The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein

Are modern-day, American women happy? Are their lives more fulfilling than those of women who lived before the Equal Rights Amendment? Have the expectations of stereotypical gender roles faded away? Is society still dominated by a patriarchal boys club? Wendy Wasserstein considers these questions in her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Heidi Chronicles. Although it was written over twenty years ago, this drama still mirrors the emotional trials many of us (women and men) experience as we try to figure out the big question: What should we do with our lives? A Male-centric Disclaimer First of all, before this review continues, it should be disclosed that it was written by a guy. A forty-year-old male. If the subject of analysis in a womens studies class, your reviewer might be labeled as part of the ruling class in a male-biased society. Hopefully, as the critique continues, it wont present as obnoxiously do the self-confident, self-loving male characters in The Heidi Chronicles. The Good The strongest, most appealing aspect of the play is its heroine, a complex character who is emotionally fragile yet resilient. As an audience we watch her make choices that we know will lead to heartache (such as falling in love with the wrong guy), but we also witness Heidi learning from her mistakes; ultimately she proves that she can have both a successful career and a family life. Some of the themes are worthy of literary analysis (for any of you English majors looking for an essay topic). In particular, the play defines feminists of the 70s as hard-working activists who are willing to forgo gender expectations to improve womens status in society. In contrast, the younger generation of women (the ones who are in their twenties during the 1980s) is portrayed as more consumer-minded. This perception is demonstrated when Heidis friends want to develop a sitcom in which women Heidis age are very unhappy. Unfulfilled, frightened of growing old alone. In contrast, the younger generation want to get married in their twenties, have their first baby by thirty, and make a pot of money. This perception of a disparity between the generations leads to a powerful monologue delivered by Heidi in Scene Four, Act Two. She laments: Were all concerned, intelligent, good women. Its just that I feel stranded. And I thought the whole point was that we wouldnt feel stranded. I thought the point was that we were all in this together. Its a heartfelt plea for a sense of community that for Wasserstein (and many other feminist authors) failed to come to fruition after the dawn of the ERA. The Bad As you will discover in more detail if you read the plot outline below, Heidi falls in love with a man named Scoop Rosenbaum. The man is a jerk, plain and simple. And the fact that Heidi spends decades carrying a torch for this loser drains away some of my sympathy for her character. Fortunately, one of her friends, Peter, snaps her out of it when he asks her to contrast her misery with the more devastating problems going on around them. (Peter has recently lost many friends due to AIDS). Its a much-needed wake-up call. Plot Summary The play begins in 1989 with a lecture presented by Heidi Holland, a brilliant, often lonely art historian whose work focuses on developing a stronger awareness of female painters, getting their work exhibited in otherwise male-centric museums. Then the play transitions to the past, and the audience meets the 1965 version of Heidi, an awkward wallflower at a high school dance. She meets Peter, a larger than life young man who will become her best friend. Flash forward to college, 1968, Heidi meets Scoop Rosenbaum, an attractive, arrogant editor of a left-wing newspaper who wins her heart (and her virginity) after a ten-minute conversation. The years go by. Heidi bonds with her girlfriends in womens groups. She crafts a thriving career as an art historian and professor. Her love life, however, is in shambles. Her romantic feelings for her gay friend Peter are unrequited for obvious reasons. And, for reasons hard to fathom, Heidi cant give up on that philandering Scoop, even though he never commits to her and marries a woman whom he does not love passionately. Heidi wants the men she cannot have, and anyone else she dates seems to bore her. Heidi also desires the experience of motherhood. This yearning becomes all the more painful when she attends the baby shower of Mrs. Scoop Rosenbaum. Yet, Heidi is ultimately empowered to find her own path without a husband. Although a bit dated, The Heidi Chronicles still remains an important reminder of the tough choices we all make when we try to chase not just one but a whole handful of dreams. Suggested Reading Wasserstein explores some of the same themes (womens rights, political activism, women who love gay men) in her comical family drama: The Sisters Rosenweig. She also wrote a book called Sloth, a parody of those over-enthusiastic self-help books.

Realism in Pride and Prejudice - 1412 Words

Discuss the features that make a novel you have studied this year seem realistic and explain why realism is appropriate to the main themes of the novel. Sara Perley Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a complex novel mixing romance with comedy with an unprecedented quality of realism. Austens techniques require the reader to pay close attention and to actively interpret what it is they are reading unlike other light novels which you can passively work your way through. Pride and Prejudice is centrally concerned with the ideals and necessities of marriage in the early nineteenth century. Austen used a variety of features to make the novel Pride and Prejudice seem more realistic and relevant to the period of the nineteenth†¦show more content†¦The contrasts shown in the novel Pride and Prejudice show the realistic view of differing opinions and beliefs which are portrayed by most people. Irony is an equally important feature in portraying realism in the novel. Irony is used to express the ideas about the reality which is the characters of people, how no one can understand every subtle thing about every situation. The novel Pride and Prejudice uses irony a lot to express the beliefs of Austen and to help her subtly mock the society which many people wish to belong to. Unconscious irony is used to mock the person using it, such as Mrs Bennet. She spends her time criticising other peoples scandalous doings believing it makes herself seem better. Mrs Bennet believes that her comments are intelligent and sophisticated when in all reality she is being a hypocrite. As she criticises Mr Collins for his service to Lady Catherine De Bourgh stating that she would never accept favours and property from someone else yet in reality we know that she would. This exposes Mrs Bennets foolishness and hypocrisy. Another example when Mrs Bennet is talking about the intelligence and senses of her daughters it is ironic because she refers to the sense of their mother and father yet their mother has no sense. My dear Mr Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have the sense of their father and mother. Austen also expressesShow MoreRelated Essay on Irony, Values and Realism in Pride and Prejudice1152 Words   |  5 PagesIrony, Values and Realism in Pride and Prejudice The focus of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice is the prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet against the apparent arrogance of her future suitor, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the blow to his pride in falling in love with her. The key elements of the story are the irony, values and realism of the characters as they develop. Jane Austen ¹s irony is devastating in its exposure of foolishness and hypocrisy. Self-delusion or the attempt to fool other people areRead MoreEssay on Pride and Prejudice1332 Words   |  6 PagesPride and Prejudice 1. How do the narrative techniques of ‘showing’ and ‘telling’ work at this point in the novel? 2. How does this passage relate to the themes of the novel as a whole? The first part of the passage is dialogic, in that it contains only conversation between Lydia and Mrs Bennet. Jane Austen, through the use of narrative techniques, gives the reader an in-depth understanding of the story. One of these techniques is ‘showing’, which with the use of dialogue, allows usRead MoreJane Austen’s Novel Pride and Prejudice Essay874 Words   |  4 Pagesadvantageous marriage for the English novelist, Jane Austen. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics (Southam). Austen’s major novels, including Pride and Prejudice, were composed between the years 1795-1815. During those twenty years England was at the height of its power facing many historical landmarks (Thomson). It is no coincidence that Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, coincides directly with the historical events of thisRead MoreAnalysis of Chapter 11 of Pride and Prejudice Essay786 Words   |  4 PagesChapter 11 of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen opens with two lines from the third person, or omniscient narrator, who is focalizing through Elizabeth Bennett. Focalizing, meaning that it is the narrators voice that speaks, but we see through the eyes of t he characters, gives us the chance to understand the characters without direct dialogue. By telling us that Elizabeth was growing more angry but trying to compose herself (Pride and Prejudice, p148) you start to understand that somethingRead MoreJane Austens Pride and Prejudice1061 Words   |  5 Pagesthe influence that society has over its members. The romantic novelist Jane Austen satirizes her society and those who follow it. One of her most famous works, Pride and Prejudice, is a great example of this satire. Throughout the novel she explores the effects of society through her characters. In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, she divulges the central theme of society and social class through the characters Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and Lady Catherine. The first character that AustenRead MorePride and Prejudice Narrative Style Essay1285 Words   |  6 PagesJane Austen the author of Pride and Prejudice a novel where irony is considered the foundation for this novel. Irony, humour and the extensive use of dialogue complement each other to create an inviting novel for potential readers to lose themselves in. Irony is used to show the difference in truth and the way things may seem. Austen uses irony to create deeper emotions and laugh and characters perceptions in the novel. Humour is also used to show relationships but to guide the reader to understandRead MoreYour Possessions And The Way You Expose Yourself1080 Words   |  5 Pagesselfish. By the end he is able to set aside is old beliefs and allows himself to be truly happy. Pride is a virtue that can sometimes be too powerful Although the entire book is based on love and marriage, Pride and Prejudice is classified as a realistic novel, rather than a romantic one. This novel is written in the third person, making it easier for readers to relate to character’s feelings. Realism is a technique Austen uses that pays attention to detail. None of the author’s feelings or judgmentsRead MorePride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright1305 Words   |  6 Pages For those that enjoy romantic costume dramas set in England, the 2005 film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice starring Kiera Knightley and Mathew MacFadyen is the perfect movie to watch on a rainy day while sitting in a comfy chair, sipping hot tea, with a plate of biscuits nearby. Director Joe Wright’s and screen writer Deborah Moggach’s film â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† brings a romanticized slant to the world of the Bennet’s where the main dilemma facing the family is what to do with fiveRead MoreMorality Play Pattern in Pride and Prejudice995 Words   |  4 Pagesclose confinement with others with whom one must and should get along. Austen presents these virtues as not merely a necessary accommodation to difficult circumstances, but as superior to the invidious vanity and pride of the rich and titled, which she often mocks. So, in  Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet rejects Darcys haughty condescension out of hand; the happy ending must wait until Darcy comes to see beyond her lowly connections and unaristocratic manners and fully recognise her true (bourgeois)Read MoreInterpretation Of Everything That Rises, Must Converge986 Words   |  4 Pagesstatements and ideas. He disdains her bigotry and prejudices. O’Connor portrays racial prejudices and the unwelcome assimilation of integration in the South through irony, theme, and symbolism. O Connor uses various kinds of irony in Everything That Rises Must Converge to scorn racial prejudices at the same time as representing Julian s attitudes of superiority and his mother s undesirable intentions. Julian is of the younger generation and prides himself with being more accepting of African Americans

Edible Arrangements Free Essays

The Brand Reputation: – Edible arrangements offer many different varieties of fresh fruits with chocolate dipping. They are very unique and have new concepts, this makes them add value to reputation of their brand. Their main strength is an ingenious approach to fresh foods. We will write a custom essay sample on Edible Arrangements or any similar topic only for you Order Now Fresh fruits are always healthy more the less fresh fruits with chocolate dipping adds to the luscious delight. The artistic works on the fruits makes it more appealing for a normal trespasser as well . It invokes a wow factor for the clients. Customers are highly satisfied with their artefact as well as aliments and are driven back with the urge for more. The flexible price factor also attracts more customers to Edible arrangements. The customer service provides the clients with the best hospitality and gives you an open choice of tasting your goodies before you intend to buy them . While marketing through this strategy of try and buy attracts the clients to buy more of their products and increases the sales for the company. The hospitality of the company also creates a warm and a welcoming atmosphere which serves as a major point in retaining the customers. A more customer friendly environment with the best products of fair pricing is what stand as the strength of the joint. Moving on to the weakness of the company, The company offers only limited products and needs to diversify on the overall products produced. This will attract more clients and increase the sales. Edible arrangements have very little awareness on the open community and hence this will lead to customer reduction. A restricted marketing and financial plan will affect the company growth. Edible arrangements need to rethink on their promotion strategies and increase awareness among the public people. This will make them competitive against the heavy competition in the market. Since the company focuses on fresh and high quality products their lifetime will not be long. And hence has to sold out quickly, if not it will be considered as waste. Also adding on to this point the delivery of the products will also be a hazard and can be done only for short distance since the products are fresh and has to be consumed quickly. There will not be an extraordinary support from the finance point of view since the business is on the verge of being a established well in the market and hence backing will be limited. The overall number of stores in the country is marginable. However the need to promote their business and manage the flourishing demand, establishment of more stores will led to increase in its customers. Limited working hours during the day needs to be increased in order to complete the products and manage the delivery time for the customers. Analyzing the Opportunities of the edible arrangements are the following The fresh fruits are mostly loved by everyone and wide range of people will be interested in such health conscious products. This will boost the company in their growth. Their unique idea on fresh fruits is totally a new innovative and different concept. This leads to increased stakeholders. The other opportunity for edible products is to redesign their gift basket and make it novel. They should also concentrate on continuous improvement of their products and have consistent variety. Special packages and gifts must be offered during festival times to attract more clients. Festival season must have number employees working since the number of orders will increase and there will be high demand for the products. The locality and ambiance of the stores must have high standard of quality so that it can accommodate more number of customers and have less waiting time. Hospitality must be at the peak even during those times to retain the customers even in crowded hours. Franchise can be sold to common people who are willing to make the edible arrangements proud and widen their business. This strategy will lead you to a next platform and increase the growth. It is important to have collaboration with third parties and promote the business to next level in order to be in the top markets. This will also help you build a good reputation and increase awareness among the people. Opportunities also exist for Edible Arrangements to continue to expand into a younger demographic market segment. As noted in the previous section, North American youth are becoming increasingly health conscious and paying closer attention to the nutritional content of their food more than ever before. Edible Arrangements should remain highly active on social media sites, and maintain their innovative, fresh and colourful promotional campaigns to keep expanding their brand awareness and tapping into different market segments, particularly young adults and teenagers. And concluding on the threats caused to edible arrangements, Competition is regarded as one of the major threats to edible arrangements. There will also be new competitors and they will tend to copy the ideas of products and try to dominate the existing competitors. There will be price variance on the products and hence the customers will look onto this factor as well. Since edible arrangements have high standard of quality it will remain a difficult competitor in maintaining good quality and also compete with the low cost competitors. There will be a threat to study the variance in the market and what the clients are expecting, in order to thrive market domination. It is also be possible in customer reduction, this terms of self preparation of the commodities by the regular consumers as it is easy to make. This can prevented to a approximate level by making the exclusive recipes and maintain secrecy in minute detailing of the products which makes the sold commodities by Edible arrangements unique. Since edible arrangements is a small company there are greater risks that larger companies will begin to offer similar products and services thus this will be a big threat to edible arrangements. How to cite Edible Arrangements, Papers Edible Arrangements Free Essays The Brand Reputation: – Edible arrangements offer many different varieties of fresh fruits with chocolate dipping. They are very unique and have new concepts, this makes them add value to reputation of their brand. Their main strength is an ingenious approach to fresh foods. We will write a custom essay sample on Edible Arrangements or any similar topic only for you Order Now Fresh fruits are always healthy more the less fresh fruits with chocolate dipping adds to the luscious delight. The artistic works on the fruits makes it more appealing for a normal trespasser as well . It invokes a wow factor for the clients. Customers are highly satisfied with their artefact as well as aliments and are driven back with the urge for more. The flexible price factor also attracts more customers to Edible arrangements. The customer service provides the clients with the best hospitality and gives you an open choice of tasting your goodies before you intend to buy them . While marketing through this strategy of try and buy attracts the clients to buy more of their products and increases the sales for the company. The hospitality of the company also creates a warm and a welcoming atmosphere which serves as a major point in retaining the customers. A more customer friendly environment with the best products of fair pricing is what stand as the strength of the joint. Moving on to the weakness of the company, The company offers only limited products and needs to diversify on the overall products produced. This will attract more clients and increase the sales. Edible arrangements have very little awareness on the open community and hence this will lead to customer reduction. A restricted marketing and financial plan will affect the company growth. Edible arrangements need to rethink on their promotion strategies and increase awareness among the public people. This will make them competitive against the heavy competition in the market. Since the company focuses on fresh and high quality products their lifetime will not be long. And hence has to sold out quickly, if not it will be considered as waste. Also adding on to this point the delivery of the products will also be a hazard and can be done only for short distance since the products are fresh and has to be consumed quickly. There will not be an extraordinary support from the finance point of view since the business is on the verge of being a established well in the market and hence backing will be limited. The overall number of stores in the country is marginable. However the need to promote their business and manage the flourishing demand, establishment of more stores will led to increase in its customers. Limited working hours during the day needs to be increased in order to complete the products and manage the delivery time for the customers. Analyzing the Opportunities of the edible arrangements are the following The fresh fruits are mostly loved by everyone and wide range of people will be interested in such health conscious products. This will boost the company in their growth. Their unique idea on fresh fruits is totally a new innovative and different concept. This leads to increased stakeholders. The other opportunity for edible products is to redesign their gift basket and make it novel. They should also concentrate on continuous improvement of their products and have consistent variety. Special packages and gifts must be offered during festival times to attract more clients. Festival season must have number employees working since the number of orders will increase and there will be high demand for the products. The locality and ambiance of the stores must have high standard of quality so that it can accommodate more number of customers and have less waiting time. Hospitality must be at the peak even during those times to retain the customers even in crowded hours. Franchise can be sold to common people who are willing to make the edible arrangements proud and widen their business. This strategy will lead you to a next platform and increase the growth. It is important to have collaboration with third parties and promote the business to next level in order to be in the top markets. This will also help you build a good reputation and increase awareness among the people. Opportunities also exist for Edible Arrangements to continue to expand into a younger demographic market segment. As noted in the previous section, North American youth are becoming increasingly health conscious and paying closer attention to the nutritional content of their food more than ever before. Edible Arrangements should remain highly active on social media sites, and maintain their innovative, fresh and colourful promotional campaigns to keep expanding their brand awareness and tapping into different market segments, particularly young adults and teenagers. And concluding on the threats caused to edible arrangements, Competition is regarded as one of the major threats to edible arrangements. There will also be new competitors and they will tend to copy the ideas of products and try to dominate the existing competitors. There will be price variance on the products and hence the customers will look onto this factor as well. Since edible arrangements have high standard of quality it will remain a difficult competitor in maintaining good quality and also compete with the low cost competitors. There will be a threat to study the variance in the market and what the clients are expecting, in order to thrive market domination. It is also be possible in customer reduction, this terms of self preparation of the commodities by the regular consumers as it is easy to make. This can prevented to a approximate level by making the exclusive recipes and maintain secrecy in minute detailing of the products which makes the sold commodities by Edible arrangements unique. Since edible arrangements is a small company there are greater risks that larger companies will begin to offer similar products and services thus this will be a big threat to edible arrangements. How to cite Edible Arrangements, Papers

Ethical Leadership Debate Interpersonal and Team Working Skills

Question: Discuss about theEthical Leadership Debate for Interpersonal and Team Working Skills. Answer: Mike Gustavsson Mike Gustavsson is completely against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible in shareholder focussed economy. He believes that the setting of ethical tone of a company is under the ambit of its leadership and it becomes moral and ethical responsibility of the leadership to provide the same. As a university lecturer, he has high level of Moral Development and expects others also to be at the same stage 6 (Kohlberg, 1971) as he is. His approach to ethics is Rule utilitarianism which considers the greatest good of all in the long-term for defining ethical approach. Also, he believes in following Deontology as propounded by Kant, Levinas and Ockham. Due to this approach of his, he even starts to blame his daughter when she starts to divert from his perceived path of ethics. Ultimately his dissonance with the ethical practices of Alfaraft AB leads to him protesting against a company in which his own daughter works and he is a dominant stakeholder. Jan Edwards In the given situation, Jan Edwards is against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible. She expects the new management hires to have such virtuous characters that decision making for them is based on their intellectual wisdom and moral honesty rather than obligations or outcomes. Further, her concern towards the development of Guatemalan educational system and business scenario shows her feminist ethic which emphasizes care and value of relationships. The feminist ethic of hers also leads her to be on stages 5 6 (Kohlberg, 1971) of moral development i.e. Legalistic social contract and universal ethical principles. While the former talks about the greater good of the greatest number of people through universal consensus, latter applies Maxim 2 of Kants ethical theory (Sullivan, 1994.) i.e. the importance of human dignity. In general Jan exhibits high internal locus of control and in this particular case, she is a dominant stakeholder with access to power and legitimate standing but no urgent claims. Mei-Hua Felung Mei-Huas case argues against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible in corporate scenarios. In fact, Mei-Hua emphasizes the importance of strong ethical code of conduct for the continuation of a profitable business. However, Mei-Hua demonstrates the presence of a high level of egoism as well as act utilitarianism wherein the definition of ethics changes and stretches as per the actions and convenience of the doer. Her stance on ethical leadership is to manifest honesty in all of the undertakings they have and to follow Code of Corporate Governance religiously. If within these limits, her sense of ethics is well justified. Her moral development has been curtailed at Stage 1 (Kohlberg, 1971) wherein an individual is ethical only because she perceives a threat of punishment otherwise. However, there is also manifest a stage 3 (Kohlberg, 1971) moral development in her wherein she justifies not only her doings but also her colleagues. Deshi Chen Deshi Chan is completely in favour of the argument and believes that ethical leadership IS impossible in a shareholder focused economy and that educating about it is a hindrance to the business studies. According to him, there is no point in studying ethics at business schools when they are not practiced in real-life situations. His show of egoism (Feinberg, 1978) and individualism i.e. Stage 2 of moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) also reinforces this belief of his that leadership is focused on creating a profitable and successful business. Deshi has a high external locus of control and demonstrates a partial lack of Stage 3 of Moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) where he seeks only self and familial approval of ethics and not anyone elses. Stuck in his current situation of whether to follow the ethics curriculum or not, Deshi for now is a mosquito having urgent claims but lacking power to affect those claims. He also stands to be in a similar situation in the future if he keeps he s ame thought process and proceeds on to a workplace. Interpersonal and Team Working Skills The ability to function effectively in a team is an important part of employability skills nowadays. A similar skill has been attempted to be inculcated in us by asking us to work in teams for this course. My team members are David, Demi Fred Karine and Qiaan Tong. Through this assignment, I have learned a lot about the importance of functioning in a team and how it helps in the need satisfaction of social affiliation and self-actualisation needs (Maslow, Stephens, Heil, Bennis, 1998). I personally relate to Stages 2 4 of Moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) wherein I believe that an individual is entitled to his views and thoughts which should be respected and also that while working in a social environment or in a team, it is important that certain rules are observed and adhered to for the effective and efficient functioning of the team. Communication plays a crucial in the effective working of any team and it is important that a free flow of thoughts and ideas happens within the team for effective team work (Gladstein, 1984). This allowed us all to reach Stage 3 of moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) through constant approval of each others thoughts and suggestions. The one thing that I liked best about my team was our ability to trust each other to the utmost. In circumstances when we fell in trouble, we could completely rely on each other. However, existence of different people in a team mandates that there will be conflicts in the team also. These conflicts were resolved through collective dialogue as advocated by stage 3 (Kohlberg, 1971) and through rational analysis of each and every argument (Behfar, Peterson, Mannix, Trochim, 2008). References Behfar, K. J., Peterson, R. S., Mannix, E. A., Trochim, W. M. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of applied psychology, 93(1), 170. Feinberg, J. (1978). Psychological egoism. Gladstein, D. L. (1984). Groups in context: A model of task group effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 499-517. Kohlberg, L. (1971). Stages of moral development. Moral Education, 23-92. Maslow, A. H., Stephens, D. C., Heil, G., Bennis, W. (1998). Maslow on management. New York: John Wiley. Sullivan, R. J. (1994). An introduction to Kant's ethics. Cambridge University Press.