Wk4 Discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wk4 Discussions - Assignment Example Some of them might not be conscious of the dynamics involved in the investment of securities. Others might be conscious of the securities investment but do not understand which security will give a better return than the other. If Mr. Lynch answers this question, more investors from other industries will be interest on security investment. Mr. Lynch can let us know how to minimize market risks since avoiding it by diversification is impossible. He will suggest other avenues investors can use to minimize the risks associated with the type of security they have invested. Expectations of investors are high return, but market risk being included in the equation then the possibility of high return becomes slim. If investors have been armed with that kind of information regarding securities investment, we can be rest assured the number of investors in securities will increase. This will be a boost to our nation’s economy. To calculate the cost of equity division of cost of structure will need the use of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) or by Dividend Growth Model (DGM). The cost of debt can be calculated by use of historical (coupon) interest rate or market based interest rate The techniques used to calculate the estimate of divisional cost of capital are referred to as pure play approach. This technique is used to calculate riskier division is the security market line (SML) while for conservation division subjective approach technique would be used to estimate the cost of capital. The main challenge experienced during the estimation of the cost of capital for a division is that it hardly has securities for to trade in the market, so it is a problem to notice the risk of division in the markets’

Participative Leadership & Empowerment Case Study

Participative Leadership & Empowerment - Case Study Example Methodological Problems with Participative Procedures There are some inherent challenges with the establishment of the effectiveness of participative procedures. This is because there are no laid down procedures or formula for the calculation of the effectiveness of participatory procedure. This is because of two reasons. First of all, it has to do with human behavior and it is not easy to measure that since human behavior changes with time. Secondly, it has elements of contingency in that the relevant factors could change and this will change the mood and setting and make the results variable for different situations. In the absence of a scientific method, most people use subjective methods of measuring the effectiveness of participatory leadership drives through surveys and other experiments. These are open to bias. Secondly, the short-term nature of such social science experiments comes with issues. Most people will do well and try to impress when they are being studied but when t hey are not studied, they might put up a very different attitude. There is also a case of having only two variables.

Weimar Constitution Essay Example for Free

Weimar Constitution Essay To what extent was the effective government of Germany in the years 1919–33 handicapped by the nature of the Weimar Constitution? It is for certain that the Weimar Constitution had an impact in the effective government of Germany in the years of 1919-33. However, it can be argued from both sides whether this constitution had a negative or positive impact on the effective government. One could say that the constitution was a dominant factor in the ineffectiveness of the government, while on the other hand it could be argued that ineptness of the government is due to other external factors such as defeat and the depression A major flaw in the Weimar constitution was the proportional representation electoral system, which was an attempt to become more democratic. Democracy comes at the price of a strong government as it is usually difficult to form a stable government in a democracy. This can be manifested by the fact that in the mere period of 14 years, there were 21 different governments and 13 chancellors. This shows that the Weimar government lacked stability and strength which would make it almost impossible for the government to be effective and tackle the problems. How could the government solve the difficult troubles that Germany was facing, when they could not even manage to cooperate and unite? Since, proportional representation is one of the fairest electoral systems, it was impossible to form a strong single party government who had a good hold in the Reichstag and only weak coalitions which could not agree upon a decision was formed. Weak coalitions meant ineffective and incompetent governments. On the other hand, it could be said that the Weimar governments were not as unstable as it is claimed to be. The Weimar constitution has produced effective and stable governments such as the grand coalition which was seen as a strong government and it stood for the longest amount of time. Also, despite the numerous changes in government, the base parties of the coalition has remained the same as the Z, DVP and DVP provide the foundation of the coalition most of the time. This exhibits stability among the governments as the coalitions do not go thr ough drastic changes in the parties. Therefore, it could be claimed that the Weimar constitution did not handicap the government from being effective. Fair representation of the votes meant that extremist parties thrived under the PR electoral system. Votes translated into fair representation of seats in the Reichstag which enabled the extremist parties such as the Nazi’s to have the majority of the  seats from the July 1932 elections. This made it almost impossible for the government to be effective as they could not pass legislation through the Reichstag as they did not have the co-operation from the largest party. However, it could be argued that the rise of extremism was due to the Wall Street crash in 1929. There is a key correlation between the economic crisis and the successes of extremist parties. Indeed the Nazis only achieved 3% of the vote in 1928 yet in 1933 they received the majority of seats in the Reichstag from any lone party, over 200. If the depression had not occurred, then extremist parties would not have thrived electorally which in turn, would mean that the government would not have been handicapped in the Reichstag. Hence it could be argued that the ineffectiveness of the government towards the late 1920s was due to an external factor as up until the depression, extremist parties were not a problem to the government. The Weimar constitution did not handicap the governments in the sense that it granted Article 48 which the president could use to pass through any decrees in an ‘emergency’. The governments used this to their favour and passed through many legislation and decrees. Since the chancellor had the support of the President as he was appointed by the President, the governments used Article 48 to be effective. This can be seen when Bruning used it to pass his finance bill in 1930, without him using the Article 48, he would not have been able to pass his finance bill or be effective. Henceforth it could be argued that the Weimar Constitution actually gave the governments a chance to be effective in a difficult situation. On the other hand this constant use of the emergency presidential powers in 1930-33 led to the rise of Hitler as the chancellor which spelled doom for the Weimar government. This extensive use of the emergency presidential powers also displays the ineptness of the government as they could not do anything on their own and had to keep relying on Hindenburg. To avoid this constant use of the Article 48 and produce a truly strong government, Hitler was appointed as his party had a majority in the Reichstag and so the government would be able to pass legislation through their own strength. So, the Weimar constitution could even be credited with the fall of Weimar Republic along with the government as it was unable to produce a string of consistent strong and stable governments. In conclusion, I think that the Weimar constitution played a significant role in the handicapping of the governments as under the PR  electoral system, it was impossible to produce a stable single party governmen t. The electoral system only produced coalitions with uncooperative parties which made dysfunctional governments. This meant they had to rely upon Article 48 too much which led to the rise of Hitler and end of the Weimar era. On the other hand, it could be claimed that the coalitions were not as unstable as they were claimed to be with the base parties almost always being the same. Also, I believe that the depression was the most imperative factor in the ineffectiveness of the government as their support was sapped by the extremist parties which led to the rise of Hitler and also it created an impossible situation to get out of for the governments. Without the depression, it is most likely that Hitler would not have risen to power.

History of the Lambada and Its Relationship With World Music

History of the Lambada and Its Relationship With World Music Lambada History is very interesting, because it is composed of many stories and it is quite difficult to hear one and the same story of Lambada. But doubtless remains the fact that the Lambada is one of the most famous and popular Latin dances, which are known and are dancing around the world. The word Lambada refers to the rhythm (a mixture of karimbo and merengue) and dance that combines elements of Forry (forrà ³), samba, merengue and maxixe (Brazilian dance of the nineteenth century), which had huge success in Europe. Lambada became the most popular dance in 1989 and early 1990s. This fiery dance which was born in Latin America, ruled the entire planet, and in Europe it sold over two million records with Lambada music. People were amazed with this music that reminded the rustle of palm trees, the lapping of the warm ocean, singing of birds. Thats why in the early 90s almost every day on American and European television was shown video of Lambada dancing by professional South American dancers. That was true musical performance video, which was kind of a dance school, and opened a whole world of Latin American culture. Europeans and Americans took Lambada with enthusiasm, they admired the fiery and the brightness of Hispanics, and soon Lambada was dancing in the whole E urope and America. The history of Lambada and its relationship with the world music The origins of Lambada dance came from karimbo at the time when Brazil was a Portuguese colony (1500-1822 gg.) in the northern part of the country there was a popular dance called karimbo, that was very sensual dance of man and woman. Over time the dance has changed, and changed the music: because of the proximity to the Caribbean region, the Caribbean music culture had a strong influence on Brazilian music (even today we can feel it if you listen to Caribbean radio station in the northern states of Brazil). This close relationship gave birth to some new rhythms Sirimbà ³ and Lari Lari; so karimbo dance eventually changed so much that gave birth to practically new one. After some time the local radio station Belà ©m (capital of Parà ¡) began to call this new kind of music percussion rhythm and the rhythms of Lambada (the word Lambada means a strong rhythmic beats of music). This last name Lambada became very popular and became associated with the new image of the old dance style . Later people again began to dance karimbo in pairs, and it was very much like merengue, but had a larger number of spinning. In the end, a mixture of metal and electronic music of the Caribbean once again changed the face of karimbo, and the music quickly spread throughout the northeastern region of Brazil (the most touristic places), only this new karimbo was already called Lambada. Lambada long traveled along the coast, and finally reached Bahia (the oldest of the Brazilian state), where it began to experience the effect of dance Forry (another old Brazilian style with the accented rhythm). Gradually, the timing of Lambada from a 4 / 4 changed to 2 / 2, so it can be confidently said that it was then Lambada completely lost its resemblance to the karimbo. Lambada was danced with bent legs, steps were made from side to side and never from front to back. In a fashion were tight skirts, and it happened so that they began to be associated with the Lambada, and Lambada with them. Even nowadays in some places (for example in Lambar in the nightclub of the city of Sao Paulo) we can steel meet the classic couples: a lady in a narrow skirt and a man in long trousers. (Kempley 1990) Together with the Trio-eletricos (great mobile platform in which musicians perform dancing and singing during the Carnival) Lambada began to spread along Bahia and settled in the town of Porto Seguro. During the first boom of Lambada in the south-eastern region of Brazil (the most economically developed) it refered to the rhythms that came from Bahia, and were assumed that all these rhythms live only in the summer and then die. While all acknowledged that the Lambada was a real rush of the summer, many early lambaterii (places where the Lambada was danced) wewre closed closed in winter when tourists left. However, Lambada did not die The story of Lambada spread to Europe says that one day in late summer, several French businessmen came to Brazil and bought the music rights to 300 songs in the style of Lambada. Then they returned to France and organized a group Kaoma, investing lot of money in its promotion. In that way the Lambada style became known throughout the world and reached even the Far East, where it has remained to this day. The world fever of Lambada was so strong that it even returned to Brazil, to the most economically developed south-eastern region, that has already forgotten it. The fact that today in Brazil there are thousands of schools of ballroom dancing, great competitions and tens of thousands of dancers is a merit of the French Kaoma and their international success. This second wave was called the Second Boom of Lambada and this event greatly influenced the world culture. First of all Lambada became an international phenomenon, when millions of young people again began to dance in pairs, and evoked a wave of interest to the Latin American culture. Having spread around the world, the dance has changed dramatically. Due to the fact that in Europe there was lack of good dancers of Lambada (for example for movies and shows), most professionals had to make changes to it: the Lambada was added with whirling and steppe-like elements from jive and East Coast swing, as well as some acrobatic movements. Many dancers have begun to mix Lambada with other musical styles, trying to create something new and unusual. As to the Lambada music, it was played on all radio stations, and some musicians (eg, Sidney Magal and Fafà ¡ de Belà ©m),trying to follow this new vawe, created new real hits on its basis. However, pretty soon people discovered that their interest to the Lambada was based solely on efforts to earn more money, and these musicians were quickly forgotten. After some time, many composers of Lambada seemed to be forgotten, these music and dance were losing their power, and millions of fans around the world were helpless before it. Another musicians have begun to mix Lambada with other musical styles, mix Lambada with Caribbean Soca, Merengue, Salsa and Zouk. Anyway, now Zouk is a child, a native son of our beloved old Lambada. Thus we can say that Lambada is a real rhythm of Latin America, which has a rich and bright national culture. History of success and spread of Lambada throughout the world shows that the culture of Latin America is very popular and interesting to people around the world. Latin American dances are always very popular, millions of people around the world love to dance them. Also, Latin American music attracts Europeans and Americans with its incendiary rhythms, unique power. Lambada became one of the most brilliant and incendiary dance, which danced the whole world, and despite the fact that its success is already lost, the era of Lambada opened the brightness of the culture in Latin America to the world and brought new sound and rythms to the world music industry.

The Contributions of William Gladstone Essay -- British History

Every country has a leader who helps change the country and the world. William was that leader in Great Britain. Born in 1809 to a self-made Scottish merchant, which taught him to help the average person; he entered the politics at the age of 22 in 1833 where he was a â€Å"tireless administrator† with â€Å"tremendous eye for detail† (Wilson 112). At first a very strong Tory, who felt that any electoral reform would lead to revolution, he became one of the founding members of the Liberal Party in 1859. He would later say that â€Å"I was brought up to distrust and to dislike liberty, and I learned to believe in it. That is the key to all my change† (Wilson 102). As Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition for many years he â€Å"was the standard bearer [and champion of many reforms], and his gov from 1868 to 1874 was one of the foremost reforming administrations of the century† (Tompson 287). His ability â€Å"to manage big crowds and to use the power of the crowd as an extra-parliamentary weapon† (Wilson) allowed him to push tough legislation through Parliament and â€Å"his sheer bigness, and grandeur, and moral weightiness was never to be repeated on the political scene† (Wilson 118, 103). William Gladstone was a British statesman whose reforms had a greater influence than Queen Victoria. With the era named after Queen Victoria, many people believe that Queen Victoria was the most important person of this age. The Queen wasn’t popular until later in life. People hated her for her refusal to come out of mourning after the death of her husband and her unenlightened political views. The royal pair had an active role together until 1861 where she went into prolonged sadness and never made public appearances. She emerged 1870s to a much-diminished role in g... ...y 2012. . Findling, John E., ed. Events That Changed Great Britain Since 1689. Ed. Frank W. Thackeray. Westport: Greenwood, 2002. 75-80. Print. Kagan, Donald, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. "Great Britain Toward Democracy." The Western Heritage: Since 1300. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 684-87. Print. Olechnowicz, Andrzej. The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print. Tompson, Richard S. Great Britain: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Print. "William Ewart Gladstone." Spartacus Educational. Web. 14 May 2012. . Wilson, A. N. "William Ewart Gladstone." Eminent Victorians. London: W.W. Norton &, 1989. 99-132. Print.

News And Newspapers -- essays research papers

News and Newspapers News is simply delineated as â€Å"a report of a recent event; something one has not heard of before†(Websters, 282). Conceding that it is inelaborate in its definition, news is much more intricate as it succumbs to corporate moneymaking ideologies. The corporate essence of news is prevalent in the form of the newspaper â€Å"a paper published periodically for circulating news† that is sold therefore making news a business. In business the saying goes that the customer is always right making news subject to the demands of these consumers. The underlying purpose of news is to â€Å"provide facts upon which decisions are based† (Mencher, 56). Yet this purpose is tainted to accommodate the newspapers need to sell papers. Journalism is the work of gathering news, therefore making the journalist succumb to the corporate needs of the newspaper. The three major newspapers of Toronto (Toronto Sun, Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail) discord in their journalistic techniques for the purpose of selling their produc t. "News is more often made rather than gathered. And it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks is important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important" (Postman, 14). The Toronto Sun focuses on the audience that yearns for entertainment and adjuts its word selection and choice of articles to accommodate this need for entertainment. The glitz and glamour of today's celebrities provide a fantasy world in which the reader can escape. The Toronto Sun leaves no stone uncovered as it stays on top of celebrity issues to accommodate their audience ‘ the average Joe' with entertainment. â€Å"Michael Jackson's wife gave birth to a baby boy yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center† (T.Sun Feb. 18/97) in the article titled Oh Baby, Jacko to be a dad soon. What makes this article more ominous than any other birth other than that it is entertaining to the star crazed general public? Hundreds Get To Eye Claudia the so called 'superbabe' as she â€Å"breezes her way into The Bay's downtown Yonge St. Store†(T. Sun Feb. 25/97). â€Å"Up to five hundred people waited for up to two hours for a glimpse of the famed beauty and to hear her speak†(T. Sun Feb. 25/97). Imagine how many looked in the Sun for the article. The article choices of the Sun have a direct affiliation to the need for it as a business to p... ...article Hospital's Blood Stock Almost Exhausted contains human interest through its ability to show the community working together â€Å"Although other hospital blood banks were also short of blood, the Toronto Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital agreed to send blood to Sunnybrook by taxi if needed† (T. Star April 2/97). The aspect of community togetherness provokes human interest and complies with the Star's general theme of family. The Globe and Mail article Toronto Desperate For Blood roused human interest thorough community togetherness â€Å"in case the patient required more blood than was on hand the hospital contacted the Red Cross society and two other hospitals to ensure a continued supply." This articles illustration of human interest is moderated through the exclusion of the agreement of the two hospital's to provide more blood even though they were low. Instead the article stuck strictly to the facts that the Globe's readers pay for. Realistically, the sale of newspapers is the primary objective of the journalist illustrated through their use of techniques. Journalistic content and techniques vary according to the audience towards which the newspaper directs its attention.

Dysfunctional Families

Dysfunctional families are common to both the world of Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens and The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams. A family is a basic social unit consisting of more than one human being. Functional families co-operate with one another to sustain a happy and nurturing home life that is comforting and a pleasure to be in. Members of a functional family genuinely care for one another’s safety and wellbeing. A dysfunctional family is the opposite of a functional family. In Great Expectations there are two dysfunctional families, Joe Gardgery’s family – including Miss Joe, Pip and Joe himself; and Miss Havershams family, which consists of her and her adopted daughter, Estella. Technically, the escaped convict, known as Magwitch, his wife and daughter could be considered as dysfunctional too. Their family is not as predominant as the other two families. In The Glass Menagerie, Tom, Laura, Amanda and Amanda’s absent husband are also a dysfunctional family. Family is important to the main characters in each of these texts, as it is the source of their values, morals and beliefs. Tom Wingfield, from The Glass Menagerie, is a young man who wants to explore the world and go on breathtaking adventures. His father left his mother, Amanda, for this reason when Tom was a young boy. Tom has been the man of the house ever since. The Glass Menagerie is set in St Louis, USA, in a time where women did not have much power in men’s business. Amanda has a job selling magazines over the phone, which does not earn her enough money for the family to live off. Tom, therefore, works in a shoe factory, which is not the most exciting job in the world, and this is the main source of income for the family. Laura Wingfield is Tom’s older sister – she is 26, crippled and lives in her own world full of tiny fragile glass animals, along with an old victrola. Laura is the main source of conflict for the family because she aimlessly wanders through life with no purpose. During Tom’s time at home, there are many conflicts between him and his mother. This affects Tom, as he works long hours in the warehouse doing the same thing everyday. He then comes home to a mother who is constantly telling him what to and what no to do, as well as a sister who isn’t pulling her own weight. Amanda often criticises Tom’s behaviour. In the first scene nearly everything Amanda says to Tom is a command – for example, such as â€Å"Don’t push with your fingers, chew chew! †¦ Human beings are supposed to chew†, â€Å"You’re not excused from the table† and â€Å"You smoke too much†. These constant commands from Amanda’s point of view are caring, however, Tom only thinks of them as her trying to control his every move; he is at the end of his wick. In Scene Three, Tom lets Amanda know once and for all what he thinks of the situation. Amanda: â€Å"What right do you have to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of us all? How do you think we’d manage if you were†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Tom interrupts: â€Å"I’d rather somebody battered my brains out than go back (the warehouse) every morning †¦ and you say self is all I think of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is (points to father’s portrait) – GONE! † In the end it is all too much for Tom and he leaves his helpless sister and commanding mother. He ventures off into the world; like father like son! Belonging to a dysfunctional family has deeply affected Tom and has eventually made him leave. Laura Wingfield, from The Glass Menagerie, is shy, unconfident, crippled and she often withdraws from reality. This is because she belongs to a dysfunctional family. Her mother has tried to help her by sending her to business school and finding her a gentlemen caller. Unfortunately, these are not Laura’s visions for herself, they’re Amanda’s. Although Amanda truly loves Laura, she cannot see that her bossy and overpowering personality is making Laura withdraw herself from reality even further. Laura stopped going to business school because it made her sick and she didn’t tell her mother, as she knew it would upset her. A mature young adult, firstly, would not become unwell because they attended a business school; secondly, they would tell their mother they didn’t want to attend the school anymore, and quit. Laura, on the other hand, pretends for weeks that she still attends the school; leaving and arriving home when appropriate, to make her mother believe she is still attending the school. When Amanda finally finds out Laura stopped going because it made her a little unwell, it broke her heart. Amanda: â€Å"So what are we going to do the rest of our lives? †¦ Amuse ourselves with the glass menagerie, darling? Eternally play those worn-out phonograph records your father left as a painful reminder of him? † Laura’s response to this painful truth is silence and the twisting of her hands – hopeless! With her mother and brother constantly bickering, she doesn’t seem to get the chance to speak her thoughts and feelings. Her mother tells her what she is going to do with her life, and because she loves her mother, she just does as she is told. Over time this has affected Laura; it is the reason she lost her personality and become a ghost-like figure living in a world of glass animals! Most of the time Laura doesn’t have her own thoughts, this is another side effect of having a dysfunctional family. One night her mother asks her to stop washing the dishes and to come outside and adore the moon Amanda: â€Å"†¦ Laura, come here and make a wish on the moon! †¦ Look over your left shoulder, Laura, and make a wish! (Laura looks faintly puzzled as if called out of sleep. Amanda seizes her shoulders and turns her at an angle by the door) Now, now, darling, wish! Laura: What should I wish for, Mother? † Here the moon is a symbol of hope. Amanda has found the moon because she has found hope; hope that her children will be okay in this cruel world. Laura can’t find the moon; her mother has to point it out to her and physically move her so she can see it. This is symbolic of the fact that there is no hope for Laura as she can’t and won’t help herself in this life. As Tom says â€Å"She lives in a world of her own – a world of – little glass ornaments, Mother †¦ She plays old phonograph records and – that’s about all†. Amanda has to tell Laura what to wish for – a grown woman being told what to wish for! This shows us how feeble and unsure Laura is of her actions. It is yet another problem Laura has developed because she is a part of a dysfunctional family. Pip, Joe Gargery and Mrs Joe Gargery are a dysfunctional family from the novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. The first half of the novel is set in England, in the country, a place of innocence. The second half is set in the sinful and backstabbing streets of grotty old London. Pip is an orphan; his parents and five of his other siblings died when he was very little. His older sister and her husband (Mr and Mrs Joe Gargery) adopted Pip (who says): â€Å"My Sister †¦ had established a great reputation with herself and the neighbourhood because she had brought me up ‘by hand. ’ †¦ Knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me. I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand. † Pip tells the reader that his older sister often hit him and Joe. This of course was never done when a neighbour was in earshot ecause, as Pip said, the villagers respected her because she brought him up â€Å"by hand†. She also never did or said anything nice to him; he can remember this from a young age. â€Å"My sister’s bringing up had made me sensitive. †¦ I had known, from the time when I could speak, that my sister, in her capricious and violent coercion, was unjust to me. † She spoke harshly to him, hit him with the â€Å"ti ckler† (which was a stick used only for beating up Pip and Joe) and force-fed him tar water (a very nasty medicine) to serve as punishments, for acts that did not deserve punishment. Because of this, he is often unsure of his actions and easily persuaded to think and do things that, deep down, he may not feel are right. This is similar to Laura, from The Glass Menagerie. Unfortunately Laura didn’t have a caring, patient and extremely loving blacksmith in her life, unlike Pip, who has Joe. If Joe was not in Pip’s life, I am sure he would have turned out much like Laura. Joe loves Pip and genuinely cares for him, he is pure and shows many acts of kindness towards Pip, most of which Pip doesn’t acknowledge or notice. Towards the end of the novel Pip becomes extremely sick whilst in London. Joe finds out that Pip is sick, leaves his beloved town in the country and heads into London. This is a big task for Joe because as a ‘country mouse’ he does not belong in the city – he despises it, and vice versa. Joe then stays by Pip’s side for the many months it takes for Pip to recover. After Pip finally acknowldges Joe’s true love for him, Pip says â€Å"O Joe, you break my heart! Look angry at me, Joe. Strike me, Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude. Don’t be so good to me! Joe just hugs Pip because he is relieved that Pip has recovered. Joe is the most important character for Pip’s health, safety and wellbeing. Without Joe, Pip would be in prison with a sickness that only love could cure and a debt to his name that he would never be able to repay. Joe is his guardian angel. Estella and Miss Haversham, from the novel Great Expectations, are yet another dysfuncti onal family. The cause of this dysfunctional family is Miss Haversham’s desired revenge on the world because her husband-to-be left her at their wedding, breaking her heart. Miss Haversham adopted Estella as a young girl, not out of love, rather so she can could mould her into a cold-hearted witch like herself. Miss Haversham is rich and belongs to the upper middle class. Her house is a manor, and she is a well respected resident in Pip’s village. Miss Haversham invites Pip to her house a few times. Pip thinks she is his benefactor, the cause of his great expectations and the reason she asks him to go over. She really only invites him over to let Estella practice her cruel, cold-blooded personality on him. The first time Pip goes over to Miss Haversham’s, on her command, she gets him to play cards with Estella. Estalla doesn’t want to play with â€Å"a common labouring-boy! †, so Miss Haversham tempts her to play with him by saying â€Å"Well? You can break his heart. † Here we can see the effects of Miss Haversham’s cold, broken heart on Estella. Instead of wanting to make friends with Pip like a normal young girl, she wants to break his heart. This child would not have thought of this naturally, her mind has been trained to believe that in making peoples lives a living hell, you arouse a sense of satisfaction. Estella’s family has had a big impression on her values, morals and beliefs. â€Å"You are to wait here, you boy! †¦ the tears started to my eyes. †¦ the girl looked at me with a quick delight in having been the cause of them. † Estella makes Pip believe his clothes, hands and the way he speaks is peculiar and shameful. The family life Miss Haversham has made for Estella is not physically or mentally healthy for her. To add to this, Miss Haversham wears a mouldy bride dress, her house stinks of gone-off food and human body odour and it is dark and depressing. She doesn’t shower because she wears her wedding clothes year after year. This gives Estella a bad impression as her home life is not normal, her â€Å"mother† is deranged and loosing her mind. Miss Haversham does such a great job of teaching Estella to become a witch that Estella leaves her for good. This breaks Miss Haversham’s already broken heart and she kills herself. This doesn’t bother Estella – how inhumane! In both The Glass Menagerie and Great Expectations, the main characters have lost a loved one. Pip and Estella never knew their biological parents, Miss Haversham’s husband-to-be never showed up at their wedding, Joe loses Mrs Joe Gargery, Laura and Tom’s dad leaves them and Amanda’s husband leaves her with a crippled daughter and a son. Losing a loved one or someone who is a close relative adversely affects you. All of these characters are can be compared to one another because they all know what it feels like to lose a loved one and belong to a dysfunctional family. In each case, dysfunctional families affect the main characters. Tom leaves his family, Laura makes herself belong to a world of her own, Pip yearns for a justice that was always present and Estella follows the footsteps of a heartless witch. It is apparent that dysfunctional families can be the cause of losing a family member or one leaving. To me family is very important. Fortunately I have a functional family. We sometimes fight and argue, however it is always over issues that are forgotten and easily forgiven. I know that if a member of my family was to leave us it would definetly affect me. I am glad that every family member in my family is happy and healthy. In both of the texts, the main cause of a dysfunctional family is having lost a family member. This is true for some families I know. Lots of parents divorce and their kids are forever living in two houses. Sometimes it is for the better, as the kids don’t have to listen to the parents fighting. Sometimes it tears the kids hearts and they are too young to understand that their parents simply can’t be together anymore. The kids find a way into their own world, like Laura, or they take it out on others, like Estella, or they are blessed and in their reality is a Joe, who loves them and sees a way out for them to escape.