Management and Group Essay

Reliable, Planning and organizing, resourceful, capable of making sound decisions with her job, not widely affected by emotions †¢How can understanding stages of group development and group properties help employees in a work group function more effectively? As a manager, how would you help employees come to that understanding? Understanding the stages of group development is very important to anyone involved in a group or organization. Understanding the stages can make for a healthy group because in order to perform well you need to have accomplished the prior stages before moving on. Understanding the stages of group development enables employees to work more effectively since results in a clear plan. The stages enable employees to work together as a group to finish the assignments that the company has. As a manager, I would sit down the employees and give them to bottom line. Typically when groups have an idea of the main goal or plan, the individuals come together to work towards that goal. †¢Although the optimal level of conflict can be functional, no conflict or too much conflict can be dysfunctional. What steps would you as a manager take to stimulate some degree of conflict when appropriate and reduce conflict when it is excessive? I would ask tough hard questions to stimulate a degree of conflict when it is appropriate. I would also use conflict in problem solving type training just to see how the employees react. Knowing how your employees react during stressful times is a great thing for managers to know. †¢What is the difference between a group and a team? Would your strategy be different for putting together a group than creating a team? Explain your answer. A group is a collection of individuals who coordinate their individual efforts. On the other hand, a team is a group of people who share a common team purpose and a number of challenging goals. Members of the team are mutually committed to the goals and to each other. This mutual commitment also creates joint accountability which creates a strong bond and a strong motivation to perform. Yes, my strategy would be different. I would have to try to get the group to work towards the same goal whereas a team is already doing just that. †¢In the article, â€Å"Conflict in Work Teams†, the author discusses several strategies for resolving group or team conflict. Which type of strategies seems to fit you best? Compromise is the type of strategy that best fits me. What criteria should you consider when determining the best conflict resolution strategy? I would get the employees to turn their anger around to interact peacefully and productively with their peers. Leaders learn how to conduct presentations, guide discussions, and help participants understand the purposes and pitfalls of anger and how to channel it into constructive and useful actions

Deep Sea Fishing

â€Å"If deep-sea fishing is the most dangerous of all civilian occupations, it is especially so during winter months or during storms at any time of year. † Yet, â€Å"risk taking is something they are paid to accept† (Cockerham, 131). [Epigram] As depicted by Sebastian Junger’s nonfiction account, The Perfect Storm, deep-sea fishing requires a level of determination that can override scientific data and superstitious judgment, in the interest of getting money. He tells the story of the Andrea Gail, which sets out for its fatal last voyage. In October 1991, the crewmembers say their last goodbyes and leave their loved ones behind.It’s late in the season, to go so far out at sea. Also, a number of people had been having strange feelings about the trip and are struggling to push them aside. Since the very beginning in the book, there have been many premonitions presented. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a premonition is â€Å"a strong feeling t hat something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant† (â€Å"Premonition†). â€Å"Premonitions are often about something that is a threat to our survival tells us the purpose they serve: they are overwhelmingly about survival† (USA, Under Attack).Some fishermen hired to work the Andrea Gail are willing to take this risk regardless of the premonitions they have. Others decide not to go. While the Andrea Gail is out fishing, events unfold that lead to the sinking of the boat. The last voyage of the Andrea Gail proves the tension that must be faced between scientific data and superstitions the crewmembers had and the need for money. Based on extensive interviews, Junger describes the determination shown by deep-sea fishermen.

Describe and Compare the Role of Local and State Government in Urban Essay

Describe and Compare the Role of Local and State Government in Urban and Regional Planning in Western Australia - Essay Example These two factors are considered to be a fundamental basis of planning (Blackhall, 2005). It is in this regard that the local as well as the state government of any particular nation plays a considerable role in making effective plans. In relation to planning system, the primary purposes of the government, in both local as well as state levels, are to generate sustainable communities, encourage sustainable development and enhance the performance of the local authorities in determining any sort of planning applications (Poister, 2005). In this discussion, an overview of the planning system which prevails in Western Australia will be taken into concern. Moreover, a detailed description about how the planning system operates at the local and state level in Western Australia will be discussed henceforth. Various aspects which include the planning legislations, plans and the administrative frameworks prevailing in Western Australia in relation to planning system will also be considered. B esides, an evaluation about the purpose of planning in Western Australia will be portrayed in the below discussion. Operations of the Planning System in Western Australia The planning system currently prevailing in Western Australia has served the state successfully for more than 50 years. The planning system existing in the region of Western Australia is primarily based upon an exceptional combination of steady institutional based arrangements, which enjoys bipartisan support by a certain extent. The system is structurally governed by simple as well as strong legislation along with a centralized legitimate authority titled as The Department of Planning (DoP). DoP was formed in the year 2009 in Western Australia which plays an imperative role in enhancing the living standard of the inhabitants belonging to the state. It broadly aims to support as well as to organize the planning and advancement of regional land-use within Western Australia (Government of Western Australia, 2011). It has been apparent from the fact that most of the people as well as the different government agencies pay utmost attention towards the planning system for the purpose of growing their respective townships in a sustainable manner (Oladipo, 2008). It is worth mentioning in this regard that the chief components of the planning system in Western Australia are based on the ideas of strategic planning and statutory planning. The aspect of strategic planning emphasizes upon long-term regional planning throughout the region of Western Australia. It incorporates a broad assortment of various social, financial, infrastructural and environmental issues by a considerable extent. In the similar context, the idea of statutory planning stresses upon the fact of effectively managing the procedure of land-use, urban development and land supply across the region of Western Australia (State of Western Australia, 2007). The different priority areas that the planning system in Western Australia focuses upon include empowering the institutional arrangements as well as the governance, developing an inclusive regional framework and simplifying various planning approvals. The other concerning areas include paying greater attention to the major planning projects as well as effectual planning instruments and establishing an incorporated infrastructure for developing the

Workplace humour is really just a bit of fun. Critically evaluate this Essay

Workplace humour is really just a bit of fun. Critically evaluate this statement - Essay Example Humor is used in all aspects of communication and merely everyone uses it in their conversation (Ann, 2004). These include religious leaders, political leaders, lawyers, doctors, managers, scientists, engineers, educators or directors. People are mostly stressed at work places and offices more than any other place. Documentation has been done and it shows that workplace or office humor is a good stress reliever, boosts morale, unites people, and helps in to ward burnouts. On the other hand it can be used to create hostility in the working environment and to alienate a worker which leaves them stressed at the long run. As a result workplace humor can reduce stress and at times it can be offensive to the employees. Humor is brought about by popular jokes which are mostly associated with employee’s accent, personal hygiene, age, sexual orientation, physical appearances, weight or even their work behavior like poor attendance or closely working with the boss. We are all aware that the lecturers and teachers rated the best in campus and other learning and educational institutions were those with funny stories, jokes; to them these were a way of capturing the attention of the students. It helped in increasing attendance and kept the students awake. The same case applies to work place; in a working environment with humor, the workers are energized and vigorous leading to increased productivity (Bob, 1989). In many instances women are the ones who are mostly offended by humor as many male employees make jokes about their physical characteristics like cleavage, weight and scars. At times many office jokes meant to evoke humor are not received to be jokes. These may lead to conflicts in the organization and lowering morale and productivity. At some organization, great task are involved in trying to balance the funny office humor and its offensive nature. Humor in itself is not a problem, the problem comes in when a person uses

The analysis of the artwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The analysis of the artwork - Essay Example As evident in coronation artwork, the painting embraced heroic morality and nature. It also embraced the classics, the ancient apostle of reason, and the simplicity and calm grandeur of the highly-ranked in the society. Having been victorious in his campaigns in Italy and Egypt, Napolean won military prestige and became the first Consul following the Brumaire Coup D’etat. Although the artwork shows Empress Josephine being coronated by Napoleon, it was Napoleon who had first coronated himself on December 2, 1804 at Notre-Dame Cathedral. Napoleon had been consecrated by a Pope just as his predecessors Charlemagne a thousand years before. This was a great way of securing his authority in the French Catholic and Monarchic tradition. Nonetheless, the ceremony of the crowning of Napoleon distanced itself from the church through facing the high altar only for Napoleon to crown himself and facing the congregation. After the self-coronation, Napoleon crowned the Empress to demonstrate that he was more distinguished, less authoritative, and more of a â€Å"French Caballero†. The dimensions of the painting of the coronation of the Empress is 621 Ãâ€" 979 cm (244.5 Ãâ€" 385.4 in), and uses the oil on canvas medium. This paper contextualizes the artwork by David from the political, economic, religious, gender, technology, regional, religious, ethnic, and generational perspectives. Traditionally, Coronation ceremonies were painted and David borrowed heavily from previous coronation painting. The best example was the Coronation of Marie De Medici by Reuben. Having witnessed the Coronation of Emperor Napoleon first-hand, David, inspired by Reuben, borrowed the layout of his painting and had participants pose. Like in previous coronation paintings, the artwork highlights the protagonists in the centre and illuminated with a beam of light. Emperor Napoleon is, however, keen to observe the tradition of holding the ceremony in

King Creon and Antigone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

King Creon and Antigone - Essay Example In the play, a fight between brothers over the control of Thebes resulted to their deaths. Unfortunately, their deaths are perceived differently by Antigone and King Creon. According to King Creon, Polynices who is one of their brothers that had died in the war does not deserve a proper burial because he fought against his people (Sophocles 2). On the other hand, Antigone argues that it is crucial for her brother to be given a proper burial because he is their blood. This variation in thought about the burial of Polynices is the one that led to the emergence of other issues. In the play, it is also evident that there was a clash of wills between Antigone and King Creon. This is evidenced by Antigone’s view about the essence of maintaining and observing the family’s sacredness in making any decision in life (Sophocles 3). According to her, it was the duty of family members to give one of their own a proper burial. On the other hand, King Creon believed that whoever goes against his country does not deserve any respect from anyone including his or her family members. Pride is also another element that contributed significantly to the creation of a big gap between King Creon and Antigone. According to the scenes in the play, it is pride that made King Creon decide not to offer his brother a proper burial. It is also his perception on the position of women in the society that made him ensure that the death of Polynices is not mourned by people. Additionally, it is Creon’s position as a king that made him not to accept Antigone’s opinion about the burial of their brother (Sophocles 2). In addition, Antigone’s pride also barred her from accepting the decision that was made by the king about Polynices’ burial. The decisions made by both the king and Antigone also shows that there was an issue of duties and values. This is evidenced by Antigone’s assertion that it was her duty to ensure her brother was

Positive relationship between the current best practices of nonprofits Dissertation

Positive relationship between the current best practices of nonprofits and the Eclectic Paradigm - Dissertation Example The research questionnaire therefore contained questions that asked the respondents to give their opinion on the importance of OLI factors and to elaborate if their organization used these factors for developing a sustainable business model of non-profit. 4.2.1 Ownership (O): Brand Awareness, Proprietary Relationships and Exclusive Relationships The ownership factors include the capacity of the organization to develop a powerful brand, and its ability to replicate its best practices intra-organizationally across different departments or business units. The replication of the best practices is studied through proprietary and exclusive relationships. Table 1a: Regression Statistics Ownership (O) SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 1 R Square 1 Adjusted R Square 65535 Standard Error 0 Observations 3 Table 1b: ANOVA Ownership Attributes    df SS MS Significance F Regression 4 16.7086 4.17715 3.3 Residual 0 0 65535 Total 4 16.7086          Coefficients Standard Error t Stat Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept 0 X Variable 1 0.2375 0 65535 0.2375 0.2375 0.2375 0.2375 X Variable 2 0.3825 0 65535 0.3825 0.3825 0.3825 0.3825 X Variable 3 0.5225 0 65535 0.5225 0.5225 0.5225 0.5225 X Variable 4 0 0 65535 0 0 0 0 Figure 1a: Importance of Brand Awareness, Proprietary Relationship and Exclusive Relationships The above presented regression analysis and the scatter plot in the figure highlight the fact that to become a successful organization, Brand Awareness & Proprietary Relationship must be higher as attribute of the company. The results being from 70 respondents from the sample of 25 non-profit organizations indicate that there is a consensus on building non-profit organization on the basis of sound marketing strategies that involve developing a brand name that is recognizable and has credibility. As was seen in the literature review, there is an enhanced competition between non-profit and charitable organizations to obtain both corpor ate and governmental funding and to attract human resources (Buckley and Casson, 200). Having a brand image and recall among the community as well as having a reputation of excellence lead the non-profit organizations creating a distinct identity and recall for the people (Madhok and Phene, 2001). The need to have a powerful brand is found to have increased in the past few years especially post the global financial crisis. The global crisis led to budgetary cuts for corporates and adversely impacted on their funding of non-profit organizations cut back their initiatives related to corporate social responsibility (Cole, Lee and McCullough, 2007). On the other hand, the tightening of public spending also led to a general attitude of saving and insecurity, making less funds available from individual or private donations (De Rosa, 2009). Under these conditions it became even more challenging for non-profit organizations to remain sustainable and viable and to keep their operations intac t. An eclectic paradigm was therefore the most viable option which including building brand awareness and developing exclusive long term relationships that can sustain the non-profit organizations over similar periods of economic slowdown (Franklin, 2011). The research questionnaire also requested the respondents to elaborate on their answers regarding why they think that brand awareness, proprietary relationships and exclusive relationships is or is not important for their non-profit organizations. However, as seen by the following chart, a very small number of the respondents took the initiative to give detailed information regarding

Integrated Marketing Communication To Build Brands Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication To Build Brands - Essay Example To find a relationship between IMC, market orientation (MO), learning orientation (LO), brand orientation (BO) and brand performance 1000 questionnaires were mailed to 1000 organizations in Australia. MO has a direct positive relationship but LO do not have the relationship. Again BO has the relationship Both IMC and BO have a direct positive relationship with brand performance. IMC has a significant role to play in promoting the performance of the brand in the market. Conceptual approach redefining and supporting the empirical relationship could have been done.To find a relationship between IMC, market orientation (MO), learning orientation (LO), brand orientation (BO) and brand performance 1000 questionnaires were mailed to 1000 organizations in Australia. MO has a direct positive relationship but LO do not have the relationship. Again BO has the relationship Both IMC and BO have a direct positive relationship with brand performance. IMC has a significant role to play in promoting the performance of the brand in the market. Conceptual approach redefining and supporting the empirical relationship could have been done.Laric & Lynagh (2010) Role of IMC in sustainability marketing Based on operations of various firms and organizations, the ways as to how they tackle challenges by IMC Conceptual Approach Role of sustainability is very essential in organizations and IMC plays an effective part in enhancing it The key focus of the research was on sustainability and it has been marked as an important concept for organization. Both sustainability and IMC are important for organizations as they are correlated. A more in-depth analysis could have made the findings more viable. To examine the linkage between IMC and revenue generation. Earlier literature about IMC have been analyzed and propositions formulated and model has been developed Conceptual Approach. Internal marketing has an important role to play in organizations for generating revenue. Internal marketing enha nces the relationships among brand orientation, market orientation, and IMC. Both internal marketings, as well as intra-organizational marketing in the form of IMC, are important for organizational performance Propositions once developed are better evaluated by an empirical approach. To examine the effect of customer and competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination on the brand orientation that in turn affect to brand performance in SMEs. The hypothesis was developed and questionnaires were mailed to 4502 SMEs in Finland regarding the topic. Empirical Approach Customer orientation along with inter-functional coordination has an effect on brand orientation but competitor orientation does not have the relationship. The constructs of IMC has a direct impact on the brand performance.   Brand orientation and market orientation are directly related to the positive performance of the brand. More focus on the core concept of IMC should have been made. To focus on the concept o f IMC as a relationship-building strategy Random sample of communicating professionals from 1000 non-profit organizations were selected and the quantitative online survey was conducted.

British Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

British Fiction - Essay Example Both of them are distinctive, and in many ways ground-breaking plays written by playwrights who are , in their way, regarded as quintessentially 'English' or 'British' in nature: if such as thing as British literature exists, it would be found within their work. First of all is there such a thing as "being British" At the most basic level "being British" would be someone who is born, raised or who hold British nationality. In this case both Pinter and Stoppard meet this crude "British" definition. Being British is also essentially an idea rather than a reality. It can be seen as adherence to a number of supposed national norms that the British display. Eccentricity, independence, an indomitable nature, reserve, politeness, intelligence, genius, empire, arrogance are all characteristics which can be said to be 'British', and thus it can be seen to be a number of often contradictory things. 'Contradiction' is one of the hallmarks of Absurdist Theatre and thus it is apt that The Caretaker is one of the first works of drama to be written within the genre called The Theatre of the Absurd. What can be said to be particularly 'English' about this work. ... mixture of threat, comedy, hopelessness and an ironic commentary upon working class lives that are based often upon endless combative exchanges of words. The characters make fun of their situations in a manner that is both vaguely threatening and funny. For example, Mick gives an exaggerated description of what the hopelessly run-down house could be: MICK: We could turn this place into a penthouse. For instance this room. This room could have been the kitchen. Right size, nice window, sun comes in. I'd have I'd have teal-blue, copper and parchment linoleum squares. I'd have those colours re-echoed in the walls. I'd offset the kitchen units with charcoal-grey worktops. Plenty of room for cupboards for the crockery. We'd have a small wall cupboard, a large wall cupboard, a corner wall cupboard with revolving shelves. You shouldn't be short of cupboards. You could put the dining-room across the landing, see Yes. Venetian blinds on the window, cork floor, cork tiles. You could have an off-white pile linen rug, a table in... in afromosia teak veneer, sideboard with matte black drawers, armchairs in oatmeal tweed, a beech frame settee with a woven sea-grass seat... (sits up) it wouldn't be a flat it'd be a palace. (Pinter, 1998) Mick is making fun of his brother's (as well as the tramp's) ridiculous plans for the house, and goes from the reasonable to the absurd in his descriptions. Take the description of the cupboard, which soon turns into a "large wall cupboard" and then on to the absurdly ambitious "cupboard with revolving shelves" (Pinter, 1998). Pinter is also commenting upon the pretentious of the English middle-class, and those such as his brother and new 'caretaker' who would want to be one of them. The details of this pretension, seething with sarcasm as they

Gender and Stereotype in Sitcom Essay Example for Free

Gender and Stereotype in Sitcom Essay In both sitcoms, Black Books and Men Behaving Badly, comedy is generated and dependant on the representation of stereotypes shown through characters. Some follow stereotypes and others dont, but throughout both sitcoms, this is where the humor comes from, and this is extremely visible in the two episodes chosen for each sitcom. In Men Behaving Badly, the two main characters, Tong and Gary have fixed views on gender and couldnt be closer to the modern day stereotype of a youngish male. They are two men who are lager swilling and football crazy, and even though both in their thirties, adult life hasnt dawned on either just quite yet. The mise en scene of their flat is very boyish and the pub is dark and dingy. They never change throughout the sitcom and seem extremely content with their laidback lifestyles. Much of the humor is generated from this because the middle aged male audience can relate, and wish they were in that situation. The audience will understand their jokes and think of the times when they were probably the same. This behavior also allows them to get away with much more, for example in this episode neither gets back from the pub until the early hours and Gary misses Dorothy specially prepared romantic meal but avoids confrontation. They also both have female companions. Dorothy is Garys on/off girlfriend who is always extremely forgiving, and could be considered as the female stereotype in many aspects. She says she wants a proper relationship, but knows its unlikely with Gary. She cooks him romantic meals and is always working hard to please him. Deborah on the other hand is not in a relationship with Tony, but knows she can use him for a bit of fun whenever she likes. An example is at the end of this episode when she tells him to wait outside for her naked in the shed in the early hours of the morning, for the second time in a matter of weeks. Tony obviously falls for it, with him being the sex crazed stereotypical man that he is portrayed to be, and comedy is generated from this. Deborah on the other hand, is the stereotype of the attractive and sophisticated girl upstairs, the one who is definitely most likely to take advantage of men. Women can relate to these characters, with the struggles they go through and the laughs they have mocking their men, and this is how the audience is formed. The whole audience is able to relate through the portrayal of stereotype in this sitcom, and humor is generated along the way. Men will find the parts played by the men funny, and the women watching vice versa, but it can be viewed by all in confidence that laughs will arise from any episode. The women mock the men, but the men get their own back with their loutish, get away with anything attitudes, and by the end everyone is satisfied. On the other hand, in Black Books, most of the comedy is generated due to characters deviating from their stereotypes. Bernard is the only main character who does not. He is a stereotypical Irishman, who is an incredibly easygoing, drinking smoking lout, whose witty humor generates from him ordering about his only employee and best friend Manny. Manny is the other half to this relationship, and the much more the feminine personality wise. His appearance is of a hippy, and for much of the time he is acting as the forgiving wife to Bernards demanding husband role. Bernard tells Manny that he hasnt washed his things, and Manny replies politely, I want a herb garden. In their relationship though they both conform to stereotypes, Bernard of the bad husband and Manny of the forgiving wife. Bernard is forever ungrateful for Mannys effort for example he says after Manny has spent time cooking a meal, What kind of filth is spewing out of your hatch tonight?. Manny is used to it though, and just ignores his petulance. Bernard also mocks Mannys female ways in saying that, Ill wait until you put your teeth in dear, before speaking to Manny. In the episode watched, much of the comedy derives from this repeated bickering between the two, and contrasting stereotypes. They both eventually go and see a psychiatrist who almost changes roles a round, but eventually, as with every episode, the equilibrium is restored by the end, and Mannys subordinate role is re-established. The third main character in the sitcom is Fran, and she is much the glue between the two males as she can relate to both ways of life and confront their problems. She derives greatly from her stereotype though, and acts as an extremely masculine female, smoking and drinking, and is told by her friend she smells. In this particular episode Fran even tries to make a menz to her ways by stopping drinking and smoking and taking up yoga, but this vision is not long lived. When her friend Eva and she are together the mise en scene is bright, light and modern, but by the end of the episode she is back as being considered one of the boys in the way. She returns to the dingy bookshop and has the last line in this particular episode, a belch, which sums her up in a way. By the end of the episode the unity of the group is definitely restored, and so are all normal ways of living. Manny and Frans deviations from stereotype are back in place and Bernards was never in doubt. This particular sitcom provides a different type of comedy to Men Behaving Badly; in that stereotypes do not have to be adhered to in order to produce comedy. A different type of humor is created, whereby the audience is laughing at the characters rather than relating to them. All in all, the humor created by both situation comedies comes back to the portrayal of stereotype, or deviation of it by characters, but Black Books just shows a different edge to how it can depend on the stereotypical representation of gender in situation comedies.

Chinese Kongsi Clan

Chinese Kongsi Clan Chapter 1 Introduction The Chinese of South China came to Malaya in the great numbers. Today, they comprise about the Hokkien dialect, and they quickly established their clan houses or kongsi, in Georgetown. These kongsi are actually clan temples for ancestor worship. They are set like jewels in courtyards, guarded by great stone lions. However, the role of the Chinese kongsi changes very rapid in Malaya since the late 1900s, and hence their impact on the Chinese community was very significance. The Chinese kongsi were district associations was organized on a district (of China) or clan (surname) basis. Chinese kongsi also were mutual-benefit societies whose membership was drawn from particular village and prefectures in China. In China they were originally religious or benevolent â€Å"self help† associations, which assumed a political or anti-dynastic character at the time of the Manchu conquest, and later degenerated into organizations of criminals for exploiting and intimidating the community. Their rivalries, especially regarding control and limits of the â€Å"protection areas† into which they parceled towns and districts, brought them into collision. Their objects were to help needy members carry out various religious rites, and help in settling disputes among their members or between their members and others. Chinese kongsi are organizations of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname in Malaya. In the opinion of contemporary Europeans, kongsi was quite distinct from the hui or secret society, but the fact is that kongsi was the inclusive term including the benevolent associations, pure and simple, and the hui that was both â€Å"self-help† and criminal in its scope. When the hui were finally suppressed, the kongsi survived and they continue their work of benevolence and mutual assistance.But the maritime province of China from which the Straits Chinese were drawn was notorious in Chinese history for their turbulence and for generations various districts had carried on bloody feuds. When the natives of these districts came to Malaya they brought their feuds with them. To understand how British colonialism affected the Chinese community in Penang to form an association or Chinese kongsi, we have to look into the implications of the colonization of the island by Francis Light an English country trader. 1.1 Background Pulau Pinang or Penang is name of an island in the Straits Malacca and also is a small mountainous island off the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, 15 miles long by nine miles wide. The east coast of the island is the site of Penang’s harbor, formed by the narrow channel that separates the island from the mainland. The name of Penang as called by Chinese as Binlang Xu (means island of Penang) in navigational drawings used by the maritime voyages of Imperial (Ming dynasty China) envoy Admiral Cheng Ho. Penang was already identified in the chart of  Cheng Hos voyage to the South Sea in the 15th century. However, the urban development of Penang only started when Francis Light established the trading base of the East India Company in 1786, for the voyage between China and India. All the varied flavours of both worlds- in the faces, languages, customs and costumer- are blended, yet distinct. Penang was founded for trade, and trade remains the hearts of its economy. In time Penang earned a reputation for having â€Å"the sweetest water in the east†. Similarly, the Chinese settlement in Tanjong Tokong pre-dates the English settlement by several decades. There were also Chinese planters living in Krian and along the Kedah coast, opposite the island. The main urban settlement on the island, George Town, sits close to this harbor on the northeastern promontory of the island. George Town was named by Francis Light on August 10th 1786, and is thus as old as the Settlement itself. Light had occupied the island on (July 17th) that clearing the jungle on Penaga Point and going on to mark out what are still the central thoroughfares viz. Having named the island after the Prince of Wales, Light evidently made amends by naming the town after George III, quickly adding name to commemorate and conciliate the Primer Minister (William Pitt), and the Governor-General (Cornwallis). 1.1.1 Founding Penang Penang was part of the sultanate Kedah until it became a British possession in 1786, gaining independence as part of the Federation of Malaya in 1957. In 1786, Captain Francis Light established Penang to serve as an English trading emporium in the Straits of Malacca, an area strategically located between India and China. At that time, the British had no port between Calcutta and Canton, a matter for concern when monsoon storms drove British ship to seek supplies or repair. These scenario had changed dramatically on 17 July 1786 when Lieutenant Gray, under the command of Captain Francis Light, led a pioneer landing party and proceeded to supervise an orderly disembarkation. Captain Light, who was on board the Eliza, had chosen Penaga Point, a cover on the northeast finger of the island, to set-up his headquarters. The Eliza, accompanied by the Prince Henry and the Speed well, had left Kedah port on the 14th of July after having reached an understanding with the Sultan to establish a trading port on behalf of the English East India Company. After Francis Light introduced the idea of a free port, which in sharp contrast to the established practice in the area. The result was dramatic. Small trades who had been sailing to several small Malayan and Dutch ports turned more and more toward Penang. Soon a steady stream of permanent Asian settlers followed. At the same time, Penang also attracted Chinese traders and merited from India subcontinent and the neighboring Malay States. Light reported to the East India Company that trades came from as far as Arabia in the West and Makasaar in the East. Light successfully negotiated an agreement with the Sultan of Kedah that Penang would be ceded to the East India Company in exchange for  £6,000 per annum and the promise that the company would station an armed vessel in the Straits to guard Penang and the Kedah coast. They agreed that free trade would be allowed, and that anyone could trade on the Kedah coast without restriction. Despite having written reports to his superiors in Calcutta about the helpfulness of the natives on the island, Captain Francis Light and subsequent East India Company officers considered the island â€Å"virtually uninhabited† .Thus Light went on to claim the island for the English Crown and christened it Princes of Wales Island. Its capital was Georgetown, named after George III while the fort itself was named after the Governor-General of India, Charles, Marrquis Cornwallis. Through this second treaty signed in 1800, the English gained control of the coastline stretching from Kuala Kedah in the north to the Krian estuary in the south. This was named Province Wellesley, after Richard, Earl of Mornington, later Marquis of Wellesley, Governor-General of India. Once the agreement was concluded, the British boats landed. The next day, a Chinese from Kedah, together with some Indian Christians, brought Light a welcoming gift of fishing nets. Most agree that this man was Koh Lay Huan, a Chinese from Fujian province whom Light described as â€Å"the most respectable member of the Chinese,† and whom he appointed as Penang’s first Chinese community leader or kapitan (a word borrowed from Dutch into English, Chinese and Malay to refer to the appointed leaders of ethnic groups). Penang quickly became a cosmopolitan commercial center, and among the many who flocked to Penang to seek the â€Å"protection of the British flag† were â€Å"Europeans, Chooliahs (Tamils), Bengalis, Chinese, Burmese, Arabs, Malays and Portugese†. By 1789, there were ten thousand residents, and this number doubled by 1795. 1.1.2 Founding Chinese Kongsi As the majority of Chinese immigrants came from the southern maritime provinces of China (Fukien, Kwangtung and Kwangsi) where the Triad Society had prospered, it is not surprising to find therefore that many of them were in fact Triad members who had brought the secret organization with them to Singapore and Malaya. The available evidence suggests that the Triad was firmly established in the Straits Settlements by the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was first recorded in Penang in 1799 as a source of trouble to the local government. By 1825 there were at least four secret societies- the Ghee Hin, the Ho Seng, the Hai San and the Wah Sang- firmly entrenched on the island. When waves of Chinese immigrants deluged Malaya during the second half of the nineteenth century, they had no intentions of making the country their permanent home. They were hua chiao who left China to find their fortune and having found it, and then they intended to return to the motherland. While the Chinese immigrants lived in Malaya, they wanted Chinese social to comforts for their â€Å"home-away-from-home†. As they increased in number their need for closer identification and security drove to set up associations and societies similar to hose in China. So, while the kongsi administration in Penang at defiance as early as 1799: in 1825 they actually plotted an insurrection in league with the Siamese to overthrow the Government; in 1826 Newbold notes the Triad Society in Malacca as being 4,000 strong. In the meantime, the Chinese immigrant also established the association (or hui kuan) which formed on a provincial basis, there were the Hokkien (Fukien) and Kwangtung Associations. The principal functions of this hui kuan were to keep alive links with their home provinces by making available to members reading materials on their home regions, and to provide mutual aid such as subsidies for funerals of members, education aid include scholarships and loans. While the organizations of the nineteenth century catered primarily to the socio-economic needs of the overseas Chinese, during the twentieth century, as the latter became increasingly politically conscious, these organizations also sought to generate concern for motherland among their members. There were also fully aware that China’s future depended rot on caring for regional interest alone but for those of the whole nation. Socially, the dialect associations offered opportunities for sharing news and reminiscences about the home districts as well as for recreation. However, the mains functions of the associations were to provide social welfare services and protection to the new immigrants and those who needed material help when they first come to Malaya. Basically, the immigrant will join the associations as a member to make sure they get the protection and the rich merchants were usually elected as the leaders of their respective dialect groups. They contributed large sums of money to keep the association going, and in return, they commanded respect in their own dialect groups. Through the dialect associations or even hui kuan, many Chinese leaders were able to influence the attitudes of the members towards practically any matter. Thus, as well be seen later, both the revolutionaries and the reformists competed for the support of the leaders of the dialect groups. In a period of about forty years (1846-89), a series of riots, twelve of which were serious, had occurred in the Straits Settlements. Most of these involved heavy loss of life and property, and were serious threats to public security. The Penang riot of 1867, for example, involved some 30,000 Chinese and 4,000 Malays (about a quarter of the total population of Penang and Province Wellesley) in a bloody fight which lasted for about a month, and damage was estimated at $ 60,000 (Spanish). Like the dialect groups and the clan organizations, the secret societies formed an important part of the social fabric of the Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaya in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before their suppression in 1890, the secret societies constituted a semi-legal of self-government in the Chinese communities, protecting life and property, allocating jobs and settling disputes among their members. Because of the lenient policy of the government of the Straits Settlements, the secret societies came to assume considerable control over the Chinese by intimidation, blackmail and violence. They sometimes recruited newly-arrived immigrants by force and protected opium and gambling houses and brothels. Personal feuds and factional quarrels over spheres of influence frequently led to armed clashes which affected the safety of all the Chinese, and threatened public security as a whole. Significant of study Rational, significance, or need for the study The topic of the Chinese kongsi of Penang has been the basis of many studies. It has also formed part of wider studies encompassing British Malaya and Southeast Asia. Most of these studies, however, are concerned with the origin of kongsi and limited studies have been made on the major role and role reversal of the Chinese kongsi in Penang. The present study represents an attempt to fill this gap. Penang became a centre of regional trade in the early 19th century. Its status as an entrepot was over-shadowed after 1819 by Singapore, which also took over as the administrative centre of the Straits Settlements in 1832. Nevertheless its economic base was strengthened from the second half of the 19th century by the growth of the tin and later rubber industries in the Malay Peninsula. Then Penang became part of the global political economy of colonial capitalism. The newly-immigrant Chinese, who were legally ‘aliens’ and whose ties to their ancestral homeland remained strong. Leaders of both groups sometimes came together in the Chinese Town Hall and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce as well as various organizations, based on clan, district, and occupation, which were the main channels of Chinese social and political life, but the English and Chinese-educated Chinese were ‘virtually separate communities’. The Chinese secret societies, they began as self-help Chinese associations that provided protection and assistance to members.Chinese do want to remain culturally distinguishable, and hat they are drawn in this century both towards nationalism in China and towards embracing local loyalties by the same forces, that is by he pressures of modernization and the erosion of traditional values. Nevertheless, this study has not tried to evaluate the quality of Chinese political life in Penang. The significance of this study is to prove that the role of the Chinese kongsi have been changed between the period of the study. The subject of Chinese amalgamations-kongsi or hui kuan and secret societies which are such an outstanding feature of Chinese life in the Straits-has not been fully dealt with here because it is thought of enough importance to merit a separate chapter, but now that references has been made to the policing of the Chinese in the first decades of Penang’s story, mention of them cannot be avoided if only in a bare reference. This study has been chosen to discuss the problems in terms of politics because politics can be more volatile and more susceptible to radical change. It may not be as deep as social and culture change, nor as fundamental as economic innovation, but I hope to show that similar questions are worth asking about social and economic change and that the answers these produce would provide a sound basis for evaluating the role of the Chinese kongsi in Penang. Statement of the problem The term for secret society and hui, is often interchangeable with the terms like kongsi or Chinese clan (hui kuan), all roughly translating to the meaning of â€Å"brotherhood†. The term kongsi is more widely know in Southeast Asia, whereas in Penang, the secret societies were simply known as hui or tong. Kongsi or â€Å"clan halls†, are benevolent organizations of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. This type of social practice arose, it is held in Penang since 19th century. The term of kongsi is synonymous with the contemporary Chinese word for a commercial firm or business enterprise. The kongsi resembled a miniature Chinese village, with its own self-government as well as educational, financial, welfare and social organizations. However, the establishments of the Chinese kongsi not only cause tenseness among the Chinese communities but also with other group including the Malay and India. This is because of Chinese kongsi only help the member with the same surname but not all Chinese community or other race. Like the Penang Riots of 1867 which were nine days of heavy street fighting and bloodshed among the secret societies of Penang which spiraled out of the British control. However, Chinese kongsi still play a very important role as a benevolent organization of Chinese community in Penang. But, the role of the Chinese kongsi in Penang also changing slowly just as a symbolic of the Chinese culture after 1960. Meanwhile, Chinese kongsi also make distinction between secret societies with Chinese kongsi. That will has to be subject of more detailed in this study. Elements, hypotheses, or research questions to be investigated Chinese community is the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, where Chinese groups are allowed to maintain their own cultures, which then fit into a large dominant Malay national pattern. Associational activities had always been an integral part of Chinese life necessitated by economic needs and cultural predilections. Exactly how were these Chinese kongsi originally formed? How did they function? To what extent did these kongsi reflect to the social organization and patterns of the Chinese community? I decide to seek the answer for two questions. The first was how Penang Chinese kongsi attitudes towards the region did and local people change over time, and how this might has influenced their perspective and play the important role on the Chinese groups in Penang? What are their present roles and functions regarding nation-building? In addition, what factors reflected in the general process change of Chinese kongsi’s role? My second question and the more difficult one was whether the alleged similarities between the Chinese secret societies and Chinese kongsi were the result of contact and mutual influence between them in the colonial period. Has the raison d’à ªtre of the Chinese kongsi changed? None of the answers for these questions are self-evident nor could they be adduced from mere observation. I think that such questions should be best subjected to empirical inquiry (as far as is attainable) and treated dispassionately rather than on conjectural or speculative bases. Definition of terms Having thus obtained a general view of the subject matter of this and the following study, it is necessary trace as far as possible from time of its foundation in each Settlement in the Straits, up to year 1867, the history and fortune of each chapter of the local Chinese secret societies and kongsi which collectively are known as the Triad society and upon that evidence to attempt to separate the several societies into the two rival camps of Triad-Hui (secret societies) and Kongsi (benevolent societies). The use of the term â€Å"Chinese kongsi† naturally raises the question: what is a Chinese kongsi and what different between hui(secret society) and kongsi? To prevent conceptual confusion, I shall make a preliminary hypothesis of what a Chinese kongsi is? The word kongsi so frequently made use in the evidence, means â€Å"company†, and the word hui or hoeys means â€Å"Brotherhood†, â€Å"Society†Ã¢â‚¬ , or â€Å"Association†. A hui is a secret society. But the word kongsi is frequently made use of to denote a hui. In Chinese the term kongsi conveys the meaning of secret and illegal society, only when used after the name such illegal society e.g. Ghee Hin Kongsi. While the word kongsi in Malay terms means a partnership or association of any sort, or a barrack or house occupied by Chinese laborers. But when the word kongsi used in conjunction with the Malay word â€Å"gelap†, it means secret society (kongsi gelap). While Barbara Ward defines Chinese kongsi as â€Å"the large political groups in the mining districts†, which seems rather vague. J.C. Jackson’s points are much more specific because he uses the term kongsi to signify alliances of mining unions and their farming and mining members. Wang Tai Peng defines it neither simply as partnership or brotherhood, nor a combination of both. Rather, definition of kongsi is that it was a form of open government, based on an enlarged partnership and brotherhood. Its purpose was to protect economic gains as well as to resist outside powers. This new political organization provided a foundation for the social and economic life of the overseas Chinese. As Wang Tai Peng made a definition of Chinese kongsi in his study: Kongsi is a Chinese world which indicates a firm partnership or society in a very broad sense. The word has been commonly used in the archipelago over centuries and has become current in both Dutch and various native languages. Literally it means government by a general public or administration of public affairs. The world, kongsi, is derived from the dialect of the Hokkien people who have established themselves throughout Java and commercial ports of the outer islands. In the Hakka dialect, it reads as kung-sze. In Riouw and Jawa, administrations of a firm are customarily addressed and referred to as kongsi. Chinese officials also used this title. Owing to the untiring pursuit of the Chinese of the means to raise capital, the Chinese kongsi is numerous not only in our colony but also in the Malay Peninsula, in the outer islands of Indonesia and in the Philippines. The significance of the kongsi for the flowering and development of Chinese industry, commerce and navigation is hard to underestimate. The kongsi were entirely established to hold people of the same home countries and clans in closer tie or relationship. In the family kongsi, no one, because of the tradition, could have private fortune so long as their father lived. All the family capital were at the disposal of the patriarch. Undoubtedly, if under closer examination, many kongsi would no longer be family kongsi as they at first seem to be. The Chinese kongsi have, however, become more and more divorced from the above-mentioned origins over time, more especially recently. (Beknopte Encyclopaedià « van Nederlandsche Oost-Indià «) In fact, almost every Chinese institution during the early nineteenth century was called kongsi. A temple patron god, a clan society or a provincial club of the Chinese overseas was often named kongsi on foundation. Nevertheless, during the later part of the nineteenth century, they became better know as hui-kuan, a name that was actually much older than kongsi, appearing in the sixteenth century. On the other hand, what exactly is meant by the term secret societies? It does not apply to all groups forced into clandestine activities. Rather, it designates associations whose policies are characterized by a particular kind of religious, political, and social dissent from the established order, such as the White Lotus Sect and the Triad Society. And indeed such present-day terms for secret society as mi-mi hsieh-hui and mi-mi she-hui are neologisms, literal translations of the Western term â€Å"secret society† used from the mid-nineteenth century on by such men as Schlegel, Gà ¼tzlaff, and Wylie in describing these Chinese groups as analogous to the Freemasons, the Carbonari and Sainte-Vehme. The groups known in the West as secret societies were classified by the literal of imperial China as hsieh-chiao (perverse, aberrant, or heterodox sects), yin-chiao (depraved sects), mo-chiao (demoniac sects), fei-chiao (rebel sects), yao-chiao (witchcraft sects), etc. Worth noting is the fact that each of these Chinese terms contain an allusion to the religious character of the secret societies, a character discernible in all these groups whether one speaks of the chiao-men, religious sects in the strict sense that propagated a special religious doctrine, or the hui-t’ang, seditious associations or bands in which the religious elements were restricted to the rites of initiation, to the sacred area called Mu-yang Ch’eng (City of Willows), to the oaths of fidelity made by invoking the gods, and to other Para religious acts. The Chinese language at that time had no accepted term for secret society. The modern term pi-mi she-hui was apparently introduced by the Japanese. Of two authors writing in the same period about the corporation between the Republicans and the secret societies around 1910, the Japanese, Hirayama Amane, spoke of pi-mi she-hui, whereas the Chinese, T’ao Ch’eng-chang, retained the traditional distinction between chiao-men and hui-tang. However, other scholar also called Chinese kongsi as secret societies. This had caused much of confusion in the mind of the colonial authorities. The British administration in the Straits Settlements, for example, had been confusing hui-kuan with hui or â€Å"secret† societies until 1892 when it began to draw a clear-cut line between them. Hui or brotherhood is more proper a term to the vehicle of Chinese self-government as it was then the term secret society. The term secret society† is all the more misleading for the objection raised by Purcell, whatever the precise implication of secrecy may have been: â€Å"All Chinese social organization was necessarily â€Å"secret† whilst it was not recognized or was banned by the Government. The Chinese municipal organizations in Borneo, the kongsis, were, and are, referred to as â€Å"secret societies†, as are all Chinese political organization in Siam where they are illegal.† Some of the Chinese kongsi in Southeast Asia may have carried over the ritual oath-taking ceremony and even the name of T’ien-Ti Hui, they generally evolved from a small partnership, either in commerce or mining. On foundation, they were called hui or union, after which was commonly misused in early colonial days to mean a â€Å"secret society†. Later, when they grew into large organizations with hundreds or thousands of members, they were known as kongsi. The T’ien- Ti Hui in Penang was a partnership in origin. In this study, it should be mentioned here that a distinction should be made between the bona fide kongsi which were, and are, benevolent associations, and the dangerous secret societies whose object was extortion and opposition to the law but in these early days it is debatable whether all the associations did not in some measure adopts similar lines of behavior. Europeans have made a distinction between the huis (as the secret societies were called) and the Chinese kongsi, or district or clan associations, labeling the former as secret and subversive, and the latter as open and beneficial. Even thought hui (secret society) is different with kongsi from perceptive of term, but from the social aspects, both associations are formed by overseas Chinese based on dialect group or same family names to look after their member’s affairs and welfare. As what Blythe mentioned, who writers as follows: â€Å"This attempt to distinguish between kongsi and hui is quite arbitrary-based, I imagine, on the uninformed writings of early Europeans. For example, the Ghee Hin Society was normally known as the Ghee Hin Kung Si. On the other side, most purely benevolent societies are know as hui, even down to the Tontine type of monthly subscription and monthly draw (Cantonese Ngan Wui). In 1928, I was in charge of Cantonese secret societies work in Singapore, and although these were not of the caliber of the old Triad Societies (we could only average one murder a day), quite a number of these societies (descended from branches of the Triad) were XX kongsi. And, as we know, the normal term for a business partnership or for a coolie-lines is â€Å"kongsi†, The Clan kongsi of Penang are quite unique. They do not exist elsewhere in Malaya.† In Chinese usage, Mr. Blythe has concluded that the kongsi are includes hui because this both of the Chinese associations are no distinction is made between good and bad. Blythe also defines kongsi as any partnership or group with a common interest. 1.3 Objective Social and linguistic background and the nature of Chinese immigration determined the form of early Chinese social organizations. The surname differences and a strong sense of regional identity encouraged Chinese immigrants to form their respective surname associations or kongsi. The Chinese kongsi had played a major role in socials and economy in Malaya since the early days of British. However, the role of Chinese kongsi has being change after Penang Riots 1867. The objectives of this study have been first, to describe and analyses the Chinese kongsi activities in Penang between 1820 and 1957 to show how the movement grew and developed in these areas, and later became one mainstreams of the Chinese associations; second, to analyses the responses of various social groups among Chinese community in Penang to the Chinese kongsi, and third, to estimate the importance role of the Chinese kongsi in Penang. This study has been chosen to discuss the problems in terms of politics because politics can be more volatile and more susceptible to radical change. It may not be as deep as social and culture change, nor as fundamental as economic innovation, but I hope to show that similar questions are worth asking about social and economic change and that the answers these produce would provide a sound basis for evaluating the role of the Chinese kongsi in Penang.Nevertheless, this study has not tried to evaluate the quality of Chinese political life in Penang. The significance of this study is to prove and report the role of the Chinese kongsi have been changed between the period of the study. 1.4 Literature review The existing studies cover a wide range of themes including administration, the economy as well as social and political aspects. Even thought many scholar show that various kinds of overseas Chinese organizations set up for purpose of trade, protection and management were not merely copies of earlier form in China, but some have been given much attention; others remain neglected or have not been subjected to fresh critical inquiry. While most historians concentrated on the controlling forces of Chinese secret societies during and after the pre-war period. Although secret societies were not politically inclined and tended to maintain their traditional roles in running protection and extortion rackets. Secret societies, on the other hand, recruited across such barriers and members were bound together by the rituals of sworn brotherhood around a charismatic and semi-mystical head. Being tightly knit and glorifying martial prowess, they were particularly well suited to the task of colonization and self-protection demanded of a pioneering community. Mak Lau Fong observes in his sociological study of secret societies in Peninsular Malaysia: â€Å"When sworn brotherhood binds Triad membership together, dialect differences are naturally de-emphasized, and the clan system is consigned to a secondary position†. For the aspect of the Chinese kongsi origins, the study by M.L Wynne, Wang Tai Peng and W. Blythe is the most comprehensive, and the best account to date. Wang Tai Peng’s study, original part of a Ph.D. dissertation, depends heavily on Chinese and Japanese materials in both the Menzies Library and the National Library. The question also led him to consider the historical place of the kongsi, and original

Recycling Wealth in the Inner City Essay -- Essays Papers

Recycling Wealth in the Inner City INTRODUCTION The modern story of developed areas is a move from the inner city to the suburbs. This decentralization of metropolitan areas has left urban areas neglected. Such a transformation has had negative consequences, because it has inherently meant the abandonment of those left behind in urban centers. Furthermore, the issue is complicated by the fact that the distinction between those moving to the suburbs and those left behind has been defined largely by race. As Kain notes, â€Å"the means by which racial segregation in housing has been maintained are amply documented. They are both legal and extra-legal; for example: racial covenants; racial zoning; violence or threats of violence; preemptive purchase; various petty harassments; implicit or explicit collusion by realtors, banks, mortgage lenders, and other lending agencies; and, in the not-so-distant past, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and other Federal agencies† (Kain, pp289). Thus, a major issue exists in that not only is economic activity shifting from urban areas to suburbia, but minorities are being systematically left behind and delegated to the neglected inner cities. The repercussions of the increasing suburbanization go beyond merely restricted access to choice housing for minorities. Just as important as the housing market shift have been the movements of prime job markets and choice schooling to the suburbs (Jenks and Mayer). The combined loss of these three elements (housing, jobs, and schooling) has ensured a comprehensive disadvantage for minorities left in the inner city. Especially with regard to the black community, the result has been concentrated urban areas of black Americans livin... ...y in the United States, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1990, pp187-222 Kain, John F., â€Å"Housing Segregation, Negro Employment and Metropolitan Decentralization† Mathew Edel and Jerome Rothenberg, pp288-307. Light, Ivan and Gold, Steven J. Ethnic Economies. San Diego: Academic Press. 2000 McFadden, Areaka (Department of Commerce) and Childs, Stephanie, (MBDA). â€Å"President Bush Announces Historic FY ’05 Funding Increase for Minority Business.† MBDA News. Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004. http://www.mbda.gov Sturdivant, Frederick D. (ed.). The Ghetto Marketplace. New York: The Free Press. 1969 Vietorisz, Thomas and Harrison, Bennet. The Economic Development of Harlem. New York: Praeger Publishers. 1970 www.blackwallstreet.org Yancy, Robert J. Federal Government Policy and Black Business Enterprise. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company.1974

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essa

Atticus once said You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them - Examine characters and relationships in to kill a mockingbird, in order to illustrate this maxim! TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Atticus once said "You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them" Examine characters and relationships in to kill a mockingbird, in order to illustrate this maxim! I think Atticus is trying to say that you never really know a man until you step in his shoes and do what he does. In the story there are different relationships where characters do this. I think the biggest relationship showing this is between brother and sister, Jem and Scout Finch. Through out the whole story they will be together doing things like playing with each other, helping each other and exploring things with each other etc. Even on the first page when they are talking to each other about the events leading up to Jem's broken elbow to the last page where Scout is watching over Jem who is in bed after his broken arm, they are always together even if it is Jem watching over Scout at school or Scout helping Jem think of plans. There are lots of examples in to kill a mockingbird where Jem and Scout are together. The first real time Jem and Scout are together is when they meet Charles Baker Harris and they start talking about reading. "How old are you" asked Jem, "Four-and-a-half?" "Going on seven" "Shoot no wonder, then" said Jem, jerking his thumb at me. "Scout yonder has been reading ever since she was born, and she aint even started to school yet" Here Jem is showing Scout off and showing how proud that his sister has not started school yet but she can read. When Charles B... ...ything. That night Mr Cunningham and his crew come wanting to hurt Tom but luckily for Tom, Atticus is there and Scout manages to talk to Mr Cunningham and get them to leave. When the trial comes Atticus tries his hardest to prove Tom is innocent. He tries different way's and one is when he tells Bob Ewell to write some thing which he does then Atticus asks which side of the face did Mayella get hit on. Atticus makes it so that he catches out Bob. Atticus then asks Tom to come up and asks him to pickup a glass fully knowing he can't. This shows signs that it was not Tom who committed the rape but someone else. Even though Atticus proves this the Jury still finds Tom guilty of rape obviously because he is black and Bob Ewell is white. I think these are the main relationships in to kill a mockingbird, but there are also more but which are no way near as big.

National Income and Economic Welfare Essay

National income is a measure of production activity. So, a higher national income overtime should mean more production and more availability of goods and services to the people. Should more goods mean that people are better off? Are they better of in physical terms, or in psychological terms or both? Are there things other than national income which also contribute to the feeling of better off among people ? Are their things counted in national income but do not really lead to betterment of life, or at least not in the same proportion as the monetary value attached to them? Broadly, the point to be examined is that does rise in national income mean that people are better off. Welfare is taken to mean a sense of weN being or a feeling of better off. Welfare of a person is determined by a large number of factors. There are certain factors which lead to rise in welfare, like use of goods and services leading to a comfortable living,better understandingwith familymembers, relations and friends, better natural surroundings, better social and political atmosphere and so on. There are other factors which may lead to decline in welfare like illness, tensions with family members, relations and friends, pollu~ion,unsecured society, etc. The combined effect of all these factors determines whether welfare rises or falls. Welfare as a concept may look alright, but when it comes to measurement of welfare, problems arise. We can measure value of goods and services but we cannot measure the positive values of understanding, natural surroundings, etc. or the negative values of pollution, tension, insecurity, etc. So, we cannot measure everything that affects welfare positively or negatively. Only those factors which can really be measured be expressed in quantities. This leads us to the distinction between economic and non-economic welfare.

Religion as a Synonym of Ignorance Essay

Is the church as solid and strong as it seems? In â€Å"The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings†, Garcia Marquez uses magical realism to challenge religious beliefs; hence, proving religion is not what is seems. To begin with, when the old man with enormous wings lands in Elisenda and Pelayo’s courtyard and after concluding that the man must be someone who survived a shipwreck they call their neighbor to see him. Their neighbor proclaims right away that he must be an angel. Her reaction to the man with wings is purely influenced by faith. She blindly assumes things based on what she has been taught her whole life: â€Å"He’s an angel,† she told them. â€Å"He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down. † (Garcia Marquez 1) This shows how religion influences the interpretation of various events; hence, limiting them to find a deeper or more meaningful significance to any situation. Pelayo’s reaction is guided by fear and insecurity, which somehow is portrayed in the story to symbolize that the Church institution, generates fear instead of preaching God’s word. How Garcia Marquez describes the angel is a critique to the Church due to the fact that it is described as a ragpicker in a pitiful condition and extremely old. Pelayo judges the angel on his appearance. Wasn’t the angel supposed to look all white, attractive and divine such as church says? If he was this way, then Pelayo would most likely honor and respect him rather than treat him like an animal; this doesn’t only ruin the idea the Church has about an angel, but also results very disappointing, meaning that after all, religion results to be a disappointment. Garcia Marquez clearly describes how Colombian society is, and how ignorant they are due to religion. The town expresses hope and expectations are the angel’s visit. Many had big dreams and had relied on this angel to put an end to all their problems as if he was sent down from God. These expectations however are not rational; they are based on their beliefs and the emotions that this angel had generated. Humans in general are always looking for the easy way out and the simplest way to put their problems to an end. This angel served as the answer they had all hoped for; likewise, religion does this in a daily basis. Religious people rely the blame on God for what happens around them, whether its good or bad, it is the easiest way to justify life’s actions limiting human’s chance of thinking for themselves; therefore, they are ignorant. As we go further, critiques towards religion and ignorance continue. One of the strongest is probably when Father Gonzaga, gives his verdict about if the visitor was an angel or not. He tells people the Old Man is not an angel in view of his appearance, and when he tries to communicate with him in Latin he gets no response; that being the case, ignorance takes over again and people believe churchmen simply because of the position they have in society. Catholics often believe the Church knows everything about life, and so they must believe everything they say as if they could not think for themselves. Father Gonzaga felt somehow threatened by the angel’s presence because he could no longer be in the position he was and the angel would be seen as superior to him due to his divinity. â€Å"The parish priest had his first suspicion of an imposter when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers. † (Garcia Marquez 2). He takes advantage of the situation when the Old Man does not answer in the language of jesus, ridiculing him and making himself look once again closer to God rather than the Old man. In addition, the final conclusion about that the old man is a norwegian sailor once again ridicules the Church showing such absurd assumptions; nevertheless, he dares to create comparisons to argument his final word about the impostor the angel was, â€Å"He argued that if wings were not the essential element in determining the difference between a hawk and an airplane, they were even less so in the recognition of angels. † (Garcia Marquez 2). Furthermore, taking the whole Church as a character compared with the angel himself we can see the contrast of true religion and the human representation of it. Meaning that the angel symbolizes religion itself, and the church represents the institution that has corrupted this divine word. Church manipulates everything to be more powerful. In contrast, the angel is extremely patient, he isn’t affected by what people were doing to him and through magical realism, Garcia Marquez manages to create a situation in which church and humans can be looked upon ridiculously because the angel uses all of the things against him to grow strong and flee; wherefore, religion is a bigger authority and more valuable than church as an institution. To conclude, throughout the whole story we can witness how Garcia Marquez uses magical realism fusing the reality of Colombian society and the divinity and fiction of an angel. He generates a critique towards religion stating that religion acts as a blindfold and limits humans to think beyond what they are taught to believe in; hence, we can understand that religion in the story can perfectly fit as a synonym for ignorance.

National Bureau of Economic Research Essay

Go to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Web site, http://www. nber. org, and select New Working Papers. In the Google search space, type â€Å"alcohol. † Use the titles and summaries of the papers to answer the following questions relating to elasticity: (a) Do the mentally ill have perfectly inelastic demands for cigarettes and alcohol? Elasticity helps us define the relationship of changes in price and incomes to the effect of supply and demand. The question posed is: do the mentally ill have perfectly inelastic demands for cigarettes and alcohol? First, we must define what perfectly inelastic demand is. As defined by our textbook, a perfectly inelastic demand is one in which price change results in no change whatsoever in the quantity demanded. This is further defined as an extreme case. After reading a paper written by Henry Saffer and Dhaval Dave in 2002, the conclusions were rather convincing. When mental illness is not factored into price elasticity for cigarettes and alcohol, it is determined that raising the price of these addictive goods will lower the demand for them. The paper shows that mental illness raises the consumption of these addictive goods by 94% and 25% respectfully. Further, the test for elasticity was performed with this specific group in mind. It was determined that mental illness had no substantive effect on the price elasticity of cigarettes and alcohol. With this in mind it is easy to draw the conclusion that the mentally ill do not have perfectly inelastic demands for cigarettes and alcohol. Reference Working paper 8699 Mental Illness and the demand for alcohol, cocaine and cigarettes by Henry Saffer and Dhaval Dave. b) Does alcohol consumption increase in bad times? Before reading this article and looking at the question presented in front â€Å" does alcohol use increase in bad times? ’’ you would quickly determine that logically the answer is yes. With simple knowledge of alcohol intake one would be provoked to think alcohol in bad times can be used as self-medication to the lack of income. We have all seen that famous scene where a stressed individual will order numerous shots of hard liquor to ease their sorrow, but nevertheless with all that simple knowledge the answer to the question is actually no. By the research done in this paper by Christopher. J Ruhm he brings to light that alcohol intake doesn’t have a positive increase in bad times instead it has a decline in consumption. He uncovers that heavy drinkers decrease quite a lot with the loss of income, and that even recreational and binge drinking declines as well though at a smaller pace. As a whole, alcohol consumption doesn’t increase during bad times overall. Reference Working paper 8511 Does Drinking Really Decrease in Bad Times?  By Christoher Ruhm and William Black (c) What is the effect of cigarette taxes (and smuggling) on the consumption of alcohol? What does that imply about the cross elasticity of demand between the two? Tax implications and its effect on alcohol consumption were studied in detail in working paper 8962. This study was done in Canada. What the writer found was that higher tax rates for cigarettes wouldn’t stimulate alcohol consumption as a replacement habit. When smuggling was factored into the equation, it was found that in Canadian smuggling could have increased both cigarette and alcohol consumption. After analyzing the data with two different data sets and trying to determine cross elasticity, the first analysis determined that cigarettes and alcohol were complimentary, as cigarette consumption decreased, so did alcohol consumption, when smuggling is not factored. However, when a different data set is used, the FAMEX data, then the two were found to be independent. This forced the writer to concede that no conclusion could be drawn on the subject at the time, but that the writer could conclude that alcohol is not a substitute of cigarettes.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Seen in Advertisements

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a important aspect to understanding a company to implement the proper marketing methods. Seeing the consumers needs will allow the organization to appeal to that need. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs starts with the most basic physiological needs, followed by safety, social, self esteem, and topped with self-actualization needs in ascending order (Tanner, 2011). The physiological and safety needs tend to be more tangible or sustainable. While the center levels may have more of an emotional or rational payoff. Then the peak or self actualization is more transformational or even spiritual mindset (Conley, 2007). Looking at each advertisement you can tell the marketer is appealing to society’s needs as humans. This is because society is stimulated for disappointment if their expectations or needs are not met (Conley, 2007). Looking at the Pepsi commercial, they are addressing the social needs of humans (Blink967, 2007). The young boy enters the monastery looking for acceptance, he goes through years of training eventually mastering monasticism. Then the entire monastery pulls out Pepsi’s and drinks the whole can. Once the young boy sees the foreheads of all other monks, he smashes the can with his forehead becoming a true member of the monastery. Pepsi petitions the humanistic needs in everyone to be feel accepted, loved, and befriended by others with this commercial (Tanner, 2011). Volkswagen implores a need for safety. In their commercial they go even further in protecting one’s offspring in a humorous way. It features a young family who is taking their newborn baby from the hospital to his home for the first time. As he is put comfortably in a Volkswagen, his dad almost crashes the car. A short glimpse of life flashes before the baby’s eyes which is the funny part. Volkswagen marketers are appealing to a parents need to protect their children. Since most parents will sacrifice anything to ensure their child's physical well being. This is towards the bottom and more attainable goal on Maslow’s pyramid, thus attaining to a larger population (Tanner, 2011). The final advertisement are from McDonald’s. They advertise the same product to satisfy the same need but in different cultures. The need is to satisfy hunger; which is the most basics of needs from Maslow (Tanner, 2011). The advertisement shown in Arabic countries has very little dialogue compared to the one from the United States. Arab one makes use of the song, while using actions and expressions of the characters to advertise McDonald’s. The advertisers do not say explicitly how good McDonald’s is but instead, make clever use of lyrics from a song with a clever fight between loved ones to a it in a subtle way. On the other hand, the United States version is full of dialogue by this nerdy-looking guy. He tells how â€Å"sophisticated† and â€Å"worldly† he becomes after finding McDonald’s international mug and coffee offer. He then states all the meals on the great value meal. Everything is stated out clearly for the audience that McDonald’s meals are cheap and you can even get â€Å"good stuff† like the â€Å"international mug and coffee† at low price. Comparing the two advertisements, marketers should definitely pick the one advertised in Arabic nations because it conveys its message in a subtle way. This entices the audience before the ending punch line with the fight. The advertisement from the United States is definitely too boring with all the dialogue. Of course, presenting advertisements in a more creative and subtle way will capture the audience’s attention. However, it must be done correctly.

Indian Writing in English- Nissim Ezekiel Essay

Indian poetry has flourished over the last 4000 years. Today, it is composed and written in more than twenty Indian languages, including English. It has always echoed the voice of the times and revealed the pains and passions of the people. Its growth has also reflected our rich cultural heritage. The history of Indian poetry makes us aware of its glorious past in contrast to its present state. Today, as the world is shrinking and the communication network projecting man on the global scene much faster, the past values are getting lost in the struggle man is involved with. Issues confronting man have multiplied and so have his efforts for survival. Poetry today is facing the test of time. Poets need to be organized more vigorously than in the past to voice effectively their innermost thoughts and interact with each other more often. Giving away of awards to some of the few distinguished ones is not enough. Poets in India need to be encouraged in their creativity if we expect their contributions to transform our society. New life is to be given to old values which had stood us in good stead for so long. The poets should come to the forefront to undertake this job. As such, organized efforts need to be made to promote the production and publication of good Indian poetry. Poetry written in different parts of India needs to be collected, interpreted and propagated. Indian English literature (IEL) refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora, such as V. S. Naipaul, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri and Salman Rushdie, who are of Indian descent. It is frequently referred to as Indo-Anglian literature. (Indo-Anglian is a specific term in the sole context of writing that should not be confused with the term Anglo-Indian). As a category, this production comes under the broader realm of postcolonial literature- the production from previously colonised countries such as India. A much over-looked category of Indian writing in English is poetry. As stated above, Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali and English and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English. Other early notable poets in English include Derozio, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt, Romesh Chunder Dutt, Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, and her brother Harindranath Chattopadhyay. A generation of exiles also sprang from the Indian diaspora. Among these are names like Agha Shahid Ali, Sujata Bhatt, Richard Crasta, Yuyutsu Sharma and Vikram Seth. In modern times, Indian poetry in English was typified by two very different poets. Dom Moraes, winner of the Hawthornden Prize at the age of 19 for his first book of poems A Beginning went on to occupy a pre-eminent position among Indian poets writing in English. Nissim Ezekiel, who came from India’s tiny Bene Israel Jewish community, created a voice and place for Indian poets writing in English and championed their work. A significant and torch bearer poet is Nissim Ezekiel. Recent Indian English poetry adds to, what O. P. Bhatnagar terms as, a process of collective discovery, affirming its richness, sensitivity and cultural complexity. If we examine the potential of the poery-making mind in English, we should now discover aspects of the essentially assimilative genius of the Indian people, snf a celebration of the vast chorus of voices that make Indian literature sing. These poets write with an awareness of their milieu and environment rather than British or American rhetoric or intellectual attitudes like alienation or exile. They share the central core of contemporary realities of Indian life. The Indo – Anglian poetry is said to be essentially Indian and everything else afterwards. It expresses the essence of Indian personality and is also very sensitive to the changes of its national climate and it voices the aspirations and the joys and sorrows of Indians. It has been opined, that the Indo – Anglian poets are of two factions. The neo-modernists and the neo-symbolists. The outlook of the former is coloured by humanism and irony and that of the latter is imbued with mysticism and sublimity, but a perfect blend is achieved by the two groups in the realms of beauty. A perfect example, of anlndo – Anglian poet, who was able to arrive at a synthesis between the two factions of poetry, is none other than Sarojini Naidu, for she took her stance in the neutral, middle ground, between the sacred and profane sphere of poetry she was at home in both the worlds and found them united in the realms of poetry. Nissim Ezekiel occupies an important place in post-Independence Indian English literature. He has wielded a great influence as a leading poet, editor and an occasional playwright. Besides, he is a well-known critic. Sometimes he also emerges as a politician in the guise of a fighter for cultural freedom in India. Ezekiel held many important positions. He was for many years a Professor of English in Bombay University. He is a noted name in the field of journalism. In this capacity he was editor of many journals including Poetry India (1966-67), Quest (1955-57) and Imprint (1961-70), He was an Associate Editor to the Indian P. E. N. , Bombay. Considered to be the Father of post independence Indian verse in English, Nissim Ezekiel was a prolific poet, playwright, critic, broadcaster and social commentator. He was born on December24, 1924 in a Jew family. His father was a professor of botany and mother was principal of her own school. Ezekiel was inclined to the poets such as T. S. Eliot. Yeats, Ezra Pound in his school days. The influence of all these literary personalities was apparent in his early works. His formal use of the English language was linked to colonialism and resulted in controversy. His first collection of poetry ‘Time To Change’ was published by Fortune Press (London) in 1952. His poetry has all the elements of love, loneliness, lust, and creativity. Nissim Ezekiel went on to join The Illustrated Weekly of India as an assistant editor in 1953. ‘Sixty Poems’ was his next book followed by ‘The Unfinished Man’. Nissim Ezekiel started writing in formal English but with the passage of time his writing underwent a metamorphosis. As the time passed he acknowledged that ‘the darkness has its own secrets which light does not know. His poem ‘The Night Of Scorpion’ is considered to be one of the best works in Indian English poetry and is used as a study material in India and British schools. Nissim Ezekiel worked as an advertising copywriter and general manager of a picture frame company . He was the art critic of The Times Of India (1964-66) and editor of The Poetry India(1966-67). He was also the co-founder of the literary monthly Imprint. Ezekiel was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1983. In 1988 he received another honor,Padma Shri, for his contribution to the Indian English writing.  He passed away on January 9, 2004, in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. As a man of letters Nissim Ezekiel is a ‘Protean’ figure. His achievements as a poet and playwright are considerable. K. Balachandran writes, â€Å"The post-Independence Indian poetry saw its new poetry in the fifties. Among the new poets A. K. Ramanujan, R. Parthasarathy, Shiv K. Kumar, Kamala Das, Monica Verma, O. P. Bhatnagar, Gauri Deshpande, Adil Jussawalla, Ezekiel occupies a prominent place. His versatile genius can be found in his poetry, plays, criticism, journalism and translation. Nissim Ezekiel has done a good work in Indian writing in English. He has written many volumes of poems—A Time to Change (1952), Sixty Poems (1953), The Third (1959), The Unfinished Man (1960), The Exact Name (1965) and others. His plays Nalini, Marriage Poem, The Sleep-Walkers, Songs of Deprivation and Who Needs No Introduction are already staged and published. He has also edited books Indian Writers in Conference (1964), Writing in India (1965), An Emerson Reader (1965), A M artin Luther King Reader (1965) and Arthur Miller’s All My Sons (1972). His literary essays published in magazines and papers are innumerable. The notable among them are ‘Ideas and Modern Poetry’ (1964), ‘The Knowledge of Dead Secrets’ (1965), ‘Poetry as Knowledge’ (1972), ‘Sri Aurobindo on Poetry’ (1972), ‘Should Poetry be Read to Audience? ‘ (1972), ‘K. N. Daruwalla’ (1972), ‘Poetry and Philosophy,’ ‘Hindu Society’ (1966). He has written essays on art criticism ‘Modern Art in India’ (1970), ‘How Good is Sabavala? ‘ (1973), and ‘Paintings of the Year 1973’ (1973). His e s s a y s o n social criticism Thoreau and Gandhi’ (1971), ‘Censorship and the Writer’ (1963), ‘How Normal is Normality’ (1972), ‘Tradition and All That a Case Against the Hippies’ (1973), ‘A Question of Sanity’ (1972) and ‘Our Academic Community’ (1968) are varied and auto telic of his wide interest. Ezekiel is an editor of several journals encouraging writing poetry, plays and criticisrm He also asked many writers for translation, affecting the theory and practice of the young poets. The writers like Rilke and W. B. Yeats influenced Ezekiel. Like Yeats, he treated poetry as the ‘record of the mind’s growth. ‘ His poetic bulk indicates his growth as a poet-critic and shows his personal importance. Chetan Karnani states, â€Å"At the centre was that sincere devoted mind that wanted to discover itself. In the process, he managed to forge a unique achievement of his own. † The poet Ezekiel has already published several volumes of poems. For him poetry-writing was a lofty vocation, a way of life. He treated life as a journey where poetry would be the main source of discovering and organising one’s own self. In a sense, poetry to Ezekiel became a way for self-realisation. He calls life a texture of poetry. He identifies himself with poetry. So all of his volumes of verse are well-knit and they are in the poet’s view, a continuation of each other. Ezekiel’s experiments in prose rhythms and his fine sense of structure and metrical ability. The verse rhythms of T. S. Eliot seem to haunt hi s mind. Ezekiel’s Si x t y Poems (1953), his second volume of poems was published in 1953. But these poems are loose in structure and they are less appealing. Night of the Scorpion’, in which Ezekiel recalls the behaviour of ‘the peasants’, his father, his mother and a holy man when his mother was poisoned by a scorpion’s sting. Here the aim is to find poetry in ordinary reality as observed, known, felt, experienced rather than as the intellect thinks it should be. While the peasants pray and speak of incarnations, his father, ‘sceptic, rationalist’, tries ‘every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid’ and a holy man performs a rite. After a day the poison is no longer felt and, in a final irony, his mother, in contrast to the previous feverish activity centred upon her, makes a typical motherly comment: My mother only said Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children. The ‘Thank God’ is doubly ironic as it is a commonplace expression of speech in contrast to all the previous religious and superstitious activity. Ezekiel’s purpose is not, however, an expression of scepticism but rather the exact notation of what he saw as a child. The aim is not to explain but to make real by naming, by saying ‘common things’. The poem is a new direction, a visionof ordinary reality, especially of Indian life, unmediated by cold intellect. The new purpose is seen in the poem’s style, unrhymed, with line lengths shaped by natural syntactical units and rhythm created by the cadences of the speaking voice into a long verse paragraph, rather than the stanzaic structure used in earlier poems. In his poetry there is the truth of acknowledging what is felt and experienced in its complexity, contradictions, pleasures, fears and disillusionments without preconceived ideas of what poetry should say about the poet and life. Nissim Ezekiel’s ‘Night of The Scorpion’ is much appreciated by the critics and it has found place in many anthologies for as excellence, Critics, commenting on its aesthetic beauty expressed different views. In their critical sweep, they brought everything from superstitious ritualism to modern rationalism. One can find that in the poem superstitious ritualism or sceptic rationalism or even the balance of the both with expression of Indian ethos through maternal love in the Indian way, is nothing but scratching the surface. The poem has something more gigantic than its face value, which as I find is the symbolic juxtaposition of the forces of darkness and light that is intrinsically centripetal in the poem. It is ‘Night’ of The Scorpion’ with the first word absorbing accent. It seems to have been implicitly contrived here that ‘Night should stand as a symbol of darkness with the ‘Scorpion’ as the symbol of evil. Such ingenuity in craftsmanship takes the poem to the higher level of understanding. Prof. Birje Patil is right in putting that in â€Å"Night of The Scorpion†, where evil is symbolized by the scorpion, The reader made to participate in the ritual as well as suffering through’ a vivid evocation of the poison moving in the mother’s blood’. And evil has always been associated with darkness, the seamy side of our life, in human psyche. It has always been the integral part of theology, in whatever form it has manifested that suffering helps in removing that darker patch in human mind, he patch that has been a besetting sin of man’s existence. May the sum of evil Balanced in this unreal world gainst the sum of good become diminished by your pain, they said These lines amply testify that the poem aims at achieving something higher than its narrative simplicity. The choric refrain ‘they said’ in the chain of reactions made by the village peasants is undoubtedly ironic, but the poet hasn’t as much to stress the concept of sin, redemption or rebirth ass he has to insinuate the indomitable force of darkness gripping the minds of the unenlightened. Going through the poem attentively more than once, it can’t fail catching our notice that modern rationalism is also equally shallow and perverse. It is also a road leading to confusion where through emerges scepticism, the other darker patch on our modernized existence. The image of the father in this poem speaks volumes for this capsizing modernism which sandwiches in its arm- space the primitive and the perverted. The â€Å"sceptic rationalist’ father trying ‘powder, mixture, herb and hybrid’ bears upon human primitivism and when he experiments with ‘a little paraffin upon a bitten toe and put a match to it he becomes a symbol of perversion in the modern man’s psyche. Christopher Wiseman puts it, â€Å"†¦ fascinating tension between personal crisis and mocking social observation†Ã¢â‚¬  ; neither there is any personal crisis. On the other hand there is spiritual compassion and an intense urge for getting rid of this psychological syndrome that the whole modern world ha s b e e n caught, the slow-moving poison of this syndromic scorpion into the very veins of creation, the image o f the mother in agony nullifying the clear vision of human thought and enveloping the whole of humanity In the darker shades of confusion more chaolic, troubles the poet as much sharply as the sting of the poisonous worm. There is crisis, but it is the crisis of human existence thaat needs lo be overcome. The poet, though a distant observer, doesn’t take a stance of detachment. On the exact opposite, he watches with curiosity â€Å"the flame feeding on my mother’, but being uncertain whether the paraffin flame would cleanse her of the ugony of the absorbing poison, he loses himself in a thoughtful trance. The whole poem abounds with these two symbols of darkness and light. In the very beginning the poet has ushered in this symbolic juxta position and then as the poem advanced, built upon it the whole structure of his fascinating architecture in the lines. Ten hours of steady rain had driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice parting with his poison – flash of diabolic tail in the dark room he risked the rain again. The incessant rain stands for the hope and regeneration where with is juxtaposed the destructive hurdles to fruitfy that hope. But the constructive, life giving rain continuoues and the evil, having fulfilled its parts, departs. Then afterwards other hurdels more preying than the first, come in. More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours more insects, and the endless rain My mother twisted through and through groaning on a mat. The symbols of light and darkness, candles lanterns, neighbours and insects and rain again are notworthy. But the force of light gains a width handover the evil force and life is restored once again in its joyous stride and this life long struggle between forces of darkness and light reaches a crescendo when – after twenty hours It lost its sting. Here, In the above lines, lies the beuaty of the poem, when the ascending steps of darkness, being chased by the force of following light are ripped down; when at last on the peak the chaser wins and the chased slips down. The man who has not understood what motherhood is. might be taken in by such expression of motherly love. But I convincingly feel that any woman would have exclaimed the same thing as the mother in this poem did. In my view, it would have been truly Indian had the mother in her tortures remembered her children and though helplessly, had she desired to protect them lest the scorpion might catch them unawres. Anyway, the beauty of the poem remains- unmarred by such revision. The poem is a thing of beauty par excellence.