Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Why did the Whitechapel murders attract essays

Why did the Whitechapel murders attract essays White chapel an area between spitalfields and adlagate an area which was ignored many a time in the Victorian ages but why did it attract so much attention? Was it the intense brutality of the murders in which people felt happy and enjoyed reading about it? As jack the ripper would often use beastly methods of killing the 5 prostitutes and then take a part of their anatomy and keep it as a trophy such as in the case of Catherine Eddowes, her throat was cut and her bowels were out. her stomach was ripped up and there was a large cut from her breastbone to her stomach. Her intestines were cut out and her kidney and her womb were also cut out. There were cuts on both eyelids and the tip of her nose was cut off. This attracted so much attention because look at this the women was murdered it such a brutal way and this would have been used as an example for women to be careful and protect themselves against any strange men. This also shows that the people of Whitechapel knew what they were having to deal with. The Whitechapel murders attracted a lot of attention from the media and on two occasions letters that had been supposedly sent from the ripper were released generating more interest. Such an example was set to a Mr. Lusk and is shown below. This leeter was then later realsead to the media and in todays world prompt the question was it a hoax? Was it done to sell more newspapers? Or was it a real letter? Another point that the Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention was the whereabouts were the murders happened. The East End in 1888 was a dangerous place to be and most of the lower class lived there. There were mainly English, Poles and Jewish people living in the East End. The Jews fled from problems in Russia and had settled in the East End and were Jewish population had begun to rise slowly. Many Poles were expelled from Russia and came to live in the East End because ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Pennsylvania Vital Records - Births, Deaths Marriages

Pennsylvania Vital Records - Births, Deaths Marriages Learn how and where to obtain birth, marriage, and death certificates and records in Pennsylvania, including the dates for which Pennsylvania vital records are available, where they are located, and links to online Pennsylvania vital records databases. Pennsylvania Vital Records: Division of Vital RecordsState Department of HealthCentral Building101 South Mercer Street, Room 401P.O. Box 1528New Castle, PA 16101Phone: (724) 656-3100 What You Need to Know:Check or money order should be made payable to Division of Vital Records. Personal checks are accepted. Call or visit the Web site to verify current fees. All requests for 1906 and later records MUST include the signature and photo ID of the individual requesting the record. The online request service is not available for genealogy requests. Pennsylvania Birth Records Dates: From 1 January 1906 Cost of copy: $20.00 (certified from State Vital Records); $5.00 (non-certified from the State Archives) Comments: Access to Pennsylvania records of birth that occurred less than 105 years ago is restricted to immediate family members and legal representatives (spouse, parent, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren). Other family members (cousins, etc.) can obtain a copy of a birth certificate only if the individual is deceased and a copy of the death certificate is submitted with the request. Birth records older than 105 years are open to the public. With your request, include as much as you can of the following: the name on the birth record being requested, date of birth, place of birth (city or county), fathers full name, (last, first, middle), mothers full name, including her maiden name, your relationship to the person whose certificate is being requested, your purpose for needing the copy, your daytime telephone number with area code, your handwritten signature and complete return mailing address.Application for Certified Birth Certificate   Non-certified copies  of birth certificates  are only available for the years 1906- 1909 and  of death certificates for the years 1906–1964. These can be obtained from the State Archives, not through State Vital Records * For earlier records, write to Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in the county seat of county where event occurred. Persons born in Pittsburgh from 1870 to 1905 or in Allegheny City, now part of Pittsburgh, from 1882 to 1905 should write to the Office of the Register of Wills for Allegheny County. For events occurring in the City of Philadelphia from 1860 to 1915, contact the City of Philadelphia Archives (be sure to ask for a non-certified, genealogy copy). Online:Pennsylvania Birth Records, 1906–1908  with images and index available as a subscription database on Ancestry.com; free to residents of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Birth Indices, 1906–1910 (free) Pennsylvania Death Records Dates: From 1 January 1906 Cost of copy: $9.00 (certified from State Vital Records); $5.00 (non-certified from the State Archives) Comments: Access to death records older than 50 years in Pennsylvania is restricted to immediate and extended family members and legal representatives. Records older than fifty years are open to the public and accessible through the Pennsylvania State Archives. With your request, include as much as you can of the following: the name on the death record being requested, date of death, place of death (city or county), your relationship to the person whose certificate is being requested, your purpose for needing the copy, your daytime telephone number with area code, your handwritten signature and complete return mailing address.Application for Certified Death Certificate * For earlier records, write to Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in the county seat of county where event occurred. Persons who died in Pittsburgh from 1870 to 1905 or in Allegheny City, now part of Pittsburgh, from 1882 to 1905 should write to Office of the Register of Wills for Allegheny County. For events occurring in City of Philadelphia from 1860 to 1915, contact the City of Philadelphia Archives (be sure to ask for a non-certified, genealogy copy). Online:Pennsylvania Death Indices, 1906–1965  (free)Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870–1905Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915Pennsylvania Deaths 1852–1854  (Ancestry.com subscription required) available for 49 of 64 counties Pennsylvania Marriage Records Dates: Varies by county Cost of Copy: Varies Comments: Send your request to the Marriage License Clerk for the County Court House in the county where the marriage license was issued. Online:Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1885–1950Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951Record of Marriages, 1885–1891; incomplete listing from various PA counties (free) Pennsylvania Divorce Records Dates: Varies by county Cost of copy: Varies Comments: Send your request to the Prothonotary for the County Court House where the divorce decree was granted.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Museum Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Museum Paper - Assignment Example Somewhat later, Impressionism introduced another equally valid means of seeing reality. As the concept of an emotional reality took central importance, Post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) began capturing emotion in the very act of painting. In attempting to ‘accurately’ reflect life in all of its objective detail, French artists realized a number of ways of seeing the ‘real.’ The major ideas that fueled French art are expressed in the works of Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) and Claude Monet (1840-1926), both of whom have works housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In his art and in his philosophy, Courbet’s chief technical concern seems to be an abandonment of the ‘rules’ of art, at least to some degree, in favor of a more natural flow in both line and form. He said, â€Å"painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist in the representation of real and existing things† (cited in Finocchio, 2004). In his painting â€Å"Young Women from the Village† (1852), Courbet presents a lovely pastoral image in which three young ladies from the village offer a poor farm girl something from a basket. This graceful act of charity on the part of the town girls is nearly lost in the overwhelming spaciousness of the surrounding landscape. This vast landscape is predominantly green broken only by the presence of a few cattle and a small dog all clustered relatively near the girls. There is nothing to break up the sense of isolation and mutual need these girls have for one another. In this presentation, Courbet bro ke all traditional approaches to ‘pastoral’ art as well as the respected position of artists of the period. â€Å"His Young Women from the Village †¦ violates conventional rules of scale and perspective and challenges traditional class distinctions† (Finnochio, 2004). Although Courbet is presenting young ladies, he makes no attempt to beautify their images. He paints them in the traditional clothing of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Hyperthyroidism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hyperthyroidism - Research Paper Example any causes which include over activity of the thyroid gland as in Grave’s disease or due to neoplasias of the thyroid gland which include adenomas and carcinomas. It can also occur due to an adenoma in the anterior pituitary which leads to increased secretion of TSH which results in overstimulation of the thyroid gland and hence increased release of the thyroid hormone. Inflammation of the thyroid gland can also result in hyperthyroidism. Thyroid hormone is essential for the carrying out of normal body processes and it is a hormone which is important for the regulation of metabolism. But an increase in the hormone due to the disease can have many adverse effects. The basal metabolic rate of the body can increase 60 to 100 percent more than normal and this can account for the increased sweating and decreased tolerance to heat. The thyroid hormone stimulates the central nervous system but increased quantities can lead to psychological issues and nervousness. The muscles become weak because of the increased catabolism of proteins. The increased quantities lead to an increase in the GIT motility leading to diarrhea and the increased metabolism is the cause of weight loss which may be of varying degrees. The patient experiences. The cardiac system is also affected and increased heart rate and output is noted. The eyeball is protruded and the skin feels hot. Hyperthyroidism is a pathological condition which not only affects the thyroid gland itself but it disrupts major physiological processed of the body. Medical and surgical intervention can help a person overcome most of the symptoms associated with the

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Human Performance Technology Model Essay Example for Free

Human Performance Technology Model Essay The journal I had chosen is â€Å"Minding the gap , identifying performances issues using the Human Performances Technology model (HPT) . † The purpose of this journal is to main a useful model for identifying and addressing employee performance issues in academic libraries , specifically in a Learning Commons . As we know , assessing and improving employee performance , especially library services are always challenging . However , HPT provides methods for evaluating human performances , such as the performance of employees at a service point , and , and provides method in fixing problems that are identified . Most of the time , training is always assumed solution for many performances issues , but HPT suggests that the training is not always the answer and provides a variety of the other solutions referred to intervention . The HPT model created by the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI , 2010 a ) was used to evaluate employee performance at the service point in a newly created Learning Commons . Various interventions are also discussed the address performances issues in libraries. The HPT model may help librarians create measurable performance indicators which can be used to set standard of performances for employees. This model is useful for a combination of student workers, paraprofessionals and librarians. The HPT model comes from field of HPT , which is the combination of education , psychology and business . So , HPT is the process of identifying and analyzing the gap between current performances ( where one is ) and ideal performance ( where one wants to be ) using various tools such as models . Closing the gap can be done through a recommend solution called an intervention. â€Å"Intervention† in HPT refers to a course of action taken to improve performance . Each stage of the HPT process helps one understand the behaviors of people in an organization and of the organization as a whole . HPT aims to analyze observable behaviour both individually and collectively. HPT ensures a through of a variety of areas within an organization in order to understand the performance gap. An analysis of values, norms, culture, structure, performance, and environment is recommended . Through an organization analysis , environmental analysis , gap analysis , can cause those who using HPT analysis determine the performance problem or opportunity . Without careful analysis , inappropriate intervention could be implemented . Intervention should be long term , evolutionary and progressive. Learning Commons in Randall Library at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW ) was using HPT model to evaluate employee performance. The Learning Commons provides a variety of hardware and software, a centralized service point is included in the middle of the Learning Commons. This service point staffed by librarians who are full time faculty members at UNCW and university’s Technology Assistance Center (TAC) student assistant who are hired to work part time at multiple service points , including the Learning Commons service point , in Randall Library . The primary user group of the Learning Commons is UNCW students . The learning Commons applied HPT after three months opens . The performances issues identified after three months after opening . While some performance issues may ‘work themselves out ‘ overtime , if using the HPT model early in the operation can identify the problems immediately and prevents the problems . Application of the model can helps to identify the root of the causes and helps pinpoint appropriate solution for those issues. An assumption that training is always the appropriate solution for all performances problems can be corrected using HPT . As noted in the HPT model , there are several phases of analysis which are performance analysis , organizational analysis , environmental analysis , gap analysis and cause analysis . A â€Å"cause analysis† follows the performance analysis helps to identify a â€Å"lack of environmental support† or a â€Å"lack of repertory behaviour†. â€Å"Intervention selection ,design , and development† follow all analysis phases . That is because after identify all the gaps or problems , then only can select the appropriate intervention to fix the problem . Main Body and Discussion Human Performance Technology (HPT ) is a systematic approach to improving productivity and competence , it is a strategy for solving problems and for realizing opportunities related to the performance of people . It uses a wide range of intervention to improve individual and organizational performance . There are three fundamental processes to go through . There are performance analysis ,cause analysis and intervention selection . It can be applied to individuals , small groups ,and large organizations . Without identified the causes of the issues , the appropriate intervention impossible to created . Learning Commons in Randall Library at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) was using HPT model to evaluate employee performance at the service point . First stage of the HPT model calls performance analysis . The â€Å"performance analysis† is to determine if a performance problem exists . A performance analysis includes an organizational analysis , an environmental analysis ,and a gap analysis . The first step in the performance analysis , the organizational analysis , calls for an examination of an organization ‘s vision , mission , values ,goals and strategies . It is important to define the boundaries of the organization before performing this phase in the model . It is useful to examine all departments or offices that closely related to the specific area under examination. The next component of HPT model is environmental analysis . The environmental analysis examines four important factors which are organizational environment, work environment, work, and the worker. In the HPT model, the â€Å"Work Environment† refers to the â€Å"resources, tools, human resources, and policies† of an organization, or in this case, of the Learning Commons. â€Å"Work† is described as â€Å"work flow, procedure, responsibilities, and ergonomics†. â€Å"Worker† refers to the â€Å"knowledge , skill , motivation , expectation and capacity† of an individual . The â€Å"Gap analysis† requires an examination of the actual performance versus the optimal , or desired performance . The information collected through the organizational and environmental analysis . The HPT model shows that the gap falls between the â€Å"Desired workforce performance† and the â€Å"Actual state of workforce performance†. It is important to identify the gaps , then analyze the causes of those gap happens. In Learning Commons , there has a temporary service desk was constructed , new furniture was not yet installed and a formal staff training program was not yet implemented . The performances of Learning Commons service was not optimal and causes a â€Å"gap† between optimal and desired performances . Next is causes analysis . As the HPT model suggests , after the performances gap was identified ,the â€Å"cause analysis† should be completed . The cause analysis can determine why the performance gap exists . Once a cause is identified, one or more interventions can be selected that will be able to close the performance gap . There are some causes for the performances issues . First , data , information and feedback . Initial training and communication of clear roles , responsibilities and expectations were not provided when the Learning Commons initially opened . Second , environment support , resources and tools . Detailed in Learning Commons employee did not exist . The conflict among workers will be happened . Third , consequences , incentives , reward . There were no consequences , incentives or rewards related to performance at the Learning Commons service point . Forth , skill and knowledge . A deficiency in general knowledge of the library services and the role of the librarians at the service point existed among TAC student assistants . Fifth , motivation and expectations . It is unclear what motivates Learning Commons employees and what they expect from themselves . After knowing the causes of the issues , intervention selection , design and development is needed . Closing the performances gap can be done through recommended solutions called interventions. HPT suggests that training is not always the appropriate solution because training will not solve issues related to motivation and expectation . However , an incentives and rewards will address motivation . There are some interventions existed after knowing the causes . There are job description intervention , document and standards intervention , training intervention , performance appraisal intervention . A job description specifically for employment in the Learning Commons would define each position’s duties , responsibilities , working conditions , and job activities , which would help employees understand their own job and the role of the other employees at the Learning Commons services point . Besides that , to remedy problems related to lack of information for job duties and procedures , the recommendation is a documents and standards intervention . The standard operating procedures(SOP) manual would include the job description , expectations , policies , guidelines , and procedures for each position at the service desk . Training intervention is training librarians and TAC students . Training employees would provide expectations for each employee . Performance appraisal intervention show staff that there will be consequences for poor performance and rewards for good performance . On the other hand , feedback should be encouraged in Learning Commons . Positive feedback should be provided and given from all the employees . Negative feedback is also important to correct everyday issues . After implemented all the intervention that suggested, must evaluate their success based on further analysis of performance . In my opinion , HPT is a very good tool to evaluate the individual performance or organizational performance . As we see the problems in Learning Commons , HPT had given a good solution for it in fixing the problem . HPT begins with a comparison of the of the present and the desired levels of individual and organizational performance to identify the performance gap. Once the performance gap and the causes have been determined, the appropriate interventions are designed and developed. These may include measurement and feedback systems, new tools and equipment, compensation and reward systems, selection and placement of employees, and training and development. The interventions are then implemented and the change process managed. After implemented all the intervention , The employees in Learning Commons will clear about their roles , responsibilities . At the same time , The Learning Commons is already providing to be a great resource at UNCW . HPT model must be applied cyclically and systematically over time to evaluate employee performance . However , I do not agree that HPT is always the best tool in solving problem . This is because it might identify wrong data or information during performance analysis . If it is wrong in the beginning of the process , inappropriate intervention might created . This will make the decision maker make the wrong decision . While doing wrong analysis , there might insert a high cost and it’s will be a waste of time if the analysis is wrong . Moreover , HPT has mentioned a few intervention to fix the problems . It’s hard to implement all those intervention at the same time . If cannot implement successfully , the more problem might exists . But if whole process is running smoothly , nonetheless , HPT is a very tool in solving problem . I had compared two models which are HPT model and ADDIE model . The ADDIE model is a systematic instructional design model consisting of five phase which are analysis , design , development ,implementation and evaluation phase . There are a few similarities between HPT model and ADDIE model . They both use process of analysis to look the problem and seek for the solution as well . However , they have a key different between the model . The ADDIE model addresses the â€Å"gaps between desired outcomes or behaviours and the audience’s existing knowledge and skills†. The ADDIE models mainly focus on the individual needs and then design and develop objectives and processes help the individual . Evaluation and implementation do not just happened at the end of the design and development . They are ongoing to inform the designer . So if there any changes, the necessary solution can be made quickly . The HPT model is different because it more focus on the causes of â€Å"performance† gap . The success of the organization is depend on its employees . HPT will look what causes the employees unable to perform the job . HPT’s goal is to increase the bottom line of the company by increasing the individual’s ability to perform the job . In addition , it is important that the HPT is look â€Å" what caused the problem† ,while the ADDIE model looks at â€Å" solving the problem exists † . HPT model design seem to also behaviourist approach because the focus is more changing individual behaviour . The HPT model will look at evaluation of the problem and how it was addressed long after the process . The HPT model has its own advantages . In my view , because HPT model is focused on how the people perform on the job . In my opinion , the workers or the people of the organization is the assets for its organization . So , the performance of the individual affect overall success of the organization . This model takes many variables into the account , that there will affect performance . It humanizes the work place because the individuals are allowed to address their problems. At the same time , it may be necessary to provide training course if the individual unable to perform the work is because of lacking information or unknowledgeable . Beside that , HPT model never ignore the reward or motivation . If they have a good performance , incentive or reward will be given to motivate the employees . Every model has its own disadvantages as well , disadvantage I see is how the technologist ensures lifelong working and the successful using the collected information. Because they wait a while before evaluating. It would seem to me that the worker would want to know immediately if they are doing better so that changes can be made more quickly. Feedback is so important to workers feeling successful and competent. If there is too much focus on negative feedback, it may have a negative impact on the individual. Where as in the ADDIE model, the worker’s deficiencies or the causes problems are not the major focus, and you get feedback at various stages rather than only at the end of the process. If I were a human resource professional in any area , I would use HPT model . As I was also a worker before , I see that would be beneficial for all the subordinates or primary worker . If workers feel supported, they’ll do better than if they’re not supported. It provides a guide to helping individuals be successful in their work. I think someone who feels successful and competent in their work is more likely to suffer less burn out than those individuals who have no one in their corner to mentor or help them solve whatever issue is keeping them from doing their best on the job. I might also use HPT when talking to friends or children about getting jobs and being successful on the job. I can apply it to my own career and be my own trouble shooter as well as look for solutions. This puts a little more power over what I do in my hands because at least I would know that I can change me to help the organization do its job better too. On the other hand , as I mentioned employees are a part of assets of the organization . I think it is the responsibility of the human resource department to choose an appropriate system of performance appraisal . Effective appraisal system motivate the employees all the time rather than joining training . Conclusion In conclusion, HPT model has been described as the systematic and systemic identification and removal of barriers to individual and organizational performance. Nonetheless ,HPT model is an effective tool for uncovering performance issues . The model can be applied to any area in the library where employees must perform and is not limited to public service . In any new service , some performance issues may â€Å" work themselves out† overtime while some may not . In some cases , problems left unidentified or unsolved , it may be quite difficult to fix after an extended period of time . It is same like our daily habit or problems , if a parent identified that a child is beginning to pick up a bad habit , it is certainly easier to change the child’s behaviour when the parent first notices their child’s behaviour . If the parents did not take action to stop their child in the beginning , it is hard to stop their child after maintain a long bad habit . Similarity to any other service , if identify the problems early , then can find out the causes and fix it as fast as possible . The model does require extensive analysis . Without this analysis , a full picture cannot be taken , assumption will be made , and issues or problems cannot be identified . Optimal employee performance is critical in any organization . From the journal , Learning Commons in UNCW is using human performance technology (HPT ) . It is a library . With libraries needing to demonstrate their value and provide assessment data and administration . The HPT model serves as one more useful tool for libraries to accomplish this . I had read a journal , which is about ADDIE model and I had also compared both ADDIE and HPT model . I found that there have many similarities . But when I go deeper for the journal , I found that there is a big differences . ADDIE model focus more on training building program , while in HPT model , training is only one of the tool . HPT model is not only useful in organization , but also useful for every individual . If did not find out the causes properly , a appropriate solution is impossible to created .

Friday, November 15, 2019

Blow and Prozac Nation :: miscellaneous

Blow and Prozac Nation Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel is a memoir written about the author’s life of depression, addictions, and her relationships. The author is an extremist when it came to her depression. She would portray her emotions so that everyone knew that she had a problem and for some reason are still there for her. This novel best represents the movie Blow based on the life of George Jung. Jung was also addicted; he was addicted to drugs, money, dealing, and relationships. Which both Elizabeth and George can relate to their addictions and problems they encountered over their lives. Elizabeth is taking medication for her depression, but the pain gets worse and worse as the days go by. â€Å"I’m going up to 102nd st. to get the coke, it will make you feel better.† She is hooked on drugs because all she wants is the pain to go away, and being a young adult in college parting, beer, and drugs are going to be used. That is the last that she needs because like George Jung’s father once told him as a young boy, â€Å"When your up, your up, and when you’re down you never think you’ll be up again but you do. Money isn’t real George.† Meaning when Elizabeth takes those drugs to make her feel better for the time being she takes them to feel better and then she feels even worse. She must stay together because eventually you’ll be back up again. What George’s father told him when he was a boy that stuck with him through his whole life. He dealt drugs and made tons of money but then when he crashed because of his business partner Diego, who stole all of his connects and the inside guys, he lost his wife and his daughter and then he worked his way back up the chain to have his daughter, who he lost because he was in jail, have the same respect for him again that she had so long before that. He did overcome it. Elizabeth try’s the easiest way out of things. She cannot control what she does. She’ll have the loud cry for help without saying the words. Her actions speak so much louder than her words. Elizabeth had never once told someone to help her, she would just be screaming crying throwing a fit on the bathroom floor, almost killing herself.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Death and Women in Sadegh Hedayat’s “The Blind Owl” Essay

INTRODUCTION Sadeq Hedayat’s ‘The Blind Owl’ is one of the most important literary works in Persian language. The original Persian text of The Blind Owl, marked â€Å"not for sale in Iran,† appeared as a mimeographed publication in India in 1937. It was assumed at the time that Hedayat feared the repressive rule of Reza Shah; he feared especially that with the publication of this work he might have violated the established norms. He was aware that the propagation of a message that focused on the strangulation of the Iranian people, on the denial of individual human rights, and on the need for individual enlightenment would not remain undetected for ever. The central theme of the story is an attempt toward the resolution of the writer’s dualistic experiences of the real versus unreal, the sensual against the spiritual and death as opposed to life. Underlying his problems are sexual fear, association of women with death (a common theme in literature) and disgust af filiated with death and women. Perhaps no other modern Iranian writer has been claimed by his countrymen more than Sadegh Hedayat has. A tale of one man’s isolation, the novel contains a maze of symbols, recurring images, social commentary, allusions to opium-induced states, contemplations of the human condition, interjections on art, and references to literary and religious texts—all of which have, for decades, made it fertile ground for critical interpretation. The most long-standing theory was espoused by the Iranian Communist Party (Tudeh), with which Hedayat for a time sympathized. The Tudeh’s claim was that the black mood in the book is an allusion to life under Reza Shah, who ruled Iran from 1925 until 1941. But as scholar Homa Katouzian points out in Sadeq Hedayat: The Life and Legend of an Iranian Writer, while Hedayat did oppose the shah’s tyrannical reign, the book is a far more universal statement about alienation. Often compared to the work of Franz Kafka (whom Hedayat admired), The Blind Owl also brings to mind Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet in its stark meditation on dejection. ‘â€Å"There are sores which slowly erode the mind in solitude like a kind of canker,† begins the book, and in the pages that ensue we glimpse this solitude, through the narrator’s room, which â€Å"stands upon the ruins of thousands of ancient houses†¦ like a tomb†; through the landscape of â€Å"crouching, accursed trees,† between which there are â€Å"ash-grey houses† where â€Å"no living creature could ever have dwelt†; and through the narrator’s estrangement from the â€Å"rabble-men† who bear â€Å"an expression of greed on their faces, in pursuit of money and sexual satisfaction. An ethereal girl appearing throughout offers hope. She is the image the narrator paints on his pen cases, a vision he falls in love with, and the portrait on an ancient jar, inside â€Å"an almond-shaped panel† (perhaps a reference to a mandorla, an almond-shaped contour found around images of Mary—the almond representi ng virgin birth). But the girl has a â€Å"double nature,† resurfacing as the narrator’s cunning mother, and, later, as his promiscuous wife. SYMBOLISM OF DEATH AND WOMEN IN SADEGH HEDAYAT’S THE BLIND OWL The word manic is important in connection to the story. The narrator wants the ethereal woman to remain in the world of death. Furthermore, she must remain out of touch and not to be seen by others. Later on, when the ethereal woman and the mother image become the same, one realizes why the narrator is so pre-occupied with woman as a focus of the problem of life and death. Mother is the birth giver. The narrator is mystified by the strange psychic state of his mother. The mother withdraws and there is an intense need to find her. The ethereal woman becomes the mother. How could anyone bear a sex encounter with her, to enter her body? Therefore any suggestion of love intimacy with women in the sexual sense must be avoided. For him it is not possible. At this point, sexual love becomes the focus of the collapse of security and of being. A tendency for suicide arises when he believes that a world in which it is not possible to distinguish the reality from the painted appearance is exists. This weariness with life is a symbol of schizoid suicide, which leads into withdrawal into death, into a ghostly world. In the unconscious, the narrator believes that the corruption of relationships through sexual contact brings nothingness. This again indicates the presence of a schizoid element in his mind. A person with a schizoid mind seeks isolation. Union with a woman will not take him into the path of separateness, so he buries the woman. Now he can be free. He is alone but alive. In the process, he is denouncing the â€Å"inferior† half of himself, the woman in him, the part that he fears may corrupt and make him diseased. He expresses the intolerable perplexity of woman as a focus of appearance and reality. But this distrust of women is not misogyny. It is a result of profound pondering of problems of human nature and being. Hedayat’s association of women with death, his inability to deal with realism through the horror of the tragic, and a paranoid attitude accompanying his inability to tolerate and accept his own mortal reality indicates a form of dissociation from reality which serves as a clue to his existence problem. In â€Å"the Blind Owl†, the writer fails to establish existential authenticity and freedom. This is because in his struggle through re-birth, his view of self, others and the world in general is dominated by his rejection of his female elements of being and knowing. Such rejection is mainly due to his schizoid problems, but it is also magnified by the prevailing attitudes toward women in his native country. CONCLUSION To take you inside such a mind in such a brief book is an achievement up there with Poe and Kafka- to perceive the hell of isolation within one’s own head is to show how the narrator’s madness is an endlessly coherent vision of the world. It corresponds to the way that he sees the world- and that vision is not inconsistent or inadequate in its own terms. He functions as a system of epistemology, processing new information, but never progressing and never learning. A feminist critique might stop there- but I don’t think we should- I think there is more to say here about the way he thinks of women and the way that that relates to the way he thinks about truth. The male intellectuals of the period and long after accepting principles of equality and freedom for both the sexes and at the same time growing up with the traditional notions of good, non sexual, virginal woman no doubt would have had problems coping with the new image. They did not know whether to be on their knees to her in reverence to her as the good mother figure, or full of sensual contempt for her as the whore. Ultimately, these men would be in need of her presence or impelled to destroy her. Hedayat would have been no exception. His preference for the spiritual, non-sexual contact with women can also be attributed to his inability to cope with the emergence of the new woman. The female characters therefore may be seen as dramatizations of endopsychic situations, to be understood as attempts to express the writer’s attitudes to women and to his own female element, and to embody these attitudes to the female knowledge in order to deal with problems of identity and being. In turn, his cultural experiences and the masculinity of the society in which he lives also influence such dramatizations. In a masculine society, such as Iran, a great deal of the contemporary culture needs to be explained in terms of the development of modes of false strength, which are based on a certain male dynamic. Where there is a deep insecurity of existence, this male dynamic is employed as a substitute for the female element of â€Å"being†. In these societies reality is normally located in the masculine paradigm, in which all female elements of being and knowing have been eradicated. In these situations, men will have problems accepting their culturally unacceptable and inferior female element. It should also be noted that men of Hedayats’ era, for the first time in the Iranian history, witnessed the transformation of the traditional Iranian women into modern twentieth century women—the kind who joined the ranks of the political parties, rallied, had lovers; had abortions and even bore illegitimate children. They also challenged the bipolar image of women as the virtuous v ersus women as prostitutes. REFRENCES _ Ghotbi, M.I. This is The Blind Owl. 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