Smith's prompts for specialization

          It appears to me as though Smith is actually advocating specialization throughout his piece, but to specify two places I will begin with the most obvious.  On the later half of page 71 and the earlier half of page 72, Smith uses the concept of a primitive tribe of men.  He discusses that "... a particular person makes bows and arrows, for example, with more readiness and dexterity than any other.  He frequently exchanges them for cattle or for venison with his companions, and he finds at last that he can in this manner get more cattle and venison than if he himself went to the field to catch them."  This is simply stating that men can use their talents in specialized work to benefit themselves more greatly through purchase and barter than if they did other work (in which they have less talent), or tried to do all the work required to sustain them.  Furthermore, this man who exchanges his bows is not only helping himself, but also the hunters, therefore, by specializing, he is benefiting a much greater number than if he tried to sustain himself without help.  Smith then goes on and expands his example to other professions in his primitive community, such as hide tanner or carpenter, thereby saying  that a man can do much more good through specialization.
          A second example comes at the end of the work, on page 73, where smith is discussing that animals of separate "tribes" do not benefit each other.  Smith states, "Among men, on the contrary, the most dissimilar geniuses are of use to one another; the different produces of their respective talents, by the general disposition to truck, barter, and exchange, being brought, as it were, into a common stock, where every man may purchase whatever part of the produce of other men's talents he has occasion for."  Smith says here that if men specialize in their labor and do what they have talent in, it can all be brought together to a place where it can be purchased by anyone, and all can benefit from it.

Specialties

          Throughout the excerpt, Adam Smith pointed out that those who had specialties or talents benefit more than if they tried do something else. He continued and stated that if they continued with their abilities, the rest of their community will benefit from their abilities. This was similar to the economics side of capitalism, which is that everyone works to make themselves a living, and the more you work, the more you get. In this type of economy, people will often play to their strengths and work in jobs that involve their talents more often than their weaknesses.
One example he described was:
     "In a tribe of hunters or shepherds a particular person makes bows and arrows, for example, with more readiness and dexterity than any other. He frequently exchanges them for cattle or for venison with his companions, and he finds at last that he can in this manner get more cattle and venison than if he himself went to the field to catch them. From a regard to his own interest, therefore, the making of bows and arrows grows to be his chief business, and he becomes a sort of armorer." (Smith 71)
     This described the process when a person is separated from the rest because of an unique talent that increased their value. An example in our lives is like how Megan excels at writing and takes good notes. She also has good work ethics and writes quickly. She aspires to be a reporter, and these skills will make her invaluable in the press.
Another example he presented was:
     "Many tribes of animals acknowledged to be all of the same species, derive from nature a much more remarkable distinction of genius than what, antecedent to custom and education, appears to take place among men. By nature a philosopher is not in genius and disposition half so different from a street porter, as a mastiff is from a greyhound. or a greyhound is from a spaniel, or this last from a shepherd's dog. Those different tribes of animals, however, though all of the same species, are of scarce any use to one another. the strength of the mastiff is not in the least supported either by the swiftness of the greyhound, or by the sagacity of the spaniel, or by the docility of the shepherd's dog. the effects of those different geniuses and talents, for want of the power of disposition to barter and exchange, cannot be brought into a common stock, and do not in the least contribute to the better accommodation and conveniency of the species."
     This is just reinforcing that those who play to their strengths benefit more than others. Hopefully writing a good blog is one of my strengths! See you all on Wednesday!

Miriam as a Symbol

It can be easily deduced that the character Miriam is a critical piece in Truman Capote's short story "Miriam." This little girl Miriam is not only a pivotal character of the story, but a symbol of the type of person the story's main character, Mrs. Miriam Miller, would like to be.  Miriam represents Mrs. Miller's desire to be spontaneous and exciting, which are things that her life has severely lacked since her husband's death.  She follows practically the same routine every day, until Miriam comes into the picture.  Miriam appears as a young girl at the movie theater, who, without her parents in sight, prompts Mrs. Miller to buy her a movie ticket.  This, plus the fact that Mrs. Miller is even in the movie theater at all, leads to a series of events that are completely out of whack with Mrs. Miller's routine, ordinary life.  In the end, it is safe to conclude that Miriam does not actually exist, but is a figment generated subconsciously by Mrs. Miller to help her escape from the drab, almost death-like state her life is in.  To further prove that Miriam is a symbol of Mrs. Miller's desires, it can be noted that they share a name.  Miriam is simply a younger, more exciting version of Mrs. Miller, who shows up to make things more interesting.  Mrs. Miller's subconscious chose a younger Miriam form because the conscious Mrs. Miller will follow it, knowing deep down that it is herself trying to lead her into a better life.  To elaborate further, Miriam is not only a symbol of Mrs. Miller's desires, but the symbol of them being fulfilled, as her continued presence in Mrs. Miller's life keeps her in chaos.  While chaos may not be exactly what Mrs. Miller expected, it is still an exciting change from her previous lifestyle.

Day 2 - Miriam / The Wealth of Nations

Homework:

1.    Blog on the symbol you picked in class for Miriam by Truman Capote.

a.    What is the actual symbol (list page number), and what is it symbolizing.    Your blog will appear in a Miriam presentation on Exhibition Night.   Please explain the background and appearance of the symbol completely, and then help us understand what this is symbolizing.

2.    Read Concerning the Division of Labor by Adam Smith twice

a.    Mark reasons why Smith encourages specialization.   Come prepared to discuss if you agree with his perspective or not, and why.   For countries that do not embrace a free market, why do you think they might disagree with Smith?

b.    We will be staying with this passage for two weeks.

Hi everyone!  great discussion on day 1 for MIRIAM! 

Your homework was to read it AGAIN at home.   read actively with pencil, highlighter...
Have at least one question for the class for next week for discussion.  Examples:

§  Why is Miriam so prim and proper and Mrs. Miller so drab?

§  Why doesn’t the man find Miriam in the apartment?

§  Why does Mrs. Miller do _____?

o   Log on to the blogspot that I have set up for the class.   I have now added everyone so the biggest thing I want to see is if you can all log on!

o   Blog:   list one thing you find disturbing to either yourself or Mrs. Miller.

We'll be looking for symbols in this story on Wed, so if you feel you see something that is symbolic, make a note of it.   Enjoy!   Stephanie