The Impact Of Proximity On The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The impact of proximity on the post-traumatic stress disorder development and resilience rates of adolescents in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami. In 2004, the tsunami that struck the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka was recorded to be one of the largest catastrophes in the past few decades (Levy and Gopalakrishnan, 2007). One of the areas that were tremendously affected was the Aceh province located on the west end of Indonesia. In a horrific tragedy like this case, many psychologists and psychiatrists are interested in the impact of the catastrophe on the emotional states of young victims (Agustini, Asniar, and Matsuo, 2011; Du, Lee, Christina, Belfer, Betancourt, O’Rourke, and Palfrey, 2012). This paper will focus on the†¦show more content†¦More than 130,000 people lost their lives to the catastrophe, and many were exposed to an intense degree of stressors and trauma-inducers that led to emotional disturbance among victims, adolescents in particular, after direct exposure to the tsunami (Centers for Disease Control and prevention [CDCP], 2006; Frankenberg, Friedman, Gillespie, Ingwersen, Pynoos, Rifai, Sikoki, Steinberg, Sumantri, Suriastini, and Thomas, 2008; Musa, Draman, Jeffrey, S., Jeffrey, I., Abdullah, Halim, Wahab, Mukhtar, Johari, Rameli, Midin, Jaafar, Das, Sidi, 2014). Thus, the hypothesis of this paper is that the proximity to the affected area of Aceh significantly increased the severity of PTSD symptoms and, therefore, decreasing the resilience rates. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) describes the unusual behavior or other symptoms that appear following a distressing experience (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The symptoms of PTSD after the occurrence of a catastrophe, such as the tsunami in Aceh, include fear of a particular object or situation, social avoidance, sleeping troubles, and many more (Frankenberg et al.,2008; Agustini et al., 2011). Many of these symptoms were observed among the majority of victims (Frankenberg et al., 2008). The question is what factors might have influenced the prolongation of PTSD symptoms among adolescents affected by the Aceh tsunami?

Review Of The Roses - 1587 Words

Tony hadn’t found a way to monitor Loki ´s entrances yet, but he could pinpoint them from the appearances of the roses, so talking as if he was listening was Thor ´s only plan, he had to talk to Loki once more. As Jarvis quietly indicated to Thor that a rose had appeared, he spoke up –She’s un-well brother, we need to talk. Meet me on the rooftop of the building where we talked last, it’s important.- Thor stayed for a couple more minutes, looking at Leah with concern, fortunately the fever hadn’t gone up, it seemed to be maintaining. Before he left, he called Tony who was examining more samples to take his place. - Are you sure of this Thor?-he asked as he arrived to Leah’s room. -As you said, they both seem to be miserable without the†¦show more content†¦-She’s not a normal inhabitant.-Loki interrupted him. -No, she is not, it never occurred to any of us to have a blood supply for her, and she has a rare blood type AB-, none of us were a compatible match except for the Captain.-Thor continued -The soldier? - Loki looked concerned. -Yes, what do you know of the super soldier serum? - Thor asked Loki -Enough to know it is not to be played with. - Loki dryly answered -They had to do something, she was dying, there was no other choice. For a while she seemed to be all right, that somehow his blood had only helped to keep her alive without any side effects, that until this morning. You didn’t scry for her today?-Thor asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain everything to Loki -Sadly no, even a simple spell like that is difficult for me at this moment.-Loki looked down as he sighed -Her transformation triggered, the Captain’s recollection of it in his own words is excruciatingly painful, but in his case it only lasted a couple of minutes, her change is too slow but it seems equally painful.-he added with a grim look in his face. -What?-Loki paled even more at his words –You mean she’s in pain right now? Can’t you do something to help her?- -She was sedated the moment it started, Dr. Banner explained to me that her body is in pain, but her mind is not around to register it, and we’ll keep her that way until the change is finished.-Thor explained -So, that’s why she looks so agitated, I thought it was

Power, Propoganda In Communist China Essay Example For Students

Power, Propoganda In Communist China Essay Power, Propoganda in Communist ChinaPropaganda in China during the Cultural Revolution took on many forms; there were mass Red Guard demonstrations in Tianamen Square in support of Mao Zedong, pictures of Mao were put up in every conceivable location from restaurants to the wallpaper in nurseries, and pamphlets and books of Maos teachings were distributed to every Chinese citizen. One of these propaganda publications Quotations from Chairman Mao which later became known as the Little Red Book contained quotes from Mao Zedong and was distributed to every Chinese citizen. The history of the Red Book provides one of the best ways in which to analyze Chinese propaganda during the Cultural Revolution and see the ways in which the Chinese government was able to produce and effectively indoctrinate the Chinese people with Mao Zedong Thought. Official Chinese magazines from the period of 1967 to 1970 are filled with many pictures of citizens holding, reading, and memorizing the Red Book. Thi s proposal will trace the rise and fall of images of the Red Book in the official Chinese publication China Reconstructs. This proposal will use a graphical analysis of pictures in this publication from 1966 to 1973 to show that propaganda was not just a tool of the Communist party but also a reflection of internal power struggles within the party during the Cultural Revolution. The Red Book was written several years before it became the object of national adoration and a tool for the Cultivation of Maos personality Cult. The history of the Red Book and its meteoric rise from a hand book for military recruits to compulsory reading for all Chinese citizens, is closely tied to its developer Lin Biaos rise to power. Lin Biao was born in 1907 and was fourteen years younger then Mao; he joined the communist party in 1925 and until the communists captured control of China was at various times in charge of resiezce forces, and armies of communist soldiers. When the communists took control in 1949 Lin Biao was behind Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping in rank (Yan and Gao, 1996: 179). But eighteen years later during the height of the Cultural Revolution Lin Biao by winning favor with Mao by publishing and championing the Red Book and the Cult of Mao became second only to the Chairman in power and position (Ming-Le, 1983: 80). In 1959 Peng Dehua was dismissed as minister of defense and Lin Biao was appointed in his place. At an armed forces meeting for high cadres during September of that year Lin Biao, energetically started promoting the Cult of Mao saying, Learning the writings of comrade Mao Zedong is the shortcut to learning Marxism-Leninism. Chairman Maos writings are easy to learn and can be put to use immediately. Diligent work will pay dividends many fold. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 182) His references to shortcut and quick dividends in his speech went unnoticed at the time as few foresaw the effects of creating aCult around Mao. But looking back on the Cultural Revolution and Lin Biao, we can see his using the Cult of Mao was indeed a shortcut that produced huge dividends both for himself and for Mao. Mao to the Chinese people was a symbol sovereignty and the construction of socialism; to them praise for Mao was fitting with his symbolic role in society. Starting in 1959 Lin Biao in front of military au diences in order to help buildup support for the Cult of Mao used such phrases as, the dire necessity of acquiring Mao Zedongs thought, to study the writings of Mao Zedong with questions in mind is to shoot arrows with target in sight, we must arm our minds with Mao Zedongs thought (Yan an Gao, 1996: 181). Lin Biaos goal of building up both himself and the Cult of Mao lead him in September of 1960 to pass a resolution at the meeting of the Military Commission, which called for more political education among the armed forces (Yan and Gao, 1996: 181)Mao Zedong Thought is the compass for the Chinese peoplesrevolution and socialist construction, the powerful ideological weapon against imperialism, and the powerful ideological weapon against revisionism and dogmatism.. raise high the red banner of Mao Zedong Thought, go further and mobilize the minds of all officers and soldiers with Mao Zedong Thought, and resolve to make sure that Mao Zedong Thought, and resolve to make sure that Mao Z edong Thought is in command in all phases of work Really learn by heart the Mao Zedong Thought! Read Chairman Maos books, listen to Chairman Maos words, follow Chairman Maos directives, andserve as Chairman Maos good soldiers!Shortly after the passage of the resolution by Lin Biao, the fourth volume of the selected works of Mao Zedong was published. On the occasion of it being sold to the public Lin Biao wrote an article calling upon all people in the military to read and study the works of Chairman Mao and dedicate to memory Mao Zedong Thought (Yan and Gao, 1996: 183). On April 1964 Lin Biao direct the military presses to publish a selection of quotes from Mao in a Little Red Book. The book titled Quotations From Chairman Mao was aimed at providing military recruits a shortened version of Maoist thought (Yan and Gao, 1996: 183). Military recruits before the publication of the Red Book were encouraged to study the Selected Works of Mao Zedong. But this set of books had grown so large (its four volumes contained over fifteen hundred pages) many of the militarys recruits who were from peasant backgrounds were unable to read its complicated articles. The Little Red Book in contrast with its hand picked quotes and introduction by Lin Biao was short with easy to read quotes. Before the publishing of the Red Book the study of the Selected Works of Mao Zedong greatly increased in the military this was in large part due to the encouragement and directives issued by Lin Biao. In 1961 Lin Biao while inspecting a contingent of troops said that the works of Ch airman Mao Zedong, were a guide to those in the military, Every lesson in political education must use the works of Chairman Mao Zedong as an ideological guide. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 183) Lin Biao also directed the military press to publish sections from the Red Book in the Liberation Army Daily the official publication of the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army). The Red Book provided many of the military recruits who were mostly uneducated peasants with a grounding inMaoist thought. The quotes selected in the Red Book such as, Carry on the workers struggle, down with rightist revisionism were sufficient vague as to allow recruits to draw from the Red Book what they wanted to. Lin Biaos efforts to promote the study of Maoist thought were done to win favor with Mao and increase his position in the party (Tsou, 1986: 49). Lin Biaos cultivation of the Cult of Mao Zedong soon earned him Maos notice. During a meeting in 1961 Mao applauded Lin Biaos work in the armed forces saying, Recently com rade Lin Biao inspected the forces as far down as the company level and showed underezding of a good many things, including the problems of construction among our forces, and he made very good suggestions about various tasks of construction. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 182) Lin Biao feeling that his workat publicizing Maos teachings was paying off redoubled his efforts at promoting Mao Zedong Thought. He insisted that quotes from Mao Zedong could be used to accomplish tasks within the military and made the Red Book required reading for all in the military (Tsou, 1986:50). In January of 1962 the Part Central held an enlarged work session called a seven thousand person meeting. This meeting was aimed at rectifying the mistakes of The Great Leap Forward, and to promote the economy. A large majority at the meeting criticized Mao Zedong; but Lin Biao who believed that his future was inextricably linked to that of Mao gave one of the lone speeches in support of Mao (Yan and Gao, 1996: 182). Lin Biao said at the conference that the reason The Great Leap Forward had not a success was because the dictates of Chairman Mao had not been followed closely enough. After the economy started to improve in 1963 and Mao gained back wide support Mao looked back and remembered that Lin Biao was one of the few who had stood by him and did not criticize him during the Party Central meeting. This event shows how Lin Biao was a shrewd political thinker who saw that his future was connected with that of Mao and winning Maos approval. By 1962 Lin Biaos chief tool at achieving this objective was the promotion of Mao Zedong Thought (Dutt and Dutt, 1970: 63). After May of 1961 the Liberation Army Daily followed Lin Biaos directive and printed selections from the SelectedWorks of Mao Zedong. By May of 1964 with a further directive from Lin Biao the general publication department of the Liberation Army, edited and published the Red Book accompanied by the publication of the selected reader of the workers of Mao suggested by Lin Biao (Yan and Gao, 1996: 183). The Red Book had an inscription on its cover written in calligraphy by Lin Biao that read, Study Chairmen Maos writings, follow his teachings, and act accordingly (Kraus, 1991: 109). The fact that the inscription on the Red Book was in Lin Biaos handwriting was significant in that it symbolized the connection between the Red Book, Lin Biao, and the Cult of Mao. Both of these publications were published in large quantities and distributedamong the armed forces. There now was a fervor for the studying of works by Mao in military ranks, illiterate soldiers were able to recite long passages from memory and military troops studied the Red Book during their breaks. With such a backdrop Lin Biao recognized that the time was right for increasing his position within the party. The cultivation of the Cult of Mao had support from Mao Zedong and when he started the Cultural Revolution in August of 1966 Mao saw that Lin Biaos thought education in the military could be applied to the whole nation (Rodzinski, 1988:96). The period before the Cultural Revolution provides some very important insights into the development of the Red Book and of Lin Biaos connection to the Red Book. In the period before August of 1966 the Red Book was not read by those outside of the military. A graphical analysis of pictures before 1967 shows that the Red Book was not a widely used method of propaganda as it did not appear in many pictures and the pictures it did appear in were of soldiers in the PLA. Although studying Maoist thought was important during the period prior to the Cultural Revolution in society as a whole it was not veryimportant. There are several reasons: First, there was no reason to Cultivate the Cult of Mao Zedong Thought during this time, Mao prior to 1966 was not trying to lead any mass movements in which he would need popular support. The Great Leap Forward and the anti-rightist campaigns came during times in w hich Mao was powerful within the party so he did not need wide spread support outside of the central command. Second, Mao prior to the Cultural Revolution was more interested in promoting communist economics then ideology. Mao promoted The Great Leap Forward which was not a ideological campaign but instead an economic campaign to promote industrialization (Rodzinski, 1988:74). And in the period from 1961 to 1965 Mao was chiefly concerned with getting the economy back on track following the disastrous Great Leap Forward. But by 1966 the economy of China was back on track and Mao had once more gained back the support of the central leaders of the communist party. The Cultural Revolution launched in 1966 lasted depending on the author until 1971 or 1976 and was initiated by Mao Zedong to renew the spirit of the Chinese Revolution. Fearing that China would develop along the lines of the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China into turmoil in a monumen tal effort to reverse what Mao saw as a rightist movement within China. During the 1960s tensions with Russia increased and Mao became convinced that the Russian Revolution had stalled and become rightist, Mao feared that China was following the same path (Yan and Gao, 1996: 7). Mao theorized that to keep China from becoming social stratified and elitist the process of continuos revolution had to be initiated by the government. To Mao the Cultural Revolution that he initiated had four goals: to replace party members with leaders more faithful to his thinking; to reenergize the Chinese Communist party and Purge the rightists; to provide Chinas youth with a revolutionary experience; and to change society such that specific systems such as education, healthcare, and cultural systems such as opera and musicbecame less elitist (Mitchell and Kua, 1975: 465). Mao launched the Cultural Revolution at the Eleventh Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee in August 1966. In the following weeks Mao shut down the schools in order to allow young people to take part in the revolution (Mitchell and Kua, 1975: xii). Mao also established a national mobilization of the countries youth. They were organized into Red Guard groups and encouraged to attack all tradition values, symbols, and leaders who were rightist or bourgeois. Mao believed that the attacks would both provide the youth with a revolutionary experience thus continuing the cycle of continuos revolution and theywould strengthen the party by removing the rightist elements. Mao also saw the Cultural Revolution as a way to strengthen his own political base because the Red Guards acted to remove all who opposed Mao Zedong. The movement quickly escalated; intellectuals party officials, teachers, and the elderly were both physically attacked and verbally abused made to wear dunce caps in the streets and to denounce themselves. Temples, restaurants, and all signs of old values were ransacked by the Red Guard youths. The Cultu ral revolution put middle school and high school students in charge of the nation and like a version of Lord of the Flies the nation fell into anarchy and paralysis The Cultural Revolution also lead to changes within the structure of the communist party. Before the Cultural RevolutionLiu Shaoqi was Mao Zedongs designated successor, but during the early stages of the Cultural Revolution Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping and many others who Mao deemed as being rightists were removed from the party. In their place Mao installed those who had been most loyal to him in the past; one of those men was Lin Biao (Dutt and Dutt, 1970: 80). ..Mao rightly saw that the best way to provide both direction for the Red Guards and to make himself immune from their attacks upon party official would be to foster a personality Cult. Thus under the guidance of Lin Biao who after Liu Shaoqi was removed; become the successor to Mao Lin Biao helped foster a personality Cult for Mao. Lin Biao used the same types of techniques that he used in the army to help foster this Cult of Mao. Lin Biao used the same organization to disseminate propaganda that he had devised for the Army. Lin Biao continued to head the army till his death in 1971 but his role wasexpanded as he became the high priest of the Cult of Mao (Yan and Gao, 1996: 334). The reading of the Red Book was encouraged by both Mao, party directives written by Lin Biao, Chen Boda, and Kang Sheng who during the Cultural Revolution became Maos closest advisors. All three of these advisors worked tirelessly to promote the Cult of Mao because they saw it as their way to curry favor with Mao Zedong and their efforts met with whole hearted approval. Mao in an interview near the end of the Cultural Revolution commented that Krushchev could have avoided loosing his power if he had created an appropriate Cult for himself (Yan and Gao, 1996: 313). Mao relied on the power of propaganda to enlarge his Cult during the Cultural Revolution. The Red Boo k became his most powerful weapon. Quotations from the Red Book replaced the usual front page section entitled todays important news in the Peoples Daily. Various other newspapers and journals increased their coverage of Mao Zedong printing his speeches, pictures, and quotes. Some even retold stories of his days fighting the Japanese and the KMT (Yan and Gao, 1996: 215). The major newspapers in June of 1966 started writing editorials and stories encouraging the public to study the thought of Chairman Mao by reading . On June 6 both the Liberation Army Daily and the Peoples Daily simultaneously published a front page article calling on the Chinese people to study Mao Zedong Thought and reading Selected Works of Mao Zedong. The headline read, Raise high the Great Red Flag of Mao Zedong, Carry to the end the great proletariat revolution. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 215) It was no coincidence that the Liberation Army Daily and the Peoples Daily both carried the same story about increasing Mao Z edong thought study. It symbolized the rise in power of Lin Biao who with the start of the Cultural Revolution and the expulsion of Liu Shaoqi had increased his power within the communist party. Lin Biaos ideas of education and indoctrination into Maoist thought had with the publishing of the story in the Peoples Daily in June of 1966 moved from the army to all of China. From this point on until he lost favor with Mao in 1970 Lin Biao became the cheerleader of the Cult of Mao directing the national frenzy that enveloped China with its adoration of Mao Zedong (Dutt and Dutt, 1970: 80). Under the leadership of Lin Biao the leading newspapers in China printed stories urging readers to read the works of Mao. As of yet the only books available to the public was the four volume long Selected Works of Mao Zedong; the Red Book had not yet become available to the pubic. In the fall of 1966 the Peoples Daily published such headlines as, Mao Zedong thought is the red sun within our bosom, and stories in newspapers were filled with such lines as, Chairman Maos books are not gold, but are more precious then gold; not steel, but stronger then steel. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 183) Picturesfrom this time depicted happy Chinese citizens reading pamphlets by Mao such as the, Man Who Moved The Mountain. But as of yet the number of pictures in 1966 that pictured Red Books was limited and only included members of the armed forces. But the stories in the newspapers and other propaganda put out by the government such as radio broadcasts stirred up a great fever in support of Mao and the study of Mao Zedong Thought. On August 12 following the Eleventh Plenum of the Eighth party congress copies of The Selected Works of Mao Zedong were distributed at major universities before they wereshut down to prepare for the Cultural Revolution. During the rest of 1966 newspapers reported daily on the sale on The Selected Works of Mao Zedong. The government lowered the price of the set of books to two yuan so that every person could posses a copy of the Selected Works. Sales were brisk then starting in January of 1967 Lin Biao made Quotations From Chairman Mao available to the public. Everyone immediately wanted to buy it. Group study sessions of the bookbecame common. At many Red Guard rallies during the next several years Red Guard troops set whole pages of the book to song (Yan and Gao, 1996: 248). Lin Biao ordered the presses of China to print millions of copies of the Red Book and distribute them to the public. The Chinese media encouraged the reading of the Red Book by printing stories extolling the virtues of those who committed the book to memory. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 249) Granny Liu spent days and nights studying the works of Chairman Mao. When she forgot, she called other to teach her. Granddaughter Yuhzen slept with her and would thus be awakened ten times a night. Even though the granddaughter could not sleep well, Granny Liu would say endearingly to her, Yuhzen, o ne more word you can teach granny is one more measure of loyalty to Chairman Mao and one more bullet for Liu Shaoqi..Granny Liu also eagerly disseminated Mao Zedong Thought. For more than sixty years she, had not known how to sing. Now, learning from her daughter and granddaughter, she sang every where.Proudly Granny Liu said, This old women cant really handle a tune. But what I sing is my feeling for Chairman Mao. When I disseminate Mao Zedong Thought, the more I sing the younger I get.Thus from January of 1967 to Lin Biaos death and the end of the Cultural Revolution everyone in China it seemed wanted to be a Granny Liu; a person who worked for the greater glory of Mao Zedong and China. The Red Book provided the Chinese people both with a basic although cryptic introduction to Maoist thought and it also provided them with a connection to their leader. Lin Biao was able to successfully indoctrinate the entire nation not just in an idolization of Mao but also in a frenzied s tudying of his quotes. The period from 1966 to 1971 is marked by Chinese publications filled with pictures of Chinese citizens studying theRed Books on communes, in fields, in classrooms, at rallies, and at ad-hoc study groups that met from along the Pearl River in the south of China to the plains of Tibet. The number of pictures in China Reconstructs of people holding Mao books increased from just a trickle prior to 1967 to almost fifty percent of all at the Height of the Cultural Revolution. Along with this upward trend in the number of Mao books was an increasing number of flattering articles about Lin Biao. One article in 1968 called him both a valiant fighter for the revolution and a loyal follower of Mao. The irony of this quote was probably missed by most readers at the time but looking back it was Lin Biao who created the Cult of Mao to further his own goals within the communist party and not Lin Biaos goals of helping Mao. The percentage of pictures of the Red Book and art icles about Lin Biao during this time reflected not just the frenzy over the Cult of Mao in China but also the power of Lin Biao it was through his work that the Red Book became a talisman for the Chinese people. Chinese citizens read the Red Book because of the appeal and aura that surrounded it. The Red Book connected individual Chinese citizens with their leader. It enabled the average citizen who would never meet Mao in their lifetime to possess a piece of him and his words. During the Cultural Revolution Mao became a god in the eyes of the Chinese people no criticism of him could be tolerated, nor the slightest deviation from his instruction permitted. Every word he uttered was taken as truth he became in effect a living Buddha, and like Buddha his writings became like sutras. His quotes like passages from the sutras were memorized, chanted, set to song, and reproduced on billboards and on the beams of houses. (Rodzinski, 1988:121) The Red Book became during the Cultural Revolu tion a holy sutra carried by every citizen everywhere and studied endlessly. Some would say that the Red Book became the bible of the Cultural Revolution but this theory has several flaws. First, if this is true then the Mao would be the Jesus Christ of his time, but Mao unlike Jesus reached unquestioned power during his lifetime and unlike Jesus had no one above him; Mao was god not the son of god in China. Second, the Red Book is not parallel to the bible in its symbolism. The bible is not committed to memory by most Christians unlike the sutras whichBuddhists learn long passages from. Mao followed in the footsteps of the Buddhist framework of religious organization. Under the Cultural Revolution Buddhism and Confucianism were wiped out, Red Guards destroyed Buddhist temples and tortured monks; but in this religious vacuum Mao placed himself as Buddha and his writings as Sutras. The Red Book during the Cultural Revolution provided a semblance of structure and unity in the chaos o f the time. Even though rival Red Guard factions frequently clashed and the nation was thrown into turmoil the Red Book acted as a bond between the Chinese; they were all followers of Mao even as their nation dissolved into anarchy. The Red Book provided a framework in which for people to criticize others and also a bond between citizens, the party, Red Guards, and Mao. The study of the Red Book also provided a de-facto type of education while the schools were shut down. People learned to readin study groups while learning the Red Books quotes. In these ways the Red Book was valuable in that it created a type oforder out of the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. One of the fascinating things about the Red Book was that nearly ever Chinese citizen possessed one but only a few of them could read it. This was one of the things that made the Red Book so popular was that it created with the idea that the Chinese populace was educated while many remained illiterate. This was one of the re ason study groups were formed; so that a reader could read the Red Book to a group of illiterate peasants who would then memorize long passages so that they could feign literacy. In many places all other books but those by Chairman Mao were banned. Reading in Chinese society was heldin high esteem even under communism and the idea of each citizen being a scholar was an appealing idea to both the peasants and served the purposes of Lin Biao who saw that the more widely the Cult of Mao and Mao Zedong Thought was spread the more his power would increase. But by 1970 the end of the Cultural Revolution had begun. Many within the party believed the Cultural Revolution had gone to far, destroyed to much, and were scared that they would become the next party member to be openly criticized by Red Guards. Lin Biaos success in promoting the teachings of Mao made him the successor to Mao starting in August of 1966 but his role was formalized in at the Ninth Party Congress convened in April of 1969 (Ming-Le, 1983: 49). After this Lin Biao tightened the grip of the military on Chinese Society. Lin Biao maneuvered to take advantage of the Sino-Soviet Border clashes in the spring of 1969 to declare martial law. Lin Biao quickly encountered opposition to his growing power. Mao himself became concerned about what he saw as a successor to eager to assume power, and starting in the fall of 1970 Mao maneuvered to limit the power of Lin Biao (Ming-Le, 1983: 47-52). In August of 1970 a national conference was held called the Second Plenum which was a conference of people chosen at the 1969 national conference to decide national policy. The Second Plenum was held in Lushan and chaired by Mao Zedong. At this conference Lin Biao maneuvered to make himself president of the republic. His clique of followers which included Chen Boda circulated such statements as, Lin Biao is an uncommon genius he is one of the great teachers like Marx,and Lenin and Mao (Ming-Le, 1983: 50) Lin Biao saw t hat holding the office of the presidency which became vacant after the death Liu Shaoqi in 1969 was a tool by which he could assume control over China and fulfill his lifetime ambition. On August 25, 1970 Mao convened the conference and upon hearing of Lin Biaos plan destroyed it in a matter of two days. Mao did this in three ways. First, he sentenced Chen Boda to self-examination, this was a clear warning to Lin Biao to stop his grab for power. Second, Mao threatened the members of the conference by saying that he would leave if they brought up the issueof the presidency. Third, Mao wrote in a public letter called, Some Views of Mine, a criticism of those who claim but do not really underezd Marxism. This letter was clearly speaking about Lin Biao although it did not say so directly. The conference at Lushan was a turning point for Lin Biao is symbolized his fall from the graces of Mao because of what Mao perceived as his impatience to become president. Mao was able to effectively eliminate Lin Biao as a threat by joining forces with Zhou Enlai and by isolating Lin Biaos assiezt Chen Boda. (Yan and Gao, 1996: 309) By January of 1971 Lin Biao was no longer in Maos clique of advisors and Mao further diezced himself from Lin Biao and his work at creating a cult of Mao by saying in December of 1970 that he felt the cult created around him had grown to large (Yan and Gao, 1996: 313), what happened between then and Lin Biaos death in September of the year is the object of much speculation. The official Chinese governments story is that Lin Biao died on September 13, 1971, in an airplane crash in Mongolia as he was fleeing to the Soviet Union after having plotted unsuccessfully to overthrow Mao. According to this account during the whole of 1971 Lin Biao was organizing a coup among military officers. This account is very much in doubt and their is much speculation that Lin Biao after falling out of favor with the party leadership was assassinated by communist party (Ming-Le, 1983:228). This has been reinforced by Mongolian reports in 1990 that say that Lin Biao a was not on the plane that crashed in 1971. Alexander the Great Arriving in Persepolis Essay*** Please see the rest of this paper and the bibliography at ****** http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~dberger/papers/t1.htm ***

A Summers Love Essay Example For Students

A Summers Love Essay June 29, 2005A Summer LoveWilliam Shakespeare wrote about many people, places, and things throughout his life. What he might be most remembered for are his writings about love. None might be better than his sonnet 18. Shakespeare uses imagery, personification, unusual techniques and remarkable feelings in this declaration. Few have matched such a task including himself. This short sonnet number 18 is one of the best known and most loved of all 154 poems. Mabillard states that It is also one of the most straightforward in language and intent (Mabillard). Shakespeare starts the sonnet by the praise of his lady friend without ostentation, but he slowly builds the image of his lady friend into that of a perfect being. Shakespeare illustrates that as history writes itself down in the books, his friend or loved lady, will become one with time. The poets hope that as long as there is breath in mankind, his poetry too will live on. Shakespeare uses a vast amount of imagery in his sonnet. Eac h line adds to his feeling and thoughts through flowing visions and comparisons. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, / And summers lease hath all too short a date. (Kennedy and Gioia). This line down plays summer and shows the negatives of the season. Shakespeare gives the fact sharp winds attack what beautiful flowers the ground and trees put out in the spring. This asks the question; if summer is so nice and perfect, how could it do this to something so lovely as the small buds on a tree or a flower? The next line suggests summer is short and ends far to quickly for most peoples liking. Shakespeares love could never end like summer does. He knows there is no limit such as time to his feelings and thoughts. Throughout the sonnet, Shakespeare combines personification and imagery to add to the effect on the minds eye and its view of his love. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, / And often is his gold complexion dimmed (Kennedy and Gioia) are two lines which show this perfectly. Ray says that Complexion in line 6 refers only to physical appearance in the face and that it points to the face of the personified sun (Ray). Shakespeare puts down the sun which is often a favorite part of most people during summer. He also states Shakespeare certainly also assumes the other meaning of complexion most common in his time: an individuals complexion, his or her temperament (Ray). He writes the truth in saying the sun does get too hot sometimes and the golden shine can dull with clouds and haze from time to time. By taking such a bold stand and shunning the one thing which sets summer apart from the other seasons, Shakespeare shows he is fearless in his love and will take the road less travele d for it. Shakespeare has some darker parts to his sonnet which bring out the light in his feelings. Nor shall death brag thou wand rest in his shade (Kennedy and Gioia) is another use of personification and cast a shadow on the ending of the love between Shakespeare and his significant other. Death shall not take the love away from Shakespeare for he will always remember what is between the two lovers. He repeats his thought on this in the line But thy eternal sunshine shall not fade (Kennedy and Gioia). This has a tone of a command as if he is threatening anything death or memory about the love. He will not let the slightest bit change what he feels. The line also has a warm feel to it in the words eternal sunshine. This gives the imagery Shakespeare and the other are filled with great warmth and light which few have felt before. The versatility which Shakespeare creates in a few carefully chosen words adds to the sonnets significance and meaning. .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .postImageUrl , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:hover , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:visited , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:active { border:0!important; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:active , .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3 .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubdd4ff5e29454d60c458739004129ab3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: hamlet and ophelia EssayShakespeare does an odd thing in his writing about love. He contrasts it with summer instead of comparing it with spring which is the more highly recognized season of love. The adds to depth and meaning of Shakespeares words and love. By avoiding spring, Shakespeare shows his love

Badger by John Tripp Essay Example

Badger by John Tripp Essay The objective of this coursework is to compare two poems, based on badgers, by John Tripp and John Clare. In order to do this successfully, it has been recommended that aspects such as the way the poet describes the badger, the attitude of each poet towards the badger and references to what I found effective should be covered. Badger by John Tripp This poem is based on Tripps personal encounter with a badger, during the early 20th Century. The opening lines introduce the reader to the compassionate, gentle nature of a badger. The human stereotype of a badger is that they are harmless, and loveable nocturnal things. They appear so cuddly and cute. Teddy bears or cartoons of badgers often create this image. A badger is also being personified, when it is referred to as being a family man. A vast majority of us would assume that families are a unity that only exist in the human race. This usually consists of a husband, wife and children. It seems so very civilised. Being humans, we would consider ourselves superior to other races. Relating humans to badgers makes them seem to be a more intelligent, and a supreme race in the animal kingdom. We will write a custom essay sample on Badger by John Tripp specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Badger by John Tripp specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Badger by John Tripp specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Some would see badgers as being rather shy and reserved. Tripp describes how he has an old reputation for remaining aloof. In some aspects, this is a positive thing. Badgers mind their own business, and do not interfere with the lives of fellow animals. It almost makes them seem hardworking. They are busy enough wrapped up in their own lives to wonder about others. As the poem develops, the description of a badger gradually becomes more sinister, and more threatening. The first indication that something was wrong is when Tripp writes I thought he stuffed himself on insects and roots The use of the past tense indicates that he used to have this opinion, but no longer does. This makes the reader curious about what made him lower his opinion of badgers. There is reference to the badger baiting him and scratching at the mesh. Him is referring to Tripps rabbit. In the past, badger baiting was an extremely popular sport, and it was a frequent mean of entertainment. In society today, it is no longer accepted, as animals are treated more humanely and with more respect. Yet it would seem rather ironic that a badger would bait an animal, in this case being a rabbit. It makes the reader less sympathetic towards badgers for the ill treatment they received when they were baited. We, as the reader, are made aware that badgers are not herbivores, as most of us would assume. They are omnivores, meaning they consume both vegetable and meat products. In their natural environment, they hunt down their prey, and are designed to do so. This is confirmed when it says he wanted more than a boring vegetable dish. Tripp emphasises this, when the badgers big jaws and bone crushing molars are described. The adjective bone crushing is particularly effective as it makes one aware of the sheer power they have. They are designed to tear flesh apart. This sends a chill down the readers spine, and suddenly, the badger doesnt seem so innocent and adorable. The grizzled snouter suggests that badgers arent so cuddly after all. Their snouter are rough and bristly, giving an unpleasant sensation to ones hand when touched. Since my childhood, animals have often seemed to be rather comical to me, particularly badgers. He scooped a hole under the boxwood hutch, is a typical image I have of a badger doing. I could literally visualise it speedily digging a burrow with its paws, flinging a pile of earth behind him. It seems rather hilarious to me. Yet what motivates the badger into doing this is not in the least bit hilarious. To the bare eye, badgers may appear to be so innocuous and vulnerable, but that is deceiving. Splintered the floor with his ramming head. I would assume that the head is one of the most fragile parts of the body. The brain is very delicate, and can be damaged easily. As it plays such an essential role in an organism, the smallest amount of damage could potentially be fatal. Yet here is the badger using his head to break through touch, strong wood. The power and strength of him is extraordinary, and frightening. The horrific description of the death of the rabbit: the string and red slippery pulp that was the only remains of the creature, is abhorrent. The reader feels a surge of anger toward the badger. No creature ought to die this way. Yet that is what nature is all about. There is no mercy in the jungle. The law of the jungle is rather harsh: eat or get eaten. Yet this still does justify the badgers behaviour and actions, making it acceptable. The final sentence of the poem is rather unexpected: Before a smallholder blew of his head. Although it does not seem very funny, as it is so unexpected, ones initial reaction is to burst out into a fit of laughter. The poem is brought to a swift end. I assume at this stage, Tripps thought that justice had been done, and this was an appropriate place to end the poem. In a way, it follows the clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ the bad guy always suffers. Throughout the entire poem, it is evident that Tripp bears hard feelings towards badgers. At the end of the poem, we find out why. In the opening lines of the poem, the stereotype of badgers is described, but I was under the impression that this wasnt his view on badgers. Harmless they called him. The use of the word they indicate that the statement is excluding him. If it was including his opinion, he would have used the term we. Also, the use of the past tense suggests even the people who thought badgers were harmless initally, no longer do. The way that Tripp describes the badger makes him appear vicious. . Big jaws. bone-crushing molarsgrizzled snouter. These descriptions all focus on the strength of the badger, and suggest that he takes advantage of it. This poem is rather bias, and it is evident that Tripp is against the badger, for what he did to his rabbit. Our poor young rabbit must have died of fright. The adjectives used makes the rabbit seem so vulnerable, and innocent. T he following sentence says but not before the badger minced him, into string and slippery red pulp. The description of the rabbits death is being described and horrific, particularly when the remains of the rabbit are being described as red slippery pulp. This turns the reader against the badger, which I think was what Tripp was trying to achieve. There is also the use of sarcasm. That loveable thing Being sarcastic, it means that the writer thinks that the badger is exactly the opposite of loveable. The final sentence of the poem is when a small holder kills the badger. Tripp does not make any comment on what happened. If he felt that it was unjust, he would have most probably mentioned something about it. Yet he failed to do so. Therefore I would presume that he had no objections of the killing of the badger. The vile and apprehensive description of the rabbits death was particularly effective in persuading the reader that badgers are not kind, gentle creatures. The one line of the whole poem than I cannot forget is the badger minced him into string and red slippery pulp. So generally, when discussing this poem, one of the first things I would refer to is that line, and that does not create a particularly good image of the badger. Also, the general layout of the whole poem is designed to capture the interest of the reader. At the beginning, the stereotype of the badger is given, generally describing it as a gentle creature. Yet you are aware that Tripp himself no longer agrees with this statement. The reader becomes curious why, and wants to read on. As the poem develops, the more harsh and ruthless side of the badgers personality is revealed. At the end of the poem, the badger is killed. From Tripps perspective, it would seem that justice had been done. However I do not agree. The clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ two wrongs dont make a right could be reffered to. I dont feel that humans have the right to judge or punish the badger for what he did. The badger was retreating, and he was of no threat whatsoever to the humans. The badger eats the rabbit. This is all part of nature. Do humans not eat animals that are below them in the food chain? I think it was rather hypocritical to kill the badger, for doing what they do too. Eating meat. By killing the badger, it didnt bring the rabbit back to life, did it? Badger By John Clare This poem was written in the early 19th Century, and is based on badger baiting. The opening lines of the poem introduce the reader to sinister activity. When midnight comes a host of dogs and men. Midnight is often associated with crime, and evil activity. The world is asleep, and it is the perfect time to commit a crime. The presence of the host of dogs confirms this. It seems as thought the dogs are there for protection, or to attack. They are going to track the badger the word track suggests that the badger is being hunted down, being a victim of these humans. The badger is described as being harmless. Old grunting badger indicates the badger was vulnerable and weak, as he is aged. Grunting is a noise that people often make when they are wary, and fatigue. This means that the badger is not in a good state of health, and is even more vulnerable. Yet the badger is still fairly strong. They let the strongest loose. The strongest dogs were set upon the badger, as the men felt that the badger may beable to defend itself against the weaker dogs. Even though, the od ds were unfair. It is impossible that one badger could successfully fight several strong dogs. Human activity in a natural environment often causes disturbance. The fox hears the noise and drops the goose. Foxes are intelligent animals, and perhaps he had seen hunters before, who were armed, and knew they kill animals. Being conscious of the human activity going on, the fox felt he may be attacked, therefore probably went and hid himself somewhere. The men use weapons a forked stick to beat the badger, and get him under control. Getting beaten by one forked stick would be painful, but getting beaten by several would result in excruciating pain and agony. The badger would already be worn out by the dogs, which attacked it. The men clap the dogs, appraising them. They encourage them to attack the badger. It is taken to town. The reader wonders why, what do they want to do with it. The reader in now introduced to what the men wanted with the badger. They wanted to bait him, as a mean of entertainment. In society today, it is recognized as being morally wrong, and many would think it is cruel. Bait him all day with many dogs. The badger is being baitd for a long period of time, and dying is a slow, painful process indeed. Also the fact that the opposition is far more numerous than him makes one angry. There is so much injustice. The fight is not one on one. The atmosphere is also described as being unpleasant. Laugh, and shout and fright the scampering hogs, shout and hollow down the noisy streets and drunken swears and reels. The badger is being tormented and harrased. It is not familiar with the sound of humans, and when they make loud noises, having an emotional impact on the badger. He is being attacked in an unaccustomed place, by large dogs, who are much stronger than him, and humans, being stronger and huge in height, also having a reputation for killing animals i.e. hunters. On many occasions throughout the poem, the badger is defending himself against the crowd that oppresses him. He runs along and bites all that he meets turns about to face the loud uproar, and drives the rebels to their very door and the badger turns and drives them all away drives the crowd and follows at their heels and bites then through The term drives away is used frequently. It expresses how determined the badger is not to be beaten by these people. He does not give up, and even against the impossible odds, continues to repel and fight back. Yet he still does manage to fight the dogs when taking them on one by one. These are bulldogs that have been bred for fighting, and after going through so much pain, he can still beat them. I think he is inspired emotionally, he stubbornly refuses to give in to his tormentors. The bulldog knows his match and waxes cold. By now, the bulldog is aware of the badgers strength, and that he is potentially able to cause harm to him, so is intelligent enough not to fight the badger, knowing he will lose. These dogs are describes as being heavy mastiff, savage in the fray. They have ruthless strength, but no challenge for the badger. In comparison to bulldogs, badgers look so weak, and vulnerable. Though scarcely half as big, demure and small. Comparing the badger and the bulldogs brings out the astonishing difference there i s. Even so, the badger successfully fought the bulldogs. He will defend himself no matter what, and is very strong willed to do so. The reader is proud of the badger, and envies him for having such a quality, that very few humans posses. This is sheer determination, and always working to his full potential. The badger is being extremely ill treated and harshly abused. People armed with weapons and stones are attacking it, additionally to the dogs. The frequent stone is hurled Sticks and curdles quickly stop the chase. Again the harsh and diabolical treatment towards the badger is emphasised. The only weapon the badger naturally posses is his teeth, and he makes his attackers aware of this. The badger grins the difference between a grin and a smile, is that when someone grins, they show their teeth. The badger shows that he will use them if he is forced to, and that they are more powerful than they would think. The badger makes a desperate attempt to go to the woods, his natural environment. He tries to reach the woods, an awkward race. The woods is his natural environment, and feels he will be safe there, surrounded by his fellow animals who will support him, and surrounded by the dense vegetation, where one can easily get lost and lose ones enemy. The final sentences of the statement are those when the badger finally dies. It has been a slow and painful death. He falls as dead and kicked by boys and men. till kicked and torn and beaten out he lies..leaves his hold, crackles, groans and dies. The badger just lost the will to fight for life, and leaves his hold. He was severely abused before he died. The word crackles, suggests that its lungs were weak, as that is how one breathes when ones lungs are not operating properly. It is a sad death, and the reader feels a surge of sympathy for the badger, who was tortured so much. Also, one is angry toward the humans for doing this. What right do they have? What if this was done to them? It is evident that Clare is in favour of the badger, and against the humans and the dogs who are ill treating it. Genarlly the badger is described as being vulnerable and weak in comparason to his opponents. The badger is constantly defending himself, by driving away the crowd. This expresses his sheer determination and mental power. He refuses to give up and let the attackers get the best of him. Generally, the badger is being described as weak and vulnerable in comparison to his opponents. He is constantly defending himself by driving away the crowd. The word defend means to protect yourself, when being attacked. Again, it refers tot the fact that the badger is the victim of the humans, who are causing both physical and emotional damage. He is only challenging his opponents in an act of self-defence. This also expresses the sheer determination of the badger. He refuses to give up and wont let the attackers get the best of him. The comparason between the dogs and the humans with the badger always emphasis how much stronger and more numerous they are than the badger. The unjustice of this sport is highlighted. The fact that the process of dieing was extremely painful and long makes the reader sympathize with it; makes the reader agree with Clare. There is great detail in how the dogs and men attack the dog, physically and mentally. The stenght of the weapons that they hold are clarified the frequent stone, if Clare did not have any objections in badger baiting, he most probably would not have used the word frequent, but woulde have merly stated that stones were thrown, but only occasionally. The specific selection of adjectives and adverbs used make the reader feel any toward the badger opponents, and support the badger. At the end, the ill health of the badger, and his unsuccessful struggle for life is mentioned. It is described as being a lonely, sad death. leaves his hold, crackles, groans and dies. The word crackles gives the impression that the badgers lungs were in a poor state, due to the torture that he had undergone. When ones lungs are damaged, they often do crackle. The badger was desperately struggling for life, but faced impossible odds: leaves his hold, he was clinging, holding onto life. His determination makes the reader be proud on his behalf. Clare has won the readers heart on behalf of the badger. The most effective aspect of this poem is how Clare has managed to persuaded the reader into feeling sympathetic towards the badger and liking it. Also, poems that ryme seem to have the effect of drawing attention, particularly to young audience. However, I tend to find that poems that rhyme dont have such depth in their meaning, as non ryming poems do. This may be because the poet has to adapt the words, and sentence in order to make it rhyme. So in most cases, the most suitable ajective and pronouns cannot be used, to create a certain atmosphere or impression. Yet this poem has managed to obtain both qualities. It rhymes and has a fundimental depth to it. I really appreciate the content of this poem fotr htat reason. In conclusion, the variation between Tripps and Clares poem is that Tripp describes the ruthless and vicious side of the badger, due to what it had done to his rabbit; as a result hates it. It is somewhat ironic that Tripps poem is based in the 20th Century, when people had strong believes about animal cruelty. Yet Tripp does not seem in the least bit disturbed that the badger got killed. Yet, society as a whole certainly would have objected. On the oterh hand, in the 19th Century, people would have mocked and laughed at the idea of there being animal rights. There was no respect in society for animals whatsoever. Yet Clair does have respect for animals. One would expect it to be the other way around. Both poets have the ability to make the reader agree with them, and look onto the events from their prespecitve, by the use of descriptive words creating a certain impression.

Fiction Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay Example

Fiction Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay Example Fiction Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay Fiction Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay Essay Topic: Hard Times The Time Machine Home GCSE English English Literature Prose Fiction Charles Dickens Hard Times Page 1Zoom in Page 1 2 3 4 5 Next Level: GCSE Subject: English Word count: 3142 Save View my saved documents Submit similar document Share this Hard Times explore several issues from Dickenss point of view on Victorian Society, including education, marriage, industrialisation, the relationship between the middle class and the working class, and how Dickens uses different methods and techniqu Download this essay Print Save GCSE HARD TIMES An extract from this document Hard Times In the novel Hard Times, Dickens reveals the Victorian Society as apathetic, harsh and depressing. Both the environment and characters are shown to be dark, dull and drab. Dickens uses a variety of techniques to show these. I am going to explore several issues from Dickenss point of view on Victorian Society, including education, marriage, industrialisation, the relationship between the middle class and the working class, and how Dickens uses different methods and techniques to present all these. I will refer to chapters one, two, five, eleven and fifteen while discussing all these different aspects. In chapter 2, Murdering the Innocents, the title immediately tells us that someone is going to react in a certain attitude towards someone else. This is an effective way to start the chapter as it gives a hint to the reader about what will happen in the chapter. Dickens is basically trying to show us as the reader how boring and demanding life was at school in Victorian Society in this chapter. He uses phrases like Girl number twenty unable to define a horse! : And Bitzer, your definition of a horse to show how the pupils were being treated by Mr Gradgrind. Mr Gradgrind is described as dictatorial and square which means that he is a tyrannical person and he likes to order people to do things for him because he thinks he has more power than other people. A good example of this is when Mr Gradgrind talks to Sissy Jupe. He asks her for her name and when she replies, he immediately changes her name for her dont call yourself Sissy, call yourself Cecilia. This shows exactly how strict and harsh time was for the pupils. Dickens has chosen the characters very carefully in this novel like the name Mr Gradgrind it basically means he grinds on and on and on about things just like the way he teaches his students. He created this character because he is wanting us to react in a certain emotion and feeling. A good example of this is when Gradgrind talks to Louisa about the marriage proposal, You have been well trained, you are not impulsive, you are not romantic, you are accustomed to view everything from the strong dispassionate ground of reason and calculation. From that ground alone, I know you will view and consider what I am going to communicate. This tells us how Gradgrind brings up Louisa and how hard life is for her. He always tries to fill the pupils with facts waiting to be filled so full of facts and he also tries to take all their imagination and excitement away. When Bitzer explains the definition of a horse quadruped, graminivorous, forty teeth, namely twenty four grinders, four eye teeth and twelve incisive. Here Dickens is trying to show us how the students are being taught and trained by Mr Gradgrind. They are all brought up with facts, facts and facts and they eventually become not impulsive and with no imagination at all. Dickens totally hates the education policy in Victorian Society; he gives a few examples of showing this. In the first paragraph in chapter 1, Dickens shows straight away that life was a misery for the pupils now what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts! Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else. This is the principle of which I bring up my own children and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. This dialogue from Mr Gradgrind automatically shows that he doesnt like anything apart from facts and that he is trying to make all these pupils including his own children to follow his footsteps, Facts alone I wanted in life is what Mr Gradgrind believes and tells his students. Another point Dickens tries to tell us is that the pupils dont have their own freedom and individuality, they are known as different numbers instead of their name, girl number 20! This suggests to us that they are being trained and looked after like animals in a zoo. The setting Dickens has chosen in this chapter is in a very plain and dull classroom described as, plain, bare, monotonous vault of a school room This is not a good place for education as it is dull, ray of sunlight which, darting in at one of the bare windows of the intensely whitewashed room. Dickens uses all these different techniques to express his views on education. Dickens shows us that Mr Gandgrind is a bit selfish, demanding and aggressive. He only looks at one point and believes he is always right and other people are wrong, with a rule and a pair of scales, ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature and tell you exactly what it comes to. Dickens has used this phrase to describe Mr Gradgrind, and it is a very effective phrase because it creates an image in our heads of how demanding he is and how obsessed with facts he is. Mr Gradgrind thinks his way of educating is excellent but really, he is destroying all the students precious lives and his own children as well, he keeps them in a small private study room and never allows them to see the real world. An example of this is when Louisa and Tom goes and visits the circus, peeping at the circus. Dickens is trying to suggest that Louisa and Tom are sick of their lives and they really want to visit the outside world. They have no other friends at all apart from each other and they can not communicate with any other people outside their house or class, I am sick of my life, Loo. I hate it altogether and I hate everybody except you! This shows how dull and boring their lives were and how bad they were brought up by Mr Gradgrind. When Mr Gradgrind finds out that they were in the circus, he was very furious because he thought circuses were foolish things and wasnt anything to do with facts, Thomas and you to whom the circle of the science is open; Thomas and you, who may be said to be replete with facts; Thomas and you, who have been trained to mathematical exactness; Thomas and you here! In this degraded position! Yet, he is still talking about facts when he is telling them to go home! Dickens really puts a picture in the readers mind that Mr Gradgrind is totally obsessed with FACTS and he finds nothing else interesting or entertaining. Because of Gradgrinds obsession with facts, this has leaded on a huge effect on Louisa. When Louisa got older and older, she became more dispassionate. Even when a marriage proposal was being made, she act as though she didnt care about it and marriage was a huge commitment. Dickens shows an interesting point on marriage. He suggests to us that life was unfair for people who got married and wished to get divorced because there were strict laws to punish them and he also shows that marriage wasnt about real love in many cases. Dickens shows this by using phrases like, there is a law to punish me when Stephen Blackpool asks for advice about ending a marriage with Mr Bounderby because he is sick of his wife and he can not stand it anymore, I cannot beart nommore! Blackpool tries very hard to get divorced and he even pays his wife a lot of money to keep her away from him, I ha paid her to keep awa fra me but it never worked because she kept coming back and coming back. Dickens is trying to suggest that there is no love at all in their marriage and that Stephen Blackpool is really suffering from marriage. Another reason why Blackpool wants to get divorced is so that he could marry Rachel instead, he wishes to be free, to marry the female whom he speaks Dickens is showing us how much Stephen Blackpool loves Rachel here. After the conversation between Blackpool and Bounderby, Bounderby could not help him because Stephen needed a lot of money on order to get divorced and Bounderby wouldnt lend him the money. This chapter reveals that Mr Bounderby is a very law abiding citizen and that he wont go out of his way to help other people. Another interesting point that Dickens suggests about marriage is when Mr Gradgrind talks to Louisa about the marriage proposal. When she hears the news from Gradgrind, she had no emotion at all, she never said a word and without any visible emotion. This suggests that she doesnt care who she gets married to even to the person she hates the most, a good example of this is when Mr Bounderby kisses Louisa on the cheek (Chp 4) and when he left, she immediately rubbed her cheeks furiously, you may cut the piece out with your penknife and I wouldnt cry! In this marriage proposal situation, Dickens makes it look more like a contract in Gradgrinds mind rather than a real marriage because the proposal was offered directly to Gradgrind instead of Louisa herself. Dickens is suggesting that the marriage proposal wasnt really about love but more like a question and an answer, the question I have to ask myself is, shall I marry him? That is so, is it not? Dickens is basically showing that he doesnt agree with marriage at all in the Victorians Times because once people got married, they could not be allowed to get divorced regardless of happiness, family problems or even money etc Dickens doesnt agree with many aspects of Industrialisation at all. He uses many examples to show how Industrialisation affects both the people and the environment. He uses techniques like Imagery and Phonic Pattering to create an impression of the environment and Coketown itself. Firstly in Chapter 11, Dickens uses words like crashing, smashing and tearing of mechanism these words really tells the reader what the industry is like because it creates noises in the readers minds (noise of metals being cut into pieces and the machines roaring) Dickens also uses phrases like monstrous serpents of smoke and melancholy mad elephants doing their heavy exercises to create a picture of what the factories were like (full of pollution and tired workers working in blackened factories. He used these metaphors which were very effective to create an even better image, there wasnt really serpents in the sky but he used those words to make it seem as though there was. And when he uses the phrase, mad elephants, polished and oiled up for the days monotony, were at their heavy exercises again he basically is wanting to compare the elephants to the workers as though they were both at hard work and the same old boring routines everyday. Throughout the introduction of Chapter 11, Dickens has mentioned the word monotonous and it basically means extremely boring. He is trying to make the reader feel sorry for the workers because they have to work very hard and they are surrounded by pollution and also in an extremely dull environment. This shows how depressing lifes the working class had. Dickens also tries to make a point about human nature in this chapter because he makes the machine sound as though they were taking over the workers, there were more and more machines and factories being built which would produce a lot more pollution, in the waste yard outside, the steam from the escape pipe, the litter of barrels and old iron, the ashes everywhere. A way that Dickens uses to help him create the impact of Industrialisation is by describing Coketown itself. In chapter 5, he uses the phrase, it was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allow it. This suggests that Coketown was absolutely filled with smoke and that buildings were turning black because of it. This gives us a picture of a very dull town and a very polluted town. Another example Dickens uses to show the town was polluted is by saying, serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever and never got uncoiled. This means that the smoke will never die out and it will last on forever polluting the town. The way Dickens describes Coketown makes it sound extremely tedious, boring and over-filled with waste and pollution. He uses the phrase, large streets all very like on another, small streets still like one another, people like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, to do the same work everyday. This phrase is really effective because it describes the inhabitants of Coketown, all very similar and even the streets and their type of work are the same, this shows how boring lives were for people in the Victorian Times. Dickens shows us that he totally hates the impact of Industrialisation because all the natural things like trees and land were being replaced with factories and buildings. This was terrible because it produced a large amount of waste and pollution and it turned the whole town into a polluted and hard-working town, saw nothing in Coketown but what was severely workful. He is suggesting that the town is only to do with work and facts and nothing else. Dickens also describes the town as savage which means it is unclean and ferocious, black canal and a river that ran purple with ill smelling dye. This also shows how sickening the town was for people. Dickens uses all these different techniques and phrases to express his views on Industrialisation and it really gives a full picture of how the environment looked like and how dull and boring the workers lives were. Dickens also creates a circus in the novel to show that there was some hope for a bit of joy and entertainment for people and it wasnt just about work but this leads straight on to the different classes between people because in Chapter 2, when Sissy describes her fathers job, Mr Gradgrind (middle class) redefines his job straight away, describe your father as a horse breaker. This starts to show that Gradgrind doesnt like the working class people and he doesnt want anyone to mention anything about them at all, we dont want to know anything about that here Another point Dickens uses to suggest that Gradgrind doesnt like the working class is by saying he keeps his own children in a private study room where they get privately educated whereas the other students just get educated in one big hall. Gradgrind does this in order to keep his children away from the lower class students so they dont get influenced, he doesnt allow them to go anywhere at all so its really like a prison. This shows how much Gradgrind hates the working class people. Dickens shows us that Bounderby doesnt like the working class as well as Gradgrind. He uses a number of phrases to show this, firstly, when Bounderby, Gradgrind and Sissy were walking towards the circus, Sissy talks about what her father does in the circus and when she said they bruise themselves very badly, Bounderby immediately replies, serves them right for being idle. This means that Bounderby thinks the working class are useless and act like fools. Another phrase that Bounderby uses to show that he hates the working class is by saying, you see my friend, we are the kind of people who know the value of time and you are the kind of people who dont know the value of time. Bounderby is basically trying to say that he knows a lot more things that the working class and that he is always right and they are always wrong. It also shows that Bounderby thinks he is more important than them because he has more power. A good example of showing Bounderby as a selfish and bossy person is when he talks to Stephen Blackpool. Bounderby considers him to be in a different class to him and this is partly why Bounderby wouldnt lend him the money to get divorced and because of the fact that he is a bit selfish. All of Bounderbys workers follow what he says but Stephen on the other hand follows what he believes is right and this leads on to Stephen being sacked and thrown out of the group. This reveals that Bounderby likes to control people around and he doesnt like the people obeying his orders. A big difference between the working class and the middle class is the way they talk and treated, example, Stephen Blackpool in the working class doesnt speak properly because there are a lot of contractions in his speech, I ha gone t th brigg whereas Gradgrind and Bounderby in the middle class speak very clearly and understandable. Another example of this is when Bounderby talks to Mr Childers in the circus, the people in the circus all have funny names and strange words and Bounderby didnt understand any of it, nine oils, merrylegs, missing tips, garters, banners and ponging, eh He then takes a great and evil laugh at them because he thinks they are fools and they use words that means nothing to him, with his laugh of laughs, queer sort of company. He shows no respect to them at all and this is how Bounderby treats the working class. Dickens uses all these points to show that he is totally against the way the middle class treats the working class all just because they have less power and less wealth. Overall, Dickens reveals that Victorian Society was a very harsh, unfair and depressing society. He shows he absolutely hated the way the education system was set up because it almost destroyed the innocent lives of the students and all their excitement. Dickens also shows that he totally disagrees with the way the middle class treats the working class and he believes that the middle class were selfish and arrogant whereas the working class lived horrible and unfair lives. Dickens hated the entire industry in Victorian Times because it was filled with pollution and workers lives were downtrodden because they had to work in blackened factories and towns. Dickens also shows that he didnt like the laws of marriage because people were suffering from it and they couldnt get divorced because of the laws. Dickens hated all of these aspects and therefore he created the novel Hard Times to go against it all.

General Motors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

General Motors - Essay Example How does the company plan to rally. Are they being realistic in their efforts to meet foreign competition Are they actually looking at the areas that need further attention, or are they looking for short-term incentives as a means of increasing their market share Exactly what are the main issues that must be addressed before GM can begin to recoup its losses In 2005, GM North America reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $88 million in 2004. In the last quarter of 2005, GM had to revise its losses by a further $2 billion (Krolicki, 2006), the reason said to be charges related to factory job losses and Delphi Corporation's bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the company can be compared at present to a house of cards, easy to topple. Toyota, on the other hand is growing by leaps and bounds and is expected to take over the number one spot in auto sales within the next few years. The chart below is based on an NPR study by Diane Geng (2005) and indicates some of the more telling statistics regarding competition between these companies: Unfortunately, the company does not seem to be focused on global issues, and its efforts have been limited to quick fixes. The recent agreement with United Auto Workers union to cut health care costs, perhaps by $3 billion a year, offers an immediate boost. However, this savings is expected to be achieved by higher co-pay for doctor's visits and prescription drugs. The company also announced its intention to eliminate 25,000 jobs. Where is the incentive for employees to increase output How much emphasis does the company place on employee satisfaction The most recent effort is a promotional incentive for anyone who buys a new SUV in California or Florida. With gas prices at present well over $3 a gallon, the offer for a redeemable card with gas at $1.99 a gallon for one year if the customer signs up for On-Star, free for a year and then $16.95 a month (Durbin, 2006) is an immediate benefit. But will this incentive improve the way customers see the GM brand The major marketing push has been for trucks, especially popular over the past few years, and SUVs. The company's promotional incentive will help sell the SUVs that are no longer as popular as they were, but then what Future Issues to be Addressed at General Motors Because of the present interest in fuel consumption, commentary on the current economy as it relates to automobile design and manufacture is being updated every day. Some of the online publications that offer a running commentary are Business Day, MarketWatch, YEALD and NPR, as well as books and journal articles as noted in references. Certain areas must be explored if GM wants to stay ahead of the market. Because of the serious issues facing the company, a study directed