Marriage: One Of Societys Most Important Institutions?

Marriage: One Of Societys Most Important Institutions? Marriage, socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with the expectation of a stable and lasting intimate relationship. It begins with a ceremony known as a wedding, which formally unites the marriage partners. A marital relationship usually involves some kind of contract, either written or specified by tradition, which defines the partners rights and obligations to each other, to any children they may have, and to their relatives. In most contemporary industrialized societies, marriage is certified by the government. In addition to being a personal relationship between two people, marriage is one of societys most important and basic institutions. Marriage and family serve as tools for ensuring social reproduction. Social reproduction includes providing food, clothing, and shelter for family members; raising and socializing children; and caring for the sick and elderly. In families and societies in which wealth, property, or a hereditary title is to be passed on from one generation to the next, inheritance and the production of legitimate heirs are a prime concern in marriage. However, in contemporary industrialized societies, marriage functions less as a social institution and more as a source of intimacy for the individuals involved. Marriage is commonly defined as a partnership between two members of opposite sex known as husband and wife. However, scholars who study human culture and society disagree on whether marriage can be universally defined. The usual roles and responsibilities of the husband and wife include living together, having sexual relations only with one another, sharing economic resources, and being recognized as the parents of their children. However, unconventional forms of marriage that do not include these elements do exist. For example, scholars have studied several cultural groups in Africa and India in which husbands and wives do not live together. Instead, each spouse remains in his or her original home, and the husband is a visitor with sexual rights. Committed relationships between homosexuals (individuals with a sexual orientation toward people of the same sex) also challenge conventional definitions of marriage. Debates over the definition of marriage illustrate its dual nature as both a public institution and a private, personal relationship. On the one hand, marriage involves an emotional and sexual relationship between particular human beings. At the same time, marriage is an institution that transcends the particular individuals involved in it and unites two families. In some cultures, marriage connects two families in a complicated set of property exchanges involving land, labor, and other resources. The extended family and society also share an interest in any children the couple may have. Furthermore, the legal and religious definitions of marriage and the laws that surround it usually represent the symbolic expression of core cultural norms (informal behavioral guidelines) and values. Although practices vary from one culture to another, all societies have rules about who is eligible to marry whom, which individuals are forbidden to marry one another, and the process of selecting a mate. In most societies, the mate-selection process involves what social scientists call a marriage market. The husband and wife come together out of a wide range of possible partners. In many non-civillized societies the parents, not the prospective marriage partners, do the shopping. In civillized societies social rules have gradually changed to permit more freedom of choice for the couple and a greater emphasis on love as the basis for marriage. A Dating, Courtship, and Engagement In societies in which individuals choose their own partners, young people typically date prior to marriage. Dating is the process of spending time with prospective partners to become acquainted. Dates may take place in groups or between just two individuals. When dating becomes more serious it may be referred to as courtship. Courtship implies a deeper level of commitment than dating does. During courtship the individuals specifically contemplate marriage, rather than merely enjoy one anothers company for the time being. Courtship may lead to engagement, also known as betrothal-the formal agreement to marry. Couples usually spend some period of time engaged before they actually marry. A woman who is engaged is known as the mans fiancà ©e, and the man is known as the womans fiancà © . Men typically give an engagement ring to their fiancà ©e as a symbol of the agreement to marry. In the past, dating, courtship, and engagement were distinct stages in the selection of a marital partner. Each stage represented an increasing level of commitment and intimacy. Although this remains true to some degree, since the 1960s these stages have tended to blend into one another. For example, modern dating and courtship often involve sexual relations. In general, people tend to date and marry people with whom they have characteristics in common. Thus, mate selection typically results in homogamous marriage, in which the partners are similar in a variety of ways. Characteristics that couples tend to share include race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, age, and the level of prestige of their parents. B Arranged Marriages Historically parents have played a major role in choosing marriage partners for their children, and the custom continues in the worlds developing countries today. Parental influence is greatest when the parents have a large stake in whom their child marries. Traditionally, marriage has been regarded as an alliance between two families, rather than just between the two individuals. Aristocratic families could enhance their wealth or acquire royal titles through a childs marriage. Marriage was also used as a way of sealing peace between former enemies, whether they were kings or feuding villagers. The most extreme form of parental influence is an arranged marriage in which the bride and groom have no say at all. In a less extreme form of arranged marriage, parents may do the matchmaking, but the young people can veto the choice. Some small cultures scattered around the world have what social scientists call preferential marriage. In this system, the bride or groom is supposed to marry a particular kind of person-for example, a cousin on the mothers or fathers side of the family. In many traditional societies, marriage typically involved transfers of property from the parents to their marrying children or from one set of parents to the other. These customs persist in some places today and are part of the tradition of arranged marriages. For example, in our culture the brides parents may give property (known as a dowry) to the new couple. The practice of giving dowries has been common in countries such as Greece, Egypt, India, and China from ancient times until the present. It was also typical in European societies in the past. Although the giving of dowries has been part of the norms of marriage in these cultures, often only those people with property could afford to give a dowry to the young couple. Families use dowries to attract a son-in-law with desirable qualities, such as a particularly bright man from a poor but respectable family or a man with higher status but with less money than the brides family has. In societies in which the giving of dowries is customary, families with many daughters can become impoverished by the costs of marriage In some societies, the grooms family gives property (known as bridewealth or brideprice) not to the new couple but to the brides relatives. Particularly in places where bridewealth payments are high, the practice tends to maintain the authority of fathers over sons. Because fathers control the resources of the family, sons must keep the favor of their fathers in order to secure the property necessary to obtain a bride. Conventions and Taboos Marriage is part of a societys kinship system, which defines the bonds and linkages between people (see Kinship and Descent). The kinship system also dictates who may or may not marry depending on those bonds. In some cultures people may only marry partners who are members of the same clan-that is, people who trace their ancestry back to a common ancestor. This practice of marrying within ones group is called endogamy. Exogamy, on the other hand, refers to the practice of marrying outside of ones group-for example, marrying outside ones clan or religion.

Black Boy Essay

Most African American families in the South were lower class and committed dangerous acts to survive, â€Å"Richard suffered poverty and hunger experiences that later became themes of his work†. He would have to wait a long period of time before food was available for him, â€Å"You’ll have to wait till I get a job to buy food†. The lower class did desperate things to get money â€Å"Richard sneak into saloons and begs for pennies and drinks†. Many African Americans suffered horribly from poverty, â€Å"My mothers’ suffering grew into a symbol, gathering to itself all the poverty, the ignorance, the helplessness, the pain, hunger ridden days and hours†. The Jim Crow South brought many adversities for Blacks and poverty was a major part of that. Poverty not only took away the physical things in their lives, but also it took away from their internal selves as human beings. The things they had in their lives that they were deprived of, did not mean as much to them as losing who they are as a person, â€Å"I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of the hunger of life that gnaws in us all, to keep alive in our hearts a sense of the inexpressibly human†. Racism in the Jim Crow South was brutal, unnecessary, and in some cases fatal. Racism in the United States South was a major theme, and impacted the life of Richard both in a positive and negative way. The only positive aspect of it was that he and many other African Americans overcame it and helped them become better people. In most cases racism affected lives in a negative way. Most African Americans were both physically and mentally pushed to their limit and caused permanent scars in their lives, â€Å"Having been thrust out of the world because of my race, I had accepted my destiny by not being curious about what shaped it†, The quote by Richard shows the racism was present and unfair, you can still move on and not let it be damaging to your daily lives and emotions. Richard experienced many abusive events resulting from racism, â€Å"He experienced some of the most severe abuses of racial oppression in Mississippi†. African Americans have the theory that White people are dangerous and not to be trusted, â€Å"the Jim Crow South was a system of racial segregation practiced in some states of the US, and it gave whites a reason to treat Blacks as second class citizens†. Richard falls into a category of Black youth who fears the White community and has a hard time interacting with them, â€Å"Richard feels psychological tension around Whites†. The major reason why Richard is a part of the Great Migration and fled North is because of racism. The segregation Blacks had to deal with also took away many educational opportunities, â€Å"No education could alter what the meaning of living, came only when one was struggling†. Racism took away many privileges and rights away from Blacks. Many African Americans in the South moved north for better opportunities, and this vast moment was known as the Great Migration. It was hard for many African Americans to leave the South because that was the only life they knew, â€Å"Nine out of ten African Americans lived in the American South in 1900, by 1930, 3 in 10 lived outside the house†. Richard Wrights’ Black Boy shows how racism destroyed the lives of many African Americans, but for some it did just the opposite, as for Richard it drove him to be the successful writer he is today. Violence affected African American youth in a negative way, and it varied how they let it affect the rest of their lives. Poverty took a major toll on the lives of African Americans during the Jim Crow South system, and affected the majority in an unconstructive way. Racism made a huge impact on the lives of the Blacks because it affected their emotions, physicality, home life, and way of being. For some, racism lead to death or completely ruined their lives, but others took the hardship of racism and went with it in the opposite direction. Richard Wright, once a trouble African American boy, now a flourishing writer.

Expansion Essay Essay

There were two presidents that did a great deal for our country in the area of expansion. These two presidents are Thomas Jefferson and James K. Polk. Though they had completely different policies on expansion and foreign affairs, both of them vastly expanded the country. Jefferson was a believer in the Monroe Doctrine which basically said we will mind our own busi ness. He was also a very firm believer in a strict interpretation of the constitution. He did not look to vastly expand our country and when the opportunity presented itself he had a hard time making the right decision. The United States was surrounded by European owned areas: England had Canada, Spain had Florida, and France had Louisiana. Fearing a possible war Jefferson strengthened the army especially by Louisiana. This act scared Napoleon, he was in a war with England and didn’t even need the Louisiana Territory, so fearing a war with the U.S. and needing money for his war with England he offered to sell the wh ole Louisi ana Territory to us for very cheap. Jefferson not sure if the constitution justified the act of making this purchase struggled with the decision. He decided he didn’t have much of a choice and accepted Napoleons offer. On the other hand, James K. Polk was a firm believer in Manifest Destiny, which was the belief that the United States was predestined to control all of North America. When Polk ran in the 1844 election his campaign slogan was 54-40 or fight. Though he never got that boundary he did get a lot more in different parts of the country. After Texas revolted from Mexico Polk was easy to convince that the U.S. should step in and take Texas from Mexico. Though he wanted Texas he felt that the greatest prize would be California. After Mexico repeatedly declined Polk’s offers to buy Mexico and California Polk sent an army to the Rio Grande. This action led to the Mexican War. Polk pushed and pushed for Texas and California which after thirteen thousand American lives and fifty thousand Mexican lives were lost he got his land. Both of these presidents expanded the area of our country a tremendously. Jefferson’s policies on expansion kept us out of war and doubled the size of our country with great land that would be much needed in coming years. Polk didn’t keep us out of war but he got us a lot. He gained the United States half a million acres of prime land. Texas was an excellent producer of cotton and other crops, while Califor nia was abundant in gold causing the gold rush where thousands of men would head west to California in search of gold. Though Polk and Jefferson had almost opposite policies, in the area of expansion, they both ac quired much land for the United States. Jefferson, the believer in the Monroe Doctrine, and Polk the believer in Manifest Destiny, probably would not have agreed with each other but both did a lot of good for our country.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - 1708 Words

Teddy Kahn The Victorian era class system was founded upon three distinct social classes – upper, middle, lower – with marginal upward mobility granted to those of the lower and middle classes. Society in 19th century England determined an individuals value largely by the social class that individual belonged to, and by extension how much power and wealth that individual held. Naturally, primitive lower classmen such as Pip would struggle to find a respectable identity in a society founded upon social titles. Through a refusal to accept that social worth is determined at birth, Pip defies the predated victorian-era class system and proves to himself that hard work and self improvement is the true measure of self worth. The premise for Pip’s questioning of the world around is based upon his ignorance towards his parents’ lives and social standing. Early in the novel, Pip reveals that he had never met his parents, and instead draws narratives of their lives based on the observations of tangible items such as the shapes of their tombstones. Consequently, in the absence of guidance, Pip becomes unable to grasp the current concepts of class and hierarchy. Pip reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of his parents social lives when at the graveyard he â€Å"read ‘wife of the above’ as a complimentary reference to [his] father’s exaltation to a better world† (38). However, it is such misinterpretations such as surmising that the term â€Å"above† refers to status rather thanShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like th e story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Estella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1347 Words   |  6 Pagespoor status of the economy, social mobility does not seem to be occurring at high rates, with the poor getting poorer and rich getting richer. Despite this, social mobility is alive and well, and has been for centuries. In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens voices the concerns of many that lived in Victorian England during the 19th century by promoting such a desire to live life in a more prosperous social class. One of the most fundamental and reoccurring themes in the novel is that ofRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve-year-old Charles dickens gets ready for bed after a long day at the blacking house. These Victorian-aged memories will provide him with many ideas for his highly acclaimed novel Great Expectations. Set in 1830 England, Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story about a common innocent boy named Pip and his road to becoming a gentleman through the influence of others. Pip is influenced both positively and negatively by Estella, Herbert, and Magwitch. Estella left a huge impression on PipRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens984 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringingRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations943 Words   |  4 Pages This is true in many cases but none as much as in Great Expectations. In many ways the narrator/protagonist Pip is Charles Dickens in body and mind. While there are many differences between the story and Charles Dickens life there remains one constant. This constant is the way Pip as the narra tor feels, because these feelings are Dickens s own feelings about the life he lead. Since Great Expectations was written towards end of Charles Dickens life, he was wiser and able to make out the mistakesRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. Both of these texts consider the criticisms of rich social contexts (wealth and status), societal morality (whether a society is good or not. Status [can lead to the wrong people being in a high position i.e. making bad decisions affecting the community/society] Appearance [society appears to be moral/good (if you’re from a higher status) {dickens criticisesRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1223 Words   |  5 PagesBeloved author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. Growing up in a life of poverty, his childhood hardshi ps provided the inspiration to write a myriad of classic novels including his 1861 seminole masterpiece, Great Expectations (â€Å"BBC History - Charles Dickens†). Great Expectations follows the life of an orphan named Pip, who’s perspective of the world is altered when he is attacked by an escaped convict in his parents’ graveyard in the town of Kent. Throughout hisRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens924 Words   |  4 Pagesa character driven novel, or a mix of the two. In order for a novel to be character driven, it must revolve more around the characters’ individual thoughts, feelings, and inner struggles, rather than around the quest of the story. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a character driven novel. While the story does have a plot, it is not contingent upon that plot, but rather is reliant upon its characters and their natures. This is evident from the beginning of the novel. From the opening ofRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1669 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens He was one of England s greatest authors of the 1800 s, better known as the Victorian era. The various themes and ideas of that time are perfectly showcased in his many novels and short stories, such as Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Much of the inspiration for these works came from the trials and conflicts that he dealt with in his own life. His volumes of fictional writing show the greatRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went through