Thursday, November 28, 2019

How to Create GDPR-Compliant Forms on Your WordPress Site

Looking for a way to create GDPR-compliant forms to stay on the right side of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?If you have any kind of form on your website, you’re collecting personal data directly from visitors. Since the GDPR concerns rules for protecting and using this kind of information, you’ll need to make sure your forms meet all the required criteria. Fortunately, this can be simple if you’re using the right contact form plugin.In this post, we’ll briefly introduce the GDPR, and explain what it has to do with your site’s forms. Then we’ll show you how to create GDPR-compliant forms using the WPForms  plugin. Let’s get to work! General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it’s something you’ll want to familiarize yourself with. This EU-based regulation affects all sites that collect any data from visitors inside the EU – which includes just about every website.In a nutshell, the GDPR was designe d to give internet users more control over how their personal information is collected, stored, and used. To do so, it enforces rules for websites to follow, which includes the following:You need to know what data you’re collecting from visitors, and have methods in place for tracking and storing it safely (as well as notifying users in the event of a security breach).Website users have the right to know what data is being collected, along with how it’s being used and stored.Anyone you’ve collected data about also has the right to access a copy of it, and request for it to be permanently deleted.This is just scratching the surface of what this regulation involves, of course. If you want to learn more, you can check out our complete guide to the GDPR over on the CodeinWP blog.What it means for your WordPress forms to be GDPR-compliantBased on the last two points above, it should be clear that the GDPR will affect the way your website’s forms are designed. You can’t simply ask for people’s names and email addresses – not anymore, anyway.Instead, you’ll want to review all existing forms on your site to make sure they aren’t breaking any GDPR rules. In addition, you’ll need to know how to create GDPR-compliant forms in the future. This means:Clearly explaining what data you’re collecting and how it’s used.Asking for permission before storing submitted information in your site’s database.Letting users export or erase their data if they want to.Exactly how you do this will vary, depending on how your forms were made. However, the simplest solution is to use a WordPress form plugin with GDPR-related features built in. You may even want to consider re-creating your forms with this type of plugin if yours doesn’t offer the right options. This will take a little time, but will be well worth the resulting peace of mind.In the steps below, we’ll show you how to build G DPR-compliant forms using the WPForms  plugin: Contact Form by WPForms Drag Drop Form Builder for WordPress Author(s): WPFormsCurrent Version: 1.5.5.1Last Updated: September 17, 2019wpforms-lite.1.5.5.1.zip 98%Ratings 31,601,570Downloads WP 4.8+Requires Along with enabling you to create customized and user-friendly forms on your WordPress site, this plugin provides a number of handy features to help you meet the GDPR’s requirements. Plus, it’s free to try out.How to create GDPR-compliant forms on your WordPress siteBefore we get started, we should offer a final caveat: We aren’t lawyers. What follows is some advice to help you create more GDPR-compliant forms. However, you’ll want to fully review the complete terms of the GDPR as well, and solicit legal advice if necessary.With that out of the way, let’s jump right in!For this tutorial, well assume that youve already installed and activated the free WPForms plugin from WordPress.org.Ste p 0: Clearly explain your data collection and storage methodsAs we’ve explained, according the GDPR you’ll need to let website visitors know what you’re doing with their data. The following three points are most important. You need to clarify:What data youre collecting.How this data is being used.The way youre storing the data.You don’t necessarily have to include this information on your actual forms. In order to have GDPR-compliant forms, you just need to make these details easily accessible somewhere on your site. The best place to do this is within your privacy policy, which you can set up using WordPress default functionality.Step 1: Enable WPForms GDPR functionalityOnce youve created or updated your privacy policy, youll need to enable WPForms GDPR features and enhancements to get started with your actual form.You can do this by going to WPForms → Settings and checking the box for GDPR Enhancements. Make sure to save your changes after:Step 2 : Create your formNext, youll need to create your form. You can do this using the regular WPForms functionality.First, go to WPForms → Add New and choose whether to use one of the pre-made templates or a blank slate:Then, you can use WPForms drag-and-drop form builder interface to add new fields or modify existing ones:Step 3: Add GDPR Agreement fieldOne of the features that you activated in Step 1 of this tutorial is WPForms GDPR Agreement field.Once youve added all your regular form fields, youll want to add this field to the bottom of your form right above the Submit button.It adds a required checkbox that people must fill out in order to submit your form:If you want to go even further, you can customize the text to include a link to your privacy policy.To do that, click on the GDPR Agreement field to edit it. Then, edit the Agreement field as needed.You have the ability to add HTML here, so you can use the code below to include the link (just make sure to replace the exam ple link with the actual link to your privacy policy):I consent to having this website store my submitted information so they can respond to my inquiry. Learn more in a href="yoursite.com/privacy"our privacy policy/a.Once youre finished, you can embed the form using either a shortcode or WPForms dedicated block for the new block editor (AKA Gutenberg).Using WPForms Pro? Consider these featuresThe free version of WPForms doesnt store any form submissions in your sites database, which makes it quite easy to create GDPR-compliant forms.However, if you upgrade to WPForms Pro, it includes an option to store form submissions in your WordPress dashboard (as well as other information, like geolocation data).Dont worry, though its still easy to create GDPR-compliant forms with the Pro version.First off, youll get two new options in the settings area (WPForms → Settings) where you can configure whether to store user cookies or user details:You can also configure these on a per-form ba sis.When it comes to creating GDPR-compliant forms, your responsibilities don’t stop once data is collected, though. Users also have the right to get a copy of all the information you’ve collected, if they choose to do so. In addition, they need to be able to request that you delete their data.The simplest way to provide these two options is by creating a separate form just for this purpose with an option for users to request their information.Then, save the form, and place it somewhere on your site. A logical choice might be on your privacy policy page, and/or your contact page.Once a user submits a request for their data, you can use WPForms Pros Entries area to search for their information and share/delete it:ConclusionNew laws like the GDPR can seem intimating at first glance. There are a lot of rules you’ll need to make sure to follow. Fortunately, the creators of many of your favorite website-building tools already know this. If youre lucky, they’ll provide options to help you ensure compliance with the GDPR easily.The WPForms plugin is a perfect example. It helps you create GDPR-compliant forms by giving you an easy way to add a GDPR agreement field. And if you use WPForms Pro to actually store form submissions in your sites database, youll get more new features to help you keep your forms GDPR compliant.Do you have any questions about how to add GDPR-compliant forms to your WordPress site? Ask away in the comments section below! Learn how to create #GDPR compliant forms for your #WordPress site with @easywpforms

Monday, November 25, 2019

Clean Water Act essays

Clean Water Act essays The Government and Environmental Policy The purpose of the United States' public policy law is to implement restrictions in an effort to solve problems, which can be seen with the Clean Water Act. Public policy has also been employed to reform the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Although the United States government is noble in it's efforts to preserve the environment through these acts, the internal structure of public policy often retards these acts' effectiveness. This paper will explore the many ways in which factors such as horizontal implementation, divided government and other forms of public policy affect the environmental legislation involved with the aforementioned acts. The main factors involved with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 involve horizontal implementation structure and divided government. Before one can discuss how these policies affect environmental legislation, a brief description of each must first be lucidly explained. When our government was founded, a s ystem of checks and balances was implemented between the executive, judicial, and legislative branches to ensure that no one part of government gets too much power. Although this limits the power of any one person in government, it often slows down the ability of government because a consensus can be difficult with so many people working together. Another problem is that there are many subgovernments affecting the legislation as well, such as interest groups like the Sierra Club, Administrative Agents like the Environmental Protection Agency, and Congressional Committees. Because these groups add to the total number of people working on the legislation, the original noble ideology of making policy for the good of the nation is voided. Also because there are so many differences of opinion, few drastic changes are made, instead small incremental changes are made which take up lots of time and retard the effectiveness and enforcement of the legislation. In add...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Drug Trafficing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug Trafficing - Essay Example es a Violent Street Gang/Drug Enterprise as a criminal enterprise having an organizational structure, acting as a continuing criminal conspiracy, which employs violence and any other criminal activity to sustain the enterprise (Wiley, 1997). There are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States alone. These gangs are known to conduct criminal activity in all states and U.S. territories. Earlier, it was believed that the problem of gangs and drug trafficking was mainly concentrated in major urban areas, however recent data show that gangs also are proliferating in rural and suburban areas. Increasing law enforcement pressure in urban areas of the country forced the gang members to flee or seek more lucrative drug markets is one of the reasons. This proliferation in non-urban areas increasingly is accompanied by violence and is threatening society in general (NDIC, 2005). Questions such as why has youth gang involvement in drug trafficking increased in the past decade has still not being answered completely. The popular image of youth gangs ties them directly to drugs and violent crime (Klein, 1995). Research conducted in the 1980’s and 1990’s has documented extensive youth and adult gang member involvement in drug use and generally higher levels of use compared with non-gang members. According to Fagan (19–54) there are basically two reasons: (1) the dramatic expansion of cocaine markets in the 1980’s, accompanied by sharp price reductions, and (2) socioeconomic changes in American society that disrupted traditional social controls (Curry and Spergel, 381–405). Drug use, drug trafficking, and violence overlap considerably in gangs (Howell and Decker, in press). Moreover, gang involvement appears to increase individual involvement in drug use, drug trafficking, gun carrying, and violence and, perhaps, to prolong involvement in drug sales (Youth Gangs and Violence, 1998). There is no doubt that with the increase

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Suicide of Willy Loman Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Suicide of Willy Loman - Research Paper Example As an elderly male, he fits into a category that has a lot of suicidal cases. Willy reveals that he has lost his purpose and has placed his hopes on his sons, meaning his life should be ended so that the insurance money gives them a chance. Willy Loman takes his life because he is depressed, he has lost his job and his hope for his own future, and believes that in ending his life he is giving his sons a future through the life insurance company. According to Cafferty and Lerner, â€Å"When we meet Willy at the beginning of the play, he is worn-out, sad, and confused† (90). Willy has gone through a series of events that have made him feel like he is out of options. He has always seen his life as it should have been, rather than as it has been, and regrets what he could not accomplish, while also blaming everyone else for the reasons that he never achieved what he felt he should have achieved. It seems that Willy has always been sad and frustrated. He envies others and is never happy with his own life. Something as simple as the refrigerator that his neighbor owns brings him a great deal of unhappiness, as he feels his own one does not equal that level of quality he expects. He says, â€Å"I told you we should’ve bought a well-advertised machine. Charley bought a General Electric and it’s twenty years old, and it’s still good, that son of a bitch† (Miller 56-57). ... Biff says, â€Å"I’m thirty-four years old, I oughta be makin’ my future. That’s when I come running home. And now, I get here and I don’t know what to do with myself. [after a pause] I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life, and every time I come back here I know that all I’ve done is waste my life† (Miller and Sterling 52). Cafferty and Lerner state that â€Å"The sons, Biff and Happy, inherit their fathers worst qualities, the various tensions between them leave plenty of scope for all sorts of analysis†, which is evident in this statement by Biff. Biff cannot be satisfied by his work because he reflects the expectations that Loman has about making money (82). Because Biff witnessed his father having an affair while he was still in high school, the way he idolized his father was shattered, leaving him adrift in the world and picking up on the worst of Willy’s sense of failure. According to Gale, â€Å"The betra yal resonated with Biff his whole life and created a sense of distrust between father and son†. This distrust deflated Biff’s sense of self, as he had framed his life through Willy’s beliefs. When he saw his father as imperfect, those beliefs dissolved. He became the part of Willy that could not find the key to success. Willy has aged past his dreams now, his depression is a common problem amongst older adults, as he has past the point of being able to chase most of his dreams. He now looks towards his sons to carry on his hopes. By killing himself, he believes to support their futures. Scogin states that â€Å"Older adults have the highest rates of suicide of any age group, and this is particularly pronounced among men". Willy represents some of the reasons for the sense of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Natural law and positivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural law and positivism - Essay Example A segment of positivism purports that law and morality must operate separately. 'Natural law examines what the law should be' (Eglinton 2005). Eglinton states in his essay entitled Natural Law that 'Natural law overstates the relationship between law and morality, but positivism underestimates the importance of the relationship' (Eglinton 2005). Professor Jeremy Waldron has his own views on rights and democracy and the way the government attempts to mandate them by the use of laws. Professor Waldron believes that rights of a society are first and foremost in everyone's mind. He believes that Majoritism has it place in society. Unlike his opponents, Professor Waldron believes that the fact that the government allows the majority of the population to make decisions regarding laws and policies does not impede on the minority. His view is that the minority population is also considered because they too have been given the opportunity to choose or elect the officials that institute laws and policies. Waldron believes that although there are instances when democratic societies will implement laws that will infringe on the rights of the minority that the democratic process itself does not allow for the majority to be 'tyrants' to the minority.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Trends of the business development in contemporary economic environment

Trends of the business development in contemporary economic environment A major challenge facing global organisations is the need to align local business processes with global corporate strategies. Discuss ways in which management accounting and control practices  might facilitate this whilst highlighting the potential problems inherent in those practices. Introduction The global competition becomes fierce as firms in an industry treat the world as a single market. To set up multinational company or make firm internationalized, it could be considered as the main trend of the business development in contemporary economic environment and could help business expand to a new level in long term development. However, the major challenge facing global organisations is the need to align local business processes with global corporate strategies. In other words, how to make an appropriate localization strategy in accordance with companys global corporate strategy is the core in overseas development. Management accounting and control is a useful integrative technique that concerned with coordination, resource allocation, motivation, and performance measurement etc. The purpose of this essay is to explore how management accounting and control systems deal with the coordination of the global corporate strategy and the local business process as confronting the c hallenges and the potential problems. Firstly, this paper will illustrate the meaning and the main theories of management control to identify its endowed role in changing environment. Then through enumerating and analysing the challenges for the management accounting and control in the contemporary business environment, the objective and role of management control system will be identified, simultaneously examples will be incorporated with discussions. Finally, a concluding section will be presented. Theories -Definitions and main roles of MCS The definition of management control is adjusting as the rate of change increases. In 1965, Robert Anthony defined it, the process by which managers assure that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organisations objectives. But this approach was very specific in the basic discipline in behavioural control; its hardly to fulfil the wider range and variety of consideration of the interaction of the control mechanisms and tended to narrowly focus on the large, hierarchical organizations. As emphasizing the management strategys dominant position in organizations operations, the management control served like a tool to corporate the whole performances. It was then defined, enhance organisational performance by ensuring the implementation of the organisations stated strategy (Merchant and Van Stede, 2003). Due to the uncertain business environment, such as technological changes, social changes, political changes and the requirements of co mpany internationalized, management control are considered as the process of guiding organisations into viable patterns of activity in a changing environment (Berry, Broadbent and Otley, 2005). Chenhall (2003) also mentioned that the terms management accounting (MA), management accounting systems (MAS), management control systems (MCS), and organizational controls (OC) are sometimes used interchangeably. Management control systems contain many techniques such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Just In Time (JIT), Budgeting, Balanced scorecard etc. -MCS in global economy In global economy, different culture could have an impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of control system. Managers live and work across different cultures and in different countries should understand cultural differences and sensitivities. Multinational companies need to control activities of global subsidiaries. Transplanting domestic control may be efficient but ineffective if not accepted because of cultural context (lecture notes). Management control system plays a decisive role in control and planning process. Hofstede (1980) introduced the framework of culture dimension based on several studies on culture differences. He identified four primary dimensions the differentiate cultures: power distance, individualism collectivism, masculine feminine, and uncertainty avoidance. All the characteristics illustrated in this framework should be taken into account when conducting the management control system. This taxonomy is broadly used in many countries. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Employees in large power distance countries are expect to accept the order from the upper staff or managers, such as Asian countries. They tend to be associated with centralization and less participated in decision making. Individualism collectivism indicates whether group or individual should get the focus. In individualism society, management focuses on managing the individuals and conducting based on individuals interests. USA gets the highest score in individualism dimension. Hofstedes masculine feminine dimension emphasizes genders role more than gender. Women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and care about the quality of life whereas men are more determined, assertive and concerned with the success. This dimension implies on management control system how managers grasp their different interest s to reward appropriately that achieve the best effect. According to the further study of this dimension, J. C. Lere and Kris Portz (2005) found that Japan, Austria, Great Britain, and the United States are more masculine on the masculine/feminine dimension. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are more feminine. Uncertainty avoidance deals with a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. In terms of high uncertainty avoidance culture country, the laws, rules and regulations reduce the uncertainty and ambiguity. Nevertheless, Davidson (1980) stated that the learning or experience of firms international expansion can coderate the effects of cultural distance. Specially, firms in the initial stages of expansion might exhibit a clear preference for similar cultures, but firms in a more advantage of the expansion might not show this preference. Further as firms gain more experiences and adapt to the target markets environment, the influences of cultural distance can become less significant operating in foreign countries. McSweeny (2002) also heavily criticised that treats national culture as implicit; core; systematically causal; territorially unique; and shared. These alleged characteristics are first described, and later challenged. MCS respond to the challenges confronting multinational firms The market penetration strategies of global firms are varied, but they could be concluded to a word: localization. Localization strategy is the core competitive strategy for multinational corporations (cross-national companies) as entering the target market country which including relationship (especially with government), product and service, marketing strategy, human resource, business operation mode, development and research. However, localization in global economy is not completely implementing organization as exactly the same as the local organization or change entirely in order to fit the local market. It is just a sense of tending to be local, in terms of orchestrate responses to local condition and opportunities. A multinational company must have its unique outstanding corporate characteristics to rely on. From its initiative to mature process, every detail reflects the companys core competency. Thus all the subsidiaries should keep their core competency all along, according to the host countrys geographical, cultural condition aligning properly on management strategy and marketing strategy. Localization is an advisable marketing strategy. Contrarily, the subsidiaries centrifuge organizations core competency in order to implement truly localization, must lead to failure. For instance, McDonalds selling point is western fast food, if it sells Chinese dumpling, there wont be a miracle happened. There are four mainly challenges for implementing localization. Firstly, it is the local consumers demand pressures. Many industries reflect highly national and geographical characteristics; they should fulfil immense diversity requirements of customers. Such as Microsoft, it launched its software in different languages for customers in worldwide. Secondly, building up a good corporate image, multinational company could succeed in global development, to get the support from the local government, is generally depend on its cooperate image and visibility. Employ local people, implement material or resources locally supply, the companys culture and marketing strategy tend to fit local environment, all these mentioned above could contribute transnational in local development that consolidate corporate image. Management accounting plays a role in coordination the flows of materials (sourcing of raw materials, components, sub-assemblies and the distribution of finished goods), flows of recourses including capital, technology and flows of information contains raw data, analysed information and accumulated knowledge( J.F. Dent). In particular, Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) suggest that the coordination of international flows of material may be best accomplished by formalised systems for logistics management. The geographical spread of the firms operations, the complexity implicit in flexible specialisation, and the ever changing nature of the firms operations may necessitate a huge initial investment in appropriate systems. But, once set up, they may render materials coordination routine. On the other hand, the coordination of resources should not be automated, they suggest. The allocation of capital, technology and people are key strategic decisions. They require sensitivity and judgement and a corporate overview. Thirdly, it is blending into local culture. Cultural differences can lead to the subordination of central concerns to local interests (J.F.Dent, 1996). This is considered as the centrifugal tendency. Hamel and Parahalad (1989) indicated that a clear strategic intent or a vision of the future is one of the most potent centripetal forces for any organisation. Thus it embodies an active management process, to identify strategic imperatives and immediate operational objectives, communicating the importance of the objectives, and providing new objectives. The planning process (MCS) offers great potential for managing consensus around the firms strategic intent. Planning meetings, conferences and periodic reviews can be used to focus attention on the overriding goal for the organization, and to secure commitment towards its accomplishment. This implies a great deal of dialogue across the organization , bringing managers from different parts of the world together to participate in strategy debates and translate these into specific operational targets and milestones (J.F.Dent, 1996). Finally, eliminating the integrative production cost. This requires multinational company take full advantages of low production cost, human resource cost and so on of local market to reduce the total cost, increase the total efficiency. J.F Dent (1996), indicated political pressures and the renewed assertion of national differences in customer tastes and preferences suggest that global firms may need to add a greater capability for national responsiveness to their cost efficiency. The cost pressures suggest that multinational firms may require a higher level of integration to access scale economies. At the sane time, firms may need to respond to increasing pressures for innovation, and to leverage these throughout the world. Budgeting is not only the system about numerical data. It is also concerned with monitoring and evaluating the per Examples China is witnessed the most rapidly developing country in the world in recent decades. Since 1992, Chinas economic reform movement, there have been more than 400 companies of Top 500 Global corporations invested in China. There is nearly 1/3 gross output constituted by foreign enterprises. So the investment behaviour and development of foreign enterprises are more typical and apparent in this resurgent market. There are two examples presented from positive and negative aspects. Toyota China Toyota is one of the top three car manufacturers in the world. In China automobile market, Toyota once caught up with GMs sales to be No.1. Under Toyota production system, Toyota centralized sixteen spare parts factories in Tian Jin, China, which is quit similar as the layout in head factory in Japan headquarter. In Japan, the main part of Toyota is in the middle, other spare part factories are located surround the main part. And it only takes 20 minutes between the centre and the part factory. Based on this organisation structure, Toyota creates Toyota model-Just in time. According to the requirement for the spare part, Just in time makes the inventory to nearly zero. Its outstanding production system and control system not only maximize the effectiveness and efficiency, but also benefit its Chinese partners that promote the local automobile technology development. Moreover, Toyota set up its production factories on its target markets helps understand the current situation and deman d of customers in maximum extend that could adjust or coordinate products or services flexibly to fulfil customers needs. This Toyota model changed the structure of the global automobile manufacturing. There is another example about failure on budgeting control. KFC KFC has led Chinas fast food business for a very long time. KFC is dominating even rival McDonalds in China. In recent years, KFC has tailored some dishes specifically to Chinese tastes, customers can order seasonal vegetables or fruit. In spring, it is bamboo shoots; in summer, aloe vera sunday is on the menu. And in colder months, theres rice porridge and winter soup. In order to accelerate expanding the market, KFC plans to challenge Chinese traditional breakfast market in 2009. It will launch Chinese fried twisted cruller which is most common food in Chinese breakfast (like burger or sandwich can be found everywhere on the street shop) and plans to introduce more Chinese traditional breakfast food. Its selling point is nutrition and health. KFCs fried twist cruller is without potassium alum. Alum is a part of ingredient of the traditional one, but it is just tiny little. But it is the inorganic substance, may not be frequently edible. This new product promotes nutritional and health breakfast idea. However, compared with the traditional fried twisted crullers price in Chinese breakfast restaurant, it is 6 six times than the market price. The colour, the flavour and the fluffy texture will keep original. As this news out, more than 50% net citizens are not interested this new KFC fried twist cruller. KFC is a representative American fast food brand, burger or fried chicken are its star product, they are the core product KFC should put focus on. As considered as its competitor, more than millions breakfast restaurants are found all over the country. Challenge to expand its market to Chinese traditional breakfast market is not an advisable marketing strategy. Conclusion Global competition is getting extremely fierce and the uncertain environment is still changing. Management accounting and control system is the key system for every business organization as it provides clarity framework to ensure the overall operations of the organization keep a capability to survive in its uncertain environment. in overseas operations, the parent company centralizes the whole operation and need to make sure the local subsidiaries business process is in accordance with companys core strategy or keep companys core competency. There are four main challenges confront cross-national company: local customers demand pressures, setting up good corporate image, culture, eliminating the integrative production cost. In initial phase, based on Hofstedes dimension of culture, the main strategy could focus on how to overcome the culture distance. But as all the operations on the track, planning and control processes (MCS) are very important in organizations performance. They are essential for the efficient performance of functional management responsibility (Otley, 1987). The management accounting function can contribute by creating focusing on competitive threats. Further, the transnational also calls for new performance measures and reward structures. National subsidiaries no longer have a purely local role, rather they are part of a broader global effort. This implies a move from simply measuring their performance in local markets to evaluating their contributions to the firms strategic intent. Richer, broader measures of performance are needed to reward behaviour in the corporate, as opposed to local (J.F.Dent, 1996).

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Mother-Daughter Relationship in Toni Morrisons Beloved Essays

The Mother-Daughter Relationship in Toni Morrison's Beloved In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, 124 can be thought of as a character with human characteristics that are brought about by the spiritual presence of Sethe’s deceased daughter. It is almost as if the house is the physical element of this spiritual force, and the naming of the house as simply 124 immediately allows â€Å"readers to unconsciously register the unseen number three in 1-2-4† (Washington 175). This idea becomes relevant because after registering this, we can see a reoccurring pattern of this concept throughout the text. First of all, there were three females in Sethe’s family, and after murdering her eldest daughter, there was left a â€Å"triad of grandmother, mother, and daughter† (Washington). In Washington’s article she elaborates heavily on this idea of the missing number three as the number suggests a spiritual element. Aje, defined as â€Å"a controlling matriarch who uses her power, forcefully or gently, to guide her family and often the community† (Washington 172) is overwhelmingly present at 124, and is an Africana theoretical perspective concept that Washington attempts to define in her article while also interpreting the intricacies of the mother-daughter relationship in Beloved (172). However, it seems that there are also major ideas that play a part in this concept of Aje. Through Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Teresa Washington’s â€Å"The Mother-Daughter Aje Relationship in Toni Morrison’s Beloved,† it seems that the Aje relationship can be defined by several reoccurring themes which consist of the idea of unification through the act of violence, male presence, or the lack thereof, and the concept of Sethe’s self in comparison to her â€Å"best self.† There seems ... ... my theory, Beloved understands that her mother put her in a safe place, but at the same time she does not fully understand why she was placed there alone, and for this she is angry, and in turn takes her anger out on her mother in an attempt to destroy her, so evidently, Washington is contradicting herself. Through Beloved and Washington’s article, the concept of the Aje mother-daughter relationship becomes prevalent. This concept is emphasized by unification through violence, male absence, and the idea of Sethe’s â€Å"best self.† Washington says, â€Å"Beloved revolves around a mother and daughter’s desire to enjoy perfect unity† (Washington 174). Clearly, we see this concept and ultimately what happens as a result of Sethe’s desire, and the destructive path it leads her down, as of course, destruction is a characteristic of the mother-daughter Aje relationship.