Change of Expectations of Men and Women in 1800s Essay

Change of Expectations of Men and Women in 1800s - Essay Example Elders in those days believed that these chores helped the women to keep in good shape because it helped to strengthen their muscles and organs. According to women these days, the emphasis is laid on stimulating their brain through excessive studying and thereby they neglect their physique making it weak and vulnerable to disease. In an aristocracy, where work is dishonored, it is customary for the lower class to work for the benefit and enjoyment of the upper class but this is not so in a democracy where work is honored because everyone works hard for themselves and their own welfare. Such high democratic principles can be seen in Christianity, where the child is taught at a young age to do service to others. Jesus Christ is the best example one can take to see his self-sacrificing attitude towards his race and Christian principles and teachings are based on this. Good Christian parents should see to it that they render the best possible training in virtues to their children so that they would grow up to be benevolent and self- sacrificing to all around them. Speaking on the post Civil War Gwendolyn Wright speaks to us about those people who moved to the suburbs to escape the problems of poor health and political and social unrest. Picturesque landscapes and the use of natural materials for buildings brought them more close to nature. But the decades after the Civil war saw the suburbs take on a different implication. Those families who could afford a house in the suburbs were labeled as â€Å"middle class†. The cult of home and motherhood reached its pinnacle in the last decades of the nineteenth century. People living in the suburbs very often would visit the city to enjoy the restaurants, parks, museums and other exciting things the city had to offer.

Climate Change Effects on Vegetation Distribution Case Study

Climate Change Effects on Vegetation Distribution - Case Study Example The main effect, in this case, is climate change and global warming. This paper explores global warming with the focus on explaining some of the causes of global warming alongside the recent changes in climate recorded on the surface of the earth. Â  The term climate change can sometimes be used to refer to the climatic changes that are brought about due to human activities, rather than those climatic changes that are brought about as part of the natural processes of the earth. These terms have become quite a relevance as far as the environmental policy, and the global warming anthropogenic are concerned. Global warming, in this case, represents the increases in temperature and climate change and deals with global warming, and other aspects including the levels of the greenhouse effect. Â  Arguably, the rate in which energy is received from the sun and the loss rate to space determine a great deal both the climate of the earth and the equilibrium temperature (Bachelet & Lenihan, 2001). As research would have it, the energy is transferred all over the globe by use of ocean current, winds, and other different mechanisms which may affect the climate of other regions. It is worth noting that there are a number of factors that may lead to climate change. Key among them include solar radiation, variation, and orbit of the earth, continental drift, and the greenhouse gas changes concentration. Different climatic alterations in climatic feedbacks can either diminish or amplify the forces that initially. Other parts of the system of climate such as ice caps, an ocean. Within the climate variation context, human factors that are deemed to be affecting the climate are the anthropogenic factors. According to the scientific consensus concerning climate change, the climate is al ways changing and the changes are largely due to human activities.

Childhood and Physical Contact Essay Example for Free

Childhood and Physical Contact Essay 3.4 Explain how practitioners can take steps to protect themselves within their everyday practice in the work setting and on off site visits. Many jobs within children’s workforce require physical contact with children as part of their role. There are also occasions when it is entirely appropriate for other adults to have some physical contact with a child or young person with whom they are working with. However it is crucial that in all circumstances, adults should only touch children or young people in ways which are appropriate to their professionals or agreed roles and responsibilities Practitioners need to be aware that even well intentioned physical contact may be seen as inappropriate by the child, other adults or by anyone to whom this action may be viewed by, also never touch a child in a way which may be considered indecent. Always be prepared to report and explain actions and accept that all physical contact, but understand that physical contact in some circumstances can be easily misinterpreted because of the state of mind of the child or the adult. Be aware of all cultural and religious views about touching and always be sensitive to issues of gender and always encourage children, where possible, to undertake self-care tasks independently e.g. changing and use of the bathroom. As an adult working with children always pre –empt situations that may put you in a vulnerable position and plan to avoid them such as concealed one to one contact with a child or young person. Where possible always leave a record of a planned visit which may have the potential to be problematic e.g. where, when and why and take to follow up any incidents/ accidents or concerning behaviour.

The Issues At Daimler Benz Ag Management Essay

The Issues At Daimler Benz Ag Management Essay Daimler AG is one of the worlds automotive companies. It distributes into Mercedes Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services. The Daimler Group is one of the biggest producer of premium cars and the worlds biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles with a global reach. (Daimler, 2011) Daimlers corporate goal is to achieve stainable profitable growth and to increase the value of the company. Daimler aims to be the worlds leading automotive companies, intend to inspire customer with the brands, products and services and strive to occupy the leading for sustainable drive systems. (Daimler, 2011) Figure 1 is shown the Daimler Target System. 1.2 History Daimler AG has 125 years history. Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were the pioneers of the automobile manufacture in the 19th century. After the First World War, there was a world economic crisis. The war caused a great depression for the world economy. It was a great challenge for Daimler-Benz. In 1937, Daimler-Benz AG started to produce armament items and aircraft engines. It was necessary to do reconstruction after the war damage in 1945. In 1949 to 1960, Daimler-Benz AG succeeded in regaining the position in the automobile industry. In 1960s and 1970s, Daimler-Benz defended an outstanding position in international motor vehicle markets. In the end of 1970s, Daimler-Benz assessed cautiously with the oil crisis and new Asian competitors. Since 1995, new strategic realignment concentrated on transport and services. The global economic crisis affected Daimler-Benz deeply in the end of 2008. (Daimler, 2011) 2. Issue Identified The issue is the merger between Daimler-Benz AG and the American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation, but the near decade merger was finished by DaimlerChrysler AG sold 80.1% stake in 2007. 2.1 The Reason of choosing this issue Since Daimler and Chrysler located in different countries that are Germany and United States respectively. Both of them have their own culture. It is cross-culture. Through the merger between Daimler and Chrysler, I find out that the culture is one of the factor should be considered when two companies come from different countries. 2.2 Brief description of the issue In 1998, there was merger between Daimler-Benz AG of Germany and Chrysler Corporation of the United States (BBC News, 1998). On 6 May 1998, the merger agreement between Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corporation was signed in London. On 7 May, they announced the merger to the worldwide and the new company called DaimlerChrysler AG. (Sheltom, Hall and Darling, 2003) DaimlerChrysler became the worlds fifth largest car make after merger. Mr Schrempp described the merger as a marriage made in heaven. Also, the new combined management had promised that there will be no plant-closures or lay-offs after merger. (BBC News, 1998) In 2002, DaimlerChrysler implemented a restructuring program that aims to bring it struggling Chrysler division back into the black by 2003. (BBC News, 2002) In 2006, DaimlerChrysler ordered to pay former Daimler-Benz shareholders about 232m euros to settle a dispute over its 1998 creation. This was not the first time that DaimlerChrysler had been sued over its establishment. (BBC News, 2006) Also, in 2006, the company brought unwelcome information to investors by revealing that Chrysler was losing money. This year, Chrysler set to clock up $1bn losses (BBC News, 2006) In 2007, there was deeply concerned about its poor performance, and the shareholders were pressuring the company to sell it. (BBC News, 2007a) In 2007, the German-US firm paid 5.5bn euros to buy 80.1%, much less than the $36bn paid for Chryslers 1998 merger with Daimler-Benz. (BBC News, 2007b) In 1998, Daimler Chairman Juergen Schrempp promised a merger of equals. But it wasnt long before Chrysler executives complained the bullheaded Germans would not listen to the Americans. The relationship began to fall quickly. Schrempp said that if he had been honest with the Americans about German dominance before the merger, they never would have made a deal. (abc News, 2010) Culture differences were blamed for the failure of DaimlerChrysler. This is like citing irreconcilable differences. DaimlerChryslers incapability to combine the company cultures was one of the reasons of failure. (Mann, 2007) 3. Analysis of situation 3.1 The Reason of using this model I will use Hofstedes culture different model to analyze this issue. It is because Hofstedes culture different model can have a comparison between these two countries. Also, Hofstede collected over 116,000 people in 50 countrys research (Deresky, 2003) about organizational behavior. This data makes the model more believable. Also, Hofstede used constructed scaled indices to rank each of the nation within the dimension based on cultural differences (Signorini, Wiesemes and Murphy, 2009) 3.2 Hofstedes culture different model Hofstedes culture different model is a framework that understand how basic values underlie organizational behavior. Hofstede proposed four value dimensions, they are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity (Deresky, 2003). First, the value dimensions is power distance, it is the level of acceptance by a society of the unequal distribution of power in organizations. High power distance that employees accept the bosss authority is larger than themselves in the hierarchy and they seldom bypass the chain of command. The example of high power distance is Philippines. On the other hand, low power distance is that boss and employees are having equal power, and the relationship between boss and employees are more harmony and cooperation, such as Austria. (Deresky, 2003) For the second dimension, it is uncertainty avoidance that refers to the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguity in the social. High level of uncertainty avoidance causes that people tend to have strict laws and procedures, also have a strong sense of nationalism. In business side, the formal rules and procedures were designed to provide more security and greater career stability. Japan is the example of high level of uncertainty avoidance. However, low level of uncertainty avoidance causes that the nationalism is less decided and protests is allowed, and then the company is less structured and less formal. United States is one of the low level of uncertainty avoidance. (Deresky, 2003) The third value dimension is individualism. It refers to the tendency of people to look after themselves and their family and to ignore the need of society. Individualism is that achievement and democracy are highly valued. The relationship is independence between individual and organizations, the instance of individualism is United States. Collectivism that there is a strong belief in group decisions, believe the group more than the individual. Japan is the one of countries of collectivism. (Deresky, 2003) Fourth, masculinity is the degree of masculine values that assertiveness, materialism and lack of concern for other. Masculine culture considers cooperation more than individualistic. High masculine societies that one finds great job stress and organizational interests generally intrude on employees private lives. The example of highly masculine societies is Japan. On the other hand, counties with low masculinity that cause less conflict and job stress and reduce the need for assertiveness, such as Switzerland. (Deresky, 2003) The fifth dimension is the short-term orientation and long-term orientation, it is Hofstede added later. Long-term orientation is fostering virtues about future rewards. Short-term orientation is fostering virtues about the past and present. (Signorini, et al 2009) 3.3 Analysis of the issue Power distance In term of power distance, larger power distance countries are having more privileges for high level status, small power distance countries are preferred egalitarian (Signorini et al., 2009). According to Figure 2, the power distances score of Germany and United States is 35 and 40 respectively. Their result based on Hofstedes analysis is nearly, the level of accept unequal distribution of power in organization is low (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). About Daimler organization, they embraced formality and hierarchy that mean the subordinates prefer to listen superior. Also, the employee in Daimler needed to follow the hierarchy such as decision making process. Employee needs to follow the formal channel, it shown the manager relies on formal rule. (Badrtalei and Bates, 2007) Daimler-Benz had a more traditional way in management style, they used top-down management style (Anonymous, 2004). German managers preferred autocratic style in leadership style. German employees are obedient to m anagers and follow them unquestioningly expect give the employee specific order, that mean employee had high dependence. (Sheltom et al., 2003) Based on the above information, Daimler belongs the high power distance and became the tall organization pyramids. About Chrysler, they were ignored barriers and promoted cross-functional teams that favored free-form discussions and casual repartee that the subordinates wanted to be discussed to superior. Also, the executives allowed mid-level manager to go forward their own opinion. (Badrtalei et al., 2007) In term of management style, Chrysler had a reputation for having more freewheeling, open culture (Anonymous, 2004). Regard to the leadership, their employees expect to be treated accordingly that mean the employees enjoy the equal right. In organization, employees can challenge their manager that employees needed for low dependence. (Shelton et al., 2003) The organization pyramids of Chrysler are flatter than Daimler. Uncertainty avoidance Based on Figure 2, the score of Germany is 65 and United States is 46. It shown that German was unhappiness with ambiguous situations and people wanted more direction and less change and the ambiguous situation may develop anxiety or stress. Because little direction and considerable uncertainty would made work less effectively in the company, they wrote some rules to cover the situation. On the other hand, United States was more willing to take risk and much less resistant to change. (Brooks, 2003) In Daimler Organization, there was suit-and-tie dress code and the employees should respect their titles and proper names. About decision making process, Daimler set up the formal channel and followed the hierarchy and complex decision-making processes. (Badrtalei et al., 2007) Germans analyzed a problem need to use great detail, find a solution, then discussed with the partners to make a decision (Dorothee, 1999). It shown that Daimler needs laws and rules when manages the organization. Chryslers employees favored open collars and they could bring out their ideas freely (Badrtalei et al., 2007). It shown they were less need for rule. Based on the score of uncertainty avoidance, United States is lower than Germany. The result fitted in the Daimler and Chrysler, because Daimler management preferred more to follow the rule and formal. Conversely, Chrysler was more casual management style that less stress and relax. When American discussed the problem, they created the solution during the discussion, not follow the information. (Dorothee, 1999) Individualism versus Collectivism In individualist nations, the individual is more independent in the group. In collectivist nations, the groups interest is more important that individuals interest. (Signorini et al., 2009) According to Figure 2, the result of Germany and United States is 67 and 91 respectively. United States is the highest score in the world. Hofstede found that American culture tend more individualistic and Asian cultures tend to be much more collective. (Brooks, 2003) Germans preferred a tightly knit social framework in which individuals look after one another and protect their members interests. Luthans (1998) said that Geramns are less individualistic than people in the USA. (Shelton et al., 2003) That reflected Germans perform best in in-groups. Also, Germans were more respectful of title, age and background connections, for example culture accords status based on gender, age or social connections. (Shelton et al., 2003) The executives of Daimler had larger staffs and fatter expense accounts (B adrtalei et al., 2007), the obligations of group were important than self. On the other hands, Chrysler is the American based company, so their culture was affected by American culture. USAs companies were tended to grant status based on achievement (Shelton et al., 2003), it reflected they hiring and promotion decisions based on skills. In Chrysler, officers had broader responsibilities and bigger salaries and bonuses (Badrtalei et al., 2007), their obligations of organization were low. Masculinity versus Femininity Based on Figure 2, the score of Germany and United States is 66 and 62 respectively. Masculinity countries that people strengthen assertiveness and competition and interest in material success. Femininity countries that people concern more with living environment and relationship. (Signorini et al., 2009) In the result of Hofstede, Germany and United Statess result was approach. In order to maintain the luxury image of Daimler, employees flew first-class during business travel. (Badrtalei et al., 2007) Daimler had a stress on competition. However, only top officers of Chrysler could fly first-class during the business travel (Badrtalei et al., 2007), it also was the performance of the masculinity. Because both of them preferred the masculinity in the result of Hofstede, their value of work, money and achievement were similarly. Long term orientation versus Short term orientation In term of long term orientation, there are differentiation between elder and younger sisters and brothers, in business that building of relationships and market position, people should live more equally. Short term orientation that all siblings are equal, in business that short-time results and the bottom line, economic and social life to be ordered by abilities etc. (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003) The result of long term orientation in Germany is 31, United States is 29 that shown in Figure 2. These two countries belonged to short term orientation based on Hofstede. Actually, Luthans (1998) remarked that Germans had a longer-time orientation. About workforce, Germany is more stable than United States. German employees preferred work for many years for the same company, they focused on building of relationships and a strong market position. (Shelton et al., 2003) Germans forced on full-year results of financial reporting system. (Badrtalei et al., 2007) On the other side, US employees were instable of the workforce and they rarely worked many years in the same company (Shelton et al., 2003), because they focus on short-term results. Also, the financial reporting system is on a quarterly basis (Badrtalei et al., 2007). 4. Conclusion Daimler AG is one of the worlds automotive companies and it has 125 years history. Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz was the founder of Daimler-Benz AG. In 1998, there was the merger between Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corporation, these two companies located in Germany and United States respectively. And the cooperation of Daimler and Chrysler was merger of equals. At the beginning, their merger was viewed a strong alliance by international market. However, their relationship of merger maintained nine years. During the merger, DaimlerChrysler had cultural clashes, since the employees of DaimlerChrysler were came from Daimler and Chrysler respectively, they had some differences in work habits, communication style, planning and decisions, negotiation strategies and leadership. The cultural clashes of DaimlerChrysler can use Hofstedes cultural difference model to analyze. Hofstedes cultural difference model has five value dimensions to analyze the cultural difference. They are power distance dimension, the uncertainty avoidance dimension, individualist-collectivist dimension, masculinity-femininity dimension and long-term orientation short-term orientation dimension. According to Figure 2, the result of power distance dimension, masculinity-femininity and long-term orientation short-term orientation on Germany and United States is closely. Conversely, there was obviously difference on individualism-collectivist dimension and uncertainty avoidance dimension. In term of power distance dimension, Daimler executed hierarchy in the management style that subordinates must follow superior. On the other side, Chrysler was more freewheeling in management style, such as employee can challenge their manager. About uncertainty avoidance, Daimler was higher than Chrysler. Daimler was more traditional and need to use formal channel when making decision. Conversely, Chrysler preferred open collars, free-form discussions and casual repartee. (Badrtalei et al., 2007) Regard to individualism-collectivism, United States is the highest score in the world. Since Chrysler is the American based company, they were more force on themselves. To sum up, the Germans regarded the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking, whereas the Americans valued the methodological engineering technical capabilities. (Darling, Seristo and Gabrielsson, 2005) 5. Recommendations Appendix Daimler Target System Figure 1 The result of Germany and United States Figure 2

America Needs a Variable Minimum Wage Essay -- Minimum Wage Essays

Minimum wage is the least amount of money that an employer is legally required to pay an employee. It is something that all people in the American workforce know about. It was made to prevent the employer from taking advantage of employees. It is what creates the bare minimum standard of living for the 73.9 million hourly wage workers in the United States. However, there are many different jobs with varying amount of skills that are needed for those jobs. This is where the problem arises because a worker may still be under paid for the job that they do. This problem splits the population into two main groups, one that wants the minimum wage to be raised and another that wants the minimum wage to remain the same, or to even be abolished. However there is a third and possibly more successful option that many people do not propose. Minimum wage as it stands now is too generalized and low for the scope of jobs it applies to. Therefore this third option is that working wages should vary a mong the different sectors of the workforce depending on the different skills needed and effort required for those jobs. Minimum wage was first established in 1938 during the Great Depression by President Franklin Roosevelt to protect the tens of thousands of workers working in sweat shops and factories in America from exploitation. He signed the Fair Labor Standards Act that year which introduced various regulations including banning child labor, establishing workplace safety statutes and arguably the most influential, creating a minimum wage standard of 25 cents per hour. Historically, many employers and fiscal conservatives violently opposed the law arguing that minimum wage could hurt employers, much as they argue now. But President Roosevelt'... ....S 1)" as people who earn this wage can not afford health insurance. It is not enough to handle the different needs of the people who work in different work places and is not acceptable for people who work for far less than they legally should get. Works Cited Soltas, Evans."Two Reasons Not to Raise minimum WageWage". Bloomberg News, Web Jan 03, 2013. Messerli Joe. "Should the Minimum Wage be Abolished (i.e Reduced to $0.00)". BalancedPolitics, web. Oct 12, 2013. Romer, Christina. "The Business of the Minimum Wage" NYTIMES, web. March 2, 2013. The Economist."Trickle-up Economics; Raising the minimum wage" 16 Feb. 2013: 30(US), Student Resources in Context. Web, 18 Oct, 2013. "History of the United States' Minimum Wage" Marathon Studios Enterprises, web. 30 Oct, 2013 Winter, Michael. "L.A. to boost minimum wage to $15", USA TODAY May 19, 2015 America Needs a Variable Minimum Wage Essay -- Minimum Wage Essays Minimum wage is the least amount of money that an employer is legally required to pay an employee. It is something that all people in the American workforce know about. It was made to prevent the employer from taking advantage of employees. It is what creates the bare minimum standard of living for the 73.9 million hourly wage workers in the United States. However, there are many different jobs with varying amount of skills that are needed for those jobs. This is where the problem arises because a worker may still be under paid for the job that they do. This problem splits the population into two main groups, one that wants the minimum wage to be raised and another that wants the minimum wage to remain the same, or to even be abolished. However there is a third and possibly more successful option that many people do not propose. Minimum wage as it stands now is too generalized and low for the scope of jobs it applies to. Therefore this third option is that working wages should vary a mong the different sectors of the workforce depending on the different skills needed and effort required for those jobs. Minimum wage was first established in 1938 during the Great Depression by President Franklin Roosevelt to protect the tens of thousands of workers working in sweat shops and factories in America from exploitation. He signed the Fair Labor Standards Act that year which introduced various regulations including banning child labor, establishing workplace safety statutes and arguably the most influential, creating a minimum wage standard of 25 cents per hour. Historically, many employers and fiscal conservatives violently opposed the law arguing that minimum wage could hurt employers, much as they argue now. But President Roosevelt'... ....S 1)" as people who earn this wage can not afford health insurance. It is not enough to handle the different needs of the people who work in different work places and is not acceptable for people who work for far less than they legally should get. Works Cited Soltas, Evans."Two Reasons Not to Raise minimum WageWage". Bloomberg News, Web Jan 03, 2013. Messerli Joe. "Should the Minimum Wage be Abolished (i.e Reduced to $0.00)". BalancedPolitics, web. Oct 12, 2013. Romer, Christina. "The Business of the Minimum Wage" NYTIMES, web. March 2, 2013. The Economist."Trickle-up Economics; Raising the minimum wage" 16 Feb. 2013: 30(US), Student Resources in Context. Web, 18 Oct, 2013. "History of the United States' Minimum Wage" Marathon Studios Enterprises, web. 30 Oct, 2013 Winter, Michael. "L.A. to boost minimum wage to $15", USA TODAY May 19, 2015

Mrs. Mallards Reflections on Life in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Ho

Anyone who receives notice of a loved ones death is never expected to take it lightly. In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husbands â€Å"death† as gently as possible, and immediately she understands the enormous significance this loss will have on her life. Unlike many widow’s, her feelings of utter devastation do not last. Mrs. Mallard’s sobs of loss turn to cries of joy after she reflects upon her own character and discovers truths about her marriage. As any woman would, Mrs. Mallard initially â€Å"wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment,† (227) at the news of her husband’s death. Her weeping almost seems forced as Mrs. Mallard’s true character is revealed later on. She is described as â€Å"young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength† (227). Though Mrs. Mallard is still youthful, she has much more knowledge, and personal strength than others her age possess. Her extended knowledge and experience leads to realization of the position her husband’s death has put her in, and that this death might actually bett...

Isolation and Alienation in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar Essay

In Sylvia Plath’s modern novel, The Bell Jar, the main character Esther isolates and alienates herself throughout the book because she mentally ill. Because her descent into a deep depression is slow and she leads a productive life when the reader first meets her, this descent seems rational to the reader in the beginning. Esther has an artsy soul. She is a writer and dreamer. When she does not make it into the writing program she is hoping for, she feels as though her life starts to lose purpose and we see her unwind. Esther is lucky enough to be spending a month in the summer in New York as a scholarship winning junior editor/ intern for a ladies magazine but she does not enjoy this experience as much as she feels she should. Esther spends her evenings out and about in the glamorous city trying to forget about Buddy Willard, a boy she dated in college who developed tuberculosis. Esther’s feelings of depression begin on this trip as she loses interest in both her work and social life and only worsen with time. Esther begins to realize her feelings of deep discontent are not normal â€Å"I knew something was wrong with me that summer, because all I could think about was the Rosenbergs and how stupid I’d been to buy all those uncomfortable, expensive clothes†¦and how all the little successes I’d totted up so happily at college fizzled to nothing†¦ along Madison Avenue.† (Plath, 1-2) Although Esther understands there is something abnormal about her emotions, it takes her a while to realize how deeply mentally ill she really is. Her peers are all happy and excited to be in New York pursuing their future careers but Esther is unable to share their enthusiasm in any of it. Esther begins avoiding her friends and social situations and retreats further into her own thoughts and emotions. Esther’s depression steadily worsens once she returns home. She is devastated when she is informed she has been rejected from the writing program she planned on attending and is left unsure about what to do with her life. â€Å"But when I took up my pen, my hand made big, jerky letters like those of a child, and the lines sloped down the page from left to right almost diagonally, as if they were loops of string lying on the paper, and someone had come along and blown them askew.† (Plath, 106) Esther starts noticing many odd changes with herself, such as a loss of writing talent and constant thoughts of suicide. She feels she is losing her identity as a writer and therefore her grip on reality. Esther attempts suicide more than once and is dragged to several psychiatrists and mental institutions before landing in a private institution in the capable hands of Dr. Nolan who helps her slowly ascend from her suffocating â€Å"bell jar.† This book gives the reader a look inside what it is like to be severely mentally ill. Esther avoids everyone including those who used to be her best friends and attempts suicide more than once. That is why alienation is the most outstanding theme in this novel.