A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society Essay

A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society There is a division between functionalists and Marxists over the functions of the society. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts, the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory. Marxism and functionalism are similar in that they see that the way society is structured as an important part in determining the way people have relationships and behave between themselves. This is known as structural perspective. Both functionalists and Marxists believe that people are portrayed as creature within the social system. Functionalists believe that society operates to the benefit of everybody. They stress that societies continue to exist because a lot of the time there is consensus between various aspects of society. They believe that family, education, govern...

Old Age

| Old Age as a Time of New Opportunities| | | | | | The article â€Å"Old Age as a Time of New Opportunities (from the Foundation of Age)† by Betty Friedan opened my eyes to a perspective that I had never really thought about. It was about how old age is usually perceived as another step closer to death. In this article we are able to understand the perspective of an elder female. The female is 59 years old almost 60. She wants to go to Outward Bound which will give her the extreme outdoor experience.She goes with her friend Cecelia Herwich. They have to leave their city clothes and forget about who they were in the past and have to leave behind their professional role. When they arrive at the first campsite they are given their gear. They are given a backpack, poncho, sleeping bag, ground cloth, tin cup, spoon, water bottle, and iodine to purify it. They begin with a three mile jog up and down the road. She turned out to be the slowest because she had problems catching up wit h everyone else.That night they spoke about why they went. A woman named Ruth said she went because she wanted to do something exciting before she settled into a rocking chair. Another that was there was Earl. He said he was drawn in by the simple fact that it was dangerous because he would have to be there for ten days away from what he is used to and not knowing who else would be there along with him. After wards they mention that there are usually more men and that their expedition is the first to have more women involved.They stated that there are usually young men but not young women. Then they ask if women get more adventurous with age. I think that it is true that women get more adventurous the older they get. I think that this is true because they are afraid of retreating to nothing without feeling they did something that they have never tried before. They are afraid because they feel the vicious cycle of cleaning the house, taking care of the children, keeping up with husba nd and kids, etc.They are basically getting tired of the daily routine that they always have to put up with as regular house wives. Women feel they have been put down for too long so they want to do a change in their life. They want to feel that they did something different for once. I think that this would be an excellent topic to discuss in Sociology class. It is a good topic because it can be viewed in various ways. The different ways of viewing this article is interesting because everyone will most likely have a different way of perceiving it by the way their brain is functioning.

Some Readers Have Seen Frankenstein as an Illustration of...

The 19th century was a time of enlightenment where philosophical thought began and mans concern for a greater psychological form developed. However, during this time of enlightenment and exploration, the values of religion and ethical thought challenged science and its moral reasoning. Frankenstein could be seen as an illustration of the fear of the power of science due to these social changes; however there is evidence within the text to support other aspects such as society and religion being the focal point of fear. On a basic level, it could be argued that Victor’s search for knowledge ultimately leads him to his transgressions and eventual demise; through the medium of science he is able to create a creature that is fearful and†¦show more content†¦However, although Victor uses science and his character is obsessed with the search for knowledge, it could be argued that Shelley deliberately leaves out specific scientific references to leave the readers wondering if it is science that creates the monster, or if there is more of a supernatural, Gothic interpretation of how the monster came to live. Comparatively, some readers could believe that Frankenstein illustrates the fear of the power of religion. Victor’s creation of the monster is ultimately a transgression, defiling morality and arguably giving him ultimate power over life and death. The idea alone is fear inducing, but further still is the way in which Victor goes about this achievement. He is emotionally detached from the bodies he is digging out of graves and mutilating â€Å"a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life†, sparing no thought of the unspoken moral codes of humanity. There are also the interesting parallels of John Milton’s Paradise Lost; the Monster finds the book and interprets it literally â€Å"I read it†¦ as a true history†; as many Christians interpret the Bible literally; this could represent the fear of the power of religion, as it suggests that people who take religious teachings absolutely literally are dangerous because they have no logical reasoning, as the monster does not. Furthermore, the monster compares Victor to God, as he has created him and thuslyShow MoreRelatedMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 Pagescinema, volume 1, was published by Editions Klincksieck in 1971,  © Editions Klincksieck, 1968. ÃŽËœThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. To George Blin, Profesor at the Collà ¨ge de France, whithout whom none of these pages would have been started. CONTENTS A Note on the Translation by Bertrand Augst, ix Preface, xi A Note on Terminology, xiii