The Social Of Social Engineering Essay - 1304 Words

INRTODUCTION The media is full of stories of hacking doing untold damage estimated in the millions of dollars. On the same note, identity theft is a major global problem and despite numerous efforts by governments to ensure citizens do not fall prey to fraudsters, the human condition remains the weakest link in information security hence, social engineering thrives under these circumstances. Social engineering in this context, emphasizes the apparent relationship between human social behavior and information technology and specifically. Human habits dictate and indicate the level of information security. This will be the basis of discussion of social engineering in this paper. This paper will endeavor to examine the definition of social engineering, methods of social engineering, impacts of social engineering on society and ways of mitigating the dynamic the dynamic threat of social engineering. DEFIFNITION OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING Per Meinert (2016), in an article she wrote in the ABA Banking Journal, social engineering is the successful manipulation of a victim by a fraudster into divulging private and confidential information. She adds that the fraudster poses as a trustworthy source and to stress her point, she quotes Mark Lowers, CEO of Lowers Risk Group who emphasizes that, social engineering is not only fraud by deception, but is also an exploitation of human decency (Meinert, 2016, p.49). Social engineering in relation to information technology essentially preys on theShow MoreRelatedSocial Engineering954 Words   |  4 PagesSOCIAL ENGINEERING INTRODUCTION Social Engineering is using non-technical means to gain unauthorized access to information or system. Normally a hackers would use exploit a systems vulnerabilities and run scripts to gain access. When hackers deploy social engineering they exploit human nature. Social Engineering is represented by building trust relationships with people who work in the inside of the organization to gain access or who are privilege to sensitiveRead MoreSocial Engineering630 Words   |  3 PagesSocial Engineering Social engineering has become the most popular method of compromising the security of personal data. The successful use of Social Engineering techniques has provided attackers and hackers the ability to breach computer systems and gain access to sensitive data. Many computer hackers have found that it is easier to trick somebody into giving his or her password than to carry out an elaborate hacking attempt. Social engineering is the art of gaining access to buildings, systemsRead MoreSocial Engineering1052 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Engineering This research paper is primarily based on information gathered from secondary sources explaining what the term â€Å"social engineering† is, how it is perpetrated, and the impact it has on individuals and corporations. It will also discuss ethical issues and action that can be taken by both individuals and corporations respectively to mitigate and minimize the risk of social engineering attacks. Social engineering, in the context of information technology, is defined as â€Å"gainingRead MoreSocial Engineering2447 Words   |  10 PagesIdentity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama amp; Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Identity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama amp; Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Abstract Social Engineering from the outset may seem like a topic one might hear when talking about sociology or psychology, when in fact it is a form of identity theft. To an information technology (IT)Read MoreThe Impact Of Social Of Social Engineering On Business Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesSocial engineering has been defined as â€Å"Any act that influences a person to take an action that may or may not be in their best interest.† (Social Engineering, n.d.). Finding a system security vulnerability in a business can mitigate the effects of a social engineering attack. Using a person’s natural reaction to please people against them can be very detrimental to a business. Social engineering takes many forms and effects businesses in many ways. Businesses tend to focus their security on moreRead MoreSocial Science And Remedies For Social Engineering1569 Words   |  7 Pagessecurity system through social engineering. First, I will define social engineering. People have been victims of social engineer throughout time. The first case of social engineering could be argued was the â€Å"Trojan Horse† in ancient times in the Trojan War circa 800 B.C.E. according to Homer’s Iliad (www.ancient.eu) or Kublai Khan’s invasion of China in 1275 A.D to today’s wire fraud emails. This paper will focus on social engineering and remedies for social engineering. Legend has it thatRead MoreThe Social Responsibility Of Engineering1385 Words   |  6 PagesIn a modern society engineering activities including professional, based on scientific knowledge, social responsibility and human-dimension design and operation of technical devices plays an increasingly important role. Modern engineering professionalism involves not only the development of scientific bases of design engineering, but also awareness of the purposes, meanings and engineering problems in general, its place in the culture of the twenty first century. Of great importance is an understandingRead MoreThe Problems Of Social Engineering1343 Words   |  6 Pageswhich social engineering can take place is to have details of the clients and then access the system of Amazon posing as clients. One of the requirements in order to have access to customer information. Amazon have not been serious in screening customers and will not be able to know if the customers are who they say they are in real life. It is hard to have an understanding of the data and information about the data and the issues that are associated with the data. Another social engineering techniqueRead MoreSocial Engineering : An Organization Essay2068 Words   |  9 Pagesinto performing some action or disclosing confidential information to someone outside the business. Information Security terminology defines this manipulation as social engineering. While the term social engineering is a fairly new term, this type of attack is as old as the human race itself. Two of the most famous social engineering attacks are those of the story of the wooden horse of Troy from Homer s The Odyssey, and dating even further back to the start of the Bible with Adam and Eve andRead More social engineering Essay482 Words   |  2 Pageseach year, and many more go unreported. In 1990, this crime cost over $2 billion -- and this figure does not include psychotherapy for the children involved, and for their parents.† (para 2) If I were in a position to enact laws, the kind of social engineering I would implement is a one-strike law for pedophiles. All too often a pedophile or sex offender gets off with a slap on the wrist. This then gives them ample time to focus on other victims. Why as a society should we let these predators have

Essay on Numbing Violent Video Games - 934 Words

Violent Video Games Did you know that video games aren’t just fun and games anymore? It may be influencing your child to hurt others. Video games are very enjoyable, but they are also very dangerous and unhealthy for children. More than 90% of children and adolescents play video games, the majority of those games contain violent content. However, this does not mean all types of video games are bad and that children will only develop bad habits from playing the video games. Video games can have tremendous negative effects on the brains and body of children and adolescents. They also promote inactivity, health problems such as obesity, and violence towards others. First, playing violent video games can encourage kids to think violence is†¦show more content†¦Second, Repetitive killing in the game can cause the player that’s playing the game to act aggressively. Most violent video games are just about killing or portraying some type of violence, if the player does these actions to often and for long periods of time he or she can subconsciously learn those actions and become violent. In a study â€Å"two groups of kids were asked to play violent video games more than another group. The group who had more exposure to the game was more violent than the one who did not play as much† (Harding). If the child plays the game too much they can develop the habit of being aggressive just for fun or they may not understand what they are doing because they are learning to be violent from the video game. Most games out today have blood, drugs, explicit content, and many weapons such as explosives or rifles. Being exposed to these kinds of behaviors in the game can make the players insensitive to violence. An article on Huffingtonpost.com states studies of children exposed to violence have shown that they can become immune or numb to the horror of violence, imitate the violence they see, and show more aggressive behavior with greater exposure to violence (Freeman). At the same time, some people say playing video games are not completely bad. Limiting how long the child plays the violent video game can have positive effects too. The child can decompress from daily stress that may beShow MoreRelatedViolent Video Games Are Numbing the Minds of Children Essays1986 Words   |  8 Pages Violent video games are undoubtedly a legalized drug to children and teens, numbing their thoughts and reprogramming their minds. Like a drug, it desensitizes them, and makes them more prone to violence. This idea of violent video games was not a phenomenon until the later 20th century, and evolved from racing into enemies, to free-for-all drug abuse and sexual/physical violence that most youth know and play today. These games have a detrimental impact on teens, making them eat more, become moreRead MoreVideo Game Violence: Therapeutic Outlet or Perpetuating Violence?1418 Words   |  6 PagesThe video game world is full of wonders, fantasy worlds, and even real li fe scenarios that we see on television. There are games based off of television shows, popular movies, and even comic book universes. In David Perry’s speech and presentation, â€Å"Are Video Games Better Than Life?† he brought up a lot of points about gaming both from its humble beginnings to where we are today. However, he made it clear that the discussion was to be about the video game world. Are video games better than realityRead More Videogames Dont Have a Negative Effect on Kids Essay example1229 Words   |  5 Pagesthat many people overlook is video games, a national past time in almost every home. It is clear that they can cause changes in children, but are the changes good or bad? Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Personally, I felt there was nothing wrong with video games. I play them for fourteen hours or more a week, and I’ve been doing â€Å"fine† in life. I made it to a fine college, I learned unique words when I was young, and I even won prizes in some video game contests. I still have thatRead MoreKilling Their Innocence671 Words   |  3 PagesKilling Their Innocence So here I was, watching a couple of kids, a brother (9) and a sister (11), during the Super Bowl this year while their parents were downstairs watching the game. We were playing the board game â€Å"LIFE†. All was going well, and then the brother (we’ll call him Sam) got bored as kids do. So Sam pulled out his iPhone and started looking for an app to appease his boredom. Before I knew it, Sam opened a gun app. This application allows the user to select any type of gun, rangingRead MoreAn Aggressive Action As Intentional Behavior994 Words   |  4 Pagesboth physically and mentally aggressive. A lot of research that’s been collected about human aggression was from chimpanzee and bonobos research. They share about 98% of DNA with humans. Chimpanzees are more of a male-dominated species. They are violent and aggressive, and will fight over food and territory, much like humans. However, the bonobos have a different approach to survival. They are a rare species that is more female-dominated. To them, aggression is an optional strategy. They find thatRead MoreThe Massacre Of The Columbine1418 Words   |  6 Pagesin American history before the shooting that happened in Sandy Hook Elementary. It all began with a website that was made between the two friends to feature the popular game at the time called Doom for the SNES. On the website they featured level designs and discussions about the game. Soon they started talking less about the game and more about how to cause trouble, and detailed instructions of on how to make bombs, also all the problems they were getting into. Soon the website began to become moreRead More Video Game Violence Essay examples2549 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Å"Video Game Violence Does Not Cause Violent Tendencies† An In-Depth Look at Video Game Violence and its Positives Effects â€Å"On Tuesday, November 2, while the rest of the country was voting, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, the landmark case in which the state of California is petitioning for the re-instatement of a California law banning the sale of deviant or morbid violent video games to minors† (Macris). This case is a current example of theRead MoreCause and Effect Essay - Causes of School Violence2265 Words   |  10 Pages    The United States is facing an epidemic of seriously violent crimes in middle schools and high schools across the country. At least fifty people have died due to a series of high school shootings. These shooting rampages have occurred across the United States in 13 cities ranging from Pennsylvania to southern Mississippi and to western California. Just when the murder rampages seem to be subsiding, another tragedy occurs. Preventive measures have been taken by the government and school systemsRead MoreEssay about Negative Effects of Media Violence on Children3872 Words   |  16 Pagespresentation of documented support, it will be shown the rising rate of youth violence is the result of the lack of censorship of the media. According to psychologist Craig Anderson, research shows that violent video games, films, television, and music in the media increase the probability of violent and aggressive behavior in long-term and immediate situations within youth (81). In the start of this decade it was estimated that 46 percent of all homes with children have accesses to at least oneRead MoreDota Addiction Effects in Academic Performance2977 Words   |  12 Pagesproperly, there’s always a negative effect that occurs. It can be in our thoughts, behaviors, actions, and or in other ways.      Computer games are slowly arousing and it is one of the things that bring the negative effect. Many people are playing and having so much fun with this that can be a form of entertainment. DOTA is one of the examples of computer games. And this is where our topic began to star.     DOTA means Defense of the Ancients. It is commonly the word that we can hear on most people

Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy Free Essays

The extended essay project was done on the Masonic group of people who have been an influential part of history as a whole. In this essay I am going to explore the belief system of the group. As well as demonstrate why there is much controversy surrounding the group by expressing the opposing views. We will write a custom essay sample on Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Masons basically are a group of men that have shared feelings about brotherhood, morals and community progress. These men belong to the world’s largest fraternity in the world. It spans all nations, races and religions. The group as a whole is very secret. For instance the origin and the time that this group was structured is still uncertain. Many actions and activities of the group are also low key. This makes the group very vulnerable for Anti-Masonic groups. Many famous and important people in the world have belonged to the Freemasons. When criminal acts or injustices in the community take place, the Anti-Masonic groups place blame on the masons. What was found out by the research is that the secrecy of the Masonic organization is to be kept at all times. Some times extreme measures are taken to insure its secrecy. Anti-Mason groups are detrimental to the survival of the group. They dampen their progress and lower their popularity rating with the public. It is an ongoing battle that doesn’t seem like it will cease any time soon. There is a society in which many people belong. Many people are your everyday people; people that run the country, people that own business to people that pass you on the street. You wouldn’t know they belong to this society because they are everyday people. This society has been around since the earliest of times. The members are dedicated to brotherly love, relief for the community and strong morals. More revealingly this group can be defined as a group of men, banded together in an exclusive lodge to advance, first and foremost, their personal interests and second, the interests of the community or other members of the group (Hoselton). If you know anyone that sounds like he fits this profile they might belong to Masonry also called Freemasonry. Masonry is touted as the world’s oldest and largest fraternity. Freemasonry and Masonry are interchangeable words for the same organization, which has its roots in the medieval trade guilds of stonemasons. In Freemasonry the most widely used symbols are the tools of the stonemason, a square, compass and a level. The level for example is a symbol that are men are equal and on the same level. There are signs that point to the first congregation on this organization, which is back in 926 AD, when the first lodge documents were found. There are writings and evidence that date back to the late 17th century. There is no exact answer to when this society, lodge, group first originated. Even so Freemasonry was formally created in London in 1717. The ideas and beliefs quickly spread to the American colonies and across Europe. Today, there are probably four to six million men in the fraternity (Cambell). The Masons in the mid-seventeenth century were a secret society and since they were secret there was no historical document or writings. There are basically three theories that surround their existence before it became public. The first theory is that freemasonry is as ancient as the Masonic ritual claims. It was indeed created as a result of happenings at the building of king Solomon’s temple and has been passed down to us through mechanisms unknown. The second theory that scientists believe is that the development of medieval stoneman’s guilds, whereby Masonic skills with stone were translated into what masons call moral improvements. The third theory is that masons rituals originally come from the Order Of The Poor Fellow- soldiers of Christ and the temple of Solomon, now better known as the Knights of Templar (Knight). One thing you will learn is that there are no exact answers when it comes to the Masons. This society is held in high regard to its secrecy. The rules and regulations are very sacred and if one is not performed or is broken than severe penalty will be placed in action. The penalties are from removal from the society to death, depending on the act. These rules and guidelines are what gave man his sense of security and sense of well-being back in the times when the world was not as civilized as it was today. When the world was not as stable as it is today and lands were forever changing hands, masons were still united because it is widespread. Masonry is not confined to one race or nationality, creeds or faiths. This organization encompasses almost everyone. In Masonry there is a meeting place for the members. This place is called a lodge. There is a set hierarchy of Lodges. All the states in the U. S have a Highest ruling lodge, The Grand Lodge. This Grand Lodge is used as the presiding lodge over all of the small branches of lodges. The jurisdiction of a Lodge determines its exact beliefs and rules. There is no higher authority than the Grand Lodge of a state. Every month there is a specific meeting for the Master Masons. This once a month meeting is named a â€Å"business meeting† (Virginia). In the lodge religion is encouraged, nothing in particular, but Christianity is the most popular in the United States. Religion though, along with politics is strictly forbidden inside the lodge. Both subjects are very controversial and would cause too much of a divide between men. One of the beliefs that the Masons have is an interesting initiation ceremony. There are a few phases to complete this process but it is what is done to each new member. It has been carried out since the creation of the fraternity so now it is just a belief. The first phase of the ceremony is when the initiate must swear his allegiance to God and his fellow Masons. When that part of the ceremony is over the second part of the initiation begins. This way the initiate can become Master Mason. He is blindfolded and is asked to act out the part of Hiram Abiff. Hiram Abiff was the murdered master in a legend of the building of King Solomon’s temple. This would be the exciting section of the initiation, where all the action takes place. He must refuse to tell secrets of the Freemasons and then he is hit and knocked to the floor. This is a reenactment of Hiram’s death. The third step to the process is a few more points and symbols are explained in detail to him (Cambell). The Masons are also known as a secret society. Many beliefs that they hold are absolutely forbidden from non-members and also not all Masons can know everything. This is what gives the Masons its â€Å"secret society† name, not because its underground or a small gathering. The secrets started back in the earliest times when stonemasons had special trades that they kept from everyone else. There are many types of secrets that are held in the Mason group, many types of sciences and astrology. When a Mason starts to understand the organization and â€Å"probe his unconscious† these secrets are revealed to him. One belief that the Masons have that seems as though it would be outdated by now but is still intact is the admittance of only males. The lodges of today are available to only males who are at least nineteen years of age. To be more accommodative, a separate division of the Freemasons was developed. The Eastern Star was founded in 1850 and is a group for Master Masons or people properly related to Master Masons, including women. The relation can be wife, widow, sister, daughter, mother, granddaughter, stepmother, stepdaughter, stepsister, half sister, and recently, nieces, daughters-in-law, and grandmothers (Virginia). Basically anyone who is not permitted into the lodge meetings but has relation to a Master Mason can be admitted. The lodges are divided into chapters and there are eighteen offices to be filled in each chapter. Men or women can fill these positions. The head of the chapter is deemed the title Worthy Matron. To gain the membership required, each member must agree to belief in a supreme being. Although, the New and Old Testaments are both part of the five degrees. This makes the Eastern Star a particularly Christian group (Virginia). Since, the Eastern Star is a sort of division of the Masons, this must make them a particularly Christian group (Mackey). Since the Freemasons group of extreme size, controversies are always surrounding them. There is also a great deal of controversy that stems from the secretive nature of the Freemasons. Many prominent figures including founding fathers and presidents have been Masons, and in some cases Freemasons have been accused of giving other Masons unfair advantages in job promotion, and also controlling decisions in government by being a sort of underground government themselves (Virginia). A large part of joining the masons is having that advantage of job promotion over non-mason coworkers (Dumenil, 23). The biggest controversy concerning the Freemasons took place in the United States during the early 1800’s. In 1826, one man decided he was going to publish a book that contained all of the secrets that’s the Masonic society had hidden. This man was, Captain William Morgan, a regular member of the Masonic society. The place that the book was being published was burned to the ground and the Captain suddenly disappeared. There are many different endings to this story that go around today, but it is said that he was captured by the Masons and killed. Most Masons today say that is not what happened, but Morgan really left the country and went to Canada. It was noted by a anti-Masonic group that a year later the body was found in a harbor. Other accounts say that his body was never found. What the real truth may be is irrelevant. The fact that these stories set the Masons back a step in popularity is important part. There was even an anti-Masonic presidential candidate in the 1820’s (Mackey and McClenachen, 508). Protecting secrets is not the only type of controversy that the Freemasons get into. Since they are so large they have contacts and members in all aspects of society. Masons are blamed and accused of all types of other functions and mishaps. During the presidential election of Quincy Adams and Jackson, Adams blamed the mason group when he was not chosen for the presidency. There are writings linking the Freemasons to President Lincoln’s assassination, beliefs of Nazi Germany, the murder of Pope John Paul I, establishing the Ku Klux Klan, the Jack the Ripper Murders in England, the JFK assassination conspiracy, and many others (Virginia). All across the world different events have been blamed on their members. These actions might possibly be blamed on the Masons unrightfully. This might be due to their large size and underground secret society, which makes them an easy target to blame. Especially if there is no real suspect is unknown. Most of these accounts do not seem to have much well supported evidence. One thing that does lead one to believe a Mason might kill someone or cheat them out of a position in the work force is the type of penalties they enforce. The Masons preach that they are all about brotherly love and doing good deeds for their fellow members and the community around them; but when you read the types of penalties that they will enforce you have to second-guess the purpose of the group. If one of the members happens to slip and tell the secrets of Freemasonry there are many penalties. The penalties include very vulgar acts which are tearing one’s tongue out by the roots, plucking one’s heart from its breast, and having one’s body cut in two with the entrails burned to ashes (Virginia). This type of language has caused much anti-Masonic sentiment. To be a part of the Mason society it is said that you need to believe in a higher power or god. It is not specified which one to believe in, it does not matter. This issue has some people disturbed; especially Catholics and Methodists who are historically opposed to Masonry. Roman Catholics ban masonry due to the types of oaths and its sincere secrecy. The Methodists have to condemned it as well for the same reasons. Christians have also been very disturbed by Masonry’s mixing of beliefs. This would be both pagan and Christian beliefs together. Representing the Pagan solar gods are the Bible, the compass and the square. These are also the Three Great Lights of Masonry (Virginia). There are many other possible examples of mixing religions, which disturbs some members of Evangelical Christian churches (Cambell, 75-76). A recent controversy involves the history of the Freemasons. Some say that Freemasons didn’t come from medieval stonemason unions. They have come to the presumption that it has emerged from the Knights of the Templar, a privileged class of soldier monks in Medieval Europe. The Knights were attacked by many authorities for their knowledge of the Muslim and Jewish religions, and in 1307, King Philippe IV of France ordered their arrest and a raid of their preceptories. They supposedly escaped to Scotland with all of their treasures and these scholars say that Freemasonry evolved from the Knights Templar traditions (Virginia). These ideas are offered instead of the stonemason history that the Freemasons tell (Knight). There are Masons at all levels of work force especially in the government. It helps when you are trying to get elected and you are a Mason; but even so there is also a drawback to being a Mason. There are always people who try to find the hole in the system and take what you have earned. For example in 1829, under public pressure, the New York state senate investigated freemasonry and reported that wealthy and powerful masons were found at every level of government. Opponents of President Andrew Jackson, who was a freemason, took advantage of the scandal to form the Anti-Masonic party, the first time a third party was created in the United States. Anti-Masonic candidates were successful in state and local elections but failed to unseat Jackson in 1832. By the late 1830’s the Anti-Masonic party had turned to agitation against slavery and the strictly anti Jackson members joined the Whigs. This was a serious blow that took decades for the Masons to recover from (Dumenil). Most of these problems that the Freemasons have are due to the emergence of the Anti-Masonic society. Those who were not offered membership or could not obtain it had jealousy and greed grow inside them. The rest just didn’t know how to become a member. The figured it was a group of elites that belong to a secret society and it was nothing but full of evil and conspiracies. This guessing game and non-members jealousy served as the fuel for igniting and inciting hatred for the unknown. The only thing left was for three groups to keep the fire burning. First of all, politicians used this to gain popularity, but making false accusations did this. Thurlow Weed was the most successful and most damaging in his use of the incident and to claim that he was the savior, â€Å"riding in on a shiny white horse† (MIT). William Seward of Auburn and Millard Fillmore of Moravia made hay of the fiasco and gained political clout by using the Morgan affair as an issue (MIT). Secondly, the clergy also lowered themselves to this level of demagoguery. Even former members of the Fraternity saw in this an opportunity to claim that the Freemasons were evil and that only in the church could souls be saved. The clergy knew full well that Freemasonry was not in the business of saving souls. The third mechanism, which grabbed an opportunity to gain notoriety and to sell newspapers, was the press. New papers were born regularly with the one objective, to sell newsprint by leveling accusations at the Fraternity. Any dirt would do despite its veracity. The anti-Masonic movement in itself was a sort of lie, it was a conspiracy to promote certain people or groups at the cost of freemasons. The press could make money. The clergy saw people converting. Lastly, the politicians had an opportunity to promote themselves (MIT). The times were ripe for suspicion and distrust. Uncultivated egos led people to believe that only their church, their politics, their way of life was the correct one. Others were ignorant and in the dark. (Marrs, 17) The masons as a society are very secretive and extremely widespread. The society is formed on the basis that brotherly love, belief in religion and helping the community are musts. These characteristics don’t make the masons seem like they have any wrongdoing in their actions and so fourth. Even so there is is much criticism of the freemasons as a group. There have been numerous attacks against freemasons and what the supposedly have hidden from the rest of society. The most potentially damaging attacks of this century have come in the past two or three years. People have tried to convince society that freemasonry is rooted in heresy. Even in the face of extreme large amounts of criticism the masons have chosen to remain silent and not release any secrets. Whatever the actions were, or the motives have been they have always allowed themselves to be easy targets. It seems that the masons have been deliberately accused of certain things therefore they will gain the reputation that will put them under. Whether another society has done this to them is unknown. Everything seems to denounce the Order of the Masons. It is probably not long before the masons come out and set the record straight, rather than just accept the blows of criticism. They rely on their acts of reconciliation and following the principles of brotherhood, relief and truth, which is not enough to keep the largest fraternity in the world operating. It is very amazing that a group of people could persevere through the trials and tribulations that they have been through. It was very hard to gather reliable and large amounts of information because of the secrecy. What was learned is that this group operates for nothing but the good of themselves and others. Many very important figures of the world were members of this organization. This is a reason why there is so much controversy surrounding this group. All in all, its been the most successful attempt at a unified group or â€Å"secret society. â€Å" How to cite Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy, Papers

Comparison between Tony Harrisons Long Distance and Jane Gardams Stone Trees free essay sample

The two documents we are presented with here both deal with the notion of bereavement and especially bereavement of a loved one. The first document is a poem, written by Tony Harrison in 1984 and entitled Long Distance. The second one is an extract from a short story entitled Stone Trees, written by Jane Gardam in 1983. They both intend to give us a glimpse of how different people react when confronted to the passing of a relative. Through two completely different approaches and using two different genre – poetry and fiction –, as well as different literary technics, they try to reflect the highly personal emotion that one feels when confronted to death. The poem entitled Long Distance is composed of 4 stanzas, in the three first stanzas, the poet’s persona tells us about his father’s denial to face the death of his mother with a tint of loving criticism. For example the fact that he still includes her into his daily routine as if she would come back anytime. In the last stanza of the poem though he – the poet’s persona – gives us his own impression on death and he seems to realise that he, too, cannot quite cut with the little things of everyday life. As for the extract from Jane Gardam’s Stone Trees, we follow a woman’s thoughts as she mourns her departed husband. She relates different moments she went through after his death and the story often looks as if she is directly addressing her husband. The link can be made here with the cultural notion â€Å"je de l’ecrivain et jeu de l’ecriture† as the two authors both seem to have found inspiration in personal experiences, and therefore those texts could be considered as autobiographical. We could wonder how Harrison and Gardam proceed into putting us as close as possible with their character’s feelings in order to provide the reader with an understanding of their experience. In order to answer that question we will firstly analyse the different devices used by the two authors in order to put us into their character’s minds. We will afterwards try to interpret the different visions of mourning we are presented within the two texts and more specifically emphasising the deeply personal and irrational aspect of this experience. * ** I. Placing the reader as close as possible to the character’s emotion There are various technics used in the two texts to give the reader access to the characters minds. We will present the narrative devices first and then we will introduce the technic of stream of consciousness used in Jane Gardam’s Stone Trees. a. Narrative devices The first thing that makes those two texts quite similar is the fact that they are both written in the first person narrative, giving straight away to the reader the impression that the story is told by someone who directly experienced the loss of a loved one. But this is not the only technic that gives us this impression, indeed the two texts are also homo-diegetic and they both use internal focalisation and even internal vocalisation in the case of Stone Trees. This allows us – the reader – to gain access to very personal feelings, sometimes unexpressed. An example in the poem Long Distance is when Tony Harrison’s persona admits that he, too, is acting in denial towards death, just as his father did (4th stanza, line 3-4). In Jane Gardam’s Stone Trees, the narrator confesses to â€Å"never having liked Tom that much† (line 10). These most likely unexpressed or at least unspoken feelings put you in a trusting relationship with the character and the persona. b. Stream of consciousness The stream of consciousness technic is clearly identifiable in Jane Gardam’s Stone Trees. Indeed there is no clear chronological pattern in the way the narrator tells her story, we receive her thoughts as they cross her mind. This explains the very frequent repetitions we can see in the text, for example on lines 8-10: â€Å"I liked it†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ I liked it†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ I liked his strong arm†. These repetitions combined with the non-chronological construction of the narrative, makes the text quite difficult to understand at first but once you get to know the character and try to get in tune with her feelings you start to see the bigger picture. This call for empathy automatically leads you to imagine what it is like for her to face the death of her husband. As we have seen there are several elements in the two texts that place the reader directly into the characters’ mind. The question we will try to answer in a second part is: Why did the authors wanted to do so? A clear answer that appears to us is that dealing with the death of a loved one is a highly personal and tragic experience and that there is not only one way of perceiving it. II. Bereavement of a loved one : a subjective experience a. Acceptance or Denial In Tony Harrison’s Long Distance the persona presents us how his father is in complete denial towards the death of his wife. He just keeps going with the daily routine of the couple. As well as being explicit in the poem it is also symbolised by the rhyming structure of the first three stanzas (alternate rhymes: ABAB). This changes to enclosed rhymes (ABBA) in the last stanza as the persona gives his personal view on the matter stating that â€Å"life ends with death† (4th stanza, line 1) and in a way marks the end of this routine: â€Å"You haven’t both gone shopping† (4th stanza, line 2). Nevertheless in the last 2 lines of the poem the poet’s persona seems to develop the same habits as his father when he is himself confronted to grief by writing the name of the lost one in his â€Å"new black leather phone book† (4th stanza, line 3) and by dialling this very phone number still (4th stanza, line 4). The poet’s intention could be to show that you cannot anticipate the way you will react to the death of a loved one until you are actually facing it. In Jane Gardam’s Stone Trees the woman confronted to the death of her husband seems to be in the process of accepting it. This could be illustrated by the repetition of the sentence â€Å"So now that you are dead† (lines 1, 5, 15, 16, 28, 45, 58), as if she regularly tries to bring her thoughts back to the tough reality and face the fact that he will not return and that things will never be the same now. It might be necessary to clarify that when using the term â€Å"acceptance† here we simply suggest that she acknowledges the death of her husband and not that her pain goes away. This idea can also lean on the prominent role of pronouns in the text. Indeed the narrator progressively replaces the pronoun â€Å"we† (â€Å"we had no children†: line 13) by â€Å"you/I† (line 21, 30) as if she’s getting her head around the fact that this â€Å"we† is now obsolete and therefore clearly marks the division of â€Å"you† and â€Å"I†. b. A traumatic irrational experience The two texts also stress how traumatic the experience of losing a loved one is; we could even say â€Å"the† loved one for the narrator of Stone Trees and the father of the poet’s persona in Long Distance as we cannot be sure for the persona himself. We can see that the narrator in Stone Trees is deeply affected by the death of her husband, hence the chaotic structure of the text following no chronological order, mixing old memories and recent events. The tone is resolutely desperate here. She seems to be unable to think straight and the way she relates the events is quite vague, quite blurry; she focuses on small details during the funeral: the cards accompanying the flowers (line 49-50, 54). In Long Distance the father’s actions are completely irrational though he, too, seems to be conscious of it: â€Å"He couldn’t risk my blight of disbelief† (3rd stanza, line 1), â€Å"As though his still raw love were such a crime† (2nd stanza, line 4). And more surprisingly the persona himself gives way to this irrational behaviour in the end. Another print of irrationality in both text could be the attempt to get in touch with the departed one. In Stone Trees the narrator directly addresses her husband, sharing her thoughts with him as if awaiting for an answer. In Long Distance the poet’s persona dials the â€Å"disconnected number† of the person he is grieving for in a desperate attempt to reach him/her. * ** To conclude we can say that these two documents, by their inherent differences in terms of genre – a poem and a fiction – and the way they describe distinct experiences of bereavement, perfectly carry the idea that the world’s perception is resolutely subjective and that certain moments in life can be lived in different ways depending on the individual’s eye. They also give really good examples of technics and literary devices used to put us as close as possible to the characters’ emotions and give us access to a part of their psyche.