Behavioral Medicine in Psychology

This study was undertaken to research behavioral medicine in psychology. In summary, this research examines the origins of behavioral medicine, reviews the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms, and describes concrete and practical implementations of behavioral knowledge as they have been applied to medicine. The purpose of this work is to outline main features of behavioral medicine and its utilization in psychology. Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field of study integrating the behavioral, social, and medical sciences (Miley, 1999, p.10).It grew out of behaviorism in the early 1970s and integrated psychology into physical illness. Schwartz and Weiss defined the term: Behavioral medicine is the development and integration of biomedical, psychosocial and behavioral sciences' knowledge and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation† (1978, p. 249-51).The area of behavioral medicine includes behavior-change programs which operate different health-related activities (self-examination for early symptoms of disease, following special diets, exercising and taking medicine) (Pierce, 2004, p. 380). Some history should be given. Between the burst of enthusiasm for learning based therapies in the 1920s and their revival in the 1960s a great deal of laboratory research and refinement of learning theory was carried out by Clark Hull, B. F. Skinner, Neal Miller, and others.By the 1950s, efforts to apply more sophisticated learning theories to psychopathology became widespread. The early psychoanalytic approaches soon gave way to experimental studies aimed at identifying psychological factors believed to play a major role in the development of specific somatic complaints. These initial attempts to link personality types to specific disease states were generally disappointing but nevertheless established a firm basis for interdisciplinary resear ch in the new field of behavioral medicine.Rather than attempting to change problem behavior, however, these efforts mainly translated the clinical theory and lore of psychoanalysis into the language of learning theory. The most ambitious of these translations was Personality and Psychotherapy, by John Dollard and Neal Miller (1950). Dedicating their book to â€Å"Freud and Pavlov and their students,† Dollard and Miller sought â€Å"to combine the vitality of psychoanalysis, the rigor of the natural-science laboratory, and the facts of culture† (p.3). They called psychotherapy a â€Å"window to higher mental life† and â€Å"the process by which normality is created† (pp. 3, 5). Accepting psychoanalytic views of psychopathology and its treatment, Dollard and Miller mainly sought to state these views in more rigorous terms derived from laboratory research on learning. Despite the basic contrasts listed earlier, psychoanalytic and learning theories converged in several ways.They stated, both explained mental processes largely in terms of principles of association, whereby sequences of thoughts are governed by previous contiguities among ideas, similarity of content, and other shared features. This associationistic view of mental processes was the basis for the psychoanalytic technique of free association, as well as the psychoanalytic theory of mental symbols. Psychoanalytic theories and most learning theories postulated that reduction of organically based drives promoted the learning of important responses, attitudes, and emotions.Psychoanalytic theory and learning theories blamed childhood experiences for most adult psychopathology but did not actually test the relationships that were assumed. Neal Miller began his career strongly influenced by his psychoanalytic training, so his earlier work reflects a more psychological approach to behavior. Impressed by his clinical observations of the effects of conflicting motivations, he search ed for underlying mechanisms involved, which led to work in brain stimulation and control of autonomic responses utilizing biofeedback techniques.His research emphasizes the interrelationship between physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Miller took his undergraduate training at the University of Washington, completed his master's degree at Stanford University, and received his Ph. D. from Yale University in 1935. Trained as a psychoanalyst, he combined clinical observation and a broad line of research that led to such important contributions as the frustration-agression hypothesis and social learning theory.Searching for the underlying causes of conflicting motivation, he moved into the area of brain stimulation and then to an interesting and highly controversial series of studies involving the control of autonomic responses utilizing biofeedback techniques. After a distinguished career at Yale and the Institute of Human Relations, he moved to Rockefeller University in 1966 w here he continues his interests in physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Professor Miller served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1969.In 1969 Neal Miller, in an article in Science, summarized a series of studies in which, by the use of Skinnerian reinforcement strategies, he and his associates had trained animals to bring a number of internal bodily functions seemingly under self-control. The bodily functions thus trained included blood pressure, urine formation, heart rate, body temperature, and bowel distensions. Together with other demonstrations of a similar kind, often with human subjects, this work led to a new form of therapy called biofeedback.Using sophisticated equipment for monitoring and displaying to the patient the moment to moment fluctuations in blood pressure, skin temperature, heart rate, muscle tension, blood volume, or brain waves, a host of investigations began to report the success in treatment by biofeedback and other self-condi tioning methods of headache, muscle tension, high blood pressure, nervousness, Raynaud's disease (in which one's finger tips and toes become so cold that they lose all blood circulation and bring on excruciating pain), tics, bedwetting, and a host of comparable disorders.A new subspecialty in medical psychology and medicine was being born. The name given to it was behavioral medicine. As this field has developed its scope has expanded. It now includes the helping of patients who want to quit smoking, give up drugs, lose weight, take their insulin or follow the prescribed treatments for other conditions where therapy fails for lack of compliance to a regimen that is known to be effective. It also includes individuals who are healthy and want to remain so by jogging, eating low cholesterol and other more healthful foods, abstain from alcohol, and so on.A brief historical review of the developments in medicine and in psychology which led to the emergence of behavioral medicine and beha vioral health as viable, interdisciplinary specialties is available elsewhere (Matarazzo, 1980, 1982). The emergence of health psychology as a vigorous new discipline is a natural outcome of scientific and technological advances within psychology. Experimental and physiological psychology have contributed greatly to this evolution, beginning with Pavlov's early work with dogs at the turn of the century. His concept of conditioned reflex provided the basis for much of classical learning theory.In the 1920s, Walter Cannon introduced the concepts of homeostasis and fight versus flight. Neal Miller applied aspects of these earlier theories to an understanding of the role of conditioning in psychophysiological change and how certain aspects of the autonomic nervous system could be controlled. The modern use of biofeedback treatment to teach an individual how to control muscle tensions, blood pressure, and other physiological processes developed out of these earlier efforts. Psychophysiol ogy made contributions to behavioral medicine.Psychophysiological applications to behavioral medicine typically involve the monitoring of physiological functions in relation to concurrent emotional and behavioral states. Originally, psychophysiological studies were confined to the laboratory or clinic, and explored the cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to stressors, individual differences in reaction patterns, or changes in physiological function with behavioral interventions. Laboratory studies remain the mainstay of psychophysiology, but the development of ambulatory methods has increasingly led to investigations under everyday or naturalistic conditions.Describing psychophysiology as a method of studying relationships between physical responses and ongoing behavior places no limits on the nature of the physiological processes being monitored. Indeed, one of the characteristics of psychophysiology has been the development of technology to assess more and more sophisticat ed and precise aspects of cardiovascular function. In the behavioral epidemiological study, physiological measures are typically collected under office or clinic conditions on one or a few occasions, whereas psychophysiologists are predominantly concerned with dynamic interrelations between behavior and physiology.Psychophysiological research in early behavioral medicine was dominated by studies of biofeedback and the voluntary control of blood pressure and heart rate (Beatty & Legewie, 1977). Over the last years, mental stress testing in the laboratory has become the major research paradigm (Steptoe & Vogele, 1991). It has involved studies of many clinic and high-risk groups, and assessments of a wide range of physiological processes in response to a variety of conditions, such as problem solving, stress interviews, and information-processing tasks.The methodology of mental stress testing in the laboratory has been thoroughly reviewed in various texts (Matthews, Weiss & Detre, 1986 ). Reservations concerning the reliability of laboratory assessments have largely been allayed by a new generation of investigations, indicating that, provided care is taken with physiological measurement and administration of behavioral stimuli, reliable and consistent response patterns are observed. The psychophysiological treatment par excellence is biofeedback. Biofeedback is a research-based empirical approach, with greater emphasis on replication of results and cautious examination of evidence.Yet biofeedback pursues the same goal as other body therapies, that of using individual awareness and control over the body to enhance personal potential, health, and growth. It brings together humanistic conceptions of mind and body with sophisticated electronic technology to produce powerful strategies for self-control over consciousness, emotion, and physiology. The area of volitional control of physiological activity has contributed significantly to the growing field of behavioral me dicine and health psychology. The beginnings of biofeedback go back to the late 1960s.Kenneth Gaarder points out that biofeedback was not so much a discovery as it was â€Å"an awareness which emerged from the Zeitgeist† (Gaarder & Montgomery, 1979). Many researchers of the 1950s and 1960s can be cited as independent founders of biofeedback. For example, Hefferline conceptualized biofeedback as a powerful tool, perhaps more powerful than Gestalt awareness exercises, to expand body awareness and self-awareness (Knapp, 1986). As with other so-called departures in psychology, there were earlier examples. The primary training method developed and utilized in this learning process has been labeled biofeedback.Its theory grounded on the concept introduced by Elmer Green: Every change in the physiological state is accompanied by an appropriate change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unconscious, and conversely, every change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unco nscious, is accompanied by an appropriate change in the physiological state. (Green, Green, & Walters, 1970, p. 3) This initial research activity began to stimulate more interest, among both the scientific community and the general public, in the area of biofeedback because of its' many potentially important clinical and medical applications.For example, it would be therapeutically valuable if it was possible to teach patients with hypertension how to lower their blood pressure, or to teach patients with headaches how to control the vasodilation process involved in the pain phenomenon. Indeed, Birk (1973) was the individual who coined the term behavioral medicine to describe the application of a behavioral treatment technique (biofeedback) that could be applied to medicine or medical problems (e. g. , headache pain).Each school of body therapy or body work presents a different manifestation of the fundamental psychophysiological principle that we can intervene somatically and produc e changes in emotion and relationship, and inversely, that we can intervene psychologically, with somatic consequences. Each of the body-therapy approaches emphasizes a dual psychological and somatic intervention, and each emphasizes breathing, muscular rigidity, and the physical blocking of memories and affective experiencing. In turn, each body therapy seeks to release the individual from physical inhibitions and to restore a full psychophysiological selfregulation.The work of Alexander Graham Bell ( 1847-1922), the inventor of the telephone, with the deaf, and his interest in using the visible display of speech sound, either by means of ‘manometric' flames or by an early form of kymograph, in order to help the deaf to reproduce correct sounds, would seem to utilize feedback principles ( Bruce, 1973). However, it needed a dramatic event to focus attention on the area of feedback control. This event took place at the 1967 annual meeting of the Pavlovian Society of North Ameri ca in the form of a report by Neal Miller (1968).He introduced a technique that his colleague, Jay Towill, had first devised. This involved immobilizing animals with D-tubo curarine, artificially respirating them, and with electrodes placed in the so-called ‘pleasure centers' in the brain, operantly conditioning various physiological systems. For example, it was reported that the animal could learn, through operant conditioning, to increase or lower blood pressure, increase or decrease heart-rate, kidney flow, and so on. The reward was, in each case, a brief electric pulse delivered to the pleasure centres.The use of D-tubo curarine to produce paralysis of skeletal muscles was an attempt to avoid the possibility that the animal was modifying its autonomic responses via voluntary activities, such as changes in muscle tension or breathing pattern or rate. Research papers soon followed, and in a series of studies carried out with Leo DiCara on the curarized rat, the instrumental conditioning of heart-rate, blood-pressure, and renal blood-flow and–in collaboration with A. Banuazizi–contraction of the intestines, appeared to be demonstrated. Reports from other laboratories seemed to support Miller's findings.

Importance of Risk Management

MGD426 Risk Management Overview A risk is, consequently, a hazard that can derail an organization from accomplishing a business process, project, or any activity that is vital to a company’s sustenance. There are different classifications of risks: financial, operational, infrastructure, human capital, and marketing risks. These risks embody subcategories of risks that can negatively affect the company. Leverage, receivables, and investments are risks can hinder the financial situations of a company. The decline of profits, increased losses, and negative impact on business processes are some of the costs in the failure to control risks.Similarly, operational risk includes many losses that are associated with â€Å"internal processes, people and systems or from external events† (The Basel Committee, 2004). By continually improving operations, firms are better able to gain competitive advantage. Operational risks occur from the execution of a company’s business pro cess. Although it is a relatively vague concept, it can be summed into a three-fold focus: processes, people, and systems. Internal fraud can be categorized into unauthorized activity, as well as theft and fraud; where as external fraud can be categorized with systems security, and theft and fraud.Importance of Assessment and Management In order for an organization to achieve certain objectives, coming across risks is almost inevitable. Organizations that are aware of such calamities are, more often than not, enabled to actively manage hazards and encompass potential opportunities for competitive advantage. This precisely means that contingency planning is important as uncontrollable risks (i. e. environmental factors) can occur at any time. While an organization cannot stop these hazards from occurring, they can mitigate the negative effects.By mitigating these risks with necessary responses, the company can aim their resources at improving or continuing their business processes. T herefore, the emphasis is, principally, on identifying and managing these hazards. Sustainable value is essential to the company and its activities; minimized uncertainty of goal achievement as well as maximized possibility of success. Competing in a dynamic environment leaves gap for uncertainty of the future. Briefly touched upon previously, this enables certain risks to not be accounted for.Risk management, as aforementioned, is a discipline that needs to be implemented by all companies. It is becoming increasingly important because of the dynamics of the environments in which an organization runs (technological, political, social, etc. ). For example, the effects of natural disasters can be mitigated but not stopped. Terrorism is a risk that cannot be calculated and accounted for prior to. All these questions and inquiries relay back to the umbrella question; why is risk management and/or risk assessment important to an organization?Risk assessment is a portion of Risk Managemen t; it is a formulated procedure for making sure that firms are not exposed to deplorable hazards. Taking into context the previously mentioned information, it is not of much use if the scale of the risk is not measured. Once measured, the organization would rally against how likely it is and what the organization can/should/will do to mitigate its effects. Contingency planning, as mentioned, is a risk management technique that comes about based on the assessment of the risk.Building on risk assessment, a risk that is not managed correctly will cause the firm to be affected negatively. These negative effects can be financial, operational, infrastructural, related to human capital or market: classifications of risk. Moreover, risk management is only effective if the assessment is done correctly. Both go hand in hand; the magnitude of the risk determines the management procedures. Reducing the risk of accidents to the company can allow the company to better relocate its resources towar ds its operational needs rather than additional risk management or risk recovery.Risk Response The response to a risk is done by the concept of the 4 T’s (terminate, tolerate, treat, and transfer). By terminating risks, you are, inherently, doing things in a different manner and, thus, removing the risk. Tolerate means that nothing can be done a reasonable cost to mitigate the risk or the likelihood and impact are at a reasonable level. Moreover, treating risks is taking certain actions to control a risk by, either, mitigating the likelihood of it emerging or limiting the effect it will have on the business process/project.Lastly, transfer of risks is primarily the underlying principle behind insurance transactions. Specifically, a risk, outline in the insurance or contract, can be passed from a party who does not want the risk to another party who will take it (either for free or a premium – insurance). Financial Risk Management Financial risk management is, primarily , concerned with the economic value of an organization and the effects to it. The management aspect deals with the exposure to risk, and the response to it.Two primary risks involved in financial sectors of firms are credit risks and market risks (while others include Forex (foreign exchange), volatility, liquidity, inflation, etc. ). Since financial risk is a factor in all organizations, it is important to respond to any volatility that may occur – as it would affect the firm negatively. These risks primarily mean that a firm who is unable to appropriately manage their financial operations will be subjugated by losses. As stated previously, credit risk, which is the inability for a business partner to compensate for a loan or satisfy other monetary contract, will, obviously, damage the company.This is apparent since the company will be at a loss since the firm who adheres to a loan contract is not able to pay back the moneys. Risk assessment for this particular risk includes a â€Å"risk and control self-assessment† (RCSA). This is a set of directives, which help avoid any financial detriment because of fraud, carelessness, and/or technological malfunction. As with any other risk assessment technique, classification of whether it is low, medium, or high level risk is determined based on the estimated loss.This type of risk assessment falls under the ‘treat’ classification of risk response as a certain action is implemented in order to control/mitigate the risk. As stated, in this brief example, the importance of risk assessment and management is vital to an organization. Works Cited â€Å"Briefing Paper H: Risk Management. † Governance and Social Development Resource Centre. N. p. , n. d. Web. . â€Å"Corporate Governance Risk Management Policy. † Isle of Man Government. N. p. , n. d. Web.

Summarize the article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summarize the article - Essay Example Doyle says that she has a good grasp of all the areas of business at Aon, and a good relationship with her peers, both necessary to ensure that they are sympathetic to diversity issues within the company. She also stresses that a diversity officer should ensure organizational visibility for self, and mentions an instance when one of the executives came to meet her with his department head, because they had no clue to what this 'diversity issue' was all about. The newspaper El Watan reported Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem's announcement that the country is making serious attempts to privatize business, by stopping subsidization of loss making state ventures. Additionally, Credit Populaire d'Algerie would be privatized, and a 30% stake in Banque de Developpment Local, a government venture, would be offered to the private sector. Dubai based Eemaar Properties is planning four ventures in Algeria-a new town called Sidi Abdellah, a tourist resort, a health resort and a redevelopment of the Algerian waterfront. This would help diversify the Algerian economy from its current concentration in the hydrocarbons sector, provide new jobs to the high number of unemployed and bring in foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$ 20 billion. Despite all this, the prospects for FDI in Algeria look mixed, with problems of violence, bureaucracy (time taken to trade

WHAT I LEARNED IN THE CLASS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WHAT I LEARNED IN THE CLASS - Essay Example As the word TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieves More, a team leader needs to be proactive for efficient management of the relationship among the teammates and with the external members. I learned that to achieve organizational goals, the leader or manager needs to carefully define the duties and responsibilities for each employee and also standardize method of executing the tasks. Duties and responsibilities are defined by training, teaching and developing each worker to do the right job. The environment is constantly changing, and businesses have no control over the external environment. Businesses can only influence the internal environment and they require a framework of legal, social, political, economic and cultural factors. The internal factors include policies and plans, workers, business objectives and other factors with the business or organization. For the businesses to remain competitive, the managers need actively plan, organize, provide directions and coordinate the activities to adapt to the changing environment. For businesses to thrive, managers must achieve performance targets set by the business. The managers achieve these goals by focusing on their jobs and by motivating their subordinates. Working together as a team is important for the quality of output, retention and morale. It increases the productivity, improves quality, reduces costs and enhances speed. According to Frederick Brook in his book, The Mythical Man-Month, the time an individual takes to accomplish a task can be reduced by hiring more workers to assist in the completion of the job. An effective team has continual feedback on its performance, focuses on performance and has skilled members. Sometimes the team may fail due to lack of effective communication, proper chattering and goal setting, clear roles and trust. In a team environment, managers and

Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an Essay

Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an organization - Essay Example ?the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the groups and organizations with which they interact.† For the Pillsbury Company, diversity is defined as â€Å"all the way in which we differ.† Kraft Foods Inc. spells out its commitment to diversity in metaphors with which people can identify: â€Å"A stellar meal requires contrasting and complementing textures and tastes. A winning sports team depends of the different talents of its members. A first class orchestra needs many variety of thought, energy, and insight to attain and maintain a competitive edge.† (pp. 25) Diversity, Simmons (2003), refers to variety of difference related to factors such as age, culture, disability, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, socio-economic level or thinking style. In business context diversity includes business background or function. Diversity is a process that corrects inequities and brings fairness and inclusion on all fronts and as broadly defined, carries an inherent benefit for every employee. As Simmons argued, only in this context it is realistic to expect a positive view and an active contribution from every employee. Organization alignment, Simmons continued, is the goal of every culture change process, including diversity. You wont achieve that alignment unless every person can benefit from it. In his book, Johnson (2003, 399-400) explained that in every relationship you decide how to manage the differences between the two of you. Diversity among your acquaintances, classmate, coworkers, neighbors, and friends is increasingly inevitable. Such diversity is an opportunity that can have positive or negative consequences, depending on your engaging in an eight-step program: The first step is to recognize that diversity exists and is a valuable resource. The second step is to build cooperative relationship with diverse individuals. Cooperation promotes a process of acceptance while competitive

Final Exam MGT 123 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Exam MGT 123 - Essay Example 49). The system includes the private, public, and government finance systems that have a direct influence on each financial space. Human resource is the business component that entails the knowledge, the skills, and the motivation of people (2013, p. 67). Unlike other factors of production, human resource improves with age and experience, hence termed as the most crucial facet that holds the advantage for an organisations business objectives. The human resource can be used to mobilize other resources that will help achieve organisations profitability goals. Manufacturing encompasses the process of converting raw materials, parts, or components into finished products that meet customer specifications and expectations (2013, p. 92). Manufacturing involves the collaboration between human resource and machines in a well-defined structure to realize production. The prosperity of an enterprise relies on the seamless integration of the four facets discussed, because of the strong interrelationship between them. Human resource plays a pivotal role because it stimulates manufacturing based on the market specifications, after that creating the finance that will help in sustaining the enterprise. Marketing helps in guiding detailed manufacturing specifications that will meet the clients needs. The mutual relationship between the four parts will channel the organisations objectives to its target when they are implemented under good business leadership from the human resource (2013, p. 109). In marketing, the information of the target market regarding its demographics, segments, needs, and purchasing decisions will help define pricing, promotion, and the most strategic places for the business. The other information regarding the strengths and the weaknesses of the competition will help in designing products that leverage the competition to the benefit of the company (2013, p. 152). Pricing information will help in developing a proficient pricing strategy

Sex Education In Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sex Education In Public Schools - Essay Example As much as proponents argue for it stating some benefits, its drawbacks overshadow them in the long run. One of the reasons why sex education should not be taught in public schools lies in the fact that the topic is not taken seriously by both the students and teachers. The whole affair runs through like a leisure teaching and learning experience. One proof of this lies in the lack of exams after its classes (Dogra, 2010). Where the students are not to be awarded grades raises concerns as many will not work hard to understand. This then beats its purpose while related to other courses like mathematics or science. Just as any other recreational course, sex education intends to teach just a few who are willing to learn while others spend the time to do other things. Sex education leads to embarrassment of many students and teachers in the classroom. Considering the tender ages at which it is introduced teachers find it uncomfortable to teach the subject (Dogra, 2010). The same applies to students who become overly excited. At some point students mock others who depict signs of puberty e.g. developed breasts, height and so on. This leads to low self esteem to the ridiculed students which may in the long run affect their education and the whole learning experience. A sex education class in most cases fails to serve the purpose of informing. Sex education is rarely given the respect and time offered to other subjects. Most instances it is offered as an interlude while teaching physical education. This also shows that many schools still do not regard it as important and it is a burden to their curriculum. Teachers on the other hand are not adequately trained on how to teach it (Dogra, 2010). Due to its extraordinary scope, there is need for them to incorporate other methods other than normal ones. They end up teaching according to their

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (CABG) Essay

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (CABG) - Essay Example This substance blocks/narrows the coronary arteries thereby decreasing the blood that flows to the heart muscle. Severe blockage can lead to heart attack, shortness of breath, and chest pain or discomposure/angina. One way in which CHD is treated is through CABG, whereby a cardiothoracic surgeon grafts/connects a healthy vein/artery from the body to the obstructed coronary artery. The grafted vein/artery bypasses the coronary artery’s obstructed portion, which forms a new passage, and the surgeon routs oxygenated blood around the obstruction to the heart muscle (Nih.gov, 2010). Parks explains that a bypass usually involves open-chest surgery as well as making use of a heart-lung bypass machine for circulating blood and oxygenating it. He gives a number of newer, bypass surgery methods that are less invasive and that can be used in place of open-chest surgery in some cases. One such technique entails the use of minimally invasive procedures/keyhole procedures in place of open-c hest surgery. Keyhole procedures involve the use of a number of smaller chest openings and they may not or may call for the use of a heart-lung machine. In procedures where a heart-lung bypass machine is not used, medicine is used to slow the heart although is continues beating during the process (Parks, 2009).

The Satan of Paradise Lost Essay Example for Free

The Satan of Paradise Lost Essay The Satan of Milton’s Paradise Lost is often regarded in literary criticism as a remarkably complex character. Introduced to the readers as a fallen angel with a grudge against the almighty powers that be in heaven and a burning passion for vengeance, Satan receives more characterization and motivation than any other character in Milton’s epic  ­ including God Himself, who mostly operates in the background of the story. Because of the time spent familiarizing readers with Satan and his pathos and the ambiguity of God’s overall plan in comparison, Satan ultimately ends up feeling much more human to readers than the God he rails against. Some even claim he’s the story’s â€Å"true† hero. However, a brilliant literary tactic lies in Satan’s characterization, and that’s how quick it is to mistake Satan’s comparatively human nature to God as a sort of moral superiority. An analysis of Satan’s core ideology throughout Paradise Lost makes it clear that, while Satan may be more of a human character than God, he’s not the tragic anti ­hero he paints himself as by any stretch of the imagination. It’s easy to just dismiss the depiction of Satan as the tragic protagonist of Paradise Lost with the idea that he  ­ being Satan  ­ is simply lying about every part of his motives, ideology, and system of beliefs. However, such a reading too quickly overlooks the nuances to the character revealed throughout the text. One does not need any

Edgar Allan Poes Influence on Literature Essay Example for Free

Edgar Allan Poes Influence on Literature Essay Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on American literature was nothing short of great; not only was he the creator of the detective story and the horror thriller, but he also influenced many great writers, among those William Faulkner and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Poe is best known for his horror thrillers, being the creator of that particular genre, he has also fashioned two other literary genres, like the detective and the science fiction genre. Throughout his life, Poe read, reviewed, and critiqued many books for various magazines and papers. Poe did not hesitate to attack what he deemed inferior. â€Å"Is purely too imbecile to merit an extended critique,† he once wrote of a novel. Because of his readiness to attack what he believed to be unworthy, Poe helped set high standards for American literature (Meltzer 64). Poe had an influence on both American and non-American writers, like William Faulkner, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Faulkner, who is considered to be the South’s most renowned novelist, will be forever linked to Poe. Both writers were fanatically obsessed with what made mankind good and what made it evil. Their writings also dealt with common elements, like narcissistic doubling, vengeance, and violence (Wyatt-Brown). In Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the incestuous relationship between two of the characters, Quentin and Caddy Compson, draws a parallel between Poe’s own incestuous relationship with his first cousin, Virginia (Wyatt-Brown). Fyodor Dostoevsky, a Russian novelist, was also greatly influenced by Poe. Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment depicts a man who commits murder and becomes increasingly guilty throughout the novel because of it, until he is finally urged to confess by the woman he loves. The novel’s plot was prefigured in Poe’s A Tell Tale Heart, which portrays a man who commits a murder and is driven insane by the guilt as he hears the heart beating from underneath the floorboards, where he had stored the body. Dostoevsky once declared that Poe: â€Å"almost always takes the most exceptional reality and endows it with such details that the reader is convinced of its possibility, of its reality, when objectively the event or situation is impossible. † (Wyatt-Brown) Dostoevsky’s opinion on the matter relates exceptionally with Poe’s A Tell Tale Heart. One would not believe the story to hold even a semblance of reality, as Poe has infused the short story with the most absurd of details that make it so obviously impossible; however, while reading one becomes entirely immersed in the story that it does not seem so absurd anymore. According to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the famous detective series, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe is the father of the detective story (Meltzer 83). Doyle was of the opinion that Poe had covered the genre’s limits so completely, that he could not see how his followers could find any fresh ground of their own (83). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s very own character, Sherlock Holmes, was inspired by C. Auguste Dupin, the detective of the stories who began the detective genre (Binns 114). Among many of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings is The Murders in the Rue Morgue, one of the Dupin stories. This story was the first ever detective story to be printed, which made it the archetype for the modern detective story (Meltzer 83). Although The Murders in the Rue Morgue was the first ever detective story to ever see print, Poe did incorporate new elements into other works that writers of detective fiction still make use of. For example, in The Purloined Letter and Thou Art the Man, Poe introduced post-mortem examinations, ballistic evidence, and the frame-up (104). Many believe Poe had begun the science fiction genre (Binns 114). His first attempt was Hans Pfall, a story in which a man travels to the moon on a revolutionized balloon. Poe included actual facts into his story, mixing it with entirely false scientific â€Å"facts† to make the story believable (Meltzer 64). Poe’s innovations would later expand the modern science fiction genre. His vivid imagination veered off from scientific facts to create believable details to incorporate into his stories. These details anticipated later discoveries in both geography and astronomy (64). Science fiction writers like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne learned a great deal from Poe, which they integrated into their own writings. The belief that Poe began the science fiction genre may also be attributed to Poe’s complicated piece of writing which explained his own view of the universe. Eureka: A Prose Poem was published in March of 1848, and in it, Poe introduced his theory, a mixture of science, theology, and intuition. Poe theorized that: â€Å"God existed before matter. God created the first atoms. They scattered to create the universe. They are all trying to join back together, but when they do, they will be scattered again. † Poe’s theory caused an upset in society, as it was not Christian; however, others believed it to be brilliant, as it showed both insight and clear thought (Binns 100). Poe’s influence has not limited itself on just literature. Alfred Hitchcock, director of classic suspense films like Vertigo and Psycho has stated that Poe was the reason he began directing films (Burlingame 100). And, as Hitchcock has become an influential being himself, with many other directors using elements from his films, Poe has indirectly influenced them as well. Aside from literature and films, Poe’s name and lyrics have been used among many musicians. Thirty Seconds to Mars uses a quote from The Raven: â€Å"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. at the end of their video for Hurricane. The quote seems entirely fitting, as the video, which embraces some of Poe’s own elements, like vengeance and violence, is entirely surreal and evokes a sense of fear as they’re being pursued by masked men. However, they fight back, not letting the men take control of them, refusing to become martyrs. Like many of Poe’s writi ngs, the video seems ambiguous, open for many interpretations. Although Poe has long passed away, he still continues to influence today’s society. Writers will continue to use the elements he created in their stories. Film directors will continue to use his stylistic elements to portray a sense of Poe into their films. Musicians will continue to use Poe’s lyrics in their music, as well as use different aspects of his writings in their videos. Not only will Poe continue to influence them, but he will also continue to communicate with people through his works. People will continue to connect with Poe, just like previous generations have, through the themes of his writings, and through the understanding that Poe was just as misunderstood and criticized as the rest of us.