Mercantilist Relationship Between the American Colonies and the British Government Essay Example for Free

Mercantilist Relationship Between the American Colonies and the British Government Essay Mercantilism is an economic policy and theory where the government has complete control of trade, both foreign and inside boundaries. This policy was dominant during the 16th, 17th, and late 18th centuries, it demanded a positive balance of trade between the countries it was involved with. There were many policies that were within the theory based upon mercantilism including, building a network of overseas colonies and forbidding them to trade with other nations, forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships, export as a trade barrier using domestic goods and services competitive against imports, and restricting domestic consumption with non-tariff barriers to trade. The British government established a mercantilist relationship with the American colonies that was to its benefit until 1763 and then the relationship no longer was of economic benefit to the British crown. Prior to 1763 the colonists had no choice but to go along with Parliaments right to take actions on their behalf and the predominance of Britains economic benefits over their personal ones. Seven Years War was the war that altered the parliaments actions, had been intended to regulate trade and nothing else, Parliaments arrangements began to conflict with the colonists interests. This caused the colonies to grow and thrive, by the time the British realized this Americans had already established lucrative trade with other countries. Britain became more aware of this growing â€Å"problem† and began to keep a close eye on the colonies and implemented regulatory policies, the British instituted a series of laws of trade and navigation known as the Navigation Acts. The purposes of these acts were to limit colonial trade to the British only. For this to be accomplished all trading to be done involving the colonists was to be on either English vessels or colonial-built vessels, therefore, if colonists planned to trade with other nations all of their goods had to first be shipped to England. This gave the British the chance to get a hand on the items being traded and to collect revenue from taxation before the products were traded. Another limitation that was set on the colonies was that in order to trade products such as tobacco, sugar, and cotton it had to be done with the British only. When the British would notice the colonies beginning to make profit they would add the product that was causing the increase in revenue to the list of products only to be traded with them. Although there were many restrictions placed upon the colonies, they did not cause as much damage as Britain may have hoped. Benjamin Franklin answered when asked, â€Å"I have never heard any objection to the right of laying duties to regulate commerce; but a right to lay internal taxes was never supposed to be in Parliament, as we are not represented there†. There were even some benefits even to having these regulations, such as a built in market for raw products that they had and the British did not rigidly enforce the trading regulations that were set. Following Great Britain’s achievement of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War allotted the Proclamation of 1763 in October of 1763. The purpose of the proclamation was to establish Britain’s new North American Empire and to stabilize associations with Native North Americans through regulation of settlement, trade, and land purchases. The proclamation kept certain lands for the Indians and prevented the colonies from settling inland. The colonies wished to expand their territory inlands but with the Proclamation of 1763 they were unable to do so, causing massive amounts of interest conflicts. The British seemed to be enforcing this proclamation more so than any other laws placed on the colonies before. Troops were stationed along the frontier to give the colonists’ no control over attempting to expand their population inland. The colonies feared for overpopulation and crowded cities along the coastline. It appeared that the break down of this mercantilist relationship between the United States colonies and Britain along with the split of America from the British Empire was unavoidable. Before the French and Indian war, Britain was having a hard time keeping up with and maintaining regulations that they had placed upon the colonies. The trade laws were inadequately implemented and the colonies were able to go about their own political and economic systems independently. But, with the close of the war Parliament concluded the time of this neglect of enforcement and became more dominate with the colonies in order to reestablish complete control over their trade. Pervious laws that were established to benefit Britain were enforced harshly and new laws were also applied to further benefit the British. This led to animosity between Britain and the colonies because the colonies experienced economic independence for too long a period causing the colonists to have no desire to return to how things used to be. The aggressive application of the Navigation Act to the colonists subdued their manufacturing operations and increased resentment against the British Parliamentary. The severe enforcement of these laws led to inflation and alienation in the colonies, neither of which benefited the British Empire. During this time of strict enforcement there were many more laws and acts placed upon the colonies to restrict their trade and growth. Parliament passed the Sugar and Molasses Act trying to bring the colonies in line with regard to payment of taxes. The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses and listed more foreign goods to be taxed including coffee, wines, sugar, and various other goods. The tax on caused the instantaneous deterioration in the rum industry in the colonies. This interrupted the economy in the colonies because it reduced the markets to which the colonies could sell and the amount of currency available to them for the purchase of British manufactured goods. This act, and the Currency Act, set the stage for the revolt at the imposition of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act of 1765 was a direct tax on documents and articles, this act directly affected all colonists. The law required a stamp to be placed on all printed materials, including legal documents, almanacs, pamphlets, and newspapers. Although this affected all colonists, lawyers, clergymen, and printers felt the wrath of this act the most. Benjamin Franklin stated â€Å"There is not gold and silver enough in the colonies to pay the stamp duty for one year. The before and after of this act set in stone the perceived idea that the mercantilist benefits of the relationship between the colonies and Britain may have run its course. After debate about the collection of taxes due to the Stamp Act was the Quartering Act of 1765. The Quartering Act was part of the intolerable acts; the purpose of this act was only to take back hold of the colonies. The act violated the Bill of Rights, which forbids taxation without representation and the raising or keeping of a standing army without the consent of Parliament; colonies disputed the legality of this Act. In his first speeches in Parliament, Camden said, â€Å"taxation and representation are inseparable; this position is founded on the laws of nature; it is more, it is itself an eternal law of nature; for whatever is a mans own, is absolutely his own; no man has a right to take it from him without his consent, either expressed by himself or representative; whoever attempts to do it, attempts an injury; whoever does it, commits a robbery; he throws down and destroys the distinction between liberty and slavery. Taxation and representation are coeval with and essential to the constitution†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If the soldiers outnumbered the housing available the colonies were expected to pay the cost of housing and feeding the troop, after the arrival of the troops New York refused to pay for supplies causing the troops to have to stay aboard their ships. Even after attempts to revise the Stamp Act, New York still resisted which led to the repeal of this act and the Stamp Act. With no doubt it seemed that violent hostility would prevail even with any effort to change the Acts making it almost impossible for Britain to establish any hope for a beneficial relationship with the colonies. The steady resistance to the Stamp Act led to it being repealed, which cost the British, â€Å"Suppose a military force sent into America; they will find nobody in arms; what are they then to do? They cannot force a man to take stamps who chooses to do without them. They will not find a rebellion; they may indeed make one. † This repeal showed the colonists that their resisting the act worked and would put fire to their future revolts considering this worked for them. The British were losing money now and the colonies did not seem to be hurt as badly as would have been hoped by the British. To down play the win that the colonies had just accomplished Parliament set out another act, the Declaratory Act, to serve as a punishment. The Declaratory Act asserted that Parliament had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever. In the context and the word choice in which this was written shows that the act was intentionally clear-cut and to the point. Parliament had the upper hand and the absolute power to make laws and changes to the colonial government, in all cases whatsoever. Caught up in attempting to strip the colonies of their freedoms in order to prevent them from creating a profit, the British were losing money and quite frankly, running out of it. In one final attempt to gain back control of the colonies and make their relationship work Parliament passed the Townshend Act. A colonist identified as Brutus argued against that assumption, stating, â€Å"Nothing can be more flagrantly wrong than the Assertion of some of our mercantile Dons. John Hancock adds, â€Å"Taxes equally detrimental to the commercial interests of the Parent country and the colonies are imposed upon the People, without their consent; Taxes designed for the Support of the Civil Government in the Colonies, in a Manner clearly unconstitutional, and contrary to that, in which till of late, Government has been supported, by the free Gift of the People in the American Assemblies or Parliaments; as also for the Maintenance of a large Standing Army; not for the Defiance of the newly acquired Territories, but for the old Colonies, and in a Time of Peace. This testimony written in a letter was tremendously effective in the efforts to abolish this act placed upon the colonies; there were also the Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, which had its influence on the topic as well. There were twelve letters that were widely read and reprinted throughout the thirteen colonies, and were a major factor in attempting to unit the colonists against the Townshend Acts. Dickenson, the farmer, acknowledged the great power that the Parliament had in concern for the whole British Empire but argued that the taxes that were given to the colonies were for purpose of their own personal gain in revenue rather then what was stated in the books of the acts being for purpose of trade only. Dickinson foresees the possibility of future conflict between the colonies and Great Britain, but urges against the use of violence, â€Å"If at length it becomes undoubted that an inveterate resolution is formed to annihilate the liberties of the governed, the English history affords frequent examples of resistance by force. What particular circumstances will in any future case justify such resistance can never be ascertained till they happen. Perhaps it may be allowable to say generally, that it never can be justifiable until the people are fully convinced that any further submission will be destructive to their happiness. † The colonies boycotted this idea, their boycott, although it failed, gave them the strength to continue to not follow the acts that the Parliament required of them. The British had no way to enforce the collection of taxes so Britain had no choice but to repeal the Townshend Act. Britain was completely unstable and given this, the mercantilist relationship was coming to an end between the United States colonies and the British; the Tea Act would create the breaking point for this relationship. â€Å"An act to allow a drawback of the duties of customs on the exportation of tea to any of his Majestys colonies or plantations in America; to increase the deposit on bohea tea to be sold at the India Companys sales; and to empower the commissioners of the treasury to grant licenses to the East India Company to export tea duty-free. The Tea Act of 1773 caused in turn the Boston Tea Party, which aggravated the British so greatly that they delivered a punishment act. The punishment acts were called the Coercive Acts and also, along with other acts, became part of the intolerable acts the British had placed upon the colonies. The Boston Port Act, The Massachusetts Government Act, The Administration of Justice Act, The Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act were all placed in order for Britain to again attempt to take control over the colonies. The restrictions placed on the colonies by these acts included the closing of the port of Boston, limited the meetings to one meeting per year, allowed the governor to move trails, and attempted to house the British solders. This out lash of over bearing authority over the colonies became known as the main reason that the mercantilist relationship could not continue. Britain’s attempts of harsh leadership and the lack of economic opportunities became great enough to continuously push the colonies away and gave them reason to revolt and not comply. As years passed the interests of the colonies and British began to not be similar in any ways, causing conflicts. The colonists educated themselves in ways that the British had not expected, giving the colonies the upper hand in knowing what they deserved and what was being taken from them. There were no longer any benefits to having a relationship with Britain and the colonists were well educated on this fact and showed their feelings on this aspect in many ways. The mercantilist relationship was no longer making a profit for the British Crown or bringing benefits to anyone; it was causing them to lose money. This loss was apparent after the downfall of both the economic systems after the French and Indian War in 1763.

Analysis of Child Feeding and Care Practices in Certain Area

Analysis of Child Feeding and Care Practices in Certain Area INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING AND CARE PRACTICES OF CAREGIVERS IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBAY, PHILIPPINES Joyce Louise Cruz Ignacio, RND Registered Nutritionist-Dietitian Summary of the present status of the study Description of the status of the research work The study has two basic objectives: 1) To assess the caregivers’ current Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and care practices; and 2) To assess the nutritional status of the 0-24 month-old children in the province of Albay. As stated in the proposal, the study is composed of two phases. phase executed the process to meet the first objective of the study, whereas the second phase involved a carefully-designed capacity-building program for the community health and nutrition workers. The survey component of Phase 1 was conducted in the province of Albay from March 2014 to June 2014. It covered six of Albay’s municipalities Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Oas, Libon, Malilipot, and Tiwi and three of its component cities Legazpi, Ligao and Tabaco – altogether creating a scope of 24 different barangays. 280 caregivers, all of whom were randomly selected via systematic sampling, participated in a two-day survey that used a pretested questionnaire to obtain the household and caregivers’ socio-economic and demographic information. That information included age, educational attainment, occupation, household income, household size and their hygiene and sanitation practices. Also recorded about infants and young children were their participation in health and nutrition programs, their access to health and medical services (e.g. immunization, deworming, micronutrient supplementation), their two non-consecutive 24-hour food recalls, the frequency and duration of their breastfeeding sessions, and their anthropometric measurements that were taken using a calibrated salter weighing scale and head board. Furthermore, six (6) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), three for disaster-prone areas and three for non-disaster-prone areas in Albay, were conducted using a structured set of questions as a guide. Topics included in the FGDs were generally focused on the IYCF and care practices and their coping mechanisms during emergencies. Phase 1 of the study, now in its final component, is undergoing analysis of the following variables: socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the households and caregivers, hygiene and sanitation practices, participation in health and nutrition programs, access to health services, and dietary intake of children. It also evaluated their relationship with each other, and their impact on both existing IYCF and care practices and the nutritional status of 0-24 month-old children in the community. Respondents who either failed to complete the two-day data collection or have incomplete data and/or answers to the questionnaires administered will be excluded from the analysis of the study. The results of Phase 1 will serve as the empirical basis for the planning and implementation of Phase 2. Phase 2, the capacity-building component of the project, will render substantial inputs for the local government of Albay. This will not only aid in their development of appropriate programs, b ut also, through the advocacy of proper IYCF and care practices of caregivers, facilitate interventions on malnutrition in young children. The National Nutrition Council in the Bicol region (NNC-Bicol) and the local government of Albay have expressed great support and enthusiasm in the study. During the development of the study, they provided substantial insights and suggestions, all of which were incorporated in the final design of the study. They also helped in the planning and implementation of the data collection in the field. They directed me in the proper channels which made the facilitation of the data collection more effective and efficient. NNC-Bicol and the local government of Albay are continuously providing all the necessary assistance that will help in better understanding and analyzing gathered data. They have also been very committed all throughout the project and worked closely with me during the capacity building phase of my study. As originally proposed, the capacity building component of this study will supplement the existing guidelines and recommendations of the local government in Albay. Based on the initial communication with the regional and provincial nutrition office, there were several training sessions for the community health and nutrition workers, all of which focused on IYCF. However, there is a high turnover rate of community health and nutrition workers which can be attributed to several factors: 1) Community health and nutrition workers serve as volunteers so they spend a lot of their time with the community; 2) They have no salaries since the source of funds is unsustainable, and the idea of it destroys the spirit of volunteerism; and 3) Community health and nutrition workers, though mandated by law to be non-partisan, tend to be affiliated to specific political parties, which is why their posts may be filled by other volunteers when there are changes in political leadership in the community. Yet despite their selflessness in service, they are often taken for granted and underappreciated which lead them to leave their posts. High turnover rates of community health and nutrition workers often lead to the disruption of the co-worker’s relationships with the community and each other. When these workers leave their posts, the opportunity to build on their experience and further develop their skills through refresher training is lost. Due to these circumstances, the recommended course of action is to have a consultative meeting with the key persons in Albay in order to address the problem in sustaining said workers. However, realigning the concept and purpose of community health and nutrition workers is necessary before conducting any form of training. A strategic and concrete plan of action is also needed to answer questions hindering the sustainability of community health and nutrition workers. These may include about the most efficient way to monitor these workers, how turnover rates can successfully be reduced, and what incentive system should be used to ensure that community health and nutrition workers are properly motivated. Furthermore, training and retraining are recommended for the health and nutrition workers of the barangays covered in Phase 1. Continuous training has been known to be an essential prerequisite in effective community health and nutrition work, and is an important factor in retaining the motivation of workers. This latter part is crucial, especially in light of the short training periods available and the low levels of education of most workers. Retraining allows them to learn and develop new skills, take on new challenges, and interact with peers, keeping the job interesting as well as promoting personal development. Upon completion of Phase 1, strengths and weaknesses of the current IYCF will be identified, and incorporating findings of the study in the capacity building component can further strengthen the technical capacity of health and nutrition workers in the community. Firsthand knowledge and experience on the field will make them more equipped in planning, service delivery, and monitoring of existing IYCF programs. Publications No publication has been published based from this research study. Upon the completion of the project, I intend to submit a scientific journal article to publishers with international reputation for greater reach. Summary of the expenses during the report period Summary of the financial statement from the Administrative Offices of the University / Institution Enclosed in this first intermediary report is the Financial Statement as of August 22, 2014 from the University of the Philippines Los Banos Foundation, Inc. (UPLBFI, Inc.), which is certified corrected by the Accounting Supervisor Ms. Marilou C. Atanante and signed by Dr. Cecilio R. Arboleda, Director of UPLBFI, Inc. Gross salaries Breakdown of positions and salaries for the report period Breakdown of major equipment for the report period Breakdown of operating expenses during the report period 4.6 Breakdown of travel expenses for the report period Cont. 4.6 Breakdown of travel expenses for the report period Summary of budget for the report period (In the preferred currency and US $ for the total) GRAND TOTAL: PhP 425,658.19 / US $ 10,134.71 Intermediary to the Nestlà © Foundationpage 1

Supporting Pupils On Autistic Spectrum In Mainstream Classroom Education Essay

Supporting Pupils On Autistic Spectrum In Mainstream Classroom Education Essay Introduction The National Autistic Society (NAS) describes Autism as: A lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people and the world around them. It  is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain areas of difficulty, their condition will affect them in different ways.  Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. (NAS, website) Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can have an effect on the ability of a child to learn and participate in the classroom, however, there are ways to ensure autistic children learn and participate within the mainstream environment. As a teacher of Support for Learning, I am working in both the Primary and Secondary sectors. My role involves supporting children with additional needs within a mainstream school, either in the classroom, one-to-one or in small groups. The pupils I support display an array of additional needs including those exhibiting autistic tendencies. Looking at a case study of a child within a mainstream primary school exhibiting autistic tendencies, this assignment discusses the topic of ASD; the historical aspects, characteristics, theories and diagnosis, policy and legislation, and support provided. The Case Study Child Pupil N is 10 years old, and in primary 5. When the family moved from England to Scotland he was held back for a year in nursery due to delayed development. He had communication and language difficulties which were amplified when he started nursery in a Scottish school, not only did he have difficulties understanding spoken language, but he now had to contend with the Scottish accent as well. To gain some background information, I designed a questionnaire for parents to complete. The questionnaire was carried out verbally during a telephone conversation with Ns mother. During the conversation, she also clarified some of the questions in more detail. (See appendix 1) As shown in the questionnaire, and from my own observations, some of the characteristics displayed by pupil N, which are identified in the triad of impairments, include: lack of eye contact, poor social skills, difficulty in forming friendships with peers, delayed speech although he now speaks fluently, however he does have difficulty in understanding language; liking for sameness, a special interest in tractors, does not initiate and sustain conversation, has had frequent diarrhoea and issues with going to the toilet, which seems to have improved as he has grown older; he can also occasionally, swear and display aggressive behaviour towards others, and gets in trouble for this at school. The Historical aspects of Autism Research in Autism dates back to 1938, though Wing (1993) suggests there were accounts in literature prior to this, but states there is no information as to the occurrence of autism before the second half of the twentieth century, however Volkmar, et al (2005) suggests that in 1867 Henry Maudsley possibly made the first step toward a classification by grouping children with peculiar, unhinged behavior under the label insane. He suggested a number of subgroups, one of which he called instinctive insanity, which could indicate that some of the children he discussed had ASD. Studies carried out by Kanner in 1943 involved children identified as having conditions which were different and unique from anything recognized so far. Around the same time, but independently, Asperger also carried out work in the same field. All of the children in Kanners study were different but displayed very similar characteristics; the common elements found in these children included a lack of emotion, repetitive actions, speech formation problems, ability to manipulate various objects, learning difficulties, and their levels of intelligence. Kanner noted the symptoms were very similar to those of schizophrenia however, they appeared to manifest at a much earlier age. He assumed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. these children had come into the world with an innate inability to form the usual, biologically provided affective contact with people. (Kanner, 1943 p250) Asperger discovered many individuals had similar problems with social skills and repetitive actions but did not have trouble with learning or their cognitive abilities. Some showed exceptional talents or abilities that were considered outstanding. Both Kanners 1943 study Autistic Disturbances in Affective Contact and Aspergers 1944 study Autistic Psychopathy in Childhood are important in early autism research, though Aspergers study was not translated into English until 1991 by Dr. Uta Frith. (Long, B. 2007, website) Both Kanner and Asperger described autism as a distinctive developmental disorder that had not been clinically described before; people suffering from it were unduly considered to be mentally handicapped. (Bogdashina. 2005) Defining Autism There has been much research, and varying theories in the field of autism since the studies of Kanner and Asperger, however there does not appear to be a single core deficit, nor is there a cure. Authors such as Happe (1994), Powell and Jordan (1997), Sicile-Kira (2003), Bogdashina (2005), and Lathe (2006), discuss the most universally used criteria for defining and diagnosing autism which is known as Wings Triad of Impairments. The Triad of Impairments is based on certain behavioural characteristics, described by Schreibman (2005) as deficits, which are exhibited in three main areas: impairments of social interaction, impairments in social communication and impairments in imagination. Impairments of Social Interaction Wing (2003) suggests this can be shown in different ways, and groups them into four categories: The aloof group Probably the most common social impairment in young children; behaving as if other people do not exist, and not responding when spoken to; appearing to have empty expressionless faces unless displaying extreme anger, distress or joy. They tend not to want to be touched, and do not make eye contact; rather they look past or straight through you. They show no sympathy if you are in pain or upset, and seem to be in a world of their own. For some it may change as they grow older, but for others it may continue throughout life. The passive group Children and adults are not completely cut off and accept approaches from others; however they do not instigate social interaction; also having difficulties with eye contact but can often make contact when reminded. Passive children are happy to join in games but can often be left out when games change. Generally, their behaviour is less problematic although some can display disturbed behaviour during adolescence. The active but odd group People in this category can initiate contact with others but this can appear odd and inappropriate, and tends to be with those in charge rather than their peers. They appear to be concerned with their own needs rather than those of others. When not getting the attention they want, they can behave aggressively towards others, due to the lack of understanding of social interaction. The over-formal, stilted group This type of behaviour usually manifests in later adolescence, in those who are more able, with a good level of language. They tend to be over polite and formal, and try very hard to be well behaved. However, they do not fully understand the rules of social interaction and have difficulty adapting their behaviour to different situations. Impairments of social communication Baron-Cohen (2008) claims that if children do not produce single words by the age of two, or phrased speech by the age of three; they are identified as having language delay. Pupil N did not speak until nursery age, even then, he could not form the words properly and was referred for Speech and Language Therapy (SALT). Wing (2003), suggests that all children and adults with ASD have communication problems; however Baron-Cohen (2008) suggests there is no speech and language delay with Asperger Syndrome. Wing (2003) states that speech and language delays are common, some may never speak at all. Those who do speak often start by repeating words echolalia, spoken by others. Echolalia can be immediate or delayed. With delayed echolalia, they can often repeat something randomly that they have heard previously, which could be some time ago. The level of understanding varies; most have some understanding although this can be limited. They also have difficulties in understanding non-verbal communication such as nodding ones head, and facial expressions. A major characteristic is that they take things literally, for example, if they were told it is raining cats and dogs, they would expect to see cats and dogs falling from the sky, therefore care is needed when speaking to a person with an ASD; figures of speech can be taken at face value, leading to stress and terror. The majority of people with ASD have an odd monotonous tone when speaking, which can be inappropriate, they can occasionally speak too loud or too quiet; some often use their special voice which is different from their own. Impairments of Imagination Children with ASD are unable to develop imaginative play. Some do show evidence of imaginative play; however it tends to be very repetitive, doing the same thing over and over again. Some may even copy a character they have seen on television or in a book, or a non-living object, but also in a repetitive manor. Other repetitive activities include tapping, tasting, smelling, feeling and scratching different surfaces, and some can inflict self-injury in the form of scratching, biting and head-banging. (Wing, 2003) Other features suggested by Sicile-Kira, (2003) include: Not liking change in routine or environment Not reaching developmental milestones Only eating certain foods Eating or chewing unusual things Lacking of common sense Not understanding simple requests Frequent diarrhoea, upset stomach or constipation. Theories in Autism Theoretical approaches to research in Autism include neuropathological and neuropsychological. Neuropathological Neuropathology relates to the central nervous system and brain. Discussed by Frith (2003) and Feinstein (2010), Kemper and Bauman carried out a study which led to autism being treated as a biological disorder. They found that cells in the hippocampus, subiculum and amygdala; parts of the brain associated with emotions, space, behaviour and memory (OMara et al, 2009), were decreased in size and closely packed, and suggested the irregularity occurred in the cells during early development. Anthony Bailey noted that four out of six people with autism had unusually large heavy brains, and Dr. Eric Courchesne reported that he found evidence of rapid brain overgrowth in the first year, in infants who develop autism. Dr Manuel Casanova investigated mini-columns of neurons; the smallest unit of cells capable of processing information, and suggested they are smaller and more abundant in autistic people. Gillberg, Kemper and Bauman were interested in both sides of the brain as the left side deals with linguistic performance, while the right side deals with non-verbal communications such as, gestures and emotional expression, which are impaired in autism. (Feinstein, 2010) Neuropsychological Theories The non-social features that have been explained by researchers include: theory of mind, weak central coherence, executive dysfunction and joint attention. Theory of Mind Theory of mind is the ability to impute mental states to self and others. (Doherty 2008) Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith (1985) suggested that autistic children do not develop theory of mind (ToM). Research was carried out by using the Sally Anne test (See appendix 2) which suggested that they suffer from mind blindness and cannot envisage what others might think. ToM attracted criticism due to the fact that dolls were used instead of real people. Baron-Cohen cited by Feinstein (2010), stated that the test produced similar results after being carried out again with real people. Weak central coherence Normally developing people process information by looking at and understanding the whole picture. Frith and Happà © cited by Rajendran and Mitchell (2007), suggest people with autism process the component parts individually rather than the whole; indicating that they have weak global coherence. Shah and Frith tested central coherence using the Wechsler block design (See appendix 3), which requires children to use separate blocks to construct an entire design. They found that autistic children produced a higher score than others in the test, and were also faster in constructing the design. (Frith 1985, Shah and Frith, 1993) Frith, cited by Rajendran and Mitchell (2007), argues that autistic people perform better on these tasks because they lack the understanding of global form. Executive Dysfunction Executive function (EF) is defined as the ability to sustain problem-solving activities for achieving future goals. EF is used for activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing and paying attention to and remembering details. Researchers have noted that symptoms that are not explained by ToM can resemble specific brain injury symptoms, which has led to Ozonoff theorizing that autism could be explained as a deficit in EF. However, different researchers have produced differing results, which suggests that not all autistic individuals exhibit EF problems, also, these difficulties are seen in other disorders and not exclusive to autism. (Rajendran and Mitchell 2007) Joint attention Joint attention is the way in which one draws somebodys attention to a stimulus by gazing or pointing. This developmental milestone emerges around six months of age. Charman (2003) suggests impairments in joint attention are among the earliest signs of the disorder. There has been other hypothesis suggested as causing autism such as the triple MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, implicated by Dr Andrew Wakefield, which is administered to children at eighteen months, around the same time that autism is most commonly detected. Rutter, cited by Feinstein (2010), stated that although research has pointed out that there is no link between autism and the MMR, there are still some parents who choose to have individual vaccinations for their children. Although many theories have been connected with the origins of autism, the core deficits of the disorder are still unknown. Kemper, cited by Feinstein (2010), stated: there is not going to be one cause or treatment. Diagnosis Sicile-Kira, (2003) states that there is no medical test to diagnose ASD, and any diagnosis is based on observation of behavioural characteristics. Medical practitioners base the diagnosis on guidelines set out in the World Health Organizations International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), which requires that all three of the triad of impairments are present at 36 months of age; or the American Psychiatric Associations system the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) and (DSM-IV-TR), which also requires that the age of onset should be recorded. (AWARES.org, website) The ICD-10 specifies that at least 8 of the 16 specified items must be fulfilled, which should include 3 from Impairments of reciprocal social interaction, 2 from Qualitative abnormalities in communication, and 2 from Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. The diagnosis for Asperger Syndrome is similar to Autism however; the diagnosis requires that single words should have developed by two years of age or earlier. (World Health Organization, 1993) The Criteria from DSM-IV specifies there should be a total of six or more items which includes 2 from Qualitative impairments in social interaction, 1 from each of the other areas. For Asperger Syndrome, the DSM-IV also states there should be no significant impairments in language communication. (American Psychiatric Association, Internet source) The guidelines for diagnosing autism differ from each other in that the ICD-10 requires a minimum of 8 manifestations for a diagnosis, whereas, the DSM-IV only requires 6. It appears that a person may or may not be diagnosed with autism, depending on which criteria are used. After many conversations with researchers, Feinstein (2010) suggests that there has been an increase in the prevalence of Autism, possibly due to the expansion of the spectrum and improvements in diagnostic tools. Dorothy Bishop re-tested adults diagnosed with speech and language disorder as children, but not autism, which resulted in a quarter of them being re-diagnosed with autism. (Feinstein, 2010) Criticisms of diagnostic criteria Cited by Feinstein (2010), researchers such as Lorna Wing, Dr Patricia Howlin, Christopher Gillberg, and Dr Fred Volkmar who was on the DSM-IV classification drafting committee, have criticized the ICD-10 and DSM-IV, especially as far as Asperger syndrome is concerned. They suggest it is very feigned; both criteria state that spoken language must be normal for an Asperger syndrome diagnosis, when in fact; Asperger originally stated that peculiarities of speech and language were a key feature. Fombonne (1999) suggests that there are more boys than girls diagnosed with autism; on the other hand, Dr Judith Gould cited by Hill (2009) argues that doctors are failing to diagnose thousands of girls who have Aspergers syndrome, and suggests that girls are not being noticed in the first place, or if they ask for help, they are being turned away and are often rejected when referred for diagnosis. Pupil N appears to display many signs of autism but does not have a medical diagnosis; however he has been diagnosed with speech and language delay, and health issues such as toileting. HMIE (2006), state that for best practice, education authorities should not limit support only to those with a formal ASD medical diagnosis. There are many reasons why N may not have an official diagnosis. Autism is very complex; therefore it is possible that the behaviours he displays fit into more than one category, or none at all, depending on any criteria used, which can make it difficult to ascertain. Also, diagnosis can be time consuming and perhaps stressful for the child and the parents. A survey carried out by Osborne and Reed (2008) examined how communication between parents and professionals concerning ASD and its diagnosis, could be facilitated; most parents wanted a quicker and easier process, and would prefer the procedure to be more consistent in content and structure. They also called for better professional training and awareness about ASD, especially regarding the information that professionals possess, and the interpersonal skills of some professionals. Sicile-Kira, (2003) suggests if parents have concerns about their child, it is important to seek advice from a medical professional who is experienced in ASD, and acquire a diagnosis as early as possible to gain access to services. Another reason which may prevent a parent from requesting a medical diagnosis is the stigma of labeling a child. Labeling can suggest a low overall attainment compared with their peers, have an effect on the attitude and behaviour of teachers towards children, and affect the children themselves. (Hart, et al, 2004) Authors such as Sicile-Kira, (2003) and Ho, (2004) comment that labels ascertain the eligibility for people to access benefits and services, however, Ho (2004) also argues that it provides an excuse for school officials to assume a medical model of learning disabilities, and ignore other problems in our educational and social systems that give rise to a range of students learning difficulties. Policy and Legislation In 2001, Scottish Ministers commissioned the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS, now NHS) to carry out a needs assessment of services for people with ASD in Scotland. The aim was to look at current service provision, and provide advice on how the services could better meet the needs of both children and adults with ASD. The report suggested a lack of understanding amongst service providers of the nature of ASD and made 32 recommendations, resulting in the National ASD Reference Group being set up by The Scottish Executive in June 2002, to identify priorities to support the development of good practice across a range of services. (PHIS, 2001) The Scottish Executive (2006) suggested an audit of training in each NHS board with a view to addressing training needs and gaps, this corroborates the earlier discussion that parents suggested there is a need for more professional training and awareness about ASD, however, the Scottish Executive (2006) only discussed training for health practitioners and not education. In the past, pupils with additional needs would have been educated within a special school; recent legislation and policy such as The Standards in Scotlands Schools etc Act 2000, and The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act, 2004, places a duty on education authorities to meet the needs of all pupils in a mainstream environment, where possible, alongside their peers, including those with additional support needs. Children are described as having additional support needs if they require additional support to enable them to make progress in their learning. My local authority provides guidance to schools for supporting children with autism, with a staged intervention procedure to meet the needs of children and young people on the autistic spectrum, which  acknowledges the role of multi-agencies in developing consistency in both school and home. HMIE (2006) implies that some education staff feel they do not have enough knowledge and understanding of ASD therefore, training for all staff involved in the education of pupils with ASD is an important area to develop. They also argue that parents are not always kept fully informed about the range of provision available for their children, implying there is a greater need for collaboration between parents, teachers and other professionals. The HMIE report highlights a conversation with Ns class teacher (appendix 4), in which she commented that he is a bit strange, and gave the impression that she is unaware of Ns difficulties, therefore, there is a need for more collaboration to develop a good working relationship with the class teacher, pupil and parents, in order to meet his learning needs. Collaboration can mean different things to different people, at different times; on a professional level, through sharing good practice, it can improve effectiveness, self-reflection and teacher learning; on a personal level, it can enhance moral support and confidence. Effective schools need effective communication and collaboration amongst staff, other agents, parents and pupils. (Head 2003) Classroom Practice Powell and Jordan (1997) state that a great deal of what needs to be taught to pupils with autism is out-with the curriculum, such as interaction and communication skills, therefore the needs of the child should determine the curriculum. Most children require some one-to-one teaching, not just to address their difficulties, but also develop their skills and strengths. Pupil N was known to the Speech and Language Services in England prior to moving to Scotland (See appendix 5), and received some one-to-one support in the form of SALT, which continued until 2007. He then received an Individualised Educational Programme (IEP) and support at school level to address his literacy skills. When I started this post a teacher of SFL in January 2010 pupil N was being removed from class along with five other pupils, to work on the literacy program Read and Write Inc (RWI) (See appendix 6), which provides a structured approach to the teaching of phonics and literacy. (Miskin, R, website updated 2010) As I did not know anything about the pupils at the start, I decided to re-assess their reading ability in the RWI programme, and found that although pupil N could read the words, he did not fully understand. I have recently been involved in auditing pupils needs within the school, to identify that require high, medium and low priority support, along with colleagues, with a view to making changes in the way support is offered, and produce an IEP for those who need one. Up until now, all the pupils have been coming out of class for support rather than receiving in-class support. The changes would allow more targeted support to meet the individual needs of the children, within the class, individually, and in small groups. Children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account when adults are making decisions that affect them (UNICEF, 1991), therefore, the audit included a questionnaire to find out what support and help the pupils felt they needed. When asked, it appeared that pupil N did not fully understand the questions; however, he did say that he liked to come out of class, preferably on his own. (See appendix 7) During the audit, I discovered that the last IEP for pupil N was in 2008, and had not been reviewed. Through collaboration with pupil N, his class teacher and parents, a new IEP has been developed. (See appendix 8) During a conversation with Ns mother at parents evening, she felt his needs were not all being appropriately met, she had not been fully informed of his progress except through yearly class-teacher reports, and was unaware that N had previously received an IEP. A copy of the new IEP has been sent home to parents to allow them to become more involved in Ns learning and development, which should have been done with his previous IEP. The class teacher, parents and I will now take steps in working towards developing strategies to enable N to meet his IEP targets and enhance his learning to make further progress. Conclusion Very little was known about autism during the early part of the twentieth century; however, since the reports by Kanner and Asperger, much research has been carried out. Many hypotheses have been identified and researched, such as Theory of Mind, Weak Central Coherence, Executive Dysfunction and Joint Attention and impairments in the function of various parts of the brain. The MMR vaccine has also been implicated in the cause of autism; though this was dismissed through further research. Although there has been much research into possible causes, and the various theories look as if they may all be related, there does not appear to be one single cause, but rather, many; those with autism seem to display traits from all of the theories in varying degrees. For a diagnosis, there needs to be a display of the characteristics from the Triad of Impairments, however the criteria for diagnosis differs, in that, a person may or may not be diagnosed with autism, depending on whether the ICD-10 or the DSM-IV is used. Although Pupil N does not have a formal ASD diagnosis, he does display many characteristics, and according to HMIE (2006), for best practice, he should receive the support as he would if he was diagnosed. After carrying out the audit of needs for all the pupils with additional needs in the school, it appeared that although pupil N had made much progress in terms of speech and reading, there are other difficulties and strengths, which have not yet been addressed. The new IEP which has been developed in collaboration with the pupil, parents, class teacher and I is the start of working towards meeting those needs. There will be a review in three months time to assess progress, and a continued support and review cycle thereafter.

3 Lessons Learned Bird Sings :: essays research papers

Many people in the world have troubles. Lie Marguerite there are many who have troubles. Though we always get saved by our elders and without them we would be scrap metal, but like most elders, Mrs. Flower in the book “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'; help out this troubled person by teaching her 3 lessons about way of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The troubled person Marguerite has a trouble that she can’t speak because she got assaulted 5 years ago. It is awful that a stranger raped a young person at age 8. Marguerite has to have felt very bad and got a shock, and also because of the assault she hasn’t spoken for 5 years. What kinds of friends does she have? What would people think about her? But because Mrs. Flower taught her why to speak, it looks like she is finally going to speak again like most people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also because of the assault Marguerite has doesn’t done 2 other things in her life, one of them were to tolerate people. She probably never tolerated strangers even though it never said. How would a person have any friends if they can’t tolerate any stranger. She is being very mean, you could say to a person who wants to be her friend. But of course she won’t let him/her be her friend because she can’t tolerate any stranger. It is not right to take out your anger on somebody else, but we all understand why.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 3rd thing that the assault had changed her life with was “mother wit.'; Mother wit is common sense. Marguerite of course did not have any common sense because she never used to talk. But if she had talked, she first would not have learned any lesson from Mrs. Flower, because each of them tie in to each other. An other person who wasn’t very good at teaching this common sense was her granny. She always used to harass her.

Nationalism from a Marxian Perspective :: Politics

Nationalism from a Marxian Perspective The mobilization of the masses to both support and participate in a wide variety of cultural and political endeavors is often achieved through nationalism. It can be used to get a society to push for a return to traditional ways and old-time religion, to press on for national liberation and self-determination, to support or fight vast acts of imperialism and genocide, as an excuse to severely obstruct rights and liberties for citizens, and ultimately be used as a great tool in a quest for all out war and full throttled vengeance in any case in which a country is attacked. For decades, the Nationalist tendency of America has not been as clear or strong as it has been during the current aftermath of the attacks in New York City. The response across America has been widespread and clear: people, by and large, and in full support of the state and whatever path it wishes to choose, with a majority of the population even supporting secret military trials and a strict curtailing of civil liberties in America. Nationalism is running rampant in America, much of which goes far beyond mere patriotism and concern for the state of one’s nation and rather into astonishingly high levels of First World chauvinism. But what does this mean on a larger level? How is nationalism used on a larger scale? Is it most always used to have the mass blindly follow the interest of elites? Or is nationalism more complex? To answer these questions, in this paper I will address nationalism on multiple levels and from a Marxian perspective. Nationalism will be dealt with at a structural level, with an examination of how it utilized in both the First World and the Third World. Many basic descriptions of what nationalism is exist, and defining precisely what nationalism means is not an easy task. This is in large part because the causes and effects of nationalism greatly varies from social context to social context, as the concrete social reality determines the specific shape and character that the nationalism idea takes when it comes to hold a large part of the consciousness of a society (I say the ‘nationalism idea’ for I feel that nationalism is, primarily, in the realm of the ideological). Put more succinctly â€Å"Nationalism can be, and has been, democratic and authoritarian, forward-looking or backward-looking, socialist or reactionary† (Kamenka 1976: 3).

Qualifications of a Hero Essay

â€Å"With great power there must also come great responsibility.† These words from Peter Parker’s uncle, along with spiders attributes, allow Peter to defeat the Green Goblin and successfully to become the hero of the story, Spiderman. Traditionally, characters who carry attributes such as strength and distinguished super-natural powers/abilities and are successful in the end are automatically known as the heroes of the stories. However, what requirements does a character literally need to be an absolute hero? In most novels today, heroes do not often hold such traditional qualities. Many have to put in effort, and pay the price to undergo this honour. In some instances, they may not even be appreciated as the heroes. Within those novels, we can identify that heroes are frequently victims of the society, victims of the immediate envies of others, which eventually lead to hostilities and cause crisis, and victims of their own isolation. These roles of heroes are apparent inside the texts of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. First of all, in many cases, the heroes play roles of being victims of the society. Surviving under undesirable lifestyles causes people to suffer. They may even face harassment. When enduring in places where their different attributes are obvious to the public and yet they stand out the most, that is when people around start to harass and make fun of them. The theory of harassment as a victim of a society can be seen in Of Mice and Men: â€Å"Curley stared levelly at him. ‘Well, nex’ time you answer when you’re spoke to.’ He turned toward the door and walked out, and his elbows were still bent out a little† (Steinbeck 26). As a small sized but hot-tempered boxer, Curley only likes little guys because they are who he can easily overpower. However, insecure of his size and is over-protective of his wife, Curley hates the big guys and is eager to fight anyone he perceives as a threat to his self-image. Since he is the son of the boss for whom George and Lennie work, Lennie has no choice but to stay in this terrifying situation. Noticing â€Å"His (Curley’s) elbows were still bent out a little,† proves that Lennie unwittingly incurs Curley’s antagonism as well as harassment simply because of his size. A similar case is shown in â€Å"Brave New World†. Although John leaves the London  Hatchery and settles in a deserted area where only imperfect live exists, the world he is grown to live in is filled with hopelessness and yet the brave New World will stay permanent. As a result, the Savage plans to purify himself and to escape further contamination by the filth of civilized life. â€Å"†¦were astonished to see a young man standing outside the abandoned lighthouse stripped to the waist and hitting himself with a whip of knotted cords. His back was horizontally streaked with crimson, and from weal to weal ran thin trickles of blood† (Huxley 226). This passage clearly demonstrates that he cleanses himself, due to the erroneous community he lives in, by carrying out a traditional Reservation religious ceremony (the whipping). Unlike Lennie, who is innocently harassed by other, John wishes to initiate self-flagellate in order for him to call on the God for forgivenes s for his lust for Lenina and lack of concern for Linda’s death. In both situations, due to a hero’s act of being a victim of the society, he must undergo some sort of harassment. Based on these facts, one can conclude that heroes can still be victims of a society, despite that they have done nothing wrong. Other than being harassed, victims of society can also be controlled by others, which mainly results from having no options at all. In Brave New World, this concept is illustrated: † ‘And that,’ put in the Director sententiously, ‘that is the secret of happiness and virtue– liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny’ † (Huxley 13). Obviously, after genetic engineering, Huxley suggests that social conditioning is the most important way for the government to enslave its people. Since the brave New World holds different classes of people, from Alphas to Epsilons, those different caste members are conditioned never to yea rn for a life other than their own. In other words, this is a major instrument for social stability which holds control of everyone within its society, including the heroes. The following scene from Of Mice and Men is another example of victims under control by others, which explains George’s restriction on his mentally handicapped friend. † ‘Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much.’ Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. ‘Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night.’†¦ He threw a scoop of water into his face and rubbed it about with his hand, under his chin and around the back of his neck. Then he replaced his hat,  pushed himself back from the river, drew up his embraced them. Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly† (Steinbeck 3, 4). Here, it is obvious as to who is in charge between the two as Lennie carefully obeys George and imitates his actions at the riverbank. It is proven that because Lennie’s mind is not as bright, George simply takes this advantage and holds power over Lennie in their soci ety. Both circumstances in Brave New World and Of Mice and Men show how one can easily dominate others, leaving them no options at all. However, heroes do not necessarily suffer in a bad way when surviving under undesirable lifestyles. Indeed, they dream. They dream about their future, waiting for advancements on the current conditions. In some way, their dreams allow the heroes to dodge from reality as their depression and problems momentarily vanish. The third chapter of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men shows this concept of dreaming about conditions improving through this passage: † ‘All kin’s a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We’d jus’ live there. We’d belong there. There wouldn’t be no more runnin’ round the country and gettin’ fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we’d have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house’ † (Steinbeck 57). At this point, Steinbeck clearly shows that both George and Lennie do not live in a pleasing lifestyle and both aspire to obtain a piece of land to live off. This proves that during the time the story is set, life can be very strenuous but dreams can effectively be use to repel despair. The idea of this quote links directly to the following quote, spoken by Bernard in the book Brave New World. â€Å"In a different key, ‘How can I?’ he repeated meditatively. ‘No, the real problem is: How is it that I can’t, or rather – because, after all, I know quite well why I can’t-what would it be like if I could, if I were free – not enslaved by my conditioning’ † (Huxley 81). Bernard’s hatred for the society, which he is forced to live in, is resulted from the fact he cannot interact emotionally or physically to the community. Everyday in his life, he is treated with inhospitality and is obligated to work for something he hates the most. Therefore, sometimes during his loneliness, he will dream about himself being untangled from the brave New World he is born to live in. Unlike George and Lennie, Bernard is not able to allow his sadness fade away as he is hoping for a better future. Instead, he is even more enraged, speaking in an angered tone. From these two  examples, it is obvious that a hero can be influenced by the society negatively, but still dreams for a better life. From all the above arguments, one can clearly realize the statement that victims of the society, whether enduring harassment of some sort, under control by others, or even dreaming about conditions improving, are often the heroes. Secondly, it is the immediate envies from others which may cause the heroes to be dragged into crisis. This takes place when a figure(s) in the story is jealous about what another has, not necessarily high-quality items such as gold or money, but whatever he does not have. Huxley displays this idea of one envying another in Chapter 12 of his book: â€Å"So cordially indeed that Bernard felt a sharp pang of jealousy. In all these weeks he had never come to so close an intimacy with the Savage as Helmholtz immediately achieved. Watching them, listening to their talk, he found himself sometimes resentfully wishing that he had never brought them together† (Huxley 165). Basically, Helmholtz and the Savage are experiencing the same emotion of feeling not part of the society. In addition, they both enjoy poetic literature, which is what they are sharing together. In some way, their sharing of poems allows them to hide from reality as their depression and problems temporarily vanish. However, Bernard, whose knowledge is negligible in terms of literature, envies John and Helmholtz for their happiness. After attempting to jump in and break apart their conversations, Bernard is not too successful and feels like the odd man out, while also being jealous that his two friends like each other more than they like him. In Of Mice and Men, Crooks is fascinated by the strength of the friendship of Lennie and George, but also envies their relationship, by saying † ‘Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then’ † (Steinbeck 72)? Crooks asks these questions because he does not have any friends, and does not know how losing them unexpectedly will feel. Noticing that Lennie is stupid, he takes advantage of this situation to torture him mentally, which makes himself feel better and ease the pain of having others rejecting him. His face lights with pleasure at his torturing to Lennie against the friendship that Lennie has. That is to say, something that Crooks will never have. Thus, he wants other people to suffer the way that he does, of being completely alone. Apparently it is mostly the figure who envies others who must suffer,  while the target do not necessarily get harmed. Additionally, people who are envious of others set goal(s) for themselves. However, due to the fact that they cannot obtain such objective(s), they begin to look at what others have and envying occurs. In Brave New World, John hates the way that brave New World runs, hoping to twists its perspective back to the old world. He states â€Å"But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want s in† (Huxley 219). Here in Chapter 17 of the book, the Savage explains the old world reasoning by asserting that true life requires exposure to all things, good and evil. The unsuccessful Savage envies the Reservation Areas, where imperfect livings still exist, even though he is having a much better life in the New World. In Steinbeck’s novel, wanting the unattainable is also shown. From the outset of the story, Steinbeck makes the failure of George and Lennie’s dream inevitable. Finally, the tragedy of the ending is heightened by the fact that they never realize what just might have been possible. The first indications of this failure are revealed when Lennie’s mental deficiencies are demonstrated – he is both amoral and forgetful. When he is handling the dead mouse he cannot appreciate that doing so is wrong. â€Å"I wasn’t doing nothing bad with it† (Steinbeck 9). Lennie cannot distinguish between right and wrong, which seriously challenges the success of th eir dream. We are given more doubts when we learn of Lennie’s actions in Weed. â€Å"You ain’t gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed† (Steinbeck 7). When George says this he is almost tempting fate, and when Curley’s wife is introduced, their dream heads off the track. Considering what Lennie did in Weed, Curley’s wife was a major threat; she was a problem just waiting to be occurred. Throughout the book, Steinbeck develops the idea of the dream’s inevitable destruction. Steinbeck has clearly emphasised the fact that the dream was never going to happen. In both instances, the heroes are hoping to reach one goal which indeed is not reachable. Frequently, it is because of these unattainable objectives that give the heroes disappointments. In Huxley’s Brave New World, however, it is the hero’s dissatisfaction of his society that leads him to setting an unreachable goal. John states â€Å"Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world be made beautiful. A reparation, a duty. And suddenly it was luminously clear to the Savage what he must do; it was as though a shutter  had been opened, a curtain drawn back† (Huxley 192). Here, John realizes that something has to be fulfilled to modify this erroneous society, or the brave New World. As of the day when John and his mother come to the London Hatchery Centre, Linda is feeling unwell. Although she is given somas to keep her in â€Å"holiday†, John believes that somas are poisonous while also enslave the public. It is at this point that the Savage notices his reason for coming to this strange world: he will make it free. Conversely, George in Of Mice and Men is disappointed with his companion Lennie, who in fact, is one of the toughest barriers of reaching their dream of owning a farm. From the quote † ‘God, you’re a lot of trouble,’ said George. ‘I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl’ â€Å"(Steinbeck 7), we become aware that George is reluctant to carry Lennie around. However, he has to bear with this responsibility due to the death of Lennie’s Aunt Clara. Although they both want a better life and put in the effort to attain this goal, they never seem to be very successful. Ultimately, it is Lennie whom George blames for their failure. Whether it is the hero’s disappointment that leads to setting an unattainable goal or it is the unreachable goal which leads to his disappointment, these two examples show that one will still suffer with distress of dissatisfaction to some degree. Certainly jealousy of others, wanting the unattainable and undergoing disappointment are the results of immediate envies from others. Frequently the heroes, victims of isolation are such roles. They feel differently about themselves compared to the public and therefore, the act of setting themselves apart from others takes place. To begin with, the decrease of self-confidence of the heroes, due to a number of reasons, is one of the main causes that eventually lead to self-banishment, or one’s isolation. The friendship between John, Helmholtz and Bernard in Chapter 12 of Brave New World shows this concept of self-confidence diminishing: â€Å"He was revenging himself on his two friends for liking one another more than they liked him. In the course of their next two or three meetings he frequently repeated this little act of vengeance. It was simple and, since both Helmholtz and the Savage were dreadfully pained by the shattering and defilement of a favourite poetic crystal, extremely effective. In the end,  Helmholtz threatened to kick him out of the room if he dared to interrupt again† (Huxley 166). Although John and Helmholtz experience depression, both enjoy sharing their unique poetic ideas together. By doing so, their sadness towards the society gradually evaporates. Bernard, however, is the odd man out and is very regretful of bringing them two together. Perhaps he is jealous of the friendship he creates. It is what John and Helmholtz have in common, which Bernard does not, that tightly bonds their relationship while Bernard is left out. As his two companions like each other more than they like him, his self-confidence decreases and envying starts to occur. In addition, Bernard believes that he cannot correspond to John because John is more desirable and knows more than he does. Ultimately, this odious sentiment keeps returning to Bernard as Helmholtz and John continue to share their thoughts and even threaten to boot Bernard out if he interrupts again. As a result, the friendless Bernard cannot relate to his only friends and loses his self-confidence significantly. The concept of one’s isolation that results from low self-confidence of a hero decreasing also appears in Of Mice and Men. From the quotes â€Å"He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs. His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face† (Steinbeck 67) and † ‘why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. †Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me’ † (Steinbeck 68), we can identify the fact that Crooks’s self-confidence reduces only because of his physical appearance and attributes. Since this book takes place during the 1930’s and discrimination, sadly, still exists, this Negro experiences isolation because of racism. It is this that the other farmhands believe that it is necessary not to allow, as it seems a privilege in their minds, Crooks to live with them. Furthermore, his separation from others causes his severe loneliness spending his nights reading and his days alone in the barn working on the horses. He is treated as an outcast and underling and is forced to find friendship in the only thing assessable, the books he reads. Crooks’s distance from others eventually causes his downfall, and his downfall also stretches their bonding. From the two circumstances, we can  conclude that one’s judgements are usually base on his physical looks, instead of one’s true behaviours and characteristics. This is a reason why many characters in a story, including heroes, frequently lose their self-confidence which eventually leads to self-banishment of themselves. Moreover, it is because of these reductions in terms of heroes’ self-confidence that causes their withdrawal from a society. Without confidence, they are afraid to be harassed and teased, and are too weak to face the public, resulting isolation in personal. This idea of withdrawing from a society is demonstrated here by Huxley in Chapter 11, stating † ‘But I do,’ he insisted. ‘It makes me feel as though †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ he hesitated, searching for words with which to express himself, ‘as though I were more me, if you see what I mean. More on my own, not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body’ † (Huxley 81). The Top Ten Controllers in Brave New World initiate Bernard’s hatred on his society, due to the ways on how the society runs. This links to Bernard’s downfall. The policies of the brave New World, such as to insert alcoholic materials into Gammas’ blood surrogate, indirectly cause Bernard’s downfall. In addition, sleep-teaching hypnosis makes people (in the society) to automatically associate heights with caste levels, thus making it more difficult for others to respect Bernard, who indeed, is an Alpha. Base on this quote, Berna rd wishes to look at the ocean, peacefully, and enjoy it. We can identify that Bernard always wishes to be by himself and extract from the society, instead of being part of the social group. However, his ability may not allow this dream to come true. The concept of withdrawing from the society also takes place in the novel Of Mice and Men, shown in this quote: † ‘S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ’cause you was black. How’d you like that’ † (Steinbeck 72). From this, one can identify why Crooks is withdrawing from his society. This black handicap has a strong difference from the rest of the crew, as he must live in a separate room from the rest of the workers. No one in the novel ever feels any sort of empathy or even tries to comprehend what Crooks is saying. This is Steinbeck’s mechanism for displaying Crooks’s isolation from the public. For Crooks, he has never been treated well by any of his co-workers because he is black. In addition, Crooks also does not know how to relate and function normally anymore because of how his loneliness has  effected him. Loneliness has made Crooks a very bitter individual, while he is truly not able to leave this situation because of his race during the entire novel. Proven in both instances, characters are frequently born with imperfections, depending on their society, leading to their extraction from the public and causes isolation. For this reason, victims of one’s isolation experience loneliness as well. In a way, everyone needs someone to talk to, whether it is a family member, a friend, or even a pet, as a source of comfort and wealth for the person. Yet most heroes never seem to behave in such a way. This belief of one feeling lonely can be displayed within this passage: â€Å"From Guildford the down-line followed the Wey valley to Godalming, then, over Milford and Witley, proceeded to Haslemere and on through Petersfield towards Portsmouth. Roughly parallel to it, the upline passed over Worplesden, Tongham, Puttenham, Elstead and Grayshott. Between the Hog’s Back and Hindhead there were points where the two lines were not more than six or seven kilometres apart. The distance was too small for careless flyers-particularly at night and when they had taken half a gramme too much. There had been accidents. Serious ones. It had been decided to deflect the upline a few kilometres to the west. Between Grayshott and Tongham four abandoned air-lighthouses marked the course of the old Portsmouth-to-London road. The skies above them were silent and deserted. It was over Selborne, Bordon and Farnham that the helicopters now ceaselessly hummed and roared. The Savage had chosen as his hermitage the old light-house which stood on the crest of the hill between Puttenham and Elstead† (Huxley 222). Here, Huxley thoroughly explains the fact that John wishes to escape from the London Hatchery Centre as far as possible. He has decided to isolate himself from the society and to live away with pain and loneliness, due to his opposition in terms of the brave New World’s principles. George in Of Mice and Men also demonstrates the concept for a hero being lonely: † ‘I ain’t got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time†¦ ‘Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him’ † (Steinbeck 41). Clearly, George proclaims his view on loneliness to give a reason for his connection with Lennie. This connection George has with Lennie makes the two of them unique to the rest of the  characters. Many of the men on the ranch have a dream, but only Lennie and George have a chance of obtaining it. Essentially, John Steinbeck wants to show that although George and Lennie have the advantage of being a team, they will never accomplish it because all human beings are in essence, alone. Thus, George’s constant playing of the game of solitaire, â€Å"cutting the cards again and put out a solitaire lay† (Steinbeck 28) foreshadows his eventual decision to become a solitary man. Within these two occurrences, one can realize that heroes are affected by the society, which brings them loneliness and isolation. Based on the above examples, it is proven that heroes self-banish because of their weak self-confidence, which ultimately leads to withdrawal from society and subsequent loneliness. We learn from Brave New World and Of Mice and Men that being an absolute hero requires not only traditional skills and abilities, but also being able to withstand great hardships. In both novels, the heroes had to endure being victims of their societies, victims of envy from others, and victims of their own isolations. Despite them undergoing many difficulties in the stories, Bernard and Crooks are not the heroes because neither of them follows the hero monomyth structure. Yet to some extent, they were neither able to escape nor did they survive. Although based on the script, John, for example, left the London Hatchery and decided to live in a deserted area where only imperfect live exists. However, deep down in John’s mind, he knew that the world would never experience the same freedom he is grown to love. In spite of everything, he is trapped by the hands of the controllers of the brave New World. Similar to John, Lennie is forever locked in his mentally handicapped mind and be tricked and betrayed by his best companion, George. As heroes tend not to have successful conclusions, why will anyone choose to be honoured with such positions? If you are required to carry out non-traditional-qualities and/or hardships throughout a story, are you willing to be a hero when given an opportunity?

One Day on the River Essay

Elijah has grander and more dangerous dreams. Having been largely acculturated by a residential school upbringing before escaping into the forest to live with Xavier and Niska, he has acquired the dubious skills of public relations and boastfulness as much as the crafts of the hunter. His English, learned from the nuns, is impeccable, and he makes his mark among the men in the trenches as much by the flash of his storytelling as by his murderous midnight prowls in no man’s land. Gradually Elijah becomes imprisoned by two great obsessions: a need for morphine, whose use is rampant up and down the lines, and an insatiable hunger for killing. Some French soldiers suggest that if he really wants to gain respect for all his kills, he should scalp his victims as evidence. He decides to do so, much to Xavier’s disgust. In counterpoint to the exploits of Xavier and Elijah, Boyden interweaves the story of Niska, told as she paddles her wounded nephew back home after the war is over. Niska is part of the sad but admirable remnant of traditional natives who refused to enter the reserves in the 19th century, choosing instead to live by their wits and traditional teachings in the woods. Subject to what modern medicine would call epileptic seizures, Niska is deemed by her tribe to have inherited her father’s skills as a shaman and a windigo-killer. Since windigos manifest themselves in humans who have practiced cannibalism, getting rid of them involves what white society would call murder, and indeed Niska’s father was executed as a murderer by the white courts. The constant crossing of the moral lines between the worldviews of native and white society is one of the many strengths of this fascinating novel. At one point, hunkered down in his sniper’s nest, Xavier indulges himself (and the reader) in a contemplation on the number three, which he sees as an obsession of his white commanders. There’s the front line, the support line, and the reserve line, for starters. There’s the infantry, the cavalry, and the artillery. Off the battlefield, there’s food, then rest, then women. In church, there’s the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Not to mention the superstition about lighting three cigarettes with one match, a prime metaphor for courting danger in the Great War. But then Xavier suddenly remembers Niska’s traditional teaching, that those who are dying must walk the three-day road to death, and he wonders â€Å"if we share something, some magic. Maybe it will help me get through all this.† The real war hero, Peggy, makes a brief cameo appearance in the novel, which may not have been a wise choice on the author’s part. The characters of Xavier and Niska and, to a slightly lesser extent, Elijah are full to the brim with life – they’re quite satisfying and believable as they are, and need no further stamp of authentication.