Le Fondant Belge

Caribbean Poetry

Sara Van Criekingen — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:41:48 -0600

Caribbean Poetry:

Introduction:

— Caribbean Poetry in most cases relies on two main topics:

-Political/ Social issues

- Spirituality

- “Others” are abstract at face value- they may be considered Caribbean Poems for 3 reasons:

-Author is a well known Caribbean poet

-Poem touches on Caribbean topics in abstract

- It has been produced during the Rastafarian Movement

The Movement:

-The reason for much of the socio-politically themed poetry is because of the “Rasta” or “Rastafarian” movements of the 70’s.

- “Rasta” literally means: Cultural Revolution.

- Therefore Caribbean poetry during and after the 70’s is politically and/or socially charged (in most cases).

- “Some Hardcore Rasta believers shunned socio-political activism and they regarded politics as a corrupt “shitstem” that would be swept away in the impending apocalypse.”

Insight:

These topics [politics/social issues, spirituality] are used by many different types of Caribbean poetry. This is one type that we will be focusing on:

— Dub poetry

However, there are many spin-off types of this poetry, such as:

— Calypso

— Reggae

Dub Poetry:

Originated in Jamaica in the 1970s.

-A form of performance poetry consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms

-Usually prepared and often accompanied by music specifically written for the poem.

-Predominately concerned with politics and social justice.

-Mostly a commentary on current events.

Calypso: (upbeat)

— Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago near the end of the 19th century

— It has a strong rhythm produced by a group of percussion and drums that make the movement of the sound similar to Reggae.

— It is said that Calypsonians “speak for the people, providing social commentary, gentle protest that grows out of concern for their nation, and a constant source of indigenous entertainment”

Reggae: (mellow, think Bob Marley)

— Reggae music is the use of dub poetry to a drum beat(usually a standard drum kit).

— It typically uses themes such as social and political criticisms, black nationalism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and anti- capitalism, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love, sex and socializing.

— Sometimes they try to inform the listener about controversial subjects such as the Apartheid.

— Many reggae songs promote the use of cannabis (also known as herb or ganja), considered a sacrament in the Rastafarian movement.

— There are many artists who utilize religious themes in their music.

Well Known Caribbean Poets:

— Derek Walcott

-Born in 1930 in Castries, Saint Lucia.

- “The experience of growing up on the isolated volcanic island, an ex-British colony, is said to have had a strong influence on Walcott's life and work.”

-Moved to Trinidad in 1953 where he worked as a Theatre and Art Critic.

-His Breakthrough was his collection of poems, “In a Green Night”, published in 1962.

-In 1959, he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop which produced many of his early plays.

Won the 1992 Nobel Prize for literature.

A Far Cry From Africa

By: Derek Walcott

A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt

Of Africa, Kikuyu, quick as flies,

Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt.

Corpses are scattered through a paradise.

Only the worm, colonel of carrion, cries:

"Waste no compassion on these separate dead!"

Statistics justify and scholars seize

The salients of colonial policy.

What is that to the white child hacked in bed?

To savages, expendable as Jews?

Threshed out by beaters, the long rushes break

In a white dust of ibises whose cries

Have wheeled since civilizations dawn

From the parched river or beast-teeming plain.

The violence of beast on beast is read

As natural law, but upright man

Seeks his divinity by inflicting pain.

Delirious as these worried beasts, his wars

Dance to the tightened carcass of a drum,

While he calls courage still that native dread

Of the white peace contracted by the dead.

Again brutish necessity wipes its hands

Upon the napkin of a dirty cause, again

A waste of our compassion, as with Spain,

The gorilla wrestles with the superman.

I who am poisoned with the blood of both,

Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?

I who have cursed

The drunken officer of British rule, how choose

Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?

Betray them both, or give back what they give?

How can I face such slaughter and be cool?

How can I turn from Africa and live?

-------> In my opinion this poem uses a lot of imagery to appeal to the readers emotions. From my point of view i believe the author is literally talking about the slaughter that is going on in africa, and how he has to chose between his culture and heritage or accepting the british way of life.

Linton Kwesi Johnson

— Born August 24th, 1952 in Chapelton Jamaica.

— Lives in Britain, known as a Dub-poet.

— In 2005 he was awarded a silver Musgrave medal from the Institute of Jamaica for distinguished eminence in the field of poetry.

— While still at school he joined the British Black Panther movement /helped to organize a poetry workshop within the movement and developed his work with Rasta Love, a group of poets and drummers.

— Most of Johnson's poetry is political, dealing mainly with the experiences of being an African- Caribbean in Britain

— Johnson's record label LKJ Records is home to other reggae artists, and he has had many popular albums recorded.

Context-

— Johnson wrote about British foreign policy, and the death of anti-racist marcher Blair Peach. Most of his celebrated works were written during the time Margaret Thatcher was Prime minister.

— She reduced expenditures on social services such as health care, education, and housing

— His poetry contains graphic accounts of racist police brutality.

Dread Beat An Blood

By: Linton Kwesi Johnson

Dread Beat An Blood

Brothers an sisters rocking

A dread beat pulsing fire burning

Chocolate hour an darkness creeping night

Black veiled night is weeping

Electric lights consoling night

A small hall soaked in smoke

A house of ganja mist

Music blazing sounding thumping fire blood

Brothers an sisters rocking stopping rocking

Music breaking out bleeding out thumping out fire burning

Electric hour of the red bulb

Straining the brain with a blood flow

An a bad bad thing is brewing

Ganja crawling, creeping to the brain

Cold in the head an a dread beat bleeding beating fire dread

Rocks rolling over hearts leaping wild

Rage rising out of the heat an the hurt

An a fist curled in anger reaches her

Then flash from a blade from another to a him

Leaps for a dig of a flesh of a piece of skin

An blood bitterness exploding fire wailing blood and bleeding

-------> I believe this poem is about a get together which involved drugs(ganja) or other illegal substances. The police show up to shut the place down and it errupts into violence and bleeding.

Socio-Politically Themed Poetry:

— Some events that can cause this type of poetry are:

Wars, Famines, Disease, Political Uprisings, Discrimination, Movements, Depressions, Ancestral roots etc.

These causes can be noticed through subjective writing, where the poet comments on current events.

— A poet who writes politically is Jean Binta Breeze

Jean Binta Breeze:

— Born in Jamaica in 1957

— She studied at the Jamaican School of Drama

— She started writing poetry in the 1970s, performing and recording first in Kingston then in London.

— She is considered a ‘Dub’ poet.

Context of poem:

— 19th century-collapse of the sugar estates (bagasse) and the introduction of nutmeg and cocoa encouraged the development of smaller landholdings, and the island developed a land-owning farmer class.

— Grenada became independent in 1974/ ruled by a Marxist Government.

— Civil conflicts and paramilitary attacks overthrew the government.

— October 25 1983, approximately 70,000 American and Caribbean military personnel invaded Grenada.

— Most recently, Grenada has been the target of natural disasters such as hurricanes.

third world views ( for grenada)

By: Jean Binta Breeze

for me
no empty bagasse pages
of their lies
no hammered voices
falsetto smooth
covering war cries
but
the salt sea spray
of an island's tears
that burn me
acid
and the wind
the wind that sings in echoes of their bombs
the wind that sings contralto tremors
of their bombs

would that nutmeg
choke their obeah
and the dust of cinnamon
lift their prints
as evidence
for babes now growing
in an island's belly

how third world my blues
of oceans bending backwards
to make ends meet
of mountains rising up to misty tears
of mothers
patching pieces of sky
to cover the winded bellies
of their babies cry
how third world my blues

---------> in my opinion this poem is explaining that when sugar cane estates began to fail people were becoming poor and the island could no longer sustain its population

---------> another interpretation was that all these bad things were happening in grenada and the rst of the world couldn't have cared less.

Spirituality in the Caribbean

Religion is a very significant part of life in the Caribbean. Initially, religion was closely associated with education; therefore many schools have a religious affiliation.

The main religion in the Caribbean is Christianity. Increasingly, many families with an Indian background (commonly Hindus or Moslems) identify themselves as Christian.

Religion continues to serve as a vital function in preserving family stability and marriages and religion helps them to cope with difficult situations and crises. It also provides hope in times of desperate economic need. As a whole, Caribbean people cherish their religion

Albert L.B. Williams

— Was born in Emsworth, England in 1962.

— At the age of ten, the migrated to the Commonwealth of Dominica in the West Indies where he lived for 32 years.

— He returned to the UK, in October 2004 and currently resides in Crawley.

— Self-published three booklets of poetry namely:

- Honourable Natty Dread, (1982,1990&1996)

- One Dominica-Odes for I Beloved, (1985)

- Through The Far Eye (1997),

— Worked with organisations such as

— - The Movement for Cultural Awareness (M.C.A.)

— - The Ethiopian World Federation Incorporated (EWF Inc.)

— -The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica's, Division of Culture

— -The Black History Awareness Committee (B.H.A.C)

-The Roseau Public Librar

Let Jah Arise by: Albert L.B. Williams

LET JAH ARISE

LET ALL HIS ENIMIES BE SCATTERED.

AND LET I AND I, THE CAPTIVE IN A BABYLON GO FREE...

FREE FROM ALL FORMS OF ADVERSITY.

'CAUSE HIS IMPERIAL MAGESTY

DID TEACH I AND I THE TRUE THINGS OF LIFE...

(WHAT IS IT)

WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS.

SO WHO WILL ABIDE WITH THE ALMIGHTY?

ONLY I AND I. THE REMANENTS OF HIS PEOPLE

ONLY I AND I THE RESTORATION OF HIS CHURCH

ONLY I AND I. ALL 'DEM' AND 'DOSE' ' DAT' KNOW

'DAT' HIS IMPERIAL MAGESTY EMPEROR HAILE SELLASSIE IS NOT DEAD.

H.I.M A JUST COOL IN IS HIGHER MEDITATION UNTILL DE HOUR OF POWER...

AN WHEN DE LION OF JUDAH WILL ARISE.

WID' FIRE AN BRIMESTONE IN HIS EYES.

SING GLORY TO GOD. THE PROPHET HAS COME...AND RASTAFARI IS HIS NAME.

SELAH

Context:

— Jah is the shortened name for the God, Yahweh.

— The poem let Jah arise focused on the empowerment of the Rastafarian movement.

— This was a new religious movement that acceptsedboth Jesus Christ and Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as incarnations** of God, called Jah or Jah Rastafari.

— ** incarnations**- giving human or concrete form

— This religion also rejects the“White man’s world” – modern Babylon-- as mentioned in the poem. They feel that its greed, dishonesty, lasciviousness, meat-eating habits, "devil soup" (alcohol) and chemical-oriented technology is negative.

The name Rastafari comes from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I.

1920’s-Marcus Garvey is considered the catalyst for the movement, when he advocated a "back to Africa idea. He said: "look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand.”

1930- Ras Tafari was crowned Emporer Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia.

Many people thought he fulfilled Garvey's prophecy and looked to him for guidance in how to begin their new way of life. The Rastafarians (as they were known) emphasized "black pride, and the need to regain the heritage the black race temporarily lost by straying from holy ways"

“Other” Types of Poetry

The word “other” leaves much to be desired as it is not very descriptive. This type of poem is not set on anything specific, and topics can range from the colour of the sky, to types of rice.

However, these topics are often misleading, and do not always mean what they seem to at face value. For example…. Read the following poem, what do you believe it to be about?

A section from “Insight Guides” written by: Bruce St. John

We' language limit?
Who language en limit?
Evah language
Like a big pot o' Bajan soup:
Pice o' yam, piece o' potato,
T'ree dumplin', two eddoe,
One beet, two carrot,
Piece o' pig-tail, piece o' beef
Pinch o' salt, dus' o' pepper,
An' doan' fuget okra
To add to de flavour.
Boil up, cook up, eat up
An' yuh still wan' rice...

----->Contrary to what many may have thought, this poem has absolutely nothing to do with food what so ever. It uses food, and the “soup” concept as a metaphor. The poem is about language, and St John wrote it as a defence of language to those who say that it is limited.

One other very strong element of this poetry is slang. Caribbean poetry is known for its slang. Poems are written based on how words sound. For example, instead of saying, “what’s up,” the slang may be written “wassup.” Another example could be, “what are you doing?” This could be “what chu doin’.”

Slang Terms:

ignorant: to be mean or very aggressive

gone cross / pushing bread cart: to be pregnant

to be malicious: inquisitive or nosy

sea-bath: swimming

liming: hanging around (i.e., You limin' or buyin'? would mean "Are you here to buy something or just to hang out [like a lime on a tree]?“)

The sea en' got no back door: Once you get into something, you can't always get back out.

Trouble don' set up like rain: You can't always see trouble coming

If greedy wait, hot will cool: Wait patiently and you'll get what you want.

Tek time en' laziness: Much can be achieved by taking one's time.

Pretty-pretty things does fool li'l children: Superficial things impress superficial and naive people.

Wha' sweet in goat mouth does burn in he bam bam: What seems sweet and good can have very negative, painful consequences.

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ISU#2:FinalCopy LesMiserables-Imprisonment due to Morality

Sara Van Criekingen — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:14:16 -0600

Les Miserables: Imprisonment due to Morality

By: Sara Van Criekingen, ENG 4UE

Is a man who steals something to eat a bad person? Will one’s opinion change if they learn that neither he nor his family, including young children, have eaten in days? Is a man fallacious that arrests the poor fellow who has stolen? Or is his ruthlessness acceptable because of his role in upholding the law?

Victor Hugo’s novel ‘Les Miserables’ is centered on the struggle of “good” versus “evil” within mankind, and how people’s actions can be influenced by their beliefs and morals, as well as circumstance. One may suggest that the “good” character, a man on a mission to clear his conscience, is represented by Jean Valjean. In contrast, the “evil” character could be Javert who is a secularist, a man who separates religion from the law. However, though it may seem that Valjean is the morally just character in the story, Inspector Javert, the man who attempts to convict Valjean time and time again, is in fact an equal to Valjean in respect to morality and both characters are prisoners of their conscience and humanness.

Humannessis the act of affirming the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality (Humanism, Wikipedia). It is presumed that Javert does not bring forth such ability, however this is untrue because of the realization that he had about Valjean and his will to put mankind before himself. Javert had come to a conclusion:

One thing had astonished him, that Jean Valjean had spared him, and one thing had petrified him, that he, Javert, had spared Jean Valjean [...] Jean Valjean confounded him. All the axioms which had been the supports of his whole life had crumbled away before this man. Jean Valjean’s generosity towards him, Javert, had overwhelmed him. Other acts, which he remembered and which he had hitherto treated as lies and follies had returned to him now as realities. M. Madeleine reappeared behind Jean Valjean, and the two figures overlay each other so as to make but one, which was venerable. Javert felt that something horrible was penetrating his soul, admiration for a convict. Respect for a galley slave, can that be possible? He shuddered at it, yet could not shake it off. It was useless to struggle, he was reduced to confess before his own tribunal the sublimity of this wretch [...] [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 336).

This dilemma, a formidable struggle for Javert to resolve, resulted in his suicide. He discovered what, to his standards, was right and wrong. Though to his secular beliefs it was astonishing that he had freed Valjean, to him, morality had nothing to do with upholding the law, or so it appeared. Javert is a character who is defined by his job. He does everything he possibly can to keep the guilty in the galleys and the innocent in line. He “takes no prisoners”, so to speak and it is said that:

“[...] the foundation of Javert, his element, the medium in which he breathed, was veneration for all authority. He was perfectly homogeneous, and admitted of no objection, or abridgment. To him, be it understood, ecclesiastical was the highest of all; he was devout, superficial and correct [...] [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 108).

According to Max Weber, if the law is not upheld with force, then the “police and military no longer control security and order and society move into anarchy, the absence of government,” (Law, Wikipedia). Javert worked hard to make sure criminals were not free, and thus, unconsciously he was not aware that he was punishing people who were innocent or deserving of freedom.

Inspector Javert does not intend to be subjective when it comes to Valjean’s punishment. In the case of the Thenardiers, Javert attempts to arrest both Valjean and the Thenardiers. Mr. Thenardier held Valjean captive, torturing him with the intent of extortion. When Javert entered the apartment he instructed his police force to put “handcuffs on all” (Hugo, 233) who were in the room, including the seemingly innocent Valjean (who was under the name M. Leblanc as a cover). This was an attempt for Javert to understand what was going on and to reduce the attempts for the criminals to escape. He wanted to be sure that he got the right information before he arrested anyone. It was not Javert’s intent to be evil when it came to Jean Valjean. In fact on the level of justice for the people, Javert could have been considered a hero, a term often associated with goodness.

How can one define what or who is “good” or “evil” and by what standards do these definitions exist? To be “good” does the belief or participation in religion have to be an aspect that is considered? Are Javert’s intentions to arrest Valjean an act of spite or made by mere secular belief? Some people believe humanity is inherently evil. But if this were true, then wouldn’t good people revert to evil, especially if they knew they wouldn’t be punished for it? Human nature is made up of characteristics and instincts that are only defined by societal norms. Thus good and evil cannot exist independently from society, or innately in humanity. What is good if you cannot compare it to evil? “There are some people who do what they do because they adhere to a personal standard of conduct, one which is apart and independent from society’s,” (Humanity, Wordpress). This is reflected in Les Miserables by the conduct which Javert applies to his job. Javert enforced the belief that any crime should be punished, and that you are guilty until proven innocent. In the seventeenth century, many would agree that stealing anything, including a loaf of bread, was shameful, and punishable by law. It was not socially acceptable to steal, not even for starving and poverty stricken children. So only by those applied social standards, including the circumstance described, Javert supervised the conviction of Valjean.

Jean Valjean is a convict who makes many attempts to escape the life in the galleys, and become a better person. Jean makes the decision to repent himself on behalf of the Bishop, Monsieur Myriel, who gave him shelter in a storm and then caught him stealing his silver. The Bishop did not feel the need to punish Valjean; in fact he called him innocent in front of the authorities. Then as Jean was about to leave, the Bishop told him: “forget not, never forget that you have promised me to use this silver to become a better man” (Hugo, 33). Valjean carried through with his journey to holiness because of his human nature and conscience. It is his inner struggle to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity in a time when poverty was abundant and sympathy was lacking.

In turn, thanks to the second chance that the Bishop had given Valjean, he made the decision to save both Marius and Javert. These decisions amounted to being Valjean’s downfall, and he was aware of that when he made these decisions. Every decision that Valjean had made were ones he knew would benefit Cosette, his adopted daughter. Jean had such a deep affection for Cosette, that he felt he did not deserve being graced with her presence. He thought that:

[...]he really had not suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked god, in the depths of his soul , for having permitted that he, a miserable man, should be so loved by this innocent being,[Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 249).

When Valjean saves Marius, he knows that Marius and Cosette will be free to love each other, if he survives. Valjean was afraid to lose Cosette and never see her again. That is the only reason he considered letting Marius die in the barricades of the war. He was scared that:

[...] it is all over. I shall never see her more. She is a smile which has passed over me. I am going to enter into the night without even seeing her again. Oh! A minute, an instant, to hear her voice, to touch her dress, to look at her, the angel! and then to die! [...]My God! My God! I shall never see her again, [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 380-381).

Valjean had a conscious realization that he had promised to become a better person, and so he saved Marius. He carried him through the war zone and through many miles of the sewer system. Jean Valjean had desperation to save Marius and at one point in the sewers he:

[...]rose, shivering, chilled, infected, bending beneath this dying man, whom he was dragging on, all dripping with slime, his soul filled with a strange light [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo,324).

Valjean even gave up his freedom to Javert in exchange for the medical care of Marius. However, he would not take credit for his actions, so he lived many months, up until his death being thought of as a convict to Marius. In the end though, when Marius did find out that it was Valjean who had saved him, and when he had asked Valjean why he hadn’t said anything Valjean’s reply was:

Because I felt that you were right. It was necessary that I should go away. If you had known of the affair of the sewer, you would have made me stay with you. I should have then had to keep silent. If I would have spoken it would have embarrassed all, (Hugo, 393).

It is with this statement that it is fair to say that Jean Valjean cared more for the feelings

of others than for his own life. He did not dare to infringe on the happiness of Cosette

and he wanted nothing more than to die an honest man.

Honesty is something that Jean Valjean had learned to live by. He felt that he owed it to the world for all of his sins, that he should become a better person, and live purely. With that reason he didn’t run from Javert any longer. In fact, Valjean saved Javert’s life, and then told Javert:

You are free. [...] I don’t expect to leave this place. Still if by chance I should, I live, under the name of Fauchelevent, in the Rue de L’Homme Arme, number seven, [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 313).

Valjean knew that he had provided Cosette with a safe and fortunate upbringing, and he decided he had lived a happy life with her, and she didn’t need him any longer. That is why he told Javert the truth; he meant no harm to the people of Paris, and all he wanted was an honest death and to keep his promise to the Bishop to be a holy man. He considered God a part of himself in everything that he did. He thanked God for the pleasures in his life and he pleaded with God when his life went off the tracks. Jean sought refuge with the Lord when he had no place to go. A convent was a home for him for many years, where he once helped send a man who could no longer work. He knew, especially since the Bishop had given him a second chance that God would always be there for him. That is the way in which Valjean was impacted, and then passed on the holiness to everyone he encountered. He gave God much credit because he felt his faith had brought Cosette back to him, he was convinced that because he heard:

[...] the sound of her voice, rather than the meaning of her words; one of those big tears which are gloomy pearls of the soul, gathered slowly in his eye. He murmured “the proof that god is good is that she is here, [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 394).

Jean Valjean had faith that God is the reason everything turned out happily. He said that “such are the distributions of God. He is on high, he sees us all, and he knows what he does in the midst of his great stars,” (Hugo, 398). He also had a strong belief that the Bishop can see how he has become a changed man “satisfied with me in heaven,” (Hugo, 398). On Valjean’s death bed it was asked to him if he would like a Priest. His reply was that he had one already and:

[...] with his finger, he seemed to designate a point above his head, where, you would have said, he saw someone. It is probable that the Bishop was indeed a witness of this death-agony, [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 396-397).

As it was Valjean’s goal to become an honest man, one may wonder why he told the

court who he really was, even after he had become the ‘hero’ of his town, the mayor,

and best employer. He didn’t really know the answer either, but he had contemplated keeping quiet and letting another man take the fall for him (Christian Ethics, Wikipedia). Christian Ethics is something that affects the decisions Valjean makes. It leans towards the practice and need for mercy, grace and forgiveness, especially because of human weakness, something that every human possesses. With these ethics it is believed that Valjean could become virtuous with divine assistance. Letting another man take the fall was not what Valjean wanted as an honest man; his view of a fresh start did not include allowing someone to go to the galleys on his behalf. He questioned whether or not to:

[...] close the door on his past? But he was not closing it, great God! He was reopening it by committing an infamous act! For he became a robber again, and the most odious of robbers! He robbed another of his existence, his life, his peace, his place in the world, he became an assassin! He murdered, he murdered in a moral sense a wretched man, he inflicted upon him [...] that living burial called the galleys! [Ellipses Mine] (Hugo, 74).

Valjean decided to reassume his real name, the convict, so that he could achieve his resurrection and “close the door on the hell whence he had emerged,” (Hugo, 75). His conscience once again had allowed him to re-evaluate his life, and the person he had become.

On the other hand, Inspector Javert’s conscience was the one thing that was flawed. He destroyed all that was good about Valjean because he only saw one thing, the convict. His conscience reminded him that he mustn’t let a galley slave free, and he thrived on the weaknesses that Valjean possessed. Javert, rather than believing in the common Christian ethics, he believed in normative ethics and more specifically, utilitarianism. His view was that the moral worth of an action was based on its contribution to the overall population (Utilitarianism, Wikipedia). Therefore if something did not benefit the majority of the people, Javert would not allow it. What Javert realized all but too soon, was that Valjean’s will was so strong that it would not allow him to ever give up on his journey to become a considerably “good” person and by then he had committed suicide.

It is often said that what defines “good” is something that improves the community. This was demonstrated through the many ways in which Jean Valjean engaged in acts of kindness. He had taken care of the orphan, Cosette, saved both Marius and Javert, and often gave money to the poor of Paris; these were all benefits to society. Forever in the shadow of the only “good” character in the novel is Javert, the man who contributed decades of policing and putting dangerous criminals to justice. Javert’s conundrum which was either to benefit society by arresting Valjean, or realize consequentially that Valjean’s actions didn’t deserve judgment, caused Javert to end his life. Javert learned that Valjean’s self-realization was his awareness of his potential and nature, which according to Aristotle would “lead to being good and content,” (Ethics, Wikipedia). Javert’s greatest contribution to the community was his realisation that in the case of Valjean, to act lawfully was immoral, and his suicide, a considerably evil act, allowed a deserving man to walk free, which was a benefit to many lives.

The title ‘Les Miserables’ can be translated many ways; the miserable ones, the wretched ones, the poor ones and the victims, but all of these names underline one idea: that both good and evil people are tormented.

Bibliography

Print:

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York: Fawcett Premiere, 1997.

Internet:

"Ethics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Dec 2008. 9 Dec 2008 .

“Ethics in religion." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Dec 2008. 9 Dec 2008 .

“Humanity.” Sake White at Wordpress. 5 Dec 2008.

< http://ymarsakar.wordpress.com/2006/01/28/humanity-good-and-evil/>

"Javert." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Nov 2008. 8 Dec 2008 .

"Law." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Nov 2008. 29 Nov 2008 .

“Review of Humanism” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Nov 2008. <http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism>.

“Utilitarianism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Dec 2008. 9 Dec 2008 .

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LessonPlan: Poetry Presentation

Sara Van Criekingen — Tue, 9 Dec 2008 12:16:14 -0600

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

-understand the concepts within Caribbean poetry

-be able to relate, conceptualize and criticize poems of the genre

- have an understanding of the movements and history relating to the genre

Materials

Projector Students will need: Paper, Pencil, ears

Chalk Board

Laptop

USB

Chalk

Methodology

Introduce subject (5 mins)

Break down three main topics + History of Movements ( 20 mins)

Present poets/ poetry (15 mins)

Poetry analysis, criticism (30 mins)

Achievements

We will know that the students understand our presentation if they have participated in the poetry assessment/ analysis and joined in on the conversation.

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StandardizationFinal

Sara Van Criekingen — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 18:21:32 -0600

At least it's A Vision
Ottawa Sun<http://www.ottawasun.com/Comment/Editorial/2008/10/19/7132501.html>
October 19, 2008

The status quo at Lansdowne Park, a cracked parking lot and crumbling stadium, is unacceptable. It's time for council to listen to people with vision -- like the people who made their pitch to redevelop the park on Friday.

The plan (with $120 million in private financing) unveiled by Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and Jeff Hunt contains elements that do more than just turn the park into one large football stadium.

They propose to house an aquarium in Aberdeen Pavilion, to introduce a 2,000-seat amphitheatre to the site, to build a retail and restaurant complex on the Bank St. side, and build parks and gardens.

Is this the best plan? We don't know. But council and the city's financial experts need to take a close look at the specifics.

It's a plan. A better plan than anything we've seen from council on how to make the site a destination spot.

There is no question Lansdowne Park needs to be redeveloped. Every year we hear it's the last year for SuperEx, we see that more cracks have appeared in the vast parking lots and that parts of the stadium stands need to be repaired or demolished altogether.

How many times has a group of credible, local businessmen come to the city with a plan that, while still requiring full costing and review, sounds pretty good?

But the one thing we'd like to see (because we've seen this plan and we've seen Eugene Melnyk's plan for a soccer stadium in Kanata) is for the visions of these sports-minded millionaires to come together.

On the Lansdowne file, council must have a clearer vision and stronger resolve than what we've seen on the transit portfolio, with stops and starts and more stops.

A revitalized Lansdowne Park that serves as a destination point for residents and visitors cannot help but revitalize Bank St. leading to the site, and the downtown as a whole, when combined with the development of the new congress centre and other construction projects in the city core.

The usual critics will already have come out of the woodwork to denounce this plan. We think the city should look at any plan as good as or better than this one, as long as funding is in place and they're not pie-in-the-sky ideas. Until then, this is a plan. Whether it's the best plan is yet to be seen. But so far, we haven't seen any alternatives that come close to meeting or exceeding the vision of this group of competent local businessmen. It deserves a thorough review.

Standardized Form:
1.The Status quo at Lansdowne park is unacceptable.
2.Bill Shenkman and partners unveiled a plan to improve and expand the facility.
3. Lansdowne Park needs to be redeveloped.
Thus,
4. It is a Plan, and the only one we have seen so far.
5.Council should take a better look at specifics, and sports-minded millionaires should come together.
Therefore,
6. Since there are no alternatives, this is the best plan we have seen, and it should be thoroughly reviewed.

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Fallacy: BiasedSample

Sara Van Criekingen — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:19:56 -0500

Biased Sample
Latin Name: Biased Exemplum
Other Names:Biased Statistics, Loaded Sample, Prejudiced Statistics, Prejudiced Sample, Loaded Statistics, Biased Induction, Biased Generalization

Description:

Conclusions are drawn about a population based on a sample that is biased or unrepresentative of the entire population.

Format:
1. Sample ‘S’ (biased) taken from population ‘P’.
2. Conclusion ‘C’ is drawn about P based on sample ‘S’.
(Misusing inductive generalization)

Example#1
There are some large tubs of screws in a hardware store. Some are metal screws and some are plastic (drywall screws). A person needs a sample from each tub, so he used a magnet to collect his samples.
→ the sample includes an disproportionate amount of metal screws because the entire sample would be metal.
→therefore his conclusion would be biased.

Example#2
There is a ‘phone-in poll’ asking people whether or not they are interested in a new product available on the market. The sample would ultimately be biased because those who are not interested would not phone in, therefore they would have 100% interest in the product because the sample only included those who are interested.

Problems:
→Any statistics acquired can lead to over or under representation.
→Almost every sample in practice is biased because it is practically impossible to ensure a perfectly random sample. If the degree of under-representation is small, the sample can be treated as a reasonable approximation to a random sample. Also, if the group that is under-represented does not differ markedly from the other groups in the quantity being measured, then a random sample can still be a reasonable approximation.
→The word bias in common usage has a strong negative connotation, and implies a deliberate intent to mislead. In statistical usage, bias represents a mathematical property. While some individuals might deliberately use a biased sample to produce misleading results, more often, a biased sample is just a reflection of the difficulty in obtaining a truly representative sample.

Example from the news:
Outstanding education or biased sample?
Simon Frasier University Nov. 29, 2001 Vol. 22, No. 7

“SFU Scores High in Survey” reads a front-page headline in the Oc.t 4 SFU News. Per the article John Waterhouse, V.P.-academic says the “results are very gratifying . . . . Much is made these days of the need for . . . . account[ability]. What better proof . . . . of the oustanding education that SFU enables.” A biased sample reveals nothing about a general population and the survey of SFU graduates reported is, without a doubt, a biased sample. Not stated in the NEWS article is that 41 per cent of the SFU baccalaureate class of 1998 did not respond to the survey.

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LiteraryCriticismEssay: MythopoeicSymbolismIn TheWizardOfOZ

Sara Van Criekingen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:01:46 -0500

   The movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a mythopoeic film that uses many common archetypes to create obstacles and events that move the plot forward and create suspense and drama. It also integrates these archetypes into fiction. According to Carl Jung, archetypes are an instinctive trend in the human unconscious to express certain motifs or themes. A perfect example of many of these motifs and themes are used in the story 'The Wizard of Oz' written by L. Frank Baum. The movie tells the story by Baum and depicts the archetypes that the entire story depends on, visually, while exaggerating them to create interest to the viewer. Some Archetypes depicted in the story are; the Maiden, the mother, the trickster, the hero and the Persona. Other symbolisms used in the movie are archetypal situations and colours.
   The Maiden archetype is a naive character that represents purity and innocence. Dorothy is unmistakeably the Maiden because she invokes all of these characteristics and relies on many other archetypes to overcome her obstacles and in the end, return to Kansas.
   One of the archetypes that Dorothy relies on is the Mother figure. Glinda the good witch portrays the mother archetype. Glinda, just like a mother figure, looks out for Dorothy and gives her direction. As soon as Dorothy enters the Land of Oz, Glinda gives her the Ruby slippers, and tells her to "follow the yellow brick road." However, Glinda doesn't tell Dorothy what the slippers are for, but instead she allows Dorothy the responsibility of discovering their purpose for herself, and discovering their importance for her journey back to Kansas.
   Dorothy’s dog, Toto plays the Trickster archetype, although Dorothy has a strong love for Toto and does not really see him as trouble. Toto creates many problems for Dorothy, like biting Elmira Gulch and jumping out of the hot air balloon, just as it was about to take Dorothy back to Kansas, her ultimate goal. Dorothy is blinded by her love for her dog, but Toto is in actuality, the cause for the obstacles she has had to face. By causing these obstacles, Toto has moved the plot forward and created events for the characters to be burdened with. The story probably would not have taken Dorothy all the way to the Land of Oz if it weren’t for Toto, because his mischief created all the obstacles along the way.
   According to Jung the hero archetypal figure “take [s] fantastic journeys that test their heroic strengths and worth. Other figures undergo tremendous suffering for some greater, heroic purpose. Some suffering figures reach a level of heroic transcendence in a victory over adversity and their own limitations.” [Ellipses mine] (tnnweb.com). This can describe the characters; the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. All three go on the journey with Dorothy and overcome adversity and their own limits, to learn their capabilities. Along the way they realize that their weaknesses are just a state of mind, and that they have already accomplished all that they set out to do. The hero usually sets out to save the maiden, which is exactly what these three characters do when they save Dorothy in the Wicked Witch’s Castle.
   The Persona archetypal figure is symbolized by the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. “The persona represents your public image. The word is, obviously, related to the word person and personality, and comes from a Latin word for mask. So the persona is the mask you put on before you show yourself to the outside world.” (Jung). The Wizard in the film is understood by the characters to be a scary, un-crossable man who can make life difficult but also grant your desires if you follow his rules. It is not until the end of the movie that the Wizard is revealed as just an ordinary man who has used sound and visual effects to make himself appear grand and unnerving. So he has indubitably used a “mask” to portray an intimidating character to disguise his true identity, and cause all of Oz to believe he is capable of anything.
   The symbolism of the colour of the character’s clothing in the movie shows the stereotypical expectations of the characters. Glinda the good witch wears white, which represents purity and innocence. Glinda is a mother figure, and thus projects purity and innocence in the colours she wears. Contrarily, The Wicked Witch of the West wears black, which is overpowering and makes the character seem aloof or evil, which is exactly what was intended with the wardrobe choices (David Johnson).
   The story also involves archetypal situations, which organize the plot. The characters start out by participating in the archetypal ‘quest’, in which they are in search of something and all their thoughts, actions and emotions are centred around the goal for completing the quest (myths-dreams-symbols). However within this quest they are introduced to the ‘task’, in which they are compelled to complete a duty of monstrous proportion. The quest in the story is finding the Wizard of Oz and asking for their desires. The task that arises is getting the broom from the Wicked Witch of the West. This plot, like many others follows a common, unconscious trend that many fictional authors use.
   One would never have known the amount of detail and insight that has been used in this story. Some may see the movie and believe it is another fairytale with a happy ending. Others may see the movie and think it is following a common pattern, which all stories have. There is a dilemma, then a journey with obstacles, which are overcome and the goal is reached. The use of archetypes to criticize or analyze literature has been around since pre-history, and is believed to easily resonate automatically and unconsciously with all audiences because of the collected human experiences involved. The archetype has no form of its own, but it acts as an "organizing principle" on the things we see or do (Boeree). Therefore archetypes are innate, universal prototypes for ideas and may be used to interpret observations (Wikipedia).
   I think Baum intended to thicken the plot with characters that impede Dorothy’s journey, and others who help her get from one obstacle to the next because he, like many others was following the unconscious story structure. However I don’t think Baum over-analyzed his character psychology, his story follows the common type: the journey, a narrative archetype where the protagonist must overcome a series of obstacles before reaching his or her goal. Visually, the characters in the movie follow common stereotypes in the way they are dressed based on the colours of their clothing. This, whether acknowledged or not, follows unconscious trends used by all humans, because the colour psychologically links a character to a personality. It is clear that any story follows archetypes, while some are less obvious, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ definitely used stereotypes and epitomes to create a timeless story.

Works Cited

"Archetype." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Oct 2008 26 Oct 2008 .

Boeree, George C. “Carl Jung,” Personality Theories. Shippensburg University. October 26, 2008.
.

Houlberg, Lauren. “The Wizard of Oz: More than Just a Children’s Story” October 26, 2008.

Author Unknown. “Major Archetypes” Myths-Dreams-Symbols.
October 26, 2008.

“Understanding Literary Archetypes”. Myths-Dreams-Symbols. 27Oct 2008.

Johnson, David. “Colour Psychology” Info Please. 27 Oct 2008.

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Standardization

Sara Van Criekingen — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:49:13 -0500

#1-When every child is wanted

Ottawa Citizen Published: Saturday, October 18, 2008
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/views/story.html?id=4dc22dc9-c879-46a0-bf35-c1d00212b662

It is increasingly difficult for North American families to adopt children from overseas, and while frustrating for people who would make wonderful parents, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

Some countries have large numbers of children available for foreign adoption as a result of underlying social pathologies -- the most notorious being the abandonment of baby girls in China, a function of a one-child-per-couple policy and a culture that assigns more value to boys than to girls.

The popularity of international adoption has prompted some countries to look inward and address these social problems. Even North Americans hoping to adopt from oversees ought to consider this a healthy development -- if in fact that's what it is. The problem is that some of these countries might be more concerned with saving face than helping children.

The latest controversy over attempts to reduce overseas adoption is playing out in South Korea. Some 230,000 South Korean children have been adopted since 1958, with 70 per cent going to homes in other countries. Evidently this has been a source of national shame. The government official who oversees adoptions in South Korea recently talked to the New York Times about the "disgrace of being a baby-exporting country."

As the Times reports, adoption in South Korea -- even domestic adoption -- carries a heavy stigma. Family honour is in large part tied to bloodlines. South Korean couples that adopt will go to great lengths to conceal it, such as faking a pregnancy or moving to another city. Some embarrassed parents will even pretend that adopted children were the product of illicit affairs rather than admit they came from strangers in the biological sense.

Attitudes have been changing, however, thanks to the government's aggressive promotion of domestic adoption. Couples who adopt children now receive monthly allowances and generous health benefits. Those who adopt disabled children receive even more help. These social supports are all good things and help explain why, last year, for the first time, domestic adoptions outnumbered foreign adoptions.

But it's not all good news. The South Korean government has unwisely set a goal of eliminating foreign adoptions by 2012 -- unwise because, according to child welfare advocates, this can be done only by relaxing standards for domestic adoption while arbitrarily imposing obstacles to international adoption.

The world would be a better place if all children were born into loving, capable families and consequently there were no need for orphanages and adoption. Guatemala passed a law last year aimed at reducing foreign adoptions through the preservation of birth families, and China has a "Care for Girls" campaign to promote the value of girls to prospective parents in rural areas.

But these efforts, salutary as they are, must never rest on the xenophobic premise that, say, non-white babies somehow don't fit into western families, or that international adoptions are bad because they dilute "bloodlines." The merits of any campaign to reduce the number of international adoptions depend on the motivation behind it.

Assuming that the motivations are noble and the campaigns succeed, it's true that there could continue to be fewer adoption opportunities for people outside those countries. That will be truly sad for many would-be parents, even if, ultimately, it proves to be in the best interests of the children.

Standardized Form:
1. It is becoming more difficult for North American Families to Adopt Children.
2. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Thus,
3. Out of 230,000 adoptions in South Korea, seventy percent have gone overseas.
4. South Korea has set unwise goals of eliminating foreign adoptions
5. While many babies are now being adopted domestically, it can be dangerous because of relaxing standards.
Therefore,
6.If adoption becomes more difficult it is in the best interest of the child.

#2 At least it's A Vision
Ottawa Sun
October 19, 2008
http://www.ottawasun.com/Comment/Editorial/2008/10/19/7132501.html

The status quo at Lansdowne Park, a cracked parking lot and crumbling stadium, is unacceptable. It's time for council to listen to people with vision -- like the people who made their pitch to redevelop the park on Friday.

They propose to house an aquarium in Aberdeen Pavilion, to introduce a 2,000-seat amphitheatre to the site, to build a retail and restaurant complex on the Bank St. side, and build parks and gardens.

Is this the best plan? We don't know. But council and the city's financial experts need to take a close look at the specifics.

It's a plan. A better plan than anything we've seen from council on how to make the site a destination spot.

How many times has a group of credible, local businessmen come to the city with a plan that, while still requiring full costing and review, sounds pretty good?

On the Lansdowne file, council must have a clearer vision and stronger resolve than what we've seen on the transit portfolio, with stops and starts and more stops.

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ISU#1 Final Copy- TheGodOfSmallThings

Sara Van Criekingen — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:58:54 -0500

ISU ESSAY: The effects of Society in the Novel 'The God of Small Things

The novel 'The God of Small Things' is a story pertaining to an Indian family’s relationships as well as Indian politics, social tradition, human emotion and behaviour. Every theme that surfaced throughout the story is related directly to how one‘s behaviour is influenced by societal norms. Some of the most recurring themes were hopeless love, the loss of innocence and the significance of things that seem insignificant. Evidently, the characters’ behaviour was influenced by social acceptance, and they suffered the consequences if they crossed the boundaries set by social standards.

Rahel and Estha are the fraternal twins in which the entire novel is based on. They were unmistakably dependant on each other from early on in their childhood and had a rare bond that is identified by the quote:

They never did look much like each other...The confusion lay in a deeper, more secret place. In those early amorphous years [...] Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, individually, as We or Us. [Ellipses mine] (Roy, 4).

During their later childhood years, they were separated, and did not reunite until twenty-three years later. During their time apart, they lived individual lives that felt half empty, half full. After years and years of longing for one another’s company, and then finally being reunited in a moment of passion, they committed incest:

There is very little that anyone could say to clarify happened next. Nothing that [...] would separate sex from love. Or Needs from Feelings....Only once again they broke the Love Laws. That lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much. [Ellipses mine] (Roy, 310-311).

This great and anti-traditional love proved the vulnerability of the twins, and the relationship that they both knew was against not only their own values, but also society’s norms.

Hopeless love is a demon that every character in the novel had to ward off. The heart-ache in the novel is undeniable, and many of the restrictions on the individuals’ desires become too emotional and too great to bear. Baby Kochamma, the twins’ strict and abhorrent great aunt, had an undying love for Father Mulligan. He was a devout Roman Catholic and she was a Syrian Christian. Her father was a reverend and thus she greatly embarrassed the family when she converted religions and joined a convent in order to be near him. Her desire was described as wanting to be “Close enough to smell his beard. To see the coarse weave of his cassock. To just love him by looking at him.”(Roy, 25). She realized that their love for each other was impossible because of the limitations within their religion, and therefore in honour of Father Mulligan she devoted herself to Catholicism. She eventually grew home sick, and with her failed attempt at love, she returned home. Many years later, Father Mulligan died. It is evident that Baby Kochamma was suffering from a painful loss because:

If anything she possessed him in death in a way she never had while he was alive. At least her memory of him was hers. Wholly hers. Savagely, fiercely hers. Not to be shared with faith...And every night, night after night, year after year, in diary after diary after diary, she wrote: I love you, I love you, I love you. (Roy, 282).

Although the confines of religion made Baby Kochamma sacrifice her one and only love, it was society, the people of her village, who did not allow her to love again. They did not find her to be a suitable match for their sons. And so, this was the consequence she was forced to live with, for stepping over the social boundaries.

The hopeless love that the twins’ mother, Ammu, had for Velutha was ravaged by the societal ideals of the town of Ayemenem. Velutha was an untouchable and Ammu was an upper-caste citizen. Ammu had many dreams of the relationship she wished to have with Velutha. One in particular, described exactly the dilemma Ammu had with society’s values versus her deep and passionate love. She dreamt that “He could do only one thing at a time. If he touched her he couldn’t talk to her, if her loved her he couldn’t leave, if he spoke he couldn’t listen, if he fought he couldn’t win.” (Roy, 312).

Ammu understood that their love was dangerous and could ruin many lives, but her human emotion got the better of her. When their secret romance, bittersweet with the knowing implications, was discovered, Ammu’s family and neighbours had concluded that she had brought shame to the family name:

She had defiled generations of breeding [...] and brought the family to its knees. For generations to come, forever now, people would point at them at weddings and funerals. At baptisms and birthday parties. They’d nudge and whisper. [Ellipses mine] (Roy, 244).

Due to the religious prejudices that surround this family and their beliefs, Ammu’s family decided to take matters in their own hands and scare Velutha out of town, with threats involving the police. Once the police were involved, Velutha was beaten to death by the authorities, based on allegations that he was a rapist, and backed by the knowledge that Velutha was an untouchable. Ultimately, society had found a way to destroy the love that existed between Ammu and Velutha, and “The cost of living climbed to unaffordable heights...” (Roy, 318).

The children suffer a loss of innocence that is never acknowledged by the adults in the novel. They carried around many burdens and experiences that ultimately made them feel tortured, and they had no one to confide in.

Estha was Ammu’s only son, and Ammu had a determination to mould Estha into a strong, independent man. Society’s idea was that a boy should be mature and strong and take care of his family. However, this neglected the fact that Estha was only a child, and could not protect himself from those who were manipulative and took advantage of children. On one specific occasion at the cinema, Ammu had sent Estha out of the theatre on his own because he was being too loud and causing a disturbance to the other guests. In doing this, Ammu was not there to protect Estha from being sexually abused. Estha sensed that if he told his family of the event he would be frowned upon, so he kept quiet. Estha decided not to cross the social boundaries by keeping his experience to himself, and although this took a lot of courage, this action was a punishment on its own.

The children were not expected to live easy lives. They were expected to tolerate pain, for the way their parents had behaved. For instance, their mother Ammu was a divorced daughter from an “intercommunity love marriage”, (Roy, 45) and Baby Kochamma did not dare to confront Ammu for her mistakes, so she chose to take it out on the children. The twins were too young to understand this so:

Baby Kochamma grudged them their moments of high happiness…But most of all she grudged them the comfort they drew from each other. She expected from them a token unhappiness. At the very least. (Roy, 45).

The confines of their society suggested that children were not meant to understand adult issues, nor were they to speak about them, but it was actually the children that were burdened by their parents’ shortcomings. Therefore the twins had undoubtedly been burned by another social standard.

There are many things in this novel that seem insignificant, not only as we read them, but they are often taken for granted by the characters in the story. The simple ideas of the future suggest that everything will work out. Arudhati Roy used words like “later” (316) or “tomorrow” (321) to indicate how the future tense seemed absolute. The characters, never question whether or not tomorrow will occur. To the characters, time seemed infinite, like they could never run out of it. An example of this would be when Ammu and Velutha snuck around without anyone else’s knowledge. They were looking at each other and “They weren’t thinking anymore. The time for that had come and gone. Smashed smiles lay ahead of them. But that would be later. Lay. Ter. “(Roy, 316). It was their society that had taken ‘later’ away from them. They had crossed the lines, they had taken tomorrow for granted, and later Velutha was killed.

Rahel and Estha had a very close relationship during their early years. It was obvious that they were “a rare breed of Siamese twins, physically separate, but with joint identities.” (Roy, 5). This intimacy was taken for granted by society because it forced them to grow up apart. Society implemented the idea that a boy needs a male figure to grow up with, as Ammu was led to believe “maybe they’re right, maybe a boy does need a Baba,” (Roy, 286). Due to their separation, years of loneliness had followed. Rahel spoke about the separation and she said that “Now she thinks of Estha and Rahel as Them, because separately the two of them are no longer what They ever were, or ever thought They’d be. Ever.” (Roy, 5). All the events that led to the broken relationship of the twins had happened because of the society in which they lived. If it wasn’t for the standards that they had been raised to follow, the twins would have grown up together and would have avoided the twenty one years of separation and emptiness.

Every misfortune that this family had to face was a direct result of the reprimand that society had endowed for disregarding the social custom. If the societal norms were tested, then the characters were punished. Whether it was hopeless love, the loss of innocence or the significance of things that seem insignificant, in every theme that the characters experience, society had its own ideas of what was right, and punishments for things done wrong. They were lead to believe that anything was possible in human nature like “Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite Joy.” (Roy, 112). However to Rahel, “infinite joy sounded the saddest,” (Roy, 113). With all the terrible events that the twins had to endure, society did not allow Rahel infinite joy. The Society in which the twins were born into told them that “Some things come with their own punishment,” (Roy, 109).

Bibliography

Roy, Arundahti.The God of Small Things. Toronto: Random House Canada. 1997.

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EssayOutline&Thesis: TheGodOfSmallThings

Sara Van Criekingen — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:06:46 -0500

Thesis: The novel 'The God of Small Things' is a story filled with Indian family relationships, politics, social tradition, human emotion and behaviour. Every theme that is surfaced throughout the story is related directly to the way that society will react. Some of the most recurring themes are hopeless love, the loss of innocence and the significance of things that seem insignificant. It is evident that the way the characters behave is based on how society will accept them, and the consequences if they should cross the boundaries set by social standards.

Reason: Hopeless love is a demon that every character in the novel has had to ward off.
Example: baby Kochamma's undying love for Father Mulligan, Pg. 282
Example: Ammu's love for Velutha (the untouchable) pg. 319, 312, 243-244
Example: Rahel and Estha's love for one another, Pg. 4, 410
Example: Chacko's Love for Margaret, Pg. 233-236

Reason: The Children sudder a loss of innocence which is never acknowledged by the adults in the story, it also would have been an embarrassment to the family if it was talked about by neighbours.
Example: Estha's encounter with the 'orange drink-lemon drink man' pg. 98-102, 249
Example: Rahel is told that she is 'loved a little less' pg. 106, 110, 239, 112-113
Example: The death of Velutha and the effect of his 'evil twin brother' on the children pg. 295

Reason: Some things, not only to this family, but also to the reader, sem so insignificant, and yet you realize through the outcome, and the consequences how significant they really were.
Example: The simple ideas of later or tomorrow, pg. 139, 316, 321
Example: The closeness of the twins, taken for granted by all, pg. 5
Example: The camaraderie of Sophie Mol, pg.253

Conclusion: Sum up the essay with fancy ending, refer back to thesis, leave something to think about.

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Structuralism Terms and Concepts: Dummies Guide

Sara Van Criekingen — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 12:04:10 -0500

Introduction to Structuralism

Structuralism in the English language is a very complex and challenging concept. However, it does not necessarily have to be over-thought, because it is already integrated into our speech and writing, as it is a natural part of language. Structuralism is the way in which our words sound, collaborate, change and appear in our work and speech.

Structuralism has many aspects. There are parts that are involved with just the speech, aspects that structure just the writing and then there are parts that link both speech and writing.

Structuralisms’ founder, Ferdinand de Saussure, advanced the study of language and inaugurated modern linguistics with his views. His theory greatly influenced other areas as well, such as; anthropology, sociology, and literary criticism. Central to the concept of structuralism is that the phenomena of human life, whether language or media, are not intelligible except through their network of relationships, making the sign and the system (or structure) in which the sign is embedded main concepts. For example, a word (made up of signs) -- gets its meaning only in relation to or in contrast with other signs in a system of signs.

These are the terms you will become related with:

Diachronic	Synchronic	Paradigmatic	Syntagmatic
Phoneme	Grapheme	Digraphs/Trigraphs	Morphology/Morpheme
Semiotics	Semantics	Pragmatics

Now let’s begin looking at these terms and concepts.

Synchronic (linguistics)- focuses on a specific state of language at a given time.

· instantaneous

· Ferdinand de Saussure postulated the priority of synchrony: no knowledge of the historical development of a language is necessary to examine its present system

· Example : saying a sentence in Shakespearean English

Diachronic (linguistics)- is the focus of language and the changes to the language over time.

· looking back on

· Example: looking back at the meaning of words during the Elizabethan time period.

Comparing the two (linguistics)

“Tell me about ‘now’ ”

Now-in the instant second it is said is synchronic

Now- being thought about and contemplated afterwards is diachronic.

Paradigmatic

A paradigm is a set of associated signifiers or signifieds which are all members of some defining category, but in which each is significantly different. In natural language there are grammatical paradigms such as verbs or nouns. 'Paradigmatic relations are those which belong to the same set by virtue of a function they share... A sign enters into paradigmatic relations with all the signs which can also occur in the same context but not at the same time'

Syntagmatic

Syntagmatic relations are the various ways in which elements within the same text may be related to each other. Syntagms are created by the linking of signifiers from paradigm sets which are chosen on the basis of whether they are conventionally regarded as appropriate or may be required by some rule system (e.g. grammar). Synatagmatic relations highlight the importance of part-whole relationships: Saussure stressed that 'the whole depends on the parts, and the parts depend on the whole'

Phoneme (linguistics) is the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of language.

Tip Stand Water Cat: Notice the sound that the ‘t’ makes in each word.

Grapheme (Written)- Fundamental unit in written language.

Example: the word Ship. S,H,I,P ( four symbols beside each other)

Digraphs and Trigraphs (linguistics) can be looked at together.

Digraphs: two graphemes for a single phoneme (the ‘sh’ in ship)

Trigraphs: three graphemes for a single phoneme (the ‘igh’ in high)

Morphology: The study of the structure and form of words in language or a language, including inflection, derivation, and the formation of compounds.

Morpheme (linguistics and written)

Smallest linguistic unit.

In spoken language, they are composed of phonemes, while in written language they are composed of graphemes.

Example:

Cat

Cot   ↓

Cow

Comparing a Lemma to a Lexeme (linguistic and written)

Run

Ran

Running

Runs

Lemma

Lexeme

Lexeme

Lexeme

In words directly pertaining to the lemma ‘run’ such as ran, running, and runs become the lexemes. This is because they rely on the root word to make different forms depending of the context of its use (tenses). Run is the lemma as it is the independent variable.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of sign process including how a sign is interpreted through the communication of symbols. This is an extremely popular tool for advertisement. For example, Golden Arches is directly related to McDonalds in our culture.

Something to think about:

A sign is a union of the signifier and the signified, or simply, anything that stands for anything else. In general, the signifier and the signified are the components of the sign; it formed by the associative link between the signifier and signified. Even with these two components, however, signs can exist only in opposition to other signs. Central to semiotics is the idea of codes. Codes give signs context; signs are not meaningful in isolation, since they have to be interpreted in relation to each other. We rely on codes or conventions for communication and that is what interpretation of text depends on. Codes organize signs and transcend single texts linking them together to be interpreted.

For example: Interpretive Codes. For this, James L. Machor proposed an interesting question, 'When we interpret text, what is it that gets interpreted?' Answering 'the text itself' is problematic because if you are interpreting 'the text itself' then that makes it the signified. How does the text then relate to the interpretive act? Calling interpretation the act of decoding, provides no solution because it is the text that is decoded in the first place.

So in a sense, the text is mysterious, unknowable, yet on the other hand it is reassuring. The critic may never be able to escape the influence of codes and conventions, but the very act of identifying them can change and expand the way we read.

Definitions

•         Sign – the word or the unit

•         Signifier – the shape of a word or the way it sounds

•         Signified – the image that appears in your mind while you read a word

•         Referent – the actual object not the mental image

Example: “woman" and "lady" are established by their relations to one another in a meaning-field. They both refer to a human female, but what constitutes "human" and what constitutes "female" is themselves established through difference, not identity with any essence, or ideal truth.

“Relations among signs are of two sorts, contiguity and substitutability, the axes of combination and selection: hence the existence of all 'grammars', hence all substitutions, hence the ability to know something by something else or by a part of it in some way -- hence metonymy and metaphor. The conception of combination and selection provides the basis for an analysis of 'literariness' or 'poetically' in the use, repetition and variation of sound patterns and combinations. It also provides keys to the most fundamental elements of culture.”

-         http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/4F70/struct.php

"A sign is not a link between a thing and a name, but between a concept and a sound pattern" -Saussure

Semantics

Semantics covers what expressions mean literally, an understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language acquisition (how language users acquire a sense of meaning, as speakers and writers, listeners and readers) and of language change (how meanings alter over time).

Pragmatics

While pragmatics covers what speakers mean in using the expressions (situational meaning). It refers to the study of those factors which govern our choices of language - such as our social awareness, our culture and our sense of etiquette. How do we know how to address different people like the queen? How do we know how to express gratitude for a gift or hospitality?

References

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem03.html

http://www.ens.unibe.ch/lenya/ens/live/staff/durmuller/lingm1/LingM1_4th_Session_Duermueller_Leemann.pdf

http://www.criticism.com/md/the_sign.html

http://www.answers.com/morphology.html

http://clevelandsteamer.atom5.com/structuralism-terms-2147.html
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Run	Ran	Running	Runs
Lemma	Lexeme	Lexeme	Lexeme