I Thought I Knew What good management was Article

I Thought I Knew What good management was - Article Example Any type of supervision that would give the manager authority, respect and trust over the long run. It was only through attitude surveys and interviews that the manager was able to see what was causing psychological or social problems. This showed that it was difficult to know what was really creating problems between successful relationship development or gain dedication to the SFD business goals. Peace (2001) discusses many different false rumors spreading through the business which was guiding certain employee behaviors. There was also resistance to change making it even more difficult to come up with a business strategy that would gain employee commitment. The first thing that the author had to do was get to the root of what was creating SFD problems in the first place. This was not an easy task because of the poor organizational culture at SFD. Not much as far as leading with an HR focus could be done because of these values of being informal, problems with managers not wanting to discuss their emotions, and problems with breaking down barriers to good communication. Peace (2001) was having difficulties changing the organizational culture for one that would be flexible and also motivated to get results of the new strategic plan. The manager at SFD learned a great deal about how to well manage people, using positive words and less autocratic management styles. What the people in the article needed was a manager that would give consideration to human relations, but also see when employee emotional responses. As said before, it was during a time period where culture was different to today, but does show that companies need to have a solid strategic plan before they can even begin to identify cultural development. Letting employees and junior managers in the organization communicate directly for shared control brought a good satisfaction and changes of attitudes. One of the biggest learning

Eddie and Beatrice Essay Example for Free

Eddie and Beatrice Essay During the dance between Catherine and Rodolpho, Marco has a short conversation with Eddie and Beatrice. Eddie becomes jealous when Marco brags how well Rodolpho can cook.  We eat very well on the boat especially when Rodolpho comes along; everybody gets fat.  Eddie outbursts with jealousy towards Rodolpho saying he cant cook, he cant sing and he cant make dresses.  Beatrice and Marco realised that whilst he was saying all of this that Eddie was twisting a newspaper into a tight roll. Eddie then goes on taking pity on himself.  If I could cook, if I could sing, if I could make dresses  As Eddie goes on he gets more and more frustrated and agitated, eventually the newspaper snapped in half. Eddie mentions boxing to Marco. Marco felt uneasy due to the fact he knew Eddie was frustrated. Eddie soon gets to his point across he wants to teach Rodolpho boxing. knowing full well that what he had in mind. Beatrice asked  Whats he got to learn that for?  As she tries to come up with a reason not to teach him boxing.  Eddie begins to teach Rodolpho how to lead with his left hand and to block. After all this Eddie temps Rodolpho to hit him. Come on kid, put sumpm behind it  Rodolpho swings aggressively at Eddies jaw and grazes it. This heats up the tension even more. The audience expects a fight as Eddie should react to the blow. Eddie however does react but pretends that it is an accident but you can see that this is not the case. The effect of Eddies punch on Rodolpho was so fierce that the other characters was totally disgusted by it an knew that it was necessary. Catherine runs to Rodolphos aid and Marco rises and Beatrice tells Eddie,  Thats enough.  The audience might have expected this part of the scene to result in a big fight due to the unnecessary force Eddie used. They were stunned to see Rodolpho smirk and say,  I was only surprised. Marco then challenges Eddie. This was a test of strength in which Eddie does not win.  Marco displays his strength to all of the characters. Marco show off his strength and also warn off Eddie using a glare of warning which quickly reverts to a smile of triumph.  This makes the audience feel sorry for Eddie because Marco was now the superior strength in the Carbone household. The audience were left in the dark as the scene ends with Marco holding a chair above Eddies head. Arthur Miller has created the dramatic scene ending.  The instant difference between the end of Act I and the end of Act II is that at the end of Act I Marco proves his stength.

ROLE OF THE STATE IN ENSURING DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY Essay Example for Free

ROLE OF THE STATE IN ENSURING DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY Essay INTRODUCTION A state may be simply defined as a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government. Claude Ake (1992) defines a state as: The organized aggregate of relatively permanent institutions of governance. It is seen as a set of associations and agencies claiming control over defined territories and their populations. The main components of the state are, consequently, decision making structures (executives, parties and parliaments), decision-enforcing institutions (bureaucracies, parastatal organizations and security forces) and decision-mediating bodies (primary courts, tribunals and investigatory commissions). The character of the state in any particular country is determined by the pattern of organization of these institutions at specific points in time. The government is usually used interchangeably with the state but it however represents the people or officers in power who change from time to time but the state does not change. see more:the role of youth in nation building The state plays a major role in the development of a country as it is the government/state that enacts key policies are key to economic success and development in a given country. There has however been a lot of contention especially in African countries about the role of the state in regards to development of a country. This is because many African states relied and still rely heavily on foreign markets and expatriates for development in the country. For example in southern Africa most post colonial states depended on expatriates for the formulation of national developmental plans that ran for 5 to 15 years. These plans were also still financed by foreign donors. AÂ  similar case was seen in Tanzania whose first phase of its ambitious 15 year development plan was funded by external powers with domestic funding being only a fifth of the raised capital. Hence the there is debate as to whether development is brought about by the state or by market forces that are independent. The role of the state in development The state plays the following roles that facilitate development in a country. These roles can be divided into the following categories: a. The role of the state in current development programmes b. Development of good governance c. Development of policies Implementation of reforms These reforms include structural adjustments in the country that manage and control pricing of commodities in the country. Also the state has the powers to control various institutions including private institutions. The state should aim at implementing stable property rights, enforcing the rules and laws of the land and elimination of corruption. The state should also provide supervision over the provision of public goods and services such as transportation and security. Implementing development programs The state plays a major role in implementation of development programs that form a back bone other which development takes place. For example in Tanzania there was implementation of a 15 year development plan with funding from both the state and foreign markets. In Kenya the vision 2030 is another good example of a state drive n development plan that aims at achieving development in the country through various started. The vision 2030 aims to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030. The pillars for this 2030 development program include: economic pillar that is aiming at a 10% gross domestic product increase by 2012 by targeting tourism, agriculture, whole sale and retail trade, manufacturing, IT services and financial services. The second pillar in Kenya’s 2030 development program is the social pillar. This pillar aims at investing in the people of Kenya in order to improve the quality of life for all Kenyans by targeting education and training, health, environment, housing and urbanization, youth and sport development, gender children and social development. The state’s role in improvement of these factors will have a direct influence in development in the country. For example the improvement of education by ensuring that all people receive formal education and professional training to create a pool of qualified work force that will supports the economic pillar of development and hence increase in the GDP. The third pillar of the vision 2030 development program is the political pillar. This aims at moving into the future as one nation and envisions a democratic system that is issue based, people centred, result oriented and is accountable to the public. This pillar aims at creating a transparent and accountable government. The vision 2030 for development has already commenced in Kenya with 120 transformational and flagship programmes across each pillar already in progress. This shows one of the roles of the state in implementing development programs and monitoring them. Implementation of quality governance. The state has the function of implementing stable rules and laws that govern the country. These rules protect property rights and create an entrepreneur friendly environment for local and foreign investment in the country. Studies have shown that there is a direct relationship between good governance and the level of per capita income in the country. Establishment of quality governance leads to increase of per capita income in the country. A good example is China that has experienced exponential growth over the last decade. State-centred accounts attribute China’s economic success to the organizational capacity of local government to monitor and intervene to promote the development of township and village enterprises (Walder 1995). This has seen china change to a strong capitalist economy and by-pass other nations such as the former Soviet Union i.e. Russia that were the favourites to see increased economic and development growth. China boasts of a strong authoritarian national leadership and an elite state bureaucracy that pursues developmental goals and industrial policy (Wade 1990). However this role of the state in development, that is the implementation of good governance has been criticized because in developing countries of which a majority of African countries are there are no resources to implement good governance. This is due to lack of adequate skilled man power and capital to implement close supervision of state development projects. There is also neglect of various areas when development is taking place with localized development of capital cities and major towns at the expense of national development. This leads to most developing countries shifting to economic marketism with privatization of most institutions and the role of development shifts from the state to the market forces and foreign influence that comes with its own disadvantages in that development in the region in a situation of minimal state intervention remains low when compared to the era of economic nationalism, which seems to have recorded higher levels of social development (Khabele, 2002). Implementation of policies The state has the role of implementing policies that increase development and economic growth in a country. In most developing countries the policy challenge is not to get the state out of the way on the assumption that a capitalist market economy is already in existence and that the problem is to make it work better by removing excessive government regulation. The policy challenge is to create market and this should be reinforced by the state. The state should formulate policies that will ensure innovation in the country, structural transformation in terms of infrastructure and industrialisation; policies that will ensure creation of jobs for the people of the country and hence aid to lower poverty in general and increase per capita income in the country. The state has the role of implementing policies in Kenya that will shift the policy in agriculture from neglect of the agriculture sector to active support to farmers through rural infrastructure, developing of linkages between agriculture and other sectors such as foreign exchange and industries. The government should also implement policies to aid in financing agricultural projects and improve the use of technology in agriculture. The Kenyan population rely heavily on agriculture for income and concentration on this resource can increase development in a country. The state also has the role to implement industrial policies that will enable increase in industries and manufacturing in a country. It should also ensure proper attention is paid to the education and training system in the country so that there is a pool of workers for the industries. Increase in industrialisation leads to economic growth and hence developments. The state should also implement good trade policies both locally and internationally. Good trade policies supplement the industrial policy and support the trading environment to maximize on the attractiveness of a countries products and services in the region and globally. Lack of implementation of proper trade policies can hinder economic development and development. A good example is Zimbabwe that had failed to implement a comprehensive national trade policy. This lead to the decline of export earnings by 49% from US$2.6 billion in 1997 to around US$ 1.3 billion in 2008. This limited export of good lead to increased foreign debt of about 25.3% of the GDP in 2001 that greatly hindered economic development in the country. (Khabele et al 2002) the government of Zimbabwe has now realised the need for implementation of proper national trade policies in order to successfully participate in regional and global market. Zimbabwe has now implemented the National Trade Policy whose policy vision is to have trade as the engine for sustainable economic growth and development in Zimbabwe. CONCLUSION The role of the state in development has been an issue of heated debate at theoretical and policy arenas in the African especially since the attainment of independence of most of the countries. Two main alternative or contrasting development agendas that have driven the debate were those of the nationalist political elite or the state (economic nationalism) on one hand and those of foreign capital (economic marketism) on the other. State intervention, as a key policy thrust of a development process is much stronger in respect of economic nationalism, which in itself is an expression of the political commitment of African states to chart independent development paths for their countries. However the role of the state in development is not independent of marketism as foreign and local markets play a huge role in the development process. The ideal situation would be for the state, foreign markets and private sectors to work together I good relation to ensure development in the various A frican countries. REFERENCES 1. African Development Indicators, Drawn from World Bank Africa Database, The World Bank, Washington D.C., 2001 2. Ake, C., ‘Democracy and Development in Africa’; The Brookings Institution, Washington DC., 1996 3. Khabele M., ‘The role of the state in development in SADC region’; council for development in Africa, Ghana, 2002 4. The ministry of Industry and commerce of Zimbabwe data base: ‘www.miit.gov.zw/policies’, 2012

Study of the New York Accent

Study of the New York Accent Amanda Bjork Why Do They â€Å"Tawk† Like Dat? A Brief Study of the New York City Accent New York can easily be called the biggest collection of villages in the world, a melting pot of nearly all the world’s cultures in one small place. For years, the New York accent—from famous faces such as Rosie Perez to Spike Lee, Fran Drescher to Archie Bunker—has been studied, extolled and derided (Bortolot, 2011). New Yorkers keep their accents, wherever they originally may have come from, and the resulting sound(s) are what has come to constitute the globally recognized accent found in the unique â€Å"New York City English†. There are many different but recognizable characteristics and sounds that make up the famous accent. Many of which may have surprising origins, and many whose origins may never be known. Contrary to popular belief, in New York City, the origin and classification of accent has more ties to ethnicity than to a speaker’s specific geographic region (such as borough). Over the years and through the evolution of the New York acce nt, there have been many varying reactions and responses to it, from wearing it proudly to attempts at â€Å"un-learning† it altogether. The New York City accent is a variation of the English language that is spoken by many people in New York City and much of the surrounding metropolitan area. Pioneer American sociolinguist William Labov has done the most work on the specific subject and has described it as the most recognizable variety of sounds in American English. Overall, the New York accent is made up of all of the elements within the speaker and the city, and it has defined the language of New Yorkers for generations. First of all, to understand where the accent originated, we must be familiar with some of the characteristic sounds that may have gone previously unknown or unidentified as a New York characteristic. Based on years of research, American sociolinguist William Labov has concluded that the New York accent originated as a derivative of a British accent, specifically speakers from South London. But the many aspects of the accent have roots all over Europe. The New York accent is a non-rhotic accent, unlike most American accents, which simply means that the â€Å"r† is not usually pronounced, just as in most British varieties of English. There are sounds that we all recognize as part of the New York accent. Words and phrases such as â€Å"schtreet† (street), â€Å"yaw mutha† (your mother), and â€Å"waduh† (water) (Quinlan, 2013). The unique way that New Yorkers draw out their vowels is another important feature. New Yorkers are also guilty of the intrusive â₠¬Å"r†. When the â€Å"r’s† are dropped, New Yorkers will frequently put them back in where they don’t belong. For example, â€Å"Linda† may become â€Å"Linder† and there are phrases like â€Å"come heah and bring me a soder†. Another distinct, and possibly the most recognizable, sound from the New York accent is the â€Å"aw† sound, such as in â€Å"cawfee†, â€Å"tawk†, or â€Å"sawce† (coffee, talk, sauce). New Yorkers tend to broaden the vowel â€Å"a†, for example, saying â€Å"awe-ful† instead of â€Å"awful†. One may also hear (or not hear) a dropped â€Å"H† in New York speech, for example, â€Å"uge† instead of â€Å"huge† and â€Å"uman† instead of â€Å"human†. The New York accent sometimes features â€Å"TH† pronounced as if it were a singular â€Å"T† or a â€Å"D†, wherein a word such as â€Å"pathmark† becomes â€Å"pat-mark†, or â€Å"dese† and â€Å"dose† for â€Å"these† and â€Å"those†. The only immigrant language that had the â€Å"th† sound in it was Greek, meaning all the other travelers to the New World had a hard time pronouncing the sound. Another interesting aspect of the accent is the fact that New York vowels can change from one sound to another during pronunciation. These changing vowels are called diphthongs. This is believed to be part of the Irish influence on the accent, as the Irish frequently switch the diphthong â€Å"OI† with â€Å"ER† or â€Å"IR†. Two of the most popular and recognizable examples are when the word â€Å"oil† sounds like â€Å"earl† and â€Å"toilet† sounds like â€Å"terlet†, although this practice has shown a sharp decline over the generations. Another characteristic of European influence on the New York accent is the word â€Å"youse†. It is very ra re to hear this outside of New York, and it is thought to be Italian influenced because there is a plural â€Å"you† in the Italian language but there is not in English. The New York accent also receives some influence from the Yiddish (Jewish) language, introducing the intrusive â€Å"G†. There is no soft â€Å"G† in Yiddish like there is in English, so the â€Å"ing† sound becomes â€Å"ink† (Tannen, 1981). For example, â€Å"seeing† is pronounced â€Å"seeink†, and â€Å"doing† is pronounced â€Å"doink†. Yiddish syntax is also different than in English, so it’s possible to hear phrases (in the New York accent) like â€Å"a genius, he isn’t.† New York City is a melting pot of different cultures, immigrating from all over the world over the years. The origins of the New York City accent are diverse, and the source of many features is probably not recoverable. William Labov has pointed out that many features were originally found in southern England as mentioned above. He also claims that the vocalization and subsequent loss of â€Å"r† was copied from the prestigious London pronunciation, and so it started among the upper classes in New York and later spread to other socioeconomic classes. So it has been reasonably concluded that the New York Accent originated in and was â€Å"brought† here from London, in the simplest terms of explanation. In the 1800’s, all major cities on the Eastern seaboard began to copy the British pronunciation; saying â€Å"caah† instead of â€Å"car† and not pronouncing that final â€Å"r† as a consonant. New York did not imitate London directly. There wer e quite a few changes in the vowels so that the New York City accent and dialect began to branch off in its own direction, while still drawing major influence from the London pattern of â€Å"r-less† speech. The East Coast is referred to as the â€Å"r-less corridor† by linguists, and other coastal cities have accents with features in common with New York, like Boston and Charleston, S.C. Those cities were settled around the same time, and the speakers came from a certain place, South London, using a specific sounding type of British English. It can’t quite be determined when the other prominent features melded into the accent we know today. After the British, the next generation of European immigrants to New York City (Irish, Germans, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Russians, and Italians) contributed their own respective features. The New York accent is less a result of which particular city or borough the speaker is from, than which country that one’s forebea rs are from. It has been a common misconception (even by New Yorkers) that accent was related to borough; that there was a Queen’s accent, or a Brooklyn accent, or a Manhattan accent. This is not really the case, as it would be whatever the lineage or ethnicity of the speaker was, like an Italian-New York accent, or Spanish-New York accent. The variations of the New York City accent are a result of layering ethnic speech with the influence from waves of immigration. Over time, the collective influences combined to give New York City (and surrounding areas) a distinct and recognizable accent. Sociolinguistic research, which is ongoing, suggests some differentiation between the accents of these groups may exist. There have been differences found in the rate and degree of speech of Italian-New Yorkers versus Jewish-New Yorkers (Mammen, 1936). The features of the New York accent from Irish origin are the most stigmatized, evidence being that those features have declined over the years. William Labov has argued that these differences are relatively minor. All European American groups share relevant and similar accent features of some kind. Many people who represent as Italian-American speak â€Å"New Yorkese†, Labov says, no matter where they live. Labov gave this example: â€Å"In Philadelphia, an r-pronouncing city, there’s a certain amount of r-lessness among Italian-Americans.† (Virginia, 2010) There are neighborhoods throughout the city that are predominantly a specific ethnic group, but they are not limited to any one borough so the accent cannot be classified that way. As can be taken from earlier in this essay, some of the other variations of the New York accent are Irish, Yiddish, even Russian and Arabic. So essentially, the New York accent is a product of evolution, ethnic roots, and immigration. Over the many years, there have been a myriad of varying responses to the New York accent. These reactions have been personal for New Yorkers, or even present in society via the portrayal of the accent in media (movies, television, etc.). In a study done on language and social strata, Labov wrote The term linguistic self-hatred is not too extreme to apply.† People from New York and New Jersey described their own speech as â€Å"distorted,† â€Å"sloppy† and â€Å"horrible.† (Virginia, 2010) Some New Yorkers even go so far as to take classes to lose or â€Å"unlearn† their accents. Labov also found (in separate interviews) that only one third of New Yorkers liked their accent and most were under the impression that the other Americans dislike the accent in general (Tierney, 1995). Many professional-class New Yorkers from high socioeconomic backgrounds often make a concentrated effort to speak with less conspicuous accents for this reason and in order to be taken seriously; in particular, many use rhotic pronunciations instead of the characteristic New York non-rhotic pronunciations, while maintaining some of the less stigmatized features of the accent. However, the common association of the New York accent with the working and middle class has also, since the latter half of the 20th century, warranted many upper class New Yorkers to refrain from speaking with a New York accent. Because of the accent’s humbler origins, generations of parents hoping their children would grow up to be doctors or lawyers and get out of â€Å"the neighborhood†, encouraged their children to leave it behind, deeming is lower class, ethnic, or crude. The New York accent has also often been associated with negative stereotypes, such as mobster, gangsters, criminals, and thugs. Portrayal of the accent in kind of a negative light (such as in television shows and movies) has made New Yorkers self-aware of their accents and not in a good way. T he accent was even somewhat unpopular in Colonial times. People did not want to sound like New Yorkers, so the accent didn’t spread like others did but remained nearly exclusive to New York City, and parts of New Jersey and Long Island. But there are two sides to this coin, as some New Yorkers wear and project their accents with pride, pride that comes with being from New York City. And there is hope for media, maybe instead of erasing longstanding regional and social distinctions, television will help preserve them (Virginia, 2010). Outside, the accent used to be stigmatized, but inside of New York City, its a positive thing. Being from New York matters, and people need to convey that message, and one way for them to convey that is through language (Bortolot, 2011). Up until 1945, it was considered distinguished to drop the â€Å"r†. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on his radio addresses: â€Å"We have nothing to fe-ah but fe-ah istelf.† After World War II however, Americans stopped considering British English to be quite so prestigious. But the classic New York City accent is fading away. It has been mocked and stereotyped to the point that it has fallen out of favor in the majority. Contrary to the popular impression that accents are disappearing, sociolinguists say regional accents are remaining quite distinct even as they change. Renà ©e Blake (a socio-cultural linguistics professor at NYU, specializing in New York City English) says that â€Å"while the New York accent will never die, the meaning of the accent continues to evolve as the city does.† Accent is an aspect of evolution (Quinlan, 2013). In conclusion, where did the famous and recognizable New York City accent come from? Well, in essence it came from the people. From the native New Yorkers who chose to sound different. But it is not a difficult stretch to find out that the accent originated in London. Since the British colonized America, I’m sure it could be argued that all of the native accents in America were originally were derived from British. But many of the characteristic sounds present in the New York accent can be traced back to their British counterparts with ease. However, as it turns out, there is more than one aspect of what makes up the New York City accent. The other main piece of the puzzle is ethnic roots or lineage. There are different varieties of the New York City accent that are based on ethnicity, due to the city’s long standing reputation as the gateway to America, a true melting pot of people and cultures. There are Italian-New Yorkers, Spanish-New Yorkers, and Yiddish-New Yorker s that all have a unique sound all their own. That was just to name a few, but the list of different types of accents in New York City could go on for a significant time. Or maybe it couldn’t, because there are a growing number of New Yorkers that have developed distaste for the way that they sound and wish to change their accents. While some New Yorkers have no problem with their accent or wield it proudly, a majority of them are looking down upon it so it has begun to fade out. But the accent will never die out and no matter how many habits New Yorkers consciously unlearn, they will still unconsciously say some things differently from the rest of the country (Tierney, 1995). Many New Yorkers are proud of their unique sound; it continues to be spoken widely in the city today, even without strong class distinctions. The accent has many curious phonological features which stand out when compared to other accents. These features show how the accent has evolved into a unique typ e of speech which reflects the New York speakers and their citys history. New Yorkers with different backgrounds have continuously and will continue to shape their accents according to their needs; this process of change will never stop as long as the accent continues to be used. Conversely, it remains to be seen whether the negative attitudes of those from other parts of the United States towards New York City speech will change in the future, and whether New Yorkers will continue to cherish the traditional, unique features of their accent. It is a strong symbol to and of New York City. And while some look down on the accent, there are just as many who see their speech and accent as an integral part of the city’s identity. Thus, although New York City speech has a rather bad reputation within the America, it is still valued and cherished by its speakers. Perhaps it is precisely this infamy that has partly caused the accent to be widely used and preserved among New Yorkers. I t’s also a New York state of mind; they rebel, consciously or unconsciously, against the beliefs of the majority. Regardless, the accent is permanently ingrained in and connected to the thriving metropolis and will continue to grow and change as New York City does itself. References: Quinlan, Heather. (Writer/Director). (2013). If These Knishes Could Talk: The Story of the New York Accent [Documentary]. USA: Canvas Kid Production Company. Tannen, D. (1981). New York Jewish Conversational Style. International Journal Of The Sociology Of Language, 1981(30), 133-149. Virginia,H. (2010). Points of Entry Speech Therapy. New York Times Magazine, 20. Mammen, E. W., Sonkin, R. (1936). A STUDY OF ITALIAN ACCENT. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 22(1), 1. You talkin to me?. (1995). Discover, 16(9), 27. Skinner, D. (2007). QUEENS ENGLISH. Weekly Standard, 12(33), 4. Bortolot, L. (2011, August 12). You Tawkin to New Yawk?. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111903918104576502373235185388?KEYWORDS=renee+blakemg=reno64-wsjurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903918104576502373235185388.html?KEYWORDS=renee+blake Tierney, J. (1995, January 22). THE BIG CITY; Can We Talk?. The New York Times Archives. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/22/magazine/the-big-city-can-we-talk.html Roberts, S. (2010, November 19). Unlearning to Tawk Like a New Yorker. The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/nyregion/21accent.html?pagewanted=all Green, R. (2012). English with an accent: language, ideology and discrimination in the United States (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Mending Wall Essay -- Literary Analysis, Robert Frost

Throughout the history of man, separation has been a part to their lives in one fashion or another. Man has faced separation from their god, from their community, from their loved ones and from their dreams and desires. Recognizing this continuing condition, writers throughout time have written about such separation that people have experienced. In fact, separation seems to be the central theme in many literary pieces of work. Robert Frost gave us the poem, â€Å"Mending Wall† which explores separation of one neighbor from another. Additionally, Frost wrote, â€Å"Home Burial† which demonstrates the separation experienced by a couple after the loss of their child. John Cheever’s short story â€Å"The Swimmer† shares the journey of Neddy whose alcoholism has separated himself from time, his family, friends, money and health. Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s, â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† faces constant separation from his dreams and a separation of ideals from his family. W.E.B. Dubois shares with the reader a separation of an entire people from their equality thought to have been given to them forty years prior. Though separation may not be the primary message of the writers above, it certainly reveals itself in a variety of ways. The myriad of ways separation is used in the poems and stories previously mentioned are as vast as the causes of the gaps themselves. The speaker in Frost’s, â€Å"Mending Wall† expresses through thoughts primarily the necessity for a wall between himself and his neighbor. Every year the wall is damaged by weather and hunters as the speaker indicates, â€Å"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall (Frost, 51).† Additionally, the speaker asks his neighbor of what purpose is there is such ... ... â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† felt held down by the enormity of generations of struggle and poverty. Walter Lee’s burning desire to break free of poverty and gain financial success clouded his responsibility as head of the household and made him a slave to money he did not have. He was enslaved by the love of money. The poverty and the lack of support from his family fueled his ever edgy fire of discontentment. It is only through his placement of his family in a worse predicament did he break free of the bonds of money. This new found freedom eliminated the separation between he and his family, but like Du Bois, things went unchanged in his world. Walter Lee would never achieve his dream in the play. Racism, poverty and corruption kept Walter Lee from achieving his dream and he could not overcome them as he burdened with the fate that he had not part in receiving.

Pigs Role in Animal Farm by George Orwell Essays -- Animal Farm Georg

Pigs' Role in Animal Farm by George Orwell At the start of the novel Orwell describes the pigs to be the "cleverest of the animals." This is clearly an advantage and so leads to the pigs taking over the farm. There is a sense of leadership very soon after Old Major's death as the three pigs, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer arrange meetings with the other animals and already begin to give orders. "You do not need sugar," says Snowball. It is evident here that Snowball believes that he has power over the other animals already. Further on during the second chapter Snowball and Napoleon send for a ladder, proving that they think they can use the animals to do jobs and progresses more in chapter 3 when they believe that they can direct and supervise the other animals and not actually do the work themselves. In chapter two Napoleon says, "Comrade Napoleon will lead the way." Using the word "lead" shows that the pigs think of themselves as more than just teachers and even have their own headquarters soon after. It is clear to us that the pigs are using their intelligence to trick the other animals and play mind games with them. Orwell describes Snowball as a "more vivacious pig than Napoleon." We can see this whilst he is still on the farm, as he is always doing things to benefit the whole of the farm, not just himself whereas Napoleon is. "Snowball made a little speech, emphasizing the need for all animals to be ready to die for Animal farm if need be." It is evident from this quote that Snowball is very passionate about the farm and will do anything to improve it. His passion for the farm is very much shown at the battle of the cowshed where he is in charge of the attack against Jones and other farmers. ... ...oleon-we have won every inch of it back again!" Squealer is making it out to be a good thing maybe because Napoleon wants the animals to still think of him as a great leader. The animals soon believe that what they have done is great and so join in with the celebrations. Another use of Squealer by Napoleon is to increase the belief that Snowball is a menace so they think of Napoleon as a better leader and Snowball as a traitor. Napoleon is always maintaining his power throughout the novel and also uses Squealer to do this by giving credit to Napoleon for everything and reminding the animals that he is a great leader even if what he is doing is wrong. This way the pigs are able to benefit greatly from communism which is what they wanted from the rebellion. They show no interest in improving the farm itself but only in the strength of their power over it.

French Revolution Lower Class :: essays research papers

Life from the Bottom Lower classes have always been treated the worst of any other people. I, being a peasant farmer during the French Revolution, have experienced this maltreatment in mankind. We made up the largest group within the Third Estate. We were forced to do things that were out of our control. The peasants, such as me, did not like being under the rule of Louis XVI and his spouse Marie Antoinette. We were already deprived of money to begin with, yet we still lost half of what we had due to taxes. We were expected to pay feudal dues to the nobles, tithes to the church, and royal taxes to the king’s agent. Also, aside from taxes in money, we owed the corvà ©e. The corvà ©e was a certain form of tax that was paid by work rather than money. We were expected to do this for a certain number of days out of every year. During the rule of the Old Regime, peasants’ rights were depleted and our power was oppressed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the radicals tried Louis XVI for treason and demanded that he be executed, we peasants were relieved. We now gained more rights and felt freer. The Jacobins were now gaining more power. We didn’t like this at all. We were horrified by the beheading of the king. We knew that the beheadings could become a routine within our country. As many leaders were trying to gain power, one man slowly took control. His name was Maximilien Robespierre. His reign of power was known as the Reign of Terror. We were terrified of Robespierre’s power. We were all in danger of being guillotined. As many as 40,000 people were beheaded all together, and 80% of them were peasants. After awhile, the members of the National Convention knew none of them were safe from Robespierre. They finally turned against him and executed him on July 28, 1794. This execution ended the Reign of Terror. Everybody was relieved. If the European monarchies were able to squelch the revolutionary government of France, then Louis and Antoinette would not have ruled as long as they did. This would have meant, less tax paying for us peasants.