Training proposal

Profiles In Courage Essays (1672 words) - Free Essays, Term Papers

Profiles In Courage Essays (1672 words) - Free Essays, Term Papers Profiles In Courage Profiles In Courage, John F. Kennedy Summary The Pulitzer Prize-winning account of men of principle, integrity and bravery in American politics was here available in President John F. Kennedys Profiles In Courage. Eight men who served the United States Government were selected by John F. Kennedy as models of virtue and courage under pressure. These eight men persevered in their pursuit of justice and the right path, in spite of the coercion and vilification of the majority. These heroes include Mississippi's Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar who stood up to unbounded calumny when he moved to reconcile Northern and Southern differences during the years after the Civil War, and George Norris, who, in 1910, crusaded against the strong and often dictatorial leadership of his own party. Others profiled by Kennedy included John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, and Robert A. Taft. John Kennedy's spirited words and devotion to courage lived on in this novel. A thoughtful and persuasive book about political integrity. (The New York Times) Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1991, a recording of Profiles In Courage featured John F. Kennedy, Jr., reading his father's portrait of courageous Americans. John F. Kennedy inspired one generation, and now others, to believe that politics can be a noble profession. For President Kennedy, history was not a dull, dry subject, but came alive in the stories of people who risked their careers to stand up for what was right for our country, even when it was not the easy thing to do. This distinguished belief is played out in his novel in several ways. For example, President John Quincy Adams faced political aversion from his own Federalist Party which was turning to desert him. Also, Henry Clay showed courage when he dragged himself into Senate meetings through excruciating pain and anguish due to his failing health. John F. Kennedy stated, One man can make a difference, and every man should try. (Preface p.10) Of course, this applies to everyone, including women. Many people first learned how this was true when the read this book. The leaders of the past, like Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and Edmund G. Ross, set a shining example for Americans today to live up to. Later, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was created by his son, John F. Kennedy Jr.. to be awarded to elected officials who exemplified the kind of courage he wrote about. Interestingly, many of the stories in this book told of courage in standing up against slavery around the time of the Civil War. More than one hundred years later, the struggle for civil rights goes on. The first two Profiles in Courage Award winners, and many other courageous Americans, prove that people must never stop fighting for what they believe is right. The first recipient, Alabama Congressman Carl Elliott, fought for equal opportunity in education and was redistricted of his congressional seat in retaliation for his courageous and principled stand. The second winner, Georgia Democratic Congressman Charles Weltner, took an oath to support his party's ticket in the upcoming fall election. When segregationist Lester Maddox won the preliminary and became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, Weltner followed his conscious and resigned from politics, rather than violate his oath, or belief that segregation was wrong. Each of these men mentioned in Profiles In Courage risked their careers to do what they believed was right, and often they risked their lives. John F. Kennedy hoped that each person who read this book and learned about courageous people in public life would realize that when a person faces a difficult decision which is bound to be unpopular, they are not alone. Each person must stand up for what they believe in and be willing to take the consequences, if they wanted to make the country a better place to live. Response In Profiles In Courage, the late President John F. Kennedy, then a Massachusetts Senator, paid tribute to a number of Americans, primarily U.S. Senators, who distinguished themselves through acts of political courage. None of the subjects were portrayed as perfect or beyond reproach. Kennedy showed very strongly, in fact, the ethical ambivalence of some of the classic figures in American history in this work. The point he sought to make is not about how heroes were made of different stuff than others. This book is about how human beings can, in a time of moral crisis, find the courage to follow their own truth

Strategic Marketing Report (Businesses chosen British Petroleum and Assignment

Strategic Marketing Report (Businesses chosen British Petroleum and General Motors) - Assignment Example It has seen many ups and downs over the years including issues of environment, government dealing, exploration sites, oil prices and such, but has remained strong, with a great market presence and brand equity. The second is General Motors. One of the heavyweights in the 20th Century automotive scene, GM saw bankruptcy in 2009 after many of its products and policies failed. With government holding and new management in place, GM is on the way to recovery. This paper analysis the strategies of these two companies, along with some suggestions that they could utilize in the near future. This paper will study the current marketing strategies of British Petroleum and General Motor. These companies are amongst the biggest players in their respective industries. However, the recent macro-economic environment has had an impact on the policies adapted by both. This paper will examine the specific marketing strategies and will give my own insight into them. General Motors Company is one of the largest automakers in the world, headquartered at Detroit, USA. GM employs around 235,000 people globally and has presence in 140 countries in various regions around the world (gm.com, 2009), with a complete brand portfolio of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. According to company website, GM main business territory and market is the United States, then China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM has been through many peaks and troughs over the years but the recent taste of bankruptcy was a devastating low for the company. Having changed from General Motor Corporation to General Motor Company, GM has fortunately turned out fairly well from being in the decline phase. Whether this turnaround is successful for the company remains to be seen. There is still a need for GM to establish a culture with a more distinct and reachable vision and get the entire organization on board. The com pany still has

Individual income tax. USA Indiana state laws Research Paper

Individual income tax. USA Indiana state laws - Research Paper Example The taxpayer participates in racecar driving on mini circuit. The car is hers and she is her own mechanic. She lost money during the first two competition years. Taxpayers often receive gifts support the products of racing. The question is whether how the deductions will apply to the swimming pool, the gift, the office, the losses she experienced in racing. It also extends to the treatment that the taxation to the gifts which they receive. Summary of Issues The issue in this scenario is the application of taxation and deductions on incomes according to the Indiana taxation law. It seeks to identify the provision of the taxation law in determining what constitutes taxable income and valid deductions. This is in recognition of the fact that not all assets and incomes are taxable and not all expenses are considered as valid for deduction. The taxation law on income taxes in Indiana recognizes Taxable benefits as any income that is earned from professions or daily business occupation. Th is is an important information in the preparation of income tax returns. The incomes and benefits in this issue include: The salary of the taxpayer Gifts from Racing The issues or the items to be considered for deductions include: Loss of Money in competition Installation of Swimming Pool Repair of the Car Office Space Used For Work Summary of Conclusion Taxable income The salary of the Taxpayer The Federal Tax laws consider all salaries from employment are automatically valid for taxation. The second major form of income is from businesses or other professional occupations that earn regular income. Gifts from Racing The gifts from racing are a form of regular income that the taxpayer has to declare in the return and include in the taxable income. Taxation applies to the gift. The law states that any citizen, who earns money from lottery or gifts, will add them to the taxable income. The racing gift is therefore a taxable income in the Indiana tax return. The US Federal return refer s to them as other income. Deductions Loss of Money in competition According to the Law in Indians, any lost income will be considered as exemption from taxation, if indeed the government investigators have evidences that she lost the money. The investigation proceeds to confirm the status of the losses such that whenever the taxpayer recovers the lost funds, then she will have to include the lost money to the taxable income and pay the full tax. If the amount was a form of assistance or support for any issue, then it will be a legible deduction on the Indiana tax return. In the IT-40 Schedule for the Federal tax return, any form of state tax that is recovered has to be reported in a separate column. There is another column for the deduction recovery for every itemized deduction in IT-40PRN. You may be able to deduct up to $3,000 of the rent paid on your Indiana home. Installation of Swimming Pool The swimming pool was a necessity and the doctor recommended it. This is an added resp onsibility to support the life of the taxpayer. It has to be deducted from the income tax just like the long-term commitments such as insurance and mortgage. Repair of the Car Because the taxpayer repairs his own car, it does not affect the taxation scale. There is no financial implication or economic influence. Office Space Used For Work The use of office for work, the responsibility and the taxation fall on the taxpayer. She will also require to link with the employer and

Lab organization and Management case study Essay

Lab organization and Management case study - Essay Example ization- test systems and test items; rules- standard operating procedures (SOPs) and etiquette; results- unrefined data, reporting and archiving; and quality assurance- autonomous examination of research activities (Agrawal et al, 2009, p.10). It is quite clear that employees at Best Pet Test Company filed to adhere to the best lab practices outlined in the GLP. For instance, Harold did not keep accurate records during his spell as the company’s lab safety manager. In addition, the lab employees used hand written labels to tag the urine sample because two of the three hand-held bar-code readers were not functioning properly. The results of tests carried on the samples were also inconsistent. Lab staff members were often seen in the mail room or lunch area wearing their lab coats. To make the matters worse, Rene (the new lab safety manager at the company) found a number of unlabeled bottles of chemicals cluttering the fume hoods. In the lab, some of the staff members testing blood samples had their morning coffee sitting next to a centrifuge. To cap it all, the local media published a story that laboratory waste with labels from Best Test, Inc. was discovered at an abandoned quarry nearby. The illustration above demonstrates the failure by the company to adhere to GLP standards. GLP regulations stipulate logical descriptions of the structure of the research institute and the duties of each research employee. This implies that Best Test Inc. chart should reveal the activities of the company which must be updated on a regular basis. Job descriptions and organizational charts reflect the manner in which the lab functions as well as the correlation between the various posts and departments. In addition, GLP guidelines emphasize that the number of laboratory staff must be adequate to carry out the required tasks in an efficient and GLP-compliant manner (Kumari & Bhatia, 2003, p.5). The duties of all lab employees should be clearly described and recorded. Their

Features of Gender Inequality in the Workplace

Features of Gender Inequality in the Workplace Introduction Over the recent few years, world has witnessed biggest recession in almost a century. Thus, its clear that its recovery would among other measures; require best of talent, ideologies and innovation. It is thus; more essential than earlier for nations and companies to pay attention to one of the basic cornerstones of economic development to them which is the skills and talent of their female human resources. From being customers to voters, employees and employers, women play an important part of the global economic recovery. Even as, it is not just limited to financial and economic system which is requirement of restructuring, rethinking and reforming. Women make up of almost half the population and without their engagement, empowerment and involvement one cannot expect to efficiently meet these recent challenges nor attain rapid economic recovery. The global gap between men and women still persists as there is still a lot of efforts to be taken in terms of education, health, legislat ions and politics before women can be able counted in power with men. With the help of Global Gender Gap Reports, for the last four years, the World Economic Forum has been able to quantify magnitude of gender-based disparities and has been tracking its progress over the years. This report has provided a comprehensive framework for being able to benchmark global gender gaps. It reveals that the countries which are role models who have effectively divided resources between women and men. According to Global Gender GAP report till date, some of the multi-stakeholder communities of very influential leaders comprising of 50% women and 50% men from politics, business, academia, media and civil society have mutually recognized the largest gaps in every region have committed to improve and enhance use of female talent through their strategies. Every individual in the organization has collectively agreed to empower women, developing globally replicable frameworks and bridging the gap in the world and achieving gender parity. There are different views and perspectives through gender empowerment and equality is an important issue to be addressed to economically and optimally utilize human resources. From values and social justice point of view, empowerment of women and providing them with equal rights and opportunities for fulfillment of their capabilities has been due for a long time. From the business, economic and competitiveness point of view, aiming at gender parity is an essential requirement for progress. Measuring the Global Gender Gap The World Economic Forum introduced Global Gender Gap Index in the year 2006 which is framework to capture the magnitude and scope of gender based disparities and to constantly track the progress. This index is a standard for national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health based criteria and offers individual nation rankings which provide efficient comparisons across regions in the world. The main focus of the rankings is creating awareness amongst the people across the globe of the challenges posed due to gender gaps and chances created by decreasing them. It is a straightforward method and quantitative analysis behind the rankings which serve as a base for designing efficient measures to decrease gender gaps. Basically there are three concepts which underline the Global Gender Gap Index. Firstly, it concentrates on measurement of gaps instead of levels. Secondly, it captures gaps in terms of outcome variables instead of gaps in means or input variables. Thirdly, i t ranks individual country as per the gender equality instead of womens empowerment. Gaps vs. Levels The Gap index is designed to quantify gender-related gaps in access to resources and opportunities in individual nations instead of the actual levels of available resources and opportunities in those nations. The index is constructed to rank nations on their gender gaps and not on the development levels. Rich nations have more opportunities in terms of education and health for the society but it does not relate to gender-related issues being faced by every nation at their individual level of income. Outcomes vs. Means The second fundamental concept which underlies the Global Gender Gap Index is that it accesses nations based upon the outcome variables instead of their input measures. The main focus of the index is a snapshot of where a man and woman stand in respect to some basic outcome variables associated to fundamental rights like health, education, economic participation and political empowerment. Gender equality vs. Womens empowerment The third feature of the gap index is that the ranking of nations is in accordance to their propinquity to gender equality instead of womens empowerment. The main focus here is on whether the gap between women and men in the selected variables is declined, rather than whether women are winning battle of sexes. Gender Inequality at workplace The most prevalent issue being faced among the UK workforce is inequality in the workplace since the beginning of the 21st century. Women have remained well below men in the terms of income due to latent prejudices related to sexuality in the modern British workplace, leading to major hurdle to greater political and cultural integration of the society. Companies today have to adhere to the most relevant legislation for the development of their business and for the society on the whole. The public sector is able to depend on the Government for funding while private sector businesses have no such kind of fiscal safety and are aware that their profit and loss are totally dependent on their optimal utilization of resources which include human resources as well. The most significant indicator of a countrys competitiveness is in its human talent which includes the skills, education and productivity of its workforce. Similar is the case in terms of a company wherein the employees talent is their pillar. In most of the developed world, women currently account for over half of the college and university graduates and in a lot of emerging economies, gender gaps in higher education decreasing at a fast rate. Women therefore consist of an impressive portion of the talent pool available to businesses presently. Over a period of time, a countrys competitiveness greatly depends on whether and to what extent the female talent is utilized. To maximize its effectiveness and competitiveness and development potential, every company must to strive to achieve gender equality which means give the women employees same rights, responsibility and pay as the men for the same work. The government plays a vital role in helping to create the correct environment for enhancing womens economic participation, especially through flexible maternity leave policies and childcare provision. Also, it is of primary importance for companies to create ecosystems where the best talent including male and female can flourish. The subsequent examination into inequality at workplace should essentially adopt dualistic approach, by tracing both cause and effect of the issues of workplace gender inequality. This would involve comprehensive analysis of legislation, most suitable practice and human resources. Human Resource managers have become to comply within new legislations which prevent any kind of discrimination of the basis of gender discrimination which include Equal Pay Act, 1970. Equal Pay Act 1970 The Equal Pay Act, 1970 refers that people must be paid equally or same regardless of their gender. It means an employee cannot be paid less than somebody else of the opposite sex for doing: The same work or identical work (legally known as like work. Different work which is of equal worth to the employer (also known as work of equal value) Pay Discrimination at Workplace There are many ways in which pay discrimination can take place, examples of this include: Women being appointed on lower pay rate than her male counterparts. Women on maternity leave are not given bonus received by other employees. Womens jobs are offered different job titles and grades in comparison to men doing similar type of work. Part-time employees, generally women, have no holiday or sick pay entitlements. Major companies across globe are recognizing the needs to identify potential and capabilities of women and are coming forward with equal opportunities at workplace to ensure this gender gap reduces across the globe. It is the need of the hour for Human Resource Managers to identify and recognize talents and skills based on capability of the individual irrespective of the gender for long term growth and development of the company. With a number of laws and legislations allowing women to have equal opportunities at the workplace, Human Resources managers in the companies must respect and comply within the rules framework to enhance the goodwill of the company. Goodwill of the company plays an essential role in the development of the business in the society and any kind of negative publicity such gender discrimination would lead to the downfall of its market value. Thus, most of the companies are becoming socially responsible to ensure their reputation and goodwill is maintained in the corporate world. To illustrate, some policies companies have undertaken to promote equal opportunities for its staff let us briefly look at Marks and Spencers company policies. The company policy of Equal treatment for everyone states to encourage a working environment free from any kind of discrimination, victimization and harassment; making sure that everybody receives equal treatment in every aspect of employment policies and practices irrespective of their gender, age, marital status or hours of work; employing a workforce that reflects a diverse community serving and maximizing personal and commercial opportunities; constantly monitoring and reporting the composition of the Companys workforce and reviewing changes in attitude and implementation of Company policy and finally complying within the framework of legislation and rules of the government. Conclusion Women are a major part of the human resource of an economy and a company and thus their empowerment and development is essential for the development of the economy. Several studies have confirmed that decreasing gender inequality improves productivity and economic development and that the economic advantages of reducing back barriers to womens engagement in the workforce could be substantial. To illustrate, according to a research conducted recently, decreasing the male-female employment gap will have tremendous economic implications for developed economies boosting US GDP by about 9%, eurozone GDP by 13% and Japanese GDP by 16%. Decreasing the gender inequality in these nations could also play a vital role in addressing the future issues posed due to ageing population and increasing pension burdens. This means that companies would benefit from successfully integrating the female half of the available talent across their internal leadership structures. The studies which explored this aspect have displayed a positive correlation among gender diversity on top leadership teams and a companys financial results. However, regardless of increasing evidence in relation to the significance of womens economic integration and even when the global economys dependence on knowledge industries and skillful workers increases, there still a lot of significant gaps in the job opportunities available to women and in regards to wages paid to women compared with the male colleagues. Talent and human capital are the essentials for economic growth and development and business leaders and policymakers should ensure that any kind of barriers to womens entry to the mainstream workforce are eradicated and that equal chance and opportunity rising to positions of leadership are offered within the companies. They are important factors for determining that companies and economy on the whole is utilizing its existing resources in most efficient and effective manner and also encouraging flow of talent in the future as well.

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Essay -- Privacy in the Dig

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Imagine walking along a busy street in the middle of a sunny day. Also imagine that someone is following you around, videotaping everything you do. Disturbing thought? Even more disturbing is the fact that the United States government is already doing this, and it's perfectly legal. According to Robert Trigaux, a reporter for the St. Petersburg times, until August of 2014, in Ybor City, Florida, the Tampa Police Department used fourty-six surveillance cameras that scanned faces of all people walking around the entertainment district. These surveillance cameras captured facial images and then compared them to a police database of known felons. This same surveillance system was also used during the Tampa Bay Super Bowl at the Raymond James Stadium, and other cities are attempting to install such a system. However, even though the cameras are used in public places, they still represent a large violation of privacy. Also a violation of our privacy is the government's usage of the Carnivore Internet surveillance system that can track all of a person's online activity. The FBI not only has the capability to do so, but in many cases it can lawfully enter a person's home and alter or even steal information form his or her computer, all without the knowledge of the owner of the computer. The government's ability to gather personal information on its citizens is similar to methods of surveillance in the novels The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, and 1984, by George Orwell. In order to prevent the extreme cases of surveillance presented in these novels, it is the public's responsibility to remain alert to new developments in law enforcement so as to prevent an unreasonable s... ...ore/000724fbi.shmtl>. Herdy, Amy. Tampabay: They made me feel like a criminal. 8 Aug. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2013. . Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations. July 2012. Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. 26 Oct. 2013. . The Nature and Scope of Governmental Electronic Surveillance Activity. Sep. 2001. Center for Democracy and Technology. 27 Oct. 2013. . Trigaux, Robert. Tampabay: Cameras scanned fans for criminals. 31 Jan. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2003. . Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic Printing, 1950.

The Portrait of Medieval Social Classes as Presented in the General Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s the Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue fulfils two functions: it tells the story of how the tales came to be told, and it introduces the tellers. There are about thirty pilgrims travelling to Canterbury to pray to the holy blissful martyr- St. Thomas of Becket. These characters can be considered the portrait of the whole Middle English society. All the pilgrims can be divided into particular hierarchic structure of classes. The simplest division of society was into three estates: those who fight, those who pray, and those who labour, typified by the Knight, the Parson and the Plowman.Women were often treated as an estate to themselves. The basic tripartite division of society, for instance, is reflected in Chaucer’s making his Knight, Parson and Plowman the three ideal characters on the pilgrimage- along with the Clerk to stand for those who learn and teach. However, I have to admit that this division is not so obvious, which I explained below. ‘Chaucer starts the introduction of pilgrims with the highest-ranking layman, the Knight, with his entourage, and continues with the highest-ranking ecclesiastics, the Prioress and the Monk.The Merchant, Clerk, Sergeant of Law, and Franklin who follow were regarded more or less as social equals, and various other representatives of the middle classes, most of them keen to push themselves up the social ladder, follow in somewhat haphazard order. The Summoner and Pardoner are social and moral misfits in almost every sense, with no obvious place either in a class hierarchy or in the ‘common weal’, society as a system of mutual support’ (Helen Cooper, Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996).According to Helen Cooper, the basic organization then is by rank, but with some telling exceptions and some haphazardness: society is not an ordered hierarchy, not least because the people who compose it are reluctant to stay in their places. The Knight and Squire represent very diffe rent types, and functions, of chivalry. The Monk is described in terms that make him a different kind of antitype to the Knight, and the attributes that might be expected of each are exchanged: it is the Monk who hunts and loves good food and clothes, while the Knight is ascetic who has devoted his life to service of Christ (cf. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). If there is a certain logic in the order of the pilgrims, however, the content of the individual portraits shows a constant variation. The stress can fall on appearance, past life, the pilgrim’s own voice or self-image, moral probity, or tastes and priorities. The estates structure suggest that the pilgrims will be defined by their work, but while many of the portraits adopt an appropriate language, only few show their subject doing what his or her office requires.In my work I will describe and submit every character and then summary the portrait of the class as a whole, a nd finally, in the summary I will put forward the whole portrait of society as a whole by summing up the features of each social class. Chivalry Chivalry was undoubtedly the most important of social classes in middle ages. They fought for the king, his kingdom and the religion. Chivalry is also nowadays considered as a pattern of behaviour of ideal man: he has to be brave, gentle for ladies and honourable; he also has to be ready to die for his beliefs.There are three characters representing this class in The General Prologue. These are the Knight, the Squire, and the Yeoman. The Knight is described by Chaucer with respect and honour. Chaucer does not use any irony or satire in the description of the Knight; the irony is reserved to those who fall short of the standard of perfection he sets. The function of the Knight was to fight; but throughout Christian history, and increasingly in the late fourteenth century, there was a profound unease at the thought of Christian fighting Chris tian.The wars that were held in the highest esteem were those fought in the cause of God, against the infidel. ‘The knight is not only a fighter: he is that most honoured of warriors, a Crusader’ (Helen Cooper, Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). He participated in many wars against Muslims in Spain, North Africa, and the Near East; and pagans around the Baltic. The Knight’s portrait differs from those of most of the other pilgrims in several respects. He is described rather in terms of moral attributes than physical appearance.It reinforces the sense of his asceticism, his devotion more to God than to things of the world. He is also described in terms of what other people think of him: he is ‘evere honoured for his worthynesse’, set ‘aboven alle nacions’ at the table of honour, ‘everemoore he hadde a sovereyn prys’ (op. cit. ‘The General Prologue’, The Canterbury Tale s, Geoffrey Chaucer; lines 50, 53, 67). It is a portrait of ideal Christian knighthood. Almost every pilgrim has some particular object of desire, that the Knight’s should be: ‘Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisie’ (op. it. line 46). The Knight is considered perfect by Chaucer. He is modest as a maid, he is devoted to God more than any of the characters representing clergy. He sometimes fought on the side of Muslims, but only if they fought against other Muslims; he had never fought against Christians. Despite of his valorous deeds, the knight never boasted of his actions, nor bored his listeners. The Squire would be a candidate for knighthood. He is young, probably in his twenties. He is a son of the Knight. When not in battle, he thinks of himself as a quite a lady’s man.He takes meticulous care of his appearance. He could also sing lusty songs, compose melodies, write poetry, and ride a horse with distinction. He also has all the other proper attri butes to go with his being a young lover: a fine figure, a dashing military career, and all the courtly accomplishments considered those times as being appropriate for winning one’s lady. According to Helen Cooper, the Squire is the iconographic image of young love and its month of May (op. cit. line 92), for the month was often presented as fashionable and gaily dressed youth on horseback.Chaucer does not quite offer us the Squire at his own valuation- a total failure to sleep on account of love has an affectionate touch of the ridiculous about it, as well as the hyperbolic, but the ‘fresshe floures’ embroidered on his clothes, and his associations with the spring with sleepless birds make Squire a ‘courtly version of the lifetime of spring’ (cf. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). The Squire is not only young, strong, and in love; he is courteous, eager to server, and in all respects perfect of his type, however different from his father’s type.The Yeoman was a servant of the Knight and Squire. He was known as an expert woodsman and an excellent archer. A knight held a position in society that had to be visibly maintained, by the presence of at least a minimal retinue. The Yeoman is the servant he brings apart from the Squire, a modesty of display that Chaucer comments in lines 100-101 (op. cit. ). One would expect a Yeoman in the company of such a Knight to be a military figure, a longbowman; by the addition of green clothes and the hunting-horn, Chaucer defines him more closely, as a forester.A forester could be anything from a senior administrative official to a gamekeeper: the Yeoman’s knowledge of ‘wodecraft’ shows him to be one of the more practical kind. ‘The Yeoman is not a standard figure in estates literature, but Chaucer creates and iconography for him as effectively as he recreates the conventional images of the Squire. Whether the Yeoman really needs his bow, peacock, arrows, and horn on a pilgrimage is less important than the way they serve to define him.His excellence as a yeoman is summed up in the neologism Chaucer creates for him, yemanly’ (Helen Cooper, Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). To summarize, the chivalry social class representatives are shown as brave men, skilful in battle, famous for their deeds, ready to die for their beliefs; servants of their lords and masters. The chivalry participates in wars and is appreciated by the rest of community for its strength, honour, fame, and modesty. Priesthood The priesthood is in the middle class of medieval social hierarchy.Chaucer uses a lot of satire and irony as he describes members of this estate in The General Prologue. Members of this social class who participate in the pilgrimage are the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar, the Summoner, the Parson, and the Pardoner. Descriptions of these characters are much more abundant in satire and irony than any other. The Prioress was a head of monastery. She was rather well educated, even though her French was not the accepted Parisian French. She was very coy and delicate. When she ate, she took great care for her table manners. She was very courteous and amiable and tried to imitate the manners of the court.She had three small hounds with her which she treated very gently and tenderly. Her dress was very neat and tidy and she wore a gold brooch with the inscription ‘amor vincit omnia’. ‘Chaucer’s description of the Prioress is filled with gentle and subtle irony. Here is a picture of a lady who happens to be a nun, but she never forgets that she is a lady first. Her oath, ‘by Sainte Loy’ implies that she has chosen the most fashionable and handsome saint who was also famous for his great courtesy’ (Bruce Nicoll, The Canterbury Tales notes, Coles Notes, 1992). She emphasis on her appearance.The Monk ’s description simply seems to had been ‘swapped’ with the stereotypical description of a knight. The Knight is described as the man who devoted his life to God, and the Monk is called ‘a manly man’ by Chaucer, which means his portrait is that of a country gentleman. The Monk is interested in women (on the way which he should not be, regarding to his profession), wearing expensive clothes and jewellery, he likes hunting. He is not modest. He does all these things although his monastic orders ban him to behave this way. He is supposed to be a beggar and own no goods.In description of the Monk, According to Helen Cooper, Chaucer introduces the materials of antimonastic satire: the good living, his failure to keep within the cloister, his approval of secular offices for religious (op. cit. line 187), and his hunting. But it is he himself, not a satirist, who relays all the standard texts and aphorisms on the ills of such life; and he then dismisses them by reference to those items of food- oysters (a cheap dish), plucked hens- that fall well below his favourite diet of roast swan (cf. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996).The Monk clearly breaks his vows of poverty, obedience to his rule and ‘stability’, staying within his monastery. The Friar, like the Prioress, is described by Chaucer with a set of epithets and attributes that in other circumstances might be complimentary; he is ‘worthy’ like the Knight, and ‘curteis’ and ‘lowely of servyse’ like the Squire (op. cit. lines 99, 250). But his worthiness shows itself in his refusal to fulfil the basic function of his calling, the relief of the diseased and the outcast. The Friar was hobnobbing with the local franklins and surpassing the Monk in being not just like a ‘prelaat’ but like a pope (op. it. line 261). The Friar is the first of the pilgrims who explicitly sets the mone y above God. Destitute widows are the objects not of his charity but of his greed. ‘Over twenty lines of his portrait are devoted to his skill in extracting money; seven more go to his dubious relationships with young women, fair wives, and the barmaids. ’ (Helen Cooper, Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales) Yet there is no doubt that all such things make the Friar socially attractive: the whole emphasis of the portrait falls on the busyness of his social life, on taverns and love-days, on all the people with whom he is on good terms.The Summoner was a man paid to summon sinners for a trial before a church court. He had a fire-red complexion, pimples and boils, a scaly infection around the eyebrows, and a moth-eaten beard. ‘He treats his sores as leprosy. To make matters worse, he loved to eat garlic, onions, leeks, and drink strong wine. He could quote a few lines of Latin which he was using to impress people. Chaucer calls him a gentil harlot and impli es it would be difficult to find a better fellow, because for a bottle of wine, the Summoner would often turn his back and let sinner to continue living in sin. He was also well acquainted with ladies of questionable reputation’ (Bruce Nicoll, The Canterbury Tales notes, Coles Notes, 1992). According to Bruce Nicoll, the Summoner’s physical appearance fits to his profession well. He is so ugly and gruesome looking that a summons from him is in itself a horrible experience. Thus, Chaucer ironically implies that he is a good fellow. But furthermore, he is a good fellow because sinners could easily bribe him (Bruce Nicoll, The Canterbury Tales notes, Coles Notes, 1992).The Parson is the only one of the churchmen shown by Chaucer that we can call competent and fair. Although he was very poor, he would rather give his own scarce money to his poor parishioners than demand tithes from them. His principle was to live the perfect life first, and then to teach it. His life was a perfect example of true Christian priest, and by his good example, he taught but first followed it himself. Among the other churchmen described in The General Prologue, the Parson stands out as the ideal portrait of what parish priest should be. He is the ideal Christian man.The Pardoner was a church official who had authority from Rome to sell pardons and indulgences to those charged with sins. He had just returned from Rome with bagful of pardons which he planned to sell to the ignorant at great profit to himself. He had a loud, high-pitched voice, yellow, flowing hair. He was beardless. ‘There was no one so good at his profession as was this Pardoner’ (Bruce Nicoll, The Canterbury Tales notes, Coles Notes, 1992). The pardoner seems to be the most corrupted of the churchmen. In the prologue to his tale, he confesses to his hypocrisy.The Priesthood class is widely criticised by Chaucer. The Prioress pays more attention to her manners than to the substance of her calli ng. The Monk cares nothing for the rules of his order, the Friar sets money above God. The Summoner and the Pardoner are corrupted. There is only the Parson to fulfil his duties well. He is that good shepherd to care for his sheep. He is the ideal set in the minority of the clergy. The other churchmen described by Chaucer are focused more on their own ‘business’ than on their mission given by the Catholic church.These characters (excluding the Parson) may be called hypocrites. Higher bourgeoisie Higher bourgeoisie is the class of rich and/or well-educated townsmen and landlords who are not noblemen. The representatives of this class are, as follows: the Merchant, the Clerk, the Sergeant of Law, the Franklin, the Doctor of Physic, and the Reeve. The Merchant is anonymous, ‘I noot how men hym calle’ (op. cit. line 284). He has a forked beard and a beaver hat that reveals his wealth. He talks about his occupation and the risks connected with working as a merch ant.According to Helen Cooper, the merchant, like the Knight and Squire, has his own areas of contemporary campaign (cf. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). Chaucer has mentioned something about the debt of the Merchant in his description, but we are not sure whether the debt is still unpaid or the Merchant had dealt with it before. The Clerk is a student of what would nowadays be considered philosophy or theology. He is introduced as a diligent person who has a wide connection of books.He is portrayed as a perfect example of a scholar. He has a bachelor degree and is totally devoted to logic. As a subtext to this portrait, there is an opposite description of less ideal clerks: those who would treat education as a pathway to well-paid office, who would prefer expensive clothes and music-making to the books for which the Clerk longs. The Sergeant of Law is a lawyer whose main focus is to make money. His legal knowledge and skill in ‘p urchasying’ land is apparently used primarily for himself as a purchaser.Chaucer uses a lot of law terms in his description of the Sergeant of Law, but no such word as ‘justice’ appears. The Franklin is the only pilgrim to be involved in running the society. He and the Sergeant of Law are partners in graft. He is a landowner, however he is not a noble. He did not inherit his wealth and he is not a ‘nouveau riche’. The Franklin accepts all the duties and responsibilities that go with his position: he has held the office of knight of the shire, sheriff, auditor, and justice of the peace.There is no a single word from Chaucer that would criticise the way that the Franklin fulfils his duties. The Franklin has a white beard. As Helen Cooper noticed, his love differs from the Knight’s chivalry or the Squire’s ladies, the Franklin loves his morning snack of bread in wine; thus the vocabulary used in his description is gastronomic (cf. Oxford G uides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Oxford University Press, 1996). Moreover, the Franklin also shares his food with other people. That makes him a perfect landlord.The Doctor of Physic is trained in medicine, astronomy and astrology. He could quote all the medical authorities, but he knew nothing of the Bible. He had made a lot of money during the plague. He has a special love for gold, since he prescribes this metal for cures. The Reeve managed a large estate. He was skinny and bad-tempered. He had a close cut beard and short haircut. His subordinates were afraid of him because of his unrelenting preservance. Similarly to the mentioned later Manciple, he had reaped profits for himself by being clever at buying.The higher bourgeoisie class representatives are shown by Chaucer as people who are greedy (the Manciple, the Doctor of Physic, the Reeve, the Sergeant of Law, the Merchant, the imperfect clerks described in the description of the ideal Clerk), filled with temptation ( t he Franklin) and devoted to their passion (the Clerk, the Reeve). This social class is not criticised so sharply as the clergy. Most of them are fair in their work, some of them are simply perfect (the Clerk, the Franklin), on the other hand some of them cheat (the Reeve).They all want to gain something that make other people consider them ‘upper class’. Bourgeoisie Bourgeoisie are simply the townsmen who are neither that rich nor that well-educated as the people from the class I named ‘higher bourgeoisie’. They are simple people who live and work in town. They are ordinary people and second most numerous class of the middle ages in Europe. The representatives of this class are, as follows: the Guildsmen, the Wife of Bath, the Manciple, the Cook, the Shipman, the Miller, and the Host.The Guildsmen are five craftsmen (four clothworkers and the Carpenter) who belong to a single parish guild. The portrait of the Guildsmen is largely devoted to their anxiety to impress others by climbing on the social class hierarchy ladder; their knives are decorated with silver chasing, which is inappropriate for their social class, because such ornament was reserved for gentry (lower nobility class members). The Guildsmen sit on dais in a guildhall and fulfil their professional obligations. They want to be aldermen and they are improving their qualifications day by day. They work fairly and hard.Unfortunately, the Guildsmen are being corrupted by their wives, who want them to get promoted and advanced in social hierarchy, or at least pretend so. They wish to be accorded the superior title of ‘madame’. Wives of the Guildsmen want to behave ‘roialliche’ and be treated as higher class members and force them to participate in some kind of what nowadays would refer to as a ‘rat race’. The Wife of Bath was an excellent seamstress and weaver. She has been married five times and been on many outland pilgrimages: to Rome, to Bologna, to Jerusalem, to Galice, and to Cologne.Her special talent was her knowledge of all the remedies of love. She was deaf a little. She always was first at the altar or offering in church. The Manciple was a steward for a law school in London. His duty was to buy the food. He was not as learned as the lawyers, but he was smart enough that he had been able to put aside a little sum for himself from every transaction. The Cook in The General Prologue is only defined by his professional skill. He works for the Guildsmen. He has a notorious running sore on his leg.We do not know much more about him from the description in the prologue. The Shipman was the master of vessel and an expert of navigation who knew all the ports from the Atlantic to the North Sea. He was a huge and uncouth man. He could not ride horse well, but no one was a better sailor. Nevertheless, according to Jill Mann, the Shipman had bad habits of thievery, piracy, and mass murder (Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire: The Literature of Social Classes and The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Cambridge, 1973). The Miller was a stubborn and strong man.His strength would let him outwrestle any man. He had red beard and a wart on his nose. He played the bagpipes as the pilgrims left the town. He had a tendency for thievery. The Host was the leader of the pilgrimage party and the host of the Tabard Inn. His name is Harry Bailey. He was loud, large and merry, although he possesses a quick temper. He was liked by the pilgrims. Members of the bourgeoisie want to get socially promoted and try to do all the things necessary to achieve this promotion (the best example of this is the behaviour of the Wife of Bath).They focus on making money. Some of them, as the Guildsmen, work hard to improve their social and material status, others, as the Miller and the Manciple, prefer continuous small acts of thievery to enrich. Some of them commit more serious crimes, as does the Shipman. All of them a re working hard in their profession and are determined to achieve their destination, one way or another. Peasants Peasants are the lowest social class of middle ages. They are hard-working and poor. Their professions are connected with agriculture. There is only ne representative of this social class appearing in The General Prologue- the Plowman. The Plowman is a small tenant farmer who lives in a perfect peace and charity. He loves God with all his heart. He is always honest with his neighbours. He regularly pays his tithes to the church. He is a brother of the Parson, and so, they are equally good-hearted. The Plowman, unlike most of the pilgrims, is happy with his position in society. He wears his humble tabard which is appropriate for his rank and never tries to be someone else than he really is.The portrait of the only character of peasant class introduced to us by Chaucer lead us to conclusion that peasants are the poorest and the lowest social class of middle ages, but also the most hard-working and morally good people. In my opinion, the Plowman in his morality can be compared to the Knight, although their material and social statuses completely differ. Summary The division of society portrayed by Chaucer is not obvious. In this work I have introduced the division into social classes by the social position, profession and, wealth and education level of each character.I think that Chaucer demonstrates his audience that class order and moral order are two different things. Members of the chivalry and the peasant class are on top and the bottom of the hierarchy. Despite of this fact, in some aspects the knighthood characters and the Plowman are equal. They are all modest, hard-working, truly devoted to god, fair to other people and proud of their position. If we exclude these two classes from the hierarchy, there appears the conclusion that the higher social class character belongs to, the richer, the more educated, and the morally worse it is.The social class portrayed by Chaucer as the most corrupted is clergy. Those who should prevent people from sin appear to be the biggest sinners. We can see that the more powerful and richer people become, the bigger sinners they are. The classes described as these of best morality are chivalry and peasants. Every class has its exceptional ideal representative: chivalry- the Knight, clergy- the Parson, bourgeoisie (as one class with higher bourgeoisie)- the Clerk. These characters are patterns of ideal behaviour for all the members of their classes.By this phenomena, Chaucer shows that there is no class that is totally corrupted- there is always someone who fulfils his duties perfectly. To sum up, the clergy is shown as a class of people who abuse their position for private profits; the bourgeoisie members are only wishing to make more and more money and advance their social status; the chivalry and peasants are happy with their position, neither the Knight, nor the Plowman can be promoted to upper class. The difference is- the Knight, unlike the Plowman, is socially appreciated and respected.Those days your origin and social class membership was the most important part of social life. So, there is no wonder why people from middle classes wanted to be promoted and were ready to do anything to achieve that, on fair or unfair way. Although the portrait of medieval social classes is a little ironical and satirical (and still may appear a literary fiction), I think that it is very likely that it is possibly a complete description of the actual English community in Middle Ages.

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