Germinal: Applying Maslow's Theory of Actualization Essay

Germinal is a novel set in northern France, in the 1860’s. It is written by the French writer Emile Zola, who offers what he thinks is the best solution to the problems in the industrial revolution through Germinal. The plot of the book is centered on a strike that occurs in the mining community of Montsou. The strike takes place because of the constant deteriorating conditions of the miners. Etienne, a newcomer to Montsou, is leading the work stoppage, protesting for the better working conditions. Different workers in Montsou have different opinions on how better conditions for the miners should be achieved. Based on what unfolds throughout the novel, it appears that Zola views Etienne’s solution as the best way to end the problems

In 1943 Humanistic Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed his Theory of Human Motivation. In this paper he outlines what he believes to be a humans hierarchy of needs. Maslow suggests in his journal that one must meet the needs of the previous level before moving on to meet the needs of the next one on the hierarchy. According to Maslow there are 5 tiers of human needs: physiological, security, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. In Welch, West Virginia Jeanette and her siblings must adjust their lifestyles in order to meet their human needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy.

Firstly, the secondary characters develop the theme by supporting one constant notion in which women are inferior and submissive. The temporal setting is in the late 1940s, after World War I; a time period in which sexism was widely accepted. This prejudice is introduced to the narrator, a young girl, very early on when a businessman commends her for her physical labor, saying “I thought it was only a girl” (4). When

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs teaches us that the human condition requires that certain needs be met such as our physical needs, our safety needs, our belongingness and love needs, our esteem needs, and our self-actualization needs. According to Maslow, it is when these needs are met that we become whole people. Ethan Frome is a book that centers on the needs of a man and his family. The author, Edith Wharton, shows a range of characters that are at times at various levels of the needs that Maslow explains in his hierarchy. What we humans need to fulfill our own self-actualization is often times shown in Wharton’s work. It is the building of one such character that mirrors the belongingness and love needs that is of particular interest because of her evolvement throughout the book. The character of Frome’s wife, Zeena, suffers from hypochondria who seems to be in search of something just out of her reach. The character is filled with illnesses that seem to trouble her on a daily basis with each one seemingly more significant than the other that leads the reader to understand just how manipulative she is. It is as if the character needs attention in order to participate in life. Edith Wharton creates a character in Zeena that fakes her illness because it parallels the relationship

Abraham Maslow was an American theorist that was one of the advocates of humanistic psychology. He believed that self-actualization is “a situation that exists when a person is acting in accordance with his or her full potential” (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2011). I will illustrate the key concepts of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs of humans, research the methodologies of his concept, and address how self-actualization has conceptualized on this type of personality development. His contribution

Abraham Maslow theorized the concept of self-actualization which is the term used to describe the state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potentials in their own unique way. Maslow’s theory includes sublevels that must be achieved before reaching self-actualization. In this paper, I will explain how each of his previous levels have affected my life, and give an idea of when I may hope to achieve self-actualization. Self-actualization is the term that Abraham Maslow used to describe the state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potentials in their own unique way. The personal reflections accommodate to my perspective of the Maslow’s Theory.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used to analyze motivation of consumers, which are composed of 5 five stages. From the lowest level to the highest one respectively are physiological, safety, belongingness, ego needs, and self-actualization. (Solomon and Barmossy et al., 2006)

Abraham Harold Maslow was a psychologist, best known for developing a theory called self-actualization. His theory supports satisfying human needs and he identified self-actualization as the highest human need. Maslow believed that self-actualization could not be achieved until the other basic needs where satisfied. I hated high school, and I couldn’t figure out why, or at least make logical sense out of it. After taking a glance at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it all made sense! A simple chart explained why I did not excel. If I would of known this ten years ago my life might be totally different., but we live and we learn. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and with this theory I’m able to help others from making the same mistakes. Hopefully, it can help you too!

Germinal, written by Emile Zola is about a man, Etienne, who receives a mining job at Le Voreux, a coal mine. While working, Etienne discovers the harsh working conditions, and the malnourishment men and women have. As the status of these workers continues to deplete, Etienne is motivated to start a revolt in hope of gaining better working conditions and wages so he and the other workers can live proper lives.

This book also, at times, focuses on the wrong things. This book does a very good job of telling us about the revolution without sounding like a history book. Yet it also takes away from the actual story line with weird focusing on sexual exploits. Such as the whole Pauline story. Pauline is the wife of a military head. She does not have much to do with the freeing of slaves, yet she still plays a very important role in this book. She likes to sexually play with a slave. The author heavily focuses on this, and it takes away from what was actually going on in the revolution.

Germinal, based on the landmark novel by Emile Zola, presents a startlingly authentic and powerful look into the tumultuous, tragedy-riddled lives of 19th century French coal miners. Forced to endure hellish conditions, risk death and dismemberment, and work from before dawn until after dusk, these men and women had only one alternative to mining: starvation. Germinal is not a happy story, but it is impossible not to sense the realism that pervades the project.

Maslow or Freud- I think when Jack didn’t keep the fire going he was showing one of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs which is esteem. I think he was showing this because he wanted to prove that he can kill the pig so that he can have respect in the other kids eyes and if he has respect, he also has power. Maslow says that esteem needs are to gain power and respect which is what I personally think Jack was trying to do. It is also proven when it took him some time to sorry even though he knew he was wrong because he didn’t want his self-esteem to go down.

Tarzan’s emotions can affect his location on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which can affect his motivation (Myers, David G and C. Nathan DeWall. Psychology In Everyday Life. Print, p. 257). Tarzan experiences every emotion you can think of during the movie. When he is a kid he experiences sadness and anger when he knows he is different from the other gorillas, so he tries to put mud on himself thinking it will make him look more like a gorilla. He also experiences disgust when he tastes the bullet shell he finds on the ground out of curiosity. He experiences joy when he sees Jane (after he got to know her for a while). Tarzan feels fearful when the elephant stampede happens and anger when he fights the Sabor. Emotions can mix and have more complexity

It is fairly apparent that a number of political overtones dominate Emile Zola's novel Germinal, which is the 13th book of nonfiction within the writer's Les Rougon-Macquart, a 20-volume series of novels. The author published this work of literature in 1885, less than 50 years after Marx and Engels unveiled the Communist Manifesto which was still plenty of time for a number of the ideologies propagated in this manuscript to take hold of popular culture and political theorists alike. In fact, one could successfully make a claim that the central theme of Germinal actually revolves around the conceptions of class antagonism that is an inherent part of an exploitative, bourgeois society such as that depicted in the French coal mining town in 1860, the setting for Germinal. A thorough analysis of this literary work illustrates that there are several instances of class antagonism, which are central to the plot of this book and provide its primary theme.

Hierarchy is simply defined as “a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority”. (Dictionary) Hierarchy of religion and people groups are present throughout societies, in all different sizes, and for various reasons. Patterns of culture bring these social groups into existence and reinforce them through Goffman’s idea of mortification of the self, Durkheim’s explanation of religion and knowledge, and Hobbes problem of order.