Of Mice and Men’ is a novel about people Essay

Of Mice and Men’ is a novel about people. Are there â€Å"too many cripples, misfits and unusual characters† in the novel to consider Steinbeck’s portrayal as true life? Steinbeck’s novel is based on ordinary people during the American Depression. Steinbeck has an understanding of how migrant workers were and how it was as he had his childhood in California near Salinas Valley. During the period in which the novel was wrote was written migrant workers went from ranch to ranch working for money never really having a secure job as new technology in machinery made it cheaper to harvest crops. This introduces the two main characters George and Lennie, migrant workers, who do not fit into 1930’s society. The novel based is on characters that represent different walks of life during the period illustrating the American culture. Steinbeck portrays the American culture in a condensed version occurring only on a ranch, showing the grim truces of the society, when the novel was written In Steinbeck’s novel the character Candy is a man who has gone past his prime of his life. He has a stumped hand and therefore he is too maimed to be working in the fields, he can be seen as a cripple in the novel. The result of this is that he has menial job as a swamper. To represent the fears of time Steinbeck writes about Candy being worried about getting the †can† as a result of his unimportance on the ranch, and this is shown when Steinbeck wrote †I ain’t much good with o’ny hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That’s why they give me a job swampin† This suggests that the job was only given to Candy out of sympathy. Furthermore Candy saying †I ain’t much good† shows his awareness of his own situation, being worthless to the ranch. Candy represents the aged sector that exists in every society, at the time the novel was written work was very scarce and if people were employed they would have to work hard to say in work. Candy as an aged person is on his last job, because if he loses it no one else will take him on. This is his major fear throughout the novel and Steinbeck portrays the aged migrant worker as a pathetic man with only a dog to keep him company. Steinbeck writes †Candy looked a long time at Slim to try and find some reversal† The above statement suggests that Candy has no authority with the other workers on the ranch and needs Slim to assist him; this shows Candy, as a cripple, has no respect from the other characters, which is a portrayal of true life during the American Depression. With the ‘dog eat dog world’ of the period skill, strength, intelligence, age and skin colour affected authority. Candy has a change of attitude after hearing about the ‘dream’ soon after his dog was shot, Steinbeck choosing to write the ‘dream’ being heard by Candy at this point in the novel when the character had lost everything that was important, gives the cripple hope for the future as his past (with his dog) is finished. Sadly the dog is a symbol of his possible future, the fate of the aged. In a time of mass unemployment and the fear of loneliness compels Candy to latch himself onto a belief to persevere in the harsh lonely world and this gives Candy the renewed confidence. Steinbeck shows the change of Candy’s attitude after he hears about the ‘dream’, †Candy joined the attack with joy ‘Glove fulla Vaseline,’ he said disgustedly.† This quote enhances the change in the character of Candy, as before he did not say anything in general conversation between the workers and at this point he was important. The verb †attack† shows Candy’s aggression against Curley, who has a higher status than Candy and is more important to the running of the ranch and is the bosses son, not a cripple and stronger. The adjective †disgustedly† in the quote shows that Candy is sickened by Curley and Curley’s attitude to others and Candy himself. This shows Candy is more than a cripple in the story, but a character who needs an image of a better future for himself with no worries. The ‘dream’ of getting a ranch of their own is the need for some security can be compared as a pension in a modern view. Once Candy has this security in the ‘dream’ Steinbeck enhances the character making him bolder, and his character comes out from the shell of an old cripple. In chapter two Steinbeck introduces the reader to the character of Crooks. The name Crooks is not used for him at the start of the novel and it is only later on that he is called Crooks. The names used for him are derogatory labels including ‘stable buck’, ‘nigger’ and Crooks. Throughout the whole novel the reader never finds out the character’s real name, which adds to the effectiveness of the character being a misfit. Steinbeck enhances the idea of Crooks being a misfit when he writes †They let the nigger come in. Little skinner name of Smitty took after the nigger. Done pretty good, too† This depicts that the other characters do not see Crooks a real human being but as an object of entertainment. Steinbeck conveys how a black man fits into the society of the period through racism. Crooks is a misfit in the novel because of his skin colour and his physical appearance, because of this he is segregated from the other workers on the ranch. This can be shown by †They let the nigger come in† this implies that the others do not want to be around him and that it is an important event when he does. The above quote can also suggest that Crooks wants to be sociable with the others and the word †let† suggests that the character has tried before. His injury to his back illustrates to the reader that he can be put into a category with Candy, as a cripple. The connection between the two is deeper than them both have a disability. Steinbeck brings them both together in chapter 4 at the start of the novel when he writes †Yeah. Nice fella, too.† Candy is shown to have a high regards and respect for him; Steinbeck puts them in the same situation in the novel. Candy and Crooks as cripples both need to belong to something as there is always the threat of getting the ‘can’ or a similar consequence to of Candy’s dog. One may think that Steinbeck was trying to portray a bridge across racism in the period with a white man and black man wanting the same ‘dream’. As Crooks changes his view in the novel from being a defensive one to felling some hope about the dream too. At first Crooks’ attitude to †little piece of land in his head† is an objectionable because society has made him pessimistic and spiteful to any sign of others having some ‘dream’ of happiness knowing that he can not have any because of race. However when he hears about the money he is more open and suggests he wants to be apart of it, this can be shown when Steinbeck wrote †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦If you †¦ guys would want a hand to work for nothing- just his keep† This quotes conveys Crooks’ hope in the ‘dream’ and he wants to be apart of it to be secure and treated as an equal. The reader learns a valuable lesson from Crooks and Steinbeck portrays it effectively that society is in the wrong not that the characters. Steinbeck illustrates Crooks as being †a proud son of a bitch† with his tidy room but this does not make just a misfit or a cripple but he has humanity with all other blacks. That’s why a lot of time is devoted to him in the novel, his role is equally important to the social statement made by Steinbeck. The end of this key chapter with Crooks in, chapter 4, unhappily ends how it began with Crooks rubbing medicine into his back, this is a powerful message put across to the audience which may evoke the reader to think that society will not change unless we change society. Crooks had briefly gained some respect from other white males and had hope for the future, but it is when this happens that a women shattered his hopes, this would be terrible to Crooks because women were thought to be lower and weaker than men, so being put down by Curley’s wife made him worth nothing, just like during the beginning of this chapter. A character that is, in essence, unusual is Curley’s Wife. She is unusual because she is the only female character who speaks in this novel. Steinbeck’s portrayal of women in this novel is not in a good light, given that the men go to a brothel. Women typically represented as objects of sexual nature not as partners or equals but as. Curley’s Wife is unusual in a way that she is the only women on a ranch full of men going around dressed to seduce, this can be shown in †She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red.† Steinbeck suggests that she is trouble by all the †red† in the description, with †red† bringing up connotations of danger. The red also can connote seduction. Steinbeck’s character has a habit of looking for her husband which can suggest that she is lonely and is constantly seeking attention from the other men, another reason for dressing up seductively is to conceal her loneliness, Steinbeck includes her in the novel to portray the American housewife, wanting to be something more than a housewife. This was typical during this period of social change with Hollywood and women becoming celebrities, which is exciting compared to a life on the ranch. Steinbeck effectively portrays this in †He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural.† This implies to the reader that she wanted something more to her life than to be stuck on a ranch. This however makes her a misfit on the ranch in the novel because of her wanting a different ‘dream’ to come true, but during that period people were fascinated about celebrities so the character of Curley’s Wife can represent the women’s struggle during the American Depression. We learn from the novel that society during that period was male orientated and that women were beginning to have their own ‘dreams’ other than finding a good man to marry. Throughout the whole novel the reader is aware of Lennie being a misfit in the novel. When the reader is first introduced to this character his physical description suggests that he is misfit †large pale eyes† can connote the lack of intelligence, giving the sense of subdued expression, the adjective †large† agrees with the stature of Lennie, though the adjective †pale† implies the mindlessness of him. The other characters in the novel who are misfits, unusual characters or cripples have a physical or emotional problem but Lennie as one of the lead characters is different with an intelligence problem; this engages the reader’s sympathy as Lennie is every childlike. Steinbeck writes about the childlike behaviour of Lennie in †Lennie was still smiling with delight at the memory of the ranch† This quote depicts Lennie’s lack of social skills, like a child, which gets the character into a trouble that wouldn’t have really happened in the novel if the character was not a misfit, such as what happened in Weed where he stroked the women’s dress not knowing that he was doing something wrong and ended up being outcast and hunted. Steinbeck’s 1930’s society is not tolerant of Lennie and his disability to handle a difficult social problem. Society when this novel was written is not an understanding one and Steinbeck dramatically portrays this by the fight in the novel. Steinbeck shows the reader during that period people acted too rash and unsympathetic, and Steinbeck with this novel wants people to take notice of society and for it to be more tolerant to misfits, cripples and in a sense unusual characters. Steinbeck leaves the ending of Lennie at a moderately neutral point of view; this lets one make up ones mind to know that it’s a tragedy. On one side that it is a tragedy that Steinbeck’s characters have no acknowledgment of Lennie killing Curley’s Wife by accident and that he has no understanding of death and his own strength. On the other side some readers may believe that Lennie should be shot because he killed a human, even with his lack of intelligence it still make him a danger to society. Steinbeck writes his death in the place where Lennie suits best throughout the whole novel, in nature †Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves.† This quote implies that Lennie suited the environment that he was in, and the metaphor †a creeping bear moves† is a powerful one. In addition, it conveys the character to be almost part of nature and if he was never meant for society. As a result of this, the reader may think it is less of a tragedy as Lennie dies where he belongs. Steinbeck portrays the purpose of Lennie’s character of being the character that allows people to have a ‘dream’. Lennie is the one to console in and not to put down people, because he has no real understanding of how the world works. Candy and Crooks benefit from having time with Lennie as Candy has someone to talk too furthermore ensuring Candy a no opposition to joining the ‘dream’, which may not have occurred if Lennie was not a misfit to society. Crooks has someone to talk to without no prejudice as it because of Lennie being unintelligent, he did not understand the concept of racism. Lastly, Lennie ensured Curley’s Wife finally got someone to talk to in the novel. Steinbeck’s misfit Lennie shows the flaws in society that needs to be exposed in true life. If there were more people like Lennie on the ranch (society) there would be more empathy towards others and their feelings and there wouldn’t be feelings of superiority other one another. George and Lennie have a friendship that is not typical of the period in which the novel was set. Two men travelling around together and working together was unheard of, the American Depression saw people distant themselves from each other. With no security, men chose not to trust each other. Steinbeck depicts this effectively throughout the whole novel. This relationship is not typical of the era, Steinbeck shows this when he writes †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Guys like us, that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This illustrates the stereotype of the migrant worker making this unusual relationship out of place in the novel and Steinbeck wanted to show this by the effects of their relationship upon the characters. The relationship being not of true life has a sense of inevitable doom to it. Steinbeck depicts the relationship to draw other characters to it so that they can belong even though the friendship creates suspicion in; †He hooked his thumbs in his belt and squinted one eye nearly closed† This expresses to the reader the Boss had never seen it before and that thinks it trouble, with †squinted one eye† the verb creates suspicion. This clearly emphasis the idea, that the relationship sparks the plot with eventually, Lennie killing Curley’s Wife. Perhaps Steinbeck shows this because he is making a social statement on the period where people just can not trust in one another or be emotionally close to each other, with out anything going wrong. George and Lennie’s relationship shows one how much empathy and understanding one man can have in another. Against everyone being antagonistic to the relationship George stuck by Lennie until he could no more. Steinbeck’s characters have a friendship that is destroyed by the attitudes in society of the period. In conclusion to this essay, Steinbeck has wrote misfits, unusual characters and cripples in ‘Of Mice and Men’ to show the faults and prejudices during the 1930’s American depression, in which the novel was written. Steinbeck’s characters portray different aspects to the life in the period. Crooks represents the life of a black man having to struggle through life being worth nothing because of skin colour, whilst Curley’s Wife represents how a women struggles in a male dominant society, the male dominant society being the ranch itself. Candy symbolises the aged in the period, being old is being useless and unwanted. Though the novel has misfits, unusual characters and cripples they would not have as much affect if they were not contrast to the more stereotypical characters of the period. Curley and Carlson show the reader the bleak and lonely lives migrant workers had. The contrast has a bigger and more meaningful social statement made by Steinbeck. The writer effectively shows this at the end of the novel. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This enhances the social statement made by Steinbeck, with Slim consoling George but the other more usual characters, Curley and Carlson, not coming together after the whole plot Steinbeck keeps them apart and socially distant, unaware of the situation George is in. the novel is also concluded within the novel where the image of the water snake an the heron. The whole novel is summarised, with the calmness to the heron snatching the water snake. Steinbeck implies this animal image that humans in a society live like animals and how that we have not evolved to be more tolerable of peoples differences; the consequence of this is Lennie’s death. Steinbeck conveys marvellously that this will keep transpiring as the heron returns to the pool to catch another water snake.

Psychoanalytic Theory on Dacula - 1360 Words

Andy Dodge English 271 Marxist Approach of Dracula 12/17/10 According to Dictionary.com, a vampire is â€Å"a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living, until it is exhumed and impaled or burned.† Our society’s view of Vampires has unfortunately been tarnished by several novels that shall remain nameless. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, however, is an excellent novel that shows just how menacing vampires should be. More importantly, it is a classic book that can provide many different readings and analyses. By using a Marxist approach, elements of this book can be easily compared to the oppression and eventual overthrow of a dictatorship style government. Dracula and Trannsylvania†¦show more content†¦Because of this, they are not used to oppression until Dracula moves to London. Dracula first begins his move to London when he invites Harker to visit him in his castle to talk about a real estate transaction. Harker figures out that the Dracula is keeping h im hostage, but eventually he escapes. This represents the dictator making the first advances into the neighboring country’s soil. Because Harker escapes, the middle class win the first â€Å"battle† between the dictator and the middle class. However, this makes Dracula realize he needs to get to London quickly. Lucy begins to feel mysteriously ill. Two small wounds appear on her neck from where Dracula bit her. and she is extremely sickly and pale. She is kept alive by receiving multiple blood donations. She needed one nearly every day until she finally died. Lucy eventually becomes a vampire herself and Van Helsing hunt her down and kill her. These series of events represent oppression slowly creeping up on the middle class. Dracula’s presence is directly affecting Team Van Helsing by turning Lucy into a vampire and also by instilling fear of death into the group. The oppression continues after that. Mina was also bitten by Dracula as well. In addition to bein g bitten, she was forced to drink his blood. In addition to being physically oppressed by Dracula, she is also hurt by him when he is not present. Stoker writes As he placed the Wafer on Mina s forehead, it had seared it - had burned into the

The Childhood Obesity Epidemic Essay - 1242 Words

Childhood obesity it is a huge problem. Over the past years, the number of obesity in children has increased. The number of obese children in the U.S. has increased over the past years. The number has obviously also grown due to the video games, computers, and televisions, which are considered to be needed now-a-days, and have begun to take over the importance of exercising. The lack of exercise can lead to obesity, which approaches lots of negative effects. Obesity continuously puts these children at a very high risk of developing many serious illnesses like high blood pressure, asthma, and many more. Even though there are many things that get in the way that can make obesity hard to slow down or stop children from being obese, there are†¦show more content†¦Having the luxury of technology like as TVs, laptops, and video games is another cause of childhood obesity. Herr’s article states that the â€Å"Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680† (2). During this time, the child watching TV could be outside doing some exercise as in riding a bike, roller-skating, or even playing baseball. Another cause of obesity can be emotive issues. Low self-esteem, depression, or dramatic life events can be resulted from obesity. Deaths in the family, divorce of the parents, or moving homes can be followed by overeating. â€Å"Children often turn to food when theyre stressed out, lonely, sad, anxious, or bored† (Kids Health). Low financial resources can also lead to childhood obesity. â€Å"Wealthier people have lower rates of obesity than the poor† (Harvard). Poverty can hold back the parents from having the ability to exercise with their own children and or to give them an appropriate nutritional meal due to the shortage of time or the shortage of money. Time because the parents are probably worki ng real hard to make the little money they already make. Childhood obesity is not only caused by problems of emotion, lack of good nutrition, or lack of financial income, but also from the genes. Metabolic disorders can be inherited. â€Å"Children whose parents are overweight or obese are at higher risk for becoming obeseShow MoreRelatedObesity : Childhood Obesity Epidemic1418 Words   |  6 Pageshis article â€Å"There is no Childhood Obesity Epidemic† discussed the there is a â€Å"stunning† drop in childhood obesity rate. He claims that obesity rates among two to five year olds have plunged over the past decade, and that the so called â€Å"obesity epidemic† had ended. I strongly disagree with Campos view that there is no childhood obesity epidemic, this is due to the researches that was done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which shows that childhood obesity has more than doubled inRead MoreThe Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity1216 Words   |  5 Pagesintervening in order to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity claim that, â€Å"parents who strive to keep their kids healthy may not have all the tools they need to do so† (â€Å"Childhood Obesity.† Issues Controversies). Therefore supporters agree that the government â€Å"should step in and enable parents to do the best job they can† (â€Å"Childhood Obesity.† Issues Controversies). Joe Thompson, â€Å"director of the Rober Wood Foundation Center to prevent Childhood Obesity† claims that not all parents are ableRead MoreChildhood Obesity : An Epidemic876 Words   |  4 PagesChildhood Obesity Childhood obesity is more than a major issue in the United States: it is an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese children in America has increased at an alarming rate over the past years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years [1]. American Heart Association stated, â€Å"Today one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese; nearly triple theRead MoreChildhood Obesity : An Epidemic834 Words   |  4 PagesIn the United States, childhood obesity is an epidemic and in the past 30 years, childhood obesity have had nearly tripled. There are 31 % of American children and adolescents are either overweight or obese. And according to the numbers, more than 23 million of American children are either overweight or obese and more than 12 million are obese (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013). The complications of obesity in the childhood period are broad, those include but limited to: hypertensionRead MoreChildhood Obesity : An Epidemic1036 Words   |  5 PagesRainsu Kumbhani All About Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is an epidemic in U.S. In the year of 2012, about â€Å"one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.† Also, percentages of childhood obesity have increased by over ten percent in the last thirty years in children and adolescents (Childhood Obesity Facts 2015). These statistics are shocking, and many people are concerned for the health of their children. This medical condition, as defined by Mayo Clinic, leads to seriousRead MoreThe Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity Essay1053 Words   |  5 PagesThe Epidemic of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity continues to increase substantially each generation, especially here in the United States. Today, children have become more lazy while eating unhealthy and in excess. This trend ultimately results in increased healthcare problems throughout their life. Childhood obesity has increased because children eat in excess, they are allowed to eat food which is unhealthy, they lack the exercise needed to maintain a healthy weight, and are permittedRead MoreChildhood Obesity : An Epidemic Essay1641 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood obesity is an epidemic in America. Many experts like doctors and dietitians have narrowed the epidemic to a few causes some being lack of exercise, genetics, and food insecurity. Exercise and genetics could lead to obesity in the way that you need exercise to burn fat and some people are genetically more inclined to store more fat. Obesity is having excessive amount of fat that could lead to other health problem which is scary to think that childhood obesity is something that is on theRead MoreThe Epidemic of Childhood Obesity2154 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction Childhood obesity is an epidemic that goes on throughout the United States. Studies have shown how obesity in children may start, and how it affects each and every child in America. Childhood obesity has been getting attention in the media from famous celebrities all the way to the First Lady of the United States. There are many things that cause childhood obesity and very few ways to stop it. However, there are people out there who are trying to help by getting children active, eatingRead MoreThe Epidemic Of Childhood Obesity3013 Words   |  13 Pages The epidemic of childhood obesity Childhood obesity is an important issue because of this diseases impact over the past few years. With the changing of lifestyles, the production of children who are not as healthy as they should be has increased. Due to these results, a widespread of children being obese has occurred. The Center for Disease Control, CDC, distinguishes between being overweight and being obese. Overweight simply means that the weight is high compared to others in the same height categoryRead MoreChildhood Obesity : An Epidemic Essay1954 Words   |  8 PagesChildhood obesity is not merely an issue in the United States- it is an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese children in America has increased at an alarming rate over the past years, and there is no chance of it slowing down unless action is taken. Obesity puts children at a high risk of developing many serious illnesses. Not only do children who are obese have unhealthy weights, but they also have a high risk of having weak lungs, poor blood quality, and a variety of other sicknesses. Par ents

Plagiarism Is A Form Of Cheating - 2006 Words

Essay on Plagiarism Nahien Chowdhury University of Florida What Constitutes Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and a serious violation of the honor code and academic honesty in educational institutions. According to dictionary.com, plagiarism is: a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation [1]. In simplified terms, plagiarism is taking and using some else’s work without giving credit to the righteous owner, for using their information. This work includes but is not limited to text, graphs, pictures, statistics, or other types of information that is not considered â€Å"common knowledge.† It is also considered as stealing, thus it is not tolerated anywhere in the world, and penalties are strictly†¦show more content†¦Regardless of intention, plagiarism is considered as academic dishonesty, thus penalties are still applied. Plagiarism is not just limited to taking information from resources without citations. According to Theresa Ireton, an assistant professor of writing in Centralia College, Washington, there are also subcategories of plagiarism in writing, such as plagiarism of structure, authorship, and plagiarism of self [4]. It is considered a plagiarism of structure when an imitator is paraphrasing by having different word choices than the original content. Plagiarism of authorship constitutes buying and turning in duplicate copy of another person’s work without any modifications whatsoever. Plagiarism of self is when an individual tries to utilize previously completed work as a resubmission for a different assignment. Even though the previous assignment is fully original content from an individual, it still constitutes as cheating due to an unfair advantage. The use of images, videos, and music in content without receiving permission or providing appropriate citation is also considered plagiarism. These activities include copying images from websites and pasting them in papers or websites, making videos while using copyrighted music as part of the sound track, and performing a cover of another person’s music. Other instances of plagiarism include photographs or scanned images of book covers to display on websites,

Plagiarism Is A Form Of Cheating - 2006 Words

Essay on Plagiarism Nahien Chowdhury University of Florida What Constitutes Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and a serious violation of the honor code and academic honesty in educational institutions. According to dictionary.com, plagiarism is: a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation [1]. In simplified terms, plagiarism is taking and using some else’s work without giving credit to the righteous owner, for using their information. This work includes but is not limited to text, graphs, pictures, statistics, or other types of information that is not considered â€Å"common knowledge.† It is also considered as stealing, thus it is not tolerated anywhere in the world, and penalties are strictly†¦show more content†¦Regardless of intention, plagiarism is considered as academic dishonesty, thus penalties are still applied. Plagiarism is not just limited to taking information from resources without citations. According to Theresa Ireton, an assistant professor of writing in Centralia College, Washington, there are also subcategories of plagiarism in writing, such as plagiarism of structure, authorship, and plagiarism of self [4]. It is considered a plagiarism of structure when an imitator is paraphrasing by having different word choices than the original content. Plagiarism of authorship constitutes buying and turning in duplicate copy of another person’s work without any modifications whatsoever. Plagiarism of self is when an individual tries to utilize previously completed work as a resubmission for a different assignment. Even though the previous assignment is fully original content from an individual, it still constitutes as cheating due to an unfair advantage. The use of images, videos, and music in content without receiving permission or providing appropriate citation is also considered plagiarism. These activities include copying images from websites and pasting them in papers or websites, making videos while using copyrighted music as part of the sound track, and performing a cover of another person’s music. Other instances of plagiarism include photographs or scanned images of book covers to display on websites,

Assess the Value of Interviews in Sociological Research free essay sample

There are two types of interviews; unstructured and structured. In addition, there are other types of interviews known as a semi-structured interview. Structured interviews involve the interviewer following a set of questions, without the addition of anything that isn’t written down. The interviewer is given strict instructions and is told to complete each interview in the same order, word for word and cannot make any personal judgements. The practical advantages for this type of interview are that it is quick and fairly cheap in comparison to an unstructured interview. This is because the interviewer has to remain value free meaning that he/she is not allowed to ask any of their own, personal questions in response to the participant and each interview should last about the same length of time, if it overruns, then it could cost more money and become time consuming. In addition, the results can be easily quantified, as structured interviews use close-ended questions with coded answers. The practical disadvantage for this type of interview is that it may be time-consuming and may require a lot of money to employ dozens of interviewers and data-inputting staff. Structured interviews are preferred by Positivists, including Marxists and Functionalists. This is because they believe society can be studied like a science, which means that they attempt to establish cause and effect relationship between the variables involved in this type of interview. They also favour quantitative data, as structured interviews provide the interviewer with the opportunity to identify the patterns and trends, as they can categorise the answers given to them by the respondent. This in turn allows for generalisations to be made, which could be then true for the entire population. In addition, structured interviews removes the risk of interviewer effect, as the interviewer has a limited role and just asks the questions created on their list, not making up new ones as they respond to what the interviewee has said, which could jeopardise the entire research. This in turn will help the interviewer to remain value free. Therefore, these factors outlined shows that structured interviews are strong in reliability and representativeness, which explains why positivists favour this type of research. However, there are problems of using this interview. The initial problem is that interviewees have to force their views into the researchers’ categories. Often these categories are too narrow, overlap or are open to interpretation. Sometimes, some of the answers interviewees would like to give are not available. Therefore, this type of interview can be invalid for this reason. Furthermore, with a set list of fixed response questions and answers, there is still some interviewer effect and how the interviewee perceives the interviewer may well influence their responses. As a result, this could cause psychological harm and this is considered an ethical issue in this type of research that could have an effect on the validity of research. Unstructured interviews do not involve a set list of fixed response questions. Instead, they are open-ended and free-flowing, which allows the interviewee to respond in their own words and raise issues whenever they feel it’s relevant to the research. There are practical issues of using this type of interview. The initial problem of using this interview is that it is time consuming; each interview can often last up to a few hours, especially if you are studying illiterate criminals or participants who have an impairment, which makes it difficult for them to articulate themselves and hold a normal conversation and it can take a long time to transcribe this data. In spite of this of setback, this type of interview is rich in qualitative data, which makes the data become valid in comparison to the structured interview. Unstructured interviews are preferred by Interpretivists and Feminists. This is because they believe that the informality of the interview allows rapport to be built up. This means that the participant will build up trust and confidence with the interviewee. As a result, the interviewee is likely to open up to certain areas and this will enhance the validity of the researchers’ findings. This makes it a good technique for sensitive areas of sociology, such studying those women who are victims of domestic violence. However, an ethical issue of this type of interview is that it can cause psychological harm to either the participant and/or the interviewee. Furthermore, these types of interviews can place anyone involved in danger, especially if you’re studying violent criminals. Therefore, the researcher must plan and make considerations before implementing this type of interview. Additionally, positivists would argue that this type of interview could lack objectivity. This is because the interviewer usually uptakes a value laden stance in this type of interview. This means that his/her presence and the way questions are asked could affect the results of the research (e. g. leading questions). Furthermore, the interviewer’s facial expressions, body language and voice tone can all have an effect on how answers are given by the respondent. As a result of this, the interviewer may even offer their own opinions which may bias the results completely and bias may also occur during the detailed analysis process. Therefore, Validity and reliability are lowered because of the amount of bias that is endured throughout this type of research and this is why unstructured interviews are not favoured by positivists. In conclusion, how valuable are interviews in sociological research? It depends on the sociologists’ theoretical position; positivists see the quantitative data generated by formal, structured interviews more valuable. In contrary, Interpretivists see the qualitative data generated by informal, unstructured interviews more valuable. In spite of this, there are always issues with either type of interviews. Therefore, the best solution to overcome them is to use both structured and unstructured elements as the research situation demands. Structured elements may be very useful in identifying patterns of behaviour whilst informal elements may be more appropriate in uncovering explanations of those patterns. This can be illustrated in Dobash and Dobash’s study on domestic violence, where they used both element s of interviews to research domestic violence.

Roman History free essay sample

A paper which explores the events leading up to the Roman Revolution of 133-27 BC and the results of the revolution. The paper discusses that internal confusion forced in 133 BC by economic stand still in the city of Rome, slave rebellion and opposition in the military lead to a period of unrelenting political turmoil known as the Roman Revolution 133-27 BC. The paper shows that, in spirit, the republic structure of government experienced a painful and brutal change from negligent oligarchy to a more responsible dictatorial form of government. The paper shows, too, that this transition of Rome from Republic to an Empire saw many things change and one of them was the role of the aristocracy and the change in its status and stature. About the time of the beginning of the Principate, Roman society was defined sharply into three main classes, which in turn steadily became more defined during the empire. We will write a custom essay sample on Roman History or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For each class, specific career and public service opportunities were provided. For senators, these included the chief magistracies and military posts; for the equities (members of the Equestrian class), they included a career in civil or military service of the emperor; for the lower classes, there were limited to private or junior rank in the army. Classes, however, were not closed, and ascension from one to another was quite possible.