The Big 5 And Job Satisfaction - 1307 Words

The Big 5 in personality research has been correlated with many variables and factors. The following study uses a meta analysis procedure to evaluate the relationship between the Big 5 and job satisfaction rates and answer the following questions. You may also use your text in addition to help clarify information. Judge, T.A., Heller, D. Mount, M.K. (2002). Five-Factor Model of Personality and Job Satisfaction: A Meta Analysis. http://www.apa.org/psycarticles/sample.html Journal of Applied Psychology (87)3: 530. 1. Briefly describe each of the factors that make up the Big 5 (use text for this) and provide an example of each trait. The Big 5 is composed of the following five personality traits: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Openness to experience is characterized by creativity, curiosity, and imagination. A person high in openness is often aesthetically-minded, open to trying new things and leaning new ideas, and appreciative of art, adventure, and emotion. People high in openness tend to hold unconventional beliefs while those low in openness prefer traditional ideologies. An example of a person high in openness would be an artist, such as Picasso, or a professional actress, such as Idina Menzel. Conscientiousness is characterized by thoughtfulness, organization, and goal-directed behaviors. People high in conscientiousness tend to prefer planned behavior rather than spontaneous and are detail oriented. AnShow MoreRelatedCorrelation Between The Factor Personality Model And Job Satisfaction1554 Words   |  7 PagesIB Math Studies Internal Assessment The Correlation between the Factor Personality Model and Job Satisfaction Name: Makeda Scott Exam Session: May 2015 Teacher Name: Ms. Fernandez School Name: Boyd H. Anderson High School Date: November 17, 2014 The Correlation between the Factor Personality Model and Job Satisfaction Introduction The big five are broad and general categories of personality traits, from which multiple subdivisions under the broad headings stem. It is a model usedRead MoreComplications Of Compensation961 Words   |  4 Pagespresented statistics on the effects of employee recognition, pay, and benefits on job satisfaction to employees in USA, Malaysi, and Vietnam. While there are significant differences statistically between the four variables of the study, all groups concurred that pay, benefits, and recognition are vital in improving job satisfaction of employees. The results solidify the hypothesis that pay is integral to job satisfaction in all of the three countries despite varying cultures. It is important to takeRead MoreRelationship Between Leadership And Employee Job Satisfaction Essay1501 Words   |  7 Pagesincrease the level of job satisfactions across the industry. The insufficient data that describes the relationships between the leadership, gender, diversity, education, and jo b satisfaction for the restaurant professionals is an issue. This study helps to understand the relationship between the leadership and employee job satisfaction in the Lubbock, TX area. A total of 100 restaurant professionals from the Lubbock Restaurant Association were surveyed using a Job Satisfaction Survey and a MultifactorRead MoreJob Satisfaction Is Essential For A Positive Effect On Children1258 Words   |  6 Pagesand attention to detail are normal requirements in their everyday jobs for the benefit of the children and the employers. Job satisfaction and trying to keep employees highly motivated and productive is a key factor in preschool/daycare centers. In a preschool/daycare setting, job satisfaction can be harder to find due to low wages, stress, lack of communication, misconceptions of details, and little or no benefits. Job satisfaction is essential for a positive effect on children from infants toRead MoreThe Big Five Research Project Essay889 Words   |  4 Pagesthe research project in the Rasmussen general psychology class. The first question ask was what are the five personality traits according to the prominent five factor model. According to the psychology.suite101 website (Pawlik-Kienlen, 2007) the big five personality traits are as follows: †¢ Conscientiousness - being disciplined, dedicated and organized. This also means being self disciplined and having goals in life and striving to achieve them. †¢ Agreeableness - being pleasant and easy to getRead MoreEvaluation Of A Research Method1438 Words   |  6 Pageslevels of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in employees of various sectors of an organization. This report will contain information about the sample and research procedure. In addition, this report will look at the instruments involved, how the data is analyzed and last but not least, the solutions and recommendations at the summary of this report. Several surveys are available about different organization found from the research authors, for example, ‘Impact of Demographic Variables on Job-SatisfactionRead MoreCollege Education Essay1364 Words   |  6 Pagesover the course of his or her life than the average high-school graduate who doesnt attend college. This in itself should be enough, but theres also a priceless benefit of college. Going to college has been proven to give overall higher life satisfaction. This is why college is still worth it. One of the biggest reasons parents and students started having doubts of college was because of its rising prices. College prices have risen significantly throughout the last 30 years. In 1980 The averageRead MoreThe Importance Of Higher Education719 Words   |  3 Pagestoday in relation to higher education. The importance of higher education cannot be stressed enough. A longer and happier life are just two of the things college graduates have over non college graduates. College graduates are more likely to have job satisfaction and security throughout their lifetime. One must see college as an investment in themselves, which is definitely worth the price. College graduates will have almost always make more money than those without a college degree. People with a highRead MoreOrganizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction, Stress, Motivation1617 Words   |  7 PagesOrganizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction, Stress, Motivation Udaya Kiran Kadali January 23, 2011 Abstract Today’s organization because of global competition and cost cutting had lead to great changes in the organizations leading to greater effect of organizational behaviors. Some organizations are losing employees to other organizations and some employees are losing their efficiency due to the lack of job satisfaction, or due to stress and/or due to lack of motivation, or combinationRead MoreThe Effect Of Motivation On The Workplace759 Words   |  4 Pagesmany mistakes made within the workplace (Nordmeyer). The definition of motivation is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, as well as persistence of effort, towards attaining a goal (Robbins, p. 175). Motivation is a big issue for many employers when it comes to keeping their staff motivated and happy at work. When an employee is unhappy, they tend to be unmotivated. Many individuals are motivated by different things within the workplace and one deterrent can be when

The Black Market - 749 Words

Derrek Hillier Ms.Brosdahl World Literature Oct, 19, 2015 Research Paper Even though the black market seems like a good place to get the things you need for a cheap price, there is a bad side to anything you may find on the black market. The black market is a bad place and is full of illegal drugs, human trafficking, and ancient artifacts. Through the 1950s most black market sales took place at outdoor markets or bazaars. Having emerged during World War 1 in response to the regulation of prices and supplies, the black market burgeoned after the Bolshevik seizure of power. Some pros of the whole market is it helps make people money, helps people get the things they need at a cheaper price. Some people depend on the black market to live.†¦show more content†¦Due to the difficulty of sizing up explicit drug sales, there’s not even a cheap picture of just how large colorado s marijuana black market was before legalization, making it all the harder to evaluate how legal sales have affected it. In the case of Richard Sacra, U.S. based physician Kent Brantly donated his personal blood to help fight off the virus(Ebola). These developments highlight a larger market of pharmaceuticals, treatments, and biological material. Administered early and with a high level of medical intervention, serums such as ZMAPP may help lower the mortality rate for Ebola. However data is insufficient at this stage. Those with desire and resources are buying blood in hopes of curing current infections or stockpiling for future infections. Recent report illuminate a growing black market trade in blood from Ebola survivors. The massive trove of credentials includes user names, which are typically email addresses, and passwords that in most cases are in unencrypted text. The Adobe breach, which uncovered in Oct. 2013, yielded tons of millions of records that had encrypted passwords. Globally, illegally traded and counterfeit pharmaceuticals generate more than $75 billion USD annually. In addition to the internet-driven parallel trade in pharmaceuticals and fluids, one often finds in other parts of the world other forms of parallel markets. A cyber security firm said that it uncovered stolenShow MoreRelatedThe Black Market1316 Words   |  6 PagesThe Black Market is defined as people who engage in illicit trade. Smuggling of Nuclear weapons plays a role in this. The Russians, U.S., and other countries are involved. Russia has been one the move since the Cold War ended. The Russians position threat to many lives with nuclear sales. Many Russian affiliations and events are to blame including Russian Mafia, military intelligence, Trading Air, collapse in economy, and disgruntled Nuclear employees. Russian Crime organizations have grownRead MoreThe Benefits Of The Black Market1316 Words   |  6 PagesKryslin Cotton English 1301 Professor Cain 23 November 2016 Under Ground Kings: The Benefits of the Black Market Why is there over 120 thousand people waiting on an organ transplant? Why are there 44 million uninsured people in the United States alone? Why is it that 1 in 10 americans cannot afford their medical medications? All simply answered by the fact that it’s all too expensive. The poverty level, according to USDA 2015, in the United States for a family of four is $24 thousand. With soRead MoreThe Black Market Exploiting The Donor1745 Words   |  7 PagesProposing a Solution to the Black Market Exploiting the Donor: Legalizing the Sale of Human Organs, In Hopes of Putting the Black Market Out of Business Right now in the U.S. even with all the advanced technology, there are more than 120,000 people currently on the UNOS organ transplant waiting list. With the wait being so long for an organ, people have become desperate in order to save their life. With this number being so large, it is hard to believe that there is a new name added to the listRead MoreSelling organs on the black market1081 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Selling Organs on the Black Market Every teenager wants to own the newest iPhone or iPad but to save up for those working at the local McDonald’s it would take some time. But in China, you can get it just by selling a kidney. In face according to a BBC news article dated April 6, 2012 five people were arrested for convincing a teenager to sell his kidney in an online chat room for the equivalent of $3,000. The teenager is now suffering from kidney failure, and just for a couple of new toysRead MoreWhat causes black market?8950 Words   |  36 Pagescom/locate/econbase Efficient black markets? Carl Davidson a,b , Lawrence Martin a , John Douglas Wilson a,⠁Ž a Department of Economics, Marshall-Adams Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States b GEP, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom Received 17 May 2005; received in revised form 9 October 2006; accepted 23 October 2006 Available online 3 February 2007 Abstract This paper investigates analytically the welfare effects of black-market activities that firms undertakeRead MoreTerrorism, The Nuclear Hazard And Black Market1234 Words   |  5 PagesIn the spectrum of modern international politics the key preeminent threats to security and the sense of freedom from those threats are terrorism, the nuclear hazard and black market in materiel. These three security issues, not only affect national and international security, but also societal and economic security. Terrorism, has maintained the status as a preeminent threat in the modern world today, but has also become a worldwide phenomenon that has impacted not only in the Middle East butRead MoreThe Black Market Of Illegal Drugs And Pharmaceuticals1592 Words   |  7 Pageshome to all types of markets which thrive within its borders. One of the largest markets in the world and in the United States is the drug and medical market. It is a multi-billion dollar market that serves countless people but is Americans abusing this market? There are definitely many sides to this enormous market but the part that greatly deals with the abuse is the black market that is built are the illegal sales and use of illegal drugs and pharmaceuticals. This black market is heavily abused byRead MoreBlack Market Organ Of The United States1568 Words   |  7 PagesSelling a human organ has been a controversial subject for many years. The question arises; is it illegal to sell a human organ if it is going to sav e another’s life? October 2011 marks the first proven case of black market organ trafficking in the United States. Levy Izhak, a New Yorker, pled guilty in federal court for illegally expediting kidney transplants. His lawyer claimed, â€Å"the transplants were successful and the donors and recipients are now leading full and healthy lives† because ofRead More Black Thursday Stock Market Crash1342 Words   |  6 PagesSeptember of 1929. 1929Â…) It was anticipated that the increases in earnings and dividends would continue. (1929Â…) Price to earnings ratios rose from 10 to 12 to 20 and higher for the markets favorite stocks. (1929Â…) Observers believed that stock market prices in the first 6 months of 1929 were high, while others saw them to be cheap. (1929Â…) On October 3rd, the Dow Jones Average began to drop, declining through out the week of October 14th. (1929Â…) On the night of Monday, October 21st, 1929, marginRead MoreEssay about India and the Black Market4264 Words   |  18 Pages----------------------------------- Sep 20, 2005 BLACK MARKET AND THE INDIAN ECONOMY ----------------------------------- Statistics: It is said that black money in India accounts for 20 % of GDP. If this is true, then black money generated every year must be around Rs 400,000 crore or $ 80 billion. This is a huge amount, more than the entire budget of the government at the Centre. We have a government that spends about Rs 350,000 crore a year, most of it on itself, and asks for accounts

Poor Assumptions and Flawed Conclusions of Conrads Heart...

During the period when Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness was written, a common theme in literature was the testing of the moral life through actual experience. One could not realize an ethical principle without it being justified through the outcome of some practical conflict. This idea of testing morality through experience is exactly what is presented in Conrads novel as Marlows journey results in a trial that not only defines his own beliefs but allows him to make a rather pessimistic conclusion on the morality of mankind. This realization comes about through the authors double presentation of imperialism in which it is both glorified and criticized. Marlow begins his narration with a vague position on the issue that†¦show more content†¦He even admits that he tries to keep his distance from any real connection to one side. He explains, I had no time†¦when you have to attend to things of that sort (sailing the steamer), to the mere incidences of the surface , the reality†¦fades.(pg.61) He describes the violent death of his predecessor with very little opinion on the matter at all. He states: I couldnt let it rest though; but†¦ what became of the hens I dont know either. I should think the cause of progress got them, anyhow. However, through this glorious affair I got my appointment†¦(pg.13) To call this event a glorious affair appears rather cold, but it does demonstrates that Marlow had no real opinion on the conflict other than it provided him his opportunity. Later, as Marlow prepares his ship for the journey, he surveys the men at the station and states, I asked myself sometimes what it all meant.(pg.39) He may question the situation at first, but he does not truly make the attempt to understand it at that point. Later he is forced to confront it. Still, it is Marlows distancing of himself from the action around him that allows him to make his general judgements about Imperialism and anti-imperialism. In the beginning, Marlow maintains his distanceShow MoreRelatedMarlows Lack Of Restraint Essay1849 Words   |  8 PagesIn Joseph Conrad’s infamous novella, Heart of Darkness, the narrator listens as Marlow tells his tale of his journey in the Congo, where he comes across many different types of people, all of which he can have hugely varying opinions on. It may seem at first that he simply views the Congolese as less than himself, but his ideas of humanity are far more complex than that, and is not directly tied to race. It is not the people that he despises, but the area they inhabit. He blames their environmentRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesantagonist), as, for example, in most detective fiction. Internal conflict, on the other hand, is confined to the protagonist. In this case, the opposition is between two or more elements within the protagonist’s own character, as in Joseph Conrad’s â€Å"Heart of Darknessâ⠂¬ , when Kurtz struggles (and fails) to subdue the savage instincts concealed beneath his civilized English veneer. Most plots, it should be noted, contain more than one conflict. In some cases, however, these multiple conflicts are presentedRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesunprecedented number of people that soared well into the hundreds of millions by century’s end. But for a clear majority of these migrants, movement was coerced by flight from war and oppression or was enticed by labor recruiters who preyed on the desperately poor. The prospects for the great majority were almost invariably lives of drudge labor in urban sweatshops, on tropical plantations, or on the wharves of an expansive, global export economy. Throughout the century, advances in human rights, which wereRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesto Develop Networks 174 Calendar Dates 174 Multiple Starts and Multiple Projects 177 Overview of the Resource Scheduling Problem 253 Types of Resource Constraints 255 Classification of a Scheduling Problem 257 Resource Allocation Methods 257 Assumptions 257 Time-Constrained Project: Smoothing Resource Demand 257 Resource-Constrained Projects 259 Computer Demonstration of ResourceConstrained Scheduling 264 The Impacts of Resource-Constrained Scheduling 270 Extended Network Techniques to Come

The Rise Of The Roman Empire - 2740 Words

Power, prestige, intelligence, and fear, when you hear these words one thing comes to mind, the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires of all time. The span of the Roman Empire grew from itself outward to the countries of England, Africa, Spain, and even Syria. The Roman Empire covered a vast area of land, with ambitions of continued growth. The Roman Empire rose to glory in 27 BC. The rise of the Roman Empire began with its military forces and its many emperor’s reign. The society and life of Romans were also affected by the empire’s rule. What led to the empire’s rise can also be seen in what led to the fall of the greatest empire in history. The rise of the Roman Empire began with the refusal of the†¦show more content†¦After the death of Caesar there became a struggle between Caesar’s son Gaius Octavianas and Mark Antony over leadership. This lasted a while till finally the Octavianas were able to beat Anthony and his army surrendered. This left Octavianas the ruler of the whole Roman world (Drinkwater,21). The rise of the Roman Empire began in 27 BC, when Octavianas changed his name to Augustus and led a strong military force. The Roman military could be easily identified by sight alone. The Roman army had soldiers called legionaries, these legionaries were grouped into combat units of six thousand men called legions (Miquel, 10). Each legion was broken down into smaller units for easy control. For every one hundred men there was a centurion. The centurion was the leader of that group of one hundred men (Miquel, 10). Senior officers were pretty much in charge of the whole legion. There were ten senior officers in each legion, they would take direct orders from the emperor and were picked by the emperor himself. (Miquel, 10). The legions were sent to the frontiers of the empire to protect from any invasions. Any man that was a Roman citizen and between the age of 17 and 60 can join the army, but they had to pay for all of their own equipment (Miquel, 10). Later on when the empire went to build up its army, the states were to pay for all of the expenses for the man (Miquel,10). Three hundred thousand armed men were stationed at Rome, center of the empire. Augustus

Changes in the Earths Environment Essay Example For Students

Changes in the Earths Environment Essay Changes in the Earths EnvironmentThe 20th century, especially in the second half, has been one of rapidchange in the Earths environment. The impact of humans on the physical form andfunctioning of the Earth have reached levels that are global in character, andhave done so at an increasingly mounting speed. 20 years ago the environment wasseen as posing a threat to the future of humanity as death rates from naturalhazards had increased dramatically since the turn of the century. The Earththough has always been plagued by natural disasters. Now, with the worldpopulation growing at a rapid rate more people are living in hazard prone areas. Events which may have gone unnoticed previously, only become hazards when thereis intervention with humans and their lifestyle. With the discovery of the ozonehole in the 1980s attention was now more focused on the threat humans wereposing to the environment. With scientific evidence to back up pessimisticpredictions of our future, most people, through media coverage, politicalpressures and general concern now see the environment as being truly threatenedby human progress and in desperate need of help. Natural hazards have been defined as extreme geophysical events greatlyexceeding normal human expectations in terms of their magnitude or frequency andcausing significant damage to man and his works with possible loss of life. (Heathcote,1979,p.3.). A natural hazard occurs when there is an interactionbetween a system of human resource management and extreme or rare naturalphenomena (Chapman,1994). As McCall, Laming and Scott (1991) argue, strictlyspeaking there is no hazard unless humans are affected in some way. Yet the linebetween natural and human-made hazards is a finely drawn one and usuallyoverlapping. Doornkamp ( cited in McCall et al, 1992) argues that many hazardsare human induced or at least made worse by the intervention of humans. In the 1970s, natural hazards were an important subject of topical study,as the nature of their impact on human populations and what they valued wasincreasing in frequency at quite a rapid rate (Burton, Kates, White, 1978). During the 75 years after 1900 the population of the earth increased by astaggering 2.25 billion people. People who needed land on which to live and work. As the population rose people were dispersed in more places and in largernumbers than before. The predominant movement of people being from farm to townor city (Burton et al,1978.). It is this growing world population, Burton et al(1978) suggest, that is the main reason behind why hazards are increasing andwere seen to pose such a threat to humankind in the 70s. While the averagenumber of disasters remained relatively constant at about 30 per year, deathrates climbed significantly. As the growing world population requires the cultivation of land more proneto hazards, more people and property are thus exposed to the risk of disasterthan ever before, and as Stow (1992) argues, the death toll inevitably rises. Anexample that shows the concern that humans faced from the environment can beexemplified by the Bangladesh cyclone of 1970, which killed approximately250,000 people. Although part of the reason for so many deaths can be put downto a then poorly understood process, land-use can also be implicated. Because ofa rising population, land in Bangladesh was reclaimed by the government and heldagainst the sea. People in large numbers were then encouraged to occupy the area. An area which turned out to be one of great risk. Major disruption wasinevitable Burton et al (1978) argue whenever population was in the path of suchforces. Had reasonable measures been taken in advance of the storm, the materialdamage, loss of life and social dislocation could have been seriously reduced. .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .postImageUrl , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:hover , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:visited , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:active { border:0!important; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:active , .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0 .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf11b82740eaee1cc178ff09b785fdba0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Are Standardization from Enterprise Architecture EssayIn the 1990s we live in an information age. Today we have remarkablemonitoring and predictive capabilities for natural hazards. The use of advancedtelecommunications and emergency management, together with the exploitation ofgeographic information systems in hazard mitigation has greatly reduced theextent to which natural hazards are seen as a threat to people in the 90s(Chapman et al, 1994). Loss of life and property from natural disasterscontinue to rise though as the population of the world rises and puts moredemands on the environment for land resources. White (1974) argues thatenvironmental risk may be considered t o be primarily a function of the valuesystems of a society. How dangerous a natural hazard is, is

Portrait of Louisa May Alcott Essay Example For Students

Portrait of Louisa May Alcott Essay HER father thought himself a philosopher. His family agreed with him. So did his friend and contemporary, Emerson, and a few others. He was at any rate a philosopher in his complete inability to earn or to keep money. Her mother was by nature a noble and charming woman, by profession a household drudge. Louisa and her three sisters were born in odd corners between 1830 and 1840 and grew up in Concord and elsewhere. They knew a little, quite enough, about philosophy and a great deal about drudgery. Louisa determined in early youth to eschew philosophy and drudgery both, to be independent, and to earn an honest livelihood for herself and her family. She did it, wrote books that charmed and paid, and died worn out before she was old, but with a comfortable lapful of glory. I do not mean to imply that the Alcott’s poverty was sordid or pitiable. Innate dignity of character, sweetness and natural cheerfulness, kept it from being anything of the kind. If they had not money, they had high ideals, and high ideals afford a certain substitute for comfort, after they have thrust it out of doors. No doubt, also, the rugged discipline of privation fits souls better for the ups and downs of life, which, for most men and women, mean more hardship than comfort. At the same time, to understand Louisa Alcott, what she did and what she was, we must keep the bitterness of youthful poverty before us, the perpetual strug- gle to get clothes and food and other necessaries, the burden of debts and charity, the fret and strain of nerves worn with anxiety and endeavor, the endless uncertainty about the future. â€Å" It was characteristic of this family that they never were conquered by their surroundings,† says the biographer. This is true; yet such experiences fray the edges of the soul, when they do not impair its substance. Louisa’s soul was frayed. Poverty bit her like a north wind, spurred to effort, yet chilled and tortured just the same. â€Å" Little Lu began early to feel the family cares and peculiar trials,† she says of her childhood. In her young-womanhood, when just beginning to sec her way, she is ham- pered in the walks she likes because of â€Å" stockings with a profusion of toe, but no heel, and shoes with plenty of heel, but a paucity of toe.† Later still, when the world ought to have been going well with her, her cry is: â€Å" If I think of my woes, I fall into a vortex of debts, dishpans, and despond- ency awful to see.† The nature of these troubles and the depth of them were especially evident to her, because she was born with a shrewd native wit and keen intelligence. Her education was somewhat erratic, furnished mainly by her father from his wide but heterogeneous store and with eccentric methods. Above all, she employed her brain for practical objects, loved mental system and tidiness. â€Å" I used to imagine my mind a room in confusion, and I was to put it in order; so I swept out useless thoughts and dusted foolish fancies away, and furnished it with good resolutions and began again. But cobwebs get in. I’m not a good house- keeper, and never get my room in nice order.† And with the same practical tendency she analyzed all things about her and all men and women. Her father’s various contacts brought many people to his door, and Louisa learned early to distinguish. â€Å" A curious jumble of fools and philosophers,† she says calmly of one of his beloved clubs. Nor wa s she less ready to analyze herself, as portrayed in one of her stories. â€Å" Much describing of other people’s pas- sions and feelings set her to studying and speculating about her own—a morbid amusement, in which healthy young minds do not indulge.† What marked her character in all this was honesty, sincerity, straight-forward simplicity. Like Jo, in â€Å" Little Women,† who follows her creatress so closely, Louisa, as a child, had more of the boy than of the girl about her, did not care for frills or flounces, did not care for dances or teas, liked fresh air and fresh thoughts and hearty quarrels and forgetful reconciliations. She would shake your hand and look in your eye and make you trust her. Jo’s wild words were always getting her into scrapes. â€Å" Oh, my tongue, my abominable tongue! Why can t 1 learn to keep it quiet? † So she sighed, and so Louisa had often sighed before her. But with the outspokenness went a splendid veracity and a loathing for what was false or mean or cowardly. â€Å" With all her imagination and romance, Miss Alcott was a tremendous destroyer of illusions,† says Mrs. Cheney; â€Å" Oh, wicked L. M. A., who hates sham and loves a joke,† says Miss Alcott herself. The disposition to excessive analysis and great frankness in expressing the results of the same are not especially favorable to social popularity or success, and it does not appear that Louisa had these things or wished to have them. Here again Jo renders her creatress very faithfully. She was perfectly capable of having a jolly time in company; in fact, when she was in the mood and with those she liked, she could be full of fun and frolic, could lead everybody in wild laughter and joyous pranks and merriment. She could run into a party of strangers at the seashore and be gay with them. To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter Summaries EssayHer sensibility and quick emotion showed, however, far less in esthetic enjoyment than in the inner play and shifting movements of her own spirit. The sudden variety of nature she sees reflected in herself. â€Å" It was a mild, windyday, very dike me in its fitful changes of sunshine and shade.† She was a creature of moods and fancies, smiles and tears, hopes and discouragements, as we all are, but more than most of us. From her childhood she liked to wander, hadroaming limbs and a roaming soul. She â€Å" wanted to see everything, do everything, and go everywhere.† She loved movement, activity, boys’ sports and boys’ exercise: â€Å"I always thought I must have been a deer or a horse in some   former state, because it was such a joy to run. Then she got tired and got cross, and when she was young, said bitter things and repented them, and when she grew older, would have liked to say them, and repented tha t also. And the ill temper shifted suddenly and madly to laughter, merry drollery, wild sallies, quips and teasing frolics, full well remembered by lovers of Jo. The jocosity of my nature will gush out when it gets a chance, she says. Also, to be sure, she had always the feeling that she was not doing the best she could and that the money came most freely for the things she was not most proud of. In her early days she wrote and sold sensational stories of a rather cheap order. Certain features of these pleased her. She confesses quite frankly that she had a taste for ghastliness and that she was fond of the night side of nature. But she longed to do something else, and she tried to?in Moods and A Modern Mephistopheles ?perhaps not very well, at any rate not very successfully. Few get the glory they want, but there is probably a peculiar bitter ness in getting the glory you dont want. Then she hit on a line of work which, if not great or original, was sane and genuine. She put her own life, her own heart, into her books, and they were read with delight because her heart was like the hearts of all of us. As a child, she wanted to sell her hair to support her family. When she was older, she supported them by se lling her flesh and blood, and theirs, but always with a fine and digni fied reserve as well as a charming frankness. Every creative author builds his books out of his own experience. They would be worthless otherwise. But few have drawn upon the fund more extensively and constantly than Miss Alcott. And she was wise to do it, and when she ceased to do it, she failed. She could allege the great authority of Goethe for her practise: Goethe puts his joys and sorrows into poems; I turn my adventures into bread and butter. So she coined her soul to pad her purse and, inciden tally, to give solace to many. The worshipers of art for arts sake may sneer at her, but she remains in excellent company. Scott, Dumas, Trollope, to name no others, col lected cash, as well as glory, with broad and easy negligence. And the point is that, while doing so, they established them selves securely among the benefactors of mankind. The great thinkers, the great poets, the great statesmen, the great religious teachers sway us upward for our good. But they often lead us astray and they always harass us in the process. I do not know that they deserve much more of our gratitude than those w ho make our souls forget by telling charming stories.