Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers fc

I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After spending ten long years on death row, he is escorted today by the warden down the dimly lit white hallway to the room in which judgement day will finally arrive. As he moves closer, he begins to regret having led a violent life of crime and murder that had caused him to be sentenced to death so long ago. The door finally opens, and there he stands face to face with â€Å"old sparky†, a.k.a. the electric chair. He is strapped in and a leather helmet containing a wet sponge is placed over his head along with a brass liner that functions as an entry electrode through which nearly 2500 volts of electricity will pass. The exit electrode- a band of brass also with a soaked sponge- is attached to the prisoner’s shaved calf. As a final preparation, a leather hood is placed over his face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The switch is then pulled and 2,350 volts strike though the inmate’s body for eight seconds, followed by 22 seconds of one thousand volts. The cycle is repeated immediately. This high-voltage electrocution raises the temperature of his brain to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and fries his internal organs (Freedberg 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The passage above describes a typical criminal execution by the electric chair, one of the various methods of capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty. The sentence of death has long been an accepted form of justice, yet today, capital punishment has remained a hotly debated issue. Some believe this punishment to be cruel and unusual and therefore violating the United States Constitution, while in reality the death penalty is fair and just punishment for murder and other extremely violent crimes. With these clashing viewpoints, there are also differences in the policies of various states, with some states supporting the death penalty, and others not. This serves as an injustice because murderers convicted in states such as Texas or Florida, which support the death penalty, will truly be brought to justice, while murderers in states such as North Dakota or Wisconsin will not (Staletovich 5-6). It is with this reasoning that the death penalty should undoubtedly be implemented in all fifty United States and the District of Columbia. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the United States today, capital punishment is an integral part of the criminal justice system, and has... ...red of paying for their care. In addition, the cost of executing versus jailing a prisoner for life cannot be measured exclusively in dollars. Capital punishment has moral value for society and emotional value for families of victims- both unquantifiable (Smith 11). VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The death penalty, as you can see, should not be viewed as an act of killing people who kill people just to show that killing people is wrong, but as an act of safeguarding our society from potential or previous murderers and delivering justice to those who kill. Works Cited Barry, John. Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual? 4 Dec. 2000 Brown, David L. The Bible’s Teaching on Capital Punishment. 5 Dec. 2000 Freedberg, Sydney. â€Å"Bloody Execution Leads to Stay for 2nd Inmate.† St. Petersburg Times. 9 Jul. 1999, Newsbank. CD-ROM. Smith, Sharon C. Capital Punishment in the United States. 6 Dec. 2000 Staletovich, Jenny. â€Å"The Electric Chair Power Struggle.† Palm Beach Post. 2 Jan. 2000, SIRS Researcher. CD-ROM. Winter 2000.

Religion and Belief in Bless Me Ultima Essay -- Bless Me Ultima

Religion and Belief in Bless Me Ultima   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the book, Bless Me Ultima, I realized the integral importance of religion and need for religion and answers to life’s questions. At first, while reading this book, I thought it was just about relationships and the meaning in them but as the plot progressed I realized the book, is more than that, it questions the structures that decide the rules, morals and values that society is composed of. There were three types of religion that I identified in the book that young Anthony chose to pursue. The first was the paganistic rituals of Ultima. Ultima came into the life of Tony at a very young age and had great influence n the child. Ultima saved the life of Lucas through Tony’s strength. Physical pain was brought unto Anthony because of Ultima's ritual, showing actual validity of the rituals themselves, that they were had tangibility. She brought torment on the Tenorio’s family (he was the antagonist in the book-the bad guy) saving Luc as though using ritualistic dolls and chants. This showed her magic was not only good but bad as well. Ultima guided Anthony through all of the mental and social torment during his early years of grade school. So in away Ultima was a guide for Tony through his early years to make sense of all of the storms in his early life, but also was an instrument of religion to base his life on. But in the end of the book Ultima ultimately dies and the strength he once found in her is destroyed. She is ...

I Didnt Choose Home Schooling :: Personal Narrative, education

I Didn't Choose Home Schooling I didn't choose to be taught at home; my parents decided for me. I was four, and my toddler priorities lay elsewhere. Little did I know that I was volunteering for an educational experiment. Every September my parents and I had our annual discussion about continuing home schooling versus sending me to "regular" school. I don't know if I thought school would be a bit boring or if I was afraid of change, but I always chose to stay home. I did go to school for a few classes and for violin lessons, but much of my time there was spent explaining my sporadic attendance to teachers and classmates. I grew accustomed to giving both rote and wry answers to questions like, "Do you watch TV all day?" The rote answer was "No, of course not. I do the same things you do in school." The wry answer was "Yes, from nine to noon," watching their faces form into expressions of disbelief. I didn't tell them I was watching Massachusetts Educational Television on PBS. When discussing home schooling with strangers or skeptical parents, the first question usually concerns "socialization", often posed bluntly as "Do you have any friends?" Sports and orchestra brought me into contact with kids my age, but even then it was a common interest rather than a common age that drew us together. Over the years, I found wonderful friends in Mendelssohn, O. Henry, a German woman on my paper route who was a World War II refugee, Newsweek, a paralyzed basketball coach who couldn't walk but still coached me as if he could, history books, and a range of musical instruments from viola to tinwhistle. People are always relieved to discover that I'm not a hermit. Home schooling gave me the freedom to explore and experiment. We Traded houses with an Irish family and lived in Galway for a month. I was never given actual lessons on "how to write a sentence"; I learned as I wrote history essays. Few schools would have allowed me to research the sinking of the Titanic, but my parents let me read about it, build models of it and learn about watertight bulkheads. (I even managed to finish my math book that year, too.) As I got older, people started to ask if being taught at home was going to hinder me in college.

Ethical Issues on Confidentiality Essay

Ethical Issues on Confidentiality: Research and Medical Procedures A guiding principle followed by most administrators and health care providers is the concept that ethical principles must match the values of the whole organization. This belief should serve as a continuous teaching to all staff so that the organization’s goals may be uniformly achieved. Healthcare administrators must be fully competent in adhering to the ethical principles of patient and employee confidentiality in order to promote trust, respect, and the protection of individual’s rights concerning health information. This is one of the main objectives of the Privacy Rule or HIPAA, and a breach to this rule is one of the most common ethical issues. When administrators demonstrate capable ethical decisions in guiding the flow of services in the organization, there may only be a few disorders that will be encountered in the operations as a result of ethical perplexities. In the article, Ethics of Stem Cell Research (Siegel, A., Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Spring2013), the ethical dilemma of confidentiality in research pales in comparison to the dilemma posed in destroying human embryonic cells. A great dispute is presented on the use of human embryos and whether researchers are dealing with a human being or not. The question on the permissibility or the impermissibility to destroy human embryos is fully explored without the full ethical answer being presented. Confidentiality, research, and medical procedures all impart ethical dilemmas that complicate organizational activities. Problems of the Affected Population: Patients and Participants In the procurement of embryotic cells for example, research subjects are not considered the same way as patients and regarded differently in terms of confidentiality and privacy issues. According to the article, HIPAA, the Privacy Rule, and Its Application to Health Research (2009), â€Å"Health research is not the focus of HIPAA.† and, â€Å"Because a great deal of health research in the United States is also subject to the Common Rule- the federal rule that governs most federally funded research conducted on human beings and aims to ensure  that the rights of human subjects are protected during the course of a research project, historically focusing on protection from physical and mental harm by stressing autonomy and consent.† (HIPAA and Research, Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research, 2009). Many research institutions are not considered covered entities and therefore the subjects are not covered by the Privacy law. Nevertheless, all subjects must submit personally identifiable health information and in the course of research or procedure, a subject may be harmed. This is an uneven application of confidentiality and the Privacy law that gives more benefit to a patient than a research subject. Medical research in particular has a participant and some experimental procedures are accomplished with the patient as the subject in the belief that the experiment could bring positive results to the patient specially, when there is no definite answer to a needed treatment. According to Fremgen B.F. (2009), ethical issues arise when there is harmful effect to the patient from experimental procedures. Lack of understanding and communication remains a big barrier to ethical issues. Somehow the creation of the Privacy Law did not consider the welfare of the research subject, yet they are likened to a patient who undergoes procedures, submits identifiable health information, and when procedures are not perfect, may also suffer harmful consequences. The other bothersome issue is when the bodily parts contributed by the participant are sold, reused or endorsed to other institutions for other purposes. Other issues pertain to the interest of the researcher placed above the interest of the patient (B.F.Fremgen2009). Informed and voluntary consent from participants are used as shield in order to further the research activities, but privacy and confidentiality are both compromised on research participants and must also be incorporated. Proposed Solutions In California, where the biggest budget for stem cell research is allocated, the California Institute of Regenerative medicine (CIRM) in their objectives has encouraged institutions and researchers on the development of best practices in hSC projects. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at each research institution must be responsible for the proper review of projects involving human participants. The regulations of the CIRM implies that donor  consent must be understood fully by the participant, maintain a clear record of every embryo, strict accounting of donated cells, and must always be consistent with existing laws. In fairness to the donor, any medical complication must be treated fully, and the donor must not bear any cost for any treatment (G.P Lomax, Z. Hall, B. Lo, Responsible Oversight of Human Stem Cell Research: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, 2007) The foundation for all procurement of biological materials can be summed in informed consent. Authorizations and voluntary consent must be explicitly understood by the donor and must be presented with choices they can understand including the information regarding the destruction of the cells, commercial application and sharing (L. P Knowles, Issues in Procurement of Embryonic Stem Cells: Informed Consent and Conflict of Interest, n.d.) Information management system must be in place for protection of confidentiality. In most instances, the system must protect the anonymity of the donor to safeguard privacy. There will always be people who would donate biological materials for their own reasons beyond ones understanding. These individuals must be informed fully of the consequences and possible risks. In some places, inducement of monetary consideration is prohibited. However, there are instances when the donor sincerely commits to help in exchange for some requirements like burial assistance when deemed terminally ill. Ethical issues and personal choice of the donor must be taken into consideration at all times and the option to donate must be free from pressure. In some parts of the globe, there are ads roaming related to procurement of organs from individuals who are impoverished and destitute. The government and the public must be vigilant in exposing this black market trade of organ trafficking so as to safeguard the dignity, confidentiality, and humanity in general. The mainstream media must be cooperative in relaying to the public not only the positive implications of medical research but also the contrary, so that that knowledge and understanding of present scientific advancement and problems may be learned. The Administrator and Ethical Issues An administrator who is engaged in a healthcare institution where research activities are occurring commits to a heavier burden of maintaining the place for it to be free of ethical issues. Aside from the issue of  patient care, privacy, lack of resources, maintaining regulations, and promoting goodwill, the needed knowledge on the requirements or regulations on research must be understood. The administrator must be adept at ethical analysis and organizational policies. Many have not been through a lot of experience related to research institutions but according to Fremgen B. F. (2009), â€Å"Adherence to bioethical principles involves the entire healthcare team, not just the physicians† (pg. 251). The ethics of the institution must be in accord with the staff and conflicting values should not prevail. The administrator must know how to initiate educational sessions and communicate the ethical values even with the integration of research and experimental procedures. References Siegel, A. Ethics of Stem Cell Research, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, rev. Jan 28,2013 Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stemcells/#EthDesHumEmbForRes Knowles, L.P. Issues in Procurement of Embryonic Stem Cell: Informed Consent and Conflicts of Interest, Retrieved::http://www.stemcellnetwork.ca/uploads/File/whitepapers/Inf Consent-and-Conflicts-of-Interest.pdf Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information: The HIPAA Privacy Rule; Nass SJ, Levit LA, Gostin LO, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009.Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9573/ Lomax GP, Hall ZW, Lo B (2007) Responsible Oversight of Human Stem Cell Research: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Medical and Ethical Standards.Retrieved http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0040114 B.F. Fremgen, Medical Law and Ethics (Third Ed. 2009)

Is Social Media Helping Bullying to Get Worse Than Ever? Essay

We can find many types of aggression in the society in which we live in. Bullying is one. Not only exists physical bullying but also emotional, verbal and even cyber-bullying. According to the website www.stopbullying.org, â€Å"Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance†1. Nowadays, many people do not know that social media exposes children to these aggressions. Bullying does not only happen in real world. It can also arise in the virtual world where many children and adolescents spend a lot of time. Although it was not known by this name, bullying is not a new phenomenon. Today, Social networks are helping to its expansion. Although social media is blameless, through it bullying can reach everyone. The use of social networks ricochets and magnifies bullying because, as the website â€Å"Stop Bullying† argues, cyberbullied children have a harder time getting away from the aggressors. Likewise, this type of aggression â€Å"can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach children even when they are alone†2. As said before, the problem is the inappropriate use of social media. While social networks can be used for positive activities, such as finding friends and chatting with them, looking for and sharing information, many children and adolescents use them to harm others. Numerous people think that social networks are harmless for children only chat with their friends and share information. However, this is false. Through social media, they are really exposed to cruelty and they can easily become cyberbullies themselves. A research done by â€Å"internetsafety101.org† pointed out that in 2011, one million children were harassed, threatened or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying via Facebook3. Social media exposes many children and adolescents to cyberbullying, even after school hours. Cyberbullying can  Ã¢â‚¬Å"take place using electronic technology such as computers, cell phones, communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat and websites†4. According to the article quoted before, Stop Bullying, â€Å"examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles†5. Children and adolescents are very cruel and see humiliation as a means of entertainment. Differently from physical bullying, cyberbullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and can reach a massive audience almost immediately. Thus, social networks are advantageous for bullies. Due to anonymity, they can be hurtful without being caught and even crueler than in face-to-face situations. As the website www.dosometing.org claims, â€Å"81% of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person†6. According to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), â€Å"victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as children who are bullied in person†. However, cyberbullying may seem more dangerous to its victims on account of several aspects7. NCPC argues that through cyberbullying, children are a target for bullies at home, the safest place for them. Besides, this type of bullying seems to be severer than in person, being far reaching, anonymous and inescapable. All these factors make cyberbullying an increasingly complicated issue that needs greater attention. So, does social media make bullying go far beyond the limits? The answer is: YES! Social networks are a huge and complex world that need guidance and considerable concern from adults. This virtual new world exposes children and adolescents to malice, without people’s awareness of the dangers of that exposure. References: Enough is Enough SM. â€Å"Cyberbullying Statistics†. Internetsafety101.org. 12 June 2014. Do Something. â€Å"11 Facts about Cyber Bullying†. Dosomething.org. 12 June 2014. National Crime Prevention Council. â€Å"What is Cyberbullying?† NCPC.org. 12 June 2014. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. â€Å"Cyberbullying†. Stopbullying.gov. Federal government. 12 June 2014. http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/index.html > U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. â€Å"What is Bullying?† Stopbullying.gov. Federal government. 12 June 2014. Argumentative Essay Rubric

Victims And Crime Evaluation

There are many roles in the courtroom that each person plays and each role has its benefit for the criminal justice system as a whole. It is understandable that each role plays a part in the sentencing with the hope that justice is being served but with much intentions and seen all too well that everyone is not satisfied with the sentencing phase and may feel that justice has not been served and some may feel that it has. In the courtroom the roles of each person happens to be a part of case and the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and victim all play a role.There are others that are a part of the role in the court room who also play a valuable role and it is the judge, courtroom recorder, jury, and witnesses. It is understood the focus of the sentencing and who it may affect the most is the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal and the victim. The role of the prosecutor is to make sure that there is enough evidence for the criminal to be convicted and with evidence the prose cutor takes the approach to convict the criminal and to bring closure for the victim.It may seem as if this phase would be the easiest for the prosecutor but it’s not an easy task and to deliver a sentence that would be fair to the victim, society, and the community by asking for a sentence that would be for the crime that the criminal had committed, in all cases for the prosecutor it is not true that the criminal will get the amount time that they intend for them to get, in a case dealing with rape when there is a victim involved and the criminal has all evidence against them and the victim testifies as well and the prosecutor ask for a mandatory 30 years and when it’s all over the defense attorney ask for a minimum of 15 years and the defense attorney wins.And it leaves the victim as if no justice has been served and the prosecutor may feel as if he failed the victim but the role of the prosecutor is to convict the criminal but they have no guarantee that the sentenc e would be fair for the victim, the criminal, society and the community. The prosecutor always must keep in mind of the alternative sanctions in which the defense attorney will definitely try to get the best interest for the criminal.The defense attorney role is to try and make the criminal innocent and with much effort even when there is substantial evidence against the criminal the defense attorney is looking for the best well-being for the client and all alternative sanctions that may be in place for the criminal and if all else fails the defense attorney is looking for the less sentence as possible for the criminal and not to say that the defense attorney has no remorse for the victim but still feels that the criminal should have alternative sanctions when it comes to the sentence such as possible parole in five years if convicted, probation, or register as a sex offender and it all depends on the case that is being tried at the time and with most cases that involves victims.The defense attorney has the right to cross examine the victim and it makes them relive the torture or it may cause the case to go into another direction that may make the criminal look guilty. In all cases when it comes to sentencing the defense attorney looks for the best interest for the criminal and without failure if it means that the criminal agrees to a plea from the prosecutor and if it is the best interest for the criminal the defense attorney is more than willing to cooperate with the prosecutor. The criminal will go as far as they can go in the sentencing phase to either be found not guilty, guilty, or to even be offered an amount of time if found guilty and sometimes is willing to take the sentence that is given.Once the criminal is found guilty and sometimes will be asked to speak and they may ask forgiveness to the victim and family members of victims but they probably will not change the sentence for the criminal no matter how much compassion that they show. The criminal usually hope for alternative sanctions when they see that they be found guilty and will be willing to take a sentence of 20 years with possible parole than a sentence that gives them life without the possibility of parole. It all depends on the prosecutor, defense attorney, and the evidence that will determine the sentence for the criminal. The victim with any case just want justice to be served and may have to go through counseling in order to get their own life back together, they in turn want the max sentence for the criminal and see no alternative sanction for the criminal.They may believe that if the criminal is sentenced to the max then they will never be able to hurt or bring harm to anyone else and they are looking for the role of the prosecutor to make it be a known fact of their grief, pain, and there suffering after the criminal has done all that they could to destroy them, the victim is very emotional and whenever the sentence is not what they want for the victim they f eel as if justice has not been served. The goal of the sanctions for the criminal is see that they can be productive members of society and that they can be rehabilitated even if found guilty of all charges, they still see hope in alternative sanctions.The victim doesn’t see hope in alternative sanctions, the prosecutor may agree to alternative sanctions and the defense attorney is willing to fight for the alternative sanction for the criminal. The recommendations for victim’s right is that they continue to seek counselling and that the victim advocates continue to follow up on victims and that they have a 24 hour around the clock to be at the aid of victims in order for them to be able to go and live their normal lives without fear and pain of every day if they are the victim or if they are the victim of a loved one that they have lost by the hands of the criminal so that they choose not to seek revenge for themselves.

Letter to Jane Austen

Dear Miss Austen: I have recently had the pleasure of reading your new novel Pride and Prejudice, and am moved to make a few comments, which I feel to be of moment. I would first like to congratulate you on a remarkable literary accomplishment, which I feel will endure the test of time. I can assure you that the novel is being read and discussed in the learned and genteel society of London with much interest. It is my opinion that it will continue to be read with as much avidity at the turn of the millennium, such is its lasting appeal. Why I feel so positive about your works I will try to explain as follows. I greatly enjoyed the dialogue that you employ in your novels. Such dialogue is a whiff of fresh air to the English novel. It is short, crisp and vibrant, such as the readership of the English novel have never experienced before. It delineates character accurately, and yet at the same time carries the plot forward at a vibrant pace. It is never dull, for it is always laced with irony, sarcasm and humor. The characters are drawn with a subtle pen, and yet always seem to have a strong and distinct presence. Somehow you make it seem as if the ordinary day-to-day life in a country parish is as exciting as the tales brought back by travelers of the wild seas. How this is so, it is hard to analyze. On this point, I assure you, I have entered into heated discussions with some companions of mine. It is a bone of contention as to what philosophy you represent. As you know, this is the age of new ideas. The revolution that has taken place in Paris and on the continent testifies that we are indeed entering a brave new world, one that promises freedom for all. The French writers and philosophers revive the virtues of the classical world, and in doing so they represent the philosophy of order and reason. On the other hand the poets of Germany, mistrusting reason, and rejecting its excesses, are glorifying passion instead. Goethe and Schiller are great writers who compose novels and plays in which inner man is far more important than intellectual outer self. They are classified as the Romanticists, and our own Isles boast the likes of Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge, who are writing in this vein. Both these philosophies are worthy of respect, for they both promise freedom. The French philosophers of the Enlightenment promise freedom from the age old clutches of superstition. The Romanticists promise a world in which our passions have fulfillment. But so far we are not able to agree on your specific philosophy. I feel that in Sense and Sensibility you have brought these two philosophies to a head. Of the two Dashwood sisters that it may concern, Elinor Dashwood you make the preserve of sense, therefore of the classical virtues of order, restraint and reason. She proceeds with caution, and does not let herself be known easily. On the other hand her younger sister Marianne Dashwood is clearly the protagonist of sensibility, impulsive and careless. However, the outcome of both sisters is happy, for they are matched in the end. Both sisters suffer tribulations, of different sorts, through the novel. On the whole, we cannot judge that one path is better than the other, solely on the evidence given to us. Yet the message that I am able to read from the novel is that the middle road is the best. Those who judge Elinor and Marianne by categories of philosophy fail to take into account their development throughout the novel. In the end it is Elinor’s feeling, which overcomes her restraint, that helps her in her choice. On the other hand Marianne’s experiences teach her restraint, without which her match would have eluded her. The same kind of truth is inherent, I feel, in the opening to your novel Pride and Prejudice, which reads: â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† (Austen 1). Whether it is your intention or not, such an opening speaks to me of a precious truth, and this is that universal truth can only be found in the mundane world. Beyond all the elevated ideas of Classicism and Romanticism there is the simple matter of life, of finding a suitable partner, of homemaking and the raising of children, so that the wheel of life may turn in its eternal way. In all your novels the utmost importance in put on the function of finding one’s ideal match. Many might construe your novels to be about scheming women, cynically extracting the greatest advantage from marriage. I, however, see it in a different light. In my opinion, your novels are celebrating mundane life. This is why they seem so fresh and exhilarating. The men of ideas have over-emphasized thinking. Yes, even Romanticism is a philosophy in the end. Because we live in an age of ideas, thinking tends to surfeit all fields, even such a popular art as novel writing. Authentic life is forgotten in the process. Put in another way, the world has become too over-burdened with the male perspective. The woman’s perspective is needed to bring the balance back. This is what you provide, and it indeed meets the call of the age. Many would compare your novels to those of the great epistolary novelist Samuel Richardson. Like yours, his heroines are concerned with finding matches above their station. But the similarities do not proceed much further than this. Pamela is a one dimensional morality tale. The full title bears this out better, for it bears the subtle â€Å"Virtue Rewarded†. In it the heroine Pamela is shown to resist all the evil advances of her master, Mr. B., which includes rape, imprisonment, and torture. The reward for protecting her virtue, in the end, is that her master consents to marry her, vowing to be a reformed man. The plot is crude, cynical and unrealistic. It is open to satire, and all know how Henry Fielding satirizes Pamela twice, first in Shamela, then in Joseph Andrews. But it is not so easy to satirize Elizabeth Bennett, or Elinor Dashwood. This is because such characters are drawn with subtle nuances, and thus are far closer to life. Many of your female protagonists are aiming to secure social status, prestige and privilege through marriage, just as is Pamela. But those who harbor only cynical motives are shown come to bad passes. The message we read from your novels is that such social aspirations are only normal. But the suitability of match is equally important. And indeed the affections of the courting couple must not be ignored. This is so because marriage is a defining moment of life. On the whole, we learn that marriage and family life are of overriding importance. These are some of my thoughts on reading your novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Yours truly, â€Å"Admirer† Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Pan Books, 1978.