The House on Mango Street Esperanzas Home Is in Her Heart - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1163 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The House on Mango Street Essay Did you like this example? Itrs been about five years since youve heard from me last, so I guess I should catch you up on what happened. I was eager to start high school. I had a job and friends and started to figure out who I was. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The House on Mango Street: Esperanzas Home Is in Her Heart" essay for you Create order A lot has changed since then. Some for better and others for worst. You see, May 18th of last year is a day Ill never forget. That day, the class I would have been enrolled in graduated. That is the day I would have graduated high school. When I was younger, I knew being able to afford a catholic school education was nearly impossible for my family, but despite my doubts, I saved all of my money. However, those broken stairs at my house finally collapsed. All of my savings went into fixing them. After that, I had to quit my job. That man that forcibly kissed me kept making advances and I knew it would not get better. I could not find another job after that. With no money saved up, I was forced to dropout of high school just like some of the other girls on Mango Street. I should have been able to experience high school. On the day of what would have been my graduation, I knew my time on Mango Street was at its end. I went home and took off for the nearest train station with only my b ooks, papers, and a few of my favorite things.When I left, it broke my heart, but I knew I would come back for my family and so many others. That is what I had always promised to do. When I got to the station, I had forty-two dollars from babysitting. My main focus was food and a ticket. To save money, I picked the cheapest ticket I could find, which would take me to New York City. My train left in the evening, so I found a bench and claimed it as my own. I just sat there. No one noticed me. I saw little girls who got pushed around by men much older and stronger than them just how it happened to me. This reminded me of all the reasons why I needed to write about and fight for women when I got New York. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed my train. Before I knew it, an old man was calling through the speaker Next train to New York. As the train moved, I was filled with panic because I realized I had no place to stay. I decided to find the closest shelter when I got there. I had twenty-two hours to get all of my plans figured out. When I got to New York, I got a map and off I went to The Bowery Mission. I stayed for two and a half months. They helped me get a job on the street near a little shop where I sold pizza and water. While there, I met a woman named Athena. She was thirty-two and had one child, Logan. Her husband kicked her out after three years of abuse and she had nowhere to go. After saving my money and finally rented a small apartment, I remembered Athena and her son and how so many other women on my street were just like them. It reminded me of how much I missed my family and how Id go back for them someday. I still sold pizza and water, but tried to write a book about the struggle of women in my free time. I began to doubt myself because so many publishers told me people dont want or need to know about all these problems. No one thought I could do it, so I started to believe them. One day, after another failed attempt, I hit rock bottom and stopped writing. I went on for three months and didnt wr ite at all. Then after work one day, I saw the most beautiful pair of shoes I have ever seen in my life. I knew if I got my big break, I could afford my house on a hill, those shoes, and be able to bring my whole family to New York. Those shoes represented everything I have wanted and worked for in life. With my dreams closer in reach than ever, I vowed to never give up again. Finally, I met a publisher named Olivia. Her mom had been killed by her husband after he abused her. She reminded me of my mom with her curly hair, eyes I could look at forever, and her skin soft as snow. I remembered how deeply I needed to see my family again so, I showed her what I had so far. Her eyes lit up and I could tell she would never doubt me and I finally found someone to help me pursue my dreams. I kept writing. I devoted day and night to it, sometimes being late for work, but it was all worth it. I was going to show the world Mango Street. All the abuse on Mango Street. The fear, rejection, and mistreatment on Mango; I would show it all. My story is something otherrs can call their own and it will finally be heard. Everything I wanted was coming true. I was looking for houses, got recognized at a convention for upcoming writers, and even visited Athena and her child. I could finally help other girls while having my dream job. Being alone in New York, when I hardly fit t he mold of a typical New Yorker, made my heart break when I thought about my family too much, but a voice deep in my mind reminded me I had to go back. My life turned upside down in a short year. I got better at writing, left my first home on Mango Street and I planned to release my first book. I also planned to go to Mango soon. I needed to document the emotion and experience it gave so people can see the real Mango Street. I knew I needed to get my family out of there and help so many women. Women who sat at their window every day would finally be able to make something of their lives. With my words I can help show that anything is possible, no matter race or where you grew up. I may not have the best life or be the most important person in the world, but when people ask who I was, a little girl with a strong voice can say I changed her life and made a difference. The street I lived on taught me falling doesnt mean you have to stay down. Mango Street will always be my first house and shaped me into the person I am today, but I now know that it is escapable and that it will never take me back again. Yours truly, Esperanza/p

Purgatory, By Dante And Virgil - 1122 Words

†¢ Intro: Imagine yourself, finished in this world and ready to go into the internal life. How do you think God will judge you? Were you someone generous, humility, loving, gentle, active, temperance, or Chasity? Do you believe that God would be proud in every single thing you have down on this earth? Well, for the most part, no everyone is Jesus and have all of those qualities. That is why Dante have written the world of Purgatory. Purgatory is a place after earth is a transformation process that helps every saved soul to perfect themselves for God. Through this process of transformation in Purgatory, a soul must accept, forgive, and learn from their sin in order to be in Heaven. †¢ 1st Paragraph Dante is truly a great poet. When he describes a place, he goes truly deeply than what’s on the surface. In Purgatory, when Dante and Virgil are walking through the gateway, Dante describes each step when walking in. â€Å"Once there, Dante and Virgil have to climb three steps to ascend to the gate (Purg. IX, 76-77; Sayers 1955b) which is guarded by an angel. These three steps signify the confession of sin, contrition for sin and satisfaction for sin†. He first describes the first step by saying, â€Å"We came to the first step: white marble gleaming/ so polished and so smooth that in its mirror/ I saw my true reflection past all seeming† (IX 94-96). In these first stanzas to the entrance of Purgatory demonstrates the color white as hope and desire of improvement. This is veryShow MoreRelatedDivine Love In The Inferno1232 Words   |  5 PagesDivine Comedy, Dante traverse through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. He is lead through the inferno by the ancient poet V irgil, and while Virgil is still present as a guide through Purgatory, there is a defined shift in his role. 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Statius was a first century Roman poet who wrote after the same fashion as Virgil, but whose lifeRead MoreFocus on a Pilgrim in Dantes Divine Comedy856 Words   |  3 Pagesjourney of a Pilgrim by the name of Dante from Italy in which he travels through the circles of Hell, the terraces of Purgatory and the spheres of Paradise. Dante the Pilgrim has lived his life the wrong way, in a way that goes against how God would live life and through this journey the pilgrim hopes to find a way to return to the path he was once on: the right path. Throughout his journey he encounters numerous souls who have either been placed in Hell, in Purgatory or in Paradise. At first the PilgrimRead MoreAquinas’ and Dante’s Common Ideals1153 Words   |  5 PagesAquinas’ and Dante’s Common Ideals While St. Thomas Aquinas established himself as the New Aristotle of the 13th century, Dante Alighieri established himself the new Virgil. 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The connection I was able to find behind Dante’s work of art was the psychological and geographical impact. ‘The Divine Comedy’ contains real life morals; Dante’s work is far more than just a spiritual afterlifeRead MoreThe Role Of Virgil In Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy731 Words   |  3 PagesAs Dante is lost and floundering in his beginning moments of the story, a guide named Virgil appears to help.Virgil, a wise older man who’s lived for many years more than Dante, performs a vital function in The Divine Comedy; he leads Dante through hell and purgatory. In Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy, there are many characters who are important, but Virgil has a key role. He serves as a protector, a kn owledgeable guide and a model of human reason and wisdom. Virgil is very protective of DanteRead MoreThe Importance Of Love In Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy1291 Words   |  6 PagesIn Dante Alighieri’s poem, The Divine Comedy, Dante’s quest to find Beatrice symbolizes the importance of allowing love to be ones guide to divine understanding, for this is the only action which is completely controlled by God. Dante argues that although we have desires for sinful actions, humans have the ability to control these desires and decide our own fate. Furthermore, he argues that even if humans commit sin in life, if they will redemption before being sent to hell, they have the opportunityRead MoreThe Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Essays983 Words   |  4 PagesDivine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy, Purgatory Dantes The Divine Comedy section of Purgatory is a depiction of Dante and his struggle to reach paradise. He is a character as well as a narrator. The purgatory section deals with the seven deadly sins and Dantes task of cleansing himself on his journey to heaven. He confronts many different people on his journey to self-righteousness, which help and guide him to his destiny. Accompanied by Virgil or reason as heRead MoreDante s Journey Of Salvation1648 Words   |  7 PagesAs Dante makes his ascent through hell and purgatory, he is guided by two figures. The first is Virgil, who saves him from peril and accompanies him, as a friend, through the layers of both afterlifes. The second is Beatrice, who inspired Dante’s journey of salvation in the first place, and who he longs to be reunited with. Yet although these guides are leading him towards God, Dante mistakes their guiding as the end itself. He makes a God of Beatrice, sees her as the ultimate good towards whichRead MoreThe Monomyth And Temple Pattern941 Words   |  4 PagesComedy is no exception to the pattern. Among the three compilations of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise we, as a reader travel through the monomyth journey alongside Dante in order to reveal moral truth. From the start of Cantos in book one, Dante is on the pathway of the departure, as described in the monomyth pattern as The Call to Adventure, Supernatural Assistance, Crossing the Threshold and â€Å"in the Belly of the Whale†. Dante is first starting out when he awoke in a dark wood. â€Å"Through the long horror

Socialism In The Jungle Essay Example For Students

Socialism In The Jungle Essay The Rudkus family arrived from Lithuania to find Chicago as a city in which justice and honor, womens bodies and mens souls, were for sale in the marketplace, and human beings writhed and fought and fell upon each other like wolves in the pit, in which lusts were raging fires, and men were fuel, and humanity was festering and stewing and wallowing in its own corruption. (Pg.165) The city, during the time span of the novel, was truly a jungle-like society in which Upton Sinclair found much fault and great room for improvement. Sinclair perceived the problem in American society to be the reign of capitalism. In The Jungle, he presented the reader with the Rudkus family; who encountered a great deal of strife and anguish, through which the evils of American capitalism were portrayed. Upton Sinclair strongly believed in the power of the Socialist party as means of reform, so that the working class would finally have a fair chance of survival against the harsh realms of society. By havock ing Americas supposed capitalist induced problems upon Jurgis and his family, Upton Sinclair used The Jungle as means of socialist promotional propaganda. The Rudkus family met myriads of horrific occurrences during their struggle in Chicago. The time when the family came to the United States was a period of appalling conditions for the working class. At this phase of history there were practically no workplace safety regulations at all. Employers were free to dictate work conditions as they saw fit for their own personal welfare. Nor were there social safety nets such as workmans compensation, welfare, or unemployment insurance. Also, if a person was seriously injured on the job to the point that he was prevented from working, he was simply out of work without any tolerance of the injured inquiring of his job being held during recovery. Courts at this time were solidly pro-business, and not receptive to workers claims of employer responsibility for workplace accidents. Jurgis and his family were faced with many predicaments related to these poor surroundings and circumstances. The family hastily saw that they must enter the competition forced upon them in a social Darwinist fashion. When he first arrived in Packingtown, Jurgis found work quickly in the meat packing industry because of his strong, young stature. As the years went by, however, and he grew plagued with injuries and financial troubles, Jurgis found work to be evermore difficult to obtain and hold. The social system cracked down on the family and offered nowhere for the Rudkus to turn for help. Not only did the family stumble upon difficulties in their workplaces, but in basic living conditions as well. Jurgis and his family witnessed such atrocities, as baby Antanas tragically drowning in the unpaved roads, devastating financial loss through misinformation concerning the purchase and custody of their house, and unsanitary meat packed and sold for regular consumption. Such incredible pa ndemonium was involved with virtually all of the Rudkus familys daily activities and never ceased to cause anxiety and worry in their overburdened lives. This desolation drove family members to radical attempts at survival and hope for some means of liberation from their atrocious new lives in America. At first, Jurgis ran away from it all, pursuing the life of a free man setting off cross-country. Marija turned to prostitution, after Jurgis fled from them, as means of making end meat for the family. Ona was convinced that she would cause the familys demise without her cooperation in Conners crude sexual demands. Children of the family set out to work instead of gaining the vital education that they were so deserving and needy of. Also, the elderly Dede Antanas set off to work despite his weak physical state. Jurgis grew steadily more tired as he aged in experience and years. He once thought to himself in a state of great misfortune and suffering, It is a case of us or the other fel low. In these realms and others, nothing is counted but brutal might, an order devised by those who possessed it for the subjugation of those who did not. (Pg.229) Luckily, Jurgis found himself in the territory of a Socialist convention. He was delightfully enlightened

The Origin Of Humanity Essays - Biological Evolution, Pseudoscience

The Origin Of Humanity We live on a planet believed to be 4.5 billion years of age with millions of people covering all parts of it. Where did they come from? Did the whole human population originate from one of people or were we placed here and then improved or changed by an intervention? I believe that humanity on planet earth was created by evolution. Both the creationist and interventionist theories seem to far fetched to be accountable theories for the creation of humanity on planet earth. There are a lot more questions that remain unanswered such as if spacemen put us on earth why didn't they bother to teach humans anything? And if the creationist theory were accurate why can't God control natural disasters on his planet? He is so clever to create everything known to mankind why doesn't he make the perfect world if he had that much control? There seems to be quite a bit more sustantial evidence on earth to support the theory of evolution. The evidence is holds up more because actual samples of fossils have been collected and scientifically tested using a method called carbon dating to determine the age of the fossils. Which can then be examined and placed along a timeline. The time periods show slight differences in bone structure showing what is hypothesized to be the human evolving. Evolving from what though? The theory of evolution states that creatures change overtime to suit their surroundings. This is called environmental adaptation. The more a creature can adapt to it's environment the greater chance it has of living and show an increase in population called survival of the fittest. A theory developed by a scientist nammed Charles Darwin who had conducted extensive research into the environmental adaptions of animals, for example the adaptation of the galapagos turtles from short neck to long neck so they could reach their food. This theory helps to prove the theory that humans evolved from apes so they could increase their chances of survival. The creationist theory is mearly pen and paper whereas the evolutionary theory is actual living proof that humans did evolve from apes and why the environmental adaptations have made humans the dominant creatures on earth.

Many Agree That The Cuban Missile Crisis Was The Closest The World Eve

Many agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the world's two biggest superpowers stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. The Crisis started as a result of both the Soviet Union's fear of losing the arms race, and Cuba's fear of US invasion. The Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, thought that both problems could easily be solved by placing Soviet medium range missiles in Cuba. This deployment would double the Soviet arsenal and protect Cuba from US invasion. Khrushchev proposed this idea to Cuban Premier, Fidel Castro, who, like Khrushchev, saw the strategic advantage. The two premiers worked together in secrecy throughout the late-summer and early-fall of 1962. The Soviets shipped sixty medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) along with their warheads, launch equipment, and necessary operating personnel to Cuba. When United States President, John F. Kennedy discovered the presence of these offensive weapons, he immediately organized EX-COMM, a group of his twelve most important advisors. They spent the next couple of days discussing different possible plans of action and finally decided to remove the US missiles from Turkey and promise not to invade Cuba in exchange for the removal of all offensive weapons in Cuba. On October 28, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a letter stating that he agreed to the terms Kennedy stated, and the crisis ended. The Cuban Missile Crisis can be blamed on the insecurity of Cuba and the Soviet Union. After the United States' unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro and end communism in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro was fearful of another US invasion. The US Armed Forces conducted a mock invasion and drafted a plan to invade Cuba to keep Castro nervous. As a result, Castro thought the US was serious, and he was desperate to find protection. This protection came in the form of sixty Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles. (Detzer 30-32, 39, 55, 68, 87) During his presidential campaign, Kennedy repeatedly stated that the US had less missiles than the Soviets, contradicting the Pentagon's claim that the opposite was true. However, during the summer of 1961, when Khrushchev constructed a wall around West Berlin, the Kennedy Administration revealed to Khrushchev that the US. did, in fact, have more missiles than the Soviet Union. What worried Khrushchev the most, though, was that the Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe, but the US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. He worried that if the Soviet Union lost the arms race that badly, it would invite a nuclear attack from the US. Khrushchev needed a way to counter the United State's lead. (May 49) In April of 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev came up with the idea of installing medium-range missiles in Cuba. Cuba was close enough to the United States that the Soviet missiles would be an effective deterrent to a potential US attack against either the Soviet Union or Cuba. Castro accepted Khrushchev's offer, since it would protect Cuba and, therefore, solve Castro's previous dilemma. In mid-July of 1962, the Soviet Union began its buildup of offensive weapons in Cuba. The Soviets spent most of the late-summer and early-fall of 1962 ferrying launch equipment and personnel necessary for the preparation of missiles to Cuba. Since they could not use military ships (for fear of being discovered) the Soviets used civilian vessels. However, even with this caution, their actions were detected. As the US monitored the suddenly increased shipping activity to Cuba, rumors started in Washington. On August 10, John McCone, director of the CIA, sent the President a letter stating his belief that the Soviets were placing MRBMs in Cuba. On August 29, a U-2 on a reconnaissance flight over Cuba revealed the presence of SA-2 SAM (Surface-to-Air-Missile) sites. On September 4, to calm the Congress and public, Kennedy announced that there were Soviet missiles in Cuba, but that since they were defensive and not offensive, the US had nothing to worry about. Pressured by Congress, Kennedy ordered another U-2 flight over Cuba for October 9. However it was delayed until Sunday, October 14. After the pictures from the reconnaissance flight were analyzed, the National Photographic Interpretation Center found what at first were thought to be more surface-to-air missile sites. A closer look, however, showed six much larger SS-4 nuclear missiles; each 60 to 65 feet long. They now knew they

Is the Family a Fabricated Thing

Is the Family a Fabricated Thing Introduction The family has traditionally occupied a central place in society with communities hailing it as the basic unit of society. Families provide the social core in all societies and the nuclear family is present in all societies in the world. The unifying function of the family has been credited with the development and advancement of societies since time immemorial.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is the Family a Fabricated Thing? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For this reason, the family unit is unanimously considered as the basic building block of a successful and functional society. This is the ideal institution within which children are created and brought up in a protected environment until they are able to take care of themselves. The family also serves as a tool for socialization since the shared moral and social values of the community are inculcated in the children withing the family setting. For these reasons, the family is assumed to be an innate experience with some authors suggesting that the family is a natural institution. However, this notion has been questioned by anthropologists whose studies have led them to question the â€Å"naturalness† of the family unit. The findings of these scholars have led them to conclude that the family is not a natural thing but rather a construction of the society. This paper will set out to discuss the ideas of some of the most outstanding anthropologists of the 20th century, Adam Kuper, David Schneider, and Claude Levi-Strauss, in order to show that the family is a fabricated thing. The Idea of the Family The family is regarded as the basic unit of society and at its most base level; it is made up of a man, woman, and their children. Kuper (1982) states that the family preceded the formation of the society and in these early stages, it comprised of a male figure who exercised jurisdiction over his wives and children. Each fami ly paid no regard to the other and acted in its own self-interest. The aggregation of families was the next step in social evolution and the ties of kinship became the basis of societies. The family provided the basis on which societies were ordered with expanded extended families serving as the social core.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reproduction is universally considered to be the basis of family relations since each person must have a biological father and mother. This simple parent-child relationship makes it possible to perform genealogical tracing since it is a biological fact that a man and a woman must be involved in procreation. Therefore, the concept of kinship was formulated based on this blood relation and relationships though marriage unions between previously unrelated parties. The naturalness of the family has been presupposed for many centuries due to the prevalence of this social grouping. However, the arguments made by anthropologists suggest that the family is a cultural construct. Family: A Fabricated Concept Adam Kuper’s Ideas Adam Kuper suggests that the family was formulated as an organization through which people could live in harmony and accomplish greater exploits. Before the concept of family, each individual acted at his own discretion and there was no order or system of laws in place. Kuper (1982) records that the original state of human society was characterized by promiscuity rather than family life and this status quo was detrimental to the raising of children. This primitive existence was unsustainable since violence and anarchy reigned. The family unit emerged as a more ordered system of procreation within which the child could exist in a more secure environment. As the family concept became more sophisticated, legal paternity became recognized and the child could grow in an environment where he/she h ad a mother and a father. The extended patriarchal family group provided the basis for jural order and continuity (Kuper 1982, p.73). The earliest form of government was therefore based on the family concept. The political ideas were grounded in the assumption that kinship in blood is the sole possible ground of community in political functions (Kuper 2008, p.723). The family was formulated as the best structure to foster social stability and encourage good governance. The prohibition of some relationships in some cultures while the same relationships are allowed in others is further proof that kinship is a culturally constructed concept. Human beings formulate the laws governing who should marry whom and therefore forms a family and they vary from society to society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is the Family a Fabricated Thing? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kuper (2008) documents that in the nineteenth centu ry, there was no crime in incest, and there were no rules articulating which marriages were allowed or forbidden. Before the 1880s, incest was an acceptable practice in England and there were no laws against the practice. The social perception of incest only underwent a radical change when the danger of sexual relations between fathers and daughters, or brothers and sisters began to be publicized by the National Vigilance Association. Following this, incest came to be conceived of as an offence with a victim. Because of this change in public perception, the British Parliament passed a Law in 1907 that made incest a crime and criminalized sexual relationships between members of the immediate family. As such, the family is a fabricated institute that is prone to changes based on the public needs. Kuper (2003) argues that the family was necessary to ensure survival in the primitive societies where division of labour was necessary. In these pre-modern societies, the nuclear family compr ised of male and female enabled the parties to specialize in various activities for sustenance. The males typically acted as the hunters while the females were gatherers within a nuclear family setting. This economic function increased the value of the family and kinship was integral for survival Kuper (2003). It is conceivable that without the economic need of family, this institution would never have been created. Further reinforcing this supposition is the observation by anthropologists that with the rise of the individualist modern society, the economic functions of family have shrunk and each sex can manage to exist without the need of the other. Another indication that family is a fabricated concept is the difference in preference placed on a particular side of the family by different cultures. While some cultures emphasize on matrilineal descent (kin from the mothers lineage), others emphasize on patrilineal descent (kin through the fathers lineage).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition to this, the location of residence differs with some cultures promoting marriage residence at the mothers family house while most promote residence at the fathers family house (Kuper 2003). If the family was a natural construct, there would be universal preferences and all cultures would follow the same conventions. The fact that different ideals are practiced by different cultures proves that family is a human construction. The rapid changes in society that were experienced in the 1950s and 1960s demonstrated that the family was not an integral component of the society. During this period, consensual unions became widespread and the traditional family unit was dismantled in some circles. Some people began to view the family as a major source of discontentment within the society and this greatly discredited the nuclear family as an unshakeable institution. The sentiments of the time are best articulated by Leach who asserts, far from being the basis for the good society, the family with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of all our discontents (Kuper 2003, p.332). The nature of partner relationships has also experienced significant changes over the decades with a marked decline in the importance of the social origin of a partner being exhibited in all modern societies. In the past, great weight was placed on marriage with major kinship involvement in the process (Dykstra 2006). Today, marriage unions are primarily a matter of personal choice and preference with the families on both sides of the partners being involved only marginally. In addition to this, the frequency with which family unions are dissolved has risen tremendously. The increased rate of marriage dissolutions is blamed on the heightened emphasis on the emotional side of relationships, which leads to higher expectations and demands by both partners on each other (Dykstra 2006). In traditional marriage unions, emphasis was placed on the social and material benefits of the union. Claude Levi-Strauss’s Ideas Claude Levi-Strauss is credited with advancing the Structuralism theory in which he argued that the phenomena of the external world are apprehended as having distinct characteristics because of the way our senses communicate these perceptions (Voss 1977). Human beings are predisposed to categorize things into separate units or segments and assign these things named classes. Any material object of culture or belief system is in imitation of human apprehension of nature (Levi-Strauss 1970). Mans perception of nature as segmented is therefore responsible for his view of society as ordered. Advocates of the family as a natural unit might argue for the natural nature of the family structure since it exists universally. Both primitive and civilized societies have some concept of family, which is typically made up of females and at least one male figure either related to the female(s) by blood or by marriage. Levi-Strauss refutes this assertio n by highlighting that cultures are bound to have some similarities since they are all products of human minds (Voss 1977). For this reason, universal features such as the family unit can occur. Levi-Strauss suggests that the basis of marriage rules was to create bonds between otherwise unrelated people. He argues that the since pre-historic times, communities had the option of intermarrying among themselves or giving away their women to other communities (Johnson 2003). The communities that gave away their women cemented political alliances and thus reduced the risk of being annihilated by superior enemies. The incest taboo was formed out of the need to enforce exogamy and therefore increase the societys chances of survival. Voss (1977) best articulates this idea by stating that if survival of a society is dependent upon alliance, strong sanctions against incest must be interdicted (p.28). The family concept was formulated as an important unifying force through which the social coh esion was fostered and propagated. Levi-Strauss formulated the alliance theory in which he argued that sibling groups were linked through the exchange of sisters in marriage thus extending sibling solidarity to larger groupings (Kuper 1982). Levi-Strauss argued that all the pre-modern societies of the world were organized on the basis of cross-cousin marriage (Kuper 2008, p.726). He further stated that the family as a function of marriage was an institution that was formulated to create and maintain alliances. These alliances took place through the exchange between groups as people married for strategic reasons such as to strengthen political alliances (Levi-Strauss 1969). Kinship served the practical purpose of preventing war by setting up a diplomatic alliance between groups. The class structure that is based on family status is a cultural construction. Levi-Strauss considers the practice of totemism an expression of the differences among members of the society. Totemism, which is the naming of individuals or clans after particular plant or animal species, was a widespread practice since historical times (VonSturmer 1970). This practice emerged from the need of man to develop a system of social ordering by giving different class structures. Human beings are able to distinguish each other according to their mutual social status, which is normally articulated in the form of social classification. David Schneider’s Ideas Throughout the 19th century, Americans held the view that the family relationship was biologically given and of huge importance to the society. Many Europeans also shared this assumption and they presumed that kinship was a biological outcome. However, Schneider argues that if this were the case then the same set of ideas would have been developed by other peoples across the world. This is not the case and the family structure varied from continent to continent, and tribe to tribe. For this reason, David Schneider suggested that kinship was a function of civilization and not a feature of primitive society. According to this anthropologist, there is nothing natural about kinship and it is the production of the society. Social conventions alone may lead to a family relationship even if there is no biological relationship between or among parties. This view is corroborated by Johnson (2003) who reveals that a person is regarded as family based on some socially prescribed duties and privileges that the person fulfils in his/her relation to others. The manner in which people act towards each other is based on the concept of kinship, which is a construction of man. Schneider (1984) argues that there is no such thing as kinship and that kinship is in fact a creation of anthropologists and it has no concrete existence. Schneider (1984) suggests that family is a social construction that is useful for the allocation of rights and their transmission from one generation to the next. The family was formulated as an entity throu gh which continuity could be guaranteed. Patrilineage in many societies served as a landholding corporations with parents leaving property to their children. Dykstra (2006) notes that resources are passed down from one generation to the next, in the form of gifts or inheritances for example, or in the form of financial support (p.1). Schneider (1984) theorizes that biological kinship is culturally constructed and it was formulated to help establish paternity with a fair degree of likelihood. He elaborates that primitive man lived at a time when promiscuity prevailed and there was no way of establishing who the childs father was. The concept of marriage of pairs was formulated to help establish paternity and this was the earliest and greatest act of human intelligence. The bonds and ties that are attributed to the sexual reproduction that occurs in the family setting are not natural but a function of the society. Schneider (1984) observes that sexual relations can occur and have sign ificance even outside kinship. However, the social and cultural attributes that are created when sexual reproduction occurs in a nuclear family setting are formulated by the society. Biological relations are for this reason afforded special qualities by the society. This has led to the ties being regarded as natural and inherent in the human condition. The ties between biologically close members are not natural since they would not be special without the social and cultural connotations ascribed to them. The socialization process is responsible for inculcating the concept of kinship in children. As a child grows up in the family, he/she is taught the logic by which his/her specific culture classifies kin and these concepts become ingrained in him/her. The child is often ignorant as to what kinship terms such as â€Å"uncle†, and â€Å"aunty† mean but he/she is brought up to attach special meaning to the relationships. Schneider (1984) points out that the classification s of relatives may extend beyond the simple biological and genetic relationships with stipulated descent being included in the categories. Without the socializing process, the concept of the family would die out as individuals would not be confined to this socially prescribed structure. Schneider strongly rejects the understanding that family has to do with reproduction and he assertively declares that kinship is essentially undefined and vacuous which since it has little that can justify it (Read 2003). The inadequacy of blood relationships for a definition of family is accentuated by the inability for this consanguinity to account for practices such as adoption that still make fatherhood and motherhood possible. Read (2003) argues that it would be more convincing to state that family is a social convention rather than a function of procreation and parturition. Schneider argues that the family is a fabrication since some cultures do not have words that can reasonably translate to f ather or even child. In his ethnographic work among the Yapese, Schneider noted that the relationship between the biological father and offspring could not be translated as father and child in the English sense of the word (Schneider 1984). The Yapese people were able to exist without this genealogically based kinship relationship and even the passing down of property from generation to generation was not done on the basis of biological relationships. Further Evidence In addition to the thoughts of the renowned anthropologists referenced herein, current developments in the family structure provide more evidence that the family is a cultural construct. The traditional gender-specific division of labour has had to change with the increased participation of women in the labour market. Dykstra (2006) notes that the interaction between the partners who make up the family has become more of a matter of negotiation with the traditional gender-specific notions being all but discarded in mos t developed nations. The recent legitimization of gay and lesbian family formation in many Western countries further reinforces the assertion that family is a fabricated concept. For centuries, homosexual relationships were frowned upon by societies with severe penalties being imposed on individuals who engaged in these unions. Schneider (1997) reveals that the notion of sodomy was so abhorred in Western culture that if justified killing and enslaving so many in the 15th and 16th centuries (p.271). This has changed and homosexual unions are today tolerated on a greater scale. Schneider (1997) notes that gay and lesbian rights are today asserted with antidiscrimination laws and fringe benefits being accorded to this previously marginalized sub-group. The traditional notion of family has had to be reinvented as non-heterosexual couples form relationships and become â€Å"families†. Discussion The idea that family is a fabricated concept has led to the fall of kinship studies as modern anthropologists have abandoned the subject due to the many internal problems and theoretical weaknesses contained in it (Kuper 2003). In spite of the different approach taken in their arguments, the three thinkers analysed in this paper, Levi-Strauss, Kuper, and Schneider all contend that family is a cultural construct. The paper has demonstrated that the prevalence of families in all communities is not an indication of their naturalness. Renowned anthropologists such as Levi-Strauss have demonstrated that the seemingly universal concept is not an indication of the naturalness of the family unit. Rather, it is a statement of the scientific operations of classification of objects and phenomena which occurs in both Western and primitive societies. The universal family structure as we know it is a product of identical mental manipulations, which explains the seemingly self-consistent systems exhibited all over the world. The fact that the family unity is not what it used to be is proof enough that the family is a fabricated unit that keeps evolving with the culture of the society. In the recent past, alternative household organizations such as single-parent families and singles have become prevalent hence necessitating a review of the importance of the nuclear and extended family. These realities suggest that the assumption of genealogy or biology as the basis of the family is faulty since if this were the case, the family structure would remain static through time. In spite of the understanding that the family is a fabrication, this unit will continue to play an important role in society. The nuclear family is still the engine-room of socialization and it continues to bestow economic benefits for its members. Even Schneider (1984) acknowledges that kinship is a privileged institution since it is the major building block out of which all social systems are constructed. Conclusion This paper set out to examine the ideas of prominent anthropologists in orde r to demonstrate that the family is a fabricated thing. A review of these ideas has revealed that family is an ideological illusion constructed by man over the centuries. The paper has demonstrated that the concept of family started from the individual actor playing for economic and political advantage and using the family as a tool for social cohesion. The paper has convincingly shown that most aspects of kinship are not natural but rather the social construction of various societies over the centuries. The family relationship is not primarily one of genealogical and reproductively, instead, it is culturally specified and the manner in which it is expressed and perceived is a fabrication. It can therefore be authoritatively stated that family is not inherently human or universal; rather, it is a cultural construction that is arbitrary and variable in nature. References Dykstra, A 2006, Family relationships: the ties that bind, Amsterdam Study Centre for the Metropolitan Environment , Amsterdam. Johnson, C 2003, Claud Levi-Strauss: The formative years, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Kuper, A 1982, ‘Lineage Theory: A Critical Retrospective’, Ann. Rev. Anthropol, vol. 11, no. 1, pp.71-95. Kuper, A 2003, ‘What Really Happened to Kinship and Kinship Studies’, Journal of Cognition and Culture, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 329-335. Kuper, A 2008, ‘Changing the subject – about cousin marriage, among other things’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 14, no.1, pp. 717-735. Levi-Strauss, C 1969, The Elementary Structures of Kinship, Beacon Press, Boston. Levi-Strauss, C 1970, The raw and the cooked, John and Harper, New York. Read, D 2001, What is Kinship? In The Cultural Analysis of Kinship: The Legacy of David Schneider and Its Implications for Anthropological Relativism, University of Illinois Press, Urbana. Schneider, D 1984, A critique of the study of kinship, University of Michigan Press, Michigan. Schne ider, D 1997, ‘The power of culture: notes on some aspects of gay and lesbian kinship in America today’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 270-274. VonSturmer, J 1970, Claude Levi-Strauss: the anthropologist as everyman, Cornell University Press, Ithaca. Voss, S 1977, ‘Claude Levi-Strauss: The Man and His Works’, Nebraska Anthropologist, vol. 145, no.1, pp. 21-38.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is an important part of the Essay

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is an important part of the English criminal trial process. Critically evaluate the role of the CPS ensuring you include any areas of criticism and calls for reform - Essay Example The 1999, Access to Justice Act also provided for public defenders appointment (Griffiths & Pritchard, 2010, p. 224). This has the implication that, each individual person arrested for a crime, in spite of his or her status, is legally unrestricted to have an independent and a free legal representative present, prior to the commencement of police interviews. The Crown Prosecution Service will focus on criticism while at the same time identifying and evaluating CPS’s functions, as well as, its applicability in defence during criminal trials. In addition, the paper will also focus on identifying and discussing sentencing powers as well as limitations that are accessible by a Judge during a particular criminal case. Prior to establishment of the CPS in 1986, the police conducted prosecutions that were presented by the state. Most of the people took into consideration that crime investigation should be treated separately from hearing cases as well as that that conflicts the role played by the police during prosecution. The passing of the PACE Act that was led by the Phillips Commission stated that, in England and Wales, there was no uniform system of prosecution. According to Griffiths & Pritchard (2010) the English Criminal Justice system could be described as an adversarial system; however, the system has shifted slightly to towards an inquisitorial system so as to increase efficiency and increasing the role of the judge through for instance judicial case management (Griffiths & Pritchard, 2010, p. 216). Establishment of CPS was mainly focused on conforming specific roles and functions. The mentioned roles and functions included making of decisions especially on which kind of offences should b e charged and case reviews to ensure sufficiency of the evidence to commence a criminal case, and the responsibility for the case and other functions. Nevertheless the Crown Prosecution