Criminology Sex and Crime

Definition Consent refers to compliance or an agreement to do a certain action after engaging in a thoughtful reasoning achieved after considering various variables in existence. The term consent also can refer to a permit or approved set of actions preceded by a careful reflection of the same.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Criminology: Sex and Crime specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consent can be either implied or expressed. In implied consent, the use of verbal expressions does not occur but rather inferred from the actions and the situations in existence at that particular time. On the other hand, expressed consent is articulated either through written, verbal or nonverbal communication in a clear and understandable manner. Informed consent is often used or applied in law in reference to the kind of the consent given by a person and has should meet certain stipulated standards. Therefore, an informe d consent is the kind of consent given by a person clearly knowing the future repercussion, consequences, facts or implications of the actions at stake. Therefore, before an individual gives consent, there is need to have all the facts at hand in order to avoid any future indictments or accusation as it might even lead to imprisonment. According to the criminal justice system, informed consent implies an agreement between two parties to allow something to happen or to do something having full knowledge of its important or relevant facts, knowledge of the risks or any other alternatives involved (Ehrlich 2002, p.6). Therefore, it passes for a crime that amounts to accusation when proved that a person acted on an issue knowing the repercussions. Criminal justice system has the responsibility of ensuring that the civilians or the society coexists well without any worries and mistreatments from criminals. Criminal justice system has three main areas of function (DiQuinzio Young 1997, p .54).Advertising Looking for research paper on criminology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These include law enforcement responsibilities, adjudication in the courts and ensuring corrections to the offenders by imprisoning, jailing or putting the perpetrator on probation. Therefore, in the context of sexual assault, consent refers to the voluntary agreements of two parties to en and authority of inducement to engage in sexual activity without agreement amounts to absence of consent and the accused when sued is liable for harassment. Therefore, an assault amounts to violation of a person sexual integrity passing for an offense under the law. Society and consent Consent is a concept viewed and understood differently from various perspectives by the society. Different factors ranging from traditional beliefs, geographical locations and values play a fundamental role on how society take views on what consent entails. A good examp le to illustrate this is how different societies carry out customary laws and traditional cases (Daly 1994, p.78). Other examples to illustrate this are in the area of medical health where the society regards the decision of a doctor as the final one. In addition, most of the decisions that patients reaches seems based on what the doctor tells the patient. Therefore, in circumstances where patients make decisions based on the information provided by the doctors, it may lead to wrong decision making. Therefore, there seems to be instances where the society overlooks other people’s decisions as the guiding ones. Although in some occasions, this imbalance projects a lack of consent, some societies never find a problem with it. Therefore, in the case of medical health, it calls for an equal sharing and participation of all the parties on issues pertaining to the administration of medical services in order for the whole parties to be contended with the outcomes of their past agree ments or approvals.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Criminology: Sex and Crime specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The society has a broad range of information outlets: it depends on informing up its stances and thought about consent. The most relied way in which the society gets enlightened about consent is through the media. Television, radio and internet have provided an interlude for the society by ensuring that the people remain informed and updated concerning various issues relating to problems facing them. Sexual assault cases and abuses committed across the globe get to reach to the society through the media (Howe 1997, p.90). The ruling on some of these cases presents a debate in the society as some of the rulings contravene the beliefs and the feeling of the society. Therefore, the most relied upon form of imparting knowledge in the public domain is the media. Furthermore, there have been an ever -rising number of nongovernmental organizations and civil groups, all of which assume the forefront in campaigning and lobbying the society about issues of crimes particularly those affecting small children and women. These groups employ different strategies aimed at educating the public on the repercussions and the impacts that will befall on any one assaulting or indulging in any sexual activity without the cones of the other party (Cornell, 1998, p.54). These groups have also helped in prosecution of the offenders by sponsoring cases and providing evidence in the courts and presenting. Therefore, these groups have also provided awareness in the society and encouraged the members of community to report any incidences immediately they occur. Furthermore, they have provided information and guided the society on how to avoid indulging in such criminal offenses. Hence, these mobilization and campaigns by these groups has done a lot in ensuring that the society knows its rights.Adverti sing Looking for research paper on criminology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Different views emanating from either the media or any another body may not be right per se, as they may seem (Howe 1995, p.65). Each media, which acts as a link between the cases and the society, brings in their own views about the cases. Media adds on some commentary that may not be the real information, which may have decided on. On consent, society has a varied perspective when it comes to crimes relating to sexuality as some have their own values and beliefs, which the criminal justice system does not agree to. Such difference in opinions raises many queries. However, to solve this, national law in the constitution overrides these other cases. Cases, which have raised debate, include those cases where the adult assaults children of tender age. Gender and consent Many societies around the globe have their own perception on the gender especially on consent and femininity. There exists a number of issues that surrounds this concept on how female or femininity view consent. Female gender has complained repeatedly of overlook in many issues like in economics, and domestic matters. They have continued to fight for what they term ‘equality† in term of social grounds and all sectors of economy (Cavender, Bond, Jurik 1999, p.650).These fights illustrate how the society disregards the position of female in society and especially in male concerning decision-making. Many of the violence cases reported in various locations a higher number of them are against women and small children. These has been a born of contentious for the need for engaging them or involving them in key decision making so as get their consent. On many occasions, women have complained of not having a voice even in their marriages as men dominate when it comes to making decisions regarding their conjugal rights. However, this trend is changing with time as different laws and constitution put in place recognize the rights of every person in the society. Despite the advancements, there a re still a lot of people who disregard the fact that women should have a say in key issues pertaining to the day-to-day lives. The arguments on the opponents of women seeking rights to have a say is that, there are certain tasks or activities that even (Harris 2000, p.780) the male chauvinistic has continued to deny the females an opportunity to speak their mind. A good case was that of Karen Ellis, a female teacher who was in a sexual relationship with her student aged 15 years. In this case, the court reduced the sentence of the accused for only 22 months of the charges that faced her. On his ruling, the judge considered the feeling of the defender about the accused thereby allowing â€Å"†¦a degree of mercy in his sentence†¦ the letter said†¦he will be affected if the teacher goes to prison and sentenced† (Chan Rigakos 2002, P.750). In addition, that she was the one initiated the relationship and it did not affect her in anyway. The defender, a 15-year stud ent had written a letter expressing his feeling about the teacher, which saw the judge extend or reduce the duration (Belknap 1996, p.34). Furthermore, the judge cited that the teacher had accepted the charges. Therefore, her reputation seemed exposed to destruction thereby welcoming no reason to put her behind bars for a long time. The public, who termed it as a leeway to encourage sexual assault since they felt that the period of detention was minimal received this ruling negatively. They claimed that it was enough way of making society change as perpetrators face less charge. Therefore, in this case, the idea of consent seemed to play a critical role in the eyes of judge through the presentation of the boys’ letter. Regardless of detention of the teacher, the boy admitted to have initiated the relationship and therefore he was not in any way affected psychological or physically by the relationship and engaging in sexual intercourse with the teacher. When it comes to consen t and masculinity, the males have an upper hand in making decisions and reaching an agreement on various issues that affects them. Masculinity also comes from the early years of socialization and the teachings the parents give to their children (Mehta Bondi 1999). This socialization has great effects in the future of these children and therefore they engage in activities, which they have grown seeing or doing. Most male feel that they have all it take to lead and give direction and therefore they reach their consent faster when compared to women regardless of the consequences of their actions. In the case of Hopper Gavin, a male teacher who indulged in sexual relationship with his 14-year old student received a severe punishment for the offence. When comparing these cases with that of Ellis, Gavin lawyer was not satisfied with the ruling on Ellis case terming it unfair and a way of promoting other crimes. However, on the contrary, Ellis judge defended his rule saying that the case were not similar as the latter case, the accused had engaged in relationship for a long period of time and has also caused considerable injuries to the girl. Therefore, these two cases provide a comparison on how consent, femininity, and masculinity may have played a role in reaching at these decisions. In the case of Ms Naggs, the court found her guilty of engaging in sex with a man using a sex toy. The accused tried to defend her that the party had drunk a lot of alcohol and used drugs and therefore the actions they got involved in were done unconsciously and without any ill motive behind it. The stripper had received a warning earlier on from her fellow striper that the men were drunk and therefore the party could turn out to be nasty (Mehta Bondi 1999, p.70). Despite this informed consent, the stripper still ignored and decided to remain in the party. Therefore, this informed consent could have contributed to her accusation and liability to face the charges. Therefore, these il lustrations clearly demonstrated how consent may have played a crucial role in determining the cases on who seemed guilty and not and in determining the kind of punishment (Howe 2005, p.46). Although in some instances, the society felt unsatisfied with the ruling, like in the Ellis’ case, it beats logic that the judge had to consider various aspects before reaching that decision. Ideas and views of consent around the world Consent has continued t o elicit debate on what it refers, how can one measure or prove that consent has occurred. Of the various cases determined, many have faced a very strong opposition based on how to arrive at as well as determining consent. For instance, in the case of Philippines republic and Garcia case any of the citizens felt that the chief justice did not make an appropriate ruling. Bringing closer to the current scenario, a woman by the name Manhattan has claimed that the IMF boss assaulted her sexually as there was no consent between them to en gage in the act. The boss Mr. Strauss Kahn will now appeal before the jury to answer the charges against his actions (Ferrell and Websdale 1998, p.96). Another perspective about the meaning of consent takes the reader to Sweden where an individual may face charges when engaging in sexual intercourse with the condom breaking in the process (Kramer 1997, p.32) because there was no consent. Therefore, different people use the concept of consent to imply different things as seen from the above examples. For instance, some statute separate consent to actions, which lead to harm of the body getting support from law, which affirms that somebody cannot consent to such acts (Grattet Jeness 2001, p.660). Therefore, to sum up the discussion, consent in cases of sexual cases, assault and allegations differ from one type of law to other same to its meaning and definition. Consent principles applied in case of assault too are applicable to sexual assault. Any victim of sexual harassment for inst ance touching has to understand the act consenting to and freely do so without coercion. Some jurisdictions de-link consent to acts that can cause harm to the body with laws defining that one cannot consent to such acts (Caiazza 2005, p.1607). In conclusion, consent differs from one jurisdiction to another and consequently the definitions and meaning in allegations and cases of sexual assault. Reference List Belknap, J., 1996. The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice. Belmont:  Wadsworth Pub. Caiazza, A., 2005. Don’t Bowl at Night: Gender, Safety, and Civic Participation. Signs,  30(2), pp. 1607-1631. Cavender, G., Bond, L., Jurik, N., 1999. The construction of gender in reality crime  TV. Gender and Society, 13(5), pp. 643-663. Chan, W., Rigakos, G., 2002. Risk, Crime and Gender’. British. Journal of  Criminology, 42(4), pp. 743-762. Cornell, D., 1998. At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality. Princeton:  Princeton University Press. Daly , K., 1994. Gender, crime, and punishment. New Haven: Yale University Press. DiQuinzio, P., Young, I., 1997. Feminist ethics and social policy. Bloomington: Indiana  University Press. Ehrlich, S., 2002. Discourse, gender and sexual violence. Discourse and Society,13, pp.  5-7. Ferrell, J., Websdale, N., 1998. Making Trouble: Cultural Constructions of Crime,  Deviance, and Control. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Grattet, R., Jeness, V., 2001. Examining the Boundaries of hate Crime law:bDisabilities and the Dilemma of Difference. Journal of Criminal Law and  Criminology, 9(13), pp.653-698. Harris, A., 2000. Gender, Violence, Race and Criminal Justice. Stanford Law Review,  52(4), pp. 777-789. Howe, A., 2005. Lindy Chamberlain Revisited: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective.  Canada Bay, N.S.W: Lhr Press. Howe, A., 1997. Imagining Evidence, Fictioning Truth – Revisiting. Law-Text-Culture, 3,  pp.82-106. Howe, A., 1995. Chamberlain revisited: The Case Against the Media .England:  Dartmouth. Kramer, L., 1997. After the Love Death: Sexual Violence and the Making of Culture.  Berkeley: University of California Press. Mehta, A., Bondi, L., 1999. Embodied Discourse: On Gender and Fear of Violence.  Gender, Place and Culture, 6, pp. 67-84. This research paper on Criminology: Sex and Crime was written and submitted by user Junior Hoover to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Good Man vs. Good Citizen - Plato essays

Good Man vs. Good Citizen - Plato essays Good Man v. Good Citizen: Platos View When Plato writes about the struggle between the good person and the good citizen in The Last Days of Socrates, there seems to be an overlapping of the two because they are so closely related. Socrates says that [A man] has only one thing to consider in performing any action; that is whether he is acting justly or unjustly, like a good man or a bad one (Apology, 28 b-c). It seems that, even when considering whether or not to be a good citizen and follow orders and laws without exception, one must decide whether or not his actions will be just. This is refuted, however, when Socrates says in Apology, 28d When a man has once taken up his stand, either because it seems best to him or in obedience to his orders, there I believe he is bound to remain and face the danger, taking account of death or anything else before dishonour and in Apology, 29b that to disobey my superior, whether god or man, is bad and dishonourable. By this reasoning, being a good man would require following the orders, not only of the gods, but of earthly superiors and, therefore, being a good citizen. The idea of dishonour seems to be a significant downfall of a good person in Platos writing and, therefore, must have been a major part of Athenian life. Socrates argument with Crito support these ideas of dishonour and justice with regard to being Plato argues that a man must follow the laws of his State because if the legal judgment which are pronounced in [a State] have no force but are nullified and destroyed by private persons the State and its laws are all also threatened with destruction (Crito, 50b). Platos reasoning in Crito then follows that threatening to destroy the State and its laws (Socrates escaping) in retaliation of an unjust action of ...

Quantitative Methods Database Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Methods Database - Assignment Example Our data included information on the location, the type of houses, the number of bedrooms, the price and the parking space. From our analysis, we present different charts that summarize the numerous properties of our data. The first chart presents the standard deviation of the prices of the different types of homes in our areas under study. Standard deviation indicates the degree of variation in the prices of homes. From the analysis, it is evident that highest deviation of prices occurs in the prices of houses between the cities which has a standard deviation of 1.182649718 with the variation in the prices of bungalow being 0.559803074 and 0.245835672. Consequently, the deviation between the different types of homes for Colchester is 1.123087983, 0.337027783 for Jaywick and 1.072970694 for Mersea Island. The deviations in the prices of homes are highest is Colchester. The average prices of the homes indicate that owning a bungalow in all the three areas will cost an average of 0.713536982, while that of a flat is 0.560563004 and that of a house is 1.273070162. Consequently, owning a bungalow will cost a total of 10808630 while it will cost 4408989 for a flat and 36343708 for a house. As regards the average of prices for the different aspects of the different homes, in the case of a bungalow and house, it is evident that having a detached home will cost a grand total of 1.171448428 while the grand total for a mobile home will cost 0.116264276, 0.808875794 for a semi-detached home and 0.615969407 for a terrace home. However, as regards the same, the grand total for owning a bungalow is 0.658932363 while the grand total of owning a house is 1.172291899. As regards the average number of bedrooms, the grand total in the case of Colchester area is 3 while that of Jaywick is 2 and 3 in the case of Mersea Island.

CSR of Costa Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CSR of Costa Coffee - Essay Example Costa coffee is an international coffeehouse corporation, which is based in Dunstable, UK. It is an entirely owned contributory of Whitebread and is the biggest coffeehouse chain in the UK and second-biggest in the world (Harford, 2012, P. 54). The company operates in 1175 channels, and as of January 2011, it was the biggest British channel in terms of stores. Globally, costa coffee operates in 442 outlets all over the world, in 28 nations. The company has introduced a brand known as costa express, which is formed by a coffee channel of self-service bars. After Whitbread acquired Coffee Nation, which is a procession of coffee machines, the nine hundred Coffee Nation machines will be substituted and re-named as costa Express. Costa coffee has acquired its roaster and hires the only three Italian superior Roasters in the United Kingdom. The mixture served in vend stores is called Mocha Italia and comprises of six sections Arabica beans and one section robusta beans (British Retail Cons ortium, 2006, P.1). The Costa Coffee product already has a first class ranking in all its market ventures. It is nearly the main profit giver of the corporation in the extensive markets of the United Kingdom. ... In addition, the strategies the company is using are questionable concerning if they provide more effectual results than other companies in terms of obtaining company name reputation (Enz, 2009, P.34). Corporate responsibility is an extremely crucial element for all businesses as it determines the reputation of a business and thus, profitability and development. It is indispensable for companies in food production to be socially responsible. This is because they are in a highly sensitive sector, which requires careful handling of both the products and customers. It is particularly valuable for companies in food production sectors, to ensure that they produce sufficient information concerning how they are socially responsible (Lury, 2011, P.17). The studies, undertaken by corporate social responsibility researchers have criticized the sustainability qualifications of Costa Coffee in areas such as recycling and waste. The study has shown that Costa Coffee gave most of its information, but did not offer a UK breakdown of its corporate social responsibility international report. The report discovered that Costa Coffee, which is possessed by Whitbread, operated better in its ventures but did not succeed in replying to requests for corporate social responsibility information. Costa Coffee also did not reveal information for its carbon tracks, but rather its environmental information is stated as section of the parent company (Lury, 204, P.37). Disclosing corporate social responsibility report is not only valuable for the purposes of fulfilling legal requirements, but also to increase customer confidence and reputation of the company. Costa Coffee customers and other potential customers are

School of Education and Child Development Essay Example for Free

School of Education and Child Development Essay The School of Education and Child Development in Drury University aims to provide a teacher education program that would engender educated professionals who would uphold the importance of education and exert great efforts in order to become a productive contributor to the learning community. Future educators are trained in the university to make sound choices and judgments for the advancement of learning and education, to be instrumental in the teaching and learning process to help in the education of other people, and acknowledge the importance and significant roles that children play in the global community. (Drury University, 2004) The university takes on the future of the coming generations as their responsibility and acknowledges the functions of teachers in the realization of this responsibility. Therefore, the teacher education program of the university was designed not only teach future educators the nominal aspect of teaching, but also to encourage commitment and dedication to their line of industry. Part of this commitment is to take on various roles in order to become influential to the students and their education, knowledgeable about the lessons they teach, and the strategies and approaches that should applied in teaching process. Moreover, the teacher education program aspires to inculcate the ideal representation of the educational institution as one that nourishes learning, creativity, and uprightness and reaffirm the teacher’s view of himself as a valuable part of the school. (Drury University, 2004) Another significant objective upheld by the teacher education program is the much-needed participation of teachers to the development and enhancement of educational institutions, more specifically public schools. Teachers are persuaded to be actively involved in the reformation of the schools in order to affect desirable educational programs and learning outcomes. Moreover, the university also encourages not only the education of future educators in the university but also their ability to be able to apply everything that they have learned in the public school setting. (Drury University, 2004) The vision and philosophy of the university’s teacher education program is primarily geared towards the contributory aspect of teaching to society as a valuable member of the learning community. As a future educator, one must be able to give back to society what was learned and experienced during one’s stay in the university under the teacher education program. This may be accomplished by being instrumental in changing and modifying the face of education by improvement and development. Through this, the university is able to produce professional educators that cultivate quality and meaningful education that shapes the future of the coming generations. The teacher education program has set out several guidelines or standards that determine the competencies that students must achieve throughout training under the program. For instance, teachers must be able to focus on the students, and as part of the educational institution, they must be able to identify and provide for the needs of the students. Moreover, teachers must be able to acknowledge that students are different from one another, while at the same time exerting equal time and effort in facilitating learning within the learning environment. In addition, the learning process should be implemented during instruction in such a way that it meets the developmental needs of the students as a whole (physical, social, mental, etc. ). (Drury University, 2004) The teacher takes on multifarious roles such as the managing the classroom, monitoring the learning progress of students, etc. but most of all, the teacher is should be the one who facilitates learning through appropriate lessons and challenging activities, motivating and stimulating learning, and sound judgment and assessment of student progress. All these, of course, are grounded on the standards and objectives of education and the learning outcomes that the education program has established in the core curriculum. Aside from working with the students to affect learning, the teacher is also groomed to collaborate with other stakeholders that regard the teaching profession important as a means of educating the students. For instance, teachers must be able to establish meaningful relationships with other professional educators in order to gain insight and additional knowledge in being an effective educator within the learning community. Teachers, throughout the course of handling students from different family backgrounds and culture, must also build relationships with the parents of their students. This is part of the parent’s involvement in the education of their children, as a valuable instrument in the follow-up phase of learning within the family environment. (Drury University, 2004) The teacher education program is primarily based on established principles and standards such as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the School Development Model of Comer, and postulates for the reform of teacher education by Goodlad. (Drury University, 2004) The university has achieved a highly competent teacher education program through its establishment according to the standards of NBPTS, which claims to uphold the values and knowledge that teachers should be learning (NBPTS, 2008). Moreover, the university’s teacher education program was also developed under the guidance of the NCATE standards, which aims to provide quality programs for educational institutions that embody what the students have to learn in order to achieve professional standards in preparation for the future (NCATE, 2008). The conceptual framework of the university’s teacher education program maybe understood by reviewing the eleven domains of teacher education. These eleven domains embody that learning outcomes and performance appraisals that the future teacher should accomplish before deployment to the actual school setting. The acquisition of relevant knowledge, such as the basics of teaching, the understanding of the needs and differences of students, the ability to develop challenging instructional strategies and materials, the development of a pertinent course curriculum that is fitting to the global scenario, the learning of schools for the employment of technological tools and recent instruments to facilitate learning, are just some of the eleven domains that are included in the conceptual framework of the university’s teacher education program. (Drury University, 2008) The knowledge of the university’s mission and philosophy, teaching program, and the conceptual framework for the teacher education program, is all-important in understanding the roles and responsibilities that future educators should accomplish throughout their college education as a preservice teacher. Moreover, future educators are informed of the things that they should acquire in order to be a valuable member of the learning community. References Drury University. (2004).Conceptual Framework for Initial Certification of Teachers. Retrieved April 1, 2008, from Drury University. Website: http://www. drury. edu/academics/undergrad/education/pdf/bluebook. pdf NBPTS. (2008). National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Retrieved April 1, 2008, from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Website: http://www. nbpts. org/ NCATE. (2008). Standards. Retrieved April 1, 2008, from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Website: http://www. ncate. org/public/standards. asp

Internet Shorthand :: Communication Language Computers Essays

Internet Shorthand Translate the following conversation, if you can: GUY1: wuz up? GUY2: nm, just chillin, u? GUY1: co’, btw did u hear about joe GUY2: no GUY1: imho, hes crazy :) he told julia that he wanted 2 8==D her @ the mall GUY2: roflmao! :) ur right, hes crazy GUY1: 4 real GUY2: hey, I g2g, ttyl GUY1: l8r Any guess on to what is going on? Well, I’ll go ahead and give you the basic rundown on what the conversation said: Guy1 was commenting on how is friend Joe asked a girl (Julia) if they could have consensual sex together in the local mall. Guy2 found this exchange very amusing, as he was â€Å"rolling on the floor laughing my ass off†. Furthermore, Guy1 also interjected his own personal opinion that Joe was/is crazy. Finally they agreed to converse at a later date. All that from 43 separate â€Å"symbols† and words. Welcome to the future. However, in my humble opinion, you can exchange the word ‘future’ with ‘hell’. The internet, chatting and the glut of instant messengers have helped create a subculture of the English langue that is starting to creep into everyday life. It’s a disturbing trend. I feel the line needs to be drawn between the fast flowing conversational style shorthand of internet writing and formal English style before the way we write as we know it makes a radical change towards simple pictures and codes. Maybe part of my opinion is based on spite: If I had to learn all the dos and don’ts of modern English, so should you. But I think it’s more then just that. I can see the writing on the wall and it’s not looking too bright. Dumbing down the language to simplest terms can be a very dangerous thing. Don’t believe me, flip through a copy of Orwell’s 1984 and you’ll see how Big Brother has developed a â€Å"plainspeak† directive. In fact, I’m not alone in this belief. In Sven Birket’s article â€Å"Into the Electronic Millennium† he discusses the devolution of modern language: â€Å"The complexity and distinctiveness of spoken and written expression, which are deeply bound to traditions of print literacy, will gradually be replaced by a more telegraphic sort of ‘plainspeak’† (70).

Family Portrait Essay

My great-grandmother, who is ninety-five years old, recently sent me a photograph of herself that I had never seen before. While cleaning out the attic of her Florida home, she came across a studio portrait she had taken about a year before she married my great-grandfather. This picture of my great-grandmother as a twenty-year-old girl and the story behind it have fascinated me from the moment I began to consider it. The young woman in the picture has a face that resembles my own in many ways. Her face is a bit more oval than mine, but the softly waving brown hair around it is identical. The small, straight nose is the same model I was born with. My great-grandmother’s mouth is closed, yet there is just the slightest hint of a smile on her full lips. I know that if she had smiled, she would have shown the same wide grin and down-curving â€Å"smile lines† that appear in my own snapshots. The most haunting feature in the photo, however, is my great-grandmother’s eyes. They are an exact duplicate of my own large, dark brown ones. Her brows are plucked into thin lines, which are like two pencil strokes added to highlight those fine, luminous eyes. I’ve also carefully studied the clothing and jewelry in the photograph. Although the photo was taken seventy-five years ago, my great-grandmother is wearing a blouse and skirt that could easily be worn today. The blouse is made of heavy eggshell-colored satin and reflects the light in its folds and hollows. It has a turned-down cowl collar and smocking on the shoulders and below the collar. The smocking (tiny rows of gathered material) looks hand-done. The skirt, which covers my great-grandmother’s calves, is straight and made of light wool or flannel. My great-grandmother is wearing silver drop earrings. They are about two inches long and roughly shield-shaped. On her left wrist is a matching bracelet. My great-grandmother can’t find this bracelet now, despite our having spent hours searching through the attic for it. On the third finger of her left hand is a ring with a large, square-cut stone. The story behind the picture is as interesting to me as the young woman it captures. Great-Grandmother, who was earning twenty-five dollars a week as a file clerk, decided to give her boyfriend (my great-grandfather) a picture of herself. She spent almost two weeks’ salary on the skirt and blouse, which she bought at a fancy  department store downtown. She borrowed the earrings and bracelet from her older sister, Dorothy. The ring she wore was a present from another young man she was dating at the time. Great-Grandmother spent another chunk of her salary to pay the portrait photographer for the hand-tinted print in old-fashioned tones of brown and tan. Just before giving the picture to my great-grandfather, she scrawled at the lower left, â€Å"Sincerely, Beatrice.† When I study this picture, I react in many ways. I think about the trouble that my great-grandmother went to in order to impress the young man who was to be my great-grandfather. I laugh when I look at the ring, which was probably worn to make him jealous. I smile at the serious, formal inscription my great-grandmother used at this stage of the budding relationship. Sometimes, I am filled with a mixture of pleasure and sadness when I look at this frozen long-ago moment. It is a moment of beauty, of love, and—in a way—of my own past.