Blind Ambition in Macbeth - 1295 Words

Throughout the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reasoning of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is completely subverted and undermined by their insatiable ambition. Macbeth was at first reasonable enough to keep his ambition in check, however it eventually became to strong for even Macbeth and therefor over powered him. To the contrary, Lady Macbeth was overcome by her ambition from the very beginning. Reasoning was abandoned after the decision to kill Duncan was made. At that point we see no serious questioning of the motives of the three witches when they told their cunning and misleading predictions. Macbeth even went as far as to ask for their advise a second time - this second time would of course lead to his downfall. The decision to†¦show more content†¦His ambition does not become overbearing until it is fueled by Lady Macbeths own ambition. Macbeths ambition is in sharp contrast to Banquo. Banquo comes across as much more hesitant to accept the witches prophesy. This contrast was created for a specific reason - to highlight Macbeths tragic flaw. One critical perspective views Banquos function as essentially symbolic: he is portrayed as a man who, like Macbeth, has the capacity for both Gods grace and sin; but unlike the protagonist, he puts little stock in the Weird Sisters, prophecies and does not succumb to their temptations. Banquos reluctance to dwell on the witchs predictions therefore underscores, by contrast, the nature of Macbeths descent into evil. (Scott; 238) Banquo does not have the same overbearing ambition as Macbeth and therefor is able to reason with the situation. Banquos logic is most prevalently seen in the following quote: That trusted home Might yet enkindle you unto the Crown Besides the Thane of Cawdor, But tis Strange: And oftentimes, to win us to our Harm. The Instruments of Darkness tell us Truths, Win us with honest Trifles, to betrays In deepest Consequence - Cousins, a Word, I pray you. (Shakespeare; I, iii, 118-124) Banquo speaks this quote immediately after Macbeth is told that he will be the new Thane of Cawdor. It is a stark warning that shows evidence of logical deduction andShow MoreRelatedExamples Of Blind Ambition In Macbeth911 Words   |  4 PagesIsn’t it amazing how humans throughout the centuries have clung to their ambitions and accomplished amazing feats? Surely it must be. However, what happens when someone clings to their blind ambitions? This problematic characteristic has wedged its way into humanity for many, many years. Why, even in Macbeth it’s a common theme that somehow relates to our modern society. Three prime examples of people who have blind ambitions are: Christy Clark, a British Columbian politician, Hillary Clinton, andRead MoreAmbition In Macbeth983 Words   |  4 Pages The Destructive Power of Ambition Ambition can be the one thing that drives people forward in life, motivating and inspiring them to be successful, but, ambition can also lead to one’s demise, infecting anyone and everyone involved. In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s ambition is the main cause for the destruction of those around him. Macbeth’s thirst for power puts an end to many lives of many innocent individuals, as he is blind from all sense of rationality due toRead More Responsibility for the Downfall of Macbeth Essay783 Words   |  4 PagesThe tragic downfall of Macbeth can be contributed to several key factors. Macbeth’s downfall can be attributed to his blind ambition, the influence of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s own insecurities and misgivings. Blind ambition combined with immoral goals, with Lady Macbeth’s influence and Macbeth’s personal doubts all lead to his inevitable downfall. The greatest factor to Macbeth’s downfall should be attributed to his blind, uncontrollable ambition. This factor is first seen with the second appearanceRead MoreThe Downfall Of Macbeth By William Shakespeare1399 Words   |  6 Pageswho blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must fall with the greatest loss.† Niccolo Machiavelli means to say is that when driven by blind ambition, one will go to the highest rank possible and the only thing left for one to do is to fall. In Shakespeare’s most bloody and gory play â€Å"Macbeth†, the late Shakespeare correctly exemplifies the fact that if one is ambitious one will have the greatest downfall, and will suffer consequences. Macbeth a mighty and ambitiousRead MoreRole of Ambition in Macbeth Essay1098 Words   |  5 PagesThe play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is based upon old Scotland and this is used as the general time frame. During this time, Monarchy sti ll existed and Scotland is in war with Whales. There are many emotions that arise throughout the play, but the most important of all is ambition. â€Å"Ambition is the desire for personal achievement. Ambitious persons seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority† (â€Å"Ambition†). The motif of ambition in the play is thatRead MoreMacbeth Critique1404 Words   |  6 PagesA critique on the main character in William Shakespeares Macbeth. So foul and fair a day I have not seen. This is a famous quote by Macbeth, the antagonist in William Shakespeares classic work, The Tragedy of Macbeth. This one line takes place when Macbeth and Banquo are returning from their victory in battle over the Norwegians. Following this quote further it could be looked at in a broader spectrum of Macbeths triumphs and failures. He goes from a warrior hero to a murderer, and lastly, hisRead MoreThe Flaws Of Human Nature1717 Words   |  7 Pagesmotivat ing an action that lingers in the back of the mind of any character. The supernatural in particular is known for its ability to push people to extremes and alter their perception drastically. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is easy to assume the blind ambition that brews within Macbeth and his wife or the guilt that plagues them following their actions is the biggest motivator. But that is just the surface of the complexity interlaced into this tragedy. Dig further, and it becomes clear that theseRead MoreTheme Of Ambition In Macbeth876 Words   |  4 PagesShakespeare’s 17th century play Macbeth, is a timeless tale of fate, power, and the consequences of ambition. Despite vastly different interpretations across the centuries due to different cultural and historical contexts, the story remains powerful and relevant today because of its universal themes. Since the play was essentially written for King James I, Shakespeare heavily reinforces the king’s own beliefs a nd values. Although we do not follow these doctrines in the present day, the literary techniquesRead MoreMacbeth Essay1283 Words   |  6 PagesThe tragic hero Macbeth loses everything he has including his sanity in the classic Shakespeare play Macbeth. The crimes he commits are not Macbeth’s fault because of the other factors that affect his actions. The witches and Lady Macbeth are responsible for the crimes since they influence Macbeth in several ways throughout the play. Macbeth becomes caught up in all the manipulating words and his actions are not his fault. Macbeth is not guilty for the crimes in the play Macbeth. The witches andRead MoreThe Theme Of Ambition In Macbeth And Enders Game880 Words   |  4 PagesAmbition in human nature is so powerful that it can blind one’s vision of achieving success. Both Lady Macbeth’s ambition from Shakespeare’s MacBeth and Peter’s ambition from Card’s Ender’s Game blinds judgement and logic, and they eventually end up more harming than succeeding. In the play MacBeth by Shakespeare, MacBeth is strangely met by three witches, who declares his prophecy of being king, but later losing the crown. Lady MacBeth ambitious goal for MacBeth remain king results in her going

Social Behavior And Society By Dr. G. Scott Acton And The...

Sociology is the study of social behavior and society. An important part of social behavior is analyzing how we as people behave and the patterns of how we interact with one another. The article in which I have looked into is titled, â€Å"Attachment Theory.† The website of this article is maintained by Dr. G. Scott Acton and the article was written by Cristan E. Eagan. The professional journal article this was published in is Personality Research, a website that I found through the Social Psychology Network. It was last updated in 2002, so it is a little over a decade outdated, but has very important and useful information. The research topic is how different senses of attachment work and how we are affected by them. The author is investigating the ways we deal with, â€Å"attachment, separation, and loss in close personal relationships.† The social theory being investigated is attachment theory, which is defined as, â€Å"Attachment theory is a psychological model th at attempts to describe the dynamics of long-term interpersonal relationships between humans.†(Wikipedia). Also, this theory emerges interpersonal theory, and attachment styles as sensitive responding, strange situation and Harlow’s experiments. These subcategories truly explain and expand on what we do when attached or let go of and how it happens. To begin the discussion, we will touch base on how the author plays previous researches into the article. First, the article contains the model of self and of other, from

Carrie Chapter Five Free Essays

She would not break this time. But of course she did break. It took six hours but she broke, weeping and calling Momma to open the door and let her out. We will write a custom essay sample on Carrie Chapter Five or any similar topic only for you Order Now The need to urinate was terrible. The Black Man grinned at her with his jackal mouth, and his scarlet eyes knew all the secrets of woman-blood. An hour after Carrie began to call, Momma let her out. Carrie scrabbled madly for the bathroom. It was only now, three hours after that, sitting here with her head bowed over the sewing machine like a penitent, that she remembered the fear in Momma’s eyes and she thought she knew the reason why. There had been other times when Momma had kept her in the closet for as long as a day at a stretch-when she stole that forty-nine-cent finger ring from Shuber’s Five and Ten, the time she had found that picture of Flash Bobby Pickett under Carrie’s pillow – and Carrie had once fainted from the lack of food and the smell of her own waste. And she had never, never spoken back as she had done today. Today she had even said the Eff Word. Yet Momma had let her out almost as soon as she broke. There. The dress was done. She removed her feet from the treadle and held it up to look at it. It was long. And ugly. She hated it. She knew why Momma had let her out. ‘Momma, may I go to bed?’ ‘Yes.’ Momma did not look up from her doily. She folded the dress over her arm. She looked down at the sewing machine. All at once the treadle depressed itself. The needle began to dip up and down, catching the light in steely flashes. The bobbin whirred and jerked. The sidewheel spun. Momma’s head jerked up, her eyes wide. The looped matrix at the edge of her doily, wonderfully intricate yet at the same time as precise and even, suddenly fell in disarray. ‘Only clearing the thread,’ Carrie said softly. ‘Go to bed,’ Momma said curtly, and the fear was back in her eyes. ‘Yes, (she was afraid i’d knock the closet door right off its hinges) Momma,’ (and i think i could i think i could yes i think i could) From The Shadow Exploded (p. 58): Margaret White was born and raised in Motton, a small town which borders Chamberlain and sends its tuition students to Chamberlain’s junior and senior high schools. Her parents were fairly well-to-do; they owned a prosperous night spot just outside the Motton town limits called The Jolly Roadhouse. Margaret’s father, John Brigham, was killed in a barroom shooting incident in the summer of 1959. Margaret Brigham, who was then almost thirty, began attending fundamentalist prayer meetings. Her mother had become involved with a new man (Harold Alison, whom she later married) and they both wanted Margaret out of the house-she believed her mother, Judith, and Harold Alison were living in sin and made her views known frequently. Judith Brigham expected her daughter to remain a spinster the rest of her life. In the more pungent phraseology of her soon-to-be stepfather, ‘Margaret had a face like the ass end of a gasoline truck and a body to match.’ He also referred to her as ‘a little prayin’ Jesus.’ Margaret refused to leave until 1960, when she met Ralph White at a revival meeting. In September of that year she left the Brigham. residence in Motton and moved to a small flat in Chamberlain Centre. The courtship of Margaret Brigham, and Ralph White terminated in marriage on March 23, 1962. On April 3, 1962, Margaret White was admitted briefly to Westover Doctors Hospital. ‘Nope, she wouldn’t tell us what was wrong,’ Harold Alison said. ‘The one time we went to see her she told us we were living in adultery even though we were hitched, and we were going to hell. She said God had put an invisible mark on our foreheads, but she could see it. Acted crazy as a bat in a henhouse, she did. Her mom tried to be nice, tried to find out what the matter with her was. She got hysterical and started to rave about an angel with a sword who would walk through the parking lots of roadhouses and cut down the wicked. We left.’ Judith Alison, however, had at least an idea of what might have been wrong with her daughter; she thought that Margaret had gone through a miscarriage. If so, the baby was conceived out of wedlock. Confirmation of this would shed an interesting light on the character of Carrie’s mother. In a long and rather hysterical letter to her mother dated August 19, 1962, Margaret said that she and Ralph were living sinlessly, without ‘the Curse of Intercourse’. She urged Harold and Judith Alison to close their ‘abode of wickedness’ and do likewise. ‘It is,’ Margaret declares near the end of her letter, ‘the only [sic] way you That Man can avoid the Rain of Blood yet to come. Ralph I, like Mary Joseph, will neither know or polute [sic] each others flesh. If there is issue, let it be Divine.’ Of course, the calendar tells us that Carrie was conceived later that same year †¦ The girls dressed quietly for their Monday morning Period One gym class, with no horseplay or little screaming catcalls, and none of them were very surprised when Miss Desjardin slammed open the locker-room and walked in. Her silver whistle dangling between her small breasts, and if her shorts were the ones she had been wearing on Friday, no trace of Carrie’s bloody handprint remained. The girls continued to dress sullenly, not looking at her. ‘Aren’t you the bunch to send out for graduation,’ Miss Desjardin said softly. ‘When is it? A month? And the spring Ball even less than that. Most of you have your dates and gowns already, I bet. Sue, you’ll be going with Tommy Ross. Helen, Roy Evarts. Chris, I imagine you can take your pick. Who’s the lucky guy?’. ‘Billy Nolan,’ Chris Hargensen said sullenly. ‘Well, isn’t he the lucky one?’ Desjardin remarked. ‘What are you going to give him for a party favour, Chris, a bloody Kotex? Or how about some used toilet paper? I understand these things seem to be your sack these days.’ Chris went red. ‘I’m leaving. I don’t have to listen to that.’ Desjardin had not been able to get the image of Carrie out of her mind all weekend, Carrie screaming, blubbering, a wet napkin plastered squarely in the middle of her pubic hair-and her own sick, angry reaction. And now, as Chris tried to storm out past her, she reached out and slammed her against a row of dented, olive-coloured lockers beside the inner door. Chris’s eyes widened with shocked disbelief. Then a kind of insane rage filled her face. ‘You can’t hit us!’ she screamed. ‘You’ll get canned for this! See if you don’t, you bitch!’ The other girls winced and sucked breath and stared at the floor. It was getting out of hand. Sue noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fern and Donna Thibodeau were holding hands. ‘I don’t really care, Hargensen,’ Desjardin said. ‘If you or any of your girls – think I’m wearing my teacher hat right now, you’re making a bad mistake. I just want you all to know that you did a shitty thing on Friday. A really shitty thing.’ Chris Hargensen was sneering at the floor. The rest of the girls were looking miserably at anything but their gym instructor. Sue found herself looking into the shower stall – the scene of the crime – and jerked her glance elsewhere. None of them had ever heard a teacher call anything shitty before. ‘Did any of you stop to think that Carrie White has feelings? Do any of you ever stop to think? Sue? Fern? Helen? Jessica? Any of you? You think she’s ugly. Well, you’re all ugly. I saw it on Friday morning.’ Chris Hargensen was mumbling about her father being a lawyer. ‘Shutup!’ Desjardin yelled in her face. Chris recoiled so suddenly that her head struck the lockers behind her. She began to whine and rub her head. ‘One more remark out of you,’ Desjardin said softly, ‘and I’ll throw you across the room. Want to find out if I’m telling the truth?’ Chris, who had apparently decided she was dealing with a mad-woman, said nothing. Desjardin put her hands on her hips. ‘The office has decided on punishment for you girls. Not my punishment, I’m sorry to say. My idea was three days’ suspension and refusal of your prom tickets.’ Several girls looked at each other and muttered unhappily. ‘That would have hit you where you live,’ Desjardin continued, ‘Unfortunately, Ewen is staffed completely by men in its administration wing. I don’t believe they have any real conception of how utterly nasty what you did was. So. One week’s detention.’ Spontaneous sighs of relief. ‘But. It’s to be my detention. In the gym. And I’m going to run you ragged.’ ‘I won’t come,’ Chris said. Her lips had thinned across her teeth. ‘That’s up to you, Chris. That’s up to all of you. But punishment for skipping detention is going to be three days’ suspension and refusal of your prom tickets. Get the picture?’ No one said anything. ‘Right. Change up. And think about what I said.’ She left. Utter silence for a long and stricken moment. Then Chris Hargensen said with loud, hysterical stridency: ‘She can’t get away with it!’ She opened a door at random, pulled out a pair of sneakers and hurled them across the room. ‘I’m going to get her! Goddammit! Goddammit! See if I don’t! If we all stick together we..’ ‘Shut up, Chris,’ Sue said, and was shocked to hear a dead, adult lifelessness in her voice. ‘Just shut up.’ ‘This isn’t over,’ Chris Hargensen said, unzipping her skirt with a rough jab and reaching for her fashionably frayed green gym shorts. ‘This isn’t over by a long way.’ And she was right. From The Shadow Exploded (pp. 60-6 1): In the opinion of this researcher, a great many of the people who have researched the Carrie White matter – either for the scientific journals or for the popular press – have placed a mistaken emphasis on a relatively fruitless search for incidents of telekinesis in the girl’s childhood. To strike a rough analogy, this is like spending years researching the early incidents of masturbation in a rapist’s childhood. The spectacular incident of the stones serves as a kind of red herring in this respect. Many researchers have adopted the erroneous belief that where there has been one incident, there must be others. To offer another analogy, this is like dispatching a crew of meteor watchers to Crater National Park because a huge asteroid struck there two million years ago. To the best of my knowledge, there are no other recorded instances of TK in Carrie’s childhood. If Carrie had not been an only child, we might have at least hearsay reports of dozens of other minor occurrences. In the case of Andrea Kolintz (see Appendix II for a fuller history), we are told that, following a spanking for crawling out on the roof, ‘The medicine cabinet flew open, bottles fell to the floor or seemed to hurl themselves across the bathroom, doors flew open and slammed shut, and at the climax of the manifestation, a 300-pound stereo cabinet tipped over and records flew all over the living room, dive-bombing the occupants and shattering against the walls.’ Significantly, this report is from one of Andrea’s brothers, as quoted in the September 4, 1955, issue of Life magazine. Life is hardly the most scholarly or unimpeachable source, but there is a great deal of other documentation, and I think that the point of familiar witnesship is served. In the case of Carrie White, the only witness to any possible prologue to the final climactic events was Margaret White, and she, of course is dead. Henry Grayle, principal of Ewen High School, had been expecting him all week, but Chris Hargensen’s father didn’t show up until Friday-the day after Chris had skipped her detention period with the formidable Miss Desjardin. ‘Yes, Miss Fish?’ He spoke formally into the intercom, although he could see the man in the outer office through his window, and certainly knew his face from pictures in the local paper. ‘John Hargensen to see you, Mr Grayle.’ ‘Send him in, please.’ Goddammit, Fish, do you have to sound so impressed? Grayle was an irrepressible paper-clip-bender, napkin-ripper, corner-folder. For John Hargensen, the town’s leading legal light, he was bringing up the heavy ammunition – a whole box of heavy-duty clips in the middle of his desk blotter. Hargensen was a tall, impressive man with a selfconfident way of moving and the kind of sure, mobile features that said this was a man superior at the game of one-step-ahead social interaction. He was wearing a brown Savile Row suit with subtle glints of green and gold running through the weave that put Grayle’s local off-the-rack job to shame. His briefcase was thin, real leather, and bound with glittering stainless steel. The smile was faultless and full of many capped teeth – a smile to make the hearts of lady jurors melt like butter in a warm skillet. His grip was major league all the way-firm, warm, long. ‘Mr Grayle, I’ve wanted to meet you for some time now.’ ‘I’m always glad to see interested parents,’ Grayle said with a dry smile. ‘That’s why we have Parents Open House every October.’ ‘Of course.’ Hargensen smiled, ‘I imagine you’re a busy man, and I have to be in court in forty-five minutes from now. Shall we get down to specifics?’ ‘Surely,’ Grayle dipped into his box of clips and began to mangle the first one. ‘I suspect you are here concerning the disciplinary action taken against your daughter Christine. You should be informed that school policy on the matter has been set. As a man concerned with the workings of justice yourself, you should realize that bending the rules is hardly possible or-‘ Hargensen waved his hand impatiently. ‘Apparently you’re labouring under a misconception, Mr Grayle. I am here because my daughter was manhandled by your gym teacher, Miss Rhoda Desjardin. And verbally abused, I’m afraid. I believe the term your Miss Desjardin used in connection with my daughter was â€Å"shitty.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Grayle sighed inwardly. ‘Miss Desjardin has been reprimanded.’ John Hargensen’s smile cooled thirty degrees, ‘I’m afraid a reprimand will not be sufficient. I believe this has been the young, ah, lady’s first year in a teaching capacity?’ ‘Yes. We have found her to be eminently satisfactory.’ ‘Apparently your definition of eminently satisfactory includes throwing students up against lockers and the ability to curse like a sailor?’ Grayle fenced: ‘As a lawyer, you must be aware that this state acknowledges the school’s title to in loco parentis – along with full responsibility, we succeed to full parental rights during school hours. If you’re not familiar, I’d advise you to check Monondock Consolidated School District vs Cranepool or-‘ ‘I’m familiar with the concept,’ Hargensen mid. ‘I’m also aware that neither the Cranepool case that you administrators are so fond of quoting or the Frick case cover anything remotely concerned with physical or verbal abuse. There is, however, the case of School District No. 4 vs David. Are you familiar with it?’ Grayle was. George Kramer, the assistant principal of the consolidated high school in S.D. 14 was a poker buddy. George wasn’t playing much poker any more. He was working for an insurance company after taking it upon himself to cut a student’s hair. The school district had ultimately paid seven thousand dollars in damages, or about a thousand bucks a snip. Grayle started on another paper clip. ‘Let’s not quote cases at each other, Mr Grayle, were busy men. I don’t want a lot of unpleasantness. I don’t want a mess. My daughter is at home, and she will stay there Monday and Tuesday. That will complete her threeday suspension. That’s all right.’ Another dismissive wave of the hand. (catch fido good boy here’s a nice bone) ‘Here’s what I want,’ Hargensen continued. ‘One, prom tickets for my daughter. A girl’s senior prom is important to her, and Chris is very distressed. Two, no contract renewal of the Desjardin woman. That’s for me. I believe that if I cared to take the School Department to court, I could walk out with both her dismissal and a hefty damage settlement in my pocket. But I don’t want to be vindictive.’ ‘So court is the alternative if I don’t agree to your demands?’ ‘I understand that a School Committee hearing would precede that, but only as a formality. But yes, court would be the final result. Nasty for you.’ Another paper clip. ‘For physical and verbal abuse, is that correct?’ ‘Essentially.’ ‘Mr Hargensen, are you aware that your daughter and about ten of her peers threw sanitary napkins at a girl who was having her first menstrual period? A girl who was under the impression that she was bleeding to death?’ A faint frown creased Hargensen’s features, as if someone had spoken in a distant room. ‘I hardly think such an allegation is at issue. I am speaking of actions following-‘ ‘Never mind,’ Grayle said. ‘Never mind what you were speaking of. This girl, Carietta White, was called â€Å"a dumb pudding† and was told to â€Å"plug it up† and was subjected to various obscene gestures. She has not been in school this week at all. Does that sound like physical and verbal abuse to you? It does to me.’ ‘I don’t intend,’ Hargensen said, ‘to sit here and listen to a tissue of half-truths or your standard schoolmaster lecture, Mr Grayle, I know my daughter well enough to-‘ ‘Here,’ Grayle reached into the wire IN basket beside the blotter and tossed a sheaf of pink cards across the desk, ‘I doubt very much if you know the daughter represented in these cards half so well as you think you do. If you did, you might realize that it was about time for a trip to the woodshed. It’s time you snubbed her close before she does someone a major damage.’ ‘You aren’t-‘ How to cite Carrie Chapter Five, Essay examples

The Role of Gender in the Institution of Marriage free essay sample

When it comes down to marriage, most cultures seem to have the same thoughts about what ideals make up a marriage and what it should be based on. Dr. Steven L. Nock discusses his opinion on the problematic trends within the institution of marriage in the article, â€Å"The Problem with Marriage. † This article was published in 1999 and suggests that American institutions, such as marriage, have traditionally been organized around gender. One of the problematic trends is the conflict between ideals central to marriage. Nock also discusses the differences in gender equality that reside in family trends. He uses his own research and knowledge, as well as other credible sources to support the idea that marriage has always been organized around gender. He believes that the most important institutions to democratic society, like marriage, are in decline. Dr. Steven L. Nock appears to have an outstanding amount of knowledge and experience on the topic of marriage and important institutions in America. Nock has authored several other books and articles about the causes and consequences of change in the American family. He has focused on the intersection of social science and public policy concerning households and families. Some of the books he has written such as, â€Å"Marriage in Men’s Lives† and articles like, â€Å"Marriage as a Public Issue† can be referenced to support his claims and ideas in, â€Å"The Problem with Marriage. † Rhetorically, he wants readers to understand the reasoning why marriage is traditionally organized by gender. Nock’s article, â€Å"The Problem with Marriage†, intends to give readers a more in depth look at some problems gender brings to marriage. He uses this article to teach his audience more about the ongoing issues related to marriage. His intentions are to share his knowledge about these problems so readers completely understand. In a way, he also uses his article to persuade his audience. In this article he writes, â€Å"The solution is to restore marriage to a privileged status from which both spouses gain regardless of gender†. (Dr. Steven L. Nock 20) That statement gives the reader more to consider, and states that Nock believes there is a way to solve the conflicts related to gender and marriage. This article is intended to be written for anyone wanting to know more about the link from gender to marriage. Anyone studying the sociology and psychology of marriage or gender could use this article as a very credible source of data. Dr. Steven Nock connects to his audience through his data. His experience with this topic relates his audience to the topic of marriage and gender. Most people can relate to and understand what he’s talking about when he expresses the fact that most marriages are based on gender. Nock’s research on this topic is supported by data and statistics in this article. He writes, â€Å"Research confirms that most women who marry today desire marriages that differ importantly from those of their grandmothers because women’s lives have changed in so many other ways in recent decades†. Nock also uses statistics such as, â€Å"Three in four (75 percent) never-married men under age 30 described getting married as important for their lives in 1993†. (Nock 21) Data such as this gives the reader a visualization to help prove his point. Nock also states his own opinions towards the conflicts, relating himself through his own emotions to connect with the audience. He states, â€Å"My research on covenant marriage has convinced me that any attempt to privilege marriage over other statuses will be controversial and resisted, especially by those who see traditional marriage as unfair to women†. By giving his own personal opinion he is persuading the reader to think in the same way as he is while on this topic. Even though this article was published in 1999, Nock has shown through his research that even over decades of time, the values and traditions of marriage have hardly changed. This could possibly show a continuing pattern over time, even applying to research today. Dr. Nock strongly believes that, as Americans, our culture is unchanging when it comes to marriage and the inequality of gender. Shown through his research, traditionally Americans have not changed their ideals and beliefs about marriage and Nock gives the reader much more to think about when comparing gender and marriage. He also believes that these problems can easily be changed simply by changing our views and customs about gender when it’s related to marriage. In his article, Dr. Nock explains his viewpoints and opinions about the roles gender has always played in marriage. He believes this is problematic and unchanging towards the institution of marriage and tries to teach his audience about the importance of these problems. There are many factors that cause our culture and many others to believe that a traditional family should consist of one father and one mother. The roles that each parent plays in the family are completely different from one another and Nock’s research explains more in depth about why these beliefs and values have always been this way. Rhetorically he uses statistics and data, along with research and experience, to connect with his audience. He does not try to blame his audience for having the wrong values and does not tell them if their beliefs are right or wrong, but tries to persuade his readers to look deeper into the matters at hand.