This article is a critical review of Woods & Muñoz’s original research exploring the way in which ‘spaces of consumption’ affect our perceptions and representations of ‘authentic’ culture. The author adopted a multi-stage qualitative research design to investigate this issue. The arguments and evidence provided by the researchers support the case that foreigners’ expectations of ethnic-themed restaurants will tend to have a clichéd or inauthentic because foreigners’ expectations are influenced strongly by the media and not by reality.
The authors present several related arguments in examining the role that media places in the development of our cultural expectations. First, they argue that themed restaurants are important cultural mediators in our everyday life and these restaurants are ‘more than real’ and therefore often inauthentic. Second, they argue that popular media plays an important role in the creation, consumption, and evaluation of ethnic-themed restaurants. On one hand, consumers’ expectations are influenced by what they see in the media especially when they have little or no experience with the country, as is often the case with Australia. These expectations in turn influence consumers’ evaluations. On the other hand, creators of ethnically themed restaurants have to be aware of how a culture is represented in the media so that they can tap into the most salient aspects of the culture for their target audience. Based on these arguments, the researchers expected that foreigners would have expectations that would not match up with those of locals since the former are drawing on inauthentic reference points. And they argue that the extent to which foreigners find these ethnically themed restaurants authentic (when in fact they are narrow representations of the culture) provide support for the thesis that the media affects foreigners’ perceptions.
I agree with the article. First, I think theme restaurants are becoming popular and serve increasingly as cultural ambassadors. This is supported by Brown & Patterson (2000) who note the ‘excessive’ increase in theme parks, pubs, hotels, and restaurants. Second, I believe we implicitly that the images and feelings depicted therein are authentic (Cohen, 1988). But as a consumer visiting a restaurant I am explicitly interested in having a good time. This is supported by Cloke & Perkins (2002) and Smith (2003), who argue that there are often more important issues at stake for the average tourist than authenticity, such as entertainment and enjoyment. Therefore, only if the image is out of step with my own perceptions (however vague) of the culture will I have a problem. This is supported by Boniface & Fowler (1993) who argue that consumers want hyperreality, and that this is more desirable than real life.
Third, it is understandable why more ‘authentic’ images are rejected by consumers who really only have a media-generated image of a country. In that case, if I go to an Australian-themed restaurant, I expect ‘Australian’ music, for example (whatever that might be). I also agree intuitively with the authors’ findings that authenticity is subjective even among locals, since we all have different ideas of what our country means to us and it is generally not fully represented in ‘icons’ (Cloke & Perkins, 2002). On the other hand, foreigners have a less rich experience of our culture and therefore can only draw on the few reference points they have, leading to more consensus among foreigners about what a country ‘is.’ In line with this, it is also not surprising that the restaurant owners would use clichés when constructing their franchises, that is they ‘stage’ authenticity (MacCannell, 1973), since clichés are their customers’ reference points for authenticity. This is in line with Firat et al.’s (1995) central argument that marketing and post-modernity are greatly intertwined and thus consumers are not driven by needs but have needs which are driven by external forces, such as popular culture and the mass media. Overall, this research supports the case that foreigners’ expectations of ethnic-themed restaurants are generally clichéd because of the role of the media in forming these expectations. The article has strong theoretical and empirical bases for making this claim, since ethnically themed restaurants, are becoming more popular, are developed based on narrow representations of cultures presented in the media and that are salient to the target consumers.
пятница, 23 декабря 2011 г.
четверг, 22 декабря 2011 г.
Global Warming
Global Warming has a tremendous impact on the human health and environment. The name Greenhouse Effect refers to an increase in the Earth’s temperature, due to greenhouse gases that accumulate in the earth and cannot be released into space. Carbon dioxide is the main gas that affects the atmosphere, and it is followed by water vapor, methane, and others but these types of gases are increasing the temperature of planet earth. As a result of increasing of Earth’s temperature, the atmosphere and the weather is changing and it affects the human health in the society and the environment.
Human health will be negatively affected by the global warming because of the rise of the Earth’s temperature, changes in the global climate and air pollution. The rising average temperature in the earth’s atmosphere is believed to increase many infectious diseases in humans and animals since infectious parasites grow and flourish in hot environments and climates. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they predict that in developing countries like Africa, the population of mosquitoes will increase and thus, the risk of malaria, and also dengue and other infections borne by the same vector, will increase (Kasotia, 2007). Climate change is also responsible for 300,000 deaths per year throughout the world while 90 percent of these deaths are caused by environmental degradation fueled by a warming climate which “exacerbates the threats of malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria” (Global Humanitarian Forum, 2009). These do not yet include changes in the global climate that bring in storms, floods, and other natural disasters that cause high death tolls. There were obvious signs of climate changing, from fires in Mexico, in 1998, to torrential rain in Venezuela, in 1999, and killer heat waves that happened in Europe, July and August of 2003. Chicago was one of the cities affected by the five day heat wave in July of 1995 with temperatures of 106 Fahrenheit and 525 deaths (Wang & Chameides 2005, 3-4). Another health hazard that is a by-product of accelerated global warming is the occurrence of “smog” or ground-level ozone. Smog can cause damage to lung tissue puts those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases at an increased risk of exacerbations (IPCC, 2007).
As for its effects on the environment, global warming impacts the ecosystem and biodiversity because the climate change damages fauna and vegetation, ecosystem resources and increase the variation among living organisms on the earth. According to studies from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 20-30 percent of the world’s species are going to face extinction if the amount of atmospheric temperature will increase 2-3 °C(IPCC, 2007). In the article Arctic meltdown: the economic and security implications of global warming, the author revealed that the way the Arctic was melting had a devastating impact, for the ecosystem and that around the Artic there were several endangered species like polar bears and fishes that could face extinction. In addition, the author discusses the economic implication of global warming because of undisclosed natural resources, oil and gas deposits, that the Arctic held in its waters (Borgeson). Furthermore, climate change can, in fact, affect biodiversity, because the number of certain species, plants, insects and organisms will increase. Is this a good thing? It depends on how this form of species and vegetation affect the ecosystem.
Climate change does affect the human health and environment since the present belief that the accelerated warming of the earth’s atmosphere has increased the number of infectious lung diseases that can lead to death. Not only that, its impact on the environment is lies in the difficulty of the diverse flora and fauna in prospering because they do not have the time to adapt. This leaves thousands of species at the doorstep of extinction (Montaigne, 2004). Measures have to put in place to increase the sustainability of the planet or we will find ourselves facing the much feared eventuality where the earth can no longer give us life and generations after us are left homeless.
Human health will be negatively affected by the global warming because of the rise of the Earth’s temperature, changes in the global climate and air pollution. The rising average temperature in the earth’s atmosphere is believed to increase many infectious diseases in humans and animals since infectious parasites grow and flourish in hot environments and climates. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they predict that in developing countries like Africa, the population of mosquitoes will increase and thus, the risk of malaria, and also dengue and other infections borne by the same vector, will increase (Kasotia, 2007). Climate change is also responsible for 300,000 deaths per year throughout the world while 90 percent of these deaths are caused by environmental degradation fueled by a warming climate which “exacerbates the threats of malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria” (Global Humanitarian Forum, 2009). These do not yet include changes in the global climate that bring in storms, floods, and other natural disasters that cause high death tolls. There were obvious signs of climate changing, from fires in Mexico, in 1998, to torrential rain in Venezuela, in 1999, and killer heat waves that happened in Europe, July and August of 2003. Chicago was one of the cities affected by the five day heat wave in July of 1995 with temperatures of 106 Fahrenheit and 525 deaths (Wang & Chameides 2005, 3-4). Another health hazard that is a by-product of accelerated global warming is the occurrence of “smog” or ground-level ozone. Smog can cause damage to lung tissue puts those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases at an increased risk of exacerbations (IPCC, 2007).
As for its effects on the environment, global warming impacts the ecosystem and biodiversity because the climate change damages fauna and vegetation, ecosystem resources and increase the variation among living organisms on the earth. According to studies from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 20-30 percent of the world’s species are going to face extinction if the amount of atmospheric temperature will increase 2-3 °C(IPCC, 2007). In the article Arctic meltdown: the economic and security implications of global warming, the author revealed that the way the Arctic was melting had a devastating impact, for the ecosystem and that around the Artic there were several endangered species like polar bears and fishes that could face extinction. In addition, the author discusses the economic implication of global warming because of undisclosed natural resources, oil and gas deposits, that the Arctic held in its waters (Borgeson). Furthermore, climate change can, in fact, affect biodiversity, because the number of certain species, plants, insects and organisms will increase. Is this a good thing? It depends on how this form of species and vegetation affect the ecosystem.
Climate change does affect the human health and environment since the present belief that the accelerated warming of the earth’s atmosphere has increased the number of infectious lung diseases that can lead to death. Not only that, its impact on the environment is lies in the difficulty of the diverse flora and fauna in prospering because they do not have the time to adapt. This leaves thousands of species at the doorstep of extinction (Montaigne, 2004). Measures have to put in place to increase the sustainability of the planet or we will find ourselves facing the much feared eventuality where the earth can no longer give us life and generations after us are left homeless.
среда, 21 декабря 2011 г.
The Bourne Identity
Robert Ludlum's “The Bourne Identity” is renowned as one of the best thriller stories that have been told in the form of a movie and a novel. Both the movie adaptation and the novel have received identical positive feedbacks and acceptance from most book readers and movie enthusiasts, including numerous critics from both fields. Given that both the film and the novel have done a great job in presenting a great thriller story, some would still argue that the book is better, while some may say that the film is indeed greater than that of the novel. From a personal point of view, it is certain that the novel is superior in comparison to that of the film based on characteristics of expression, appeal to imagination, and length.
First of all, given that the novel entails and represents the genuine thoughts of Ludlum, it is superior to the film mainly because it embodies the real essence of the story and that it directly depicts the ideas and impeccable thinking of the Ludlum. Second, the novel also presents a comprehensive storytelling of Ludlum's masterpiece and has shown more accuracy in terms of the progress of events in the main story. Third, given that the novel has the luxury of time and means, it is considered as superior than the film, because it presents a more detailed story. Lastly, the ability to depict a long and through story without skipping a certain part of the novel's main narrative, because of limited time and resources, is one of the considerable reasons that made the novel superior than that of the movie. Likewise, the novel is considered to be more expressive as it has no evident limitations in terms of presenting scripts and dialogues of the characters.
First of all, given that the novel entails and represents the genuine thoughts of Ludlum, it is superior to the film mainly because it embodies the real essence of the story and that it directly depicts the ideas and impeccable thinking of the Ludlum. Second, the novel also presents a comprehensive storytelling of Ludlum's masterpiece and has shown more accuracy in terms of the progress of events in the main story. Third, given that the novel has the luxury of time and means, it is considered as superior than the film, because it presents a more detailed story. Lastly, the ability to depict a long and through story without skipping a certain part of the novel's main narrative, because of limited time and resources, is one of the considerable reasons that made the novel superior than that of the movie. Likewise, the novel is considered to be more expressive as it has no evident limitations in terms of presenting scripts and dialogues of the characters.
понедельник, 19 декабря 2011 г.
Working Mothers
What are the problems of being a working mom?
Many Moms these days have no choice but to work outside home, trying to have some balance in her life from work to marriage and also raising her own children.
Most of them may face some problems including the following:
-this mom may not be able to have a good co-ordination for her daily program ex. She may not be able to determine how many hours to stay at work especially if having children and this may be much more difficult in case she has one or more infant.
-financial problems including cost of living, raising her baby, his health insurance also an important one is that she wouldn’t get fully paid in her work as she doesn’t work fulltime (or missed work).
Some reports say that working moms who have children may have to miss about 17 days\year of their work.
-Many working mothers may also suffer from stress which may lead to harmful physical or psychological effects which also may require further finances to overcome these problems for example:
Mothers whose jobs don’t give them much control over their work (ex. Food service) may have to go home late suffering from emotional and physical stress leading to further more problems with husband, children or even more she’s not only going to be affected by this but also this may have so much psychological effects on her family members especially her children which may feel something like a wide gap between them and their mother and so on.
-also they may have to work only a part time job so may have to lose opportunities for getting promoted as well as some benefits like health insurance.
-at last, not having sufficient sleep and rest may lead as mentioned before to stress and also lack of sleep and rest leads to lack of concentration whether at work or at home , car accidents , even becoming more susceptible to infectious diseases… etc.
References:
Many Moms these days have no choice but to work outside home, trying to have some balance in her life from work to marriage and also raising her own children.
Most of them may face some problems including the following:
-this mom may not be able to have a good co-ordination for her daily program ex. She may not be able to determine how many hours to stay at work especially if having children and this may be much more difficult in case she has one or more infant.
-financial problems including cost of living, raising her baby, his health insurance also an important one is that she wouldn’t get fully paid in her work as she doesn’t work fulltime (or missed work).
Some reports say that working moms who have children may have to miss about 17 days\year of their work.
-Many working mothers may also suffer from stress which may lead to harmful physical or psychological effects which also may require further finances to overcome these problems for example:
Mothers whose jobs don’t give them much control over their work (ex. Food service) may have to go home late suffering from emotional and physical stress leading to further more problems with husband, children or even more she’s not only going to be affected by this but also this may have so much psychological effects on her family members especially her children which may feel something like a wide gap between them and their mother and so on.
-also they may have to work only a part time job so may have to lose opportunities for getting promoted as well as some benefits like health insurance.
-at last, not having sufficient sleep and rest may lead as mentioned before to stress and also lack of sleep and rest leads to lack of concentration whether at work or at home , car accidents , even becoming more susceptible to infectious diseases… etc.
References:
The Parable of the Sower and the Road
Peoples’ lives are journeys, pilgrimages, and/or adventures. Within a person’s inner solitude lies a bright and tender heart where the spirit stays hanging on to be awakened. Many routes and paths to enlightenment or betterment are present for everyone. Each and every individual experiences crises and problems at some point in their lives, as also expressed in the book Lessons for the Journey Called Life written by Elaine T’souvas. These could be transitions and life changing events or moments that interrupt the well planned lives of people. These interferences are never asked for but it always come at a certain point. In times of these detours, crossroads, roadblocks and dead ends, the permanence or transience of human endeavors still shows. Journeys of different people vary from time to time. This paper aims to compare the two journeys: Parable of the Sower and The Road. Fall of civilization and human existence are themes that emerged in these two writings.
In 1993, Octavia E. Butler released Parable of the Sower, the first in her two-book series of novels in the genre of science fiction. The novel is set in a dystopian future about Lauren, a young woman who has a so called “hyperempathy” or the ability to sense the perceived grief or pain and other feelings and sensations of the people around her.
The novel sets off in the near future of the United States. The civilization of the country has degenerate swiftly over the past few generations (Butler 5). Food became scarce and inflation is out of influence. Suburbia subsists in walled areas, looked after by families banding collectively to survive. Lauren Olamina, the main character, lives in such a community wherein her father is the preacher in their area (Butler 28). Lauren is closely connected to the pleasure and pain of other people. The government authority in the story is deteriorating and drug abuse became rampant. Not long after, violence swept over their community and Lauren was forced to abandon their commune (Butler 79). The majority of the novel traces the journey of Lauren through the United States as well as the companions she met along her way (Butler 126). They headed to Canada to search for safety and employment. While doing so, Lauren and her companions are reminded that they must be continuously aware of the cruel world that they are wandering through, and keep their eyes open on finances as well as weapons. Over and over again in the story, Lauren together with her friends had to fight for their lives or run for them. Religion became an integral aspect in the story as Lauren started to create her personal views on God and man’s position in this world (Butler 167). Throughout the story, basic tenets and religious discussions among the characters were presented. As Lauren’s journey continued, she turned into something of a prophet or messiah of her views or the Earthseed (Butler 212). Lauren encourages people to join her and be her disciples as they begin a new religion in the world. Lauren’s journal entries filled out the novel itself. Overall, the Parable of the Sower simply illustrated the near collapse of civil society due to poverty and scarcity and when the community’s security was at hand, Lauren’s home was destroyed and her family was murdered (Butler 293). In her journey, she tried to start a new community with her founded religion Earthseed together with her friends and survivors(Butler 302).
The Parable of the Sower is a vibrant often disturbing story of loss, friendship, and survival amidst the breakdown of the society. The transience of human efforts and ventures are illustrated in this novel. Lauren’s continuous journey in search for a secure haven proves the will of human beings to do whatever in order to survive. The journey of Lauren in the story exemplifies the triumph and resilience of spirits of human beings. However as seen in the collapse of their civilization, everything is temporary. The actions and activities of the people in the story were all fleeting and passing. In the introduction of Lauren’s family and neighbors, soon after bad things turned into reality and these people didn’t survive. Not everything lasts, can be a subtle theme of this novel.
The problems that Lauren encountered in the story are but exhibitions of the struggles and troubles of every human being. These are inevitable, hence humans are faced with a challenge to solve these problems and continue with their lives. As Lauren went on to travel, she had journals that took account of her experiences. All these measure to the idea that things and endeavors are fleeting. But these passing moments are all significant in the lives and existence of human beings. Everything that happens in the environment is connected to what will happen in the future. As mentioned in the story, the collapse of civilization showed that that specific era or generation was passing and a new one is about to begin. Earthseed, Lauren’s new religion is an example of a transitory action or endeavor that will yield future help or benefits to the people who survived in the story. The fleetingness of the human endeavors is presented in the story not due to a plague, war, or invasion. The civilization in which Lauren lived simply collapsed for the reason that it was rotten. Things tend get worse each passing day and people become a little more frantic about it. First several breakdowns are fixed and then it will come to a point where everything will seem to be harder to be fixed. The novel is not merely about disaster or a skeptical dystopia. It’s all about the journals of a woman who saw how things got worse and prepared herself the best way she could (Butler 89). She travelled, met people, learned a lot of things, and in the end survived. The story is a great way of showing how people are continuously doing and exerting efforts to help make this a better place for everyone (T’souvas 89; Butler 174). Truly human actions are temporary but still have an effect on the future.
In 2006, American writer Cormac McCarthy published the novel “The Road”, another novel that entails about a journey. The story revolves around a passage of a father and son over several months over a vast landscape eaten by destruction because of an unprecedented catastrophe that destroyed almost all forms of life while also destroying all civilizations on earth (McCarthy 27). In the novel, the father and son “carries the ‘damaged’ fire” of humanity on the road of hope for survival. Awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006, it also received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007. It is one of McCarthy’s most critically acclaimed novels and some claim that it is the most chilling commentary of the post- 9/11 world.
A few years after an unprecedented catastrophe that destroyed all civilizations and the life on earth, an unnamed father and son journeyed the ruined landscape towards the sea (McCarthy 8). The Road featured an unwelcoming scenery as the sun is totally obscured from vision because of ashes that thrive in the air. No plants can grow in the terrible landscape as the two needed masks to breathe the filthy air (McCarthy 29). The human survivors of the great disaster were reduced to cannibals and violent creatures (McCarthy 30). Their present location did not hold any future for them; another winter will not let them live so as for the father to decide to go on a journey in the blurry hopes of finding other few good people (McCarthy 48).
Prior to the story, the boy’s mother committed suicide at the time she was pregnant with him as her mother was hopeless and wretched as cause of their situation (McCarthy 53). While his father, who is obviously dying as an explanation to him coughing blood every morning. His father struggles to protect him from danger – exposure, starvation, threats of attacks, and even from his kind heart and desire of helping other wanderers that could prove dangerous for the both of them. The boy is the world to his father, and the father to the boy (McCarthy 103). They reassured one another that they are the “good guys” who were to “carry the fire” (McCarthy 158).
Their journey was nothing but easy. They experienced horrors such as people half-alive as they are being harvested into food (McCarthy 189), a baby put on a spit and roasted (McCarthy 201), band of cannibals roving for food (McCarthy 238). Their search for hope was slowly vanquished. The boy was put on a fall after all the hardships and trials and most especially because of his father’s death due to his standing illness. He was forced to journey alone and a few days later, encountered a man and his wife and children who was actually tracking he and his late father (McCarthy 270). In the end, the boy was invited into the care of the man and his family of wife and children (McCarthy 276). As one of the children was a girl, the possibility of a future of the human race was implied amidst the grim conditions of the environment.
In the novel, the transience of human endeavors is ultimately revealed. The human civilization was put in the midst of extermination when an unprecedented cataclysm erupted. There is no single individual that could reverse their only momentary existence in this world (T’souvas 68). McCarthy showed in his novel that this world is not for humans to control, true enough, humans are for the world to control. Monuments, structures, machines – everything human-made, can all be and will all be in-time destroyed.
A human lifetime is short, compared to all the years of this earth that we live in (T’souvas 103). But despite that, the earth features no permanence. The earth itself is open to changes, transformations, destructions. Everything that a person could have created in his life can only do him good until he lives. But once he dies, all these things would not do him any good (T’souvas 250). Compare that to the miniscule size of a person. The father and son tandem illustrated the passing on of legacy, from one generation to the next. The father knew that he will not live long, but he needed to preserve the future of his son (McCarthy 65). Thus, he decided to go on the journey searching for hope, he decided to take a gamble, rather than be sitting ducks. Any parent, any father in this case, would want nothing short of what is the best for his son. His son has a life to live; the boy was his father’s continuing heritage. This characteristic of the father only further support the temporariness of humans and their endeavors, that humans, are mere passerby in this world we live in.
In both The Parable of the Sower and The Road, the journeys illustrated the endeavors that human beings embark on. The human conditions and affair are given more details in these two novels. Both stories maintain that human actions are transitory. All the success, glory, happiness are just transient, as well as the troubles, predicaments, and roadblocks in the lives of people.
In 1993, Octavia E. Butler released Parable of the Sower, the first in her two-book series of novels in the genre of science fiction. The novel is set in a dystopian future about Lauren, a young woman who has a so called “hyperempathy” or the ability to sense the perceived grief or pain and other feelings and sensations of the people around her.
The novel sets off in the near future of the United States. The civilization of the country has degenerate swiftly over the past few generations (Butler 5). Food became scarce and inflation is out of influence. Suburbia subsists in walled areas, looked after by families banding collectively to survive. Lauren Olamina, the main character, lives in such a community wherein her father is the preacher in their area (Butler 28). Lauren is closely connected to the pleasure and pain of other people. The government authority in the story is deteriorating and drug abuse became rampant. Not long after, violence swept over their community and Lauren was forced to abandon their commune (Butler 79). The majority of the novel traces the journey of Lauren through the United States as well as the companions she met along her way (Butler 126). They headed to Canada to search for safety and employment. While doing so, Lauren and her companions are reminded that they must be continuously aware of the cruel world that they are wandering through, and keep their eyes open on finances as well as weapons. Over and over again in the story, Lauren together with her friends had to fight for their lives or run for them. Religion became an integral aspect in the story as Lauren started to create her personal views on God and man’s position in this world (Butler 167). Throughout the story, basic tenets and religious discussions among the characters were presented. As Lauren’s journey continued, she turned into something of a prophet or messiah of her views or the Earthseed (Butler 212). Lauren encourages people to join her and be her disciples as they begin a new religion in the world. Lauren’s journal entries filled out the novel itself. Overall, the Parable of the Sower simply illustrated the near collapse of civil society due to poverty and scarcity and when the community’s security was at hand, Lauren’s home was destroyed and her family was murdered (Butler 293). In her journey, she tried to start a new community with her founded religion Earthseed together with her friends and survivors(Butler 302).
The Parable of the Sower is a vibrant often disturbing story of loss, friendship, and survival amidst the breakdown of the society. The transience of human efforts and ventures are illustrated in this novel. Lauren’s continuous journey in search for a secure haven proves the will of human beings to do whatever in order to survive. The journey of Lauren in the story exemplifies the triumph and resilience of spirits of human beings. However as seen in the collapse of their civilization, everything is temporary. The actions and activities of the people in the story were all fleeting and passing. In the introduction of Lauren’s family and neighbors, soon after bad things turned into reality and these people didn’t survive. Not everything lasts, can be a subtle theme of this novel.
The problems that Lauren encountered in the story are but exhibitions of the struggles and troubles of every human being. These are inevitable, hence humans are faced with a challenge to solve these problems and continue with their lives. As Lauren went on to travel, she had journals that took account of her experiences. All these measure to the idea that things and endeavors are fleeting. But these passing moments are all significant in the lives and existence of human beings. Everything that happens in the environment is connected to what will happen in the future. As mentioned in the story, the collapse of civilization showed that that specific era or generation was passing and a new one is about to begin. Earthseed, Lauren’s new religion is an example of a transitory action or endeavor that will yield future help or benefits to the people who survived in the story. The fleetingness of the human endeavors is presented in the story not due to a plague, war, or invasion. The civilization in which Lauren lived simply collapsed for the reason that it was rotten. Things tend get worse each passing day and people become a little more frantic about it. First several breakdowns are fixed and then it will come to a point where everything will seem to be harder to be fixed. The novel is not merely about disaster or a skeptical dystopia. It’s all about the journals of a woman who saw how things got worse and prepared herself the best way she could (Butler 89). She travelled, met people, learned a lot of things, and in the end survived. The story is a great way of showing how people are continuously doing and exerting efforts to help make this a better place for everyone (T’souvas 89; Butler 174). Truly human actions are temporary but still have an effect on the future.
In 2006, American writer Cormac McCarthy published the novel “The Road”, another novel that entails about a journey. The story revolves around a passage of a father and son over several months over a vast landscape eaten by destruction because of an unprecedented catastrophe that destroyed almost all forms of life while also destroying all civilizations on earth (McCarthy 27). In the novel, the father and son “carries the ‘damaged’ fire” of humanity on the road of hope for survival. Awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006, it also received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007. It is one of McCarthy’s most critically acclaimed novels and some claim that it is the most chilling commentary of the post- 9/11 world.
A few years after an unprecedented catastrophe that destroyed all civilizations and the life on earth, an unnamed father and son journeyed the ruined landscape towards the sea (McCarthy 8). The Road featured an unwelcoming scenery as the sun is totally obscured from vision because of ashes that thrive in the air. No plants can grow in the terrible landscape as the two needed masks to breathe the filthy air (McCarthy 29). The human survivors of the great disaster were reduced to cannibals and violent creatures (McCarthy 30). Their present location did not hold any future for them; another winter will not let them live so as for the father to decide to go on a journey in the blurry hopes of finding other few good people (McCarthy 48).
Prior to the story, the boy’s mother committed suicide at the time she was pregnant with him as her mother was hopeless and wretched as cause of their situation (McCarthy 53). While his father, who is obviously dying as an explanation to him coughing blood every morning. His father struggles to protect him from danger – exposure, starvation, threats of attacks, and even from his kind heart and desire of helping other wanderers that could prove dangerous for the both of them. The boy is the world to his father, and the father to the boy (McCarthy 103). They reassured one another that they are the “good guys” who were to “carry the fire” (McCarthy 158).
Their journey was nothing but easy. They experienced horrors such as people half-alive as they are being harvested into food (McCarthy 189), a baby put on a spit and roasted (McCarthy 201), band of cannibals roving for food (McCarthy 238). Their search for hope was slowly vanquished. The boy was put on a fall after all the hardships and trials and most especially because of his father’s death due to his standing illness. He was forced to journey alone and a few days later, encountered a man and his wife and children who was actually tracking he and his late father (McCarthy 270). In the end, the boy was invited into the care of the man and his family of wife and children (McCarthy 276). As one of the children was a girl, the possibility of a future of the human race was implied amidst the grim conditions of the environment.
In the novel, the transience of human endeavors is ultimately revealed. The human civilization was put in the midst of extermination when an unprecedented cataclysm erupted. There is no single individual that could reverse their only momentary existence in this world (T’souvas 68). McCarthy showed in his novel that this world is not for humans to control, true enough, humans are for the world to control. Monuments, structures, machines – everything human-made, can all be and will all be in-time destroyed.
A human lifetime is short, compared to all the years of this earth that we live in (T’souvas 103). But despite that, the earth features no permanence. The earth itself is open to changes, transformations, destructions. Everything that a person could have created in his life can only do him good until he lives. But once he dies, all these things would not do him any good (T’souvas 250). Compare that to the miniscule size of a person. The father and son tandem illustrated the passing on of legacy, from one generation to the next. The father knew that he will not live long, but he needed to preserve the future of his son (McCarthy 65). Thus, he decided to go on the journey searching for hope, he decided to take a gamble, rather than be sitting ducks. Any parent, any father in this case, would want nothing short of what is the best for his son. His son has a life to live; the boy was his father’s continuing heritage. This characteristic of the father only further support the temporariness of humans and their endeavors, that humans, are mere passerby in this world we live in.
In both The Parable of the Sower and The Road, the journeys illustrated the endeavors that human beings embark on. The human conditions and affair are given more details in these two novels. Both stories maintain that human actions are transitory. All the success, glory, happiness are just transient, as well as the troubles, predicaments, and roadblocks in the lives of people.
суббота, 17 декабря 2011 г.
The Glass Menagerie: Reality Masquerading as Illusion
In a production note that the author of the play left for future directors and adaptations of The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams highlights that the play is a “memory play” and that “It can be presented with unusual freedom of convention” (Williams, 23). This means that the entire play, because of the refinement of the material, the interplay of “atmospheric touches and subtleties of direction” all play an integral part in the treatment of the play (Williams, 23). Further he adds that Expressionism and all unfamiliar forms of theatrical techniques have only one goal, which is a closer approach to what is real and what is true. Williams is quoted, “It is not, or certainly, shouldn’t be, trying to escape its responsibility of dealing with reality, or interpreting experience, but is actually or should be attempting to find a closer approach, a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are” (Williams, 23). It is interesting to note that in order to bring about this reversal of realism, Williams utilized the unconventional techniques such as the use of ornate music and sound effects as well as art direction that tend to underline the symbolisms at the expense of realism. Hence The Glass Menagerie is a form of play that tries to illustrate truth and reality in the conflicts that it has but it tries to stifle this by the use of illusion.
The premise or foundations of the claim lay on the fact the piece is a memory play which means that it can be presented with an atypical liberty of rule. In fact the most evident argument or theme that the play purveys is the complexity of acknowledging reality. The characters for one (and as central to this paper), are having their own difficulties in recounting themselves with the supposition of reality. The most apparent thing to picture this is the withdrawal of the entire Wingfield family to the public world of reality into the depths of the private confides of the world of illusion. This arose from the fact that the entire family, given their own intricacies as characters of the story, is unable to overcome the difficulty of relating themselves to what is real. To note, the entirety of the whole play is overseen by Tom. This means that he has all the bias of the story and all the events that will transpire will be distilled by the mind of Tom.
Of the family members, it appears that reality has been far from the side of Laura. This could have been because the young lady has been grappling with her disabilities; physicality and her dysfunctional family. The private world of Laura had been dominated by her glass figurines--- where she sought refuge and comfort. Laura is quoted, “Little articles of [glass], they’re ornaments mostly! Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here’s an example of one, if you’d like to see it! . . . Oh, be careful—if you breathe, it breaks! . . . You see how the light shines through him?” (Williams, scene 7).
On the other hand, it can be said it is Amanda that has the most multifaceted approach with reality. It is evident, in the entirety of the whole play that she is the only one that longs for the material stability of the world. Interestingly, it is through these worldly attachments that hinders her of the real world that they are moving in. On other scenes, she is scenes to have not dispensed the fact that she is not anymore a pampered belle that she was before and that whenever she reminisces these events of her life, she is seen to have denied the fact that the in the real world these events are of the past and ought to be forgotten now. Amanda is quoted, “Well, in the South we had so many servants. Gone, gone, gone. All vestige of gracious living! Gone completely! I wasn’t prepared for what the future brought me. All of my gentlemen callers were sons of planters and so of course I assumed that I would be married to one and raise my family on a large piece of land with plenty of servants. But man proposes—and woman accepts the proposal! To vary that old, old saying a bit—I married no planter! I married a man who worked for the telephone company! . . . A telephone man who—fell in love with long-distance!” (Williams, scene 6).
Tie- up/ Conclusion/ Synthesis/ Implications
Thence at the end of the day it can be supposed that The Glass Menagerie is a form of play that tries to illustrate truth and reality in the conflicts that it has but it tries to stifle this by the use of illusion. This can be unmistakably seen on many parts, if not the entirety of the whole piece. The withdrawal of the Wingfield family from reality and their use of illusion to compensate with the loss of reality is a remarkable for the simple reason that it is an attempt to somehow live the life that they want to live. Tom in particular, had thought that realism which intended to present life as it was without view through rose-tinted glasses had outlasts its value. In the end, the representation that The Glass Menagerie represents is not just the fragile Laura. It represents the entire Wingfield family; it is through these little glass figurines that the audience see the frailty of the characters. They are vulnerable in many terms and this may be rooted on the fact they had withdrawn from what is real and shunned themselves in the walls of their imagined world. If this will continue, then each day that will pass will just jeopardize them on the grounds that they are almost dysfunctional and that the only thing that holds them together is a likewise very fragile and frail young lady- Laura. While it is true that Laura is also the glass menagerie in the story it is also that she best describes a strong force that continues to hold on even if it is hard on her part. Beyond doubt The Glass Menagerie is reality masquerading as illusion
Author: http://www.linkmegoszto.com/user.php?login=resumewriters
The premise or foundations of the claim lay on the fact the piece is a memory play which means that it can be presented with an atypical liberty of rule. In fact the most evident argument or theme that the play purveys is the complexity of acknowledging reality. The characters for one (and as central to this paper), are having their own difficulties in recounting themselves with the supposition of reality. The most apparent thing to picture this is the withdrawal of the entire Wingfield family to the public world of reality into the depths of the private confides of the world of illusion. This arose from the fact that the entire family, given their own intricacies as characters of the story, is unable to overcome the difficulty of relating themselves to what is real. To note, the entirety of the whole play is overseen by Tom. This means that he has all the bias of the story and all the events that will transpire will be distilled by the mind of Tom.
Of the family members, it appears that reality has been far from the side of Laura. This could have been because the young lady has been grappling with her disabilities; physicality and her dysfunctional family. The private world of Laura had been dominated by her glass figurines--- where she sought refuge and comfort. Laura is quoted, “Little articles of [glass], they’re ornaments mostly! Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here’s an example of one, if you’d like to see it! . . . Oh, be careful—if you breathe, it breaks! . . . You see how the light shines through him?” (Williams, scene 7).
On the other hand, it can be said it is Amanda that has the most multifaceted approach with reality. It is evident, in the entirety of the whole play that she is the only one that longs for the material stability of the world. Interestingly, it is through these worldly attachments that hinders her of the real world that they are moving in. On other scenes, she is scenes to have not dispensed the fact that she is not anymore a pampered belle that she was before and that whenever she reminisces these events of her life, she is seen to have denied the fact that the in the real world these events are of the past and ought to be forgotten now. Amanda is quoted, “Well, in the South we had so many servants. Gone, gone, gone. All vestige of gracious living! Gone completely! I wasn’t prepared for what the future brought me. All of my gentlemen callers were sons of planters and so of course I assumed that I would be married to one and raise my family on a large piece of land with plenty of servants. But man proposes—and woman accepts the proposal! To vary that old, old saying a bit—I married no planter! I married a man who worked for the telephone company! . . . A telephone man who—fell in love with long-distance!” (Williams, scene 6).
Tie- up/ Conclusion/ Synthesis/ Implications
Thence at the end of the day it can be supposed that The Glass Menagerie is a form of play that tries to illustrate truth and reality in the conflicts that it has but it tries to stifle this by the use of illusion. This can be unmistakably seen on many parts, if not the entirety of the whole piece. The withdrawal of the Wingfield family from reality and their use of illusion to compensate with the loss of reality is a remarkable for the simple reason that it is an attempt to somehow live the life that they want to live. Tom in particular, had thought that realism which intended to present life as it was without view through rose-tinted glasses had outlasts its value. In the end, the representation that The Glass Menagerie represents is not just the fragile Laura. It represents the entire Wingfield family; it is through these little glass figurines that the audience see the frailty of the characters. They are vulnerable in many terms and this may be rooted on the fact they had withdrawn from what is real and shunned themselves in the walls of their imagined world. If this will continue, then each day that will pass will just jeopardize them on the grounds that they are almost dysfunctional and that the only thing that holds them together is a likewise very fragile and frail young lady- Laura. While it is true that Laura is also the glass menagerie in the story it is also that she best describes a strong force that continues to hold on even if it is hard on her part. Beyond doubt The Glass Menagerie is reality masquerading as illusion
Author: http://www.linkmegoszto.com/user.php?login=resumewriters
пятница, 16 декабря 2011 г.
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment refers to the execution through a judicial process as a punishment for a crime committed by an individual. This sentence is also referred to as death penalty while the crimes that attract it are known as capital offences. This sentence has been practiced for a long time but over the recent years concerns have been raised on the ground of violations of human rights and sanity of life. There has been a raging debate with different people holding different opinions on the subject. There are those who have been advocating for the abolition of the practice basing their arguments on the need to sanity life. Majority of the abolitionist have been basing their arguments on religious connotations as well as human rights angle. On the other side another group has been calling for sustained application of the sentence as a fair judicial process to control the increased crime of capital nature. They have argued that this will serve as a deterrent to potential offenders.
Different countries have policies concerning capital punishment with some having abolished the practice.China, United Kingdom are some of the countries where capital punishment has been outlawed. In United States of America capital punishment continue to be used in the judicial process. This has caused a lot of controversy with debates ranging on the constitutionality of the issue. The issue has divided the nation with the human right activist calling on the sober approach of the subject as it is very sensitive since it touches on the life of an individual. The constitution guarantees life for every individual, this section of the constitution should be uphold for the common good of all the citizens. It is through such a measure that justice will be held. (Hood, R 2002 105)
The mainstream religious bodies and beliefs appreciate the importance of respecting the life of a human being. They point out that no human being has a right to terminate the life of a fellow man or woman. Only the almighty has the right and power to give and end life. In advancing these beliefs the religious movements stress that it is morally wrong for an individual to terminate the life of a person on the other hand, government killing as a measure of reducing crime or upholding justice is equally wrong. This argument falls on the principle of two wrongs can not make a right. Human rights policies are also framed on the same context. Killing as a means to justify the ends does not serve to uphold justice rather it is an inhumane practice which should be condemned in all means. (Hood, R 2002 145)
Strong policies should be put in place in place to address the issue of capital punishment. There have been several cases where people have been executed only later evidence emerges declaring these people innocent. This is what the abolitionist have been arguing about. Killing an innocent person only serves to promote crime rather controlling it. Leaders all over the world need to strengthen the policies which deal with this issue to ensure that capital punishment is no longer part of our judicial process. Alternative mechanisms need to be put in place to address the type of punishment which should be meted on capital offenders. This is the only way that governments will avoid killing innocent people as well as upholding the constitutional rights stipulated in our constitutions concerning the right to life.
Analysts point out that the only way United States and other countries which still use capital punishment in their judicial process can prevent executing innocent people and uphold human rights is through abolishing the practice. This can be achieved through continued enactment and application of strong human policies which address on the issue. Capital punishment is a violation of the human right on the part of the government ,on the same note those who kill commit heinous crimes but there should be mechanisms where the judicial process is not allowed to commit innocent people to a process which they do not deserve.
References:
Different countries have policies concerning capital punishment with some having abolished the practice.China, United Kingdom are some of the countries where capital punishment has been outlawed. In United States of America capital punishment continue to be used in the judicial process. This has caused a lot of controversy with debates ranging on the constitutionality of the issue. The issue has divided the nation with the human right activist calling on the sober approach of the subject as it is very sensitive since it touches on the life of an individual. The constitution guarantees life for every individual, this section of the constitution should be uphold for the common good of all the citizens. It is through such a measure that justice will be held. (Hood, R 2002 105)
The mainstream religious bodies and beliefs appreciate the importance of respecting the life of a human being. They point out that no human being has a right to terminate the life of a fellow man or woman. Only the almighty has the right and power to give and end life. In advancing these beliefs the religious movements stress that it is morally wrong for an individual to terminate the life of a person on the other hand, government killing as a measure of reducing crime or upholding justice is equally wrong. This argument falls on the principle of two wrongs can not make a right. Human rights policies are also framed on the same context. Killing as a means to justify the ends does not serve to uphold justice rather it is an inhumane practice which should be condemned in all means. (Hood, R 2002 145)
Strong policies should be put in place in place to address the issue of capital punishment. There have been several cases where people have been executed only later evidence emerges declaring these people innocent. This is what the abolitionist have been arguing about. Killing an innocent person only serves to promote crime rather controlling it. Leaders all over the world need to strengthen the policies which deal with this issue to ensure that capital punishment is no longer part of our judicial process. Alternative mechanisms need to be put in place to address the type of punishment which should be meted on capital offenders. This is the only way that governments will avoid killing innocent people as well as upholding the constitutional rights stipulated in our constitutions concerning the right to life.
Analysts point out that the only way United States and other countries which still use capital punishment in their judicial process can prevent executing innocent people and uphold human rights is through abolishing the practice. This can be achieved through continued enactment and application of strong human policies which address on the issue. Capital punishment is a violation of the human right on the part of the government ,on the same note those who kill commit heinous crimes but there should be mechanisms where the judicial process is not allowed to commit innocent people to a process which they do not deserve.
References:
среда, 14 декабря 2011 г.
Nature
Following recent attacks by dogs in many parts of the world and the United States in particular, the city council has issued a directive that will see dangerous breeds of dogs like pit bulls and rottweilers banned. The main question is whether this ban is necessary and if so will it be effective. The debate on whether it is right to have these breeds of dogs banned has been in the public domain for sometime now (Randolph, M. 14-17).
Not all dogs are dangerous. In light of the foregoing its has been argued by many especially dog breeders that banning an entire breed of dogs is unfair and uncalled for. As we all know breeds of dogs are classified according to their purpose. Some dogs are best suited for hunting while others are to be kept as pets in homes. Some breeds tend to be naturally aggressive so as to perfectly suit their purpose of offering security by guarding people and property. While executing their duties they tend to be vicious and in most cases attack intruders. It is these dogs that many are now asking that should be removed from the society by totally banning them. Pit Bulls and rottweilers particularly are on the spot.
However the major problem that has been noted is the lack of pure breeds of dogs as it were in the past. Most breeds of dogs are now hybrid (mixture of two breeds) thus tends to have a mixture of traits picked from the original breeds. Due to this dogs are not able to serve the very purpose for which they were initially intended for. It is now not possible to get pure breeds of dogs.
Considering the latest attacks of dogs some of which have resulted to deaths of people I am of the opinion that certain breeds of dogs should be banned. Although this move has been heavily opposed by those that rear dogs for commercial purpose, it is important to look at the bigger picture and ensure that lives of human beings are not put at stake. Pit bulls and rottweilers in particular should be banned as research shows that they account for at least 74% of the vicious attacks that have been recorded lately.
However it is common knowledge that banning of certain breeds of dogs in this era may not have much effect due to the aforementioned reason of hybrid dogs. This means that even though these two breeds of dogs are banned there are dogs that have since been crossbred and thus possess similar traits as of these two breeds. Nevertheless banning of these two breeds which are considered most dangerous could help reduce the numerous attacks that have been witnessed lately.
Besides banning I am of the opinion that greater measures should be taken to avoid dog attack. This is because even though a dog does not fall in the category of those that attack. All dogs are considered naturally harmful or at least they have a potential to be harmful. Banning therefore may not be the lasting solution and the city council may have to look for a more permanent solution to this problem.
Author: http://www.kuro5hin.org/user/Peterpen
Not all dogs are dangerous. In light of the foregoing its has been argued by many especially dog breeders that banning an entire breed of dogs is unfair and uncalled for. As we all know breeds of dogs are classified according to their purpose. Some dogs are best suited for hunting while others are to be kept as pets in homes. Some breeds tend to be naturally aggressive so as to perfectly suit their purpose of offering security by guarding people and property. While executing their duties they tend to be vicious and in most cases attack intruders. It is these dogs that many are now asking that should be removed from the society by totally banning them. Pit Bulls and rottweilers particularly are on the spot.
However the major problem that has been noted is the lack of pure breeds of dogs as it were in the past. Most breeds of dogs are now hybrid (mixture of two breeds) thus tends to have a mixture of traits picked from the original breeds. Due to this dogs are not able to serve the very purpose for which they were initially intended for. It is now not possible to get pure breeds of dogs.
Considering the latest attacks of dogs some of which have resulted to deaths of people I am of the opinion that certain breeds of dogs should be banned. Although this move has been heavily opposed by those that rear dogs for commercial purpose, it is important to look at the bigger picture and ensure that lives of human beings are not put at stake. Pit bulls and rottweilers in particular should be banned as research shows that they account for at least 74% of the vicious attacks that have been recorded lately.
However it is common knowledge that banning of certain breeds of dogs in this era may not have much effect due to the aforementioned reason of hybrid dogs. This means that even though these two breeds of dogs are banned there are dogs that have since been crossbred and thus possess similar traits as of these two breeds. Nevertheless banning of these two breeds which are considered most dangerous could help reduce the numerous attacks that have been witnessed lately.
Besides banning I am of the opinion that greater measures should be taken to avoid dog attack. This is because even though a dog does not fall in the category of those that attack. All dogs are considered naturally harmful or at least they have a potential to be harmful. Banning therefore may not be the lasting solution and the city council may have to look for a more permanent solution to this problem.
Author: http://www.kuro5hin.org/user/Peterpen
Подписаться на:
Сообщения (Atom)