Sunday, September 22, 2019
Justifications For Improvement In Social Services for the Aged in the Republic of Ireland Essay Example for Free
Justifications For Improvement In Social Services for the Aged in the Republic of Ireland Essay Access to health and social services remains a fundamental human right to a civilized society like that of republic of Ireland. Every person, regardless of age, religion or political affiliation should be able to access health and services if and when they need it. In the case of people with special needs, access to these services becomes even more important. This is because they are the ones that are likely to need these services more frequently. They are also the ones who are likely to be unable to access these services, despite the fact that they need them more. These people with special needs include the aged, the children and the disabled amongst others. For example, those people with mental illnesses are entitled to visits from social workers. These visits are made by the social worker to the homes of the mentally ill to make sure that the family is treating them with respect and care and to make sure that they take their medicine in time and when the need arises. The aged in the republic of Ireland are entitled to certain fundamental social and health services. These include treatment for the diseases that are likely to afflict them and counselling from the social workers. However, it is with deep concern that the writer has noted that the social services that are availed to this group of people are not enough. Some of them are forced to go to homes for the aged where it is said that they will be receiving social and medical services round the clock. However, it is not the wish of these people to spend the rest of their lives enclosed in an institution that they did not want in the first place. This writer noted that the home based care of these people needs to be improved. They should be allowed to stay at their homes. But the number of social workers should be increased such that every old person has a personal social worker who will be accessible at all times. Thus, this paper is advocating for the improvement of home based social care for the aged. Status of the Social Services for the Aged in the Republic of Ireland Social service in Ireland falls under the docket of public health care system for the country (Cahill: 2008). It is enshrined in the health act that was enacted in the year 2004. This act provided for the development of institutions that are tasked with providing social services to every citizen of this country. The social services as such ended up been a part and mandate of the Health Service Executive (Chandran: 2008). Within the HSE, as this body is popularly known, social service is under the department of primary, community and continuing care (Gunnar: 2007). The services that are provided for the older people include rehabilitation and community services. They are also provided by home based services. The latter includes the visitations made by the nurses and other community health officials to the homes of the aged. This paper is going to petition the HSE to improve the social services that the aged gets at their homes, rather than at the institutions for the aged. Improved Social Services for the Irish Aged In 2006, a census was conducted in the republic of Ireland by the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. According to this census, the aged in Ireland were estimated at 207,000 for the male and 260,000 for the females (Schnepper: 2008). These were the ones who are aged sixty five years and above. This is the group that is considered and defined as the aged. They are the ones that need social services more than the others in the society. This number seems big if it is compared with the total number of social service providers that are employed by NSE. NSE employs around 100,000 service care providers. These are the ones that provide care for the aged, the children, the mentally ill and the disabled amongst others (Higgins: 2009). As such, the service provision for the old is neglected, since these care providers are overworked and their resources overstretched. As such, NSE needs to recruit more service providers to cater for the old. The old people have problems accessing not only the social services entitled to them, but also other services like the home care scheme, which provides for a package to cover for their treatment. The national economic and social forum came up with a report on May 2009 highlighting the difficulties that these people experience as they try to access this service (Hughes: 2009). This package has helped at least ten thousand Irish aged in 2008 (Hughes: 2009). But this number is very small compared to the earlier stated estimates of the aged. This means that some of these people are unable to access this service. Something must be done to enable these people to access the service. It is not enough to provide for the service in society, the authorities must make sure that the services are accessed by those people who need it. As John Rawls says, ââ¬Å"institutions in the societyâ⬠¦. ut regulation in place to ensure that support services are availed to those who experience the targeted problemâ⬠(Hughes: 2009). This means that HSE should ensure that the old people get the services that are available for them. There is only one way to ensure this. If these people had access to a social worker, he will be able to sensitise them on how to access such services when the need for it arises. The social worker will not only help the aged access the service, he will also ensure identify situations when the service is called for. It is fact that Irish aged have little or no access to the care services that they need. Many old people, since they lack constant care and other services, ends up developing complications that leads to their incapacitation. These complications could have been avoided if they had accessed the appropriate care at the appropriate time (Chandran: 2008). For example, they develop diseases like cardiac and diabetes. These diseases can be prevented by healthy diet and exercise. However, these people have no one to advise them on the best diet to take in order to avoid such illnesses. They have no one to advise them on the lifestyle they should adopt in order to live healthy. As such, these complications lead to their admissions to nursing homes. This is too little too late, since the condition is likely to have deteriorated. However, if they had the constant care of a home based social service provider, they would have been advised appropriately on the lifestyle to adopt and diet to take to avoid such incidences (Higgins: 2009). According to John Rawl ââ¬Å"equality cannot be achieved by worsening the least advantagedâ⬠(Hughes: 2009). This means that there will be no equality in the society if the status of the less advantaged (in this case the old) is made worse. This will be a contradiction to the human rights of justice and equality to all. Less than three percent of Irish aged enjoys home based care, like the one provided for by the social workers (Schnepper: 2008). This is as compared to other countries in this continent, like the United Kingdom. This number is very small, considering the number of aged people that are in this country. The reasons for this measly access are varied. Some include ignorance on the part of the aged, as they do not know that such services do exist. The other reason, and may be the most important, is that there is a shortage of social care providers. This means that there is no one to deliver these services to the aged. The services are there, but there is no one to deliver them. Conclusion There is disproportionately large number of aged people in Ireland as compared to the social service providers. As such, the aged remain to have their health and well being deteriorate. Majority of the aged suffer from depression. This can be mitigated if they have access to the services of social care providers, who will help by counselling them. It is not only their mental health that is at risk, but also their physical health. There is need then for NSE to increase the number of home based social service providers to cater for the well being of this segment of the society.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Skill and Training Background Essay Example for Free
Skill and Training Background Essay 1. Experience with the company personnel involved in the training The employee and staff in BIR are very approachable and they are cheerful person. I feel the trainee are part of their family we are treat them family as well and I experience the treatment as if Iââ¬â¢m also their co-employee. They are let me learn and experience the day by day. The Company gave the best training for students that would give them a good training ground and would enhance their knowledge and skill. The school must have the job training their company. The school should visit the OJT to have the best monitoring of the training the students are taking. 4. Strong points We all know BIR is the collect taxes from the tax payer. As an internââ¬â¢s I gained so much ideas especially in the tax field because Iââ¬â¢m taking up financial management and accounting this is very relevant on my program. The company has a great training background and learning background as well because I learned slightly how to compute the taxes. This is a great opportunity for me to be one of their OJTââ¬â¢s. 2. Weak points and suggested solutions As an intern my concerned is, they wonââ¬â¢t allow their OJTââ¬â¢s to handle some confidential documents like financial matter. And I donââ¬â¢t think that this is there weak point, for me, this is not an issue this is my own observation the office have lack of tables for the trainees they donââ¬â¢t know when we sited I suggest that we request them to give for the trainee extra table to be more comfortable especially when they recording the dockets.. V. RECOMMENDATION A. Potential of the company as a training ground BIR has a good training background especially to the finance and accounting students. The company offers great opportunity that would let me be more knowledgeable, confident and to develop my skills in so many thing. B. Duration of training (too long too short) The duration of my training is too short because I only lasted for more or less 2months. The first week of being an intern was really uncomfortable and nerve because I didnââ¬â¢t know how to communicate my boss in a nice way when I feel nervous. And Iââ¬â¢m always nervous in what could happen to me every day. But the good side of the employee of BIR they are willing to share their knowledge and they will help you how to deal with other people in terms of the taxpayer pay their taxes. C. Suggestions for the improvement of the training program As far as the performance of BIR it was doing well. They should always hire at least two interns because They have good learning background and training background that the interns should absorb it and it will helpful for them to become a better employee in the future. D. Advice to future On- the-Job trainees Some of the students have taken their OJT for granted. They are not realizing how importance the future carrer. To all future On-the-Job Trainees student, here are some advices that I would like to share to you: * Learn to accept your mistakes * Take your OJT seriously, but donââ¬â¢t be too serious all the time always keep smiling everytime your getting tired * Listen carefully to the trainer and ask a question for a better understanding. * You should love your co-ojt and co-owners * Most importantly, hard work is actually enough. If you do well on your OJT you will definitely have a great evaluation, like me. So work hard and love your job.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Activist Reflector Theorist And Pragmatist Education Essay
Activist Reflector Theorist And Pragmatist Education Essay First of all, activists learning style engage oneself totally without unfairness in fresh ideals. It makes them passionate concerning everything new. They like to have a go, plenty of variety and try things out and participate. Theorists always like concepts and models. They choose to be perfectionists who will not take it easy until things are well organised. They like to see the overall picture and structure. Moreover, pragmatists are eager on experimenting ideas, skills and theories to see if that will work in practice. They completely look out for new ideas and acquire the first chance toward testing applications. Lastly, reflectors are fond of reserved to deliberate on experiences and examine them from numerous perspectives. They gather information first hand and like to reflect about it carefully prior to conclusion (Honey and Mumford 2006). Furthermore, majority of people have a preference in relating to participating in, taking in and processing report to permit individuals to learn. People take on diverse learning styles where best allows them to learn more excellent way. So far, there has been a huge test with the aim to change a persons learning style. Conversely, students and a lot of professionals note down that, learning achieved from practical experience are far better than in lectures. Making certain that, any student that has a good learning outcome, it is imperative that the learning setting is sensibly and competently helpful to everyone learning within it. Nursing training adds high price on knowledge in the clinical environment; the quality of these clinical setting has a considerable influence on learning process for student nurses (Fritz 2002). Honey and Mumford (2006) added that, though lots of individual had two or more learning styles, they may also have a one preference style. To guarantee myself a good learning experience on placement, it is essential for me as student nurse to be conscious about all preferred learning style, as this is crucial element for nursing program. When I was in placement, I observe my mentor, like to work as an activist and as student nurse, I adept her learning style. Seeing that in placement, the mentor acts as a teacher. It is then required for a student nurse to mature into the progress of their learning needs (Morton-Cooper and Palmer 2000). Having said that, the Honey and Mumford questionnaire scoreà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s me as someone with a high reflector mindset. I consent with the greater part of the report of a reflector, which totally confirms me. For Reflectors, before action is taking, they think about things very cautiously. Due to the style of my learning, I like to listen and observe my colleagues in groups but would not get myself involve with any kind of groupà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s sessions. For me to learn effectively and successfully on this programme, I have some assurance that, if I change some of my ways and practice a style likes an activist, it will help me approach things differently and overcome some of my weakness. Hence, encourage me to get involved in any forms group sessions (Honey and Mumford, 2006). In spite of my weakness, I am a very attentive person, as this is one of the potentials of a reflector. I totally consent along this because I constantly akin to pay attention to each person in the group attentively. The opportunity of gaining from diverse viewpoint and different angles has help with my findings. Nonetheless, a likely weakness that I have found within me as a reflector is that, I take too long in doing certain duties. For instance, all through my previous assignment, I spent lengthy time to finish it, because my preparation stage took me a long time to get ready. I used up a long time in searching for ideas prior to starting my assignment, this may be due to me, being extra careful on how am going to write this assignment. Even though, this brings out my careful mindset, I do not have the same opinion with the report that someone who is reflector does not take risks. I sometimes like to tread out of my ease to experience new things I have never done before to expand my knowledge. For instance, I chose to leave my home and common environment in London to study in Hertfordshire. The more relaxed and secure a student feels inside the surroundings, there is expectation that the learning outcome, become successful (Kenworthy and Nicklin 2000). On the other hand, as a student nurse, it is essential to know that, at present we have diverse learning theories and styles to think about. There has been writing down concerning the means in which people learn and many theories on the ways of effectively learning. The talk was that, Behaviorism, Cognitive and Humanism are the key theories. In terms of Humanistic theory, it is build on faith that individual possess two essential desires, a call for development and a call for good view through others. It also shows as the most holistic approach because it is interested in the way in which it compels and inspires a person to learn. These theories too relay on largely on the pressure of the surroundings that might hold back or assist the learning path. Behaviorism theory, the learning surroundings is essential to knowledge, and if these surroundings are perfect, learning comes, as links are made with encouragement, feedback and support. The Cognitive theory indicate learning like an in ternal procedure that include high order rational actions like remembrance, thoughts, analytic, insight and way of thinking (Reece and Walker 2003). However, as it is vital for me to enhance my learning skill as a reflector. I have planned a number of ways to help me succeed on this programme. As my weaker style is activist, the initial part of my plan is to create opportunities to initiate and to participate and have fun in group discussion in class. These will give me a head up, as to situation that will possibly require action without planning in lectures. It has been noted that discovery of learning strategies in union with person learner preferences is key action in keeping and developing the value of learning programme. The improved potential learning opportunity and result gain from such discovery might have a supportive impact on me as a student nurse (Bastable 2003). Besides, when I become conscious of my preferred learning style and the teaching style of my mentor in practice is different. I work out an action plan to support myself and to go on to succeed in this practice, I have to support my weaker style to get used to classroom environment by accepting my preferred learning style, though I am Reflector learner. Nevertheless, research establishes that, growing variety of tuition means used, have not been connected with an enhancement knowledge result. However, the truth is that, throughout developing studentsà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢ understanding of their individual learning style, student are enhanced to take charge for their own learning, which improved their learning results (Fritz 2002). Upon reflection, I think learning styles assist me to recognise myself and allow me to identify how to develop myself. With the assessment outcome, I discern and know myself better and have learned from different learning styles. This has thought me why understanding of learning styles is useful to me as a student nurse. Reflection can be use to evaluate, realisation and study through our live experience. Reflective practice is another means you can gain knowledge from experience. In terms of training for healthcare professions, it is identified as a fundamental instrument intended for students to build the relations connecting theory and practice. As a student nurse, it is important for me to realise the worth of reflecting upon my experiences in learning to enhance my prospect studies (Jasper 2003). In conclusion, all the way through this module, I boast of higher comprehension and important consciousness of different learning styles. I have been confident towards my own prefer learning style; hence enable me toward completely support myself in my weaker style. Understanding learning styles has undoubtedly revealed the force that it can have on me as student nurse. I currently believe that, I am more prepared to incorporate my preferred learning styles into practice.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Interracial Figures of the American Renaissance Essay -- Literature Es
Interracial Figures of the American Renaissance à à à à à à à This essay examines Cora from The Last of the Mohicans, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Ann Jacobs. à à à à The American Renaissance marks a period of social injustice and the fight of the minority to bring about social change. Women and African-Americans (who were freed or escaped from slavery) begin to gain a voice through literacy, and use that voice to start the movement to abolish slavery and gain women rights. The development of literacy makes it impossible to ignore women and African-Americans because their writing provides a permanent record of the horrors of slavery and injustice of oppressing the minority groups. Furthermore, the gain in literacy by these groups makes Anglo-Saxons face the realities of their world and challenges the American dream. Perhaps the most fascinating result of the destruction to the American dream is the introduction of the interracial character. During this period of history (and long after it) the myth existed th at the races were pure. Judith R. Berzon in her book Neither White Nor Black: The Mulatto Character in American Fiction, attributes the emergence of interracial characters in the nineteenth and twentieth century to "(1) a widespread fear of miscegenation; (2) the tenacious view that mulattoes are a ÃŽdegenerate, sterile and short-lived breedà ¢ ; (3) the unresolved dilemma of the social and economic roles of the emancipated African-American; and (4) the unease with which Caucasians generally regarded those who carry traits of both racial groups" (19). The interracial characters exposed the reality in America, that the children of slaves on the plantation were a result of white slave owners having intercourse with their slaves. Co... ...s, an American Slave." Paul Laufer, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, vol 1, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July." Paul Laufer, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, vol 1, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Jacobs, Harriet Ann. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Paul Laufer, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, vol 1, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Kinney, James. Amalgamation! Race, Sex, and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century American Novel. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1985. Mills, Charles W. "Whose Fourth of July? Frederick Douglass and ÃŽOriginal Intent.à ¢" Bill E. Lawson and Frank M. Kirkland, eds. Frederick Douglass: A Critical Reader. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1999. Ã
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Operations Of Congress :: essays research papers
The operations of congress have been influenced by a number of factors. These including a committee system, political parties, public opinion and the media, and interest groups and lobbying. Each section takes a part in congress. By getting them in involved with each part or even running them. A committee is one or more people appointed or elected to consider or, report on, or take action on a particular matter. Because of the advantages of a division of labor, legislative committees of various kinds have assumed much of the work of legislatures in many nations. Standing committees are appointed in both houses of the U.S. Congress at the beginning of every session to deal with bills in the different specific classes. Important congressional committees include those on ways and means; appropriations; interstate commerce; and military, naval, and foreign affairs. As in the U.S. government, these committees are quite powerful because of their ability to delay legislation. A party political is an organization which aim is to gain control of the government usually through the election of its candidates to public office. Political parties take many forms, but their main functions are similar: to supply personnel for government positions; to organize these personnel around the formation; and to serve in a mediating role between individuals and their government. Political parties are as old as organized political systems. Political parties have been organized for various reasons: to support a particular political figure, to advance a particular policy or a general ideological stand, to aid politically certain groups or sections of society, or merely to combine for short-term political advantage. The public opinion and the media have activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations, is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most favorable light. Thus, the goal of the public relations consultant is to create, through the organization of news and advertising. An advantageous image for his/her client, be it a business corporation, cultural institution, or private or public individual; towards this end the making of favorable public opinion many researchers show techniques and communications media are used. Although many of the same methods are employed, public relations differs from propaganda, which is generally government supported, international in scope, and political in nature. The earliest form of public relations and still the most widely practiced is publicity. Lobbying is the practice and profession of influencing governmental decisions, carried out by agents who present the concerns of special interests to legislators and administrators. Operations Of Congress :: essays research papers The operations of congress have been influenced by a number of factors. These including a committee system, political parties, public opinion and the media, and interest groups and lobbying. Each section takes a part in congress. By getting them in involved with each part or even running them. A committee is one or more people appointed or elected to consider or, report on, or take action on a particular matter. Because of the advantages of a division of labor, legislative committees of various kinds have assumed much of the work of legislatures in many nations. Standing committees are appointed in both houses of the U.S. Congress at the beginning of every session to deal with bills in the different specific classes. Important congressional committees include those on ways and means; appropriations; interstate commerce; and military, naval, and foreign affairs. As in the U.S. government, these committees are quite powerful because of their ability to delay legislation. A party political is an organization which aim is to gain control of the government usually through the election of its candidates to public office. Political parties take many forms, but their main functions are similar: to supply personnel for government positions; to organize these personnel around the formation; and to serve in a mediating role between individuals and their government. Political parties are as old as organized political systems. Political parties have been organized for various reasons: to support a particular political figure, to advance a particular policy or a general ideological stand, to aid politically certain groups or sections of society, or merely to combine for short-term political advantage. The public opinion and the media have activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations, is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most favorable light. Thus, the goal of the public relations consultant is to create, through the organization of news and advertising. An advantageous image for his/her client, be it a business corporation, cultural institution, or private or public individual; towards this end the making of favorable public opinion many researchers show techniques and communications media are used. Although many of the same methods are employed, public relations differs from propaganda, which is generally government supported, international in scope, and political in nature. The earliest form of public relations and still the most widely practiced is publicity. Lobbying is the practice and profession of influencing governmental decisions, carried out by agents who present the concerns of special interests to legislators and administrators.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Les Misérables Essay
Victor Hugo ââ¬â Les Miserables BACKGROUND : Victor Marie Hugo was the son of a general in Napoleonââ¬â¢s army, and much of his childhood was therefore spent amid the backdrop of Napoleonââ¬â¢s campaigns in Spain and in Italy. The first three years of his life were spent in Elba, where he learnt to speak the Italian dialect spoken in the island in addition to his mother tongue. Victor got a little education in a small school. At the age of eleven, Hugo returned to live with his mother in Paris, where he got a little education in a small and where he also became infatuated with books and literature. By the time he was fifteen, he had already submitted one poem to a contest sponsored by the prestigious French Academy. There he learnt much from an old soldier, General Lahorie, who, obnoxious to Napoleon for the share he had taken in Moreauââ¬â¢s plot, lived secretly in the house, and from an old priest named Lariviere, who came every day to teach Victor and his two brothers. In 1815, at the age of thirteen, he was sent to a boarding school to prepare for the Ecole Polytechnique. But he devoted himself, even at school, to verse-writing with greater ardour than to study. He wrote in early youth more than one poem for a prize competition, composed a romance which some years later he elaborated into the story Bug Jargal, and in 1820, when only eighteen, joined his two brothers, Abel and Eugene, in publishing a literary journal called Le Conservateur Litteraire. Hugo published his first novel the year following his marriage (Han dââ¬â¢Islande, 1823) and his second three years later (Bug-Jargal, 1826). By the end of 1822 Victor Hugo was fully launched on a literary career, and for twenty years or more the story of his life is mainly the story of his literary output. Because of his successful drama Cormwell, the preface to which, with its note of defiance to literary convention, caused him to be definitely accepted as the head of the Romantic School of poetry. The revolution of 1830 disturbed for a moment his literary activity, but as soon as things were quiet again he shut himself in his study with a bottle of ink, a pen, and an immense pile of paper. For six weeks he was never seen, except at dinner-time, and the result was : The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831). During the next ten years four volumes of poetry and four dramas were published in 1841 came his election to the Academy, and in 1843 he published Les Burgraves, a drama which was less successful than his former plays, and which marks the close of his career as a dramatist. In the same year there came to him the greatest sorrow of his life. His most famous poem was ââ¬ËDemain, des lââ¬â¢aubeââ¬â¢ in which he describes the crucial moment where he visits his daughters grave. As Hugo grew older, his politics became increasingly leftist, and he was forced to flee France in 1851 because of his opposition to the monarch Louis Napoleon. Hugo remained in exile until 1870, when he returned to his home country as a national hero. He continued to write until his death in 1885. He was buried with every conceivable honor in one of the grandest funerals in modern French history. The Book ââ¬â Les Miserable : Hugo began writing Les Miserables twenty years before its eventual publication in 1862. His goals in writing the novel were as lofty as the reputation it has subsequently acquired; Les Miserables is primarily a great humanitarian work that encourages compassion and hope in the face of adversity and injustice. It is also, however, a historical novel of great scope and analysis, and it provides a detailed vision of nineteenth-century French politics and society. By coupling his story of redemption with a meticulous documentation of the injustices of Franceââ¬â¢s recent past, Hugo hoped Les Miserables would encourage a more progressive and democratic future. Driven by his commitment to reform and progress, Hugo wrote Les Miserables with nothing less than a literary and political revolution in mind. Les Miserables employs Hugoââ¬â¢s style of imaginative realism and is set in an artificially created human hell that emphasizes the three major predicaments of the nineteenth century. Each of the three major characters in the novel symbolizes one of these predicaments: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness. In part, the novelââ¬â¢s fame has endured because Hugo successfully created characters that serve as symbols of larger problems without being flat devices.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Is Odysseus a superman Essay
Odysseus; the strong and brave god-like warrior in the Trojan War, who also possesses characteristics such as compassion, loyalty and talent as an orator, which makes him such a influential character within Homerââ¬â¢s novel: The Odyssey. The book, depicting the Adventures of Odysseusââ¬â¢s misfortune, and the journey through which he must get home to reclaim his life, land and his dear wife, portrays Odysseus as the central character with the unmatchable strength and abilities. But do Odysseusââ¬â¢s remarkable qualities classify him as a Superman, and by what means do we exactly class as a Superman? In my mind, a characteristic of Superhuman qualities is one which is that or beyond a normal humans. Therefore, we may classify Odysseusââ¬â¢s characteristics as either of superhuman quality, or that like of a normal human beings. Odysseusââ¬â¢s physical strength is one of his most remarkable and powerful qualities, which we come to learn of. It is because of this great strength, which allows him to throw the biggest discuss as the Phaeacian Games, hurtling it through the air where it landed far beyond the others. Book VIII ââ¬ËThe Phaeacian Gamesââ¬â¢ ââ¬ËWith this he leapt to his feet and, not even troubling to remove his cloak, picked up the biggest disk of all, a huge weight, more massive by far that those used in their regular matches. With one swing he launched it from his mighty hand, and the stone hummed on its course. The Phaeacians, lords of the sea and champions of the long oar, cowered down as it hurtled through the air; and so lightly did it fly from his hand that it overshot the marks of all the other throws. ââ¬Ë His strength is also what allows him to string and draw the great bow with little effort, before the great battle in the hall. Book XXI ââ¬ËThe Great Bowââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦ , he strung the Great Bow without effort or haste and with his right hand proved the string, which gave a lovely sound in answer like a swallowââ¬â¢s note. ââ¬Ë This great strength, which Odysseus possessed, was certainly beyond that of normal humans, as demonstrated in these examples and when the suitors failed to string and draw the bow as Odysseus displayed. Therefore, we may conclude that this quality is that in the nature of a ââ¬ËSupermanââ¬â¢sââ¬â¢ as it is far greater than would normally be so. Odysseus also possessed other qualities, which were demonstrated within the novel. Apart from being the strong and powerful character, which he certainly was, he also had a softer, more timid side. Take for example the chapter in which Odysseus must talk with the ghosts of the dead in Hades. Here, Odysseus experiences panic and fright with what he must endure, as the underworld is that of a dismal and gloomy place. Book XI ââ¬ËThe Book Of The Deadââ¬â¢ ââ¬ËFrom this multitude of souls, as they flustered to and fro by the trench, there came a moaning that was horrible to hear. Panic drained the blood from my cheeks. ââ¬Ë This panic and fright is certainly not of superhuman qualities, as they are stereotyped to be brave and valiant in all situations, which they might have to endure. Odysseus also experiences feelings of compassion and desire during his ventures: Book XI ââ¬ËThe Book Of The Deadââ¬â¢ ââ¬ËNext came the souls of my dead mother, Anticleia, the daughter of the great Autoclycu, who had still been alive when Isaid farewell and sailed for sacred Ilium. My eyes filled with tears when I saw her there, and I was stirred to compassion. ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËAs my mother spoke, there came to me out of the confusion in my heart the one desireâ⬠¦ Thrice, in my eagerness to clasp her to me, I started forward with my hands outstretched. Thrice, like a shadow or a dream, she slipped through my arms and left me harrowed by an even sharper pain. ââ¬Ë As I have already mentioned, I have defined a quality that is not of superhuman nature, to be one, which is just as any normal human beings. It goes unsaid saying that normal human beings experience emotions of desire and compassion, and also that of panic and fear, from which we can infer that Odysseus also has qualities which are not like that of a Superman. From these observations and presumptions of the novel ââ¬ËThe Odysseyââ¬â¢, I have found that Odysseus, the brave warrior who fought at Troy, and endured the callous ventures of his misfortunate voyage home, may be one of a diverse character. There is the side of him, which is the superiorly strong and brave fighter; capable of facing and conquering some of the most horrific and atrocious situations one must endure. This may be classified as a quality like that of a superhuman, one of which is that or greater than a normal humans. Then there is the softer and more emotional side, to which Odysseus demonstrates his feeling of compassion and desire, which may be noted as characteristics which are not like that of a superhuman, which I have established as like that of a normal human beings. From this we can conclude, that Odysseus, not only had qualities like that of a superman, but also possessed emotions and desires like that of a normal person.
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