Essay --

America is one of the most obese countries in the world, and the reasons are quite obvious. Take a look around. Fast food chains on every block, more and more technology to make our lives easier, and high amount of stress are just a few factors to weight gain in our country. There are many different views on obesity and how the people think it should be resolved, whether it's government making the change or the people taking care of themselves. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Are we doing enough to bring these statistics down? No. In the last 40 years, there has been a growth to more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America (â€Å"Adolescent and School Health†). Restaurants (such as Wendy's, McDonald's etc.) serve more than 50 million people per day, generating about 65 million in sales annually. Only since obesity has become a national epidemic have fast food restaurants changed their ways. But we need to do more than just change the kind of oil the french fries are fried in. Better yet, why don't we remove, or intensely decrease the number of the unhealthy fast food chains, and spread more healthy fast food chains, such as Subway? Is it something government could take act in? Should the United States government take measures to fight the rise of obesity in the country, or are choices concerning diet and nutrition better left to the individuals, free of government interference? As many people are trying to put the blame of obesity on restaurants, others, like myself, have a strong opinion that the restaurants have nothing to do with obesity and the customer has the right to order what they would like. Some supporters believe that government should take action to... ...ents decision. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (â€Å"Obesity Seen as a Global Problem†). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (â€Å"Obesity in the U.S. Fast†). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (â€Å"Obesity in the U.S. Fast†). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.

Essay --

Throughout history, industrialism by the west (i.e. England, France, and Spain) has led to many conflicts between them and the indigenous, native, people whom lived there. One indigenous group of people affected by western imperialism is the Native Americans in North America. The Europeans that settled onto the â€Å"New World† were confronted by Native Americans, and were faced with violent conflicts. These conflicts led to a belief that all Native Americans are savages as well as heathens (Democracy, 2012). This led to the Europeans to start to kill Native Americans, or kick them off of their land and place them onto reservations. Reservations were usually small and unusable land. But, other times, the chief was forced to sign treaties with the Europeans. These treaties usually stated that the Europeans had a right to be on the land, and if they were allowed to have some land as well as do colonize there, no conflict would occur. Yet, after the treaties were signed, the Europeans and Native Americans still had violent conflicts (Democracy, 2012). Today, there are very little Native Americans left in North America. Some of them are very poor, but some of them are rich due to the casinos they own within the reservations upon which they live. The treatment of these people original was harsh as well as cruel, and there is evidence of that today due to the low population of Native Americans within North America. Another group of indigenous people that have been wrongly treated is the native people of Africa. The indigenous people of Africa were taken over by Western European nations without them knowing. This was because, these western nations had all divided Africa into nations based on their natural resources at a meetin... ...a is also, in association with other organizations that are attempting to assist the aboriginal people of Australia (Australia, 2013). The Oxfam Australia organization has done much in the way of educating the continent of Australia, and the aboriginal youth within Australia, in order to make the aboriginal culture as a whole strong and to have a more satisfying life as well. Australia had been imperialized by the British for their natural resources, and had used the aboriginal people there as well. They took their land, their people’s lives and their way of life, for Britain’s own gain. The aboriginal population has gone down due to these events, but with the help of organizations like NACCHO, and Oxfam Australia, the aborigines are able to make an attempt to regrow their population. They will also, try to keep hold as well as reteach their cultural beliefs.

Five force model of PIXAR

Threat of new entrants: High Advanced technologies make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market because they have to develop those technologies before effectively competing. The requirement for advanced technologies positively affects PIXAR. The PIXAR has a high level technology development department, so the threat of new competitors is the technology. Threat of substitute products or services: Moderate I consider substitute products to be theater or other forms of entertainment. Internet is also a substitute form of entertainment as the concept of instant messaging was very popular at this time. Also, we can see the beginning of the popular social network Facebook gain traction as it was launched in 2004. Rivalry among existing competitors: High Since there are only a few key players with similar percentage of market share (ranges from 14%-19%), the competition between them is strong. To be more competitive, the growing trend is to consolidate and acquire other studios. For example, Vivendi acquired Universal in 2000, which was then acquired by GE in 2004 and Viacom acquired DreamWorks in 2006. Power of buyers: Moderate I assess this threat to be moderate as there are many potential consumers with limited financial impact on the industry. In addition, the industry is dominated by key players thus is able to limit the options for the buyers. On the contrary, even though there are only a few options, there are effectively zero switching costs for customers. Hence, watching a film by one company does not make it more costly or difficult to then watch a film from a competitor. Power of suppliers: Moderate I assess this threat to be moderate since with technology, hand-drawn animation is being replaced by computer technology. In addition, the needs for these computer animation skills start to be outsourced from North America to Asia Pacific where there are significant lower costs coupled with high quality computer animation production.

Counseling African Americans Essay

Sue and Sue’s Chapter 14 Counseling African Americans spends a great deal of effort exploring cultural particulars and corresponding clinical implications while working with African Americans; factors such as family dynamics, educational orientation, spirituality, and the pressures and stress of racism and marginalization. This offered me perspective through a lens much broader than my own somewhat narrow, predominantly white, and fairly privileged way of relating to the world. Before understanding culturally appropriate interventions, one must have an understanding of the cultural context or the cultural word of an individual. For me, this first means that differences must be noted, either literally in relationship with the African American client or simply as a clinical observation I make on my own. Of course the difference in the two will depend on the client, context, and general relevancy in the moment. In my own experience, noting racial difference aloud with a client has been most helpful in that it gives permission for the potentially â€Å"taboo† topic of race and differences to be considered, brought into the space at a later time, and even into the forefront of consciousness. Apart from the explicit therapeutic relationship, noting difference is a personal reminder that I am no expert on anyone’s experience but my own, I may make mistakes (and probably will), I should steer clear of assumptions, it’s ok to be curious, and to do my homework. Once a general understanding of differences is established, then one can begin to consider appropriate therapeutic interventions. Let’s take the issue of racism and discrimination; the byproduct of these atrocities oftentimes manifests as defense and survival mechanisms in Black Americans. Which can lead to a general mistrust or as it’s stated (by Sue and Sue) a â€Å"healthy cultural paranoia†, as a way of coping. This mistrust can be of individuals, entire races of people, the government, social service providers†¦ With this in mind, it’s important to determine what the client’s feelings and understandings about therapy are. To touch base and explain what kind of therapy I engage in, how it can be helpful to them, and what can be expected of our time together. Hopefully this will help to assuage uneasy feelings of fear of the unknown or mistrust, as well as set up a foundation for a healthy therapeutic alliance. Although Sue and Sue’s Afrocentric perspective can be helpful it can also simultaneously be viewed as reductive. It’s important not to discount individual differences by universalizing traits of African Americans. Self cannot be defined as a unitary concept evolving from a single defining variable, such as race or gender (Williams, 1999). For instance, not all women are nurturing, caring, and relational. Similarly, not all African Americans possess an African ethos of communalism or spirituality. Race, class, sexual orientation, and gender are all complex interactive components that make up the self. To approach a client through the lens of only one of these variables, means potentially silencing a central component of their identity. Additionally, it is also necessary to consider an internal state without regard to the social demands of each variable. Collectively, these considerations can aide to a more holistic view when working with African American clients. Part Two After spending a year in practicum at the SF county jail, I feel as though I’ve had a fairly decent introduction to working with African American females. When I began practicum I had had very little training in diversity or cross-cultural counseling. Turns out that a year in the jail was one large training in diversity and cross-cultural counseling! Now I’m able to pin my personal experience against the readings and gauge my success as a culturally competent therapist. When assessing my strengths, I find that I possess a keen and tremendously empathic understanding of how the stress of racism, sexism, and oppression can manifest in African American women. Oftentimes the byproduct of this stress is what brings the individual to jail. As a clinician, I can confidently say that I am able to enter the therapeutic relationship with a greater capacity for empathy because of this understanding and build a strong alliance as an ally as well as a therapist. I’m not afraid to make mistakes and have no attachment to being â€Å"right†; these qualities will only support me as a clinician. In addition, my upfront demeanor and willingness to self-disclose have had a remarkable impact on the therapeutic relationship. My empathy is strongly with women and their plight of identifying and addressing all the â€Å"isms† that stand between them and equality, wholeness, and health. Frequently, those â€Å"isms† are at the hands of men and I certainly have a bias towards this, and towards men in general. It’s no accident that I spent an entire year of practicum working solely with women; although it wasn’t a conscious choice, I believe on some level I chose not to work with men. I have incredible biases towards men as perpetrators and oppressors and men and their privilege, African American men as well as Caucasian. These biases keep me terrified at the thought of working with male clients. I imagine heaps and heaps of countertransference between male clients and myself; countertransference that is full of pain and rage. I’m not sure that I have much to offer men inside the therapeutic space. I don’t believe this to be my â€Å"final answer†, I just know that I have some work to do around my relationship with men before I make the leap of working with them in such sacred space. Essentially, it all comes down to two core qualities- and they are humility and flexibility; humility in all that I think I know and the flexibility to shift or discard that knowledge. My experience of working with, knowing, and reading about African American culture, difference, and oppression may or may not serve me as a therapist at any given moment. What works for and makes sense in the context of Client A, may not be so for Client B, and vise versa. Although it is crucial to have fundamental knowledge of the legacy of oppression against African American people and to consider factors such as interdependence, collectivism, and emotional vitality as presumed long- standing black personality traits, I must also be able to draw connections between those factors and the individual experience- much like the womanist techniques mentioned in Carmen Braun Williams’ article African American Women, Afrocentrism and Feminism: Implications for Therapy. As a therapist, I am responsible for guiding and supporting the client in making the shift from object to subject; transferring ownership of self from one whose self is externally determined to one who is self- determining (Freire, 1990). And practice practice practice, with an open heart, ears, and mind. References Braun Williams, C. (1999). African American women, afrocentrism and feminism: Implications for therapy. Women & Therapy, Vol. 22(4) 1999. Freire, P. (1990). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Sue, D. & Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice, Chapter 14.

King Lear and the Analysis of the Family Concept Essay

The issue regarding which is more important, love and family ties or fame and political power are issues that are always present in every generation. Well, which is really more important that we should devote our lives in search for the more important thing? Is blood really thicker than water? It is a subjective topic in which persons have different experiences and stand about the subject matter. This paper aims to answer this question by referring to the epic play of William Shakespeare: King Lear. It is also important to look at the values and actions displayed by the characters of the stories and to analyze whether they are still applicable in our contemporary time. â€Å"King Lear† is regarded by many critics as one of the best works of the arguably greatest writer that has ever lived, the immortal William But despite being on of the author’s last works, â€Å"King Lear† had echoed throughout literary history as one of the best read and staged play. It has also become a staple material for those who endeavor in literature studies. The success of the text owes much to the themes that the text generates. One of those themes is an issue that the whole world can relate to about a family. The socio -cultural nature of the family had amplified significantly the readership of the text as it is being used as a study text by those in the social sciences. Family and Society Family is an essential part of the society. It is a major component in the aspect of social health in the world we live in. The family which includes the parents and children, all play a big role in shaping the society, in maintaining the social health of the place we call home. The family is a means of the propagation of life, wherein because of the family, societies continue to exist. It is because of the parent’s capability to bear children and raise them to become better people, thus accounting for a better society. Comparison and Contrast between Modern and Shakespearean King Lear Family The modern American family has more diverse components not just the typical family members. Often times, the structure of a modern family is greatly influenced with the modern influence brought about by the changing times and ideas. Modern societies are not only characterized with the great influence of technological advances and dependency, but rather in more complex terms, the modern family is subjected to changes in the ideals behind the essence of a modern family image. (Woloch 1997) But unlike in modern families, the aristocratic family of King Lear in Shakespeare’s work typifies the basic notion of family struggles at that time. The character of King Lear is portrayed as a struggling human being eager to win the favour of his children in the most drastic ways he knows best. The intention of the character of King Lear is to do what he thinks is best for his sons and daughters. However, he became so obsessed in power and blinded by his intention to protect his daughters at all costs in the expense of Cordelia. In discerning the true identity of a modern family, we realize the need to evaluate the changes in the basic unit of structure in the society from Shakespeare’s time until now. During the early centuries, the family is characterized by only one true virtue: it is composed of the father, the mother and their children. The history behind the family as a concept, involves the idea of each roles portrayed by each entity. The father is the sole provider of the family; the mother is the one who takes care of the children and the household; and the children are there to be nurtured, loved and provided for. But generally these concepts have become the main stereotypes brought into the modern societies. The play has those stereotypes. King Lear is portrayed as a noble aristocrat obsessed with his power. Cordelia is also a pivotal character in King Lear wherein she is seen as a typical good daughter who always follows her father. However, the fool can be put as an allegory of Shakespearean society wherein truth is at its essence of being true. Times change and almost everything in the society changes and has changed. Not just from infrastructure, but also the amount of knowledge shared and experienced by everyone. The concept of family has also changed dramatically. Brought by the women revolution and the emergence of the feminist concept, the country has experienced the women greatly influence the manner in which concepts in the society is changed.(Woloch 1997) The role of women in the society has greatly changed from the stereotyped domesticated females, to the working and productive women of the future.(Kemp & Squires 1997) This is an important phenomenon in history that must be addressed in order to define the concept of changing family image. One notable contribution came from the â€Å"changed† status of women and the achievement of gender equality in the country. Another contributing factor to the changing views in family image made by the play King Lear is the role portrayed by men in the society. From a patriarchal type of society, King Lear for instance, experience a dramatic change brought about by the change in the status of women.(Woloch 1997) Men in modern times have to compete more and more with women in context of career and including family life. There is a great paradigm shift of roles from the earlier centuries wherein men have the sole right to work for their family. In modern societies, women share equal roles in bringing and managing resources within the household. These events are clearly depicted in both stories of King Lear and Cordelia. Placed in both different contexts, the two characters in the play depicted the changes within the modern family. In the King’s character, the life of a domesticated father is shown albeit part of the aristocracy. The concept of tough love towards Cordelia is present in all acts. Having experience what probably most modern fathers are experiencing, Shakespeare realized is that being a domesticated father entails the kind sympathy for mothers who spends most of the time taking care of the kids. While men busily work to earn their monthly income, mothers are entailed with a much greater responsibility in terms of taking care of the children. There is a conflict shown in the essay in which the author questions his capacity, as a male figure in the society, to handle such responsibility in the home. While his wife is away, he maintains to struggle between his job as a writer and as an on-hands father. Every domesticated father will realize that it is somehow degrading to realize that he can not do his job or fulfill his professional aspirations in life if he exchanges his role with the wife. There is the internal conflict that lies within the men to question their respective roles in the society and specifically in their own family. Osborne explains the struggles experienced by men in accepting that hard roles that women portray in the society. Once they too have experienced being domesticated, this eventually changes their own perception of their role in the family. Sexual identity and social identity is another main idea in the play’s depiction of courtship. In the story, social acceptance has a main role in considering this kind of modern family. This can be seen over the courting of the Duke of Cornwall towards Cordelia. Over the years, society has witness the growing number of social class relationships that includes a child or the wanting of a child. Many states still is irreconcilable with the issues behind aristocracy. But it is of practice to respect and tolerate the decision by the protagonist in handling his family. Obstetrics, Family, and Social Health on King Lear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Obstetrics is a key in maintaining social health because it deals with a big part in the society – the family. A particular concept which can be adapted in thes paper, Obstetrics makes sure that life propagates, because it takes care of the women’s concerns during pregnancy, the formation of a new life, a life that would play a big role in the society. Obstetrics takes care of being able to have children of your own, which is another important factor in the family. A child, the product of the parent’s love and efforts, completes the society’s building block, the family (Nesbitt, 2002). As in the case of the main protagonist in the play, the same concept can be applied since King Lear had a difficult time in handling his children effectively. Comparison of the Concept of Family in other Shakespearean Plays In the story of Antigone, Haemon must choose between her love for Antigone and the fame and political power that await him if he obeys his father. In both Antigone and King Lear, the concept of patriarchal obedience is evident. Now Haemon is facing a dilemma because of the conflict between his love and his father. The same choice goes for Antigone for she wants to give her brother the honor of being buried in the right way. Both cases can be traced back to the struggles of Cordelia under his father. However, doing so would mean that she must disobey King Lear’s order. Disobeying the king does not only take the opportunity to be the princess by marrying the king’s son, Haemon, but her own life as well. But Antigone and Haemon decided to follow their hearts. In the end, Antigone killed herself. Knowing that his love is death, Haemon also decided to end his life. Thus, their value for their love ones cost them their own lives. However, they still gain the respect and sympathy of the people of Thebes. It can be said that the actions of Antigone and Haemon are not applicable in our present time. Although there are several movies that portray the same idea, this rarely happen in reality. It is a very rare case in which lovers decided to end their lives since it is impossible for them to be together. They can be considered as martyrs rather than heroes because of the act. Antigone also displays the kind of courage and determination that is greatly needed in our society today. Although she is a woman, she defies the odds and even the king for what she believes is right. Adding to the fact that she lives in the period when woman are considered inferior to man. This kind of courage is really needed by the present generation. Not only woman but men as well that have the courage to stand up and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to make a change. Today, although woman are accepted by our society and are ‘said’ to be equal to men, there are still some times that they are afraid to speak out and fight for their rights. Also both men and women are sometimes afraid to question some of the things that they find unjust in the society. They are afraid to face the consequences and are unwilling to make a change to improve social order. This characteristic is really needed in our society today, the courage to fight for what is right even if the whole society is against us. If only there are those like Antigone that are willing to give it all in order to make a change, I’m sure that our society will be a better place to live.   On the other hand, King Lear cannot consider himself victorious. His persistence and determination to exercise his power over the people of Thebes had a considerably great cost. Not only had he lost the sympathy of his people not to mention the approval of the gods but the life of his daughters and sons as well. His authority blinded him and the result is loosing the persons that he values the most. If our present leaders will demonstrate the same reason and behavior like that of King Lear, the people will surely revolt and take their powers and authority away and give it to someone more deserving and just. The people will surely not tolerate such actions. Whether to choose love and family over fame and political power is really a big decision. You cannot have the best of both worlds. To pursue love means to let go of powers and fame and vise versa. Also we cannot really determine which is important, whether to choose love and family ties over fame and power depends upon the situation. What is important is that we do not only consider our own benefit in making the right decision. Also the stories show that to pursue love and power is not wrong, however living your life to attain just one of them is sure to cost you a lot. In making a decision we should both consider the heart and as well as the mind in order to come up with the right decision. References: Ashbee, Edward. American Society Today. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002. Hertz, Rosanna, and Nancy L. Marshall. Working Families : The Transformation of the American Home. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Hutter, Mark. The Changing Family. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Kemp, Sandra, and Judith Squires. Feminisms. Oxford Readers. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Woloch, Nancy. Early American Women : A Documentary History, 1600-1900. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Wakefield, Thaddeus, and NetLibrary Inc. The Family in Twentieth-Century American Drama. New York: P. Lang, 2004.

Derek Walcott Uses Poetry to Explore Themes of Ethnicity Essay

I agree with the fact that Walcott uses poetry to explore themes of ethnicity, cultural chauvinism and political inequality. However, these aren’t the only themes we find in his poetry. He also makes use of themes such as life and death and religion. Sea Canes is one of the poems which includes the themes mentioned above. In Sea Canes the poet is found observing a landscape in which he can see sea canes and animals, all of this in a miserable atmosphere; â€Å"Half of my friends are dead.† Here he also mentions religion and disagrees with it by stating that religion is not necessary to respect the dead. He prefers to remember them exactly how they were, instead of see dead people as something supernatural and much nobler than the living. As he looks to the other side of the sea canes he views a boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. He metaphorically says that the owls represent us humans leaving the world of the living to enter the mystical world of the dead. In The Hawk we can locate clear examples of ethnicity, cultural chauvinism and the clash between western and Caribbean culture. Here he mentions the carnival in Trinidad, and says that the only ones that should attend it are the locals. Later in the poem, Walcott mentions the ethnicity and the races of the people at the carnival. â€Å"The negroes, bastards, mestizos, proud of their Spanish blood†, all the people with mixed ancestry who are proud of their Spanish blood, not their native blood. Here Walcott is referring to the colonial powers and their endless control over the Caribbean population. He also compares the Yucatan peninsula with Trinidad. He states that Yucatan has a magnificent landscape while Trinidad has been destroyed during colonialism. Walcott describes the natives as toothless tigers, once powerful and strong but now nothing more than a big defenseless cat â€Å"Caribs, like toothless tigers†. Here we can appreciate cultural chauvinism, throughout The Hawk he criticizes colonialism by describing its consequences and shows an enormous patriotism for the Caribbean islands. Extract J contains also contains themes of cultural chauvinism and life and death. He starts the poem by describing his house in Saint Lucia. He describes the beautiful landscape, nature and the surrounding found in the Caribbean. He subliminally compares the western landscape with the one in the Caribbean, exaggerating the beauty of the tropical islands compared with Europe. He unexpectedly makes a radical change and commences to talk about his dead friend Gregorias. He describes him very passionately and compares him with famous painters from the renaissance â€Å"brown cherubs of Giotto and Masaccio†, which makes us assume he was a first-class painter. He feels tremendous affection for him and his death, as he tells us, has dramatically changed Walcott’s life. The Walk is another poem which describes Walcott’s agony due to the loss of friends. Here he talks about his first wife. He used to walk with her up the hills, until the day she fell ill â€Å"You were weak and lame, So you never came†. She then had other interests and finally when she died, Walcott felt completely alone. He repeatedly expresses his grief of having lost his beloved wife and declares that now that she’s dead, these walks are very different for him. The Bright Field is a further illustration of cultural patriotism and the inconformity of the European culture. The poem begins in London introducing us to a man â€Å"steeled against the power of London.† Probably the man is Walcott himself, criticizing the citizens and the city. He says that the city is depressing and most of the time people are found in cemeteries or in the underground. In the second paragraph he talks about the British Empire, the empire that â€Å"their sun that would not set was going down† the largest empire in history was now diminishing and weak. This poem is again about Walcott’s cultural past and the former colonial powers that once inhabited his islands. I agree that Derek Walcott uses his poetry to explore ethnicity, cultural chauvinism and political inequality, he also talks a lot about the colonial influence of the British and the French had on the West Indies. Death appears frequently too reminding us that his personal life also plays an important role in his poetry.

How do generic conventions inform your understanding of Macbeth? Essay

The tragedy of Macbeth is his â€Å"Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and fallson th’other.† In this famous play, William Shakespeare positions the audience to feel pity towards the protagonist involved, and potentially the protagonist is the tragic hero. But in the play, Macbeth, how does he do this? Shakespeare positions us to feel pity for Macbeth, the protagonist, by using generic, dramatic and theatrical conventions such as soliloquies, hamartia and symbolism. My understanding of the play Macbeth, is shaped by Shakespeare’s use of generic conventions to represent the characters inner turmoil and through this, their tragic flaws. Specifically, soliloquies are used to reveal Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s inner turmoil as they lose their sanity for power. The first soliloquy in Macbeth is said by Lady Macbeth which reveals her inner turmoil about the letter she receives from Macbeth, as she worries that he may not be strong enough to kill Duncan, and through this her tragic flaw is revealed . As the witches prediction about Macbeth to become â€Å"Thane of Glamis and Cawdor† comes true, she is lured into the trap of believing that he will become king however worries that he is too much of a coward to make it happen. Act 1 Scene 5, line 6, â€Å"Yet do thy nature; It is too full o’ milk of human nature†. It’s evident that through the term â€Å"o’milk of human nature† symbolises the milk of a human and the only kind of human that produces milk is a female. Milk only comes from the female when she is a mother and mothers are traditionally nurturing and kind. So Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth is quite feminine in the way of his kindness. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth doesn’t have the ruthless nature like she does to strike aggressively at a first opportunity to have power and even though he wants power, his â€Å"nature† is too kind to be king in the evil way that she plans to do it. When receiving news that the king is going to stay at the Macbeth castle, she feels she must be the one to kill Duncan in order for Macbeth to become king and her to be queen, however in the soliloquy after she received the news, she talks to the â€Å"spirits† about how willing she is to do the deed to get the power and seize the throne. Although at the same time, it touches on the theme of masculinity, â€Å"tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,† Act 1 Scene 5, line 31. â€Å"Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall,† Act 1 Scene 5, line 38. Both quotes suggest the different sex, â€Å"unsex me here†, by changing sex Lady Macbeth feels she would be more masculine, than she is now, as a man. With the second quote mentioning â€Å"milk†, this suggests womanhood, represented by milk and breasts, symbolising nurture and compassion and she says she has this as well as her ruthlessness but wants to be more cruel, â€Å"of direct cruelty! Make thick my blood† Act 1 Scene 5, line 33. When all of her plans and inner turmoil is revealed to us, her hamartia suddenly becomes clearer – her flaw is that she is extremely power hungry and will do anything to feed it, however this results in her downfall as she turns insane from her guilty conscience of manipulating Macbeth, simply because she is too cowardice to do her own business. Macbeth’s first soliloquy in the play portrays him to be his sane self, making the agonizing decision of whether he should go through with the evil deed of assassinating King Duncan. In his decision he puts into account King Duncan’s qualities, â€Å"this Duncan, hath borne his faculties so meek,† Act 1 Scene 7, line 16, and his loyalty and faith towards the king, â€Å"He is here in bought trust†¦as I am his kinsman†¦then as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife himself† Act 1 Scene 7, line 12, which represents the kind nature of Macbeth, not wanting to go through with seizing the throne by murdering Duncan because he likes Duncan as he is a strong and humble leader. He also describes that his death would be showered with, â€Å"angels, trumpet-tongued,† Act 1 Scene 7. Angels are a representation of heaven and heaven is symbolised as good which means Duncan will go to heaven if he dies because of his goodness. This reminds us how severe and alarming it is to kill a human being just for power and Macbeth realises this also, this is seen through the use of language, â€Å"Bloody instructions† and â€Å"our poisoned chalice† and â€Å"deep damnation† and through this, an image of darkness is made which makes it clear to us that Macbeth knows what he could do is wrong and if he does it he will be forever in a world of sin. At the same time, the one only reason Macbeth wants to proceed in the deed is his ambition to become powerful, â€Å"but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and fallson th’other.† Act 1 Scene 7, line 27. The only thing motivating him is his ambition, however Macbeth knows ambition could lead him on towards disaster, (coincidentally it did) therefore decides not to go along with his wife’s plans. Although after his soliloquy when he admits to Lady Macbeth he doesn’t want to carry on with the plan, Lady Macbeth threatens Macbeth that he will no longer be a man in her eyes but a coward and that she might never love him again if he doesn’t kill Duncan. This affects Macbeth’s inner turmoil because as a man, he like to show his bravery and have courage and by going against his wife could damage his masculinity and so carries on with the play. My understanding of Macbeth’s tragic flaw, as evidenced in this soliloquy, is that he doesn’t want to damage his pride, his masculinity or his ambition and this, then, leads to his downfall. The next soliloquy used by Macbeth reveals to the audience that the pressure of killing the king is finally taking a turn on his mind. In his speech, Macbeth makes accusations of seeing a dagger, identical to his, in front of him however he becomes confused when he can’t decide what is happening. At first, when the dagger appears he believes it to be a â€Å"false creation† which is a hallucination, as he has already tried to grab it but failed, caused by a â€Å"Heat- oppressà ¨d brain†, in other words, he’s ill. Then just after saying this, he believes that it’s something different, â€Å"Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going,† Act 2 Scene 1. The meaning for this quote is that the dagger is pointing him in the direction that he is going and this symbolises and proves that his decision to kill the king is already set in motion. The direction of the dagger may have been just his mind but could have been witchcraft also†¦ 3â€Å"Witchcraft celebrates, Pale Hecate’s offerings,† Since Macbeth already believes the witches, there is no other reasons not to disagree with them. Macbeth’s tragic flaw of his self-pride of masculinity, ambition and lust for power ends up in his downfall of insanity from confusion and stress and later on in the play he metaphorically â€Å"plummets to his death† as he loses control of his paranoia. Shakespeare positions the audience, with monologues like this, to see that Macbeth is stressed, scared and confused about the act he is about to commit, this slowly leads him to lose his sanity just so he can please his wife, achieve his goal of ambition and protect his pride and masculinity. My understanding of Macbeth is greatly shaped by generic conventions such a soliloquies. Throughout the play soliloquies were used to explain the main character’s inner turmoil. Macbeth appeared to be a power greed murder that stopped at nothing to be the king of Scotland. However through soliloquies, it was clear to me that this was his hamartia and his tragic flaw, which made him this way, was that he was ambitious, proud of his masculinity and courage. So when Lady Macbeth threatens him and names him a coward for not killing Duncan, he want does it to protect his pride. This makes us pity him as he had no choice and becomes insane from the paranoia and guilty conscience. In my opinion, I think Shakespeare had a message of purpose of Macbeth and that was to show the audience that ambition and desire is destructive and no matter how much a person wants power, they should never let it overcome them.