Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1
Economic - Essay Example e affected by the cyclone 1 Introduction Farm market like the market for Australia’s bananas is an example of market where the forces of supply and demand work. And just like any industry, Australia’s banana industry has already faced severe short-run problems like shortage in supply and the high price of banana. These were the main issues presented by the media reports that were used in this case study. This report will try to present an economic analysis of the problems encountered by both the consumers and producers of bananas in Australia as they were the key stakeholders impacted by the issues in this case. The concepts of supply, demand, price elasticity of demand and supply, and price instability of farm products were used to analyze this case. 2 Market Demand and Supply A market is an institution or mechanism that brings together the buyers and sellers of a particular good or product (McConnell and Stanley 2005, 47). The Australia’s banana market is an ex ample of a farm market where buyers and sellers are both considered stakeholders. Buyers or consumers of bananas represent the demand side while the supply side is represented by the growers or producers of banana. 2.1 Demand Australians consume around 20 million cartons of bananas a year, which equates to one box per person per annum or 13kgs of bananas each (Drucker 2006, par.7). This means that this amount of bananas is also the amount that consumers or buyers are willing and able to buy at any price during a specific period of time or the demand (Mankiw 1997, 89). Price and the quantity demanded are inversely related as described by the Law of Demand. In this case, banana consumers who are willing and able to exchange their money to have their bananas, will buy more bananas at lower prices and tend to buy less when price is increased. This relationship is shown in Figure 1. Aside from price, there are other determinants of demand. The price and availability of related products i s one that is applicable in this case study. With the shortage in banana caused by Cyclone Larry, consumers’ demand was unchanged as they failed to look for substitute for banana. In effect, they still buy bananas despite its high price. Figure 1. Demand curve D shows the inverse relationship between price P and quantity demanded Qd. 2.2 Supply Supply is the amount of particular goods or services that producers or sellers are willing to produce and make available for sale at a given price during a specified period of time (Mankiw 1997, 91). Law of Supply explains the direct relationship of price and quantity supplied. Industry group such as Growcom and the banana growers like Naomi King (Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2006, 1) will be willing to produce and sell more bananas when price in the market is high. For them, price is also another term for income. The normal or positive relationship between price and quantity supplied is shown in a supply curve like the one belo w. Figure 2. Supply curve S shows the direct relat
Sunday, October 27, 2019
The effect of birth order on personality
The effect of birth order on personality The overarching tenet of this research is the effect of birth order on the personality of individuals in a family. This research recognizes the fact that the development needs of a first born differs from the last child in a family. In order for children to gain access to the resources of the family, they have different developmental strategies by establishing their own niche and these strategies are manifested by behavioral and personality differences between siblings. This proposal will highlight the origin à  ¾f personality differences between siblings. This will be followed by relevant theories that will explain the forces that are at play in shaping the development of an individual which will shed light on the possible reasons that drive sibling interactions. After the evolutionary niche model of Alfred Alders (1996) in this chapter, key issues and research goals and the application of the results will be laid out. In the field of behavioral genetics, numerous research have been published that explored the genetic influence of personality citing that it accounts approximately 40% of variances in individual personalities while environmental factors contribute only to 35% for non-shared and 5% for shared environments while the remainder or 20% is attributed to sampling and measurement errors (à  lderц¢, 1999, 2001; à  là  ¾min Dà  °nielц¢, 1987; Turkheimer Wà  °ldrà  ¾n, 2000). Most notable of these results is the small influence of shared experience on personality development. It was observed that a fair proportion of personality transpired early in a persons lifetime. Thus, a brief, shared family experience seemed to exert little effect on the person of an individuals personality (Turkheimer Wà  °ldrà  ¾n, 2000). This small influence of shared family experiences in personality formation has led to criticism and subsequent refinements in the methods employed in behavioral genetics (Mà  ¾ffitt, 2005). For instance, recent reviews have suggested that estimates on variance contributed by shared environment should be increased in order for the significant gene-envirà  ¾nment interà  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ tià  ¾nц¢ become apparent (Mà  ¾ffitt, 2005), and the concept of shared environment has been shown to be simple and straightforward. When this last feature is taken which is the concept of shared family environment, it has been argued by à  lderц¢ (2001) that the within-family environment in which siblings live together does not necessarily result in shared sibling experiences. In other words, the experiences that two or more siblings have in common, which are termed shared experiences, have numerous differentiating factors. This is illustrated by this example. Siblings are likely to differ in age and gender leading to variations in size, strength, and cognitive maturity. These differences in cognitive maturity result in dissimilar interpretations of experiences and shared events leading to differing effects on development. Morales (1994) believed that position of the child in the family has an effect on the behavior of the child inside and outside of the confines of the home. He pointed out in his studies that it is the first born who is more responsible, more self-confident, and shows higher self- esteem. He added that older children in the family were provided more opportunities to teach their younger siblings thus encouraging them to become leaders and more intelligent. According to Zajonc and Markus (as cited in Bianchi Robinson, 1997) birth order had an inversely relationship with academic performance which theorizes that more children result in lower intellectual stimulation in the family. Moreover, as there are differences in the specific needs and wants of individual siblings, so should their interpretation of the shared environment. Indeed, varying responses to shared is beneficial to siblings within the same family environment. This is apparent in the competition among siblings in their access to family resources. At an early age, majority of resources that an individual sibling wants are in the form of parental attention and care. While it is encouraged in modern societies to distribute resources equally within the family, the unequal allocation of resources in the family can be traced in history and contemporary tribal societies. It is the practice of investing heavily on the eldest and youngest. The parental allocation of resources to children is determined by the availability of the resources at any given time and gaining access to these resources is the predicament all the siblings face. Romeo (1994) asserted that a childs position in the family is a great influence in shaping the personality of the individual. He added, The influence of the family constellation is so strong that the lifestyles of the youngest children of two different families are more similar than those of the youngest and middle child of the same family. According to Travis and Kohli (1995) said that the intellectual ability of siblings depends on birth order. Olszewski-Kubilius (2000) asserted that birth order is not merely a superficial variable but one that is instrumental and crucial that can affect how families behave and provide resources to their child. The proponent of this research is interested in establishing the effect of birth order on the personality of Grade 9 students at a middle school in the area. In this study, personality will be classified using two of five personality dimensions in the Big Five. When the personality of the respondent is evaluated using the Big Five it is consistent with the predictions of family dynamics. For this study, the convenience sampling will be used and therefore conclusion could not be generalized to reflect the overall view of Grade Nine students in the nearby middle school. Another assumption will be that the respondents will truthfully answer the items in the questionnaire ensuring a high external validity. One limitation is that the data will be based on the self-report of the respondents based on their perceptions towards how their position in the family affected their personality and conformity in family communication. Only the perceptions of the middle school students will be determined and only the variables conscientiousness, openness to experience, and conformity in family communication will be studied. Therefore views of their teachers, parents, or siblings are beyond the scope of this study. Although self-reports obtained from self-administered questionnaires serves its advantage since scoring could be done with relative ease, validity and reliability must first be established. Another possibility is that some students might not fully understand the items in the questionnaire considering that the respondent pool will be composed of different racial backgrounds whose English facility is not excellent. To remedy the language barrier, the questionnaire will be translated into thei r native tongue. To allay any anxiety during test administration, the investigator will emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers. Problem statement The main question this research hopes to answer is Does birth order have any kind of effect on personality? The roles of family members in the family govern the responsibilities and expectations placed on children by parents and siblings. How children perceive their place in the family affects their feelings and perceptions about themselves and the quality of their interaction with others (Kottman Johnson, 1993 as cited in Nims, 1998). During the childs formative certain elements in the family structure which reflect affiliation and emotional security greatly affect the coping and relationship styles and the psychological status of mature individuals (Fullerton et al. 1989). Despite the influence of genetics and the environment, behavioral differences of siblings could be due to birth order (Claxton, 1994), defined as the childs rank in the family according to age (Steelman, 1985 as cited in Claxton, 1994). An individuals status in the family which is the first social structure the child is exposed to is implicated as one of the major factors that contribute in shaping personality (Gould, 1997), and subsequent social relationships outside the family. Though there is wide acceptance on the belief that birth order is the single most important factor of development across a persons lifetime, the individuals birth order could potentially influence the quality of child-parental and sibling-sibling interaction affecting personality and social behavior (Buckley, 1998). Differences on the experiences of socialization among individuals by virtue of birth order result in explicit variations in personality and behavior. When there are no siblings, those who were first born are likely to be socialized by adults while those who were later born become exposed to the socialization of their older siblings (Claxton, 1994). Thus it was theorized that the first born or the oldest child in the family is more leaned towards achievement while the rest of the siblings tend to be more sociable and gain more satisfying and pleasurable experiences (Claxton, 1994). However, these observations are generalized and imprecise (Claxton, 1994). Research questions With the birth of a child, the individual enters into a world different from the child born before him or her. Since parents have learned a great deal from nurturing the first child, the coming of the second child will be easier to deal with, however the second child must compete with the first child to gain access of family resources such as food, clothing, attention, love and many others (Zanjonc 2001). The 2004 US census revealed that the average size of the family is 3.18. In other words, the typical American family is composed of an three children- the eldest or first born, middle child, and the youngest or last born. Differences in the type of environment the children are exposed to may have a significant effect on them. Various methodologies have looked primarily on the influence of family size and birth order on child development. Stereotypes surrounding the personality of the eldest versus the middle child and the last born are ever present in society. The study of Herrera and Zonjanc (2003) established the beliefs underlying the various personalities associated with the first born, middle child, and so forth. Their research revealed that those who were born first showed both positive and negative traits. They were regarded to be most successful in their academic performance, very responsible, exhibit conformist attitudes, enjoy greater stability while not being in touch with ones emotions and not imaginative. In addition, middle children are stereotyped to be the most envious while the youngest is isually the most innovative, expressive, demonstrative, defiant, negligent and conversational. The only child is most often considered to display unpleasant behaviors. Differences were also noted as to the type of occupation study participants perceived among children varying in birth orders. They had the belief th at the first born pursue courses like Accountacy, Aeronautics, Architechture, Education, Law or Medicine among others. Conversely, last borns are likely to take Visual Arts, Music, Performing Arts, Photography and many others. This qualitative study is aimed to determine the effect of birth order on the personality of ninth grade students in the area. Specifically, it will provide answers to the following questions: Whà  °t iц¢ the effeÑ t à  ¾f birth à  ¾rder à  ¾n Ñâ‚ ¬erц¢Ãƒ  ¾nà  °lity? Whà  °t Ñ à  ¾ntributeц¢ tà  ¾ Ñâ‚ ¬erц¢Ãƒ  ¾nà  °lity differenÑ eц¢ among siblings? Dà  ¾ dynà  °miѠц¢ à  ¾f the fà  °mily à  °nd the influenÑ e à  ¾f birth à  ¾rder à  ¾n Ñâ‚ ¬erц¢Ãƒ  ¾nà  °lity Ñ hà  °nge à  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ fà  °mily ц¢ize inÑ reà  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢eц¢? Iц¢ there à  ° demà  ¾nц¢trà  °ted relà  °tià  ¾nц¢hiÑâ‚ ¬ between birth à  ¾rder à  °nd Ñâ‚ ¬erц¢Ãƒ  ¾nà  °lity in là  °rge fà  °milieц¢ à  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ well? Application of results The results that will be obtained in the proposed study will be beneficial to field of counselling. Research has proven that the hypotheses of counsellors regarding their clients are considerably affected by the birth order of the client in his or her family (Stewart, 2004). Thus it is relevant to educate counsellors on the significance of discriminating two concepts of birth order, psychological and ordinal. It is also necessary for counsellors to have a good understanding on the relationship between psychological and ordinal birth orders on the relationships the clients have established whether in their respective families or outside the confines of the home. With this information in hand, clinicians are able to come up with strageties in treating any dysfunctional behavior that may surface during counselling. In addition, it is an important step for clinicians to support that in a successful social relationship, there should be optimism. Likewise, clinicians should also take into account other variables or factors in their assessment of the clients quality of human interaction. If for instance, birth order emerged to affect personality and relationship quality, then it should be utilized during the assessment of clients in the clinical setting. Are the earlier cited stereotypes founded in research? How does an individuals birth order affect the personality and behavior of the individual? Understanding the influence of birth order on the personality of a child can aid in making the family particularly parents and the community to be more responsive to the uniqueness of situations and circumstances every child is exposed to during and after birth. It would also provide helpful information that will be utilized by parents in molding and improving their care giving strategies tailor fit to satisify the needs of the child. Theoretical framework During the là  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢t 150 years, Alfred Adler became prominently known in the field of psychology by exploring the relationship between birth order and personality. In the book entitled, Bà  ¾rn tà  ¾ Rebel: Birth à Å ¾rder, Fà  °mily Dynà  °miѠц¢ à  °nd à  ¡reà  °tive Liveц¢, Adler examined prominent names in history, their birth order, and views towards scientific innovation. He mentioned that first borns who have significantly etched their mark in history are more defiant to change compared to their siblings who are more welcoming towards radicalism. Utilizing evidence from clinical observations and verbal testimonies, à  lder (1928) implied that various personality patterns should be related to the individuals birth order. As suggested by Alder, it is the firц¢tbà  ¾rn that would receive most of familial nurturance, attention and love until the second sibling arrives leaving the former becoming resentful for the loss of his or her special place in the family circle. There is in a sense of feeling of dethronement on the part of the first born which he predicted would be more neurotic, likely to be institutionalized, and abuse drugs and other elicit substances. Adler added that the youngest child is likely to be spoiled and overindulged rendering him or her emotionally ill-prepared for human interactions outside of the home. Since the middle child or children has not experienced the negative effects of dethronement and parental overindulging, they are the most successful, secure, and functional. The weakness in Adlers perspectives is his failure to test his assumptions therefore regarded in the scientific community as mere speculations. Birth à  ¾rder implies differences in size, à  °ge, and power distribution in the family unit. Essentially, a siblings birth order is considered à  ° Ñâ‚ ¬rà  ¾xy variable representing the factors affecting competition and the amount of strategies the sibling can explore or adopt to gain access of family resources. Those siblings, who have not successfully adopted strategies in the face of stiff competition especially when other siblings have grown stronger and bigger, will more likely unable to survive crucial developmental stages. This implies that siblings should apply strategies that enable them to increase their access to family resources without resulting to sibling misunderstanding or rivalry (à  lderц¢, 1996, 1999, 2006). Fà  ¾r the first born, there is no direÑ t Ñ à  ¾mÑâ‚ ¬etitià  ¾n because there are no siblings to compete against and only the parents will decide whether or not to give the child access to family resources. This would be an opportune time for the first born to please his or her parents. However most parents interviewed admitted that they do not deprive their only child access to attention, clothing or food despite his or her failure to please the parents. Thus, this situation suggests that the only child needs to submit to his or her parents demands to easily access resources in the family. Regà  °rdleц¢Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ à  ¾f whether the parents, particularly the mother asks the child to behave properly in school, get good grades, or cleans the bedroom, conformity to the expectations of the parents would mean that any available resources will be provided without hesitation. Thuц¢ one would observe that the first born execute ц¢trà  °tegieц¢ that warrant approval of parents by completing assigned tasks and conforming to the demands of parents (à  lderц¢, 2007). Theц¢e ц¢trà  °tegieц¢ which are à  °Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ quired by virtue of the birth order is made manifest as personalities leading to the conclusion that first borns are conformists (à  lderц¢, 1996, 2007). The situation becomes different in the case of the second born. From the time a child is born after the eldest child, he or she has à  ° rivà  °l fà  ¾r the attention of the parents and access to available resources in the famly. The rival is older, has more physical strength, and secured an early advantage on the family resources. In this situation, what Adler called conditional adaptive strategies come into play. If the second born will mimic the first borns strategy, it would bring disadvantage to both. It would result in intense rivalry and competition and because the first born is stronger and older, more often than not, it is the second born who will be defeated. What the second born can do as an adaptive strategy is to Ñ à  °rve hiц¢ à  ¾r her à  ¾wn niÑ he. When the second born is faced with the older sibling, the former should make use of low power ц¢trà  °tegieц¢ which is appealing to the parents who wa nt justice and impartiality in the home or which inhibit competition and rivalry among siblings. Therefore one would find that the second born will employ alternative strategies and methods to acquire family resources. Consequently, the second born is regarded as rebellious, unconventional and a personality style that scores high in the openness to experience subscale of the Big Five Personal Factor if compared to the eldest sibling (Heà  °ley Elliц¢, 2007). Differences between siblings result from the variety of the roles they play in the family due in part to genetic variability, gender, and birth order. Because of these inherent differences among siblings, family roles become diversified which is in conjuction with Charles Darwins divergence principle. Nature offers competition among species and similar to that, roles among siblings in the family are specialized reducing competition and work responsibilities are equitably distributed. With specialization, parents find it difficult to compare their childrens abilities from one birth order to another. The Darwinian divergence principle is one of the significant scientific landmarks in evolutionary biology since it provides the explanation for adaptive radiation which is the diversity of species that are closely related as illustrated by the Galapagos finches (Winkler, Sulloway 2006). The birth order of an individual in the family is directly linked to age and the chances of engaging ta sks that are age appropriate or age specific. Since the first borns are the oldest among the siblings, they take on the role of a surrogate parent which enable them to be more responsible and mimic adult behavioral patterns. Building on previous studies on personality, Sulloway (1996) organized characteristics of personality into five: Openness, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, (Goldberg, 1982; Norman, 1963). The hypothesis of Sulloway (1996) stated that first born siblings score high in Surgency which means they are highly sociable and dominant owing to the fact that first born individuals tend to lessen diversion of the investment of parents by exercising their dominance over his or her other siblings. Sulloway also hypothesized that first born individuals are less agreeable which indicate higher flexibility, warmth, and selflessness. Since the eldest sibling is the most dominant in the family, those who were born after the eldest child more likely use less confrontive strategies by becoming more agreeable. Sulloway (1996) also said that first borns are more conscientious therefore are more cautious, well organized, and reliable because it is the position of the first born to promote status quo within the family structure. Since the first borns have an earlier benefit over their younger siblings due to enjoyment of parental attention and family resources. Thus the coming of another sibling may cause him or her to be anxious about the likelihood that parental resources will be diverted to the new child. In line with that, Sulloway concluded that first borns may be less emotionally stable. Lastly, Sulloway assumed that being a first born result in scoring low in Openness which would imply that he or she may be less embracing towards the new. Sulloway added that when individuals exhibit high openness it signifies they are more open towards soliciting parental resources using alternative means. Definition of terms The following terms will be defined in order to have a better understanding of the problems this research aims to address: Birth order. This variable refers to the ordinal position of the individual in the family which could classified into first born, second born, third born or last born. Personality. This variable refers to the type of personality based on the instrument of John focusing on Conscientiousness and Openness to New Experience subscales. Conscientiousness. This variable refers to the degree that the individual is well organized or follows planned daily activities. Openness to Experience. This variable refers to the extent that the individuals exhibit traits such as insightfulness, creativity, or wide interests. Conformity. This variable refers to the level in which the individuals follow norms in family communication. Outline of remaining chapters Explained in the next pages are related literature and studies that centrally focus on the effect of birth order and personality among children. The theories that underpin this study will also be cited in the second chapter of this dissertation. The contents of Chapter 3 include problem statement, objectives and their rationale, research plan, participants, instrumentation, data processing, ethical assurances, and summary. Chapter 4 will present the results of the study as well as a thorogh and detailed discussion of results. Data will be presented appropriately to ensure that readers have firm grasp of the nature of the results. This will be followed by Chapter 5 which presents the summary of findings, conclusion, and recommendations.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Diagnostic Tests for Agents of Community- Acquired Pneumonia Essay
Worldwide, lower respiratory tract infections are the major cause of death due to an infectious disease. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is possibly the most important infectious disease that is encountered in clinical practice. Most forms of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are treatable. There is consensus that the selection of antimicrobial agents is notably simplified if the pathogen is defined. This article will focus on how aetiological tests can be used to guide antibiotic therapy in adult patients with CAP. The role of aetiological testing for antimicrobial therapy in CAP A major role of aetiological testing in CAP is to enable the use of pathogen-directed therapy, and thus reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and improve the outcome in patients. It has been suggested that the antibiotic therapy should be started within 4 h of hospital admission [4, 8], hence rapid tests with a shorter analysis time can be used to influence the choice of first-line antibiotic therapy. Rapid tests include, sputum gram strain, urinary antigen tests, and real-time PCR for respiratory pathogens. Less rapid tests, such as cultures, conventional PCR for respiratory pathogens, and serology, may provide useful information that may support ongoing antibiotic therapy, support narrowing of broad-spectrum therapy, and support therapy changes in case of treatment failure [3]. Culture of blood and respiratory specimens may be important for the identification of unexpected or uncommon CAP aetiologies that the empirical treatment does not cover for, e.g., Pseudomonas spp., methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and other highly resistant pathogens. Culture remains a cornerstone of the diagnostic techniques, as it can provide information abou... ...ing to the BTS and Swedish guidelines [7,8]. Suggested strategy for diagnostic testing A strategy for diagnostic testing in hospitalized CAP patients is presented in Table 3. It is based on disease severity and presence/absence of prior antibiotic therapy. Conclusion In order to cure CAP patients without causing unnecessary side effects and without contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance, antibiotic therapy should be carefully selected. Although patients with severe CAP should be treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, patients with non-severe CAP should preferably receive pathogen-directed therapy. While rapid aetiological tests may be useful for targeting initial pathogen-directed therapy, non-rapid tests may support switch from broad- to narrow-spectrum antibiotic therapy and support therapy changes in the case of treatment failure.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Hoaxes: Deception and Cardiff Giant
Hoaxes What is a Hoax? A hoax is something that is intended to deceive you or better described as a theory. They are many hoaxes in the world that have been developed over time. The two I have decided to tell you about are in the top 10 famous hoaxes in the world. These two are the Cardiff Giant and then the Cottingley Fairies. As you will out while you continue to read is both of these came out not to be completely true. George Hull who was a tobacconist created the hoax, Cardiff Giant. â€Å"He decided to create the giant after an argument at a Methodist meeting about a passage stating there were giants that once lived on the earth. The men he hired to carve the man, were instructed to make it long out of gypsum. Edward Burghardt was hired by Hull to carve the stone into a man and not tell anyone. To make the stone man look old and weathered, they used many stains and acids. By the time he was transported to a farm the United States has already spent 2,600 dollars trying to figure out the hoax, this was in 1868. In almost 1869, two men dug up a well and discovered the giant. One of the reporters said, â€Å"I declare some old indian has been buried here! Later some guy set up a tent and charged 25 cents for people who wanted to see the giant. Hull later sold his interest for 23,000 dollars to a man with the name of David Hannum. They moved it to Sycacuse, New York for an exhibit. It was so popular that a man named P. T. Barnum offered 50,000 dollars for the giant; he was turned down. He later hired a man to model the giants shape and cover it in wax and created a plaster replica. The replica was put on display at New York and claimed that it was real and the other one was fake.Barnum got sued by Hannum for calling his giant fake. Barnum got sued by Hannum for calling his giant fake. Hull eventually confessed to the press on December 10. On February 2, 1870, both of the giants were revealed in the court as being, fake. Barnum was ruled by the judge that he c ouldn’t be sued. The story of Cottingley Fairies is based off of a series of five pictures that were taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths. Elsie borrowed her dad’s 25 cent camera one day and toke pictures behind the family house. As Mr.Wright was developing the pictures, he saw fairies in them, but he said they were, fake. She was banned from taking anymore pictures, but her mom, Polly, was convinced they were real. In the summer of 1919, the whole situation became public and an author wrote an article saying these fairies were real. The next fifty years od there life was spent avoiding the public and is particular hoax continued to be believed by a lot of people. Frances and Elsie both admitted when they were about to die that the first four that were taken was fake, but the fifth photo was, authentic.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Writers of literature, especially those in the genre of stories, used different types of themes and symbolisms to represent an idea and concept that is not directly mentioned by the writer. Most themes especially about life, human nature and society are implied rather than explicitly stated. It’s the writer’s choice if he or she would want to use figures, objects or characters to illustrate an abstract idea to create various realizations on the part of the readers. The aesthetics of literature depends on how the writer seamlessly and creatively associates symbolisms to the themes of the story. In the story Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he used the title as a symbol itself, the characters, and the Biblical allusions as a point of comparison to the consequences of sins happened in the story. The Scarlet letter is used as a significant symbolism of shame that often identify the main protagonist, Hester. The â€Å"letter†word in the story functions as the reminder of her sin. Hester’s adultery receives harsh judgment and retaliation from the self righteous Puritan community. Her sin excludes her in the society or in a pattern known as unity versus exclusion in literature. Hester single mistake in the past made her an outcast who automatically separated her from ordinary social interaction. In the beginning of the story in the episode of the marketplace, the â€Å"scarlet letter†â€Å"was so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of the spell, taking her out in the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself†(Robinson 104). Here, Hawthorne already revealed how the scarlet letter symbolizes Hester’s authenticity as a character and fate. The letter becomes â€Å"the object of severe and universal observation†in the Puritan community (Robinson 114). Moreover, Hester’s presence in the â€Å"crowd had been of such deep social interest†not because of her as a character but because of what the scarlet letter says about her past (Robinson 138). The Scarlet Letter symbolizes the community’s system of judgment and punishment that greatly used symbols and externals to question one’s morality. The scarlet letter in the story is a figurative thing intended to represent sin and a mark of shame. This figurative object went to her after the adultery she committed with Dimmesdale. The setting of the story belonged to a Puritan community who strictly follows the standard of morality. Hester’s adultery from this kind of society received harsh judgment and retaliation from the Puritan community. Despite the painful judgment, Hester chose to stay in the community because running away would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her. Scarlet Letter embodies Hester’s identity that was determined to create her own individuality rather than allowing others to determine it for her. She chose not to conform to the society’s rules and standard. She knows deep inside that she is more than her sins. Her sins were all part of her but the journey of life still continues. Scarlet Letter illustrates Hester’s acceptance of her sins. She admitted though that the letter is a mark of shame but removing the letter or running away would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her. Hester was a symbol for hope, restoration and transformation. The judgmental community unconsciously transformed and challenged her character to be compassionate and capable woman. Her pains made humble. Her innate good nature was fully expressed from her challenging yet sorrowful faith. The scarlet letter as a symbolism is all in connection to the twists and turns of the story as well as to the character. Pearl, Hester’s daughter also noticed that, her mother wear a scarlet letter among all the grown up women in the community. â€Å"Mother†, said the little Pearl, â€Å"the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom†¦ It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet! â€Å"Nor ever will my child, I hope†, said Hester. â€Å"And why not mother? †asked Pearl, stopping short†¦ â€Å"Will it not come of its accord, when I am a grown woman? †(Robinson). In this conversation, it highlights the reality that the scarlet letter is intended to represent sin and Pearl as a child doesn’t fully comprehend her mother’s peculiar situation. Pearl’s innocent and pointed questions create suspense since it makes the characters feel uncomfortable. Moreover her character illustrates perception and honesty that separates her from the corrupt minds of the adulthood. Pearl’s innocent questions motivated those people around her to think and to reflect on the truths that are often overlooked. Pearl herself is the embodiment of the scarlet letter and Hester accordingly clothes her in a â€Å"beautiful dress of scarlet, embroidered with gold thread, just like the scarlet letter upon Hester's bosom†(Robinson). Pearl illegitimacy in the story and as a product of sin mysteriously takes the consequences of her parents’ guilt. The story of the â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†can be compared to some of the stories mentioned in the Old Testament. The plot depicting the extreme portrayal of Puritanism can be compared to the way old people from the Bible regard shame, rules and order. Just like Adam and Eve, Hester and Dimmesdale’s sins particularly adultery separated them from the divine and community (the way Puritan community perceives it). Sins excluded and alienated them in the society. Dimmesdale and Hester’s state of sinfulness led them to personal growth, sympathy and speculation about human nature and larger moral questions. At the end, the inner wisdom that Hester accumulated from the judgmental community greatly benefited her character and sense of individuality. The scarlet letter for Hester according to Nathaniel Hawthorne in one of his interviews after the creation of this wonderful story â€Å"was her passport into regions where other women dared not to tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachersâ€â€stern and wild onesâ€â€and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss†. Though the setting happened during Puritan community but the themes are timeless- judgmental society, personal responsibility and unconformity.
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