Critical Self Reflection Of Social Work

Critical Self Reflection Of Social Work As feminist writer Starhawk said, Only when we know how we have been shaped by the structures of power in which we live can we become shapers (Staehawk, 1988) It is essential for every participant of social activity to know our own complex social locations, social position, and identities. By acknowledge how these factors are processed, we could understand what privilege we has hold and what oppression we are involve in order to improve our capacity for social work and practice anti-oppressively in our daily life. Features of Social Locations Our memberships are interactional, they are come into existence in and through relation to one another. (Ringrose, 2002) Knowing what futures of our social locations are and how they are consolidated and changed by each other could improve the depth of our self-awareness and warning us be critical. People usually ask me questions about my nationality, location of hometown, and my occupation when we start a conversation. Therefore, most of time I am identified as a female student who comes from a developing country of Southeast Asia. Broadly speaking, the reason why these questions have been asked commonly during our communication is because of these social location have a same feature which has a huge impact on our behaviors, accents, appearances. In the other words, they are visible and audible for people to recognized and identify. However, compare with these social locations, my political affiliations, religion are more difficult for others to indentify due to the abstraction of these social locations that make them relatively invisible and inaudible. The influence of these social locations are ideological. They have constructed our ideology, social norm and even have shaped our identity. My social locations are various, I am an oppressor while I am oppressed by others. Unde rstanding these features of my social locations could help me to aware the privileges, powers, and injustice that these social locations have been bought to me and to avoid these unfair privilege, power over and subjective feelings of injustice , in order to share power with others and practice anti-oppressively in daily life. Message of Identity from Society As Aristotle has pointed out in his book Politics, Man is by nature a social animal, (Stagiritis, 2000) human being always has demand to connect with others in order to gain a sense of belonging in society. They have been self-locating, identifying others and being identified base on their experience, education, religion, race, gender and more elements of society during their connection which means that our complex identity have been constructed by these elements. As an individual with multi-dimensional identity, I have been received various societal message in my daily life. Some of these messages are relate to my cultural background while some messages relate to other elements. I moved to a capital city which named Kunming from Shilin (a small town of southwest China) when I was young, for the first few days in my new school I wear the traditional Yi costume as what I did in my previous school in Shilin as an Yi people. However, my new classmates gave me a hard time because of I wear a dress with embroidered totem instead of wearing a normal dress as they did; my teacher punished me to stand on a chair with arms extended upwards in front of the entire school because I refused to take off my bracelet on the weekly assembly. Although I spoke fluently Mandarin and had been raised in an urban intellectual family as majority had, most of students even teachers in my new school shown their unwillingness to communicate with me and used your people to separated me from them. In my understanding, the difficulty to fell a sense of belonging and acceptance (James, 1991) causes the feeling of being isolation, it was a societal message about my identity at that time. The message are conveyed to me by isolating me physically and psychologically from the majority. After receiving the message I started to refuse to wear any Yi clothes and accessories to school because the painfulness from being isolated from normal people was unbearable for me as a teenager. During that time, my identity had been adjusted by following the process which has been pointed out by Smith, moving from unawareness and lack of differentiation to ethnic awareness and self-identification (Smith, 1991). Power and Privilege Our society is diverse in many aspects, such as gender, religion, age etc. These differentiations cause(s) fear, mistrust, and hatred (Uvic, 2004 ) and bring us advantage and disadvantage in our life. What is more, these differentiations have been used as justification for holding belief in the superiority of one way of being over another (Uvic, 2004) . We need to understand what type of power has been embedded in our social locations in order to practice anti-oppressively when we face the inequality and unjustice. Being a twenty-one year-old heterosexual female, I have been experienced power-from-within and power-with due to my complex social locations. As being defined as a young people, there are various resources and opportunities out there for me when I need them such as entertainment resources ,education opportunity etc. These elements provide me materially and emotionally supports to help me increase personal power in order to against the oppression from society. However, I should not feel happy with this unequal advantages because this institutionalized ageism does not provide equally opportunity for elder to take part in meaningful social activity or exercise their capacities in socially defined and recognized ways (Muallaly, 2002) . In order to resist privilege and unearned advantage, I have been participated in a volunteer group which works with elder and to power connect with them in order decrease the influences of institutionalized ageism on elder. Meanwhile, as being a heterosexu al female I have holding many invisible and visible privileges. For example, I will not be judged by people if I hand in hand and walk on street with my boyfriend; my sexual orientation will not be treated as immoral or abnormal. There are many social constructions are built base on the assumption that every individuals sexual attractions are to someone of opposite sex. Instead of seeing these privilege as advantage, we should not only see them as social resistances and avoid power-over in our practice, but also respect and support all non-transitional forms of sexuality (Uvic, 2004 ) by following Queer Theory. These unfair and unearned advantages will resist our society to develop comprehensively, humanely and justly and we definitely have the responsibility to be aware of diversity and never assume people around us. Purpose of Social Work It is essential for social worker to know the purposes of this profession because these purposes are the direction for us and provide clients with a constructive solution when we work with them. When I began this course, in my understanding the purpose of social work was improving the physical environment of individual as in a micro level and promote the justice of society as in a macro level. As my learning about this profession has been processing, my ideas of social work purpose have expanded. According to purpose for this profession which is defined by The National Association of Social Workers, the mission is promote or restore a mutually beneficial interaction between individuals and society in order to improve the quality of life for everyone (Dubois, 2004), this profession assists individuals to create a supportive social system that help clients to achieve their personal goals. Dubois and Krogsrud have mentioned about social work purpose in their book Social Work: An Empowering Profession, they said social workers strived to release human power in order to ensure the well performance for individual and to release social power in order to promote social injustice. ( Dubois, 2004) More specifically, the purpose in Micro level is to enhance clients ability for social functioning and to match individuals with favorable resources. From a macro perspective, the purpose is to stimulate the development of social justice. These purposes are leading entire profession to strive to create an better society. Social Justice Social justice is a key point to promote the fairness and equity in our social environment. Depending on the concept of this course, there are some elements which are necessary for social justice to exist. These elements are: acknowledgment of the connections between social with politic and economy (Uvic, 2004 ), awareness of social injustice, action and movement, fairness of policy, and equality of social opportunity. In order to promote the justice of social construction, I have positioned myself as a participant of social activity who has desire to against injustice and have responsibility to think critically, act anti-oppressively with belief in that everyone has right to share equal physical resources and to be benefited from comprehensive policy. However, there are might resistances stand in my way when I involve activities to fight for political justice and economic redistribution. These resistances could be lack of resources and effect of bureaucratization. In order to avoid the resistance from these two dimensions, I should not be afraid to question the policy and speak out to let government know what is needed by people. Also think and act critically instead of working hidebound. Bridget used her action to examine that everyone has ability to make difference in our society. We shall never give up our goal for working to promote justice in social system. As American social critic James Baldwin said, according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change the world. About This Profession Social Work is a profession which attempts to demonstrated the interconnectedness between individual changes and social changes (Uvic,2004). To some extent, the primary purposes could include unpacking the complicity both in societal structure and individual life. This profession should not position itself as an caring and help institution and stay in this image, this profession should stand out to reconnect the political with social (Uvic, 2004 ) and involve the economic redistrubution in order to ensure that everyone has equal worth, opportunity, and dignity in society. There are two questions I need to be answered, first question is how to act anti-bureaucratically in workplace and the second one is what can I do when there is no matching resources for clients. To practice efficiency, I need to get spiritual and technical supports from myself and co-worker, and people around me to point out what I did wrong. This activity from Art Journal helps me to understand myself better and h elp me to know why I choose this profession, it also help me to know what is boundary when I work with clients. Our society is not perfect, to some degree its awareness for diversity, injustice government policy and inequality distribution of physical resources are resisting the promotion of social justice. we have responsibility to understand clearly what our ideology perspective is and what power we have due to our social locations and identities. These could release human power and social power in order to enhance social functioning and social policy. Sometimes it is not easy to have the visible effect for promoting the quality of life to entire society, but it worth us to strive for and fight for. As a Chinese old saying goes: No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

The Greatest Literary Emblem of the Middle Ages Essay -- Literary Anal

In order to study the troubadours, it is of high importance to understand the context in which they flourished and developed, which was the Medieval Era. The Middle Ages is the period of European history that goes from the collapse of the Roman civilization to the beginning of the Renaissance, and it extends from about 500 to 1500 ca. (â€Å"Middle Ages†). This period is called the â€Å"Dark Ages† since it is regarded by the Renaissance scholars as a long interval of superstition, ignorance, barbarism, and social oppression due to the fact that the Medieval era was a fight to establish a new society independent from the Roman standards and philosophy. However, it is now acknowledged that it was a dynamic period, in which Europe built a new distinct cultural unit. Moreover, it profoundly reorganized the European political, social, economic, and most importantly cultural structures (â€Å"History of Europe†), but its effects greatly differ from country to countr y, and one of the most influenced countries was France, mainly because of its cultural, artistic (painting, architecture, literature), and philosophical enhancement. The main characteristic of the Middle Ages in France was the development of love and romance, mainly in the literary aspect. Nevertheless, only certain high-class and educated people could have this privilege, and the main representatives of this love and romance literary expansion, despite coming from all kind of social classes, were the troubadours because of their poetry, origin, and values. To begin with, it is important to remember that during the Middle Ages, the great majority of population was not educated, and some people could not even read and write, so nobody was able to produce literary works. Consequently, Ga... ...Britannica. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . "Bernard de Ventadour." Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . Maccarone, Christian E. "Les troubadours: au-delà   des chansons d'amour." sssstrinakria.org. Centro Studi Storico-Sociali Sicilani. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . "Chivalry." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. .

Crucible and McCarthyism Essay

In American History there were two proceedings that were very similar, yet three hundred years apart. The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692, the seventeenth century and McCarthyism took place in 1948 between 1956, the mid twentieth century. These two proceedings are known as two of the greatest mass tragedies in America. The Crucible is an allegory of McCarthyism or in other words the second Red Scare. During McCarthyism the United States was petrified of Communists influence. Many people in both the Crucible and McCarthyism who feared the court provided names of suspects in an attempt to save themselves. Throughout these two proceedings, there is the concept of mass hysteria. Mass hysteria is a form of group thinking in which several people have something in common and begin to think in the same way. The Crucible began as a way for the oppressed girls to avoid being punished. The girls then found this to be an ideal way to get revenge on anyone whom you disliked. People started accusing their neighbors of being witches so they could steal their farmland. Others, like Abby, accused others of being witches if they wanted to steal their husband or wives, or even possessions. The McCarthy hearings, as they were known as, were known to have dominated our country. These hearings, were of suspects being related to communism, were interviewed and forced to give up the names of others, or they were imprisoned, and their names were black listed. One similarity between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials is that â€Å"everybody is doing it mentally.† The lives of the innocent people were ruined in both eras because of all the accusations and punishments. Both the people accused in the Salem Witch Trials and the people accused in The McCarthy hearings were found guilty with such little evidence. There were so many uninhabited accusations, with little to no proof. During the Crucible time period, those accused of being witches were sometimes sentenced to be tied to a rock and thrown in a pond, and if they sank, they were declared innocent, but if they somehow survived the dunking, then they were shown to be witches and then executed. Most of those found guilty of witchcraft were hung. In the Crucible, Giles Corey was pressed to death with r ocks, because he refused to plead guilty or innocent. Throughout the Crucible people’s names are destroyed even when they are completely innocent. In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor states, â€Å"Because it is my name! Because I  cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name†(Miller)!

The life of Louis Armstrong

The life of Louis Armstrong I don't think anyone can argue that Louis Armstrong is the most legendary jazz musician ever. To even further compliment him, Szwed said that Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (2000, p. 109). Armstrong's magnetic personality and natural born talent were the reasons Armstrong made his name in jazz music. Armstrong often went by the nickname Satchmo or Satch, which is short for Satchelmouth. That name stuck with him when in 1932, Melody Maker magazine editor Percy Brooks greeted Armstrong in London with "Hello, Satchmo!" shortening Satchelmouth, and it stuck (Wikipedia). This nickname became a trademark of Armstrong because of his large grin which he is still known for today.ChildhoodArmstrong's was born to an out-of-wedlock mother on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Wikipedia). Up to the 1980's no one knew the exact date of Armstrong's birth, it was discovered through baptismal records (Wikipedia).Louis Armstrong. Handc olored etching and Photograv...While his birth date still remains somewhat of a mystery, the conditions in which he was born into were not. At that time in the century many African-Americans were poor, and the Armstrong's were no exception to that. Louis grew up without much financial and emotional support from his father, Willie Armstrong. Willie and Louis' mother separated leaving Louis to be raised by his grandmother, Josephine until he was five years old (Chilton Jones, 1971, p. 44). After that, Armstrong moved in with his mother, and that is when Louis remembered he had a sister named Beatrice (Chilton Jones, 1971, p. 44). Armstrong's youth was spent in a dangerous uptown neighborhood of New Orleans named Storyville which was also known as the Red Light District (Chilton Jones, 1971, p.16). Storyville was divided into two sections; white Storyville, that is where mostly white people...

Pulot Essays

Pulot Essays Pulot Paper Pulot Paper I. Executive Summary1 II. Situation Analysis1 III. SWOT Analysis1 A. Strengths1 B. Weakness2 C. Opportunities2 D. Threat2 IV. Marketing Strategy2 A. Mission2 B. Market Segmentation3 C. Target Market5 D. Positioning5 E. Product Line5 F. Price6 G. Distribution Outlets6 H. Advertising and Promotion6 VI. Budget7 Proposed Budget Plan for Marketing Special Pulot7 VI. Implementation7 A. Complete the Marketing Plan8 B. Approving of the Plan8 C. Creating the proper layout design8 D. Create retail channels8 E. Advertise and Promote the Product8 F. Launching of the product8 G. Monitoring the performance9 VII. Controls9 I. Executive Summary II. Situation Analysis Eating sweets after meals are part of Filipino culture. Pulot is an Ilonggo heritage that was once popular but is now slowly forgotten. Pulot is made of muscovado sugar. The muscovado sugar or moist sugar is a dark brown and slightly coarser and stickier than most brown sugars and takes its flavor and color form its source, sugarcane juice. Muscovado sugar is liquefied to become the sweet dessert Pulot. The sweet amber dessert was packaged quaintly in a piece of slender bamboo covered with dry banana leaf. It is sold in affordable prices depending in the size of the container ranging from five pesos to twenty pesos. The basic market is not entirely aware of Pulot. Only those who have eaten in the restaurants like Breakthrough, and Tatoys’ are the one who knew this product. Pulot is only sold in Villa sold by local street vendors for restaurant customers as their dessert. III. SWOT Analysis A. Strengths Originality Pulot is a native product of Iloilo City, specifically in Villa, Arevalo. It is made from local products from ingredients to packaging. It could be infused with cassava, banana, kamote, ube and other native crops. No expiration Pulot is mainly made from muscovado sugar that is caramelized with a proportionate amount of water. Sugar is an incredible preservatives working in jams and jellies which apparently does not expire. And with its packaging made of bamboo stalk, keeps pulot from moisture to solidify and helps it stay in syrup. B. Weakness Low product knowledge and exposure In today’s generation, there is a variety of desserts available in the market. Due to the existence of foreign products, we are forgetting the local delicacies that define our culture. The younger generations have little or even no knowledge of native delicacies; one of them is Pulot. C. Opportunities Market Expansion Expanding the market will increase its productivity and exposure. Since Pulot is sold only in Villa, it could be sold in restaurants, Pasalubong centers and malls located in the city. Cultural Heritage Patronizing the local products will help preserve the unique Ilonggo traditions. Also, it is a way of enhancing the market for tourists. Variety of Uses Pulot can be used in different ways. It can be a dessert after meals; toppings for pancakes and pastries; sandwich spread; and ingredients for some delicacies. It could also be complimented with bananas, camotes, ube and other native products. D. Threat Existence of well known desserts The existence of well known foreign and local sweets will post a great difficulty for pulot to enter the modern market. IV. Marketing Strategy A. Mission Special Pulot aims to revive a part of Ilonggo culture in terms of dessert. The native treat exist to satisfy your sweet tooth with a new and attractive packaging design Financial Objective * To increase the sales by 10% for the first year of production * To sustain a research and development budget Marketing Objective * To increase the product awareness to younger generations B. Market Segmentation The profile for the Special Pulot’s consumers consists of geographic, demographic, and behavior factors. Special Pulot has several target segment customers, the individual customers (families, students, foreigners and balikbayans), restaurants and malls. Individuals: Geographics * The initial target is Iloilo City with the population of 418,710. * The total targeted population is 167, 484. Demographics * Students, families, foreigners and balikbayans. * Age group of 15 to 60 years Have a family income of more than P 15,000 a month might be part of Class A, B and C segment of the market. Behavior Factors * Likes sweet foods and native products. * There is a value attributed to the more attractive packaging of the product. * Are very open to new ways of using the product. * Tend to patronize higher – quality restaurants, malls and pasalubong centers. * Conscious of their health. Restaurants (and their customers): Geographics * Iloilo City has a lot of restaurants that serve Filipino dishes mostly in Villa, Molo and Manduriao Districts. Demographics * Male and Female. * Singles and Families. Tend to eat out at least once a week. * Tend to patronize Filipino restaurants. Behavior Factors * Are health conscious. * Enjoy a sweet dessert every after meal. Malls: Geographics * The initial target malls are SM City in Manduriao and Robinsons’ Place in the city proper. Demographics * Male and Female. * Singles and Families. * Tends to go to the malls as a leisure activity. Behavior Factors * Loves to eat while roaming around the mall. * Into nutritious and native foods. C. Target Market Based on the market segmentation, the target market are the students, families, foreigners and balikbayans. Individuals These individuals are composed of households in Iloilo City with a monthly family income of P10, 000 pesos. These are health conscious consumers that preferred the Special Pulot as condiment instead of refined sugar that contain chemical additives. Restaurants These are the restaurants in Iloilo City that serves Filipino dishes in their menu. Special Pulot will be served to the customers that want a native and nutritious treat for dessert after eating their meals. Malls Loaded Special Pulot will target the two major malls in Iloilo City, SM City and Robinson’s Place. The prospect customers will be the mall goers that love to eat sweet native delicacy. D. Positioning Special Pulot will position itself as a best choice delicacy in Iloilo. It will symbolize the love of Ilonggo people for sweet native food. This positioning will be achieved by expanding its target market, intensive knowledge dissemination regarding the product and establishing a unique product that will be put up in stalls at major malls and schools. The said unique product is a Special Pulot with native crop toppings such as banana, ube, kamote, roasted peanut and pinipig. Special Pulot will be sold on restaurant and Pasalubong Centers with a better packaging. E. Product Line There are three types of products that to be distributed to the market: 1) The Special Pulot that is sold in restaurants and Pasalubong Centers will be served with classy native packaging. The packing is a bamboo tube with ethnical carvings on the outside and has a product logo. The packaging will also have a list of nutritional value that a consumer could get in the product. The packaging has other purpose aside from containing Special Pulot. It could be a pencil holder or a flower vase. ) The Loaded Special Pulot that will be sold in stalls at malls will be served as a snack for mall goers with native crop toppings. The native crop toppings are boiled banana, ube, kamote, cassava, roasted peanuts and piniping. It will be served in paper bowls. 3) Another is the Special Pulot that is packed in glass jars to be sold in grocery stores and local dry markets to be consumed by local h ouseholds. This Special Pulot will be a good substitute for refined sugar and other sweeteners. Special Pulot is 100% made of Muscovado sugar that contains essential minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and iron. Also, it only contains calories, thus, making it a good alternative to figure conscious consumers. This could be infuse in coffees or spread in bread. F. Price The price will be based on a per product price. For product 1, it will be sold in prices ranges from P20 to P50 pesos depending on the size of the container. For product 2, the prices will vary from P20 to P50 depending on the size of the container and an additional P5 for extra toppings. Then the Special Pulot that is packed in jars will have a price range of P30 to P60 pesos per product depending the size of the jars. G. Distribution Outlets The distribution outlets will be: * Restaurants * Pasalubong Centers and Grocery Stores * Malls H. Advertising and Promotion The product will be promoted through an advertising campaign that supports its positioning strategies and through participating in greater extent on dealer trade shows. The advertising campaign will be posters and flyers that have information about the product and will be put at the distribution outlets. The said posters will be posted on restaurants and pasalubong centers that sell Special Pulot and flyers will be distributed during trade shows in malls or events that sponsored by the company. VI. Budget Proposed Budget Plan for Marketing Special Pulot One-year Plan Legal expense*-P10,000. 00 Layout Design**-10,000. 00 Promotional Materials Posters-P9,000. 00 Flyers-4,000. 00 Total promotional materials expense13,000. 00 Communication and Transportation Expense20,000. 00 Labor Workers*** 17,000. 0 Product Control**** 10,000. 00 Contingency Fund 10,000. 00 TOTAL BUDGET FOR THE YEAR P90,000. 00 *Expenses for the processing of legal paper works for the project **Expenses for creating the design of the product’s packaging and for the employment of the layout artist ***Allocated for the salary of workers who will be promoting the product of different sites ****This is for the monitoring of the product. Workers will conduct a survey to measure the performance of the project. Schedule for monitoring the product is contained in part seven of the marketing plan, controls. VI. Implementation These are the following steps that company has to accomplish on time and within the budget: A. Complete the Marketing Plan The marketing plan for the product has to be completed and revised B. Approving of the Plan Once the plan had been finalized, it will be presented to the owner/ supplier of the product. Collaborating with the owners on their opinions and comments regarding the matter will be done. After clarifications and finalization of the actions to be taken, the operation will begin. C. Creating the proper layout design After the plan has been approved, the group will be hiring a layout artist to design the packaging of the product, with proper coordination with the operations department of the supplier, and the design for the promotional materials for the product. D. Create retail channels Contacting pasalubong centers and local restaurants as site of selling the product will then take place. Locating the proper area for setting up of stalls in malls will also be done. After pinpointing the appropriate site, construction of the stalls will take place. E. Advertise and Promote the Product Once the promotional materials had been finalized and printed, it will be placed on different areas in Iloilo city. F. Launching of the product The official wide scale launching of the product and simultaneously, advertising of the product. G. Monitoring the performance The workers will be regularly monitoring regarding the awareness of the customers regarding the product, revenue and expenses. VII. Controls The following areas will be monitored to measure performance:

Why is an understanding of research techniques important Essay

Why is an understanding of research techniques important - Essay Example Essentially, the June 2014 press release meets the requirements posted by CASRO (Council of American Research Organization) in which a study has to have a sponsor so as to support its successful completion. The director of Survey Research at Pew Research Mr. Scott Keeter explains why they chose to sample 10,000 instead of 1, 000 in which the reason is that the research was able to describe the attitudes of people in smaller fragments within the larger public. Another requirement by CASRO met in the July 2014 article by Pew Research is that it provides actual dates of when the survey was conducted are documented and also indicates the actual group that conducted the same, which in this case is the American Trends Panel, an arm created by the Pew Research Center. However, neither the press release nor the article provides the exact wording for the questions as required, hence influencing one of the shot falls on the same. Other information available as presented in the survey finding that a person reading the report would find helpful are data coding for easy interpretation of confusing data and analysis of the same. The survey also provides the data collection methods applied in order for the panelist to obtain the required attitudes of the sampled population as part of studying political polarization. In total the guidelines applied in the press release are five while one is applied in the full survey report. The media coverage of the June 2014 press release partly serves the public interest, but is somehow a political tool that politicians can use to gain popularity and win in elections. The positive trait brought about by this press release is that it helps in promoting ethnic tolerance among ethnic groups as it does not portray any of them in bad light. It also serves as a way of evaluating the stereotypes associated with certain ethnic groups and trying to work against for the good of the American population despite the religious affiliations that each

Discuss the possibility that hamlet never encountered the ghost of his Essay

Discuss the possibility that hamlet never encountered the ghost of his father, that the ghost was all a figment in the imagination of a troubled mind - Essay Example There is a possibility that Hamlet was inspired by Martin Luther, the initiator of the Protestant Reformation. In Denmark, people follow the Catholic faith and are very religious. In Hamlet’s days, Catholics faced many problems. In those times, the Roman Catholic Church was rapidly gaining absolute power. The priests said that our sins can be condoned from God’s punishment by buying tickets to heaven. However, since Hamlet studies in Wittenberg in Germany and not in Denmark; he is little influenced by the Catholic school of thought. In Germany, Luther is epochal. Luther confronts the tenets of Roman Catholicism in the Ninety-Five Theses. Hamlet is surrounded by Protestantism, in mind as well as in spirit. Hamlet says, â€Å"O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple hell?† (Act 1 Scene 5). He starts to doubt Purgatory as it is a Catholic concept. As his father comes from Purgatory and asks him to avenge his murder; Hamlet questions himself about the existence of Purgatory. He thinks that the Devil himself has disguised as his father’s ghost and has descended to test him. Therefore, the ghost might be his imagination. Hamlet is caught between the conflict of two opposite forces, so he tries to save his sanity and sense of reason. He has strong moral integrity. Since his father’s death remains a sudden occurrence; the next king of Denmark is supposed to be Hamlet. His uncle’s readiness to take his place makes Hamlet wonder how his father passed away. To make things worse, his mother marries him right after her husband’s death. Shakespeare writes, â€Å"Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables† (Act 1 Scene 2). Hamlet doubts his mother ever loved his father, and asks himself how in a short time she could overcome the grief and get married to her brother-in-law. Hamlet is disturbed by the happy demeanor of his mother. Shakespeare states, â€Å"How weary, stale,