Macbeth and R+J Essay Example for Free

Macbeth and R+J Essay Shakespeare communicates many moods in Macbeth and Romeo Juliet; the main moods are love, and hate fuelled betrayal, and in my work these are the themes I will analyse. In Romeo Juliet and Macbeth, vital characters have had to betray in order to achieve love, for example; In Romeo and Juliet; Juliet has to betray the authority of her father in order to fulfil her affection for Romeo. In terms of love this would mean that: The Storge (unconditional love, shared amongst family) that Juliet once felt for her father was met by misogyny (Hatred for Women) upon his realisation of Juliet’s Eros (love between two people) towards Romeo. Despite her subdued character, Juliet is adamant on not marrying Paris and betraying her family for Romeo. A quote to support this is; If all else fail, myself have power to die This signifies that Juliet would rather die than enter something that it not right. A quote from Juliet’s Father; â€Å"How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? † – His use of repetition emphasises his fury in response to Juliet’s new found aggression in character, and his rhetorical question presents his dominance and highlights the hierarchy that was in place at the time to allocate superiority to male’s in a family, in this scene; the breakdown of Juliet’s Father and Mother’s relationship is most apparent. Furthermore this is a point where Juliet is most isolated from her family and becomes closer to Romeo. My alternate interpretation is that Juliet did not betray her family, but her family were betrayed by there own pride, Pride was the cataclysmic barrier between acceptance and condemnation. The most potent character development is Juliet’s, throughout the play she matures and becomes a lot more retaliant to authority and starts to become herself rather than obedient to thers, this process is strengthened because of the speed she has had to become responsible; due to the mandatory pressures she is expected to comply with and the swift 7 day time period in which the story is conveyed, this development in character gives her the willpower to betray her family; which also ultimately supports my point. The dramatic techniques used in Romeo and Juliet create a hastily strong impact due to the play being condensed into a week and an ambience of anxiety. In Macbeth there are several similarities that also support my point; Macbeth has to betray King Duncan despite his loyalty and Philia (The love of Friendship) has to betray him in order to acquire the Eros from the ever superior Lady Macbeth, this situation contradicts all convention as society was heavily patriarchal which suggests that women should be submissive to men; however in this occurrence Macbeth conforms with Lady Macbeths demands to murder King Duncan, this is the main contrast between Macbeth and Romeo Juliet. A quote that coincides with this is; â€Å"But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and well not fail† – Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth to murder King Duncan, presenting her dominance and ambition over Macbeth. A quote from Macbeth after when placing the blame on the guards for King Duncan’s murder; Here lay Duncan, his silver skin laced with his golden blood†¦ the murderers, steeped in the colors of their trade – This illustrates the betrayal that Macbeth has committed, as his use of alliteration strengthens the deviation of this line and the fact that he is further betraying King Duncan post his death by laying the culpability on the guards; simultaneously justifying there execution. Additionally an alternative interpretation of betrayal is explained using this quote; â€Å"Who can be wise, amazed, temprate, and furious† – Macbeths use of antithesis (underlined) displays how he has slowly become contradictory since his brutal murder of King Duncan which I believe indicates he has betrayed his own nature. The main dramatic technique used in Macbeth is dramatic irony, dramatic irony is where something that is indicated at the start of the play will either become true or change at the end of the play or furthermore could mean the opposite of hat might happen. An example of this is that; â€Å"This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses. † – This is a significant use of dramatic irony, the description of the environment is pleasant; however unbeknown to King Duncan, this is where he will be murdered, and this also links in to betrayal. Moreover, at the start of the play, Macbeth describes Banquo to be a â€Å"Friend† however later in the play we know that Banquo becomes his enemy and has to be killed due to the fact he is a great threat to Macbeth’s throne; which is a further deception that Macbeth has carried out. Conclusively; I believe Shakespeare’s whole use of dramatic irony links in to betrayal directly, because the constant use of dramatic irony means that the plot keeps changing; effectively displaying that the plot betrays itself continually. This constantly conveys a mood of false anticipation and an eerie sense of the unknown. Reading more in depth into both plays, there are further comparisons; Such as the use of fate, when Romeo and Juliet fall in love we know that because of their backgrounds; it will lead to death, and similarly in Macbeth the witches tell a prophecy in which Macbeth becomes king and then dies both plays contain different forms of tragedy however both plays meet the same end. Evidence to support this in Romeo and Juliet is: â€Å"A pair of star-crossd lovers take their life† – Meaning that two different sided (Montague/Capulet) lovers take their life. And for Macbeth: â€Å"All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter! † – This is the prophecy of Macbeth becoming king and then dying. Furthermore, in Romeo ; Juliet and Macbeth, death is a necessary price to be paid for peace, for example, Romeo and Juliet have to die in order for the Capulet’s and Montague’s to live in tranquillity, to support this, a quote from the beginning soliloquy: â€Å"What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend† – This means that where we have failed before we will strive to succeed now, signifying that Romeo and Juliet’s death were essential to the ‘Fair Verona’ achieving peace, likewise in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s death was also fundamental to harmony being restored to the ingdom, an additional quote to support this is: â€Å"The usurpers cursed head: the time is free† – the quote is about Macbeth’s severed head, and diverts attention to the fact that with his death ‘the time is free’ which implies it is peaceful. However contrary there are many differences, for example the types of love/relationship between the two couples in each play; In Macbeth there relationship is very unstable and Lady Macbeth is very domineering over Macbeth; also there love for each other is not through passion; but through the lust for greed and power as Lady Macbeth is desperate for Macbeth to become king by killing King Duncan and betraying his loyalty to him: â€Å"And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers† – This suggests she will do anything to become Queen and accentuates her ruthless nature; it also underlines the imbalanced relationship in which the position of superiority continuously changes dramatically. At the start Macbeth is a brave and noble hero and he is superior however as the play goes on and when Macbeth’s manhood is questioned by Lady Macbeth â€Å"are you not a man? † he then becomes submissive and is dictated by Lady Macbeth. In Romeo and Juliet

The Status of Women in patriarchal Indian

The Status of Women in patriarchal Indian Chapter Two: The Status of Women in patriarchal Indian.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His Rights and Her Duties Introduction India is countries with a history spanning hundreds years of a multiplicity inequality, where customs and culture practise had and still have strong influence on the social and political life of the population. India is also a country with tights to social caste system, with variety religions believers. This social mixture makes difficult for Indian women to escape discrimination, reach better opportunities and empower themselves not only inside the household, but also in a village and in a community, or even on the countrys political stage. On another hand, India has modern approach to technology and development with fast growing economy reaching 7,7 percent GDP in 2009 and further forecast of growth to 9 percent this year. (Trading economics http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Symbol=INR) Indian family structure. The most outstanding feature of India is a strong patriarchal and patrilocal character of this state. Majority of Indian states are patriarchal with only few examples of matrilocal and matrilineal structure like Kerala. In patriarchal society both boys and girls take their identity from the father. But while the son is recognize as a permanent member of the family, the girls are more luckily be viewed as a transit element of this unit to another predominantly husbands family. This also influences inheritance and resource distribution inside family. The land and properties are usually inherited by male successors and transmitted throw them to the next generation. According to the traditional legal practice a daughter has only rights of maintenance the land during her life in a family. As soon as she got married her right of land use are dismissed and taken back to family unit. Only a son has rights to property and land at birth. Women position in patriarchal India is reduced to good daughters, good wives and mothers. Wifehood and motherhood are commonly accepted as key roles for women in an Indian society and by those implications they should not pursue any different profession. Especially this once required by higher education or specialised trainings, which make them, lose focus on main household duties. Patriarchal system in an Indian society also means that the family unit is based on the joint household structure, where only one male is a head of house. Usually this role does belong to a father. He does make choice in terms of marriage alliance, both daughters and sons, decision about buying and selling properties, and maintaining family property day-to-day life. In terms of domestic arrangement the elder woman in a family is in charge. The new bride has the lowest and submissive position in this family chain (p70-76 Women status in India and Empowering them throw Education Dr Bijayalasini Prahary 2010). In addition a patrilocal character of the Indian family means that a married couple will be leaving in a husbands father house or in close distance to a natal home. And because an inheritance in India is usually traced through man, not a woman, the whole family sets are related to males who live together and share a property or even in case of tribal groups a wife. As a consequence of a male dominated role in a family and kinship system women are treated as a less important tool in a kin, and often an easy disposable member, simply replaceable by new brides. For example, in cases where a woman is childless common practise for husband is to send her back to her maternal family and replace by a new wife. The daughter situation is much more difficult. As daughters position is concerned, their residence in the fathers household is temporary and they do not have rights to family assets. Especial as girls quite often are subjects of early age arranged marriages, so their lives in a unit ar e short. In case of a wife, the husband family treats her as an outsider who is descended from some other patriarchal extended kin. Interesting enough with age and giving a birth to son a woman can gain better setup inside the household, but she will always be perceive as an outsider. Legally the minimum ages at marriage are 18 for women and 21 for man, but in practise, according R C Mishra, close to 60 percent of women of rural India are married before reaching legal age. Especially that the legal provisions are rarely enforced by local authorities, what allows prohibition against child marriage to be continued and it seems wildly accepted in pure areas of India. We have to remember that Indian population is strongly influenced by custom and religious believes. As a consequence of early married many of girls, who are not ready physically and mentally to give a birth at young age, are dying during pregnancy (p94-97 women in India towards gender equality R C Mishra Authorspress Delhi 2006). The patrurialchal structure of the family clearly influences the relationship inside a household. Any womens decision-making power is restricted by their low positions in a house. For example, if the mother-in-law lives in a house, a new woman in a unit has to ask her for permission and approval in domestic arrangements. If the brother-in-law is there, he is the person to ask for consent to leave the house. Also at presence the sister-in-law in a household, a new bride needs to submit herself to her decisions. Many of women in joint families are enable to take any independent decision in respect to their own daily activities. The wife has to live by her husbands and often his family wishes. The daughter has to live by father and family arrangements. (Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Bilkis Vissandjà ©e 2006). According to studies made by R C Misha nearly 90 percent of women in Uttar Pradesh, and over 80 percent in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh need permission before they can leave the house. Even in matters of cooking, a third of interviewed women in Uttar said that they had been excluded from decision-making on cooking. ((p94-97 women in India towards gender equality R C Mishra Authorspress Delhi 2006) Indians family structure means that it is a bride responsibility to make major adjustments in a marriage. Girls should be prepared to make sacrifice in terms own needs, be modest, hard worker and always contribute to new family wealth being. Many Indians strongly believe that not only young girls should get married early but as well be less educated than the males in the family. The reason behind this is to preserve the male-based hierarchy and perception of man roles in a household as a breadwinner and security provider. Another factor is that unmarried innocent girl symbolises family honour and purity, and is considering as a blessed gift for the whole house. In India, especially in pure regions, rural areas, girls specialise in domestic work such as looking after siblings, preparing and cooking food, cleaning the house and fetching water and firewood. Boys on the other hand are manly involved in working on the family farms, looking after livestock and engaging in income-earning activities. (p1-11 statues of rural women in India Dr S C Shama 2009) But due to economic situation quite often girls are taking over also boys responsibilities in farming and earning money for family needs. Also social discrimination has a huge impact on women rights to land. Norms of female dependence on males are justified through a range of social mechanisms. About one in third of households have been run by women alone as they husbands left in research for jobs outside agriculture industry. Still women get less paid then man for the same work done. Two third of women in India cant read or write. They cant sleep before the man in household (p1-11 statues of rural women in India Dr S C Shama 2009). (p 40-44 Gender Discrimination in Indian Society, L Packiam, Allied Publishing Privet Limited 2006 New Delhi) In addition, even among Indian women exists huge inequality related to treatment at work place and on social stage. Women belonging to the privileged and dominating classes enjoy mach more freedom and opportunities than they are often denied even to man from subordinated and unprivileged casts and groups. Women for the privilege cast are more educated and can place themselves in better position on an employment market. Still it does not change the fact that women are on the bottom of the order in every social group and casts, landless people, displaced and migrants (p1-11 statues of rural women in India Dr S C Shama 2009) Dali women are the hardest touched by discrimination not only at home but as well at Indian society. As the lowest cast they suffer every day form injustice and wrongdoing. The case of a girl student from Gujarat is only one of many examples of hash treatment by upper class and Indian traditional authorities. The girl made a mistake of joining the dancing in the mai n square of her village, in which most of the participants were of the upper caste. The upper caste boys pulled her out and threatened to rape her. For interfering, her mother was slapped. In the hope for justice, she forced her parents to file a complaint to the police against her assailants. For complaining to the police constantly the upper caste families in a village intimidated her mother and members of her family until it had been withdraw. This only one from many examples showing how difficult is for women from lowest cast to deal with disadvantages to be born into Dalit cast. It is estimated that around 50 thousand Dalits girls were sold every year to Hindu organizations that are involved in the Devdasi system as a female servants of god and are sexually exploited. These women from the poorest cast have no control over life, wealth and they cannot expect help from Indian justices system and local authorities. Human Right Watch Report in 1992, http://aapf.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mahey-the-status-of-dalit-women-in-indias-caste-based-system.pdf (The Status of Dalit Women in Indias Caste Based System Sonia Mahey, University of Alberta) Women in Indian population. India is one of the countries where the female population is counting in less proportion to male population. According to UNICEF Indias Report on Child Sex Ratio birth of females children is declining steadily. Figures from 1991 showed the sex ratio was 947 girls for 1000 boys. Ten years later it had fallen to 927 girls for 1000 boys. Furthermore, since 1991 in 80 percent of all districts in India had recorded a declining sex ratio with the state of Punjab being the worst in leading the statistics. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have recorded more than 50 point decline in the child sex ratio in the same period. http://www.unicef.org/india/media_3285.htm Delhi recorded sex ratios 821 while Haryanan 851 and Uttar Paradesh 898 (p6 http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/7602/1/MPRA_paper_7602.pdf). The Karela state is the only one in India where overall sex ratio is constantly in favourable to women. According to MPRAs data sex ratio was in 2001 1058 as per 1001 census (MPRA 10 march 2008) The fact is that more then 1 million pregnancies are aborted every year after the identification as females. Female children, who escape abortion or infanticide, get into social, economical and political discrimination. Through socialisation female children are throwing into women role expectations in Indian society. From the moment of birth girls are subjected by parents reinforcement to take on traditional role in a society and secondary position after male. From the birth girls are view as a weight responsibility and son as a valuable resource. This discriminations continue throw the girls whole lives and effecting ever aspect of they daily existence. At home patents give priority to needs and interest of their sons then daughters. The teenager girl is denied involvement in decision making in the family. She hardly takes any decision, which affects her life directly. Even in terms of relationships girls are restricted. A son can choose and love a girl of his choice, even refuses t o marry parents choice of a bride, and whomever they selects the final world would be his. On contrarily, the daughter has to submit herself physically and mentally to family decisions. Every her movement is watched by relatives and in huge measure by the whole community, especially in a village environment. She is strictly instructed to behave herself. Expression of love towards a boy even of the same cast is not possible (L Packiam 2006, p16-18). Of course the restriction towards girls can be more loosen up in economically privileged and higher cast families. Although India is going throw an intensive economical and in same point political changes, which impose social transformation on girls right to education, the elimination of traditional and still strong dominated view on women lower position seems to be unattached by those changes. Girls education The conventional view on girls upbringing has huge impact on their formal education. India has the largest population of non-school-going working girls. The country literacy rate for women is 39 percent versus 64 percent for man. For example in Uttar Pradesh is even lower, around 25 percent for women. This low rate of girls in an education lies down to parents view that the educated girl brings no returns to her future roles, mainly as a homemaker and perhaps agriculture labour. The point is that girls increasingly are replacing brothers on farm duties while carrying domestic responsibilities at the same time. This is significant reason for not sending daughters to schools. A large proportion of nonworking girls is kept at home only because they household responsibility. Also next point for not sending girls to school is to protect their virginity. Especially when schools are communal for both: girls and boys. In addition long distance to education institutions with travel expenses m akes impossible to change paten of basic education for girls (Dr Priyanka Tomar 2006, p 10-13). The reality is that women literacy rate stands less than 50 percent for whole India. United Nation had estimated that 245 million Indian women cannot read or write and furthermore this number covers wide throw states, religion groups and casts. For instance, while 95 percent of women in Mizoram are literate, only 34 percent of women in Bihar can read and write. The average Indian female has only 1.2 years of schooling, while the Indian male spends 3.5 years in school. More than 50 percent girls drop out by the time they are in middle school. On the other hand life expectancy has increased for both: males and females to 64.9 years for women and 63 years for men. According to UN Statistic Division (2000) also the workingwomen population had risen from 13 percent in 1987 to 25 percent in 2001 and still grows. Another confirmed point of strong male dominance in an Indian society is the fact that only women belied to be responsible for childless marriages or giving successive birth to female babies. In those cases it is common to expect a wife to find a second wife, for her husband, which is natural in rural areas that she is coming from her own family kit (L Packiam 2006, p35 -37). In such traditional country like India with strong male role perception as a head of large family it is important to have sons who continue family line and look after their assets. Work and women A further aspect unequal right for women and men are related to workplace and conditions they are work. Women work longer hours than man and their work is less paid or not paid at all. Women contribution in agriculture, whether it is farming or commercial agriculture, is far more demanding as they need to as well concentrate on domestic duties and ruining household, fulfilling they traditional roles as a mother and wife. It had been found (Andhra Pradesh 2006, p.12-17) that the working day of a woman labour in agriculture during the farming season last 15 hours from 4 am to 8 pm, while man work from 5am to 10 am or 11 am and from 3 pm to 5 pm. It means that women have to work in difficult weather conditions (Dr Priyanka Tomar 2006, p 12-17). Both transplanting and weeding required from women worker to spend the whole day working in mud. What is more they work under hit of sun, while mens work such a ploughing and watering the fields is always carried out early in a morning (Neera Bha rihoke 2008, p. 41). Still women labour contribution is barley recognizable as an economic productivity and input to a family household (Dr Priyanka Tomar 2006, p 12-17). In rural India women get paid 60 percent or even less than men for doing the same work. Table 1 shows the wage rate in agriculture between male and female workers between 2004 and 2006 register by Government of India. According to this table women get only 41.58 rupee for ploughing work while men are paid almost double. Also in another jobs women do seems to be paid less than men. Table 1: Wage Rate in Agricultural occupation 2004-2006 Occupation Wage of Men Wage of Women Ploughing Sowing Weeding Picking Crushing 72,28 66,09 57,97 54,60 60,62 41,58 46,17 46,73 41,49 42,73 Source:Ministerof Labouer, Gov of India Women play significant role in agriculture, taking on any job required in land farming. Table 2:1 shows percentage of distribution of female labour in cultivation, agriculture and household in 2001. According the chat around 51 percent women are involve in household industries work while 43 is employed in agriculture, and only 6 percent in cultivation. Table 2.2 shows percentage of male worker participation in cultivation, agriculture and household. The diagram picture that 59 percent men are employed in cultivation in compared to 43 percent women labour. In addition male labour continues 38 percent employed in agriculture. This number is less than 51 percent women labour. Not surprisingly only 3 percent men worked in household as this sector is consider being a female duty. Source : National Sample Survey Organization, 55th round (July 1999 June 2000) Source : National Sample Survey Organization, 55th round (July 1999 June 2000) http://ncw.nic.in/pdfreports/Impact%20of%20WTO%20Women%20in%20Agriculture.pdf IMPACT OF WTO ON WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE RESEARCH FOUNDATION SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY NEW DELHI NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN NEW DELHI According to the UNFPA State of World Population report on India, published in 2005, about 70 percent of graduate Indian women were unemployed taking under consideration that women represent 90 percent of the total minor workers of the country. Whats more, rural women engaged in agriculture farming constitute 78 percent of all female with regular paid work, making they a third of all labour involved in farming on the land. Furthermore, the report point it out that due to the traditional gender division of labour these women get on average 30 percent lower wages than men. Also the total employment of women in organised sector is only 4 percent even though that industrial production increased since the 1980s with more jobs in factories and outside household. Evidently data shows increased trend among companies to rely on using cheap labour in production stage, mostly women and children. It is well known that women and children work in huge numbers in bangle making weaving, brassware, l eather, crafts and other industries, including clothed and technology factories. Yet, only 3 percent of these women are recorded as manual worker. They are forced to work for almost charitable wages and are excluded form all social security benefits like a health care or a pension. A study organised by SEWA in fourteen Indian trades found that 85 percent of this women earned only 50 percent of the official poverty level income. Another feature of women unequal treatment in Indian society is limited access to health care. Giving complicity of underlying factors like sons preference in a family, early marriages, lack of access to hospitals, education and general women position in a household, is not surprising that life expectancy of females is lower than males. For majority of Indian states the average women life expectancy is 60 years. However life expectancy age for Indian women had been altered for different states, regions in India. In Kerala, for instance, women life expectancy is 75 years of age, while in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, the poorest states of India, womens age expectancy is even lower 57 years (R C Mishra 2006, p.85-87). This shows as well that other factors like women religion and a cast they belong to, political and economical environment do have huge impact on life expectancy this particular gender. In addition women are quite often subjects of sexual and gender related violence within household, but also outside family walls. They low position make them easy target for raps, molestation, kidnapping and abduction, dowry deaths and domestic violence. Especially illegal practice of dowry existing in many cast groups, quite common in rural areas, causing concerns as legislation reinforcement seems to be powerless in execution women rights and protection. Women in politics Furthermore on political stage it seems women are seriously underrepresented, The fact that Indian government accepted the Representation of the People Act from 1951, which reserves one third seats in national and states parliaments for women, makes milestone in acknowledging women participation in a society and they needs for changes. This is a positive step that gives women political rights to be represented and ability to influence legal policies of this country. On the other hand the Act can be viewed as a need for enforcement democratic India to accept women basic human rights to be equalised with men in area like education, workplace, household and marriage, inheritance of properties, land. However in reality women are not even count for a quote of Indian representatives on a political stage. For instance in a list of the Communist Party of India only three out of sixty candidates are women. Even worse situation for female representation can be found in Karelas parliament. On a list of the Congress Partys for Karela only one woman has been listed in election among seventeen candidates taking part. The main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party, has just twenty-six women among its one hundred sixty six candidates. Just six women among 71 candidate seats represent the Samajwadi Party. http://news.oneindia.in/feature/2009/wanted-women-in-indian-parliament.html Throw the years the number of women parliamentarians has never exceeded 15 percent of all seats. Participation of women in the Parliament Lok Sabha (lower house) after election in 1999 was only 8,8 percent, while in Rajya Sabha (upper house) was 8,2 percent (Source: Election Commission of Indias Website) This shows that womens participation in political processes is slow and almost invisible, can be even recounted as exclude form the state life. It is mainly due to various social, economic, historical, geographical, political and cultural factors. Illiteracy, lack of access and control over income and other resources including land, restrictions to public spaces and legal systems in favor of a man continue to harm women any effort to political contribution. In the Indian culture women have always been in a lower status than men and in this terms Indian women display great reserve, respect and submissive mannerisms when they speak to men. The rule Being a male-dominant society, men rule and women follow applies in every aspect to Indian society structure (A male participant Womens Political Participation in Rural India p.437). The Indian constitution grants women equal rights with men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist, with womens lives shaped by customs. In most of Indian families a daughter is viewed as a responsibility, a problem, which needs food and protection. On the other hand sons are idolized and celebrated. May you be the mother of a hundred sons is a common Hindu wedding blessing. This has influenced women access to education, to gaining power in household and a community. It seems that without strong reinforcement of traditional custom and values any government legislation cannot be productive. Recognition of women imputes into Indian economy and politics is another step towards improvement their lives. .

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essay -- essays research pa

Throughout the evolution of man, power and control have been idealized. When power is attained by manipulative dictators, citizens may initially view them as a means to satisfy their need for structure and direction. An author’s grim prophecy of mankind in a totalitarian society is depicted in George Orwell’s, 1984. Citizens in Oceania are governed by the Party Big Brother, which succeeds in controlling their actions and minds. The concept of oppression is taken to a new level, until there is no sense of humanity within the society. Natural instincts and emotions do not exist for the citizens in Oceania, as they are conditioned since birth to be working bodies, lacking mercy and compassion. â€Å"By careful early conditioning, by games and cold water, by the rubbish that was dinned into them at school and in the Spies and the Youth League, by lectures, parades, songs, slogans and martial music, the natural feeling had been driven out of them.† (Orwell, p.71) The main repetitive means of conditioning were the Party slogans which citizens must adhere to; War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. War is linked with peace and security, rather than horror and grief. Freedom is viewed as being an individual, therefore more susceptible to torture. The individual is defeated and therefore enslaved to the government rather than being apart of the government. In result, there is no freedom of thought, expression, language, religion, etc. Ignorance is bliss since there is no need to criticize the gove rnment and therefore, fewer confrontations. The proles (proletariats) in the novel are allowed and appreciate primitive emotions. Sex, scent, expression, and the true sense of freedom embody this in the novel. It is ironic that they reserve a sense of humanity, yet are considered inhumane. Eighty five per cent of Oceania’s population is proles, and they are unaware of their potential power. â€Å"If there is hope, it lies in the proles. Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.† (Orwell, p.52) Although it could lead to a counter-revolution, they are content in the purity of their lives, and see no need for power since they have not yet been exposed to the oppression in Oceania. â€Å"The lower strata of the middle class – the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the ha... ...collective mind. Orwell uses this concept to relate to the oppression in society present during the time in which he wrote the novel. During the 1940’s, it was not only WWII, but also the time of the dictators Stalin and Hitler, who used brainwashing techniques to take advantage of their vulnerable societies. The Machiavellian Theorem becomes the sole tactic to survival in Oceania. In order to become a member of the Brotherhood, Winston agrees to commit all the carnage that Big Brother has raged on his people. (Orwell, p.180) With angst to be rid of his oppression, Winston has lost his sense of humanity. He now believes that his end justifies his means. Although he believes he resists internally to the Party, his mentality has inevitably been brainwashed by acts of sabotage, and all that O’Brien had to do to corrupt him was to direct his hate elsewhere. The Inner Party develops intricate ways of attacking a person at their personal weakest, and using their various instruments, can break down body, mind, and soul. Although this novel is merely Orwell’s political speculation, it opens the doors to the many possibilities and outcomes of uncontrolled power in vulnerable societies.

The Power of Peer Pressure Essay -- Peer Pressure Essays

Today, children can kiss their youth goodbye. Starting as young as 12 years old, tweens, the term coined for kids in between child and teen, begin to face the cruel world of reality: drugs, sex, alcohol and violence. At 12 years old, the world should be perfect. Instead, the world is far from it. Kids have too much exposure to the dangers the world has to offer at an early age because of what surrounds them. Because of the influences of peer pressure, parenting and, of course, the relentless media, today's children face problems at a young age that can potentially lead to serious complications in the long term. Everyone's doing it, right? Wrong. Peer pressure is when a child does something he or she does not want to do as a result of being pressured by friends. All children experience peer pressure and give into it at one time or another. Fortunately, most children are not "experimenting" with drugs, sex, alcohol and violence. Even though most kids are not indulging in these activities, there still are a handful who are and they attempt to pressure other kids to do what they a...

History and Memory Essay example -- essays papers

History and Memory ‘Is there such a thing as â€Å"history† which is more objective than memory?’ For many years now there has been a strong debate, as regarding wether or not there is such a thing as ‘history’ that is more objective than memory. Due to memories completely subjective nature, history although also being somewhat subjective, it is a great deal more objective than memory. To discuss such a statement first one must define the terms ‘history’, ‘objective’ and ‘memory’. The Macquarie Dictionary defines the term ‘memory’ as:â€Å" the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving impressions, or of recalling or recognising previous experiences. A mental impression retained; a recollection.† For the purpose of this essay assume history to be; the knowledge of what happened, the record or expression of what occurred.† The term â€Å"objective† refers to being free from personal feelings or prejudice, unbiased. The idea of objectivity involves a belief in ‘the realit y of the past, and [to] the truth as correspondence to that reality.’ In the light of such definitions memory is entirely subjective, with no elements of objective truth. Laurel Holliday’s book entitled Children’s Wartime Diaries illustrates how memory is composed of and subjective to ones current emotions and circumstances. Caroline Baum in her article The Children’s Ark and Mark Baker in his novel The Fiftieth Gate both use history and memory to reconstruct their parents past. Throughout their journey of discovering their parents’ history both authors discern the subjective elements of memory and discern memories subjective characteristics. Such characteristics as personal recall, bias feelings, fragmentation, gaps, forgetfulness and emotions involved... ...  · http://remember.org/forgotten/index.html  · Burke. P. New Perspectives On Historical Writing, Polity Press, 1991  · http://remember.org/educate/mtimeline.html  · Irving. D. â€Å"Did Six Million Really Die?† http://www.lebensraum.org/english/dsmrd/  · Collingwood, The Limits Of Historical Knowledge, Ashgate, 1984  · Bennet, J. Exploring The Holocaust, Bay Books Pty Ltd, 1981  · Windshuttle, K. The Killing Of History, Macleay, 1994  · Hamilition, P. ‘The Knife Edge: debates about memory and history’, Memory and History in the 20th Century Australia, Yale University Press, 1979.  · Sydney Jewish Museum, 148 Darlinghurst Rd Darlinghurst, (ph) 93607999  · Baum.C, ‘The Children’s Ark’, Good Weekend, November 25, 2000  · Halsey, D. and Johnston, B. Collier’s Encyclopedia (vol 12), P.F.Collier Inc, 1988.

College Degree Essay

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the bands which has connected him to a low paying career with little hope for advancement, and to assume that the powers that be will not offer him the promotions and recognition that he feels he deserves to which the laws of nature and natures God entitles him, a decent respect to the hope he has for his future requires that he should declare the steps which he will take to achieve the goals which he has set for himself.. I have many goals which I hope to achieve through the attainment of my degrees. For the purpose of this recourse I will delve into three of them. The first goal I have is to attain a higher paying job. The second goal that I have is to work my way into a position of leadership. Finally, neither my father, mother nor brother has gone to college therefore it is my desire to be the first of our family to attain a degree. In the job market today high paying jobs are at a premium. I believe I heard a statistic once that said the average income for a single income home is around fifty-thousand dollars. I have lived in this income bracket and know how difficult it can be to maintain a household on that income. With a house payment and two car payments and everything else that goes into maintaining a home that can quickly drain a families finances. I recently took a higher paying job, in the upper sixties and just that â€Å"small† increase in salary has done wonders for my families cash flow. I hope to attain a position which pays in the nineties to low one-hundreds and beyond. Most jobs which pay high salary require as a requisite that the person in that position has a high level of education. Typically, the higher the level of education the higher the level of pay. I have always had many leadership qualities and I enjoy working with others to help them succeed. Leadership offers a unique opportunity to guide others and help them along their paths of success. I do not measure my personal success on how high of a leadership position that I can attain but rather the number of people that I can help to achieve the goals which they have set for themselves. Whether it be helping others increase knowledge or accomplish goals or just help them along their journey, I know that from a position of leadership I can help others in this way. That is why I wish to be a leader. Many positions of leadership require that you have degrees to go with your experience, so that is how I am hoping that a college degree will help me. Finally, I have a personal goal of being the first in my family to earn a college degree. Being a parent I know now that the old adage is true, parents always want their kids to do better in life than they have done. I know this is true of my parents. They have always hoped that I would do better than them and have always encouraged and supported me along that path. When I look back upon my college career it will be with a sense of pride knowing that this is something that my parents wanted for me just as much as I have desired it. I also know that my parents have a great hope and expectation that I provide a good life for their grandson and while money and recognition are not everything they certainly take some of the burden of raising a child off of you. In summation, all of my goals of earning degrees revolve around my son. When my son was born I immediately knew that I had to return to school. I had been floundering for too long in lower paying positions with little hope for advancement. My father provided a stable home as I was growing up, we never had to worry about money or food. My hope is that I will provide that and more for my family. By attaining a college degree I put my self into a much better position to attain a position which pays higher salaries. Additionally, it will allow me to help others by being in a position of leadership. Finally, the pride that I will have in myself and the pride that I know my parents and family will have in me will make the whole journey that much sweeter.

The Secret of Ella and Micha Epilogue

Ella I've been back in Vegas for almost two weeks now and things are good. I signed up for some summer art classes and my internship at the museum is great, even though I spend most of my day cleaning up after people and running errands. I also started counseling. As much as I'd like to believe I was getting better, when I'm alone and lost in my own thoughts, the darkness sometimes gets to me. But my therapist is nice and the visits seem to be helping. Lila is letting me borrow her car for the weekend, so I can drive back home and meet up with Dean and my dad. I'm glad to be making the drive alone, that way I'll have twelve hours to mentally prepare myself. Although, deep down, I wish Micha was going with me. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you,† Lila asks as I snatch the handle of my suitcase and scan the room for forgotten items. I shake my head. â€Å"I'll be fine and you have classes and your math tutor thing.† I stop at the doorway, needing to get something off my chest. â€Å"Lila, thank you for letting me borrow your car and for just being there for me.† Her smile is bright. â€Å"Don't get all weepy on me. You're only going to be gone for a couple of days, silly.† We laugh, exiting the building and head down the stairs. Our apartment is right by the campus and we keep Lila's car in the parking lot most of the time. When we reach the grass that reaches across the campus, my phone starts to sing inside my pocket, a sad turned happy song. â€Å"God, again?† Lila throws her head back dramatically. â€Å"Can't you two go five minutes without talking to each other?† â€Å"No.† I smile and answer the phone as Lila scoots away, giving us some privacy. â€Å"So how's the weather in Seattle?† â€Å"Pretty sunny, actually,† Micha says and I can hear the smile in his voice. I jerk on my roll away bag as it gets caught in a hole in the lawn. â€Å"That's funny, because I thought it was supposed to be rainy there.† â€Å"Nope, I got a blue sky and a hell of a lot of sunshine over my head,† he says. â€Å"And I'm really enjoying the view.† â€Å"Good, I'm glad,† I tell him, missing him like crazy. â€Å"Are you still driving out here next weekend?† â€Å"Actually there's been a slight change of plans,† he answers. â€Å"And I can't come out next weekend.† I stop in the middle of the grass, pouting. â€Å"Oh. Okay.† He laughs softly into the phone. â€Å"You know, you're beautiful when you pout like that.† â€Å"How do you know I'm pouting?† I wonder. â€Å"The same way that I know you have a sexy pair of shorts on and your hair is done up,† he says and I start to glance around the campus at the people walking around in the quad and on the sidewalks. â€Å"Your ass looks really good, by the way.† I let my suitcase go and spin in a circle with the cell phone still to my ear. Then I spot him in the parking lot, standing next to a SUV in black jeans, a tight-fitted grey tee, and eyes as blue as the sky. I drop my phone and run to him, not caring that people are staring at me like I'm insane. I don't slow down when I reach him and he catches me as I run into his arms. He picks me up and I secure my legs around him, kissing him with so much passion his lip ring cuts into my lip. Finally we pull back, panting with raw wildness in our eyes. He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. â€Å"You didn't think I was going to let you go back home on your own, did you?† â€Å"But you said you had to play this weekend.† â€Å"They can do one performance without me. This is more important.† I almost start to cry and he begins to panic. â€Å"Ella May, what's wrong?† he asks. â€Å"This is a good thing, isn't it?† â€Å"Yes, it is† I say, staring into his eyes. â€Å"I love you.† He smiles and whispers, â€Å"I love you, too,† before reconnecting his lips with mine. We kiss each other deeply, not caring that people are watching and whispering about us. To them we're just two people making out in the parking lot, creating a scene. They'll never really know what it took to get here. How many years were invested, but that's okay. It's a secret between us.