Art History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art History - Assignment Example Honore Daumier’s â€Å"Third-Class Carriage† was precisely a demonstration of social commentary. It was one thing that he just happened to accomplish with this painting. It was very common of Daumier as a trained lithographer to create paintings that were generally biting social commentary. It is because of his experiences during which the classes were divided. The culture that helped produce this was France because of the chaotic mess in the country that occurred politically, socially and in many other aspects of a French culture. He had the ability to use art to literally do just that. Michaelangelo who did most of his work in Italy was working in the Vatican City, the headquarters of the Catholic people during a time when Protestantism was on the rise. It was a method of providing an elite painting on the dome of a building in ways that had never before been accomplished. It suggests that the Catholic religion is also one of elitism. Girodet was a student of Davidâ⠂¬â„¢s and he went on to create the â€Å"Burial of Atalia,† which was a painting from the Romantic time frame. Another student of his was Antoine Jean Gros who painted â€Å"Napoleon at the Pest House of Jaffa.† During this time in Europe, while using neo-classicism, there was a use of harmony, proportion, and simplicity in order to create the paintings. Romanticism had a slightly different aesthetic theme but both artists were able to use the methods that they had learned under David and transition them to the work that was typical of the Romantic art period.

What success has liberalism sought to emancipate individuals Essay Example for Free

What success has liberalism sought to emancipate individuals Essay Liberalism has always fought for the rights of the individual as it was one of the founding principles of the liberal ideology according to John Locke in the 17th century. As well as the rights of the individual, John Locke also saw freedom and toleration as two other key components of liberalism. This question demands, however, an examination of the success of liberal policies towards the emancipation of the individual. During the course of this essay one will examine how liberalism has freed the individual during the 19th Century under Gladstone and during the liberal reforms of 1906-1912. Finally one will conclude that in concordance with R. Rurup that, Liberalism is regarded as the truest protagonist of emancipation. Reforms enacted by liberal governments, often did provide huge improvements in both living standards and education however, they did not always fully emancipate the individual.[1: R. Rurup, Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, (1975) 20 (1): p. 59] First and foremost, one must look at the great liberal reforms of the 19th Century, enacted during both the first and second ministry of William Gladstone. Vincent, claims that, such reforms that, Maximised individuality, were, genuinely liberal. The first reform that most clearly emancipates the individual during Gladstones premiership was the Elementary Education Act of 1870. This as Heywood argues was seen as a way out in the 19th Century form the, Spread of slums, poverty, ignorance and disease. The act established the English elementary schooling system, as children up to the age of 12 were made to attend primary school. It created a codified curriculum with six standards or ages 5-12. Strict punishments were laid upon parents who refused to send their children to school. Whilst, this bill created the provision of elementary education in the United Kingdom, it also led to many problems as the new compulsory schools were not free. A means tested scheme applied to the poorest who could not afford to send their children to school, but for many it put them in a very difficult financial position. Vincent, therefore, criticises the Elementary Education Act by deeming it, Gladstones empirical socialism. The act, however, was a success as by 1880 4000 school were taken over by school boards and nearly  2.3 million children were enrolled in compulsory education up to the age of 12. One can say therefore, despite the criticisms by Vincent, that the Elementary Education Act did successfully emancipate the individual as it lead to higher overall wages as workers were more skilled, for example they could read and take measurements, and it successfully started the primary schooling system in the United Kingdom. [2: Vincent A, A Modern Political Ideologies, (Blackwell) 1992 pg. 34][3: Vincent A, Political Ideologies, 1992 pg. 34][4: Heywood A, Political Ideologies an Introduction, (Palgrave Macmillan) 2007 pg. 56 ][5: Vin cent A, Political Ideologies, 1992 pg. 35] Secondly, Gladstones ministry continued to emancipate the individual by expanding the franchise in the United Kingdom. This bill was the third reform act in the 19th Century and continued to increase the franchise by allowing anyone who had to pay rent of 10 pounds and above to vote as well as anyone who owned land with the value of 10 pounds and above. This is equivalent to  £7,300 in 2013 using the retail pricing index. This was a huge leap forward as Goodwin describes the bill as, Progress to a better society, The bill nearly doubled the franchise in England from 2,300,000 in 1880 voters to 4,100,000 voters in 1885 and did double the franchise in the whole country from 3,000,000 voters in 1880 to 6,160,000 voters in 1892. Male suffrage varied throughout the kingdom, however, in England and Wales, 2 in 3 adult males had the vote; in Scotland, 3 in 5 did; and in Ireland, the figure was only 1 in 2. Whilst the bill was a long way off from universal suffrage and did not apply to women at all, the bill did seek to emancipate those land-owners and those who rented who were not franchised in previous voting reform legislation. Therefore, whilst this piece of legislation did not meet the liberal ideals of equality according to John Locke and John Stuart Mill, due to its exclusion of women, it did enfranchise and emancipate a large proportion of the male population from prejudice in the voting system of the United Kingdom.[6: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas, (John Wiley Sons) 2007 pg.53][7: British Electoral Facts 1832-1987, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig ] Thirdly, one will look at the liberal reforms of the early twentieth century. The liberal reforms are the best example of the split in liberal  thinking from classical liberalism to modern liberalism. They, shifted their outlook from a _laissez-faire_ system to a more collectivist approach, Modern Liberalism was started in the early twentieth century by leaders such as Campbell-Bannerman and Asquith. Heywood claims that inception of the reforms was spawned from the belief that, the state should help people help themselves. One will first look at how the liberal reforms emancipated the workers of the early 20th Century. The Labour Exchanges Act of 1909, created state run labour exchanges with the specific role of placing people in work who were affected by the seasonal demand of shipping and other seasonally affected trade, especially in winter. Whilst, opposed by labour unions as they feared that the labour exchanges would reduce the effectiveness of collective bargaining for fair wages, the labour exchanges by 1913 were putting 3,000 people a day into work. Whilst successful in emancipating some workers from the threat of seasonal unemployment the labour exchanges did have a small impact as only 25% of the working population in the United Kingdom found employment though them. [8: Vincent Emy, H Liberals, radicals, and social politics, 1892-1914 p. 14][9: Heywood A, Political Ideologies, 2007 pg. 60][10: Watts, D Whigs, Radicals, and Liberals, 1815-1914, p.89][11: Watts, D Whigs, Radicals, and Liberals, 1815-1914, p.89] Lastly, within the liberal reforms one must look at the National Health Insurance Act of 1911, which truly emancipated members of the working class, as they would have a safety net if they fell ill. Although, Goodwin views this reform as an, interference with individual freedom, but does argue that Hobhouse, having reiterated some of T. H. Greens views, claims that this extension of public control is justified on, Humane grounds. Goodwin does also explain that any, loss of independence, should be counted against the, benefits offered by the welfare measure. The National Insurance Act of 1911, offered many benefits and emancipated every worker in the United Kingdom who earned less that  £160 a year. The scheme created a compulsory government-run insurance plan against unemployment through illness. This emancipated workers from the fear of becoming destitute though illness. All workers paid four pence a week to the scheme, the employer paid three pence and the government paid two pen ce. Whilst there was criticism of  the act, especially from the conservative part, as they argued that it was not the governments duty to be involved in such a scheme, the bill was passed and helped millions of workers. This can be seen as the most influential bill that any liberal government has passed during the liberal reforms between 1906 and 1912 as it both laid the foundations for the Welfare State but it also emancipated millions of workers from poverty as envisaged in _Life and Labour of the People_ by Rowntree and Booth, two influential liberal reformers. In conclusion, moreover, both the Labour Exchanges Act of 1909 and the National Insurance Act of 1911 were ultimately justified as they were seen to be based on, humane grounds, and they were hugely successful at emancipating the working classes of the United Kingdom from, what Heywood describes as the, Spread of slums, poverty, ignorance and disease which was driving factor for all of the liberal reforms in the 46 year period between 1870 and 1918.[12: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas,2007 pg.54][13: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas,2007 pg.49][14: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas,2007 pg.50][15: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas,2007 pg.50][16: Goodwin B, Using Political Ideas,2007 pg.49 ][17: Heywood A, Political Ideologies, 2007 pg. 56] Therefore, to conclude, during the half century of liberal governments, one did see a huge improvement of both living standards and education as well as the partial emancipation of the individual. During Gladstones first and second ministry, one saw the electorate nearly doubled, leading to huge emancipation of those who, never before could vote. Gladstones government also made education mandatory for those under the age of 10, therefore emancipating children from what Heywood calls, slums, poverty, ignorance and disease. Whereas, during the liberal government, headed by Herbert Asquith, between 1906 and 1918, the liberal government had discernibly more success in emancipating the individual as it provided both the Labour Exchanges in 1909 as well as National Insurance for those who were too sick to work. Whilst these successes in emancipating the individual were important, they were also marred by the fact that none of these reforms provided universal suffrage, a key principle of emancipation. Therefore, whilst the liberals were for the most part successful in emancipating the individual in the years between 1870 and 1918, their achievements were  hampered by the fact that they failed to provide universal suffrage and consequently, one can conclude that the liberals emancipated the individual with partial success during their period of governance. [18: Heywood A, Political Ideologies, 2007 pg. 56] Bibliography: R. Rurup, _Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook_, (1975) 20 (1) Vincent A, A _Modern Political Ideologies,_ (Blackwell) 1992 Heywood A, _Political Ideologies an Introduction,_ (Palgrave Macmillan) 2007 Goodwin B, _Using Political Ideas,_ (John Wiley Sons) 2007 Craig F.W.S, _British Electoral Facts 1832-1987_, (Politicos Publishing) 1989 Vincent-Emy, H _Liberals, radicals, and social politics, 1892-1914_ (Cambridge University Press) 2008 Watts, D _Whigs, Radicals, and Liberals, 1815-1914_ (Hodder Education) 2002

South Africas Position in the African Union Committee

South Africas Position in the African Union Committee Delegation from Represented by South Africa Concordia University Position Paper for the African Union Committee The topics before the African Union Committee are: Food Security, Development and NGO Accountability, and China and India’s role in facilitating economic development in Africa. South Africa is strongly committed to collaborating with the various members of the international community. We believe that it is necessary to undertake joint actions based on international law to ensure that lasting multilateral solutions can be applied. This will address and improve the living conditions of millions of people around the world. I. Food Security Challenges South Africa advocates its support towards the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty across the world as part of target No. 1 of the UN Millennium Task Project. The commitment of the South African government towards food Security is entrenched in section 27 of South Africa’s Constitutional rights. Since 1994, South Africa has made constant efforts to make food security a priority policy, as part of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). This program aimed for the redistribution of public funds in order to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people. In 2000, the South African Government decided to develop a national food security policy that would harmonize and integrate all the existing programs into a single and efficient body known as the Integrated Food Security Strategy (IFSS). The goal of this program is to guarantee universal physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food by all South Afric ans at all times. The previous statement is also a definition of food security by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The main objective of the IFSS is to eradicate hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity by 2015. This program targets public and private society by focusing on household food security without overlooking national food security. The first step is to create food security interventions in order to guarantee that food insecure population gain access to the necessary productive resources. In the second part of the program, people who are unable to produce food are helped to find jobs or activities that will produce adequate income so that they can purchase sufficient food. The third part of the program guarantees food insecure population access to nutritious and safe food. The fourth part of the project targets people that are unable to work or produce food due to disabilities or extreme poverty. The project will procure relief measures to ensure short-term to medium-term food supplies that will vary depending on each case. The last part of the project aims to monitor food security in the country with the aim of improving and developing efficient approaches that would culminate in the complete eradication of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. In addition, the South African government has also pressed to eradicate hunger and poverty at the international scale. In 2002, South Africa successfully managed to obtain the necessary support to enact the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. In this document, member states agreed that sustainable development and multilateralism were the most secure ways to guarantee food security at the world stage. We would also like to remind members of the African Union about the importance of collaborating with the current Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). This ambitious and innovative agricultural program is part of the New Partnerships for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which is in turn a program created by the African Union. The CAADP vision is to create an African led and owned collective agriculture, based on developing strategies that would successfully meet the needs of the different African societies. The CAADP has four major pillars: sustainable land and water management, market access, food supply and hunger and agricultural research. In 2004, the CAADP initiated a first mission in South Africa by providing knowledge and skill training to farmers. South Africa warmly welcomes the CAADP and wishes to propose its own program, the IFSS, as alternative model for fellow states that are currently experiencing a food predicament. South Africa urges members to abide by resolution A/58/485 known as â€Å"water for life† by which states recognized the importance of water as natural resource necessary for sustainable development. South Africa calls upon all states and NGOs to work multilaterally to create lasting, efficient and transparent solutions to address the needs of the most vulnerable people in the world. South Africa remains confident that the eradication of hunger can be achieved and will continue to work to reach its objective by creating means of sustainable development. II. Development and NGO Accountability The South African government wishes to acknowledge the important contribution of NGOs in the socio-economic development of Africa. The United Nations considers non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to be valuable partners in the building of global society. South Africa shares the United Nations’ vision and wishes to endorse its support for transparent, efficient and open NGO participation within its territory. South Africa is home to nearly 76,000 non-profit organizations which employ nearly a million people The recent decision by the African Union to exclude NGOs from the 2063 conference emphasizes the need for NGOs and governments to work closely together on ways to regulate each other participation and impact on the lives of millions of people. South Africa wishes to highlight that there are major differences in terms of structure and objectives among the various types of NGOs, which might complicate the application of most known types of accountability. However, South Africa remains confident that the best way to work with NGOs and to promote development is to find a way to evaluate their work without limiting their freedom of speech, independence or ability to exist as alternative channels for citizens. For this reason, South Africa proposes the creation of an enquiry commission within the African Union that would evaluate NGOs on the principle of democratic accountability. Democratic accountability entails that NGOs should be accountable to those who they affect, especially people in vulnerable positions. This commission should be led by people who are familiar with the African continent and the needs of locals. South Africa suggests the commission publish reports every two years that will assess the locals’ level of satisfaction with the different organizations, the impact of these organizations in the daily life of people and the calculated prediction on the final outcome of the program. We believe th at if all people have access to a neutral and private way to evaluate NGO performance, this will lead to major improvements on multiple levels. The fact that NGOs know their work will be evaluated and openly assessed by published reports will push these organizations to play close attention to the comments and suggestions of locals. By combining the expertise and resources of these organizations with the knowledge of the locals, South Africa hopes that NGOs will have an easier time reaching the poorest people and this will accelerate the delivery of their services. South Africa believes that the poorest people should be an essential part of the decision-making process. We will look favorably upon NGOs who allow these people to have a greater say in the decisions taken by the organization as well as those NGOs who produced satisfactory results over a five year period. South Africa urges members of the international community to abide by the 2002 Johannesburg Declaration in order to f ind multilateral lasting solutions for the many challenges that lie ahead, especially in areas such as food security, poverty and economic development. III. China and India’s role in facilitating economic development in Africa South Africa remains confident that cooperation and negotiation are the best tools to promote friendly and profitably relations with India and China in order to obtain mutual economic development. South Africa maintains friendly and profitable relations with China and India as we share membership in multiple organizations such as: G20, BRICS, and IBSA. The recent decision by BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leadership to engage closely in Africa represents an important opportunity for African states. Under the leadership of South African President Jacob Zuma, South Africa aims to establish an African free trade area by 2015. This area would include 26 African states with a combined population of 600 million and GDP of one trillion dollars. We believe Africa has great potential and we expect African output to expand by 50% in 2015. The expansion of African output will also increase spending power by 30%, which would greatly contribute to the development and expans ion of the middle class in the continent. South Africa wishes to highlight the extraordinary African mineral and agricultural potential which motivated our nation to approve 1,000 investment plans in 36 different African countries. South Africa has a close and growing relationship with India as it remains our fifth most important trade partner. Trade with India has great potential and would greatly benefit the economic development of states who engage in practices based on international law. South Africa recognizes this potential as bilateral trade rose from R16.3 billion in 2007 to a R61.65 billion in 2012. South Africa’s relationship with India is built on more than economic interests, as our nations continue to coordinate their political agenda to face many global issues. In the 2013 IBSA meeting, the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa publicly reiterated their commitment towards inclusive social development, economic growth and democratic values as the guiding prin ciples for peace, security and prosperity for the next years. South Africa is confident about the IBSAs capacity to promote prosperity through free trade agreement and sustainable development. South Africa recognizes China and India’s efforts to deal with food security around the world and demands a halt on the uncontrolled speculation by developed nations on agricultural commodities and restrictive and distorting trade practices. We urge developed nations to honor their commitments in supporting developing nations and we welcome the L’Aquila Joint Statement on Food Security adopted in Rome in 2009. China is South Africa’s largest economic partner and an important player for the economic stability of Africa. We praise BRICS support for the current African Union’s NEPAD program and wish to inform African states that BRICS members are excepted to invest nearly 480 billion dollars for the development of infrastructure in Africa. South Africa recognises China ’s commitment to the continent and encourages African states to cooperate through the use of the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). South Africa is glad to announce that it will be hosting the next 2015 FOCAC meeting where China and African States will continue to tackle job creation, sustainable growth and clean energy. South Africa wishes to extend a hand to all African States and members of the international community in order to cooperate with China and India for the building of a better future.

Stanley Renshons High Hopes: Clintons Actions :: essays research papers

Stanley Renshons' High Hopes: Clinton's Actions Throughout Stanley Renshons' book, High Hopes: The Clinton Presidency and the Politics of Ambition, the president's ability to govern has to do with three main concepts: ambition, courage, and integrity. Proving this, Renshon believes that the presidents psychology explains everything. "By examining the range of choices available to the president as well as those he selects, both within and across circumstances, one can begin to discern the underlying patterns of psychology that shapes his behavior" (4). I tend to agree with Renshon when he states that Clintons' psychology has a lot to do with how he reacts to a given situation and performs all tasks bestowed upon him. "The term character is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘engraving'" (38). It can be defined as a trait or distinctive combination of traits. Bill Clinton's personality, beliefs, and attitude are a very distinctive part of his character. As Renshon states, "Character shapes beliefs, information processing, and, ultimately, styles of behavior. It is therefore deeply embedded in the foundation of psychological functioning" (38). The three elements of character that Renshon states as being the "core" factors of a persons character are: ambition, character integrity, and relatedness. Ambition is a strong element is one's character which can be defined as; a persons achievement and self regard. I tend to disagree with Renshon, when he states that their is a danger with ambition, it "reinforces their sense of being special†¦ it may facilitate their grandiosity" (40). According to Microsoft Bookshelf ‘95, grandiosity is someone or something that is characterized by the greatness of scope of intent. Renshon says that childhood grandiosity is the foundation of adult ambition and that this is all instituted by a person's parents. I believe that a person's ambition is something that should be elaborated on more often. It shows a person's moral and ethical beliefs. A person's integrity is an important element when shaping a person's ambition and relatedness, according to Renshon. Throughout the book, when Renshon refers to a person's integrity, in actuality he is referring to their honesty and how well they adhere to commendable values. The reason he is using the vocable, character integrity is, the term shares the same perspectives but uses a more "psychologically grounded perspective" (41). He believes that ideals are an important part of the word integrity's definition. He states that they are the framework for interpersonal and personal ethics, they show how a person conducts themselves when dealing with many different types of situations, they are a person's goals. "Ideals are aspirations that are often easier to hold in the abstract than they are to live by the face of real-world temptations

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” Essay

Throughout Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman tended to victimize virtually everyone he came in contact with. He hurt others perpetually throughout this play for a variety of different reasons. One of his key targets was his wife Linda. From verbal to finical, Willy Loman abused his wife Linda. His son Biff was also a prime target of his abuse. His abuse towards his son was subtle at times, and not so subtle others. Biff wasn’t the only son to encounter abuse his brother Happy was also a target. Happy was abused not by any action, but by lack of. To further expand on the aforementioned, Happy was ignored by his father causing much detriment. A common occurrence among abusers is that their victimization seems be focused internally (family) or externally (everyone else) but rarely both. Willy Loman was an anomaly as far the previously philosophy was concerned; Willy victimized everyone he came in contact with. From his finically supportive friend, Charley, to the last person you’d expect, a child. Though, that isn’t to say that Willy was in turn unharmed; he was also a victim. Those who are victimized often feel that they are justified in their diatribe against all others, no matter how untrue. His boss Howard would victimize Willy Loman, stating his lack of importance to business. Which could be perceived as a severe act against one’s ego, but this wasn’t the most prevalent culprit of harassment. The quintessential worst enemy of Willy was his mental illness; but more specifically his frequent delusional tangents. Throughout Arthur Miller’s Masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman was both a victim and a victimizer as I’ll soon make evident in the text below. The most evident victim of Willy Loman was his dearest wife Linda. There were many angles in which she was abused but none more apparent than verbally. Willy Loman didn’t abuse his wife in the conventional use of the word; he didn’t go on verbal tirade, it was much more passive. For example a scrip analysis from Death of a Salesman featuring an emotional moment between Willy Biff and Linda; from pages one hundred and twenty-seven to one hundred and thirty, Willy had twenty-eight lines, Biff had twenty-five lines and Linda a mere four. This clearly demonstrates that whenever Linda was part of  the conversation that wasn’t one-on-one she was severely neglected. When Willy and Linda would talk one-on-one she couldn’t say a thing without being contradicted or having her opinion belittled; â€Å"LINDA: Willy, dear. Talk to them again. There’s no reason why you can’t work in New York. WILLY: They don’t need me in New York. I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England.† (Death of a Salesman, page 14) This shows utter denigration just for the sake of flexing his superiority, and ironically enough, he later attempts exactly what his wife suggests. What this shows is that Linda was absolutely right and Willy chose to victimize her over admitting that his wife was right. In this scene Willy defames his wife by establishing her inability to do simple processes correct, â€Å"WILLY: Why do you get American when I like Swiss? LINDA: I just thought you’d like a change- WILLY: I don’t want a change! I want Swiss. Why am I always being contradicted?† (Page 17) Maybe this seems harmless but imagine how you would feel; you’re looking out for some ones best interests and made to feel incompetent in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that this was detrimental to Linda’s ego. Another way Willy victimized Linda was a way only Biff and he were privy to; events in Boston that may have cost him a place in heaven. Willy chose to break sanctity of marriage by cheating on his wife with a woman from Boston, but this begs the question; is someone a victim if they don’t know they were victimized? The second definition on Dictionary.com states that a victim as â€Å"a person who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency.† Ostensibly, what makes a victim isn’t the harm; it is the deceitfulness behind the action. To apply logic; if Linda were to find out she would in turn be hurt. With the application of this definition all speculation ends, and Linda clearly can be labeled a victim. The last dynamic to Linda-Willy victimization is the more subtle finical difficulty caused by Willy’s incompetence. Willy had a commission based job and as a result had very unstable salary. In the later years of Willy’s life he seemed to have lost his knack for selling and as a result his income. This clearly created an uncomfortable living environment for the Linda. For one, not having working appliances would make her life incredibly more  difficult and in turn would cause her stress. Secondly, not knowing if they would be able to afford their insurance premiums was also a problem. Not knowing if your world could come to a crashing end at any moment would create an enormous amount of insecurity in Linda. I am perfectly aware that this wasn’t Willy’s intend by any means; it was a topic of Willy’s concern as much as it was Linda’s. As of such, I’m sure you’re curious how this could be interpreted as victimization; how could b eing unable to provide a healthy living environment for your family be victimization? It lies in Willy’s passivity and ego. Willy had an opportunity to receive a job from his friend and finical confidante Charles, and by refusing it he effectively threw Linda into a poor finical situation. Another character Willy victimized was his own son Biff. Much like Linda, there was a few facets to Willy’s abuse as I’ll soon demonstrate. The first on the docket was the verbal abuse. To keep this from convolution I present the following, â€Å"Biff is a lazy bum!† (Page 16) This demonstrates verbal abuse towards Biff that caused a great amount of distress in his son; as Biff perceives in rebuttal to like-comments, â€Å"Why does Dad mock me all the time?† (Page 21) This just brings a pinch of tangibility and support the true power of Willy’s abusive comments. There was also a less visible approach to Willy’s abusive nature, and that was in how he spoke to Biff. I’m sure you’re probably encountered similar situations, maybe when meeting the judgmental mother-in-law. To get straight to the point, they state seemingly standard question or comments laced in condescension and attitude. Willy had a perpetual filter of attitude when he would confront Biff; and I use the word â€Å"confronting† because the seemed less like conversations and more like an interview. It would be extremely difficult to demonstrate this, so instead I present a quote from his wife Linda who also recognizes his confrontational attitude. â€Å"LINDA: †¦You mustn’t lose your temper with him. WILLY: When the hell did I lose my temper? I simply asked him if we making any money†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 15) As you can see, Linda has recognized what I did, Willy’s subtle criticism of his son Biff via seemingly harmless questions. Though Willy’s verbal assaults were extremely hurtful they didn’t even scratch the surface relative his other mode of victimization; the belief of  his son’s greatness. Most would consider thinking your son is great to a fantastic attribute for both son and father, but there is a level of moderation that was completely disregarded. Hoping the best for your son and being utterly divorced from reality are two completely different things; and unfortunately Willy was the latter. By constantly putting Biff on a pedestal he put him in a very uncomfortable situation. He made Biff feel that if he didn’t achieve the level of his expectations he was a failure. This ultimately led to his breakdown and the elimination any doubts of the pain Willy induced. Besides the previously mentioned moments of abuse, Willy was a less than satisfactory parent. In order for people to become competent adults they require a strong upbringing. The reason Biff didn’t have a strong upbringing was because of Willy’s ego. Willy thought he was had fantastic genes and his son would be fantastic by default. For starters, his father ignored all warning sides that Biff was failing math, even after literal warning from his son’s friend Bernard; â€Å"BERNARD: I heard Mr. Birnbaum say that if you don’t start studyin’ math he’s gonna flunk you†¦ WILLY: Don’t be a pest, Bernard!† (Page 32) Willy’s belief in Biff’s infallibility led him to completely disregard the warning signs of his failure. Some might think this is Biff’s responsibility, but I beg to differ. Willy is his father, and his son was at a crucial age in life, one where the easiest choice isn’t the best. This was a very important time for Willy to take hold and push him to succeed and unfortunately he didn’t. By not giving him a proper foundation he put his son in a predicament he could never escape, one that presented years of disappointment frustration and anger. Willy’s abuse of his son Happy wasn’t of an unconventional nature. He didn’t insult Happy, nor did he criticize him. What he did could be interpreted as even worse, he didn’t acknowledge his existence. The only time he entered into mind was while Biff was the focal point. It was evident that this constant ignorance deeply bothered Happy. As a child Happy was constantly pretentious; trying to grasp any ounce of attention he could get his hands on. This is a sheer sign of someone who was attention deprived. He wouldn’t have had to constantly draw attention to himself if he was getting it  anyways, in a manner a good father would provide. In his later life, Happy suffers from numerous characteristic of a person who was an attention deprived child. For one he perpetually lies to making him seem like something worth admiring; as demonstrated at the Chop House, â€Å"Excuse me, miss, do you mind? I sell champagne and I’d like you to try my brand . Bring her a champagne, Stanley.† (Page 101) In this scene Happy boldly lies to woe a women he has just met; he was not a champagne sales person, he in fact worked an unsatisfying job as the assistant to the assistant buyer. Another sign of his victimization as child was evident in the way he treated his father. I speculate as the years past, Happy started to resent his fathers. This is evident by the apathy he demonstrated towards his father at the Chop House; â€Å"LETTA: Don’t you want to tell your father- HAPPY: No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy. Come on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 115) There is an expression, â€Å"the apple doesn’t fall from the tree†. I think this moment brings this expression to life as Willy’s choice to ignore his son comes full circle as Happy does the same, leaving him high and dry. Willy didn’t direct his victimization to the Loman family members alone, he chose to victimize people outside his family as well. He was relentless when it came to his neighbor and good friend Charley. Charley was a great friend of his who would help him finically at every turn of the way. Even when Willy lost his job and was indebt Charley put his best foot forward to correct this unfortunate circumstance by offering the obviously useless Willy a job. Willy seemed to overlook this steadfast friendship to criticize Charley for relatively irrelevant reasons; â€Å"WIILY: Where are the rest of your pants? CHARLEY: My wife bought them. WILLY: Now all you need is a golf club†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 51) This is just one of the numerous examples of Willy ruthlessly criticizing his loyal friend. Insulting someone when they are around could be construed as friendly banter if Willy didn’t insult Charley only in person. This is demonstrated when Willy s uses his loyal friend as a model of someone who isn’t â€Å"well-liked.† â€Å"HAPPY: Like Uncle Charley, heh? WILLY: Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not-liked. He’s liked, but he’s not-well liked.† (Page 30) The most troublesome portion of this moment in Death of a Salesman is the level of candor. Willy throws his friend to the dogs as if he’s was a piece of meat. The victimization didn’t pertain to Charley alone; it also carried over to his son Bernard. Willy view Charley’s son Bernard as weak because of his lack of athletic prowess. For this reasons Willy felt it necessary to victimize Bernard as exemplified in the following, â€Å"You want him to be a worm like Bernard?† (Page 40) In this quote Willy refers to his son’s friend Bernard as a worm during a conversation with his wife Linda. The most unfortunately part of this is that Bernard, much like his father has a caring nature, and constantly tries to help the Loman’s. Once again, Willy just brushes off any attempted assistances and chooses to do the exact opposite and victimize. Victimization as far as Willy Loman was concerned wasn’t a one way street; the sword of victimization was double-edged. Howard, Mr.Loman’s boss was probably his biggest adversary. He was a very business oriented individual who didn’t see faces but instead dollar signs. This is best exhibited when an emotionally tattered Willy request a desk job in the New York office. â€Å"I appreciate that, Willy, but there just is no spot here for you. If I had a spot I’d slam you right in, but I just don’t have a single solitary spot.† (Page 80) Upon first glance this might seem as if Howard is a caring individual whose hands are tied, but that is just a business persona exhibited and taught universally. If that seems like to far of a stretch you only need to inspect Howard’s actions that later came; â€Å"HOWARD: Willy, you can’t go to Boston for us. WILLY: Why can’t I go? HOWARD: I don’t want you to represent us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 83) Willy’s purpose upon visiting Howard was to request an advance to protect his family arrives only to get the proverbial boot. Howard did mention business is business and we are all aware that the business world is cut throat and if you aren’t effectively doing you’re job you don’t deserve to have one; but this doesn’t excuse the tactfulness of Howard’s actions. Willy’s loyalty was completely disregarded, he wasn’t given any chance or warning and for that reason this by whom Willy was most victimized. Besides Howard, only one character could touch the level of victimization he achieved, and his name was Willy Loman; bar-none, his own worst enemy. One  of the crucial problems with Willy was his need to be better than everyone else. He constantly compared his achievement to his brother Ben as well as his good friend Charley. He viewed anything less than their success as simply not good enough. This in turn caused Willy an enormous amount of anxiety. Comparing yourself with your peers isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s only bad when your point of comparison is insurmountable and you won’t settle for anything less; his brother Ben had a mammoth size fortune, and good friend Charley was a wealthy business owner with an, even wealthier Lawyer son. If that wasn’t enough, like most parents, Willy began to live his life through his son Biff. Biff being a total failure; this resulted in even more suffering for Willy. Willy’s hope began to decay and deca y until it was unrecognizable, leaving him with only one option left. Willy’s only option left was suicide. A series of culminating events in Willy’s eyes, denied him any other option. He was starting to subconsciously recognize his failure as a father and more importantly a man. I couldn’t imagine a more cold cut victimization of one self. Many people when in a depressed state commit heinous acts, but there is no more heinous than committing suicide. Suicide is the grand puma as far as self-deprecation goes and Willy was a culprit of it. The mode of his suicide was even more appalling; a forced car accident. There are many sure ways to kill yourself; hanging, or shooting, jumping off something really high, but it takes a significant amount of self victimization to commit suicide via motor vehicle. This is because the chances of sustaining permanent injury are extremely high versus the chances of death. For this reason, I can concur that all victimization of Willy’s were only overcome by the victimization of himself. This play was riff in the victimization and concurrent victims. Linda was victimized in enumerable fashions by her husband Willy. Willy’s victimization also carried over to his two son’s Biff and Happy who where both victimized but in two different fashions; one by neglect the other by high expectations. The victimization by Willy Loman didn’t cease at the doors of the Loman household, it even was carried over to his loyal friend and neighbor Charley and son Bernard. Willy was in turn victimized by his  boss Howard who made him feel inferior to the company, striking a serious blow to his ego, as well as putting him in a horrible finical situation. This diatribe aside Willy was in fact the biggest abuser of himself. One unanswered question seems to resound through this play, and that is why did Willy feel the need to criticize those around him? Was it his upbringing? I am under the impression it was due to mental illness. Willy seems to have many of the characteristics of one who is depressed; persistently sad, anxious, feelings of helplessness, difficulty making decisions, irrational thoughts and at the top of that list, suicide. Willy was without a doubt the biggest victimizer in Death of a Salesman but his victimization of others was only superseded by the victimization of himself.

ACT Writing Prompts The Complete Guide

ACT Writing Prompts The Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It's pretty scary to walk into a room on ACT test day and with no idea what the essay question you're about to answer is about. Luckily, you don't need to know- the ACT essay prompts only ask about a teensy, tiny category of ideas. And the best part is, you already know all about the topics! Keep reading to see sample ACT Writing prompts you can practice with. More importantly, we also teach you how to gather evidence before the test so you can walk in 100% prepared to answer any prompt they give you. 7 Sample ACT Essay Prompts The idea behind the ACT essay is that it's a fair test of everyone's writing ability because nobody knows the topic or question before the test. In order for this to be true, the ACT actually has to choose from a pretty small sliver of questions (since the topics must be broad enough that all test takers can write about them). See for yourself: here are the three free and publicly available official ACT Writing prompts. Do you notice any common threads? 1. Intelligent Machines (source: ACT.org ) Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people. Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities. Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines. 2. Public Health and Individual Freedom (source: ACT.org ) Most people want to be healthy, and most people want as much freedom as possible to do the things they want. Unfortunately, these two desires sometimes conflict. For example, smoking is prohibited from most public places, which restricts the freedom of some individuals for the sake of the health of others. Likewise, car emissions are regulated in many areas in order to reduce pollution and its health risks to others, which in turn restricts some people’s freedom to drive the vehicles they want. In a society that values both health and freedom, how do we best balance the two? How should we think about conflicts between public health and individual freedom?Perspective One: Our society should strive to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. When the freedom of the individual interferes with that principle, freedom must be restricted.Perspective Two: Nothing in society is more valuable than freedom. Perhaps physical health is sometimes improved by restricting freedom, but the cost to the health of our free society is far too great to justify it.Perspective Three: The right to avoid health risks is a freedom, too. When we allow individual behavior to endanger others, we’ve damaged both freedom and health.Write a unified, coherent essay about the conflict between public health and individual freedom. 3. Kid Stuff (source: ACT.org ) Toys are for children, right? Not anymore. In recent years, things that used to be considered "kid stuff" have grown in popularity among grownups. Nowadays, adults regularly play video games, watch animated movies and television show, purchase dolls and other collectible figures, and read comic books for their own enjoyment. Is adult enjoyment of children's entertainment merely a sign of immaturity? In what ways can playing with kid stuff change the way adults understand today's youth? Given that toys, games, and publications that used to be exclusively for children are growing in popularity among adults, it is worth considering the effects and implications of this trend.Perspective One: It's good for adults to be familiar with kid stuff. They'll understand the lives of children better and be more responsive to their needs, interests, and problems.Perspective Two: Adults need to be models of maturity and responsibility. When they act and think like children, kids have no one to look to for guidance.Perspective Three: Children need their own cultural space- their own books, their own toys, their own movies- in which to explore their ideas. When adults start to take over the space, kids lose out.Write a unified, coherent essay about the trend of adults playing with kid stuff. Here are four other prompts that I have constructed, based on the core question and core perspectives I extracted from the official prompts (if you're curious about how I constructed these prompts, check out our article on how to attack ACT Writing prompts): 4. Globalization Many of the goods and services we depend on daily have global sources. Where once you might speak with a customer service representative from across the country about your computer problems, your call now would most likely be routed across the world. In one grocery store, it can be possible to find a mixture of foods from multiple continents. Various pieces of culture can be instantaneously broadcast around the world via the Internet, enabling shared experiences among people of disparate geographic origins. Globalization is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what happens when we replace local interactions with global ones? Given the accelerating rate of globalization, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of its presence in our lives.Perspective One: Globalization requires a shift in the way we think about other people, other societies, and the world. This is good, because it will push humanity towards previously unimaginable possibilities and achievements.Perspec tive Two: Removing geographic boundaries from commerce means that the right people can be chosen for the right jobs at the right price. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: The flourishing of a new, global society comes at the cost of local cultures. Less diversity leads to deficits in empathy and creativity, two of the most defining characteristics of humanity.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of globalization. 5. Information Accessibility At this moment in time, there is more information more readily available to more people than ever before. Smartphones can instantly provide directions to your destination, when even 10 years ago you had to look up directions before you left and/or bring along a map. Researchers from all over the world are able to pool their knowledge to advance their fields more quickly. Many libraries have broadened their collections to include subscriptions to online/electronic databases as well as printed works. Greater access to information is generally seen as a positive advance, but what are the consequences of making so much knowledge available to so many people? Based upon the ever-increasing amount of information in the world and the ever-broader access to it, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of easy access to information in our lives.Perspective One: With increased ease of access to information, we lose the incentive to gain knowledge ourselves. By outsourcing our memories of facts and other information, we are becoming less intelligent.Perspective Two: Greater access to information allows us to avoid memorizing facts and, instead, use our brains for higher-level thinking. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: The more people who have access to more information, the greater the chances of collaboration and thus further advances in human knowledge. This is good because it pushes us toward new, unimagined possibilities.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing accessibility of information. 6. Novelty In the world today, newness is highly valued. Social media apps constantly update to make sure you’re shown the newest information or posts from those you follow. Many of the products we purchase today are purposefully created with short lifespans to encourage consumers to continue to get the newest, up-to-date versions. Subscription services for music and video make it possible to continuously listen to and watch new media. Novelty is generally seen as a positive characteristic, but what are we losing by constantly focusing on the new? Given its increasing prevalence, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of the growing emphasis on novelty in our lives.Perspective One: Change is the only constant in life, and to ignore this is to grow rigid and stagnate. More exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking can only lead to progress for society and for humanity as a whole.Perspective Two: By exclusively focusing on the new, we lose sight of what we already know. Instea d of ignoring the old, we should be focusing more past accomplishments and errors. The only way to move forward is to heed the lessons of the past.Perspective Three: Information, products, and ways of thinking should only be valued if they are useful and reliable, not just because they are new and exciting. New does not automatically equal improved.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing value assigned to novelty. 7. Job Changes Fewer and fewer people are staying with the same job their entire lives. In the United States, the average person will switch jobs more than 10 times in over the course of his/her life. Some workers will make lateral, or even downward, moves in order to increase personal fulfillment. Others switch jobs in an effort to obtain the highest possible salary. Increasing personal autonomy is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what happens when length of experience is replaced with variety of experience? As the number of jobs people will hold over the course of their lives continues to climb, it is important to examine the implications and meaning of this trend for our lives.Perspective One: Because jobs are no longer a lifetime commitment, people will feel freer to accept a greater variety of positions. This increase in breadth of experience will in turn make job applicants more attractive to future employers. Perspective Two: As the frequency with which people change jobs increases, the loyalty of people to their employers will decrease. This in turn will lead to more fractured company cultures, as employees will only care about what’s best for them.Perspective Three: The disappearance of the stigma associated with frequent job switching will allow employees more leeway with employment decisions. Increased autonomy will lead to increased happiness and job satisfaction.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing frequency with which people switch jobs. For additional Writing Prompts to practice with, you also might want to consider purchasing the most recent Official ACT Prep Guide, which includes five additional official essay prompts. While you'll see many different topics asked about on the ACT essay section, there is in fact only one ACT Writing Prompt (and three types of perspectives) you have to know. We call these the Core Question and Core Perspectives. This question (and these perspectives) will run through each and every ACT Essay prompt you'll get. The Reasoning Behind The Core Question As you can see, all the ACT writing prompts are about how the world (and the people in it) is (are) changing. All of them boil down to the following question: "What are your views on how humans are changing the world?" or, even more broadly, "What do you think about the way the world is changing?" The ACT frames its prompts this way because ACT, Inc. wants to choose essay topics that all students can have an opinion on, rather than asking about something extremely specific for which some students are more prepared than others. First Global Image from VIIRS by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Read through the two official prompts again (above). Rather than asking about high school life (as the old ACT Writing prompts did), the current ACT essay prompts ask students to consider how changes in the world today affect all humanity, forcing the students to place the issue in a broader context. While the topics may appear to be highly specific at first glance (e.g. "intelligent machines"), the explanatory paragraphs for each prompt make it clear that the topics can be parlayed in a number of different directions (and be accessible to most people). There won't be prompts about issues that mainly affect urban dwellers (e.g. subways), or only affect certain geographic areas (e.g. snow preparedness). Similarly, something like "smartphones," for instance, would never be a topic on its own; rather, it would be an example that could be used for the topic (as with the "intelligent machines" prompt). When writing the ACT essay, it really helps to have strong opinions about the core question ("What do you think about the way humans are changing the world?"), but if you don't, no problem: it's easy to develop opinions! And we're here to give you a head start. In the next section, we're going to give you three basic opinions related to the core ACT essay question. We'll show you how to apply these perspectives to specific prompts and tell you where you can find examples to support them. The Reasoning Behind The Core Perspectives The new ACT prompt has three different perspectives that you need to discuss during the course of your essay. To figure out the three core perspectives, I read and re-read the perspectives for all three of the official prompts, considering them in light of the informational paragraphs that preceded them. I ended up with these three basic opinions: Core Perspective A: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] are not good and have negative results. This perspective maps onto Perspective 1 of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 2 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 3 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "conservatism," since this perspective wishes to be conservative and not change things. Core Perspective B: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] will lead to greater (in)efficiency. This perspective maps onto Perspective 2of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 1 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 2 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "utilitarianism," since this perspective is all about what will be more practical and lead to the greatest good for the greatest number of people (this is even explicitly spelled out in Perspective 1 of the second official sample prompt). Core Perspective C: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] will yield positive future results because it will lead to improvements for all humanity. This perspective maps onto Perspective 3 of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 3 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 1 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "progressivism," since this perspective argues that change = progress = good. Building a Support Bank Now you know that the ACT essay will only ever ask you to discuss one question: "How is the world changing?" If you prepare for this question with diverse evidence before the test, you'll be ready to answer the prompt no matter what it is. To give yourself the most time to write and organize your argument, your thesis should match up with one of the three perspectives given- that way, you won't have to take the time come up with a fourth, completely new perspective and compare it to at least one the three perspectives the ACT provides. But it gets better! The internet (and society in general) is chock-full of theories and arguments about how the world is changing, and whether or not that's a good thing. All you have to do is read up on some of them and develop your own opinions. Opinions on the World Your ACT essay thesis should basically be one of the three perspectives, but you have to support that opinion with evidence- the answer to the question "why?" (or "why not"?). Look over these sets of three opinions and try to think of reasons or examples to support each. The world is changing to be worse than it was before. (because...) The world is changing to be better than it was before. (because...) The world is changing to be more (in)efficient than ever before. (because...) Research and Brainstorming Ideas Unlike with the SAT essay, you can use abstract reasoning to develop your point on the ACT. This means that you don't necessarily have to come to the test pre-loaded with specific examples: if you can't think of a concrete example that will support your point, you can make one up as you go along while constructing your argument. Now we'll look over a few sample internet resources that could serve as support (or brainstorming assistance) for the opinions above. You can use the general ideas from these resources, but you may also find some useful specific examples for when you face your real ACT Writing prompt. News sources such as the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Al Jazeera, Time, The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, Wired, New York Magazine, Popular Science, Psychology Today, Vox, Mic, and even Buzzfeed News will have information about current events that you can use. If you prefer listening/watching the news, you can always try that as a source of current events information as well watching or listening to television, radio, or podcasts. How Do I Use This Article? Just knowing what the ACT Writing prompts are likely to be about may lead you to think about the way you interact with the world somewhat differently. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for anything that could be fodder to answer a question about the way the world is changing- anything you learn about in history/social studies, read/hear about in the news, or even encounter in a futuristic novel can be added to your support bank. But, of course, the more effective way to use the information in this article is to practice both planning and writing ACT essays. We have another article with ACT essay tips, which can give you more information on how to practice the actual writing process, but knowing about the prompt types can get you thinking about your own opinions on how the world is changing. After all, you're being asked about this because you have a lot of experience with it, living in the world as you do (unless you are a ghost and don't live in this world, in which case, why are you taking the ACT?). So, using the prompts at the beginning of this article, or another group of questions about issues having to do with change (some items on this list of debate topics, for example), start planning hypothetical writing ACT essay responses. Try reading our step-by-step ACT essay example if you're stumped about where to begin. For each issue, planning involves picking a side, supporting it with one to two reasons or examples, and deciding how to discuss at least one of the other given perspectives in relation to the one you've picked (including arguments both for and against the other perspectives). If you really want to max out your ACT essay score, you should practice planning essays about how the world is changing until you can do it in 8-10 minutes reliably. If you're curious about where that 8-10 minute estimate comes from, check out our ACT essay tips article. What's Next? Check out our comprehensive collection of ACT Writing guides, including a detailed analysis ofthe ACT Writing Rubric that includes explanations and strategies and our explanation of the differences between the old and new ACT Writing Test. Find out how to get a perfect score on ACT Writing. Follow along as I construct a top-scoring essay step-by-step, or check out our list of tips to raise your ACT Writing score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. 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