Reviewing The Identity Of Looked After Children Social Work Essay

Reviewing The Identity Of Looked After boorren genial Work EssayThis essay looks how the identicalness Looked later tiddler contribute to oppression and variety in two specific beas of Education and Health. The essay ordain analyse the role of legislation and policy in combating or promoting discrimination and oppression. The history, societal attitudes, views of the baby birdren and theories underpinning looked later on(prenominal) children go forth also be discussed within the essay. Finally I will focus on the implications and relevance to amicable Work practice.For the purposes of clarity I will start by defining oppression, discrimination and marque. Thompson (1997) identifies oppression as the disregarding of individuals or group of masss rights resulting in inhuman or abusive treatment with authority and power by one group over an some other. For Thompson (2006), discrimination refers to a process of unfair or unequal treatment of individuals or groups resulti ng in undermining the interests of people from a less powerful category within society. From the two definitions of Oppression and Discrimination it can be deduced that the common elements atomic number 18 abuse of power and let associated with degrading treatment of the less fortunate individuals or groups of people in society. A fictitious character. from discrimination and Oppression it is important to character reference Stigma as a nonher holding that is prevalent and used as a tool for favorable riddance. revolution in Society Assignment 1016433Goffman, (1963), and Parker and Aggleton, (2003),s theories of stigma help us to understand how stigma is constructed and its influence in peoples lives. Goffman (1963), describes stigma as an attribute that is deeply descending within a particular social interaction, where the person possessing the attribute falls forgetful of societal expectations. Parker and Aggleton (2003) interpret stigma as a tool of preserving or undermini ng social structures. They view stigma and discrimination as functional systems which maintain boundaries amid those in power and those without. Through such power, social inequalities are developed leading to creation of social norms. Social norms formulate stigma as they harness interactions between people and reinforce power structures that serve to isolate those that are regarded as outsiders. Both theories help us to understand the roots of stigma, prejudice, negative attitudes and its impingement to Looked After children after Children.The last three decades have experienced a huge overhaul and introduction of legislation and policies seeking to address the occupys of children. The Childrens arrange 1989 (CA 1989) reformed Law relating to children and in particular set out the framework for the provision of bread and butter for children and families and for the protection of children in England and Wales. This was in line with the the United Nations on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC 1989) which was the first legally binding International instrument to conjure the rights of children throughout the world. hit and Parker (2007).Diversity in Society Assignment 1016433It is important to mention them following initiatives when discussing issues relating to the welfare of children The Quality Protects 1998, Chidren Leaving Care Act 2000, Adoption and Children Act 2002, the Choice Protects policy, the Childrens Act 2004, Every Child Matters 2004, Care Matters (Green and White Papers) and The Children and youngish Persons Act 2008. Some of these initiatives and legislation were introduced to reinforce Safeguarding children and also in response to reports of abuse, neglect and harm to children in different institutions of residential get by in the UK with the well-nigh publicised individual cases such as the deaths of Victoria Climbe ( 2000). It was revealed that Staff working with conquerable children were non adequately trained, rigorously checked on recruitment, no support and vigilance towards diversity and openness. A number of inquiries like Laming Report (2003) recommendations are also worth mentioning which revealed significant failings within the individuals and organisations which are meant to be looking after children. As a result there was a lot of media coverage and society as a whole questioned the role of government, laws and all individuals working with children and vulnerable people. The Childrens Act ( 2004) emerged in response to addressing these shortcomings and to improve go. In 2009 Lord Laming was also asked by the government to provide an emergency progress report on issues meet safeguarding children following yet another death of a child Baby P in 2007. He identified and reinforced that systematic and individual failures as the cause of death to a child whom they were supposed to look and care for. Laming report (2009).. Research has questioned how effective and how far the above initiatives reduced t he discrimination of Looked after children. Examples of such research just to name a few Children experience of the Children Act (1989), Discrimination Against Young People in Care Remember my frame across (1993), The Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care in England Project (2006), Barriers to change in the Social Care (2000),Busting at the seams (2010) and the repenny Panorama BBC programme on experiences of children leaving Care. The UK is a multicultural society and Diversity should be understood and be a tool for most of the policy makers and legislators to make laws which publicize equality. Diversity according to Blaine (2007) is associated with the presence of differences in society in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class and sexual orientation. These differences are neither good nor bad but roughly of the differences are associated with inequality and disadvantage. Social work practice is concerned with empowerment, anti discriminatory practice, s ocial justice and redressing inequality in line with human rights. Burke and Parker (2007)Cocker and Allain (2008) identify Looked After Children and Young People as children in the care of the local authority, through a Care Order made by a court or voluntary agreement with their parent(s) to accommodate them. They may be looked after in a childrens base ,by foster carers, or other family members. All unaccompanied asylum seeking children are also Looked After Children.Diversity in Society Assignment 1016433According to (Dfes Statistics 2010) reveal that there were close 64,400 looked after children as at 31 March 2010, an increase of 6 per cent from 2009 and an increase of 7 per cent since 2006.. Mostly the main reason of universe in care, was because of abuse or neglect (52 per cent.There were 3,400 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) who were looked after at 31 March 2010. This is a decrease of 12 per cent from 2009. As these statistics reveal there is an increase in the number of Looked after children to date although there is a decrease in the Unaccompanied Asylum searcher Children (DfES 2010)Hogg and Vaughan (2002) views individualism as associated with the process an individual becomes who they are in the scent out of personhood and others view of who they are. Furthermore a person has multiple identities and these needs to be seen as part of the whole individual as disregarding some aspects would be misleading and reductive of the individuals indistinguishability. Graham (2000) further bring out that identities have different meanings and are not fixed but change over time as a result of milieu, personal circumstances and outside influences. These influences will significantly affect the social experience and the self image of those defined, through, for example the experience of negative discrimination.Diversity in Society Assignment 1016433All aspects of a childs identity needs to be recognised and admit regardless of gender, race , ethnicity or religion. By developing a positive identity children are motivated and their self appraise is enhanced for them to intent a sense of value, belonging and worth Blaine (2007). However Cocker and Allain (2008) argue that not all environments are positive in raising this imagination. When this occurs the child becomes withdrawn and shy to open up and engage. Having a looked after child identity endangers a child to be different, socially excluded, marginalised and denied equal opportunities in accessing services. Assessing Children in Need and their Families Practice Guidance (2000) As such Social workers need to adopt and work with a culturally sensitive approach and accept the balancing act to enhance the resilience concept. Masten (1994) cited in Daniel et al (2002)Burke and Parker (2010) further argue that the Social Work context and the involvement of a Social worker in a childs life applies and identify the child as different. This is revealed by the bureaucrat ic and comprehensive paperwork, regular review and educational meetings, visits, contact arrangements and procedures and guidelines are associated with the looked after child but are not experienced by most children in normal life settings. However this arguement is dismissed by bean (2003) cited in Burke and Parker (2010) when he affirms that paperwork and bereacratic procedures are essential tools for a social worker to use in helping them identify and address important developmental needs of the child but should however encourage more one to one contact with the child rather than spending time on paperwork.In Education Research has revealed that Looked after children do not perform well and are likely not to have (GCSE) and most likely risk world expelled from School due to behaviour. Statistics show that a third of the 60 0000 looked after children obtain a GCSE and a further fifth obtain fewer than fin GCSEs. Although these figures are lower than a few course of instructio ns ago, they are passive much higher than for children as a whole more than half not obtaining five or more GCSEs compared to less than one in ten children as a whole. this includes Black minority and white as well DfES (2010). Because of their identity as Looked after children they are disadvantaged and discriminated against at School and in matters related to education. The Social Exclusion Unit (2003) published a document ( A Better Education for Children in Care which highlighted 5 reasons for the low progress levels ranging from Instability caused by insecure placements, bullying, lack of support and encouragement at home , time out of school due to expulsion, support and encouragement and emotional, mental or physical health. From the above five highlighted issues it can be summarised that the home environment plays a crucial role in enhancing education. Schofield and Beek (2009) suggest parents and people at home where the child lives need to be supportive and encouraging t o the child encyclopaedism success. School environment should promote learning that develops a child holistically to facilitate the self discovery method and accepting themselves as they interact with other children.This is not always the case as children are disrupted of continuity in settling and qualification friends if placement breaks d give. Sometimes bullying at school results in low self esteem Although most local authorities have put in place a number of inter disciplinary services looking at the physical, mental well organism of children. However in Jackson and McParlin (2006) in their article (the education of children in care professionals are seen to be making assumptions and jumping into conclusions ending up giving labels and long prescribed long term solutions to short term problems unnecessarily. This is associated with neglect and discrimination. More training and consciousness of diversity, anti discriminatory practices and individualised person centred approac h should be reinforced.(Every Child Matters 2004)Roger Morgan (2010) argue that the problem of poor school performance in looked after children lies in the care and education system not in the children. They argue that the care and education systems do not address pre care experiences of the child low attainment and also failure to address the aftermath or the impact of separation when children are removed from their families. The child may be suffering from undiagnosed target traumatic stress which can erupt in both confined environment such as school classrooms. They also argue that teachers have no knowledge of the childs history. Teacher training does not equip teachers with knowledge of the care system and on addressing behaviour from Looked after children. There is also the emphasis on exaggeration of difficulties and the overuse of the term ( Challenging behaviour focuses to address the present problems arising from the childs pre-care experiences and disappointments of bei ng in care. The Authorities should rather focus on explaining and addressing the underperformance. They further highlight the study by (Jackson et al.2005) where a research with students in Higher education who had a care background was carried out over a 5 year period. The respondents experienced a high level of trauma, abuse and neglect but were placed in foster homes that were supportive and valued education. The findings revealed that foster families who support education and celebrate the childs achievements are more likely to compensate to some level the pre care experiences and promote higher attainment in education. It is important to place children in placements which are supportive to the childs success in education, foster resilience and offer a safe place to grow and achieve. To support childrens well-being the government has put in place the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 with a commitment to promote the wellbeing of children and those who are involved in their ca re. Children Act (2008)In accessing Health facilities Looked after children face difficulties with mental health issues. Mostly their Health needs are overlooked and not met as they are labelled. Axford (2008) in her article exploring social exclusion noted this difficulty as more prevalent among children from Black Ethnic Minority background who face a cultural, language and racism within organisations that are meant to support and look after them especially asylum seekers. There is lack of relevant and appropriate obstetrical delivery of service in assessing the physical and mental wellbeing of children before placement and continuous monitoring of wellbeing through individual health plan. This can be attributed to lack of awareness and knowledge on the part of and role of carers and foster parents. This leaves the responsibility to the child who will most of the time ignore health issues and abscond appointments. (Young Minds )Training of carers and foster parents need to be pro moted to improve delivery of service In working with looked experiences of the Children Act (1989) highlighted that there are continuing myths about the Act which are still disadvantaging Looked After children. Also children still feel they are not fully aware of their rights under the Act as they face day to day regulations and successive barriers. Children still feel they do not receive what the law says they should. A typical example was in socialising with restrictions on risk assessments for overnight stays by teenagers in care. This has brought a sense of discrimination and marginalisation as it is for normal teenagers to do overnight stays. Prout (2000) cited in Glenny and Roaf (2008)further picked up another conflict and tension among within government departments and targets when he mentions that concur and self realisation are both present in legislation and policy but in tension. On one clique there is the idea of viewing children as individuals with a capacity for self realisation within a safe societal environment while in the other camp there is the idea of viewing children as vulnerable and requiring control, regulation and surveillance. One example Youth Matters four challenges to help teenagers achieve the ECM outcomes.( DfES 2005, 212)Social workers need to listen, engage and work in partnership with looked after children. In a research by Sally Holland (2010) Journal of Social Work to explore the Ethics of Care as being marginalised and not being implemented and recognised it was evidenced that lasting relationships are disrupted by placements and children often acknowledged their links to their past and significant people in their lives. This highlights the importance of their individual pathway in promoting their wellbeing and interpersonal relationships and future achievements. Clarke (2010) emphasises the need to sustain and promote lasting care relationships with formal carers and social workers to avoid the consequences of loss ,negl ect and worthlessness by listening to their story, exploring and putting their needs and choices first. Oliver et al (2010) Briefing Paper advocacy for Looked After Children when they unveiled that Reseach has also highlighted that there were some ambivalence within professionals as to what extent children must be involved in decision making to matters concerning their care as well as resource barriers. To overcome these constraints Winter (2009) suggested regular contact, feedback, advocacy and putting the needs of the child first need to be priority as children value being listened to and having their wishes fulfilled by active participation in matters concerning their wellbeing.I also have personal experience when I was involved in a consultation exercise with Young Persons leaving care as part of my coursework.. The Young Persons highlighted that sometimes they did not receive any feedback from social workers when they contact them. Also they mentioned that there was a lot of b ureaucracy which they felt treated them as different and treated them discriminatory for example social work visits at school and regular reviews or educational meetings. They felt they wanted to be treated as normal children not Service users. Barriers to channel in the Social Care (2000) suggest and support that there should be a Human rights approach in working with looked after children.Glenny and Roaf (2008) suggested Early intercession is essential to support children and families before problems either from within the family or as a result of external factors, which have an impact on both the child and family. Government departments, statutory and voluntary organisations have an obligation to work in partnership for the success of early intervention agenda. These teams should work together establish protocols which will help to ensure early indications of being at risk of social exclusion are addressed and receive proper attention.McLeod (1998) highlighted the need to ackno wledge Child development stages. He mentions that children accept and discover themselves through stages and exposure to promote self awareness, confidence, self esteem and positive attitudes. McLeod highlighted Freuds psycho-analysis theory (1859-1939), Ericksons psycho-social development theory (1950) and Bowlbys chemical bond theory(1969,1973,1880,1988). This view is shared in the literature review by Hunt (2003) cited in ( Charlotte Ritchie 2005 Critical Review) which highlights that although there is no concrete evidence of kinship care over non kin foster care there are indications that chances are the former promotes the childs wellbeing and welfare than the latter. This shows how important it is for Social Workers to be aware of child developmental needs and how valuable family ties are. Schofield and Beek , (2005) cited in Shaw (2010) shares the same views that past relationships with family and professionals has an impact on the childs wellbeing and ability to cope with l ife on their own. Active parenting counsel on the childs needs and positive engagement with the child will help and promote skills to deal with difficult situations in life. It is also good to for social workers to promote resilience as a tool of empowering children so that they are equipped to face challenges and deal with their past and future. Daniel and Wassell (2002)The importance of identity is further echoed by (Goerge, 1990 episperm et al., 1996 Testa, 1997 Wulczyn and Goerge, 1992) cited in (Charlotte Ritchie 2005) in her critical Paper of exploring the significance of Kinship care when she states that Identity, attachment, cultural heritage and self esteem are further maintained and unite when a child remains with their family and relatives than non relative placements. This will also go a long way in alleviating the Placement shortages currently experienced by ethnic minority foster placements and also reinforce the value of cultural sensitivity in Social Work. Bates et al (1997) suggests that assessment framework should foster identity and acknowledge diversity in order to promote a childs perception of themselves and their environment. Social workers need to employ anti-discriminatory practice with a lot of opportunities and resources for self discovery. They need to support the child to discover and accept themselves. It is important to offer options to situations that promote identity in order to understand themselves and others as children need to have their own identity to mirror on.(Assessment for Children in need Practice 2000) The Children and Young Persons Act (2008) also emphasise that its commitment to promote a childs well being and the people involved in the care of the child.Although there has been notable initiatives in addressing the needs of Looked after children for the past ten years a lot still has to be done in terms of societal attitudes, resources and safeguarding. To achieve the every child matters outcomes all the stakeho lders need to work together by putting the needs and act in the best interest of the child. By listening and engaging with Looked after children practitioners, politicians and policy makers will be able to improve Childrens quality of life. anti discriminatory practice, empowerment and equal opportunities practices are part of the answer. . 3624words

Essay --

INTRO state the q motivate it history factsA number of EU members have utilize environmental tax reforms (ETRs) which are defined as a reform of the national tax system that shift the tax burden from taxation of get the picture to taxation of carbon- dynamism, and the reforms were first introduced in Scandinavian countries since 1990 and then applied in other European countries, such as, Germany and Britain (PTAK, 2010 COMETR, 2007). This project summarizes an assessment of the German ETR and its effect on technological innovation by trying to answer the research question Did the German ETR increase technological innovation? The question is motivated by world-wide environmental considerations, for instance, slowing down the global warming by reducing energy consumptions and carbon emissions. My papers aim is to assess the effect of the German ERTs on technology innovation level specifically, and this is motivated by the following relevant facts. The German ETR was launched in Apr il 1999, and it has been adopted in Germany for more than ten age thus, there are plenty of available data for us to assess the impacts of this ETR regarding to German governments motivations. This ETR was proposed because the German government wanted to increase technology innovation, to create additional jobs, and to decrease energy consumption (Agnolucci, 2009 Beuermann and Santarius, 2006). Moreover, it is important for us to assess the impacts of ETRs from different angles, for example, the level of technology innovation, rather than assessing the impacts on the level of energy consumption and employment that abundant papers have discussed. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a literature review of the related literature ... ...atively hence, it can be concluded that the ETR in Germany had a positive impact on reducing energy consumption, and the effect on employment is overall small and can be positive (Agnolucci, 2009)..however.Moreover, Agnol ucci applied an econometric approach to assess the effect of the environmental tax reforms introduced in Germany and the UK, especially their effects on energy consumptions and employment level. In this paper, the author modelled his data by sorting them into the following various economics subsectors Textiles and leather (TXT) Pulp, paper and printing (PPP) arctic and plastics (RP) Non-metallic minerals (NMM) Machinery (MAC) Electrical and optical equipment (ELE) Wholesale and retail trade (TRA) which covered almost the whole spectrum of manufacturing activity. Therefore, I am able to use these subsectors later in my work process.

Helping Children From Broken Homes Essay -- Community Service, Service

Love cannot remain by itself it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.- Mother TeresaThis retiring(a) summer I had the opportunity to perform community service and participate in an event called Upward Bound. The purpose of this event is to reach unwrap to children who come from broken homes, and help them to become leaders in their homes, schools and communities. This was my second year to volunteer with Upward Bound. The first year I was helping with round-eyed children, but this year I was a counselor for junior high students. This experience is one I will never forget. On a sunlight morning I met the kids I would be responsible for during the following week. From the first moment I knew it was going to be an interesting week. My kids each brought...

The Importance of the Dance in A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House E

The Importance of the Dance in A Dolls House Dancing is a beautiful form of expression that reveals a good address about a person in a matter of minutes. Characters that dance in plays and novels usually flash some sort of underlying meaning pertaining to their story, glitter light on themselves, other characters, and the movement of the action. In Ibsens A Dolls House, Noras performance of the tarantella summarizes the plot of the entire play. Take, for example, Torvalds attitude towards Noras offbeat movements. Torvald plays the piano for Nora initially, but becomes so frustrated with Noras dancing that he abandons his tune and attempts to re-teach Nora the tarantella. This simple confrontation reflects the main action Torvald is the unity who provides Nora with music and who had previously taught Nora how to dance, just like he is the one who gives her a home and has sculpted her into his ideal wife. Nora cannot dance rhythmically to Torvalds song because both her lies and Torvalds strong belief in app...

Breast Feeding vs Formula Essay -- Comparing Breast Feeding and Formu

Breast-feeding is nutritionally, emotionally and physically superior for a m another(prenominal) and her child. Human breast milk is not standard nor is it interchangeable with cows milk. It is a dynamic fluid that changes in composition to meet the needs of the baby as it grows ( cock-a-hoop your Baby... Diet. par. 10). Breast milk contains growth factors and antibodies which stimulate the growing baby and protect it from illness such as diarrhea, ear infections, rashes, allergies, asthma, skin problems, pneumonia, respiratory illness and other serious illnesses. Breast-feeding also improves a babys chance of remaining healthy. These antibodies are not found in formula. They can not be sustained. suck babies are also neurodevelopmentally more advanced than those fed formula. This is because the ingredients found in breast milk promote brain development. (Neifiert, pars. 5 &7) Breast-feeding is the preferred mode for feeding babies because it offers many benefits for both mothers a nd babies.There are many advantages for babies who are breast-fed. Babies can digest breast milk easily because the proteins and curds in it are softer than those in cows milk. The proteins in breast milk destroy harmful bacteria and help protect a baby against infection (Giving your Baby... Diet. par 20). A breast-fed baby will have loose bowel movements that are easy to pass. Manufacturers do attempt to lower the curd tension in formula so that it will act as breast milk does. They do this by producing formula that has a higher whey content than cows milk. scarce it is impossible to exactly replicate human milk. Because of the gentleness of breast milk in a babies system, constipation is rare in breast fed infants. some other advantage for breast-fed ch... ...e. 19 May 2003.http//proquest.umi.com/pqweb? Georgieff, Michael K. Taking a Rational Approach to the Choice of Formula. A Thomson Healthcare Company. Aug. 2001 48 Health Reference Center-Academic. capital of Michigan Chr istian cultivate Lib. , Lansing MI. 19 May 2003.http//www.infotrac.galegroup.com. Giving Your Baby an Ideal Diet. A Thomson Healthcare Company. 2001 79. Health Reference Center- Academic. Lansing Christian School Lib. , Lansing, MI. 13 May 2003. http//www.infortrac.galegroup.com.Gupta, Sanjay M.D. Of Brains and Breast Milk. Time. 20 May 2002 92.Neifert, Marianne. The Advantages of Breast-Feeding. McKesson Health Solutions LLC. 2001 15. Health Reference Center Academic. Lansing Christian School Lib. , Lansing, MI. 13 May 2003.http//infotrac.galegroup.com.Sheehy, Maura. Breast-Feeding 911. Parents. July 2001 149-150.

Use of Disquietude and Pleasure in Oedipus the King :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Use of Disquietude and Pleasure in Oedipus the King At the very core of Sophocles tragedy, Oedipus the King, lies emotional confusion. Sophocles measuredly creates within his readers this sense of emotional confusion and self-awareness through his use of both disquietude and pleasure. When he grows up, unknowing of his adoption, he discovers his doomed fate from an Oracle. Seeking to take out it, he flees from Colonus. Once upon the road, Oedipus discovers his path blocked by a man, whom he perceives to be a robber. He kills this man, who turns out to be his father, and unknowingly fulfills the first erupt of the prophecy. Soon, he comes to Thebes, which is being terrorized by a terrible monster, the Sphinx. The Sphinx wanders the streets surrounding the city, asking travelers an unanswered riddle. Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, and answers its riddle, causing the Sphinx to kill herself in disbelief. The citizens of Thebes, who have recently found themselves kingless, describ e Oedipus king and give him Queen Iocast? for his wife as a reward. The couple lives together happily and produces four children. Some years later, the city is beset by a terrible plague. It is prophesied that the only way to cure the city is to find the killer of the previous king, and bring him to justice. Oedipus, who wishes to solve the citys peril, relentlessly seeks out the answer to the problem. He soon discovers the hideous truth he has killed his father, married his mother, and fathered her children. He returns home to find that his wife/mother has committed suicide, and, unable to deal with the reality of this short reality, he takes the broaches from her gown and gouges his eyes out. The gruesome details of this story make for several examples of disquietude. The most obvious example occurs when Oedipus gouges his eyes out with Iocastes broaches. This scene is vividly described by the Chorus of Theban Elders, Deep, how deep you drew it then, hard archer, At a dim fearf ul range, and brought dear glory down (name of generator and page ). Not only is this scene physically disturbing, but it is emotionally disturbing due to the dramatic irony. Oedipus, before this, was blinded by his intellectual arrogance. Now, he has been humbled by fate and sees his mistakes, but is physically blind. Along with this example, there are two other examples of disturbing physical events.

Clarissa or The History of a Young Lady :: Clarissa History of a Young Lady

Clarissa or The History of a Young Lady In the Johnson age there are many popular writers. One of these authors is Samuel Richardson, who was a novelist. His more or less popular novels were Pamela and Clarissa, which are both constructed of a series of letters. Clarissa, however, was regarded as angiotensin-converting enzyme of his most popular European novels. His masterpiece, Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady, star of the greatest European novels, was published in 1747-8 (Richardson, 1). When Richardson wrote Clarissa his intention was to write a novel of a series of letters that were written by an unskilled author. This volume contains 537 letters written by various characters in the novel. Because the book is so long I could not read the whole thing nor have I ever read it before. As a result I can not say a lot about it. Because I find it is a little hard to read I was not able to read as much as I would have like to in the quadruplet hours that we wer e to set aside to read the book. I did, however, manage to read the first eight letters in the novel. The first letter was written to Clarissa Harlowe from her good jock Anna Howe. This letter is used to introduce the reader to the problems that have been going on in the Harlowe home that lead to Clarissa being the topic of gossip. The letters that follow this one are from Clarissa to Anna and they explain what had happened. The trouble begins when Mr. Lovelace begins to visit the Harlowe home it is believed that he is there to court the eldest daughter. However, this does not work out and he then decides the he would like to date the younger daughter, who is Clarissa. This is not well liked by her brother because Mr. Lovelace was his enemy all through college and there is now a grizzle between the two. As a result, Clarissas brother and Mr. Lovelace get into a fight and Clarissas brother is injured. It is because of this that no one else in the family cares for him anymore either. However, this does not stop him from engage Clarissa.