Critically discuss the connections between stakeholder claims and the Essay

Critically discuss the connections between stakeholder claims and the product market - Essay Example Another group of stakeholders beyond these three categories form the secondary stakeholders which include the government, communities, etc.., The capital market stakeholders such as the investors, debt suppliers and banks would want to have a right to decide what the organization has to do in order to maximise the shareholder wealth. However, the organizational stakeholders such as the employees and the unions have a claim on how the company operates to achieve the objectives. On the contrary, the product market stakeholders are concerned with the way they will be affected by the firm (Haslam, Neale and Johal, 2000). The product market stakeholders include the suppliers and the customers. These stakeholders have an important role to play in the organization and its value, and in turn, have a major effect on the other stakeholders of the firm. The customers of a firm expect high value from the firm in all their encounters. However, they will also have a lot of choices in the market for the product or service, and hence the prices have to be attractive to them. The customers choose a product or service, not only based on the quality but also on the costs involved. Hence their primary expectation or demand from the firm is a reliable and high quality product at the lowest cost (Sloman, Sutcliffe, 2004). The suppliers on the other hand have a considerable power over the firm, as they control the basic products or services required by the firm in its value chain. The power of the suppliers and their claims in the firm differ based on the availability and the level of competition in their products and services. In case of a supplier having a monopoly in the market, the supplier will have a high level of claims in the firm’s activities and will not be affected profoundly due to other stakeholders (Sloman and Sutcliffe, 2004). However, in an open market with a number of suppliers, the firm and its

Closing scene of Act One Essay Example for Free

Closing scene of Act One Essay It is clear to the audience that Catherine wants to disagree with Eddie but feels she is not allowed too think different for herself. Beatrice will not let Catherine put up with Eddie treating her like a child anymore. She sits Catherine down to tell her that she needs to grow up and move away she before she becomes trapped by Eddie. An angered Beatrice says to Catherine in : you still think youre a little girl, honey.. he cant give you orders no more This quote shows Beatrices frustration with Catherine, and therefore Miller is succeeding in creating more dramatic tension because Beatrice shows her feelings to the other characters and the audience. Beatrice feels that Catherines naivety towards Eddie is destroying their marriage and ruining her own future. Eddie turns to Alfieri, he hints to him about his love for Catherine and his hatred towards Rodolfo. Alfieri understands how Eddie is feeling but cannot help him with his troubles, he tells Eddie that there is nothing illegal with Catherine falling in love with Rodolfo. Dramatic tension is caused again on the stage when Alfieri reinforces what Beatrice had previously told Eddie and he says: the child has to grow up and go away and the man has to learn to forget. I think that the climax of dramatic tension happens in the closing scene of Act One . Eddie returns home to an extremely tense and claustrophobic apartment, he supposedly taught Rodolfo how to box but in Eddies mind he was challenging Rodolfo to a fight. Rodolfo escapes the mock boxing match with a slight graze, however I think that Catherine is so overwhelmed with Eddies attempt to include Rodolfo that she doesnt see through to his real thoughts. Miller has used this in the plot and it is significant to the storyline as it shows Eddies controlling behavior and how he likes to keep an iron fist over the apartment. Beatrice and Catherine are now worried over the safety of Rodolfo. Rodolfo is nervous and unsure about the angry Eddie who is full of passionate hate for him. After the fight, Rodolfo and Eddies characters act together to add more dramatic tension to the last scene of the first act. There is evidence of this occurring when: he takes her hand. Rodolfo takes her in his arms. In my opinion, this aggravates Eddies situation and it stirs up his emotions. The self-destructible Eddie is trapped in the claustrophobic apartment with no place to go and is forced to sit and watch them dance together. The climax of dramatic tension during Act One then happens in the last scenes when a silent Marco, who has been sitting quietly in the background, steps out and retaliates to Eddies behaviour towards his younger brother. Marco next challenges Eddie to a chair lifting contest. Marco shows Eddie how he can lift a chair over his head using only one hand, Eddie attempts to prove himself worthy of the same thing but fails. Miller adds this part of the scene to the play because it shows the two strong dominant men battling it out to show who is the prevailing male of the household. I think that this is Marcos silent warning to Eddie that says lay off my brother. There is now pressure on Eddie who was previously the strongest character and this causes the dramatic tension to carry on increasing. One aspect of the play, that in writing that can be noticed is that Miller is very specific in his stage directions. A quote I have taken from Millers stage directions reads: Marco is face to face with Eddie a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw his neck stiff the chair raised like a weapon over eddies head. The way he uses stage directions allows the audience to see the emotions and feelings that the characters are undergoing. I think that this assists in maintaining the dramatic tension throughout the play as it is giving the audience a clear image of what each of the characters truly feels and also their state of mind. Eddie has now been driven to pressing his self destruct button when he makes the call to the immigration office that he cannot undo. After this we have reached the peak point in the story. I think this because Eddie has now betrayed his family and there is now a vendetta between Marco and Eddie. Because of the mafia code that Marco follows he believes that there is only one way to resolve the situation: Eddie must die. Now that the audience are aware of this the dramatic tension has reached its climax, the audience are sitting waiting for the tragic death of Eddie Carbone- the plays tragic hero. The last quote that Alfieri uses in the play is that : most of the time no we settle for half and I like it better In my opinion I think that this is Alfieris way of telling the moral of the story. If Eddie had only settled for half he would still be alive and the family would be happy, but most importantly of all , Catherine who he has always been so eager to please. From my essay I have shown how Miller cleverly creates dramatic tension and maintains it throughout his play. The dramatic techniques Miller uses to create this are: his precise stage directions; dramatic irony at the start of the play; and the use of his climatic points. The dramatic irony is important because it means the audience are aware of something that the characters are not. Also, Millers use of climatic points rite through the play generate tension between the characters, he uses this dramatic device wisely by accumulating lots of intense moments. However, I think the most important technique that Miller use to create his dramatic tension is specific stage directions. I think this because it creates an intimate and claustrophobic atmosphere on the set on which the characters live. He creates zones on the stage were the action takes place, this changes the entire atmosphere of the play. These zones that Miller has created make it more intimate and therefore adds dramatic tension.

Crime Is Socially Constructed Criminology Essay

Crime Is Socially Constructed Criminology Essay Nowadays hard to imagine daily life without news telling us stories about shocking tragedies happening around the world. Unfortunately almost everybody is interested in actions that can harm somebody. In media even existing a victim hierarchy (more sensational victim goes on top) of attraction interest of audience. People are measure beings. It is in our habits to judge ourselves and people around us. Rules are governing everywhere; it sets correct and incorrect behaviour of society members. Norm and rules should be conformed and existence of social control is aimed to ensure it. During social control process behaviour of individuals and groups is regulated by formal and informal agents. In process of socialization operates internal social control, here people adopt and learn norms from parents, peers, media, and etc. This type of control is targeted to individuals conscience; meanwhile more concentration of sociologists gets external social control ruled by formal agents as police, courts, and etc.; and negative sanctions (punishing the various forms of deviance). (Goode, 1994) It is very important to understand difference between deviance and crime because first leading to second. Sociologists refer to behaviour that is regarded as wrongdoing, that generates negative reaction in individuals who witness or hear about it, deviant behaviour, both deviant behaviour and traits or conditions that generate a similar condemnatory, rejecting reaction in others are called social deviance or simply deviance. (Goode, 1994, p.1) Crime is a form of deviant behaviour. Deviance can be stated as a violation against norms and values of a wider society. For example one person accepts as a norm to be a part of sub-culture- Goths. This individual support their ideas and traditions, but another thinks different because of his life experience or other impact factor (e.g. taste) that acting and dressing as Goths is incorrect and it becomes deviant. In this case it is legal (actually to be a Goth) but some of deviant behaviour can lead to criminal activity (e.g. smoking in public place). Overall, crime is more about breaking formal norms, but deviance-informal. Crime is socially constructed, this is a fact. Interactionist school of sociology tells us that the social order contain a variety of social groups where each acting in a way he understands the reality.(Muncie and McLaughlin, 1997) They react on certain behaviours and state people as being different from their morality or cultural norms. These different are labelled as deviants or even criminals. Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infractions constitute deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. (Becker, c1991; p.9) However, crime changes across cultures and times, for example to take homosexuality. In not long time ago, 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labour; (Online) homosexuality counted as a mental disorder and was subject of brutal punishment. Nowadays, in many countries crime label for homosexuality is removed. Another example of changes is violence in family against women and children. It wa s a little interest from police and laws about this problem not a long time ago. This actions was counted as a right of men to make discipline harming more weak members of family. Because of feminist and womens right activists campaigns to support victims, made a great work, and now violence in families is a serious crime. These kinds of interactions another time prove that crime is socially constructed. It seems too ideal from the angle of reality, but actually it is important to understand another point that who make rules to control society? According conflict theory, the law is created by powerful and privileged and benefits exactly to them so making powerless criminals. (Pond, 1999) Regarding Becker, unprivileged and powerless people, no matter of level of injury and damage they done, are likely to be arrested, judged; powerful people create illusions, that those who are at the bottom of social hierarchy (measured in case of income level, race, education degree)- are more dangerous in society. This powerful elite creates environment where ordinary people become dependent of state and its social control agents who protect from lawlessness, but also often victimizing ordinary people one or another way.(Becker, c1991) Media is one of the major tool to help people understand what they need to be more afraid of. There is more to crime and criminals than the state reveals. But most people cannot see it (Becker, c1991, p.15) In conclusion, is sensible to summarize main aspects of all above. Firstly, talking about deviance is important to underline that it varies depending to cultural groups; individuals labelled as deviant only if others define them that way and that powerful and powerless are involved in social power. It is interesting that regarding functional theory of crime, especially Durkheim, deviance perform four functions essential to society: deviance proves cultural values and norms; the way people respond to deviant behaviour clarifies society moral boundaries; society becomes more united; and the last but not the least of importance, deviance support social change. Generally speaking, understanding of deviant behaviour and crime can lead to better society. (Macionis and Plummer, 1997)

Major League Baseball Salaries: How Much is Too Much? Essay -- Argumen

Major League Baseball Salaries: How Much is Too Much? Twenty-five million dollars made per year. Over one hundred fifty-four thousand dollars made per game. Over forty-seven thousand dollars earned per at bat. Sounds a little ridiculous, does it not? That is what current Texas Ranger shortstop Alex Rodriguez earns to play the game of baseball (azcentral.com). Baseball is a game that children have been playing in schoolyards and fields for the past one hundred years. It may not be a game anymore. On the Major League level it has become a business. This is where the problem starts. Others associated with baseball do not see any problem. All businesses are entitled to the best employees they can afford. If the owner wishes to pay larger salaries, then he/she is at liberty to do this because he/she is in charge of the operations of the business. Baseball is no different. If New York Yankees’ owner, George Steinbrenner, chooses to spend $125 million on players’ salaries each year, who will stop him? If Minnesota Twins’ owner, Carl Pohlad, decides to only spend $25 million on players’ salaries, who tells him to spend more? The answer of course is nobody, because baseball is a business. Each franchise is run by an individual owner who makes the business decisions. Compared to long ago, baseball has transformed from being the sport people have a passion for to an egotistical business of super-agents and ten million dollar players (azcentral.com). This essay will introduce the situation that Major League Baseball is in with regards to its players’ salaries. It will also describe how the salaries escalating at the rate they are is hurting the game overall by pushing the fans awa... ...ball itself. Works Cited Holahan, William L, Kroncke, Charles O. â€Å"A Pedagogical Note on Baseball Stadium Economics: ‘Show Me the Money!’ † Social Studies Jan/Feb 2003: 44-45 Rosenthal, Ken. â€Å"Look What Happened to the Big Boys.† Sporting News 14 Oct. 2002: 47-48 Stein, Lisa. â€Å"Let’s Play Hardball.† US News and World Report 15 Apr. 2002: 14 Twenty-five Highest Paid Major League Baseball Players. 12 May 2002. Arizona Republic. 25 March 2003 http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/ top25salaries2002.html Verducci, Tom. â€Å"Conspiracy Theory.† Sports Illustrated 10 Jan. 2003: 22 Wilson-Smith, Anthony. â€Å"The Unsporting Life.† MacLean’s 17 Feb. 2003: 4 Baseball Salaries Database. 11 November 2002. USA Today. 25 March 2003 http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/default.aspx Kurson, Ken. â€Å"The Baseball Fallacies.† Esquire April 2001: 110

Addiction is a Disease Essay

Addiction is all around us. It may be that cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine stimulation, the cigarette that is smoked for the nicotine, or an alcoholic drink used to relieve a stressful day or situation. For some, the addiction may not be to a substance, but to compulsive behaviors such as gambling, playing video games, or shopping. Consequences to addictions can impact an addict’s physical or mental state. Addiction can also have detrimental impact on the people that surround them. Watching a relationship fall apart because a person has an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior is a sad thing to happen to anyone. Unfortunately, those with addictions usually won’t admit they even have a problem and that they need treatment until it is too late. Some addictions have less severe consequences, such as addiction to caffeine for the stimulation; others take it to the other end of the spectrum, such as using illegal drugs like cocaine or heroi n which completely deteriorates their physical and mental health. Addiction should be looked at as a disease because it is chronic and does not subside without treatment. Symptoms can be progressive, and just as disease surfaces repeatedly, addiction has a high level of relapse. Furthermore, addiction can be treated. Addiction is a disease whether it is an addiction to substances or certain behaviors. Addiction is a common word known to many, but many don’t realize that addiction is a disease. â€Å"Substance abuse has been conceptualized and generally accepted to be a disease resulting from a biologic vulnerability triggered by a combination of psychological, social, and environmental factors† (Vocaturo 393). Addiction and disease have corresponding definitions. More commonly a disease is thought of as an illness of the body or something we acquire involuntarily such as diabetes, cancer or Alzheimer’s. â€Å"If addiction is truly compulsive and addictive action is not voluntary, then addiction has a much stronger claim to be a disease† (Perring 194). According to dictionary.com, disease is defined as, â€Å"a disordered or incorrectly functioning part of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment or any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society.† Addiction is a mental disease. According to  Dictionary.com, addiction is defined as, â€Å"the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.† Behavioral addictions are compulsive actions with examples being gambling, shopping, video gaming, and those with OCD. â€Å"The behavior has an effect of decreasing anxiety and result in a positive mood state or high, similar to substance intoxication† (J.E. Grant et al 234). What happens in the brain during addiction is that the brain learns poor coping mechanism for stressful or unfavorable situations. In the brain, a series of events happen during addiction. Addictions are a coping mechanism which plays a role in the reward system felt in the brain. The brain’s dopamine system transports serotonin, the good feel hormone. Whatever the addiction, it causes a chemical in the brain called dopamine to surpass normal levels which results to feelings of pleasure. â€Å"The most integrative and common feature of addictive agents is their capacity to cause psychomotor activation. This most common feature is seen as forward locomotion which is the unconditional response to positive reinforcement† (Calabrese 599). This then causes the brain to want it over and over again. Although there are different kinds of addiction, all have a common goal: to make a person feel good. This then becomes more important to a person than anything else despite the consequences. The brain then becomes reliant on this false surge in dopamine brought on by the addiction, and the brain’s ability to naturally produce dopamine greatly decreases. This then results in lack of control when the same outcome can no longer be established. This leads to increasing dosage or behavior to try and achieve the same high or to possibly better it. Substance addictions leave the body constantly craving a good feeling despite the consequences they may have. In order to understand the real mentality of someone with addiction/s is to examine a person in a philosophical and psychological way. All types of addictions should be looked at from a philosophical and psychological point of view. Those in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy often compare their views to show the similarities of addictions whether they be substance induced or behavioral. â€Å"Behavioral science experts believe that all entities capable of stimulating a person can be addictive; and whenever a habit changes into an obligation, it can be considered as addiction† (Alaghemandan  et al 290). Some addictions can affect people physically. Caffeine and nicotine provide prime examples. The body’s physical state becomes dependent on its effects and causes withdrawal symptoms without use. One of the main differences in behavioral and substance addictions is that behavioral addictions have no apparent physiological or physical withdrawal symptoms. It is not the physical body that is addicted, but the feeling that one gets mentally. The physical body is only affected by the dependency of the substance itself, while the addiction itself is more damaging psychologically. Addiction isn’t about will power. When looking at addiction for a neurological point of view, there are a series of chemical reactions going on. Dopamine is a good-feel hormone produced in the brain when satisfaction is gained chemically by substances or by a self-gratifying act. When substances such as drugs and alcohol are used or certain behaviors are performed, a person experiences an unnatural high, so to speak, which is many times greater than the natural reward system produced in the brain. Some individuals may be more susceptible to getting hooked on this feeling. Certain people can be specifically more vulnerable than others to taking on an addiction. The vulnerability to addiction can be due to their genetic dispositions. â€Å"With prominent advances in whole genome sequencing, the search for genetic variations underlying drug addiction is continuing at an escalating pace; however, genetic factors likely explain about fifty percent of the risk for addiction† (Maze and Nestor 99). Some believe that one can have an addictive personality. An addictive personality will always be susceptible to having at least one kind of addiction. Quite subsequently, an addictive personality type is addicted to addiction itself. If one addiction was given up, another one would be taken on, moreover, it is commonly found for an addicted person to be addicted to several addictions at the same time. This increases the level of the individual suffering, and no matter what the addict ion, it disrupts the brain’s natural reward system, which is the route to a pleasurable feeling. The addiction itself is the mental state created from taking on any addiction. â€Å"Studies have shown that those with behavioral addictions and those with substance use disorders both score high on a self-report measure of impulsivity and sensation-seeking and generally low on measures of harm avoidance† (J.E. Grant Et Al 234). It is extremely hard for a person addicted to a substance or behavior to break the  addictive cycle. Getting over addiction is dependent on the type of addiction. Trying to break certain addictions may be simply in avoiding a social environment that may tempt a person towards a certain addiction. Others may benefit from medications and psychological treatment. Research has shown, regardless of whether behavioral or substance addiction, replacing or substituting with a positive beneficial addiction to start learning to associate a positive coping mechanism to the triggers that onset the addiction. It is difficult to overcome, and an addict is always going want to feel good with an act or substance. While the severity differs between addictions, some are manageable in day to day life, while others have catastrophic effect in their lives which is why addictions should be treated as a disease. There are many attempted treatments that are sought after in breaking addictions. Some people may go to counseling sessions and some go to support meetings which help them realize the adverse effects the addiction has brought into their lives. Behavioral therapy is another way treatment is sought out. In behavioral therapy, the addiction does not need to be specific to one drug or behavior, but is used to address the use of multiple addictions. It is the disease of addiction that the therapy addresses. Other therapies are pharmaceutically administered to relieve the feeling one may get from a substance. Medications are less prescribed with compulsive disorders; however, it is believed that if the addiction was brought on by depression and/or anxiety, prescribing medication can be helpful to alleviate these symptoms. A combination of behavioral therapy and medication has been seen as helpful as well. Therapy should be an ongoing process for someone with addictions. There will always be triggers that could possibly cause a relapse. There is great difficulty in giving up an addiction without taking on another. Can an addict ever not have an addiction or can it ever be learned to live without addiction? Relapse is the reason addiction is a chronic disease. While some addictions can be tolerated, others unfortunately have detrimental effects on their lives. In order to achieve a successful long term recovery, treatment sought out should address the specifics of each individual’s needs. Changes must occur in one’s life that is physical, social, and psychological in order to be successful in recovery. â€Å"Although different factors will determine someone’s vulnerability to addiction, integrating individual vulnerability to  addiction across different research disciplines is likely to provide the greatest advances for intervention and prevention efforts† ( Le Moal and Swendsen 73). But the question still remains, why would someone continue to choose an addiction over their own health? Addiction is an extremely powerful disease. The mind should always overcome the body which is why some people speculate that addiction is a choice and not a disease. However, is addiction really just a choice? â€Å"Most of the best-known criticisms of the disease concept have argued that addiction is not a disease because addictive behavior is voluntary† (Perring 194). An exercise addict may dispute the term disease in their addiction. Although their behavior is compulsive, exercise is indeed a very healthy habit to have and does wonders for the body. An exercise addiction may be healthy; however, those who must exercise each and every day regardless of need, are still exhibiting compulsive behaviors. In their mind this activity must be performed each and every day no matter what. â€Å"If you are an exercise addict, it is quite obvious that some of the effects of this particular addiction are positive† (Round Table 7). Exercise is the most contradictory of all the addictions. Mentally they are addicted to the act, but addiction is still a disease, not a choice. There are two areas of the brain that involve choice. The first area is the ventral striatum, or nucleus acumens, which is a structure that motivates a person to go after a goal that they may have or want. This is where addiction and cravings come from. The second area is called the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This area is what considers consequences of the actions. There are impulses that go from one area to the other through synapses. Triggers can cause alterations of these impulses. They are altered the most by the cycle of addictive thoughts and behaviors. Choice can be thought of as an adaptive process. Brains adapt to our experiences, so the choices that are made change with time. Addiction is an experience to which the brain also adapts, but too rapidly, too thoroughly, and too permanently. Understanding these neural changes is essential for understanding how â€Å"choice† gets hijacked by addiction. That doesn’t make addiction a brain disease. It’s more of corrupted learning process or a nasty adaptation. And like any other adaptation, it is the foundation of the fleshy hardware we carry around in our heads. While it is true that the addict may have a choice in whether or not to use drugs or to give in to  behaving a certain way, craving is not a choice. If a craving gets bad enough, even the strongest willed person gives in to their addiction. The brain strives to survive and this cannot be ignored. A big reason why skeptics view addiction as a choice is the inability to truly understand the realness of cravings in addiction. While some may speculate that addiction is a choice, addiction is a disease and should be treated as such. Addiction has many defining terms that correlate to disease. Addiction to substances or behaviors produce uncontrollable cravings to which one cannot ignore. Addiction is extremely hard to overcome for anyone but can be treated with th e correct type of therapy much like other diseases. Whether a person is addicted to caffeine, nicotine, drugs, alcohol, gambling, exercise, or any other compulsive behavior, their addiction is a disease. Works Cited â€Å"Addiction.† Dictionary.com, LLC. (2012) Web. 27 Sept. 2012 http://www.dictionary.com. Alagheandan, Hamed, Seyyed Salman Alavi, Mehdi Eslami, Masoud Ferdosi, Fereshte Jannatifard, and Mehrdad Setare. â€Å"Behavioral Addiction versus Substance Addiction: Correspondence of Psychiatric and Psychological Views.† International Journal of Preventive Medicine 3.4 (April 2012). Web. 27 Sept 2012. Calabrese, E.J. â€Å"Addiction and Dose Response: The Phsychomoor Stimulant Theory of Addiction Reveals that Hormetic Dose Responses are Dominant.† Informa Healthcare (2008) Web. 27 Sept. 2012 â€Å"Disease.† Dictionary.com, LLC (2012) Web. 27 Sept. 2012 http://www.dictionary.com. Gorelick, David A., Jon E. Grant, Marc. N. Ptenza, and Aviv Weinstein. â€Å"Introduction to Behavioral Addictions.† American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse (2010).Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Maze, Ian, and Eric J. Nestler. â€Å"The Epigenetic Landscape of Addiction.† Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1216.1 (Jan. 2011). Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Moal, Michel Le, and Joel Swendsen.â€Å"Individual Vulnerability to Addiction.† Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2011). Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Perring, Christian. â€Å"Bridging the Gap between Philosophers of Mind and Brain Researchers: The Example of Addiction.† Brain, Mind and Consciousness 2011). Web. 27 Sept. 2012. â€Å"Round Table: When is an addict not an addict?† New Statesman (18 May 2007). Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Vocaturo, Loran C.. â€Å"Substance Abuse.† Medical Management of Adults with Neurologic Disabilities (2009). Web. 27 Sept. 2012.

Crossing Essay

Since the beginning of human life, fathers from around the world have played a vital role in their sons’ lives, whom they have had to learn to fish, hunt and survive in general. It has been crucial for fathers to hand over their knowledge to their sons. Concurrently with the development of human life and its foundation, it has been possible to form a social stratum given that it has been facilitated for some people to make more money than other people have. Furthermore, this evolution was an influence on the family relationship, were the man became the new capital in society, and thus became more important than the woman. As the men were working, the women became responsible for the children and therefore had an enormous impact on the behaviour and upbringing of the children. Mark Slouka’s short story, ‘Crossing’, from 2009 shows a number of these important themes, such as the father/son-relationship and man vs. nature. The protagonist in the short story is the father, an unnamed man somewhere between 30-50 years old. The father finds himself in a small depression: †He hadn’t been happy in a while.† 1. Recently, the father was divorced from the mother of his son, which is shown in his thoughts about whether he had missed his wife or not. â€Å"†¦he hadn’t wanted her back, hadn’t wanted much of anything really† 2. Even though the main character has a guilty conscience, and it seems that he is the one to blame for the divorce – he feels a desire to make things work again – both his relationship to his ex-wife and most important of all, the relationship to his son. â€Å"When he looked at her she shook her head and looked away and at that moment he thought, maybe — maybe he could make this right.† 3. The father comes across as an honest, caring and loving father to his son, and quickly we consolidate sympathy with him as a reader. â€Å"†¦when the boy came running into the living room he threw him over his shoulder, careful not to hit his head on the corner of the TV†¦Ã¢â‚¬  4. The protagonist takes his son on a trip to make up for the divorce and to improve their relationship. The father wants to share some of his childhood memories he had as a young boy with his dad. The main character used to go on this exact trip; therefore, he repeats the same rituals and traditions to give his son the same experience. †This is it, kid, the old man would say whenever they turned off the main road, you excited? Every year †¦Ã¢â‚¬ Almost there,† he said to the little boy next to him. â€Å"You excited?†Ã¢â‚¬  5. As the main character sees  the river for the first time in many years, he is considering calling of the trip – the river is much greater than he had expected from it. Yet, he believes that there is no way out – he cannot turn around. There is nowhere else to go, which could symbolize him being in the middle of something – with no turning back. †For a moment he considered pulling out, explaining †¦ but there was nowhere else to go.† 6. During the short story, the father gives his thoughts and some comments on the things happening, which builds up a thrill in the story. The protagonist points out repeatedly that what they are about to do is dangerous. He knows that he is putting himself and his son into danger, but he wants to convince himself and his son about the fact that he is a good father. â€Å"People in a hurry get in trouble.† 7. â€Å"†So what do you do if you fall? He remembered asking once †¦ – and the old man calling back of his shoulder, â€Å"Do not fuckin ‘fall.† 8. The solicitude of the father reappears as he tries to calm down the boy as he stumbles in the river on their way back. The father knows that they are in a bad situation but he remains calm for the boy’s sake. In fact, the father himself is very scared and afraid of what is going to happened – at this point he has lost hope. Even though, he wants to appear brave and to show himself from his best side, when all he wants is to be a good father. â€Å"He could hear himself, breathing hard. †I’m okay, kiddo. I’m okay. That was not good, but we’re fine. â€Å"They were fine. 9. Since we do not have access to the boy’s thoughts and feelings, Mark Slouka draws a picture of him with descriptions through the father’s mind of the boy. We get the picture of a little fragile boy, who needs to be taken care of by his father. This makes us sympathize with the boy and especially the father, who needs to take care of him throughout their trip in the wilderness. †He tried not to look at the boy sitting where he’d left him on the opposite shore because there was something about the smallness of him in his blue shorts against the bank of stones he didn’t like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  10. There is a third person narrator in the short story, which is attached to the father since we get to know his inner feeling and memories. â€Å"You never see it, he thought.† 11. Slouka places the point of view with the father in order to show us how he experiences the situation of having been divorced, and how he now tries to regain order and meaning in his difficult life. The short story is arranged in chronological sequences, but with flashbacks. The time jumps from the present to the past. The present is in the wilderness at the river, and the past is when the father picks up the boy at his moms, and when he thinks back on his own childhood. The amount of energy used to build up the tension in the story is great. From start to finish, the reader is given a feeling of discomfort, and that something bad will happen. The author achieves this suspense by using the environment and the mood of the story. From the beginning the mood ominous and menacing. Rain, fog and emptiness dominate the description of the environment they find themselves in. In this way, the thrill is build up just as slowly, and as a reader, you are waiting for something terrible to hap pen. †It was raining†¦ [†¦] A black road†¦ [†¦] The line of the open sky in the east was razor sharp†¦ [†¦] The empty road†¦Ã¢â‚¬  12. The river is the main environment in which the story takes place, in and around. The river is larger and more violent than the main character remembers it: â€Å"The river was bigger than he remembered it, stronger.† 13. The river itself show some ominous signs as well which helps building excitement in the story. You always have the feeling that something bad is going to happen. When standing in front of the river, they sees something in the river that looks dead, something that has been shot. As a reader you are left with the question whether they survive the river or not. Furthermore, the ending points in the direction of death. †He wanted to scream for help. There was no one – just the rushing plain of the river, the trees†¦Everything had come together. He couldn’t move. He was barely holding on. There was no way.† 14. In addition, the title â€Å"Crossing† points in the direction of death. When you use the phrase â€Å"crossing over† it is usually associated with death. You will go to the other side. It is a bridge between life and death. The river becomes the tunnel – the question is if they reach the light or survives from it. The ending might seem unfair, tragic and unreasonable. However, the open ending gives the reader a choice of life and death – The author puts the characters destiny into our hands. Even though the story ends up in a bad way to the father and son, the trip has been a journey that has brought the two characters even closer. In fact, the father gets the perfect opportunity to perform the action of being a good parent. The most important thing in the father’s life ended up being the last. The short story shows how little and insignificant man is in relation to Mother Nature.