A Comparison of Country and City Life in Alan Patons Cry...

The country and the city life depicted in Alan Patons novel Cry, The Beloved Country portray two different aspects of life in South Africa in the later half of the 1940s. The country life in the book is Ndotsheni and the city life is Johannesburg. Neither country life or city life would be considered perfect. Both living areas enjoyed positive aspects and negative drawbacks. The country was looked at as the backward part of South Africa, and the city was looked at as the advanced part of South Africa. For the most part though people living in the country would rater stay in the country, and those who make their living in the city would rather live there. These two parts of the country were only separated by a days worth of travel on†¦show more content†¦The Africans of Ndotsheni were backward people. They did have a school, but there were only teaching the same principles that had been passed on for generations. They were an uneducated people, as far as it would have been t hought in the European sense of education. Family plays an important role to the tribes of Ndotsheni. The whole tribe looks after each other as if they were one large family. When a person is sick the whole community prays for a quick recovery. The community was anything but modern at this time. They little of modern technology and saw very few motorized vehicles. Quite a bit different from the life in Ndotsheni was the city life of Johannesburg. This was an industrial city thriving off the mining of gold deposits. The white man was making a fortune off of the gold industry. The city was home to mostly all Afrikaners. The surrounding suburbs were where Africans were able to buy land or set up in shantytowns. This type of housing was barely decent enough to be called a home. In a suburb such as Claremont it is shabby and dirty, and the streets are filled with filth. In these areas is where loose women and criminals tended to live or hide out in. These are also the areas where the black children did not attend school either because they do not care or their parents do not care, or the schools are full. (59) The whites of the cityShow MoreRelated Cry the Beloved Country Movie versus Film Essay1055 Words   |  5 Pages Cry, the Beloved Country is a moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom. They live in an Africa torn apart by racial tensions and hate. It is based on a work of love and hope, courage, and endurance, and deals with the dignity of man. The author lived and died (1992) in South Africa and was one of the greatest writers of that country. His other works include Too Late the Phalarope, Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful, and Tales from a Troubled Land. The book was made

Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay - 1105 Words

Pat Barkers Regeneration Pat Barkers Regeneration focuses on the troubled soldiers mental status during World War One. Barker introduces the feelings soldiers had about the war and militarys involvement with the war effort. While Regeneration mainly looks at the male perspective, Barker includes a small but important female presence. While Second Lieutenant Billy Prior breaks away from Craiglockhart War Hospital for an evening, he finds women at a cafe in the Edinburgh district (Barker 86). He comes to the understanding that the women are munitions workers. Womens involvement in war work in Regeneration shows the potential growth in womens independence, but at the expense of restrictions placed on men while they were on the†¦show more content†¦Even by supporting equal pay, women still earned less then their male counterparts, but found the pay much higher than the domestic jobs they left. Equal pay may not have been as equal as women hoped, but their experience and reason for working in the factori es allowed them to feel more distinguished than working in domesticated services. While men argued against women working in factories, the women were taking full strides to prove their strength and abilities while working under harsh and almost unbearable conditions. Women worked long hours exposed to chemicals and explosives that caused damaging health conditions. The most noticeable health problem came from TNT poisoning that caused jaundice (Robb 43). The symptoms women suffered were pains below the xiphisternum, loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, dermatitis, irritability, depression, and some change in menstruation (Thom 124). Under harsh conditions, women continued to prove their abilities though suffering with health ailments. Barker introduces Sarah Lumb, Lizzy, Madge, and Betty as munition-ettes in order to show the experiences of the home front effort in the plot (Barker 87). Barker uses Sarah to help Billy Prior and readers understand the monotonous, harsh conditions of the factories, and a womans desire to expand her economic status. In this scene, readers are presented with Sarahs background as a servant who finds munitions work more reliable forShow MoreRelated Pat Barkers Regeneration1667 Words   |  7 Pagesthat society began to see the emergence of contraception and its acceptance. Readers can also see its emergence in Regeneration on page 128, as Billy Prior propositions his new love interest by stating he always paddles with me boots on, a reference to the fact that he, as an army man, always wears contraception when having intercourse. With this background, we can now see how Pat Barker uses this brief cultural reference to remind readers of the history of contraception for both men and wome nRead More Heritage and Identity in Pat Barkers Regeneration1563 Words   |  7 PagesThe presence of Jews in England has been a source of controversy for many reasons. On page 35 of Pat Barkers historical novel Regeneration, Siegfried Sassoon reveals the nature of his relationship with his father, who left home when he was five, and gives an account of his Jewish history. Though he hadnt been raised Jewish and apparently had no association with his Jewish relatives, Sassoon was subjected to the discrimination that was often seen in England before and during WWI. Through SassoonsRead More Courage in Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay1763 Words   |  8 PagesCourage in Pat Barkers Regeneration During the Vietnam War, many Americans decided to choose conscientious objector status and serve the war effort in non-combative ways; others moved to Canada, leaving their families, their communities, and their nation because of strong political convictions. While some said these people were cowards and a disgrace to their families and their nation, others argued that those had just as much courage as the men on the front lines. Although moving to CanadaRead MorePortrayal of Role of Women in Society in Pat Barkers Regeneration1223 Words   |  5 PagesRegeneration focuses on troubled soldiers mental states during WW1. The Craiglockhart setting allows Barker to explore the psychological effects of warfare on men who went to fight and also their feelings about the war and the military s involvement in it. While the focus of the novel is firmly on the male perspective (indeed Barker claimed she had partly chosen this novel to prove she could do men as well as women ), there is a sma ll but important female presence. When WW1 began in 1914Read MorePat Barkers Regeneration, Wilfred Owens Poetry and Joseph Hellers Catch-223081 Words   |  13 PagesExplore the psychological and moral impact of war on soldiers and civilians in Pat Barkers Regeneration and Wilfred Owens poetry. In the course of your writing show how your ideas have been illuminated by your response to Joseph Hellers Catch-22 and other readings of both core texts. Pat Barkers Regeneration, Wilfred Owens poetry and Joseph Hellers Catch-22 can all be categorised as subjective war texts  as the main structural principle is not dominated by characters actions, but ratherRead More Comparing Irony of War in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front1165 Words   |  5 PagesIrony of War Exposed in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front    Many of the young officers who fought in the Great War enlisted in the army with glowing enthusiasm, believing that war was played in fancy uniforms with shiny swords. They considered war as a noble task, an exuberant journey filled with honor and glory. Yet, after a short period on the front, they discovered that they had been disillusioned by the war: fighting earned them nothing but hopelessness, deathRead MoreComparing the Ways Michael Herr in Dispatches and Pat Barker in Regeneration Show the Effects of War2879 Words   |  12 PagesComparing the Ways Michael Herr in Dispatches and Pat Barker in Regeneration Show the Effects of War When comparing Michael Herrs Dispatches and Regeneration by Pat Barker the differences in format, style and setting are clear from the outset. However both books explore the horrifying effect of war on those directly and indirectly involved. The two authors attempt to take the reader away from objective, statistical impressions of war and closer to the real experiencesRead MoreRepresentations Of Gender And Masculinity1503 Words   |  7 PagesRepresentations of gender and masculinity in Pat Barker s Regeneration. One of the major themes in Pat barker’s ‘Regeneration’ is gender and masculinity, this is my chosen theme. The novel overall reflects the struggles of World War one soldiers and their attempts to overcome the trauma of war experience. In this essay, I will be exploring ways which Barker represents my chosen themes. By discussing in depth and focusing on homosexuality, parenthood, emasculation, and mutism as a symbol. A keyRead MoreAnalysis Of Pat Barker s Night 2568 Words   |  11 Pagesanalyzing speak about the idea of mental health or war trauma during World War I and World War II, instead of calling it PTSD the authors call is shell shock, which is close to the definition of PTSD. The two books that I am analyzing is Pat Barker s Regeneration, which is focused on a mental institution and how soldiers deal with shell shock and many other internal struggles. The second is Elie Wiesel’s book Night, which speaks about a family that is taken to a concentration camp and is dealingRead MoreEmasculation Essay882 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿How does Pat Barker use symbolism in the novel Regeneration to explore the theme of emasculation? The theme emasculation appears several times throughout the novel Regeneration in variety of forms. Barker’s exploration of emasculation in the novel challenges traditional notions of manliness, showing war as a possible â€Å"feminine† experience. Pat Barker is bringing to attention that the atrocities suffered at war are making the soldiers unmanly as they’re facing shell shock and trauma. There are many

Review of Warwick Debates on Nationalism free essay sample

On October 24th, 1995, two of the best-known scholars of nationalism participated in what has now become known as the â€Å"Warwick Debate on Nationalism† under the host of Edward Mortimer at the Warwick University. Each respected speaker presented thoughts and approaches to the study of nationalism that have laid the foundation for two separate, yet prevalent suppositions toward nationalism: Anthony Smith’s primordial approach and Ernest Gellner’s modernist theory. When reviewing the discussions of intellectual masters, it is important to establish the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments before determining a superior concept. Without having any previous knowledge of nationalism, one could easily understand Anthony Smith’s well-organized and cleanly explained argument as he begins with clear definitions of nationalism, nation, and state. Each definition is important as they highlight the fundamental difference between primordialism and modernism: when nationalism began. Smith’s definition of nationalism is an ideological movement that achieves and maintains sovereignty, unity, and the identity of a human population. We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Warwick Debates on Nationalism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His definition of a nation is a named population that shares a territory, myths, culture, memories, and offers an economy, common rights, and duties for its population. And his definition of a state is a legal and political concept that is a public institution of coercion and extraction within a territory. Smith’s definitions are essential to his argument of primordial origins of nationalism because the nation represents a fulfillment of the needs presented in a nationalist movement. According to these definitions, a nationalist movement, or nationalism, would be seeking the autonomy, unity, and identity of its community. Thus, this ‘need’ could be fulfilled in Smith’s definition of a nation being a community that shares a historic territory, single economy, common rights, and duties for all members. These definitions take away the political agenda that is often associated with nationalism in the modern period. Another strength of Smith’s case is in his acknowledgment of a form of modern nationalism that began from the need to fulfill the demand that changes in the modern world brought forth. This is where his definition of a state is likewise essential because it then becomes the fulfillment of this new ‘need’ of the people. Smith intently adds that a state is not a community. Herein lies the single most important concept that Smith implies, which is that modern nationalism is a continuation of the heritages, cultures, and territory that are found in pre-modern national communities. Smith refers to this concept as the â€Å"ethno-symbolic approach. † Staying true to his politician technique of covering his footprints, Smith quickly notes that this is not a theory, simply an approach. This gives his approach the flexibility to cover a lot of ground, both chronologically and non-chronologically, without being subject to concentrated scrutiny. Smith terms the ethno-symbolic approach by stating that many, not all, modern political nationalisms cannot be understood without understanding their connection to their ethnic ties and memories, and in some cases, to their pre-modern communities. Smith asserts that the ethno-symbolic approach offers a slight guide as to which populations nationalism will grow among and in what direction such movements may go. Smith notes that the importance of the role of memories, values, myths, and symbols can be seen in the common actions of nationalism by adding that nationalism â€Å"often involves the pursuit of ‘symbolic’ goals – education in a language, †¦ the preservation of ancient sacred sites, the right to worship in one’s own way, have one’s own courts, schools and press, wear particular costume, and so on†¦. Smith concludes his explanation of the ethno-symbolic approach to nationalism by stating that nations and nationals are necessary in the world, and that because people generally have a tie to their nation and feel that their nation fulfills the important political and social needs, it would be near impossible to separate them from their national allegiances. Besides his assertion that nationalism existed before the pre-modern period, Smith distinguishes three major flaws within the modernist theory of nationalism. First, is that such theories are broad and abstract, lacking the ability to relate to specific cases or areas. Next, Smith finds flaw in the theme of materialism that modern nationalism often creates. Smith believes that nationalism can begin in â€Å"all kinds of socioeconomic milieux† and that this materialism is often â€Å"misleading. † However the most dominant flaw in the modernist’s theory is the complete denial of the role ethnic ties and cultural sentiments in nationalism. In an intellectually thrilling contrast, Ernest Gellner responds to Smith’s idea of a pre-modern nationalism by posing the question, â€Å"do nations have navels? † This question literally attempts to find the source of creation of a nation, or ‘do nations have a creator(s)? Gellner strongly establishes that nationalism gave birth to nations, and not vice versa. And nationalism itself does not have an intended creator, as it is a direct result of the economic and scientific changes that ensued with the modern period of the 18th century. Thus, Gellner’s main objective is delineated, that nationalism is a purely modern phenomena. Gellner then defends this concept against what Smith would see as irrefutable evidence written in history by defining the role of culture in history. Gellner separates history into three pockets of time, the pre-agrarian period, agrarian period, and the industrial period. In Gellner’s argument the role of culture in the agrarian society was to place people within an established and stable, hierarchical structure; yet, in contrast, the role of culture in modern society places strong emphasis on a â€Å"literate codified culture,† that Gellner refers to as the ‘high culture. ’ In short, the maintenance of this one’s membership within this educated high culture becomes the focus of culture, which in turn brings in the idea of a state. This responsibility of this maintenance of high culture falls upon an institutional state that can provide education, protection, and finances. Admittedly, it would be difficult for Gellner to make such a case and openly deny the significance or existence of a sense of nationalism before the modern period, but Gellner does just that, stating that not only are most nations ‘navel-less,’ but if they do have a navel, it is entirely irrelevant to the study of nationalism. Gellner is able to make the argument on the grounds that not only could nationalism not exist in the agrarian society, but the presence of ethnic ties in modern nationalism are merely an irrelevant navel to a recently born concept. As previously discussed, Gellner asserts that culture in the agrarian society was vastly different than culture in modern society. Culture in the agrarian society, according to Gellner, was either too small to actually be considered a culture, but rather an intimate community with no real ability (or need) to formulate a political movement, or that the society had too large of communities, like empires, that were made up of various cultures and mini-communities with no real connection to a national identity. The strength of Gellner’s theory lies within the idea that any remnant of heritage or ethnic ties found in modern nationalism are simply the ‘navel,’ of the cycles that began before the creation of the nation that were necessary to its creation, but irrelevant to the study of nationalism. If Gellner had provided substantial evidence, he could have disproven Smith’s case with this one simple concept. Like Anthony Smith’s case, Gellner builds his ideology strongly off of his own definitions of a nation, state, and nationalism. Yet, he does not clearly outline his definitions within the argument, which leads to gaps in his hypothesis (the definition of a state is vaguely outlined, and the primary gap falls within the lack of a definition for a nation). It is my personal opinion that definitions within a debate process are crucial and represent the foundation of one’s concept, thus, because Gellner chose not to properly define his idea of nationalism, nation, and state, his logic is now put into the terms that Smith outlined. This is the first weakness within Gellner’s response. Fortunately, we can refer to Gellner’s second book on nationalism for such definitions of a state, which can be represented by the institution of power that delineates the division of labor and the enforcement of labor, and of a nation, which can be seen as the recognition of two men based on culture within the same nation as well as the recognition of certain rights and duties within this shared community. The next weakness with Gellner’s rebuttal is his focus on the connection of modernism and nationalism. Gellner relies heavily on the impact of his ‘navel’ argument, as it is his main defense against primordialism. Yet, this defense does not answer to the limitations that Smith pointed out in the modernist approach to nationalism. This leads to Gellner’s biggest flaw, and ultimately to his ideas becoming inferior to that of Smith’s within the debate: that Gellner’s concept is too general. The language within Gellner’s argument seems to focus on terms like â€Å"sometimes,† and â€Å"in general,† or â€Å"generalize. † This is problematic because before Gellner even began his rebuttal, Smith accused is theory of being too general and all-inclusive without sufficient proof. In fact Gellner’s only real evidence of modernization giving birth to nationalism is the example of the Estonians creating for themselves a culture out of nothing, he then sums up his evidence with the broad statement, â€Å" it was created by the kind of modernist process which I then generalize for nationalism and nations in general. † This leads to the crowning of the superior argument within the debate: Anthony D. Smith and his ethno-symbolic approach on nationalism. I find Smith’s definitions to be more plausible. These definitions open up the possibility that rather than nationalism being a recent phenomena, it was simply a transformation of nationalism that is being reflected by a change in culture and necessity. This ‘need’ in the pre-modern society was for a nation (because as Gellner pushes, the idea of a state did not yet exist). A nation being a social and cultural, territorial community of shared history and culture with common rights, duties, and a single economy, is the fulfillment that nationalism, the ideological movement for achievement and maintenance of autonomy and identity within a human population. And in the modern society, a state is the fulfillment of the need that is presented by modern nationalism. Thus, nationalism is a continuous throughout history, and modern nationalism can be seen merely as a growth of its original form due to the changes that modern society brought. Another evidence of Smith’s ideological superiority within the debate is Gellner’s lack of evidence to support his main idea. Gellner does not provide enough support to uphold the notion that ethnic ties are simply a ‘navel’ to the modernly born nation. Moreover, Gellner does not properly or thoroughly disprove the existence of pre-modern nationalism. Finally, it is in Smith’s style that he is successful in alluding direct scrutiny because he does not make his claim a definite theory as Gellner does. With a definite and narrow theory, like Gellner presents, it can be easy to bring forth evidence that refutes the theory, and Smith avoids this flaw by including an approach that can explain pre-modern and modern occurrences of nationalism. So it is with Smith that I award the victor of this debate because I find his case solid and I agree with his ideology that while nation-states may be modern, their origins â€Å"can be traced to earlier ethnie. † Benedict Anderson would more than likely strongly disagree with my conclusion. I feel that Anderson would have strongly agreed with Gellner’s concept of the ethnic ties being simply the navel to a modern phenomenon. Anderson would have seen the references to the cultural roots as supplementations to an ‘imagined community’ built by nationalist’s thought. While I would like to say the Brubaker’s heavy critical approach to the study of nationalism would have thrown him either against both Smith or Gellner, or even closer to Gellner in their similar â€Å"anti-myth’ approaches, I am going to say that Brubaker would have agreed with Smith in this particular debate. Brubaker stressed that nationalism was not always state-seeking, saying that he does not â€Å"think nationalism can be well understood as nation-based, state-seeking activity. Brubaker continues that by adding that to focus only on the state seeking nationalism is to â€Å"ignore the infinitely protean nature of nationalist politics. † The final scholar of nationalism that I would like to mention is that of E. J. Hobsbawm. Obviously, Hobsbawm would have supported the theory of Gellner, believing that the term ‘nation’ belonged a â€Å"historically recent period† that related directly to a modern territorial state and having actually derived his definition of nationalism directly from Gellner’s theory. However, I do feel that Hobsbawm would not have placed so little of significance upon the historical influences of heritage and culture. Hobsbawm acknowledged the substantial role that cultural community represented, he just thought it was a modern tool brought about by nationalists as a â€Å"historic mission. † In essence, Hobsbawm believed that nationalism picks and chooses what it needs to survive, and the politicizing of culture was one of those survival tools; consequently, I feel that Hobsbawm would have supported Gellner’s reason.

The Ecology Of A Rain Forest Essays - Biology, Ecology, Symbiosis

The Ecology of a Rain Forest In 1980, the estimated amount of rain forests in the world was 40,000 square miles. This number decreases each year by roughly 1,000 square miles due to construction and the resources being used for profit. It is too bad, because the rain forest is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is the most diverse, containing the most species of living things, much more than anywhere else, and most have yet to be identified. All rain forests are located on earth's "green belt", that is, the area roughly around the equator that covers all the area from Mexico and the northern area of South America, to Africa, to India, stretching out to Indonesia, the northern tip of Australia and all the way to New Guinea. This area is heavily covered with flora and fauna, and it abounds with life. In a rain forest, it is very wet and it rains everyday or every other day very heavily. There is a high and steady level of heat and moisture. There are some general layers to the rain forest. It starts 135 feet up in the air, with the lofty crowns of the tallest trees in the jungle. They take the most light, heat, rain and the most punishment from the winds. Woodpeckers hunt insects in this layer, and also the black and white Colobus monkey can be found here, ready to launch into the air, using his specially developed tail as a rudder to guide his flight. Beneath this is the second layer of trees, whose crowns form a forest canopy. Rain filters through this canopy, and the top sides of the crowns hold a large amount of ferns and other small plants whose roots never touch soil. They live off the water and nutrients held in the small pockets of the leaves and branches. Tree frogs and chimpanzees live here, burrowing holes to live in the vast vegetation. The third layer is called the "understory". This grows beneath the canopy. The gorilla makes this his regular hangout, also pythons lie here waiting for prey. The dim forest floor teems with life. Termites and ants feed on all the decomposing matter on the ground, and elephants make their way down a path of moss. Butterflies move silently by, and the air is still and very humid. These are the layers that make up the rain forest's complex ecology. In the rest of the essay I will describe some of the life forms found in the rain forest, and ways they affect the environment. In the rain forest, plants develop poisonous alkaloids to protect against insects, and insects develop complex digestive chemistry to overcome these poisons. Some of these plant alkaloids give native Indians great poisons for darts, and to cancer researchers hope for a new medicine. The rain forest root systems are so efficient that almost all of the nutrients in decaying plants are recycled into new ones. Most roots are found within three inches of the surface in heavy clay or at the surface in sandy soils. Tiny rootlets grow up and attach themselves to leaves. When the leaf decays, minuscule fungi on the rootlets take over and send threadlike projections into the leaf which absorbs all of the leaf's nutrient material. The phosphorous that the fungi produces is taken by the root, and in turn gives the fungus sugars from the tree. Al! so, termites and ants break down the forest litter. ALAM In a small lake in the middle of the rain forest, a small lizard skims across the water away from dangerous prey and attacks its own victim by surprise, yet another marvel of the tropical rain forest. Mutualism occurs in the jungle with a specialized ant and a swollen-thorn acacia. The acacia provides budlike leaflet tips which are called Beltian bodies, which the ants give to their young for food. The insects hollow out the tree's thorns when soft and green and raise their young inside. The acacia doesn't have chemical defenses to repel dangerous and damaging insects and demands pure sunlight for proper growth. The ants patrol the tree day and night. If any insect lands on the tree,