Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79 (1986) Case Study

Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79 (1986) - Case Study Example In this case, the peremptory challenge that was laid before the court in order to remove all Black representatives in the jury and this was done so without a valid cause. Although the defense tried to object to the jury set up prior to the jury being sworn in, the judge in the case over-ruled their motion stating that the peremptory challenge could be used against anybody that the court felt it should be used against (Batson v. Kentucky). After the decision of the court came out, the defense went to the supreme court to raise their objection once again to the fact that Mr. Batson was tried by a jury composed solely of Whites and therefore, was not truly represented by a jury of his peers as the law promised all of the accused in a jury trial. Supreme Court Justice Powell held the decision that the 14th Amendment was violated in this instance and that in no case can the prosecution ever use a peremptory challenge without stating a valid reason for doing so. The state must always support its claim to have a juror removed with a valid cause. However, a dissenting opinion was voiced by Supreme Court Justice Berger, who believed that although the burden of proof lay within the responsibility of the state, the Equal Protection clause was not violated in this case. Justice Marshall further bolstered the claim of Justice Berger by indicating that the peremptory challenge cannot be used to distort the jury process by exclusion on racial grounds (Batson v. Kentucky). Having now come to an understanding that a peremptory challenge cannot be instigated simply on a whim by either the prosecution or defense, it is important to understand that such a challenge is not the same as a â€Å"challenge for cause†. To make things clearer, let us first differentiate the meaning of the two legal terms. â€Å"... the right of the plaintiff and the defendant in a jury trial to have a juror dismissed before trial without

The role of logic in argumention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The role of logic in argumention - Essay Example The analysis of an argument is significant as this particular task asks one to read a brief argument, analyze the reasoning behind it, and write a critique of the argument. Analysis of an argument does not ask one to develop your own opinion like the analysis of an issue task. The analysis of an argument task involves analyzing a given opinion, including considering questionable assumptions that underline the opinion, counterexamples that may weaken the conclusion, or evidence that may support it. In analyzing an argument it is important to present a logical flow of ideas, clear control of the English language, and the use of a strong format, with an introduction and a conclusion. Due to the short time limit it is advisable to keep sentences concise and use a few well-developed examples to support one’s view. If one knows the elements needed to make argument analysis, the individual would be able to exhibit one’s ability to write analytically.

Assessing The Economic Performance Of Asda Business Essay

Assessing The Economic Performance Of Asda Business Essay ASDA Group Ltd is UK number one largest food retailers. It sold variety of items like food, books, apparel, CDs, electronics and house hold items. Earlier they have started as just superstore and today they have expanded themselves globally. Goal of ASDA The main aim of any organization is to survive or exit in the market .for this they believe in Value for money Competitive prices Meeting Consumer needs Progressive returns on investment. ASDA aims to make goods and services more affordable for the people. Mission statement of ASDA The mission statement of ASDA is to be the Britains best value retailer exceeding customer needs always. It has shown that it value a lot for the respect of the individual, customer service and excellence. Marketing strategy of ASDA ASDA is playing on low price/low cost strategy in the market. They have lowered down their operating cost as well as carbon foot-printing with the help of sustainable development programmes. They are using the strategy in which they are trying to use the best quality products but with the lowered price so that maximum number of customers can be attracted. They have tried their best to maintain a good relationship with the customers. They have improved a lot in the customer services. They have played a strategy of ASDA price guarantee to win the trust of the customers to a large extent. Organization behaviour Organizational behaviour basically deals with the deep study of the impact of all the activities of individuals and groups within the behaviour of the organization. It also deals with the study of the impact of organizational structure on human behaviour. In organizational behaviour there is a integration of many other studies like sociology, psychology, social psychology and economics. Organizational behaviour aims with the study of contribution of human behaviour towards achieving greater efficiency and growth of the organization. Organization behaviour can be defined as systematic study of actions and attitudes that people exhibit within the organization (Stephen P. Robin) Taking the impact of different fields on the organization behaviour its seen that the study sociology deals with the group dynamics. It shows the impact on the group behaviour to a large extent. It also deals with the roles played by the individuals in the organization, power, status, communication, conflict management, group processes, formal organizational theories, group decision-making and norms. Psychology has impacted the organization in studies like job-satisfaction, leadership, individual decision-making, performance appraisal, and work stress and ego state. With the help of study of psychology it helps the organization to change the attitude, improving personal skills and generating positive approach for the development of the organization. Even psychology is also considered important for the selection of the employees as it helps in reading the mind of the person, doing the measurement of the personality aptitude and attitude. As the organization need to keep an eye over the government rules and regulations. Political science helps the company in knowing the position for financial investment, employment and expansion and doing the promotion of international business. Social psychology is the blend of the psychology and sociology to obtain better human behaviour in the organization. It contributes to the ability of the people in the organization, maintenance of the social norms, group decision-making and managing the change. Anthropology takes into account the cultural and environmental framework for the human behaviour study. People, structure and technology are the three main components of the organization. For the achievement of the goal of the company they need to focus on these three factors. The company should fulfil the desired needs of their employees as well as maintain a good relationship with them. Teams and groups also play vital role in achieving goal of the company. The organization could have formal and informal structure. The formal structures do have some proper set of objectives set to priories whereas informal structure does not have any such objectives to be taken care of. So basically organization behaviour includes the study which involves the management of interpersonal relationship, identification of the needs of the people and application of the appropriate strategies to obtain the best result. VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR ISSUES Organization culture of ASDA Organization culture reflects the personality of an organization. ASDA believes that they have a very unique culture. They have defined their values to their customers, employees and to do best of them. For ASDA their customers are the main entity for them. They try to create an understandable and positive environment for their customers. The employees are also allowed to freely present their views for the betterment of the company. The employees participate in different programmes held by the ASDA so that they can very well mix up among themselves and with the top level management. ASDA always try to motivate their employees by giving different schemes and trips. So ASDA have a positive culture with some rules and regulation made to achieve the objective of the company. they also follow all the legal laws and try to produce good variety of product keeping in mind the health of their customers. Organizational change in ASDA RESEARCH LEWIN MODEL OF CHANGE Kurt lewin proposed a three stage theory of change known as unfreeze, change, and refreeze. Stage 1 The unfreezing stage is one of the crucial stages for any organisation. This stage is about getting ready to change. It is basically feeling the presence of necessary change to be made in the company and getting ready to move from current comfort zone. It is said that the more we feel that change is necessary, the more urgent it is, and the more motivated we are to make the change. Unfreezing and getting motivated for the change is all about weighing up the pros and cons and deciding if the pros outnumber the cons before you take any action. This is the basis of what Kurt Lewin called the Force Field Analysis. Force Field Analysis is a fancy way of saying that there are lots of different factors for and against making change that we need to be aware of. If the factors for change outweigh the factors against change well make the change. If not, then theres low motivation to change and if we feel pushed. Stage 2: Change or Transition The next step after unfreezing is the change or transition. It is the inner movement or journey we make in reaction to a change. This second stage occurs as we make the changes that are needed. It is often said that this is the hardest step as people are unsure or even fearful. Its not a easy time as people are learning about the changes and need to be given time to understand and work with them. Members are being supported by providing a full training and coaching. Using role models and allowing people to develop their own solutions also help to make the changes. Its also really useful to keep communicating a clear picture of the desired change and the benefits to everyone in the organization. Stage 3: Freezing (or Refreezing) Kurt Lewin refers to this stage as freezing although a lot of people refer to it as refreezing. As the name suggests this stage is about establishing stability once the changes have been made. The changes are accepted and become the new norm. People form new relationships and become comfortable with their routines. It could take a lot of time. In todays world of change the next new change could happen in weeks or less. There is just no time to settle into comfortable routines. The rigidity of freezing does not fit with modern thinking about change being a continuous, sometimes chaotic process in which great flexibility is demanded. Organization change in ASDA ASDA was the second largest supermarket store in the United Kingdom in 2005. ASDA has positioned itself as a value for money store in the market. Slowly they expanded themselves into apparel, books, CDs, groceries, and other various household items. In the same year they got award for the lowest price supermarket. The competitors of ASDA like Tesco and J. Sainsbury were also trying to increase the market position by expanding themselves into the financial products, newspaper, pharmaceutical products, clothes and petrol. ASDA were having the hierarchical structure. There were eight levels up to the CEO of the store. These were layered like staff members, supervisor, department manager, general store manager, regional operations controller, division director, operations director, joint managing director and chief executive. ASDA were having the formal way of organizing culture of the organization. They were using the bureaucratic way of management. The staff members are kept in separate part of the headquarters to the top executives. The major issues were handled by the top executives only. It was seen that the communication pattern between the head office and the stores was one way with top-down management style. They were using the centralised distribution but still there customer number was declining rapidly. Regarding the quality of food they had tried their best to provide fresh food to the customers but still they were not able to convince the customer up to the expected levels. So they were facing the complexity problem in the management. ASDA did work on recognising their strength through using well IT, up to date effective distribution system and good operating management. To improve the ASDA management they tried to remove the too many layers of the management and creating narrow structure to better understand the organization. They bring in many changes in the organization like: They started working on increasing the price competitiveness Redirection the range and breakthrough in store productivity ASDA started generating the higher volumes to improve in terms of trading Restoring the customer flow They tried to reduce the fixed cost % to sales and increase the traffic sensitive purchases CRITICAL ANALYSIS As the market is not stable, its changing every day. The organization needs to be such flexible that it can maintain its position in the market. Looking at the ASDA they have well established themselves. With the changes in the economy they are changing their strategy and competing in the market. Analysing the competitors strategy ASDA has adopted the different strategy of low price. They have stabled themselves in creating higher volume of products with low prices to gain majority of the customer in the market. LEADERSHIP THEORIES Research McGregor Theory According to McGregor, manager of organization posses two different assumptions about the human nature. He explained these two assumptions in two different theories: Theory X and Theory Y According to theory X The human being has always being inherited for the disliking of the work. They always try to avoid the work either they can do or not. According to him, managers always think that their employees are lazy. Manager has to forced, direct and controlled his people to do work. In this management, usually managers use to punish and threatened their employees to get the work done. They already have thinking that people avoid taking the responsibilities for the work. Whereas in theory Y the manager uses a positive way of approach to get the work done. According to them just the external threatening and punishment is not just the way to bring efforts to achieve the objectives of the organization. They have a mind set about their employees that they are responsible for their work and they take the responsibilities by themselves. Leadership in ASDA ASDA believes in developing its people. They provided lots of opportunities to its people to develop the leadership quality. They believe in McGregor theory y. They totally have a positive approach towards their employee handling. ASDA arranges many programmes for the development of their people. They create awareness among their employees to gather information about different fields. The employees working as ASDA either individually or working as a team learn to face challenges. The different method adopted by ASDA is that they make different teams and make them competitor among themselves by providing the same task and hence see their performance by the results gained for the betterment of the company. So like this ASDA do lots of efforts in bringing their employees the self-esteem. Critical analysis Looking at the approaches adopted by ASDA to get leadership quality in their employees it could be analysed that they are working for the people. They are successfully achieving their target of making the profit, good image and relationship with their customers as well as employees. Motivation Research Frederick Herzberg was a well respected American who proposed the theory behind the managers thinking about motivation at work.  He has given a content theory which explains the factors of an individuals motivation by identifying their needs and desires, what satisfies their needs and desires and by establishing the aims that they pursue to satisfy these desires. He aims to determine work situations where the subjects were highly motivated and satisfied rather than where the opposite was true and his research was later paired with many studies involving a broader sampling of professionals. Herzberg split his factors of motivation into two parts called Hygiene factors and Motivation factors.   The Hygiene factors can de-motivate or cause dissatisfaction if they are not present, but do not very often create satisfaction when they are present; however, Motivation factors do motivate or create satisfaction and are rarely the cause of dissatisfaction.   The two types of factors may be listed as follows in order of importance: Hygiene Factors (leading to dissatisfaction): Company Policy Supervision Relationship with Boss Work Conditions Salary Relationship with Peers Motivators (leading to satisfaction): Achievement Recognition The work itself Responsibility Advancement Growth The dissatisfiers are hygiene factors in the sense that they are maintenance factors required to avoid dissatisfaction and stop workers from being unhappy, but do not create satisfaction in themselves.   They can be avoided by using hygienic methods to prevent them. From the above It is clear that the factors in each are not actually opposing i.e. the satisfiers are not the opposite of the dissatisfiers.  The opposite of satisfaction isnt dissatisfaction but is no satisfaction.   Both lists contain factors that lead to motivation, but to a differing extent because they fulfil different needs.   The Hygiene factors have an end which once fulfilled then cease to be motivating factors while the Motivation factors are much more open-ended and this is why they continue to motivate. He also developed the concept that there are two distinct human needs: 1)  Physiological needs: avoiding unpleasantness or discomfort 2)  Psychological needs: the need for personal development fulfilled by activities which cause one to grow. Herzberg believed that the Hygiene factors causing no satisfaction are not applicable to the task an employee undertakes but are external to that task.   They are the Adam part of the concept where an incentive may be attributed to a fear of punishment or increase in discomfort or as he phrased it A Kick up the Ass (KITA).   He thought that these did work but only as short term motivators e.g. constantly increasing someones salary to motivate them will merely encourage them to look for the next wage rise and nothing else; however, salary may also be a de-motivator where the employee perceives it to be too low or low compared to that of their peers.   The long term motivators are the Abraham part of the concept that lead to satisfaction and are intrinsic to the job itself and the job design.   It is important to understand that the two types of factors are not mutually exclusive and that management must try to fulfil both types of need for an employee to be truly satisfied with their job.   Once the Hygiene factors have been satisfied providing more of them will not create further motivation but not satisfying them may cause de-motivation; unlike the Motivation factors where management may not fulfil all of them but the workers may still feel motivated.   Major companies have recognised this situation when designing their methods of reward and recognition. Probably one of the most important ideas that Herzberg postulated based on his findings of satisfaction is that of job enrichment. This is the addition of different tasks to a job to provide greater involvement and interaction with that job.   It is obviously a continuous management process: The job must use the full ability of the employee and provide them with sufficient challenge Any employee who demonstrates an increasing level of ability should be given correspondingly increasing levels of responsibility If a job cannot be designed to use an employees full ability management should consider employing someone of lesser skills or perhaps automation of the task.   If a persons skills cannot be used to the full they will experience problems with motivation. Motivation at ASDA The employees at ASDA are being motivated intervaly. The organization makes sure that that all the needs of the members are fulfilled and they are satisfied so that they can work properly without any fear of demand of the economy. The ASDA gives the worker on job training which let them know more about the new technologies being used and helps in building their self-esteem. If the persons self-esteem is achieved the person has a thinking that he has gained in his life all the desires he wish to have. Critical analysis ASDA has done good job in motivating its employees but it could do more by providing many options in front of them. They can motivate their employees more by increasing the slary time to time and according to the level of the job done by the person. They can give various gifts to their employees which will help ASDA to make good relationship with the employees. Well I believe Tesco had done a great job in terms of motivating their employees. If the basic need of a person is fulfilled properly he is able to perform well at his/her work. Tesco is making their full effort to fulfil their employees need by providing them various schemes and gifts. Due to this their employees are working properly. Training and development a)Theory behind training and development Frederick W. Taylor. Taylor was the first modern efficiency expert in world history. Around the Twentieth Century, he formalized the principles of Scientific Management and developed a set of ideas designed to get employees in manufacturing industries to produce more output. Scientific training is one of the most important principles of scientific management. According to Taylor an organization should trained its employees more of scientifically rather than leaving it to themselves because Workers do not naturally enjoy work and so need close supervision and control. Taylors approach matches with the concept of an autocratic management style (managers take all the decisions and simply give orders to those below them) and Macgregors Theory X approach to workers (workers are viewed as lazy and wish to avoid responsibility). It aims to unearth and cultivate workmens endowment, let them have the best performance in their work and obtain the highest efficiency farthest. At crew level ther e is considerable initial and ongoing training that is consistently applied to everybody in the business, whether part, full time, hourly paid staff or salaried managers undergoing their compulsory restaurant training? Scientific management has become a more powerful asset for a company to increase its efficiency. Training and development at ASDA ASDA has a strong belief on providing training to its employees. It has always tried to develop some new skill in the employee so that it can do its best in the future and becomes the member of the company for its betterment. When a new employee is hired there is a proper induction programme held in which the employee is introduced to the organization and to the other members. Then there is a 12-week on job training provided by ASDA trainer who tries to generate the appropriate skills required to do the different job in the store. Even during the training the employee is made to sit with the manager and see how they work in the company. once the training of the particular department of the person is finished the trainer makes sure that the employee is also ensure about the other valuable knowledge required to become the part of the company. Once the employee is trained, ASDA dont feel that the job is done it tries to update their employees on the regular basis and see how they are pe rforming. For the development of the people, several programmes are held by the company. CRITICAL ANALYSIS ASDA is spending a lot on providing training to its employees. They are taking training and development as an important part of their business. With the help of proper training and development its employees are more comfortable with the environment and they are able to handle the customers very well. Conclusion I believe that first of all customers create some expectation of value and then they start to make a purchase on a belief that whatever they perceive the product or service , must gives benefit in terms of the total cost involved. This may include not only the time, but may be some efforts and difficulties. Therefore a better customer value is provided when the buyer is favorable in the product received from us in comparison to the same product with the competitors. And ASDA has proven this when compared to Sainsbury or tesco. Taking into account the objectives of ASDA I felt that to a large extent they had fulfilled their objectives. As one of their important objective is to be globally accepted by the customers. They are placing a good image in front of the customers by maintaining a good relationship and keeping in mind the health of their customers as priority. Recommendation I examined the organization and the nature of the work in the ASDA stores, the employment relationship and the characteristics of the workforce in U K. After doing research on the organizational behavioural issues at ASDA I believe they should more emphasize on human requirement and performance standard because that would help human resource in making better job description and job specification. Increasing transparency can help clarify rumours and allow people to understand the ASDA very well. As far as I have seen ASDA is using trend analysis method for future forecasting if computerized forecasting is done in place of it , they could save time as well as they would know better about their employees through computerized system. Moreover the recruiting and selection process in ASDA is very fine but still I believe that while recruiting communication skill of the employee must be the first priority as its a field in which communication with customers demands a lot in making good relationship with customers. Summary ASDA has always tried to capture the major market by concentrating on the lower class and middle class people. With the help of this strategy they are able to compete with the other major player in the market like TESCO. Most of all the greatest advantage is the vision or the dream with which the company was started. Sustaining this dream over the years is any companies greatest advantage. A brand usually revolves around this vision sustaining this vision and working in lieu with it is a great SCA. The vision was to provide quick service, cheap products and quality satisfaction. Although the work offered at ASDA have some positive elements, but very often people choose employment there in context of having few attractive options. ASDA manages the employees relationship by a complete spectrum of controls, from simple, direct controls to the management of subjectivity.

Free Essays - Depression in The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Depression in The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye by, J.D. Salinger is told through Holden the narrative in the story. The setting of the novel takes place in the 1940's early 1950's. Holden is sixteen years old and he has a lot of problems in his life. He becomes seriously depressed to the point he cannot deal with people and life around him. The 1940's were different from today. However, Holden Caulfield is similar to many other teenagers who go through the same problems. The 1940's were a time of nationalism. Men had to have an appearance of a tough attitude. They were never allowed to let their real feelings show. One of the major reasons Holden becomes depressed is the death of his brother Allie. He described is brother as being nothing but perfect. He keeps this guilt locked up inside him because he blames his death on himself. A memory that haunts him is when he excluded his brother from a b-b gun game. Another memory that he held on to and was never able to forgive himself for was when Allie asked Holden to go bike riding and he didn't go. Holden did not have a good relationship with his Mother or Father. He needed them the most right after the death of Allie. However, we see Holden crying out help and attention when he threw a baseball through the window and broke it and still nobody talked to him. His older brother went off to Hollywood. The only one he adores is his younger sister Phoebe. He is able to talk to her a nd he thought she understood him. He could not deal with reality. He quoted "I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." He couldn't face people not even himself. He drank to make himself feel better but it just made him angrier. Many adolecesents go through the same problems as Holden does. They have no one to turn to. So they dig deeper into this hole and can't face life. However, no matter what, losing a loved one is probably the most painful loss a person can face.

Australian Rules

Ladies and gentleman, the film Australian Rules is simply impossible to overlook as Australia’s entry into the international film everything that a proper ‘Australian’ film should, drama, romance, action and deceit. It portrays cultural differences that create segregation between the fabrics of society in a town that doesn’t possess the capacity to co-exist which is evident in urbanized Australia. My name is ______, and I am taking it upon myself today to tell you, the good people of the Australian Film Board that ‘Australian Rules’ is capable of earning great accolade at the international film competition and doing Australia great favours in the eyes of the international film community. The director, Paul Goldman, has achieved what he feels to be an honest and frank interpretation of our Australian identity through the use and skilful manipulation of several film techniques such as setting, cinematography, characterization, music and symbolism. I will discuss these techniques with you in detail as i continue. The movie is set in Prospect Bay, a remote outpost on the South Australian coast. It is a dry, desolate and unappealing area which is confirmed by the lives lived by the ‘tidy towns’ few residents. The town has been presented in this fashion as it emphasises the true remoteness of the location, and presents the audience with the fact that the characters are not in or even near the city, do not follow the city culture and do not partake in activities in a ‘conventional’ way. The setting in which the movie takes place is of greater importance to the overall message of the film than perhaps anything else. It conveys the message that there is another side to Australia, one which suburbia has not been exposed to. Gary Black, usually referred to as Blacky by his peers, is the kind hearted and idealistic feature character in the film. He is separated from the rest of the community as he is willing to see beyond the barrier of white vs. Black and exist in both worlds, away from the insurmountable racial tension that is evidently displayed by the actions and attitudes of the wider community. He is positioned in such a light that his actions, whether they be positive, or negative, are seen to be in good will and are intended to be without malice, regardless of whether this is the case. He is also placed in a position of weakness and vulnerability. This is showcased through the relationship which is shared between Blacky and his father. He is portrayed as being afraid of his father and not willing to examine his father’s role within his own life, but more mportantly his family’s life and question his use of negative, aggressive and demeaning tactics which he employs in order to gain full control of his family and eliminate any defiant or disobedient behaviour. The use and manipulation of cinematography throughout the film is of massive importance as it presents different characters in a desired way which helps to shape the film. For example the camera angles in the scene in which Blacky’s father exposes him and Clarence lying in bed together and procee ds to beat Garry down. The camera angle depicts Garry lying on the ground with an upward shot centred at the fathers imposing presence. The shot is almost the point of view Garry would have experienced as he was was lying on the ground in fear. This was the angles particular purpose, to emphasise the presence of fear and trepidation in that situation. The use of music, or lack thereof in the film is a powerful way of distinguishing the true feelings and emotions in any given situation. If there is a light hearted friendly moment within the film the music may possibly be calm and light, giving the impression of carelessness and fun. The same applies to a dramatic scene where the music may be deep and frantic to convey to the audience the feeling of anticipation. A scene i would like to focus on is the scene in which Garry and his father have a final ‘showdown’, if you will, at the front of the house. The scene consists of the father imposing himself on Garry and proceeding to continually beat him down time after time only for Garry to rise up and face his father on each occasion. This scene evoked a feeling of pride and admiration from the audience as to Garry’s courage and determination to convey the message to his father that he is ready to stand on his own two feet and defy him. This is a very powerful scene within the movie which initiated powerful emotions within the audience. All of this was accomplished with the notable absence of music of any form. The omission of music in this scene created an atmosphere in which the dramatic affect was amplified due to the silence. The use of symbolism is clearly evident throughout the film. From the contrast of the colours on the team’s uniform which many believe to be a hidden symbol of ‘unity’ as such, to the final scene of the movie which entails Garry and Clarence swimming in the ocean in what appears to be a yin-yan formation. One notable use of symbolism in the film is that of the ‘fruit and nut’ bar. This symbolises the fathers role in the family, as something simple as a bar of chocolate can mean so much within the context of the families relationships. It is the ultimate symbol of the dominate and commanding position in which the father holds within the household. I wish to thank you, the members of the film board for your valuable time and hope you have taken into consideration the message I have conveyed to you today.

Close Critical Analysis of Mrs Midas Essay

In Mrs Midas, Carol Ann Duffy takes the well-known story of King Midas from Ancient Greek mythology and places it in a modern context from the wife’s perspective. Originally, the story is about King Midas and the power he possesses that turns everything he touches into gold, which leads him to ultimately realise that wealth alone can’t make him happy – even unlimited gold. The moral of the King Midas story is that you can’t buy happiness, and also to be careful what you wish for as greed is sure to overcome you. This is where the present day expression ‘The Midas Touch’ derives from; meaning everything a person does is successful and profitable – as everything in modern society seems to be money orientated. Duffy implies another meaning to the story of King Midas as in ‘Mrs Midas’, Midas is portrayed as the modern day working man who neglects his wife for success and wealth – also reflecting the increasing number of couples having a divorces nowadays. The underlying theme of the poem is about the husband’s selfishness destroying marriage as men are associated with becoming too involved in work so neglect their wives/families. â€Å"He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks† the list of objects that he’s turning into gold illustrates the obsession men have with making money out of continuous successes they have; like Midas’ greed it seems addictive as they keep wanting more and more. ‘Toyed’ implies that he’s enjoying it; he enjoys being the alleged ‘money-maker’ so sees no harm in what he’s doing. It’s a flirtatious reference as if he’s using his male sexuality to get round his wife; this also may reflect how ambitious and prosperous men are perceived as more attractive by women (dependency so ensures security). Midas’ selfishness is highlighted when his wife describes her dream: â€Å"I dreamt I bore his child†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she can only dream of having his children as the reality is she’ll never be able to. It’s ironic how a wife’s ordinary dream of having a child can’t come true when her husband’s senseless dream of turning everything into gold does – Duffy contrasts men’s lust for materialism with women’s needs for simple things such as family. His selfishness is emphasised as because of his foolish actions, his wife won’t be able to accomplish these simple things – he’s already attained many successes it seems yet he’s asking for more. â€Å"My dream-milk burned in my breasts† milk that should be there is left unused so is causing her pain as she’s never going to feed this child, there’s also a sense of longing from her unfulfilled aspirations of motherhood. She’s never going to experience having a family (with Midas), which all married couples deserve to do. Following on from his endless desires, â€Å"But who has wishes granted? Him.† displays how no one actually has their wishes come true; only Midas could make this happen. The livid tone in which this is said suggests that he’s always had a greedy nature; the full stop stressing the bluntness of it as if, actually, she’s not so surprised that he was capable of doing such a thing. Her husband didn’t even consider her when he made the wish; he was that selfish he couldn’t stop to think about how this would impact of his wife. Perhaps this is imitating how in reality, men don’t always feel the need to consult their wives before making a decision as they feel in charge – ‘wearing the trousers’ in the relationship means that what they say, goes. The reader knows that the couple were in love, but Mrs Midas now fears her husband because of his power. â€Å"We were passionate then, in those halcyon days† implies that they did love each other, ‘halcyon’ suggesting that it may’ve been exciting young love as it was an early idyllic stage of their relationship; nevertheless they were in love which is now questionable since she’s afraid of him. â€Å"Near petrified/now I feared his honeyed embrace† portrays how Midas has subconsciously turned himself into something else – a monster – and as a result his wife is frightened of him and what he could do to her. â€Å"Honeyed embrace† sounds comforting – a soothing hug that’ll ensure everything’s alright, but really it means something completely different; it’s this embrace that will turn her into one of his gold pieces – end her life – so now she fears him more than anything. This poem very much seems to depict men as having dominating power over women. When Midas â€Å"sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne† his status is represented as ‘man of the house’, putting him in light of the original King Midas. â€Å"Burnished† proposes that it isn’t any old throne but one polished to perfection, again signifying the lust men have towards a materialistic lifestyle. Mrs Midas feels confused therefore helpless, â€Å"what in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh.† displays Midas taking advantage of her ignorance, enjoying the new power he possesses. â€Å"Laugh† suggests that he’s pleased with himself and doesn’t really care about the consequences of what he’s done. Woman being under the influence of male dominance is shown through Mrs Midas’ obedience and ordinary lifestyle. â€Å"He asked where was the wine. I poured with a shaking hand† she’s acting the stereotypical wife who stays at home obeying the husband’s orders. The clichà © of women being the usual housewife is therefore present as well: â€Å"The vegetables cooked/I served up the meal† implies she does the cooking for them on a regular basis, as this is part of her daily routine. This is mirrored by the clear structure of stanzas, indicating the ordinary and boring life she’d had; the structure’s fixed and predictable. The absence of success for the wife also displays how women aren’t expected to work and achieve things for themselves. However, there is a slight suggestion to women maintaining some sort of power too. The whole aspect of the wife leaving the husband puts women into a different light, proving that Midas doesn’t control everything Mrs Midas does. â€Å"So he had to move out†, she’s made the final decision and he listened to her, he also ‘sat in the back’ of car which illustrates his decline in status from sitting on a ‘burnished throne’. She leaves him, â€Å"I sold the contents of the house and came down here† indicates that she’s taken a stand and even made money from it; the only achievement it seems that Mrs Midas has attained, is as a result of breaking up with her husband. This emulates how women don’t need to depend on men for success; they are capable of being independent and earning a living for themselves. Overall, still it seems that males possess overriding power over females. Despite Mrs Midas leaving Midas, it was fundamentally him who caused the marriage to end. She felt incompetent because of his power, so knew it was crucial to get away from him. At the end of the poem Mrs Midas admits that she misses him, revealing he still has a hold on her emotionally. â€Å"I miss most, even now†¦his touch.† implies she misses his humanity and what they would’ve taken for granted before – the physical side to their relationship, and of course with that the love they shared. Perhaps this reflects another negative stereotype of women where they’re seen as being too emotionally attached: Mrs Midas seems to be in love with Midas ‘even now’ – despite everything and him turning into a foolish, greedy ‘monster’. She doesn’t care for the golden ‘Midas touch’ that destroyed their love (which ironically is a positive association), but the true human Midas touch that loved her in return.