Law of Torts Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law of Torts Master - Essay Example (Grant v. Australian Knitting Mills(1936)A.C.85). According to 'Heaven v. Pender(1883) 11 Q.B.D. 503) "actionable negligence consists in the neglect of the use of ordinary care or skill towards a person to whom the defendant owes the duty of observing ordinary care and skill, by which neglect the plaintiff has suffered injury, to person or property". In an action for negligence the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed duty of care to the plaintiff, the defendant made a breach of that duty and the plaintiff suffered damage as a consequence thereof. By Duty of care to the plaintiff we mean a legal duty rather than a moral, religious or social duty. The Plaintiff has to establish that the defendant owed to him a specific legal duty to take care of which he has made a breach. There is no general rule of law defining such duty. It depends in each case whether that duty exists. Lord Atkin propounded the following rule in 'Donoghue v. Stevenson' and the same has gained acceptance : "You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour". He then defined "neighbours" as "persons so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions whic h are being called in question." In this case the defendant raised the defence of "Privity of Contract Fallacy" quoting from the case 'Winterbottom v. Wright(1842) 10 M ) In that case Lord Abinger, C.B., said, "unless we confine the operations of such contracts as this to the parties who entered in to them, the most absurd and outrageous consequences, to which I can see no limit, will ensue." Since an action for tort is quite independent of any contract, there seems to be no reason why for an action in tort a contractual relation between the parties be insisted. This fallacy was done away with by 'Donoghue v. Stevenson' by allowing the consumer of drink an action in tort against the manufacturer, between whom there was no contract. Whether the defendant owes a duty to the plaintiff or not depends on reasonable foreseeability of the injury to the plaintiff. If at the time of the act or omission the defendant could reasonably foresee injury to the plaintiff he owes a duty to prevent that injury and failure to do that makes him liable. Duty to take care is the duty to avoid doing or omitting to do anything, the doing or omitting to do which may have as its reasonable and probable consequence injury to others, and the duty is owed to those to whom injury may reasonably and probably be anticipated if the duty is not observed (Bourhill v. Young,(1943) A.C.92, at 104, per Lord Macmillan). In 'Glasgow Corporation v. Munir' (1943) A.C.448, at 457) Lord MacMillan explained the standard of foresight of the reasonable man : "The standard of foresight of the reasonable man is, in one sense, an impersonal test. It eliminates the personal equation and is independent of the idiosyncrasies of the particular person whose conduct is in question. The reasonable man is presumed to be free both from over-apprehension and from over-confidence, but there is a sense in which the standard of care of the reasonable man involves in it's application a subjective element." In 'Booker v. Wenborn'(1962, 1 AllE.R. 431) the defendant boarded a train which had just started moving but kept the door of the

Overview of the UK Sugar Market From the Case Study Assignment

Overview of the UK Sugar Market From the Case Study - Assignment Example The main source of revenue for UK confectionery market is jellies and gum sector, which accounted for over 28% of the market values. In terms of value, this sector amounted to $ 633 millions worthiness in the year 2003. Despite being a leading position, both gum and jellies segments outperformed by medicated sector. On the other hand, hard-boiled sweets segment generated the second largest revenue reaching $528 billions, which was equivalent to 23% of the overall market value. In the UK, sugar confectionary sector is fragmented, with two companies winning a market share in double figure. Nestle UK and Cadbury Trebor Bassett which are the market leaders, where as Master-foods, Adams, Dunhill’s, Haribo confectionery and Bendicks, all are in stronger positions. John Foster Ltd manufactures a range of products ranging from the basic ingredients to complete meals, which are savory, dietetic, sweet and infant foods. The company also has growing interest in pet care, pharmaceuticals and beverages. In addition, John Foster Ltd other brands in the market include, Fruit gums, Jelly-tots, Raw-trees, and polo as well as fruit pastilles. Even with the emergence of sweeteners in the entire market, sugar has remained to be the most widely consumed caloric food in this country. Its exceptional value for improving health becomes so evident everyday, especially when it is being used in the refined form. The economies of scale which is afforded by international resources of this leading sugar industry makes it increasingly hard for smaller national players to compete effectively in terms of distribution, price marketing spend and range of product. According to Euromonitor (2003) he attributes this increase to leading... This paper stresses that the art of forecasting for the future has always been a human attribute as human beings are thinking individually. In essence, a project can easily be captured on the paper with a few elements i.e. the commencement date, termination date, the tasks that must be undertaken and when should they be finished bas well as some ideas of resources which will be required during the course of the project. This essay makes a conclusion that control is therefore, referred to a device mechanism that is used to guide or regulate the operation of the system. All organizations including sugar firms use controls to regulate their individual business processes which include finance, production and distribution. This control helps the organization to correct and restrain a typical behavior, reduce and prevent the spread of errors. Control is described as solitary of the four fundamental functions of the management that includes planning, organizing and coordinating Merchant and Kenneth (2011). It is used to evaluate performance and monitor progress of the entire business. Controls are implemented through technology, internal controls, culture and social structure. It is the corporate structure that establishes appropriate internal process management and financial control. In addition, board of directors of the company has to set out corporate governance guidelines so as provide framework in or der for management as well as the board to operate efficiently and effective together to achieve the stated company objective.

The Bahamian Work Ethic Management Essay

The Bahamian Work Ethic Management Essay I propose to study the work ethic of Bahamian employees as it relates to job performance in the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. My particular interest in this study is because I am an employee of BEC and it is a general belief of the public that work performance is poor and degrading in the company. If this is in fact true, could the performance of these employees be related to how Bahamians believe work performance should be. because this is what they are used to? There could be a way to change the culture of job performance with education and willingness to change. Work ethic is all about being diligent and hard working at any task assigned. There are not only are those values associated with it, but also knowing that there is a moral gain from it and a sense of improving ones character on the whole. Persons that exhibit a character of hard work and dedication are more likely to get better tasks and promotions wherever they work. And those who do not show a good work ethic are often labeled lazy and are said to be making more money which is not equal to the amount of work they are performing. Some individuals believe that idea of having good work ethic and working hard is a delusion set up to have employees working for harder than they should for their employers. Criticisms about work ethic, like the one mentioned, have always been a part of the work industry. Andre Gorz, a French philosopher, wrote In actual fact the work ethic has become obsolete. It is no longer true that producing more means working more or that producing more will lead to a better way of life (1989). However, when an individual is working below minimum or not working at all and if he or she is fully capable of performing, it causes others to work harder to fill in the productivity gap. Bahamians have always been associated with when the spirit moves them attitude towards work especially in the civil servant sector as opposed to the private sector. In 2007, there was a survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism entitled Bahamian Resident Survey which provided some information stating, Bahamian workers are perceived to project a lack of work ethics (Gibbs, 2012). High school students are being prepared now from the 12th grade to be ready for the work force and to perform at their best even when others are not doing so. The focus of this study is to evaluate the relationship that exists between the Bahamian work ethic and work performance. The study will assess documentation in the context of work ethics and employee work performance. By studying this relationship, it will hope to bring some light to this area of study in work performance left untouched in the Bahamas. Statement of Problem In order to understand the rationale behind the degrading Bahamian work ethic, its relationship with employee work performance is tested. Additionally, attitudes and behavior are involved in the process. With the degradation happening as such, customer satisfaction levels are falling and productivity could come an all time low. While addressing the problem in this study, ways to improve job performance and work ethic in Corporations will be looked at. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to determine whether an employees work ethic is related to the way that individual performs on the job. Also, this study hopes to find a difference in the work ethic of age generations in the Corporation. The unit of analysis is the employees by department. The topic and study is particularly important because future generations of Bahamians can benefit from understanding that certain beliefs and attitudes towards general working and employment are unwarranted. Research Questions For the purpose of this study, the following question will be addressed: Question 1: Can the work ethic (attitudes and beliefs) of Bahamians be associated with employee performance? Question 2: What is the Bahamian work ethic? Question 3: How can work ethic in the Corporation be improved? Significance of the Problem This research study needs to be conducted because it can help Bahamian employers to understand how to motivate their employees to perform better on the job in terms of attitude, beliefs and behavior towards work. By getting to the root of the problem with the research results, solutions recommended could help to improve the customer satisfaction levels and the day to day work habits of employees. Delimitations With more time, the research study could have encompassed all staff (technical and clerical) of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, Water and Sewerage Corporation and Bahamas Telecommunication Corporation for a full study of corporations in the Bahamas. Also, there was not enough money in the budget to perform an outer island study for the Family Island branches. The female population, where the sample is being taken, is very low to the males. So this sample will be pre-dominantly males which will only show their prospective on the matter. Review of Related Literature On the job performance is evaluated in a number of ways. An assessment of an employees tasks and how well it is realized is known as a performance appraisal (Rotundo, 2009). This review is planned for the discussion and understanding of the Bahamian attitude towards working and how it relates to work performance. The link between performance and work ethic It is believed that there could be links between certain behaviors on the job and how this might prevent good performance from employees just like it would make the performance better (Carter, Murray and Gray, 2011). There are attributes that an employee should have as a part of their individualism such as trust, interpersonal sensitivity, altruism and perspective taking. Psychological well-being in turn predicts improved job performance and reduced turnover stated Peterson, Park, Hall and Seligman (2009). The research offers that few studies have explicitly examined the linkage between HRM practices and service quality. Schneider et al. (1998) proposed that service quality rests on a set of organizational foundation issues that support and facilitate front-line employee service delivery, which include internal service provided by support staff, efforts to remove obstacles to work, and employee participation and training. Ishak, Mustapha, Mahmud and Afriffin commented on decreased productivity in the workplace stating that, The inability to manage and communicate emotions effectively can lead to unresolved and repetitive conflicts among employees and in the long run that can cause severe burnout and diminished productivity (2008). Many employees do not know how communicate properly and this could be tie to a lost in real work ethics training. Quality of work and high performance The majority of studies investigating the outcomes of ethics on employee performance look at the matter from the side of management. In their paper Do They See Eye to Eye? Management and Employee Perspectives of High-Performance Work Systems and Influence Processes on Service Quality, Liao, Toya, Lepak and Hong explore the notion of how different perspectives on service can be between management, employees and even customers of the banking sector. In their paper High Performance Work Systems in the Paper Industry, Parsons and Necochea offer that Though there is not a single definition, HPWS can be described as work systems that maximize the fit between the social (employees and structure) and technology systems. Fit or alignment between employees, technologies, and organizational strategy is seen as a key factor in the competitive advantage of an organization. While this definition and most models seem more easily aligned towards the production sector of industry, the service is no less accounted for as this study demonstrates. The researchers engaged 292 managers, 830 employees, and 1,772 customers of 91 bank branches. As mentioned before, perspectives differed between management and line staff and while an issue like having standard operation procedures was important from a management perspective, customers noted a positive experience when line staff appeared to have the latitude to make decisions that was specific to accommodating their needs as opposed to having to follow management guides. Employees felt a degree of empowerment from the same process. This empowerment allowed employees to perform greater and feel better about what tasks they were assigned. Work ethics history Wang (2008) summarizes that in earlier decades in the age of Christianity, doing work was looked at as being punishment for doing something wrong. Because of the Reformation Age, people were taught that working was something good and honest to do. Further on, it was told that if you were not doing work, it was a bad idea as opposed to working which was good. It is also understood in China after the change of government to communism, the people were given a cultural boost to ensure that their indoctrinate work ethics would remain and no external forces combat their natural hard working attitudes to improve China. This same cultural boost can be used in other areas to improve the output of hard workers in the Bahamas. Bahamian Work Ethic During the later part of the year, Junkanoo band practices and costume making are taking place. Junkanoo parades take place around Christmas while schools are closed. Bahamians put a lot of effort into competing in these parades for just those two days of the year. Storr (2006) asked the question, What does Junkanoo teach Bahamians about themselves and their abilities?.. Certainly, the most important lesson that Bahamians learn from Junkanoo is that success and hard work are inextricably linked (p.301). What is being said is that there is no lack of work ethic in the Bahamas, it is just focused in certain areas. The same way the participants in Junkanoo can spend long hours pasting costumes and practicing dancing they can spend performing well on the job. Research Hypothesis: H0: Bahamian work ethic is related to employee performance Ha: Bahamian work ethic is not related to employee performance Methodology Participants During the later half fall season of 2012, 65 employees of the Blue Hills Power Station (BEC) of ages 19 and above will be asked to participate in the study by completing the surveys. The employees at the station are pre-dominantly men and are separated by day and shift works. There are three departments: Electrical and Mechanical (Day workers) and Operations (Shift workers). Posters will be put up around the station in the respective departments to remind the employees to the study. Instrument Design For the purpose of this study, a survey design was chosen as the best instrument for this quantitative study because it can provide trends in behavior and opinions from a sample of the population. The first part of the survey used questions that were taken from the study entitled, A Chinese Work Ethic in a Global Community by Victor Wang of California State University. The second part of the survey was created by the researcher to appropriately fit the work lifestyle of the employees at the power station. There are 21 questions in all; with Part 1 headed Work Ethic and Part 2 headed Job Performance. The survey uses a Likert Scale with range from 6 to 1 in Part 1; Six (6) being strongly agree and (1) being strongly disagree. However, in Part 2, Six (6) was changed to strongly disagree and one (1) to strongly agree to prevent participant overlook. Because the items in the survey will assess the content that was used to measure before (survey has been used by different researchers in ma nagement and education studies), there will be no need to demonstrate validity except for Part 2 which was created by the researcher. The instruments reliability of Part 2 will be tested by an alpha of 0.95, N of participants = 65, N of questions = 21. Procedures / Data Collection The letter of consent (in an email) will be sent two weeks ahead of the schedule date for the survey. All of the employees that are willing to participate will reply to the email address given to them. The mechanical and electrical staff that have agreed to participate will be taken in groups of 5 or 6 to the Mess Hall (Blue Hills Power Station) to be administered the survey. One group a day during the lunch break so that none of the employees are kept from their lunch. For the consenting participants of the Operation department, each of the shifts have a rotation into the 8am to 4pm shift every three days. At this time, the shift team that is on will be asked to accompany the survey administer to the Mess Hall where they will sit and be given pencils to begin filling out the questionnaire. After that shift teams three days are over, the next shift team taking over the 8am to 4pm shift will be administered the survey and so on until all the shift teams have completed it. All of the p articipants will be asked by the administers not to hold conversations while filling out the survey. Data Analysis Minitab 16 Statistical Software for the Windows operating system will be used to evaluate the data collected for this study. The responses to Part 1 and Part 2 Likert questions of the instrument will be summed up. The mode of each question will be used to find the most frequent response. The best approach to analyze the responses will be to use the Mann Whitney. The Kruskal Wallis test can be used also to analyze the difference in responses from the three departments (Operations, Electrical and Mechanical). Further analysis can be done by converting the responses into two groups of agree and disagree. This way a chi square test can be used to test if the null hypothesis is true. The hypotheses will be tested at a minimum of the .05 level of significance. Projected Findings Part 1 (Work Ethic) Mode Statements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Strongly Disagree 5 12 20 25 8 26 18 15 6 28 1 17 Disagree 5 10 15 15 6 15 12 18 7 18 3 8 Somewhat Disagree 10 5 10 12 10 7 10 12 9 12 5 2 Somewhat Agree 20 15 10 7 10 8 15 10 10 5 11 6 Agree 18 10 8 6 17 8 5 7 20 2 25 18 Strongly Agree 7 15 2 0 14 1 5 3 13 0 20 14 n = 65 Part 2 (Job Performance) Mode Statements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Strongly Disagree 3 1 4 10 7 9 3 0 1 Disagree 5 4 3 4 12 7 2 9 1 Somewhat Disagree 8 16 10 12 14 9 7 4 2 Somewhat Agree 17 11 8 15 16 15 20 14 10 Agree 14 20 22 11 14 20 22 26 18 Strongly Agree 18 12 18 13 2 5 11 12 33 n = 65 Timeline **Please see attached in Appendices. Proposed Budget Cory K. Bain Proposal Cash Budget For the month ended December 30 2012 December Cash Receipts Allowance $500.00 Total Cash Receipts $500.00 Cash Payments Posters $15.00 Papers $10.00 Pencils $5.00 Folders $5.00 Refreshments $20.00 Pens $8.00 Researchers Salaries $300.00 Total Cash Payments $363.00 Ending Cash Balance $137.00

Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Creation Story :: Enuma Elish

Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Creation Story Like the Greek Theogony, the creation of the world in the Enuma elish begins with the universe in a formless state, from which emerge two primary gods, male and female: When the skies above were not yet named Nor earth below pronounced by name, Apsu, the first one, their begetter, And maker Tiamat, who bore them all, Had mixed their waters together, But had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds; When yet no gods were manifest, Nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed, Then gods were born within them. (Dalley 233) Apsu, the male "begetter," is the sweet waters, while Tiamat, the female "maker," is the bitter, salt waters. Sweet and salt water mingle together at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, site of the origins of Mesopotamian civilization. Some translators see the word "maker" in line 4 not as an adjective describing Tiamat but as another god, named Mummu, who emerges at the same time. As you might expect, Mummu means "maker," "form," "mold," or "matrix." Besides being Apsu's vizier, Mummu is the mold or the undifferentiated substance from which things are made. Like Eros at the beginning of the Theogony, this Mummu-power is necessary to get the job of birth-creation going. Stephanie Dalley notes that "the bit-mummu was the term for a workshop that produced statues of deities" (274). N. K. Sandars, however, sees mummu as potential, or entropy (27). In this early period, nothing is named yet because nothing has appeared or been created yet. Notice that pasture-land must be form ed--wrested from the desert by the hard work of digging and irrigation. The reed-beds mentioned in line 6 are handier than one might think: in southern Iraq today, the marsh dwellers live and work in floating houses and boats made from the reeds in the reed-beds. The "destinies" mentioned in line 8 are somewhat like the Sumerian me--cultural patterns and ways of living. After the waters of Apsu and Tiamat mix, the gods Lahmu and Lahamu ("slime, mud") emerge. And from this pair come Anshar ("whole sky") and Kishar ("whole earth"), meaning perhaps "the horizon, the circular rim of heaven and the corresponding circular rim of earth" (Jacobsen 168). Anshar and Kishar give birth to Anu, the sky god, who in turn begets what one translation calls "his likeness" (Heidel 18) Ea, the trickster god of the flowing waters, who is familiar to us as Enki.

Robert Martinson

Indeed, the article written by Robert Martinson entitled â€Å"What Works? Questions and Answers About Prison Reform† has given much controversy to the application of rehabilitation in relation to recidivism. The claims of the article written by the team of Martinson, which includes Dr. Doug Lipton as the senior author and Judith Wilks as the co-author, centered on the theme that there is no significant improvement with rehabilitation strategies. This has been widely accepted by both the Left and the Right and became popular as the â€Å"Nothing Works!† (Sarre 2). Both people and institutions have come to think that the findings provided that nothing works for the crime offenders are something that should be accepted and is a fact (Sarre 2). Thus, it is until now that the claims of Martinson, despite two decades have passed is something that has been held by public agencies involved (Sarre 5). Despite the fact that people have already taken this fact with open arms, there are things which might have been left before Martinson and the authors could speak to clarify the findings further. The conclusions may be of significance but to every research, there are limitations and problems that should be realized together with this. Indeed, the conclusions of Martinson that strategies of rehabilitation employed are not as effective would require a deeper understanding that it may be for a particular group of people and that the limitations would have to be considered for the conclusions rendered. It could be said that the phrase â€Å"nothing works† is not the conclusion that the authors would want to convey for their study. It is not in its entirety that they would want this to be the message. In fact, it is only a partial of this because as they mentioned â€Å"†¦ with few and isolated exceptions, the rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so far have had no appreciable effect on recidivism† and â€Å"our present strategies †¦ cannot overcome, or even appreciably reduce, the powerful tendencies of offenders to continue in criminal behavior† (as qtd in Sarre 2). It is to be noted that there is the phrase â€Å"few and isolated exceptions† and â€Å"our present strategies† which would require some note that there is a hope that rehabilitation is concluded to be still there, just have to be improved or searched. Before Martinson passed away, he claimed that the some treatment programs do have an effect and these are on â€Å"individual psychotherapy, group counseling, intensive supervision, and what we have called individual/help (aid, advice, counseling)† (as qtd in Sarre 4). This could be seen as a parallel point to the phrases â€Å"few and isolated exceptions† and â€Å"our present strategies.† A possible explanation that may be given for such is a phrase written by Sarre as â€Å"the burial of rehabilitation as an aim of sentencing appears to have occurred before its death had even been announced† (5). People have rushed into conclusions before the authors were given the chance to explain further the study or to conduct several researches more to confirm if this is for the general population. The negative picture associated with the criminal offenders would likewise give further strength to the ideas received by the population. The careful publication of researches should be made in the future should be observed and the constant challenge to ideas presented with a critical mind and eyes should be maintained. Work Cited Sarre, Rick. Beyond â€Å"What Works?† A 25 Year Jubilee Retrospective of Robert Martinson. Paper presented at the History of Crime, Policing and Punishment Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with Charles Sturt University and held in Canberra, 9-10 December 1999. 8 April 2008 [http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/hcpp/sarre.pdf].

Essay on Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay

In many works by Shakespeare, single parents struggle with the difficulties their children have, such as Desdemona and her father in Othello, or Hermia and her father in A Midsummer Nights Dream. Issues between parent and child are evident in Hamlet, but the single parent is a mother, not a father. The poem Meditation at Elsinore by Elizabeth Coatsworth embodies the situation between characters, and has hidden morals within the prose. There are many morals and life lessons in Hamlet, one of which is the effects of poor parenting. In Hamlet, emotional suppression and lack of parenting lead to the downfall of Gertrude, and her son Hamlet. Proper parenting can be defined as caring for children and providing them with shelter, emotional security, food, education, and safety so that they can become successful adults. Gertrude may have had involvement in her husbands murder, and this as such, would qualify her as a poor parent. Her failure to respect Hamlets emotions, provide emotional security for her son, and engender mutual trust confirms her as an unfit parent. This behaviour by Gertrude caused Hamlet to be suspicious, and it was his suspicion that brought about his and his mothers death. When King Hamlet died, Gertrude quickly remarries Hamlets uncle, Claudius, and the timing of this union is detrimental to the relationship with her son, eliminating all respect Hamlet had for his mother. Gertrude realizes that her swift remarriage has greatly affected her son, and doubt[s] [that] it is no other but the main: / His fathers death and our o erhasty marriage (Hamlet, 2.2.57). She realizes the cause for Hamlets new found insanity, but does not react to the situation as a responsible parent would. Hamlet, being witty and quick, refers to his new parents as his uncle-father and aunt-mother (2.2.362) when talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This demonstrates that Hamlet has lost respect for both his mother and his uncle. Hamlet tells Horatio that the funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables (1.2.180) when asked about the funeral. In a respectful relationship, a mother would have confided in her son before making the choice to remarry. Hamlet grieves for his lost father, but Gertrude seems more interested in spying on him. This causes Hamlet to become suspicious. When Gertrudes husband died, she did not mourn his death and she did not  provide emotional security for her son, in the way mothers are supposed to console their children and support them through the tough times by helping them grieve. Gertrude is annoyed by Hamlets depression, and tells him to stop seek[ing] for [his] noble father in the dust (1.2.70). Instead of comforting Hamlet, she tells him that all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity (1.2.72). She is telling Hamlet to stop weeping over the past, and to move on, when Hamlet misses his father and wants him to return so badly that Hamlet contemplates suicide so that he can be with his father in the next life. Hamlet obviously notices his mothers lack of grieving, and states to himself that a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer! (1.2.150). Hamlet notices that an animal would mourn longer over a dead loved one than his mother did with King Hamlet. This demonstrates that he recognizes the lack of communication between them, and that communication between child and parent is an important part of a healthy relationship. Hamlet is left with no one else, and one by one his loves [betray] his love (Coatsworth, 7). Helping a child grieve and showing empathy for his feelings is the role of a parent. Gertrude failed in this role as Hamlets mother and further exposes herself to his scrutiny. Gertrude sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on her son, demonstrating that she does not trust Hamlet. Trust is absolutely key to a healthy relationship between mother and son, and can be attributed to proper parenting. Without trust, there is no true love, there is no relationship, and as a result, there is no happiness. Gertrude tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to instantly visit my too much changed son (Hamlet, 2.2.35). She wants to know what Hamlet is doing, whether to cure her curiosity or to simply know what he is plotting. Even if this act was committed out of love, the proper parenting approach would be to ask her son instead of spying on, and to talk with him in a mature, sympathetic and respectful manner. When she does talk to him, she agrees with his antics and asks him what shall she do (3.4.184), but when he is gone, she says that he is as mad as the sea and wind when both contend which is the mightier (4.1.7). Hamlet realizes that his own mother does not trust him-nor does he trust her- and that his boon companions came as spies (Coatsworth, 12), not friends. This leaves him feeling abandoned and alone as the relationship with his mother, the only  parent he has left, has been damaged. Although Hamlets death is not directly caused by Gertrudes early remarriage, failure to help her son mourn, lack of trust and mutual respect, and the suspicion aroused by these acts lead to his demise. If Gertrude had paid more attention to Hamlet, and not to her own personal affairs, Hamlet may not have been suspicious. Things may not have been so rotten in the state of Denmark (Hamlet, 1.4.94). Gertrudes failure to parent Hamlet and convince him that everything is well leads to a downward spiral which results in the death of many. Gertrude dies a painful death, and only wishes that she would have had an opportunity to say good night [to her] sweet prince (Coatsworth, 20). Children will always push the limits with their parents, seeing what will make them give in, or what will make them explode with anger. Every child has does it, and every parent deals with it. It is part of life, but in the end, proper parenting will prevail, and the children will grow up knowing that they may have their own children. This is evident in Hamlet, by Shakespeare, and Meditation at Elsinore by Elizabeth Coatsworth. Hamlet will never have children, because of Gertrudes failure to properly parent, which eventually leads to the demise of both mother and son. This failure could be prevented, but many factors end up swaying the final decision, and Gertrude is the reason for the demise of both Hamlet and Gertrude. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression. This is because of the high levels of hormones during periods such as birthing a child and menopause. The latter of the two is the reason for Gertrudes depression, and specifically leads to a failure in parenting. That is why Gertrude hurried with most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets (Hamlet, 1.2.157). This horrendous act committed by Gertrude can be classified as a failure in parenting. Gertrude forces her son to live with the reality that his uncle has become his father, which, on her part is a thoughtless and impetuous act. With the loss of her husband, it would be proper for Gertrude to fully mourn her deceased husband. Before remarrying, a mother should join with her son in the grieving process, to show that the  father in the family would be missed. The ten stages of grieving ensure that a person can accept and affirm reality, a stage that Gertrude achieves far too quickly. She skips a few steps on the way, and knows that Hamlets rash actions can be blamed on no other but the main: his fathers death and our oerhasty marriage (2.2.56). While some steps are missed, some are taken too far. Depression and loneliness is a stage Gertrude botches, as it is a stage where family members find communication difficult. Instead of moving on to the next stage, Gertrude lingers around loneliness and depression, which eventually brings her to marry Claudius. Gertrude does not erupt with emotions, or is never overcome with anger at anyone for the misfortune brought on old Hamlet. Ultimately, Gertrude reached the final step of the ten stages, but disregarded many rules on the way, resulting in poor communication between mother and son. Communication is essential to proper parenting, and this is where Gertrude failed. A lack of communication between mother and son can distance a relationship. To state that Gertrude has communication issues would be to grossly underestimate-she does not communicate at all. The love between mother and son had been established, but one by one [Hamlets] loves betrayed his love(Coatsworth 8). Instead of instantly jumping into marriage with a dead husbands brother, a parent must talk to their child about what their feelings are. Gertrude should have told Hamlet that she had a desire to find another man, so that Hamlet would have been prepared for what was coming. Gertrude sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to extract information from Hamlet, instead of talking to her son in person. In Gertrudes final seconds of her life she calls for her dear Hamlet (Hamlet, 5.2.314), the only person she really loves. Gertrude chooses to address her only son in her dying seconds, when the conversation should have taken place long before. All of the miscommunication leads to the demise of both Gertrude and Hamlet. On his deathbed, Hamlet knows that life will probably be better after death, as his biological father will not deceive him in heaven. Hamlets mother has left him with nothing, and even though Hamlet did not plan on dying, he wished that the Everlasting had not fixed his cannon gainst self-slaughter!(1.2.131-132)Depression, loneliness, improper grieving, and miscommunication lead to the failure of parenting. Hamlet was not crazy; he  was simply confused and misunderstood. Gertrudes selfish choices hurt Hamlet, and showed Hamlet that his mother no longer cared about the welfare of her son. If Gertrude had used proper parenting skills, things may not have been so rotten in the state of Denmark(1.4.94). Denmark would not have to say good night [to their] sweet prince (Coatsworth 20). Works Cited Coatsworth, Elizabeth. Meditation at Elsinore. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. John Crowther. New York: Spark Group, 2003.

Values in King Lear

Values in King Lear King Lear can be valued in different ways and for different reasons. The story of King Lear encompasses many different ideas and themes pertaining to the central and sub plots. Whilst there are many different ways of reading Shakespeare's King Lear there are three prevalent readings in which to observe the main idea's put across. These readings are a family reading, a nihilistic reading and a Christian reading. There are three main scenes wherein these readings are portrayed. Fundamental themes in King Lear include justice, authority versus chaos, reconciliation.A family reading focuses mainly on relationships between characters and the individual psyches in comparison with each other. King Lear starts his tragedy by trying to quantify the love of his three daughters " Which of you shall we say doth love us most. That we our largest bounty may extend.""Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love."English: A cartoon version of King Lear by William...