The changing roles of men and women in families in Britain over the past half century Essay Example

The changing roles of men and women in families in Britain over the past half century Essay For much of the long history of human civilization women and men evolved to assume different roles within the family and larger society. But in most societies, women were made to take a subordinate social and domestic role to men. This situation has gradually changed in the last fifty years and there is more equality between the statuses of the two sexes. Two important circumstances have made female emancipation possible. Firstly, as works of female authors started to get published, societies got exposed to the feminine perspective on various subjects. Secondly, events such as the Second World War had radically altered women’s roles by bringing them out of their homes and into factories. The women suffragette movement that took place in the early decades of the 20th century and the Women’s rights movement of the 1960s were also instrumental in bringing about substantial change in the status and role of women (Allan Crow, 2001, p.21). These changes were not restr icted to Britain, but have occurred simultaneously in many countries, especially in West. While the role of women has seen remarkable change over the last half century, the same cannot be said of the role of men. Some of the specific areas where gender roles in Britain have morphed over the recent decades are discussed in this essay. There is no doubt that women have steadily taken a prominent role in the workplace and that their participation in it has increased gradually over the last five decades. Half a century back men were deemed the sole bread-winners for their families and women were confined to domestic work and bringing up children (Morgan, 1990, p.15). But today’s Britain is a far cry from what was the case in 1960s. Since the circumstances of the Second World War forced women into taking up roles that were conventionally restricted to men, there has been no looking back in terms of their economic independence (Davies, 2004, p. 260). Previously, women had to put up with abusive husbands due to their economic dependency on the latter. But as more women became financially independent, their freedoms in regard to interpersonal relationships also grew. It should be remembered though, that despite possessing equal professional qualifications, work experience and skill sets, most women tend to g et paid less than their husbands (Walters Avotri, 1999). For example, we find that despite progress in many areas, the gender wage gap is a clear-cut sign that women still have some way to go before achieving an equal status to their husbands. What is worrying about the persistent gender wage gap is the fact that women don’t feel as indignant about this issue as they do in other areas of inequality (Allan Crow, 2001, p.21). In addition to this, British culture and history have stereotyped what comprise feminine qualities. The following observation from research team of Chichilnisky et. al. further elucidates this point: We will write a custom essay sample on The changing roles of men and women in families in Britain over the past half century specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The changing roles of men and women in families in Britain over the past half century specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The changing roles of men and women in families in Britain over the past half century specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"notwithstanding the fact that today’s women and men share the same starting point for becoming equally productive in both the home and the workplace–current beliefs about earnings may be â€Å"historically biased† in favour of stereotypes. This reasoning leads us to argue that persistence of the gender wage gap in developed societies can possibly be explained by a self-fulfilling â€Å"history bias† in beliefs.† (Chichilnisky et. al., 2008, p.299) But beyond the â€Å"history bias†, there are other factors that contribute to gender wage gap within the family. While the absolute percentage of women participating in workforce has increased, the stereotyping of feminine qualities has restricted the domains in which they could specialize. As a result, women and men are segregated occupation-wise, where there is wage-disparity between occupations. There is also disparity between women and men of the same age-groups due to the fact that the former lose a few years for maternity and child-rearing which holds back their career’s progress. So while economic opportunities for women have expanded and consequently their roles within the family have changed since the 1950s, it has not propelled women to a state of equality with men today. (Walker, 2005, p.32) We can learn useful insights about gender roles in Britain by studying the foundation, organizational structure and other facets of the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) – a popular musical organization that has worked with leading charities during the last half century and has also given performances in leading media outlets such as the BBC. The BABS is almost exclusively comprised of men, and the quartet music that is its highlight is sung by four talented men vocalists. When BABS is compared with its equivalent organization Ladies’ Association of British Barbershop Singers, we see that both these associations conduct elections to pick their executives and administrators. The elected members in turn report and give an account of their activities to a national council. Duties such as serving as judges in musical competitions, offering musical education, are taken over by another music team – the Music and Judging Committee in the case of LABBS and Guild of Judges in the case of BABS (Garnett, 1999, p.115). Both of these barbershop organizations print and distribute newsletters, retail sheet music and release albums. The importance of this symmetry in organizational structure and functioning is that â€Å"it departs radically from a conception of separate spheres that characterizes them not only by gender but by social space. While the nineteenth-century formulation of the term mapped a distinction of public/private onto the gendered realms of activity, this twentieth-century reworking of the model takes its terms much more at face value by constituting both genders’ activities in the public realm of institutionalized regulation†. (Garnett, 1999, p.116) Hence, from the evidence gathered from the working of BABS and LABBS, we can infer that women enjoy more freedom and higher status both within and without the institution of family than was previously the case. But one should detest from drawing broad generalizations based on this evidence alone. For example, it is true that British women, being citizens of an advanced economic and industrial nation, have gained advantages over their counterparts in other nations. But it would be misleading to believe that the attitudes of British men have changed at all in the last half century, when compared to how men in other cultures view the role of women. For example, it is true that â€Å"Middle Eastern women are beaten for wearing un-Islamic clothing; Afghan women are abused and disenfranchised with or without the Taliban; Pakistani women are suffering domestic violence, including acid attacks and so-called ‘honour crimes’. If conventional discourse is to be believed, the front line in the ongoing struggle for universal women’s rights lies in the world’s poorest, most patriarchal and least democratic nations† (Walker, 2005, p.32). It is then argued that in countries like Britain, where the standard of democracy is high and citizen enfranchisement is advanced, women do not generally undergo discrimination, violence and abuse that their less privileged counterparts suffer. But scrutinized properly, it seems that the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and the rights won as a result of it, has given a sense of complacency and a misplaced sense of satisfaction to women (Allan Crow, 2001, p.23). The truth is less rosy than this as indicated by Amnesty International reports. Of all the advanced nations, the UK, the USA and Japan are striking examples of misconceptions about women’s liberation. For example, according to an Amnesty International report, â€Å"abuses of women’s rights in the developed world are occasionally reported fully and accurately–as in Amnesty UK’s campaigns on domestic violence–but in general they are portrayed as isolated incidents and contrasted with widespread repression in the developing world†¦whereas in truth, they demonstrate that abuses in developed and developing countries are linked† (Walker, 2005, p.32) This brings us to a key reason that has thwarted greater progress for women’s station in family during the last fifty years, namely deeply rooted sexual anxieties and insecurities of men. As scholars Werner Kierski and Christopher Blazina point out, one of the core reasons for the continuation of a subordinate role for women are men’s psychological fears of the opposite sex. What has been termed Fear of the Feminine (FOF) has been studied for close to two centuries now. But it was psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud who articulated clearly and at length some of these fear (the fear of men losing power over women expressed as ‘castration fear’). Later psychologists such as Horney refined and expanded this conception to account for men’s â€Å"dread of women and how this fear left men’s sense of masculinity on unstable ground† (Kierski Blazina, 2009, p.156). Carl Gustav Jung is said to have emphasized the importance of the feminine in his d efinitions of healthy and unhealthy masculinity. Further, FOF is also observed on a more socio-cultural level, affecting the roles of both genders. The phenomenon is said to emerge from entrenched patriarchal social models and/or fears of feminine underlying the origins of misogyny. Moreover, â€Å"Pielow (1998) refers to the feminine qualities living deep within the psyches of men as demonic forces. O’Neil et al (1986) widely used Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) is theoretical built upon the FOF, men’s gender roles being derived in large part by the avoidance of those thoughts and behaviours seen as unmanly and connected to women. Nietzsche expressed his FOF clearly in his classic work, Thus Spoke Zarathrustra, by letting an old women offer the following advice to a man: â€Å"You go to women? Do not forget the whip!† (Kierski Blazina, 2009, p.158)

5 Parallelism Problems in In-Line Lists

5 Parallelism Problems in In-Line Lists 5 Parallelism Problems in In-Line Lists 5 Parallelism Problems in In-Line Lists By Mark Nichol Constructing an in-line list a series of items in a sentence seems like a straightforward task, but writers frequently err in their attempts to produce parallel structure. The following sentences illustrate some of the pitfalls of parallel construction and how to fix them. 1. â€Å"You can pay using your bank account, debit, or credit cards.† This list refers to two types of financial resources: a bank account and a card (two types of which are mentioned). The sentence structure mistakenly suggests that the list consists of three elements, rather than two (â€Å"your bank account† and â€Å"a debit or credit card†), one of which is a compound item one consisting of two or more nouns or noun phrases. The following revision reflects the correct organization: â€Å"You can pay using your bank account or a debit or credit card.† 2. â€Å"Her writing was accurate, complete, and demonstrated attention to detail.† Of the three items in this list, two are accompanied by verbs, but the writer has erroneously assumed that complete can share the verb that precedes accurate. It can do so, but only if accurate and complete are linked with a conjunction rather than separated by a comma: â€Å"Her writing was accurate and complete and demonstrated attention to detail.† 3. â€Å"It’s free, secure, and takes no time at all.† This sentence suffers from the same slight but clumsy error as the one in the preceding example. It can be solved in the same way (â€Å"It’s free and secure, and it takes no time at all†) a comma is required before the conjunction in this case because the pronoun’s presence makes the second clause an independent one. Alternatively, each item in the list can be assigned its own pronoun: â€Å"It’s free, it’s secure, and it takes no time at all.† 4. â€Å"The pension system divested in firms doing business with apartheid-era South Africa, avoided oil and energy investments in Iran, and it dropped tobacco companies from its portfolio in 2008.† Here, too, the problem is of inconsistency of structure, but because the subject is a noun and the sentence is more complex, the simple error might not be apparent. Basically, each segment of the sentence needs a subject noun or a pronoun as if it were a distinct sentence, or, better, all segments must share the subject: â€Å"The pension system divested in firms doing business with apartheid-era South Africa, avoided oil and energy investments in Iran, and dropped tobacco companies from its portfolio in 2008.† (Alternatively, the comma following Africa could be replaced by and, but the lengthy sentence is better served by a rest-stop comma rather than another move-along conjunction.) 5. â€Å"There’s the Coke bottle and the old glove and sailboats gliding along the bay.† This sentence (referring to iconic features at a baseball stadium) almost works in its relaxed state, unhindered by internal punctuation. But the lack of a comma suggests that all three things glide along the bay. A comma after â€Å"old glove† will catch that noun phrase and the preceding one, reserving the gliding action for the sailboats alone: â€Å"There’s the Coke bottle and the old glove, and sailboats gliding along the bay.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?Excited ABOUT, not "for" How Do You Determine Whether to Use Who or Whom?

Concept Paper based on Criminal Justice-related research topic that Essay

Concept Paper based on Criminal Justice-related research topic that you choose - Essay Example This is based on the fact that age differs from state to state. In most states, the lawful age of sexual consent is between the ages of 15- 18 years. In statutory rape, force and consent are not necessary for conviction. The defining factor in statutory rape is the age of the victim. Statutory rape is a crime, and the perpetrators have to go through the legal system of justice. Minors lack the capacity to provide meaningful consent to sex and should be protected against sexual exploitive behaviours by adults (Brody & Acker, 2011). During a criminal trial, a defendant may argue that he was unaware or mistaken about the age of the victim and is not guilty of rape. Most states however view statutory rape as a strict liability offense and have declined to allow defendants to raise the mistake of age defence at trial. Defendants are prosecuted regardless of their mistaken belief about the age of the victim (Carlan, Nored & Downey, 2011). Statistics shows that the majority of fathers of children born to teenage girls were adults; the United States Congress participated in the 1996 Federal Welfare reform law that urged states to enforce the law to reduce teenage pregnancies. More recent studies however show that majority of sexual offenders to teenage girls are teenage boys or males who are about the same age as the girls with whom they are having sex (Leitenberg & Saltzman, 2000). A study in 1995 revealed that 50% of teenagers in the U.S have had sex by the age of sixteen years which is a serious issue for criminal justice because the age of consent is 16 years. This according to the law is statutory rape despite the numbers of such cases rising in an alarming rate (Oberman, 2000). Leitenberg & Saltzman (2000) in their articles used a survey of a representative sample of participating adolescent girls between the ages of 13-15 years and between 8th- 12th grades. Cocca (2002) used case studies on her research. The concepts used in

Discussion 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Discussion 2 - Assignment Example The second issue explains the need for the American voters to protect the wellbeing of their families. According to the advert, this will be achieved through safeguarding and increasing the employment in the manufacturing sector, which employs thousands of Americans. The advert encourages the voters to vote for a new president, who will ensure the growth of the American manufacturing sector. The discussion on the second post explains two quotes. The first quote illustrates that individuals do not desire intimidation, and that people usually find ways of preventing threats to their wellbeing. The 2012 political advert developed by the Republican Party, jokingly illustrated Obama as a national security threat. This was in an attempt of influencing the American voters to strongly vote in the Republican presidential candidate. The emotional appeal was aimed at ensuring Republican victory in the presidential elections. The second quote shows that the Obama administration operated from one disaster to another. The joking illustration of the continuous disasters was in the form of a Pink Panther cartoon. The disasters represent the despised relationship between Obama and the Russian

Invisible racial discrimination in the UK hotel industry Essay

Invisible racial discrimination in the UK hotel industry - Essay Example Among many other calamities, this has resulted in increasingly strict immigration conditions. Although some initiatives have been taken to upgrade the relations with the minorities, the racial discrimination inherent in the social mindset and practices persists. â€Å"The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe, and the  problem is getting worse.† (Human Rights, 1997 cited in Shah, 2010). This paper discusses the experience of ethnic minority workers in the hotel and catering industry. Research provides evidence of racism faced by the ethnic minority in Britain in various walks of life in general and the hotel and catering industry in particular. The hotel and restaurant industry is known for its harsh working environment, specifically for the employees who are from ethnic minorities or migrant community, in terms of oral contracts, minimal training, long working hours, late-night working, unpaid overtime, unpaid official leave, delayed salary payments, discriminated recruitment, biased promotions, job insecurity, bullying, insult and abuse. Racism, as practiced in the British society, can take both visible and invisible forms. â€Å"Indirect discrimination is where there is a requirement, condition, provision, criterion or practice which has an adverse impact on  one group disproportionately.   However, such discrimination is not unlawful if it can be justified by the employer.† (PJH Law, 2009). Indirect discrimination can be regarded as invisible racism. It occurs as a result of regulations or practices which have a detrimental effect on people from a certain race. One example of invisible racism is the condition by a hotel HR department to hire only those employees residing within a one-mile radius with the hotel in the center, knowing that the majority of ethnic minority resides outside the defined limits, indirectly avoiding applications from the ethnic

Visiting Madrid †The City That Never Sleeps!

Visiting Madrid – The City That Never Sleeps! Madrid – The City That Never Sleeps! Hola! (Hello in Spanish) Madrid, a city located in the middle of the Castilian plateau is the capital city of Spain. Madrid is called the London of Spain and is known for its 18th century architectural monuments and palaces and also for its home football team. At Madrid, you can stroll around its streets, visit its palaces during the day, watch a flamenco show, drink sangria and make it your perfect holiday. Madrid holidays can go on till sunrise with nightlife going on till almost 6am. Best Season to Visit Madrid Weather in Madrid can be unpredictable with extreme temperatures but Madrid has dry weather for the majority of the year. The best months to visit Madrid are the summer months from April to June and the autumn months from September to October. During winter, Madrid gets snow for only a few days. Highlights (Special things to do in Madrid) Visit the amazing Plaza Mayor Square, the main landmark of Madrid for the actual Madrid experience. Enjoy the city’s aerial view of the massive palaces and gardens on a cable car ride. Try the Chocolate Con Churros (Spanish donuts) which is a specialty in Madrid given with a cup of chocolate sauce. Indulge yourself with a carafe of Sangria and enjoy a romantic dinner with your loved one at Las Tablas at the Plaza Espana. Try the delicious traditional Spanish tapas, spicy beef tripe and chickpea stew with meat and vegetables. Watch a Flamenco show and learn a few dance steps. This is one of the top things to do in Madrid. Visit a nightclub to feel the music and experience the nightlife energy of Madrid. Do not miss the bull fight at Las Ventas Bullring if you visit Madrid during May. This is the season for bull fighting festival called San Isidro. Enjoy the Spanish culture watching films, dance, music and theatre performances at the Circulo de Bellas Artes. Enjoy the streets of Madrid filled with music and festivities during the La Paloma festival. Visit Madrid’s art museum Museo El Prado (Prado Museum) which is the home of the best European painters including the famous Velazquez. Walk into the football field and dressing room of Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabeu. Hotspots of Madrid Plaza Mayor Square (originally called Plaza del Arrabal): This is a huge traditional Spanish architectural square located at the center of Madrid. It has cafes and traditional Spanish restaurants and stores. It is the location for bullfights, celebrations, soccer games and markets. Royal Palace: This is the official residence of the Spanish Royal family. The entrance to the palace is through the vast beautiful Plaza de la Armeria. Buen Retiro Park (Park of the Pleasant Retreat and also known as Retiro Park): This is a must visit park with beautiful landscapes and lots of activities round the year. The park has puppet shows and other performances and free concerts. You can also enjoy a boat ride or a ride on the horse drawn carriage for a fairy tale holiday. Golden Triangle: This consists of the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia museums; the three art galleries are located within a short distance from each other and hence the name. Royal Theatre: Known as Teatro Real, this is Madrid’s Opera House. It has rich interiors that adds effect to the performances. Plaza de Cibeles: Cibeles Palace (Palace of Communication) has a stunning look and cannot be missed from anywhere in the city. The surroundings of the palace take you back to the 18th century. Templo de Debod: Originally built on the Nile Valley in Egypt, it was brought to Spain via ship and then train and then reconstructed in Madrid. There is a museum inside which displays paintings and pictures telling the story of the temple. Nightlife in Madrid: Break a leg to Spanish music after midnight at the various nightclubs like Ole Lola, Joy Madrid, Marula Cafà ©, Liquid or Soul Station. The clubs have traditional tasty Spanish tapas and other traditional Spanish snacks and music from evening till the next early morning. Shopping in Madrid Visit the Sunday flea market at El Rastro with street music and performances, a must visit place in Madrid. Be careful in this area as it is known for pickpockets. Fuencarral Market (Mercado de Fuencarral) that is open till midnight has lots of shopping and loads of cafes, exhibitions and cinemas. Retail shopping with international brands is found in Salamanca and Goya Street. Plaza Mayor has Calle Toledo and El Mercado de San Miguel (San Miguel Plaza) if you want to shop for traditional Spanish products like leather and jute goods. Calle Ortega y Gasset and Jorge Juan St are the places for high end shopping and designer products. If you want to shop designer products at almost half the price then visit Las Rozas Village Chic Outlet at Las Rozas. Plaza de Espana in Madrid’s city center and Salamanca have huge shopping malls with a wide range of retail outlets and eateries. How to reach Madrid By Air – Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport or the Barajas Airport is the home of Iberia Airlines and is one of the largest airports in Europe. The airport has direct flights to all major cities in the world. The local transportation modes are available throughout the day and night with buses, trains, metros, taxis and 24 hours shuttles making it easy for tourists to arrive into the city at any time. By Train – Chamartin and Atocha are the two train stations on Madrid that are well connected with the other areas in the city as well as cities outside Spain. By Road – You can rent a car from the several car rental companies including Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Budget and others which have their offices at the airport, bus and train stations. Ensure to check the route much prior to any turns as GPS signal may not be available if you drive through the underground tunnels. By Bus – There are 8 bus stations connecting cities within Spain and outside. The main bus station is the Estacion Sur de Autobuses where you can purchase tickets for all bus services even if they depart from a different bus station. Avenida de America bus terminal would be the place if you are travelling to/from Barcelona. How to get around in Madrid Madrid’s Metro network system is the second best in Europe after London. Metro is the most efficient way to move around the city. A single ticket will cost you between 1.5 and 2 Euros for 5 stations and the travel pass for unlimited travel within a day will cost you 8 Euros. The sign boards are in English and Spanish but the announcements are only in Spanish. By Tram – Madrid has the Metro Ligero de Madrid network which connects 38 stations with 3 lines which makes it convenient to travel to any area within the city. Cycles are recommended only to explore the narrow streets of Madrid or to cycle on the cycle paths available near the river side and parks. You can rent the regular cycle or an electric cycle from the cycle renting places which also offer guided tours. Buses in Madrid cover the areas which are not covered by the metro. They offer free Wi-Fi facilities on their buses. There are night buses that are available almost every 20 minutes. The local train called Cercanies has good connectivity between the city center and suburban areas and also some local villages. You will not have to take the train for most Madrid attractions. Taxis are easily available anywhere within the city. Watch out for the taxi drivers driving through a longer route and crowded areas to increase the fare. Driving a car within the city can be cumbersome with traffic jams, narrow streets and limited parking space. Renting a car is not a good idea to travel within Madrid; it would be a good idea if you are traveling outside the city. Top areas in Madrid Madrid Centre – Located at the center of Madrid, this is the area to stay in if you are a tourist as it has the maximum number of hotels and most landmarks and monuments are located close by. The Hop-On Hop- Off buses also pass through this area making it a convenient location for a Madrid tour. Barrio de las Letras (District of Letters) – You can see the Spanish culture in this area with squares, museums (few minutes to Prado Museum) and sidewalk cafes. The streets of Barrio de las Letras have inscriptions from famous Spanish writers. Salamanca – This is considered as the area for the elite with high end houses and highly valued real estate. You can shop for high end designer products at Goya Street in Salamanca. The area has a lot of fine dining restaurants and classy pubs. Malasana – This area is popular for its shopping and eateries and is an upcoming area. Malasana is similar to the Camden area in London where you can walk around on a Sunday afternoon visiting unique shops and sidewalk cafes with the local traditional Spanish snacks and coffee. Chueca – Located very close to the city center, it is known for its Europride procession (march for the gay community) and lively and colorful neighborhood with unique stores, outdoor cafes and pubs. The most known Fuencarral market is at Cheuca. Moncloa-Aravaca – Also known as Moncloa, it is located close to the city center and is popular for its residential properties. Bajaras – The area with Madrid’s airport has a lot of budget hotels for tourists just outside the city. Fortress Castillo San Felipe de Bajaras (World Heritage Site), located on Hill San Lazaro is located in the vicinity. Lavapies – This is one of the areas in Madrid where you will find restaurants and stores which are not traditional Spanish due to the large immigrant population living in this area. San Blas – This is the old town of Madrid with narrow streets and old buildings. Tetuan – This is not an area to stay at unless you want a long holiday with budget accommodation. Gracias! (Thank You in Spanish)

My Brother Sam Is Dead :: essays research papers

In the novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, the author demonstrates the effects of war on families, on towns, and even on the children. The author makes it clear that war tears up families more than anything else. As a result of families getting ruined, it affects the children of the family, in this case, by making Tim grow up in a short amount of time. War affects towns, too. Soldiers, some from both sides, raid houses and kill people therefore splitting up towns and communities. War has many bad effects, just like Tim’s father said: â€Å"In war the dead pay the debts of the living.†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War affects families more than anything else. An example of this is when Tim’s mother drinks rum a lot when she finds out that her husband and son are dead or are going to get killed. Once she starts to drink, she does not care about Tim or Sam. So in this case, war caused her to drink and it killed half of her family, both of which ruined the Meeker family. One of war’s worst by-products is ruining families. Even though war affects families the most, there are still other bad effects on children and on towns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second bad by-product of war is the effect on children. First, war sometimes kills children’s parents or older siblings, throwing their responsibility on to the younger children’s shoulders. The children will never have a normal life of playing with others because they are too busy taking care of things. In the novel, MBSID, Tim had to grow up fast. The reason for this is that his father got killed and his brother, Sam, got killed. So Tim had to do all of the man work around the tavern.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is one last main effect from war. It is the effect on towns and communities. It ruins towns and communities by ruining families and children. You can think of it as a link chain: the families and children are the links of the chain, and the town is the whole chain. If one family gets ruined, the link is gone, making it an incomplete chain or town.

Horrors of War

|Explain how R. C Sherriff conveys the horrors of war to the audience of â€Å"Journey’s End† | | | |English | | | |2/28/2010 | | | |Chloe Archer | Explain how R. C Sheriff conveys the horrors of war to the audience of â€Å"Journey’s End† Journey’s End† is a play written by R. C Sheriff, who had fought during the First World War. This enabled him to bring his experiences into the play which adds to the realism of the French trenches in 1918. First premiered in the year 1928 (10 years after the end of WW1), the audience would have been sensitive to the play because there was a real possibility that they’d lost friends and family in the war. The entire action of â€Å"Journey’s End† does not leave the dugout where the men are based; which allows the audience an insight of how life was for British companies during WW1 and how they coped with war. Although Sheriff did not intend his play to be focused on the horrors of war, his depiction of a realistic setting and characters convey this. We are given information about the war and the men’s way of life by the setting. ‘Through the doorway can be seen the misty grey parapet of a trench and a narrow strip of starlit sky. ’ This shows that the dugout was claustrophobic and frightening since they were so close to no man’s land where so many lives were lost like Raleigh’s. During Raleigh’s death scene, R. C Sheriff uses the stage directions to metaphorically describe Raleigh’s gradual death. The solitary candle burns with a steady flame†¦.. The shock stabs out the candle flame. ’ The stage directions help to describe what is happening outside of the dugout such as ‘The shelling had risen to a great fury’. The writer has personified the shelling for the effect that war has a life of its own which cannot be contr olled by the men, ‘stretcher-bearers’ can be heard by the audience off stage, this shows that people are being injured by the ‘fury’ of the shelling. Hardy and Osborne’s handover lists facts to explain to the audience what happened previously when ‘a dug-out got blown up and came down in the men’s tea. They were frightfully annoyed. ’ R. C Sheriff has used dark humour to show how the men cope with the war. Also Hardy gives important information on the artillery â€Å"We’ve got a Lewis gun just here-â€Å". To deter away from the uncontrollable war the men would talk about the things that could be altered or controlled; for instance Trotter enjoys controlling what they eat ‘Keep ‘em and use ‘em for dumplings next time we ‘ave boiled beef. ’ This helps the men feel secure knowing that there are some things that are controllable and that they have a future albeit only in the short term. A few of the characters are deeply affected by the war; one of them being Hibbert who attempts to use ‘neuralgia’ as an excuse to be discharged from the frontline. This is deemed cowardice by the rest of the soldiers ‘Better die of the pain than be shot for deserting. ’ This is said by Stanhope when Hibbert tries to leave before the German attack. This quote also shows how cowardice was dealt with during the First World War and why it drove other men to cope with war in different ways. For example, Stanhope, turns to drink (alcohol) and soldiers are heard saying that he ’gets a reputation out here for drinking’. This quote shows that most of the men know Stanhope drinks and accept it even though he is a commanding officer. As an audience we are told that he didn’t drink before he joined the war. This is shown by the conversation Osborne has with Raleigh, in which he says Stanhope ‘caught some chaps in a study with a bottle of whisky. Lord! The roof nearly blew off. ’ This quote shows the irony of the situation because when Raleigh knew Stanhope he used to confiscate alcohol off of students but now he has found comfort in drinking it. However Raleigh himself realised the horror of war when Osborne was killed post raid, ‘How can I sit down and eat that-when-when†¦. -when Osborne’s†¦ ’ this quote shows that Raleigh does not know how to cope with Osborne’s death. As Stanhope hasn’t mentioned Osborne after the raid Raleigh thinks that he doesn’t care but he has ‘to forget’ so that he can bear to carry on fighting in the futile war. One of Journey’s End’s main themes is the futility of war; we are shown the uselessness of it when the raid-men returned 7 fewer than when they left. Including Osborne, the fallen men had sacrificed their lives for important information from a German officer which they never got as the German was only ‘a bare headed German boy†¦. ’ who told them what they already knew. So the raid was wasted as the only new information they discovered was that a German soldier carries a pocket knife as well as other ‘oddments’. Stanhope emphasizes this when he ‘speaks in a dead voice’ after the general celebrated ‘how awfully nice- if the brigadier’s pleased. ’ These quotes also indicate that the soldier’s actions are at the general’s whim. The audience saw the war transform Raleigh from a strong eager boy, who was clearly inexperienced as he was unsure of how to address other officers ‘Good evening (he notices Osborne’s grey hair and adds:)sir. ’ Another example of his inexperience is when he states ‘how frightfully quiet it is†¦.. i thought there would be an awful row here’ this shows that he has no concept of the reality of war. However, as time moves on and the play progresses we see Raleigh develops in maturity. We see this when Raleigh and Osborne are having their last drink before the raid; ‘I wonder what the Boche are doing over there now?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. I don’t know. D’you like Coffee†¦? ’ the author shows here that Raleigh is keen to know as much as possible about the raid whilst Osborne is trying to put it off for as long as possible as he is worried about the ‘millions of bullets’. We, as an audience, see Raleigh become deeply affected by the war, succeeding the raid, (when he had left Osborne dead, in no man’s land). His appearance is more rugged and dismal in comparison to his previous shining uniform this could be a reflection of his emotions as well as just war worn; this would be seen as a landmark in Raleigh’s life in the trenches. The audience is taken through Raleigh’s experience of war and his relationship with his fellow men and officers. He became a steadfast part of the story with which the audience could relate and he formed a connection between the characters and action taking place. It is therefore a loss when he dies that is felt by everyone absorbed in the play. His and the play’s final scene portrays a young man alone in a dark place, with a solitary candle burning for company but is extinguished in a raid that collapses the men’s shelter and snuffs out his life just like the candle. The men’s way of life in the trenches was isolated and boring, which left them to find ways of entertaining themselves: from the opening conversation between Hardy and Osborne we are told one of the ways that they amused themselves, ‘Ever had earwig races?†¦ We’ve had ‘em every evening. ’ Mason is seen as a main source of humour and light relief for the men a good example of this is when he has an ‘unpleasant surprise’ which is a tin of apricot chunks labelled pineapple chunks. This light humour helps the men to cope with the dire way of life; this is in contrast to the dark humour. The men have to live with ‘about two million’ rats which they have to shoot otherwise they ‘gnaw at your boots’ rats also carried many lice and fleas which then infected the men so personal hygiene was hard to maintain. Stanhope talks about imagination ‘He doesn’t see into the earth beyond – the worms wandering about round the stones and roots of trees’. This quote was about Trotter and his lack of imagination which ‘sharpens the mind’ the quote also adds to the claustrophobic living conditions knowing that they are at the same level as worms in the earth. The men also told stories to keep themselves occupied whether from war life or home life, ‘I spent all the time in the garden making a rockery. In the evenings I used to sit and smoke and read – and my wife used to knit socks and play the piano a bit. ’ This was said by Osborne who is known to be the ‘family man’. We are given several images of war throughout the play, Osborne the family man who passed his belongings onto Stanhope to give to his wife before the raid with the possibility that he mightn’t return. This shows his love for his family giving them his personal belongings as a reminder of him and his compassion. Raleigh is seen as stereotypical, eager to fight for his country, recruit. ‘full of guts’ which was one of the reasons why he was selected for the raid. Also he idolised Captain Stanhope from his school memories and was eager to meet him again. The audience are prepared for tragedy at the end of the play because a main character had already died, who was likeable so it showed that no matter how popular the character was he could still be killed. Also when R. C. Sheriff personified the stage directions to give the shelling a life of it’s own from ‘the lighter â€Å"crush† f the smaller shells, there comes the deep resounding â€Å"boom† of Minenwerfer. ’ The noise created from the booms and crushes would also create tension. In conclusion I believe that R. C. Sheriff best shows the horrors of war through the character Raleigh because i feel that he represents war because war starts with an innocence and as the play progresses it is slowly lost this his character could also be representitive of the human race starting with innocence and as the play pshows the affect war can have on a person and the gradual burden of it. The stage directions are a main factor as well because you can not see further than the dug-out, which isolates you away from the ‘front-line’ and the stage directions show war itself with the crashing and booming of bombs and bullets; they also tell the story and help set the scene. I personally feel that war is useless

The Drylanders video report essays

The Drylanders video report essays The Drylanders The film The Drylanders takes a look at the ups and downs of early farm life in Saskatchewan. This film shows us a family moving from the city to the prairies to start a new life. It shows the great harvest of 1927 and how lack of rain can affect the whole prairie life style. Most of all it illustrates how hard it was to adjust to these new lands. The film The Drylanders was a first-rate look at the hardships and the excellent times farmers had in the early 1900s. The harvest was a great time for everyone. The farmers would go out with their families and collect the wheat and crops from the fields. This was the main source of income for the prairie farmers. In the film it shows a great example of a wonderful harvest. It was the harvest of 1927, everything went well for the farmers on the prairie. There were more then enough crops for the whole family. Families were even able to buy cars due to all the inventory (crops). The film also explains how hard the times were when there were droughts. It teaches us how dead the parries were. People were angry and very depressed. Since they had no source of income they had to get their food from food banks. The film also portrays how hard it was to start a life on the prairies. Before they even came there were stories how children would die in the cold winters. The first harvest did not go well, it was ruined by hail a hail storm. This really hurt the families ego. Although there were good and bad times the drylanders were able to make it through both with smiles and with tears. If it were not for these brave men or women who labored over this land who knows what kind province Saskatchewan would have evolved into today. ...

Ballad Of A Soldier Essay Example

Ballad Of A Soldier Essay Example Ballad Of A Soldier Essay Ballad Of A Soldier Essay Grigory Nuamovich made the movie Ballad Of A Soldier (1959) very intriguing, suspenseful and informative of the Soviet Union between the year 1939-1945, because of the various filming techniques that he utilized. For example, he perfected the most difficult shot in film making; the long shot. In addition, the various themes and sound effects made the movie were very fascinating. Mr. Nuamovich also made the characters more real by utilizing the reaction shot, medium shot and close up shot. Furthermore, the lighting by cinematographer really worked for this movie.Similar to most Russian Cinema, Grigory Nuamovich clearly displayed the beauty of the land by utilizing the long shot. For example when Alyosha Skvorstov rides on the train and reminisces of Shura, there is a long shot of the woods. In addition, the village shots, where Alyosha is driving around looking for his mother, clearly depicts the life style of a Russian farmer in a small village, that is secluded from everything else and can only be reached by one dirt road. The scene where the tank is chasing Alyosha on the open land is also the long shot working at its best. The extreme long shots of the tanks really gave the audience a feel of open land combat and it kept the viewer on the edge of the seat due to the suspense. In addition, the aerial shot also really worked in the tank chasing Alyosha scene.The various themes and sound effects really worked in this movie. The music during the tank scene kept the audience in high suspense. In addition, the scene where the lieutenant allows Alsyosha vacation time and random gunshots rang out shows the audience that although, the soldiers are inside and seem safe, there is no safety on the battle field. Furthermore, the various themes through out the movie kept the movie flowing very well.Mr. Nuamovich made the characters more dramatic and believable with the use of reaction shots. For example, Vergenty Urtanskiy (the one leg soldier), reaction shots showed how miserable he truly was when everyone was laughing and he was not. Furthermore, the reaction shot of the girl at the ticket counter scene, when the one leg soldier said that he does not want to go home. Her reaction shot really made his decision look foolish to the audience. Also when the one leg soldier was walking away and thought that his wife didnt show up and she screamed his name, the scene was intensified with the reaction shot of the one leg soldier. Another reaction shot that really intensified a scene is when Alyosha is telling the Shura that; Alyosha thought that Shura was the lieutenant when she first walked into the train cart. Furthermore, the reaction shot of the Ukranian girl hoping that what she heard was lightning on the train and not a bomb also strengthened the scene. The audience was shown again that during wars nothing is safe. In addition, Alyoshas reaction when he finds out that another train wont come for another two hours, also worked very well, because it r eminded the audience that his time is limited.The medium shot also worked very well for this movie the various scenes of Alyosha and Shura on the train really made this movie a love story. In addition when the one leg soldier was holding his wife in his arms the two shot made the audience feel the love.The various framing techniques that Grigory Nuamovich utilized made this movie work. For example, the train scene where Alyosha and the one leg soldier are riding with their comrades, they were tightly framed directly in the middle of the scene, because the scene was about them. In addition, the scene where Shura first came into the cart and began running around and screaming, because she was petrified by Alyosha. Alyosha was framed slightly in the middle of the screen and Shura was framed at the edge of the screen to show that she is on the edge of her fear of Alyosha.The cinematographer also did a wonderful job in using lights and darks inside the train cart. For example, in the sce ne where Shura fell asleep, the cart was dark; however her face had a spotlight. In addition, the whole time that Alyosha and Shura are in the train wagon its dark, however most of the time they have a spotlight on their face. Another example, of the cinematographers excellent work is when Shura is chasing the train that Alyosha is on and he is trying to give her his address.I really enjoyed Ballad Of A Soldier because not only is it thrilling and intriguing, because of the various filming techniques that Grigory Nuamovich used, but it also shows the beauty of the land and the mindset of the Russian people during that time period. Everyone worried about their kids and loved ones on the battle field. In addition, the train scene in which Alyosha was riding with his comrades shows Russian hummer at its best. (Hard to explain) Furthermore, the scene in which the fat soldier that lets Alyosha on the train really shows how soldiers abuse their authority during the war.

Individual reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual reflection - Essay Example d three members and every member focused on their own part; I thought group presentations involved teamwork, where all the members discussed the whole assignment together. My part involved the critical analysis of the key economic, political, socio-cultural, and environmental factors influencing the destination of choice. Moreover, I tackled the background of the destination and the identification of the involvement of stakeholders in the planning process. Our group chose North Devon as the destination and analyzed the management plan. I felt enlightened to discover various aspects about North Devon. To begin with, we planned on how we were to meet for every discussion with the group members. At the first meeting, we read the guidance of the presentation requirements. Every member of the group was given their own role to research on. Every member of the group was required to make an outline of what they needed to do. The outline enabled me to be organized on my research from the initial to final stages of presenting the findings. All the members of the group tabled their outline for approval by the rest of the group members. The discussion groups helped me to keep on track with my research findings. We helped each other through sharing of information and the research process. The internet was a good source for me in the research and I shared this with all the group members. In addition, we also found the library books a good source of information, which provided concrete information regarding destination planning in tourism. However, I felt that it was so involving looking for p hysical books, while we could find the information and some of the books online. Moreover, we helped each other with any difficulty that we met in the investigation process. It was a challenge for us to determine the actual design of our PowerPoint presentation, but we had to compromise and assist each other in the determination and drafting of the actual work. This helped us to synthesize

Investigation of 2 evidences of the climate conditions of the last Research Paper

Investigation of 2 evidences of the climate conditions of the last Deglaciation - Research Paper Example Therefore, the paper presents an investigation of evidences and uses them to make inferences about the impacts of the last deglaciation away from the margin of the ice sheets, especially the formation of Scablands. Arguments from the Documentary In the documentary, the author attributes their formation to gradual soil erosion through the actions of rivers (NOVA, 2005). It is also assumed that it was formed by the action of glaciers during the ice age. Under the assumption, enormous sheets of gradual-moving ice that originated from Canada curved new landscape as it moved down-hill (NOVA, 2005). According to Harlen Bretz’s theory that reflected the scientific convention, Channeled Scablands resulted from an overnight enormous catastrophe, which is more Bible-inspired, but not gradual geological evolution, which is more scientific, oriented (Anderson & Anderson, 2010). He seemed to be discrediting the geological or scientific beliefs that the formation of such landscape might hav e resulted from a gradual process that would last for a long time. The Use of Scientific Evidence to Reconstruct Conditions of the Last Deglaciation According to Edmiston, Scablands are some of the prehistoric features (Edmiston, 2005). He argues that Pardee was among the early geologists to offer explanation regarding the formation of Scablands (Edmiston, 2005). He was of the opinion that the features might have resulted from the actions of ice-age glaciers. Particularly, glacial erosion could be responsible for the formation of such features (Soennichsen, 2008). In fact, he argued that normal erosion could not explain the formation of Scablands. He categorically explained that the deep gorge, large portholes resembling small lakes and sharp hanging dry falls are scientific evidences of glacial erosion (Bretz, Smith & Neff, 2006). Another scientific evidence to reconstruct Bretz’s theory was the enormous discharge from glacial lakes such as Missoula could yield such great vo lume of water, which might be responsible for the formation of channeled Scablands (Geological Survey, 2010). Later, scientists, through the analysis and application of hydrological principles, discovered that open-channel hydraulics was consistent with Bretz’s qualitative observations. Therefore, Bretz got support from the scientific evidence (Bretz, 2003). The other scientific evidence was the Columbia gorge that the scientists believed had significant discharge attributable to channeled Scablands (Summerfield, 2001). Yet, in different and convincing evidence, the geologists found another large lake believed to have been formed from glacial activities (Young & Stearley, 2008). The lake is situated in the West of Montana. Evidently, it empties catastrophically due to glacial actions (Burr, Carling & Baker, 2009). Subsequently, its waters spill over into the Scablands through the channels. The Relevance of Scientific Studies Due to the nature of the Channeled Scablands, thus being deep and containing many other physical features (Young & Stearley, 2008). Therefore, the gradualist explanation offered better account of the events, which might have led to the formation of the feature (Furtwangler, 1999). The Violent and rapid assumption theory of Bretz could not have scientific evide