams, leaving them free to pursue their own. Antonio is different than Andy and Gene, preferring, instead, to use â€Å"both waters† and create a new lifestyle. Gabriel succinctly sums up his son’s spiritual search like this: â€Å"every man is a part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may reform the old materials, make something new† (Anaya, 236). A further conflict in Antonio’s life is the dichotomy of the Catholic religion as opposed to Chicano beliefs and practices. He begins his spiritual search with the Catholic church, becoming preoccupied with sin and its consequences. After witnessing the death of the town’s sheriff and Lupito, he gives confession. Antonio struggles with the meaning of the Act of Contrition, the nature of confession, and his disappointment with the Communion ritual. He questions the church’s teachings regarding God and its definitions of good and evil, particularly after the deaths of Tenorio and his daughters, Narciso, and Florence. The author states, â€Å"The boy is wrestling with the questions of good and evil and why evil exists in this world† (McDonald, from de Mancelos, 4). Although Antonio wonders, â€Å"Was it possible that there was more power in Ultima’s magic than in the priest? † (Anaya, 99), it is Ultima who consoles him when the Catholic priest fails to heal Lucas. Ultima reaffirms Antonio’s faith in his fellow many by assuring him that the men of the llano would not resort to the act of killing another without good reason. She initiates him into the art of curanderismo. As Antonio begins assisting Ultima in her healing practices, he is introduced to the legend of the golden carp. When he sees the mythical golden carp, Antonio experiences a moment of revelation: â€Å"This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion! If God was witness to my beholding of the golden carp then I had sinned! † (Anaya, 105). Antonio does not give up his dream of being a priest, even though is severely disappointed by the Catholic religion. He becomes a different kind of spiritual leader, one his people are not quite ready to accept. In a dream, Antonio cries out to Jesus as he suffers on the cross: â€Å"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me! † (Anaya, 233). He is unable to fully believe in either Catholicism or curanderismo and consequently decides to combine the two different perspectives to gain his own answers. Antonio ultimately becomes â€Å"a man of learning† as Ultima had predicted. He acquires knowledge and understanding along the way to maturity. Antonio appreciates that life is naturally ever changing. He accepts his parents’ flaws as well as his brothers’ sins. He realizes the extent of prejudice and accepts that others, too, are not firm in their beliefs, while recognizing his own sins. The duality of Western and Chicano cultures in his heritage is another conflict Antonio must resolve. The author represents three different acculturations: assimilation, integration and rejection (Black, 146). According to Black, Antonio’s brothers â€Å"are assimilated into the Anglo world in ways that result in their desire to leave la familia and move into the dominant cultural sphere†; because they reject their heritage, they lose their culture (149). Antonio does a better job of assimilating his ethnic identity with Angle culture through adaptation: â€Å"†¦the innocence which our isolation sheltered could not last forever, and the affairs of the town began to reach across our bridge and enter my life† (Anaya, 14). Antonio begins his assimilation in school. He retains his heritage by speaking Spanish and eating his traditional Chicano lunch â€Å"of hot beans and some good, green chile wrapped in tortillas† (Anaya, 54). Although, as he says, â€Å"the other children saw my lunch [and] they laughed and pointed again†, the experience reminded him of the existence of prejudice (Anaya, 54). It makes him feel different until he finally finds friends who share his Chicano roots and he is able to overcome his loneliness. This also helps him to realize that he can live in both worlds. Antonio strives to learn English and stay in school, in direct contrast to the rest of his family. At home, he is educated about Chicano culture through Ultima’s teachings. She urges him to appreciate the beauty of the land and embrace the ancient wisdom of curanderas. His family are the instructors in such things as personal integrity and the Chicano way of life. Belief in myth as opposed to the reality presented by history also create a conflict in Antonio. According to Lamadrid, there is an important relation between myth and the socio-cultural identity of traditional Chicanos (497). He uses examples such as that of la llorona (wailing woman) to define myth as the â€Å"collective interpretation and mediation of the contradictions in the historical and ecological experience of a people† (Lamadrid, 496). This assertion becomes clear in examining Antonio’s representation of evil and native power; he believes La llorona is luring him, but he resists and escapes death. Ultimately, Antonio learns to accept that life is the greater reality and understands â€Å"the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart† (Anaya, 237). He remembers Ultima’s teachings, which help him to â€Å"take life’s experiences and build strength from them and not weakness† (Anaya, 248). As de Mancelos states, Antonio must â€Å"understand the other side of the myth, the legends, the indigenous beliefs and the power of the earth† as well as more traditional religious beliefs (5). An apocalyptic event – the development of the first atomic bomb for use in World War II combat – juxtaposes with Antonio’s increasing awareness. According to Lamadrid, â€Å"the awareness of the characters of the apocalyptic threat of the atomic bomb†¦demonstrates a real and historical dimension of apocalypse† (500). Upon its arrival, the village women dress in mourning clothes, assert that the bomb resembles â€Å"a ball of white heat beyond the imagination, beyond hell† and lay the blame on ignorant Anglos: â€Å"Man was not made to know so much†¦they compete with God, they disturb the seasons, they seek to know more than God Himself. In the end, that knowledge they seek will destroy us all† (Anaya, 183). The village witnesses the loss of a large number of husbands and sons during the war while the state hosts the very first test of the atomic bomb. Even Antonio is affected as his brothers return from service traumatized. According to the villagers, these are all signs of an apocalypse requiring â€Å"the need for a synthesis†¦in this new time of crisis† (Lamadrid, 500). Antonio is fortunate enough to create his own synthesis by continuing his ties to the desert and La Virgen de Guadalupe, la llorona and the brotherhood of the golden carp. His cultural conflicts are settled because of his synchronicity with Ultima’s belief that the purpose of his life is to do good. Her final blessing, â€Å"Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills† are the words he will live by(Anaya, 247). Antonio’s maturity comes as the result of completing a journey which alternately takes him away from, and then back to, his heritage. The conflicts of warring factions in his life cause him to question the values and beliefs of each and come up with his own explanation. Rather than refusing his heritage, Antonio fuses the differences and acquires a richness of experience and strength of character. Along with this new understating, Antonio looks forward to a future based on the past but open to new possibilities – a mature outlook indeed. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. New York: Warner Books, 1999. Black, Debra B. â€Å"Times of Conflict: Bless Me, Ultima as a Novel of Acculturation†. Bilingual Review, Vol. 25 (2), 2000, pp. 146-159. de Mancelos, Joao. â€Å"Witchcraft, Initiation, and Cultural Identity in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima†. Revista de Letras, serie II, #3, 2004. 129-134. Lamadrid, Enrique R. â€Å"Myth as the Cognitive Process of Popular Culture in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima†: The Dialectics of Knowledge. Hispania, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Sep. 1985), pp. 496-501. Stone, Dan. â€Å"An Interview with Rudolfo Anaya†. National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read. January 4, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from the NEA website: http://www. neabigread. org/books/blessmeultima/anaya04_about. php. University of New Mexico. â€Å"Writing the Southwest: Rudolfo Anaya†. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from the UNM website: http://www. unm. edu/~wrtgsw/anaya. html.