Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay Example for Free

Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay Given the honored and extensive authority that the social contract theory upholds, the supposition still endures various assessments. The view that people’s ethical and political responsibilities are reliant upon a contract between them to structure a society is also precisely linked with current ethical and political theory. John Locke (b. 1632, d. 1704), a prominent truth-seeker among other professions of the 17th and early 18th centuries, is primarily recognized for the creation of his influential social contract theory. Censors dispute that most people are raised within an existing society and not presented with opportunity to opt a social contract; therefore, Locke’s social contract theory is considered invalid. Locke’s refute to the censors alleged that a keen understanding of how social contracts transpire must occur prior to the advancement of individuals in the social order. This paper will entail the social contract theory of John Locke and how the values identified are consistent with the criminal justice system (Uzgalis, 2007,  ¶11). The State of Nature. The social contract theory commences with the idea of a state of nature; the central idea that criminal justice systems are not in existence. The breakdown of effects result in the lack of protection provided; the inability to instill safety measures; and the neglect of civil rights pertaining to property and to individualized refuge. Public order is in disarray resulting in people relying on self-help methods to resolve differences of opinion. The individuality of existence within a state of nature is one of the primary areas under discussion that differences occur among social contract philosophers. Unlike Thomas Hobbes, John Locke’s colleague in philosophy, whom references a state of nature as a battle of everyone in opposition to one another, Locke references state of nature, not as a circumstance of warfare, but nevertheless a problem. Locke theorizes that a community not possessing access to a normal arbitrator would signify that each person would mediate individual cases. This style of adjudication would create recurrent heated discussions being settled by personal brutality. Despite the different thinking techniques of Locke and Hobbes, the agreement exists that the state of nature would generate a sadistic and apprehensive atmosphere (Reese, 2001,  ¶11-12). The State of Nature is a condition of ideal and inclusive autonomy to manage life in the best method one deems necessary, according to Locke. To add clarity, Locke’s proposal was not to include the freedom to do whatever one desires despite the consequences. Although the State of Nature presents a status that municipal influence and government does not discipline individuals for illegal indiscretions, doctrines remain in subsistence. Furthermore, the State of Nature assumes equivalency to others and is equally skilled to make determinations ensured by, what Locke claims, the foundation of decency; the Law of Nature. Locke’s viewpoint is that the Law of Nature was provided to mankind by God with the instructions not to cause injury to one another in regard to physical condition, independence, existence, and property. In Locke’s words, â€Å"Moral good and evil is only the conformity or disagreement of our voluntary actions to some law, whereby good or evil is drawn on us, from the will and power of the law-maker† (Laslett, 1967, p.18). Locke refutes Hobbes theory by making claim that because God owns every living creature, and every human being is considered equivalent, people are not at liberty to eradicate what belongs to God. The State of Nature works as a set of guidelines allowing people to pursue unreservedly happiness by following personal areas of interest and creating personal diplomacy (2001,  ¶3-4). In this observation the decree is established on God’s determination but strangely, the theory is not consistent with Locke’s assertion pertaining to the Law of Nature. Locke elaborates that because the State of Nature is reasonably passive; people are entitled to seek this happiness free from hindrance. Although the hypothesis is to some extent contradicting, Locke’s theory does add simplicity to the reasoning of why an unbiased criminal justice system is detrimental to society. Two Treaties on Government Locke surmised in the Two Treaties on Government, 1686, originally people agreed to a governmental social contract to ensure safeguarding of property rights and security from aggression. In lieu of defense, community members presented authorization to the government for verification that community members wished to be presided over. Locke made public the claim that any government official can justifiably be replaced if he or she neglects duties or takes advantage of the position. Locke’s view of righteousness is germane to the debate of the United States Criminal Justice System because initiators depended upon Locke’s words of wisdom to direct the assembly of an organization of self-governing supremacy. Undeniably, numerous pieces of the United States Declaration of Independence duplicate portions of Locke’s Second Treatise precisely. For example, citizens are gifted â€Å"with certain unalienable rights . . . governments come about to secure the rights and to gain just powers from the consent of the governed† (Laslett, 1967, p. 61). Locke’s statement pertaining to how disparaging the government can become and the entitlement the community members obtain is also noted in the Declaration of Independence. Locke’s dispute resulted as the starting point for structuring an admired government in addition to a validation for rebellion. Political convictions formerly sustained the proposal of community members providing government requirements. The concept of an innovative social contract in which the government subsisted to provide requirements of the administration created a novel reflection that upheld Lock’s thoughts, â€Å"a person surrendered to the authority of the state only the amount of freedom necessary to ensure protection of the rights of other citizens† (1967, p. 3-7). The fresh proposal concerning contractual association of the government to community members was a creation of an inventive, rising middleclass (1967, p. 15). Conclusion Based on the preceding theories of the highly regarded John Locke, the values identified within the State of Nature are noticeably consistent with the values of existing day criminal justice system. Although challenging, without the basis of Locke’s hypothesis on social contract, the criminal justice system would lack genuineness and compassion creating an unreceptive environment. Locke’s theory makes current the immeasurable array of associations and connections interlinking people. Social contract theory is undeniably a part of the criminal justice system at present and in the projected future. Locke’s theory, along with other reputable premises, will forever compel the reflection upon the nature of people and the connection to one another. Reference Laslett, P. (December 1967). Two treaties of government and the revolution of 1688. Locke: Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. (ISBN- 13 : 9780521069038 | ISBN- 10: 0521069033). Reese, R. (September 2001). Social justice theory. Journal of Ethics and Justice. Uzgalis, W. (2007). Historical background and locke’s life. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Broadening Your Prospective Essay Example for Free

Broadening Your Prospective Essay 1. Compute the activity-based overhead rate for each activity cost pool. Activity-based overhead is determined by dividing estimated overhead by the estimated cost drivers. Activity cost Pool Estimated Overhead /Cost drivers=ACB Overhead Rate Market analysis 1,050,00015,000$70 Product Design2,350,0002,500$940 Product development3,600,00090$40,000 Prototype testing1,400,000500$2,800 2. How much cost would be charged to an in-house manufacturing department that consumed 1,800 hours of market analysis time, was provided 280 designs relating to 10 products, and requested 92 engineering tests? The total charged to an in-house manufacturing department would be $1,046,800. This dollar amount is determined by multiplying the overhead rates of each activity to the amount consumed for that activity and added together for a total. (1,800*70= 126,000), (280*940=263,200) (10*40,000=400,000), (2,800*92=257,600) 3. How much cost would serve as the basis for pricing an RD bid with an outside company on a contract that would consume 800 hours of analysis time, require 178 designs relating to 3 products, and result in 70 engineering tests? $539,320 would serve as the basis for pricing an RD bid with an outside company because that dollar amount is the breakeven point. (800*70=56,000), (178*940=167,320), (3*40,000= 120,000), (70*2,800=196,000) 4. What is the benefit to Ideal Manufacturing of applying activity-based costing to its RD activity for both in-house and outside charging purposes? The benefit to Ideal Manufacturing of applying activity-based costing to its RD activity for both in-house and outside charging purposes is it will allow the company to gain control of the operating costs of the department. Activity-based costing allows a company to appropriately assign overhead head cost. For example, Ideal manufacturing activities fell into four pools and activity-based costing helped the company to properly allocate its overhead dollars. Under using or over using overhead dollars means the company has to supplement those funds from or to another activity which is a waste to the company. The basis of activity-based costing is to assign cost only to those activities of a product that is actually using the activity in essences cutting costs. This is not only a benefit to Ideal Manufacturing but to any company that is looking to become more efficient and effective.

Commutative encryption and decryption

Commutative encryption and decryption El Gamal Public Key Cryptosystem The El Gamal public-key encryption scheme can be viewed as Diffie-Hellman key agreement in key transfer mode. Its security is based on the intractability of the discrete logarithm problem and the Diffie-Hellman problem. Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange The first system to make use of public-key or asymmetric cryptographic keys was the Diffie-Hellman algorithm (by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman, 1976). These systems overcome the difficulties of private-key or symmetric key systems because asymmetric key management is much easier. In the symmetric key system its important for both sides of the communication to have identical keys; the secure exchange of the keys has always been a huge concern. This concern is alleviated using asymmetric key systems because they use two keys one called the private key that secretly belongs to the user and another called the public key that can be shared with the world and thus is distributed without difficulty. Regrettably, the pros of asymmetric key systems are overshadowed by speed they are very slow for any type of bulk encryption. Presently, the typical practice is to use a symmetric system to encrypt the data and then encrypt the symmetric keys used for distribution with an asymmetric syst em. And this is what Diffie-Hellman key exchange does. Basic El Gamal encryption Complete Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange Process The Game: Mental Poker Playing the game of poker without any cards over a telecommunications device (phone or more realistically internet) is known as Mental Poker. The game usually doesnt include a trusted third party dealer or a source of randomness and as such it seems that someone (the dealer) will always know what cards have been given out or alternatively, that players will be able to lie about the cards they have. The first serious attempt at the problem was by Adi Shamir, Ronald Rivest and Leonard Adleman in 1979 in [SRA]. Its this scheme, which relies on commutative encryption. The authors first proved, in an information theoretic sense, that the problem is unsolvable and then went on to offer a solution. Their protocol worked for two players and didnt require a trusted third party. However, it did not offer confidentiality of strategy, requiring the players to reveal their hands at the end of each game. We assume two players and fifty-two cards. Five cards are dealt then one round of betting then all cards shown. Players have disjoint hands, any player can have any possible hand, no player can discover another players hand and any collusion has minimal effect. The SRA protocol was shown to leak at least one bit of information: whether the card was a quadratic residue or not. There were suggestions to overcome this problem but there was still no guarantee that other information was not leaked. The SRA protocol The protocol relies on a commutative encryption scheme i.e.: EA(EB(M)) = EB(EA(M)) Where EX denotes encryption using Xs public key. Likewise, we use DX to denote decryption using Xs private key. Steps Two players Alice and Bob together choose a large prime number n, then Alice chooses her key A s.t. gcd(A,n-1) = 1 and Bob chooses B similarly. Encode the 52 cards as integers. Encryption EA(M) = MA (mod n) Decryption DA(M) = Minv(A) (mod n) Bob permutes the cards to x1, x2, , x52 encrypts them then sends to Alice EB(xi). Alice chooses 5 cards for herself, encrypts them and sends to Bob EA(EB(xi)). Also chooses 5 cards for Bob and sends them to him (without encrypting) EB(xi). Bob can now decrypt his cards to see his hand DB(EB(xi) = xi. He also decrypts Alices cards then sends them back to her. Here is where we need commutativity so DB(EA(EB(xi))) = EA(xi) Alice receives her cards and decrypt them seeing her hand DA(EA(xi)) = xi. Implementation of Game Protocol Security Efficiency of El Gamal encryption The encryption process requires two modular exponentiations, namely ak mod p and (aa)k mod p. These exponentiations can be sped up by selecting random exponents k having some additional structure, for example, having low Hamming weights. Care must be taken that the possible number of exponents is large enough to preclude a search via a baby-step giant-step algorithm. A drawback of El Gamal encryption is that there is message expansion by a factor of 2, i.e., the ciphertext is double the length of the corresponding plaintext. Randomized Encryption Among many other encryption schemes, El Gamal encryption utilizes randomization in the encryption process, an example of others include: McEliece encryption, and Goldwasser-Micali, and Blum-Goldwasser probabilistic encryption. Deterministic encryption schemes such as RSA may also utilize randomization in an effort to avoid some attacks. The basic idea behind randomized encryption techniques is to use randomization to increase the cryptographic security of an encryption process through one or more of the following methods: increasing the effective size of the plaintext message space; precluding or decreasing the effectiveness of chosen-plaintext attacks by virtue of a one-to-many mapping of plaintext to ciphertext; and precluding or decreasing the effectiveness of statistical attacks by leveling the a priori probability distribution of inputs. Security of El Gamal Encryption The problem of breaking the El Gamal encryption scheme, specifically, recovering m given p, a, aa, ?, and d, is equivalent to solving the Diffie-Hellman problem. In reality, the ElGamal encryption scheme can be seen as merely comprising a Diffie-Hellman key exchange to verify a session key aak, and then encrypting the message by multiplication with that session key. Hence, the security of the El- Gamal encryption scheme is said to be based on the discrete logarithm problem in mathbb{Z}_p !,*, although such an equivalence hasnt been verified. It is vital that different random integers k be used to encrypt different messages. Assume the same k is used to encrypt two messages m1 and m2 and the resultant ciphertext pairs are (?1,d1) and (?2,d2). Then d1/ d2 = m1/m2, and m2 could be easily computed if m1 were known. Analysis of Mental Poker Upon receiving the shuffled and encrypted pack of cards she cant tell which is which, therefore, she picks randomly, that is, she is unable to see Bobs hand. When Bob receives Alices double encrypted hand he would be unable to read it even when he partially decrypts it. But is there information leaked by the encryption process? Yes! Its known as Quadratic Residues. Quadratic Residues An integer a, not divisible by an odd prime p, is a quadratic residue modulo p if there is a b in {1, 2,, p-1} s.t. a = b2 (mod p). Otherwise a is a quadratic no residue. So for p = 11, 1=12, 3=52, 4=22, 5=42, 9=32 are the quadratic residues and 2, 6, 7, 8, 10 are the quadratic no residues. This works in general. For a prime p there are (p-1)/2 of both residues and no residues. Cheating In 1981 R. Lipton showed for odd k, xk is a quadratic residue mod p if x is a quadratic residue mod p. So the cards whose representations are quadratic residues are still quadratic residues when they are encrypted. This allows Alice to find the cards that are residues and no residues, for the particular p used, and then choose (on average) high cards for herself and low cards for Bob. Cheat Prevention The easiest way to prevent the attack we have discussed is to only represent cards with quadratic residues. However other, more general attacks have been shown to be effective so SRA isnt a good protocol. Other protocols for the Mental Poker problem have been considered with the most successful ones using probabilistic encryption and zero knowledge proof. Crepeau solved the problem in 1987 although his protocol is not computationally feasible. Research is still going on. Conclusion Mental Poker is an important problem, both for use in the large internet poker business and as a metaphor for other multi-party computations were secrets need to be kept. It is possible to implement the SRA protocol efficiently and securely, however it has a major flaw in that it leaks one bit of information about the cards. Other protocols have been suggested with Crepeau solving the problem in 1987 although with a computationally infeasible algorithm. Bibliography http://www.ics.uci.edu/~goodrich/teach/ics247/W03/notes/poker.pdf http://www.netip.com/articles/keith/diffie-helman.htm http://www.ics.uci.edu/~goodrich/teach/ics247/W03/notes/elgamal.pdf Handbook of Applied Cryptography, by A. Menezes, P. van Oorschot, and S. Vanstone, CRC Press, 1996.

Allan Shivers Essay -- essays research papers fc

Throughout Texas history, there have been a number of men and women to serve in their government that have stood out from the rest. Allan Shivers has been one of those men who have stuck out not only as a sore thumb, but even more as one of Texas greatest politicians. Even though his come down from politics was a rough road, his accomplishments more than equal out a bad reputation. From rags to riches, he is a landmark in the lone star state.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Allan Shivers was born Robert Allan Shivers on October 7, 1907 in Lufkin, Texas. He grew up in an area known as the Magnolia Hills near a little town called Woodville where he attended primary school. The Woodville school system only went up to the eighth grade. When Shivers finished school in Woodville, he started working at the local sawmill. Shortly thereafter, his family relocated to Port Arthur where he attended high school and graduated in 1924. Eager to learn, Shivers was accepted to the University of Texas and went to school there for one year. Expenses for college had become too much for the Shivers family to afford. He was forced to drop out of school and returned to Port Arthur. He worked in an oil refinery to make some money and eventually made enough to be able to return to school. He actively participated in extracurricular activities such as his fraternity Delta Theta Phi, a law frat. His senior year, he was elected president of the Students Associa tion, thus marking the beginning of his poli...

A Modern Grendel :: Literature, Beowulf

In the epic poem Beowulf, the monster Grendel is depicted as a villainous beast with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh and blood. Grendel, written by John Gardner, though, offers a more nuanced depiction of the beast by describing the events in Beowulf through Grendel's narration. Throughout the story, Grendel adopts various romantic characteristics and beliefs including isolation, individualism, and mysticism. These romantic characteristics, though, foster Grendel's murderous intentions and in turn gives him an anti-hero persona. Nearing the end of the novel, his romantic antihero trends transforms his life into a never ending limbo. His only salvation comes in the form of death. Grendel's' inevitable demise represents inescapable fate. Romanticism places a heavy focus on separation from society. In Gardner's novel, this romantic theme of isolation is echoed when Hrothgar's community rejects Grendel. Grendel, even before he discovers the humans, has always been in a sense alone. His mother is too inarticulate to be considered a truly fulfilling companion and the animals around him are too primitive to even communicate. The only creature that Grendel could ever truly bond with was the human race for they both shared the same language, and intellect. The humans, though, never embrace Grendel. The very first time Grendel attempts communicating with the humans, when he "staggered out into the open and up toward the hall...groaning out, 'Mercy !Peace!'"(51), results with him being nearly killed with spears, arrows, and swords. Humanity, his closest peer, rejects Grendel and forces the beast to live the rest of his life in isolation. But unlike in romanticism, in which isolation is viewed positively, Grendel's lonelines s is shown to be more of a curse than as a boon. Grendel despises his loneliness and it turns him into a spiteful creature whose goal is to destroy Hrothgar. This dedication, fed by a hatred to his loneliness, results in Grendel's transition into an anti-hero. Rather than living peacefully in nature, Grendel chooses to be consumed by the romantic idea that society, specifically Hrothgar's society, is evil, corruptive, and destructive. For Grendel, he comes to the self-realization that he is, "Grendel, Ruiner of mead halls, Wrecker of Kings"(80), and it his duty and fate to kill and eat Hrothgar's citizens. Isolation is not the only aspect of a romantic hero. Individualism and a person's ability to choose their own actions also play an important part. In Gardner's novel, Grendel acts on his own whim and does not follow the advice that others give him.

theory of constraints :: essays research papers

Background Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union is the largest credit union in South Florida. The last three years have been intensive with rates dipping to there lowest in 40 years. Because of this, 92% of mortgage holders had economic reasons to refinance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eastern exists to achieve goals to improve member service, work performance and increase profitability; however, certain factors limit their capacity to manage constraints and they needed help. Eastern Weak Links Eastern needed help because they were faced with a bottleneck/constraint of having more loan applicants than they were able to timely process so they decided that the problem can be eliminated by implementing Theory of Constraints (TOC) drum-buffer rope and five focusing steps. Other weak links that need to be addressed are:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inability to commit to closing dates  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A lot of work in process in the system  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lead times too long  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Constantly shuffling priorities  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Too much expediting  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stressful work environment  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Difficulty in responding to urgent member requests  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overtime doesn’t increase profits  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outsourcing doesn’t solve the problem TOC is based on the fact that all businesses operate with constraints or bottlenecks, which disable the progress or success of a company. By identifying the bottleneck, the entire operation is strengthened. Drum, Buffer, Rope (DBR) Eastern uses this view in managing constraint along with the five steps. Using DBR assures that the company is running the right thing at the right time. Five Focusing Steps  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Exploit  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Subordinate  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elevate  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inertia Identify/Drum Since we just reviewed the weak links, we must seek and destroy the bottleneck. Identifying the drum/constraint is critical to the theory of constraints. Eastern identified the constraint to be in the underwriting department. Exploit/Buffer To exploit the constraint, Eastern puts all efforts toward maximizing the area that is causing the problem, which is underwriting. Eastern provided enough work in process files to protect the systems deliverables (closing and delivery dates), which is related to the buffer. The buffer tells two things: when too much material is in the buffer and not enough. The system assures that underwriting is protected with work in process files, which is the amount of material in the buffer. This pre-determined amount of work is the rope. Subordinate Subordinating involves training others to improve the constraints area; Eastern provides the protection for all resources to underwriting and provides cross training and backups to the department; this assures that the constraint is operating continuously.

Issues of Conflict in Juno and the Paycock

The theme of conflict is a brooding and dominant characteristic of the playwright Sean O'Casey's acclaimed masterpiece Juno and the Paycock, first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1924. The events' portrayed in the drama unfold against the backdrop of the sectarian violence of the Irish Civil War, waged from1922-1923, in an Ireland not yet healed from many recent years' of armed political struggle with the British authorities' who for centuries' had controlled the governance of the island.This modern armed struggle began with the Easter Rising of 1916, carrying through to the events' of The Irish War of Independence, fought from 1919-1921, which resulted in the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty of 1921, the root of the current aggression in the play being engaged in by former comrades' on the streets' and in the homes' of towns' and cities' across the nation. Pivotal to the action of the play are the Boyle family, terribly poor, working class tenants' living in the tenement s' of Dublin, the slums' of the period, in conditions' comparable with the worst known anywhere in Europe.The narrative explores their efforts' to carry on with their normal daily lives' in the tumultuous, often explosive conditions' they are encompassed by. To accurately discuss every aspect of conflict that exists' within the pages of, arguably, O'Casey's finest work would be a monumental undertaking and unfortunately would require significantly more time than this discussion could allow. The purpose of this essay instead, will be to examine the conflict existing in the relationship, and acted out within the pages of the play, between two of the central characters', â€Å"Captain† Jack Boyle, the self deluded patriarch of the household, and his long suffering wife, the titular Juno.The aim of this work is to dissect the dynamics' of their relationship, examining the roles' they have adopted that lead, despite a temporary lull in hostilities during act two, to the irrevocabl e breakdown of the marriage, helping Juno to the final courageous decision to place the welfare of her daughter and unborn grandchild before that of her layabout, thankless, disaster of a husband, a truly radical and virtually unheard of decision for a woman to take in the male dominated, patriarchal  society of that time.From the outset of the play we are confronted with the animosity that exists between Jack and Juno. In the opening scenes of act one, we are introduced to Juno who has just returned from an early morning shopping trip with breakfast items for the not yet returned Jack, who has apparently stayed out all night with his ne'er do well, parasitic drinking buddy Joxer Daly. The tone of her exchange with Mary, her daughter, in reference to Jack's absence is unmistakeable.Mary has just informed her mother of her father's failure to return to which she replies, â€Å"Oh, he'll come in when he likes; struttin' about the town like a paycock with Joxer, I suppose.† Th is is a woman unimpressed with her missing husband to say the least, the reader is left with the impression that not only will Jack feel her wrath when their paths' cross, Joxer will receive a lashing also should he surface alongside his nefarious companion! Act one progress’s to the point where the trio meet. The exchange is filled with vehemence from the wrathful Juno, determined to exact her revenge on the lackadaisical duo presented before her.Joxer and the â€Å"Captain† have entered the tenement believing Juno long gone to work, but secretly secluded behind hangings separating her bed from the living quarters she has listened to both men insult and berate her in her believed absence. She emerges from her seclusion and unceremoniously chases the vagrant Joxer from her home despite the protestations of a perplexed Jack, who in cohorts with his partner in crime, has tried to convince his wife the two loafers' have the potential of work that afternoon. Juno retorts t o Jack, â€Å"Look here Mr. Jacky Boyle, them yarns won't go down with Juno. I know you an' Joxer Daly of an oul' date, an' if you think you're able to come it over me with them fairy tales, you're in the wrong shop.†The exchange continues with Jack unable to get a word in his own defence and Juno revelling in her dressing down of the â€Å"Captain†. His sparse responses', when allowed, are pleading and full of self pity, â€Å"it ud be betther for a man to be dead, betther for a man to be dead.† is as useful a response as we receive from Jack as Juno's tirade against him continues.The reader is left in no doubt throughout the exchange that this morally indolent little man is no match for his wife. We are also left in no doubt as to the roles occupied by the couple within the relationship at this point. Jack is a fantasist, he  refuses to accept his responsibility to help provide for his family, he refuses any and all offers of work, claiming chronic pain when genuine opportunities arise, â€Å"I'm afther gettin' a terrible twinge in me right leg† he is heard to cry when presented with the possibility of work by Jerry Devine.Yet he is found to be in the rudest of health when no work is to be found, â€Å"it's miraculous that whenever he scents a job in front of him, his legs begin to fail him!† is the explanation presented to us, tongue firmly in cheek, by Juno. He prefers to spend the family's last few pounds loafing from bar to bar with the lecherous Joxer in tow, rather than contribute to help relieve the crushing poverty trap into which his family have found themselves ensnared. His is an existence full of exaggerated exploits, â€Å"Everybody callin' you the â€Å"Captain†, an' you only wanst on the wather in an oul' collier from here to Liverpool†.He believes thoroughly in the legend he has created around himself and believes completely in his right as the patriarch of the family not to have his decision s questioned regardless of how morally deficient to their situation they may be. In the character of Jack we find comparisons, as suggested by Pressley, N, (2011), in his review of the play for The Washington Post, to Shakespeare's Jack Falstaff â€Å"for his inflated presentation and chronic lack of means†.In contrast to this vulgar fantasist we are given the ultimate realist in the downtrodden and hassled form of Juno, named by O'Casey for the Roman goddess of â€Å"Protection, Motherhood & Marriage†, Waldherr, K, (2007). Through Jack's refusal to embrace his responsibility to provide for his family and be a dutiful husband Juno has been forced over time to assume the role of wife, mother and sole provider for the family.She is all to aware of the severity of their situation, walking the tight rope alone of providing for her invalided son, out of work daughter and obnoxious husband as well as herself in an environment where not only must she contend with the harsh an d unrelenting poverty stricken conditions, inescapable for most at the best of times, she must also contend with the bitter knowledge of the potential for any of her loved ones to lose their lives at any given time if caught up in the guerrilla warfare being waged around them on the streets' of their home. Juno faces all this with a reality and strength of character befitting her name that shines through despite the best attempts of her  Falstaffian husband to break her spirit and reduce her life to the petty existence of his own.One would argue, to be judged successfully or not by the reader that these traits already existing in the relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Boyle, explored throughout the piece, doomed them to the fate to which they inevitably succumbed. The events of the play may have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back but the foundations of this relationship had long since been rendered asunder by years of neglect, abuse and selfishness from Jack towards h is wife and family.This finally culminated in our heroines realisation that no matter how much she tried, no matter how much effort she made her feckless husband was never going to be capable of any sort of decency towards her or the family and the radical road she was forced to choose with Mary, helping to raise and provide for her daughter's unborn child was not only the right thing to do for themselves but it was the only chance the child would have at a decent beginning for the future. The humanity, courage and strength of Juno are fully realised in this exchange with Mary;Mary. â€Å"my poor little child that'll have no father!Mrs Boyle. â€Å"It'll have what's far betther – it'll have two mothers.†This exchange is an act of selflessness that Jack could never comprehend of making, representing the final nail in the coffin of the Boyle's marriage and the final separation of the characters involvement with each other on a relationship or any other level imaginable. This is the decisive moment where Juno transcends both her husband and the restrictions of her environment ending her conflict and enabling her to move on to the next stage of her life as a single, yet more complete person.